Mrs Pargeter 06; Mrs Pargeter’s Point of Honour

∨ Mrs Pargeter’s Point of Honour ∧

Fourteen

Inspector Wilkinson felt cheerful – even blithe – as Sergeant Hughes drove him along the next morning. They’d given up the Wagner experiment and were listening to a golden oldie radio station, which was much more the Inspector’s style. And Hughes was properly subdued, almost deferential, in his manner. The outburst in the office, Wilkinson felt confident, had done the trick. The Sergeant now realized the kind of man he was up against.

“Did I mention, Hughes,” the Inspector mused, “that one of the most important qualities of a good copper is patience?”

“Yes, sir, you did.”

“I’ve been building up this case for such a long time, you know, and it would have been so easy to rush it, to go in before everything was ready… and that would have screwed up the whole thing.”

“Yes, sir. If we do find what we’re hoping to inside the house…”

“Hmm?”

“… what will happen? Bennie Logan’s dead. He can’t be charged with anything, can he?”

“No, but his wife’s still alive.”

“She didn’t have anything to do with the actual robberies.”

“She must’ve known they’d taken place. I gather she’s not a stupid woman, and the kind of press coverage those robberies got…no one could pretend they didn’t know about them. No, Veronica Chastaigne definitely knew the stuff was hot.”

“So what could she be charged with?”

“Don’t know exactly. Receiving stolen goods, perhaps? But don’t you worry about it – we’ll find something.” The Inspector chuckled in self-congratulation. “Did I mention, Hughes, that another of the most important qualities of a good copper is a sense of timing…?”

“Yes, you did, sir,” the Sergeant replied patiently.

It was only when they stood in the Long Gallery, looking at the naked walls, that Sergeant Hughes realized just exactly how good Inspector Wilkinson’s sense of timing was.