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“So what, then?”
A
“It sounds a bit harsh,” he said when she had finished. “But I don’t suppose he was to know the girl would be physically sick.”
“He enjoyed it. That was the point,” said A
“So Winsome thought?”
“Yes. Look, don’t tell me you’re going to go all male and start defending the indefensible here, because if you are, I’m off. I’m not in the mood for an all-lads-together rally.”
“Christ, A
“Well… you know what I mean.” A
“Your hair looks fine.”
“You don’t mean it, but thank you. Anyway, that’s the story. Oh, and Superintendent Bloody Gervaise had a go at me yesterday in her office.”
“What were you doing there?”
“I went to complain about the personal remarks she made about me during the briefing. At the very least I expected an apology.”
“And you got?”
“A bollocking, more personal remarks, and an assignment to statement reading.”
“That’s steep.”
“Very. And she warned me off you.”
“What?”
“It’s true.” A
“Where could she possibly have got that idea from?”
“I don’t know.” A
“So?”
A
“But why would he think we were an item, as you put it?”
“He knows that we were involved before, and we turned up at Moorview Cottage together. We also stayed overnight in London. He’s putting two and two together and coming up with five.”
Banks looked out of the window, seeming to mull over what A
“It looks that way,” said A
“Sounds right to me,” said Banks. “And I don’t like what you told me earlier, about the Soames interview. Sometimes we have to do unpleasant things like that – though I believe in this case it could have all been avoided – but we don’t have to take pleasure in them.”
“Winsome thinks he’s a racist, too. She’s overheard him make the odd comment about ‘darkies’ and ‘Pakis’ when he thinks she’s not listening.”
“That would hardly make him unique in the force, sadly,” said Banks. “Look, I’ll have a word with him.”
“Fat lot of good that will do.”
“Well, we can’t go to Superintendent Gervaise, that’s for certain. Red Ron would probably listen, but that’s too much like telling tales out of school for me. Not my style. No, the way it looks is that if anything’s to be done about Kev Templeton, I’ll have to do it myself.”
“And what exactly might you do?”
“Like I said, I’ll have a word, see if I can talk some sense into him. On the other hand, I think it might be even better if I tipped the wink to Gervaise that we’re onto him. She’ll drop him like the proverbial hot potato. I mean, it’s no bloody good having a spy who blows his cover on his first assignment, is it? And gets the wrong end of the stick, into the bargain.”
“Good point.”
“Look, I have to go to Leeds to see Ken Blackstone later today. Want to come?”
“No, thanks.” A
They paid and left the Golden Grill, then walked across the road to the station in the light drizzle. At the front desk, the PC on reception called A
“We’re on our way,” said A
“Ken Blackstone can wait,” he said. “We’d better put our wellies on.”
A
“That bastard Templeton,” A
“Calm down, A
“Whatever it is, he’s behind it. It’s down to him.”
“If that’s the case, you might have to join the queue,” said Banks.
A
“If you were thinking clearly right now, one of the things that might cross your mind-”
“Oh, don’t be so bloody patronizing,” A
“One of the things that might cross your mind is that if something has happened as a direct result of DS Templeton’s actions, then the first person to distance herself will be Detective Superintendent Gervaise.”
A
Banks just smiled. “That was when it seemed like a good idea.”
A
“PC Cotter, sir,” said the officer on the door. “My partner, PC Watkins, is inside.”
“What happened?” Banks asked.
“It’s not entirely clear yet,” said Cotter. “But we had a memo from East-vale Major Crimes asking us to report anything to do with the Soameses.”
“We’re glad you were so prompt,” A
Cotter looked at her. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Young girl. The daughter. She rang the station, and we could hear cursing and things breaking in the background. She was frightened. Told us to come as soon as we could. We came as soon as possible, but by the time we got here… Well, you can see for yourselves.”
A
“The kitchen’s just as bad,” said PC Watkins, “but that seems to be the extent of the damage. Everything’s fine upstairs.”
“Where’s Soames?” A
“We don’t know, ma’am. He was gone when we arrived.”
“What about his daughter, Kelly?”
“Eastvale General, ma’am. We radioed ahead to A and E.”
“How bad is she?”
PC Watkins looked away. “Don’t know, ma’am. Hard to say. She looked bad to me.” He gestured back into the room. “Lot of blood.”