Down Among the Dead Men

5

Georgina Dallymore, the Assistant Chief Constable in Bath, was unusually tense, gripping the edge of her desk with both hands as if she meant to heave it over and use it as a barricade when the enemy burst in. ‘Shut the door, would you? This is for your ears only.’

Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond, not without tension himself, did as he was told.

‘How is everything in CID?’ Her standard question. It might mean anything.

‘Humming, ma’am, humming.’ His standard response. It meant nothing.

‘Busy, then?’

He nodded. It is always wise to be busy.

‘The jewel robberies?’

‘Taking up a lot of time, yes.’ Far too many of the rich and famous had their homes in and around Bath. A gang of thieves had been at work for eight months depriving them of some of their best items of jewellery. The gang used ladders and vans and they picked locks and neutralised security systems. Nothing remarkable in that. But generally even the top professionals give themselves away when they cash in. The marketing of stolen goods is messy and leaves trails.

‘Are you personally involved in the investigation?’

‘When you say “personally”...’

‘Hands on.’

Careful here, he thought. ‘I’m overseeing it, if that’s what you mean.’

‘Interviewing the people whose property was stolen?’

Hey-ho, had one of Bath’s grandees complained that he hadn’t doffed his hat? ‘I’ve done a bit of that. They’re VIPs, some of them, as you know. Can’t send young constables to speak to people like that.’

‘Understood. But you do have senior detectives like Keith Halliwell and John Leaman.’

‘Absolutely.’

‘I sometimes think, Peter, that you could delegate more.’

He said nothing. The use of his first name by Georgina was a cannon shot across the bows. The mention of delegating was a broadside.

‘Halliwell and Leaman are old hands,’ she went on, ‘and as back-up they have an able detective sergeant in Ingeborg Smith.’

‘Agreed.’

‘Between them, they could round up this gang in the next week or so.’

‘I wouldn’t count on it.’

‘You must have plenty of clues.’

‘We don’t, ma’am. This lot are good at what they do.’

‘And so are we. Every contact leaves its traces.’

‘But when the only traces are from disposable overshoes all we know is that they’re experienced criminals. Or misguided health professionals.’

She didn’t smile. ‘Tyre tracks?’

‘Nothing to speak of. Gravel surfaces, mostly.’

‘And no CCTV?’

‘They’re wise to that.’

‘I still think Halliwell and Leaman are capable of dealing with this.’

‘I didn’t say they aren’t. We’ll get there.’

‘Without you breathing down their necks, I mean.’

He didn’t like the way this was heading. ‘With respect, I know how to get the best out of my team, ma’am.’

Georgina took a breath that tested the silver buttons on her tunic. ‘I’m not criticising. My job — one of my jobs — is to manage, make the best use of resources. I don’t think you’re overstretched in CID.’

‘Hold on,’ Diamond said. ‘I could go back to the office now and find I’m facing a murder. We have to be on our toes.’

Her eyes rolled upwards. Maybe he’d used the primed-and-ready-to-go argument once too often.

She glanced behind her as if someone might be at the window. On the top floor? ‘What I’m about to tell you must not go beyond these four walls. I’ve been sounded out by a high source, the highest, in fact.’

Mental picture of Georgina dressed like Moses, with a tablet of stone under each arm.

‘Headquarters?’

‘Higher than that.’

‘Federation?’

She shook her head. She was milking this. She wanted to impress him. He played along, curious and wary. How could it impinge on him if Georgina had been earmarked for promotion?

‘ACPO?’

‘No.’

‘The Home Office?’

A twitch of the lips put an end to the game.

He waited for more.

‘It’s extremely sensitive.’ Her face was screwed up now as if it was painful to go on. She lowered her voice. ‘A certain police authority — not ours — has come under scrutiny. Questions are being asked about their handling of an investigation that appears to have been flawed. As you know, each authority has its own professional standards department. Above that is the Independent Police Complaints Commission with their own investigators. But in exceptional cases the chief constable may request assistance from an officer of executive rank from another authority.’

‘You?’ he said, on cloud nine. He hadn’t had a break from Georgina in years. ‘Nice work.’

‘It hasn’t been confirmed yet. In matters such as this there’s a vetting process, but I agreed to put my hat into the ring, so to speak.’

‘They won’t object to you, ma’am. You’re a shoo-in.’

‘Do you think so?’ For a fleeting moment she looked quite kittenish. Then dignity was restored. ‘We’ll see. But if I do take this on, I’m going to need assistance.’

‘They’ll see you right.’

‘Somebody I’m used to working with.’

His blood ran cold. ‘Who’s that?’

‘Why do you think I’m telling you this?’

Anything. Anything but this. ‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, ma’am.’

‘Why? You’re a free agent. You have no family. You can spend a few weeks in another county.’

I’ll say I can’t leave the cat, he thought. He was as desperate as that. But the Home Office might not regard Raffles and his needs as a valid excuse. ‘Which county is it?’

‘I haven’t been told myself. They’ll put us up in decent accommodation.’

The thought of shacking up with Georgina. Sharing a table for breakfast in some cheap hotel. ‘Just you and me?’

‘At the beginning, while I get a sense of what is involved. We can get extra assistance later if required.’

‘What would my role be?’

‘The part of the job you really enjoy — rooting out the truth from all the people concerned.’

‘To be honest, I’m not comfortable investigating brother officers.’

‘Neither am I, but it’s inescapable. There are bad eggs in every profession, Peter. They have to be found and ejected. I don’t always understand your ways of working. I don’t always approve of them. But you get results. And we already agreed who covers for you.’

‘Did we?’

‘This will do you good, get you out of a rut.’

‘I hadn’t noticed I was in one.’

‘It takes an outsider to tell. You and I will make a terrific team. Dallymore and Diamond, troubleshooters.’

Dallymore and Diamond.

He was reminded of the story of a famous comic double act coming on stage at the Glasgow Empire, the toughest of all gigs. Mike Winters made his entrance and when his brother Bernie followed, a voice was heard to say, ‘Oh Christ, there’s two of them.’

Teaming up with Georgina would be a low point in his career, if not the pits. True, she was the assistant chief constable and he the head of CID, but in this partnership she was the detective in charge, he the plod, gofer and sidekick. Bound by his promise of silence, he said nothing to the rest of his team, but he was in no hurry to tell them anyway. They’d think this was hilarious.

That evening he confided in his friend Paloma and she laughed out loud. ‘You and Georgina. Who would have thought it?’

‘Now come on.’

‘She’s obviously got the hots for you.’

‘That would really top it off, having to barricade my bedroom door.’

‘It can’t be a rational decision. You’ve always said she disapproves of how you run the show.’

‘The truth of it is she wants me to do the door-stepping for her, grilling the wretched cops who messed up and don’t want to talk about it and she’ll take any credit that’s going. That’s her way.’

‘Her privilege,’ Paloma said. ‘But there’s always a flip side, isn’t there?’

‘Not obvious to me.’

‘You’re always saying you need to break free, get some sort of relief from the job. This could be it.’

‘With Georgina for company?’

‘You’ve got to admit it’s different.’