Alan Hunter - Gently Go Man

‘It’s still circumstantial,’ Gently said. ‘And that alibi might beat us. Elton’s the king-pin of the case. Find Elton, and we’re home.’

Setters stopped, his back to Gently.

‘You think we’re going to find him?’ he said.

‘I don’t know,’ Gently shrugged at nobody. ‘I wouldn’t be Elton,’ he said, ‘at the moment.’

‘Bixley can’t get at him,’ Setters said.

‘No,’ Gently said. ‘Not Bixley.’

Setters came round. ‘Dicky?’ he asked.

Gently nodded his slow nod.

‘Yeah,’ Setters said. ‘Dicky. I’m the dumb cluck, aren’t I? I didn’t quite get through to that one, even when you had me put a tail on him. Dicky. Little Dicky Deeming. The lad who likes to play his records. The boy who gave us this jeebie stuff. Deeming. Little Dicky Deeming.’ He paused, sucked some smoke. ‘And you think he’ll lead us to Elton?’ he asked.

‘If Elton’s alive,’ Gently said. ‘Which I’m afraid doesn’t follow.’

‘But if he is,’ Setters persisted, ‘you reckon Deeming will pay him a visit? Deeming’s in the know about Elton, he knows that Elton’s evidence will fix Bixley. So he pays Elton a visit to try to make sure that he won’t come out till after the trial. You reckon he can put some pressure on Elton — maybe shift him to another place?’

‘He can kill him,’ Gently said.

‘Kill him?’ Setters stared hard. ‘He can’t be that much in love with Bixley, not to go round killing people.’

‘He’s in love with himself,’ Gently said. ‘That’s the way it is with killers. And he’ll kill Elton if he gets to him. Elton’s life isn’t worth a pin.’

Setters was quiet for a moment. Then he said: ‘Are you trying to tell me something?’

Gently gave him his nod again. ‘Deeming killed Lister,’ he said.

Setters was quiet again. He punched the smoke through his nostrils. He came back to his chair, sat down on it, leaned his elbows, stared at nothing.

‘It hurts,’ he said at last. ‘I’m trying to go with you, but it hurts. I’ve got no class as a policeman. I just want Bixley topped.’

‘You took Deeming’s alibi,’ Gently said.

‘Yes,’ Setters said. ‘I can remember. He was up at Tony’s till five to midnight. Tony said so. The others said so.’

‘It isn’t a good one,’ Gently said. ‘And nobody asked Tony if a call came for Deeming.’

‘But it could have done,’ Setters said. ‘Bixley could have rung Deeming at Tony’s.’

Gently went on nodding. ‘He’d have rung him,’ he said. ‘Deeming was the brain in the Bixley set-up. Bixley would have rung him when he was in trouble. And he was in trouble last Tuesday night. Lister had found out where Bixley was collecting the reefers, and Lister had sworn to put a stop to it. He was going to blow the whistle on Bixley. Bixley rang Deeming and told him what had happened.’

‘And Deeming laid for Lister,’ Setters said.

‘Yes,’ Gently said. ‘There was no other way. Lister was angry, he couldn’t be talked out of it, he’d have busted the racket wide open. But he was vulnerable, he was on the road, he was where Deeming could deal with him. There could be a crash that would look quite natural, and no awkward questions afterwards. It was Elton who complicated the job. He was tagging along behind Lister and Betty Turner. So he saw what happened, he knew who did it, he was in a spot from the beginning.’

‘He was a smoker,’ Setters said. ‘They could put some pressure on him.’

‘Yes,’ Gently said. ‘While he was loose. But it worked against them if he was held. It was touch and go for them when you weren’t satisfied and started making a play for Elton. If he’d been kept away from his dope he would probably have cracked and told the truth. So Elton had to disappear, and he went as soon as they could get at him. I like to think he’s still alive, but I can’t think of any reason for it.’

‘I ought to have held him,’ Setters said. ‘The murdering slobs. I gave them the chance.’

Gently shook his head. ‘You did the right thing. You weren’t certain, so you didn’t charge.’

‘It’ll be on my conscience,’ Setters said. He crammed his cigarette butt into the tray. ‘If he’s dead,’ he muttered to himself. He took his hands off the desk.

‘We’ve got the same theme recurring with Bixley,’ Gently said. ‘He’s a smoker, and we’re holding him, and there’s a danger he might crack. I don’t think he will, but the danger’s there, and Deeming could see that danger. That’s why Bixley found a knife in his hand when the ambush was pulled.’

‘It’s coming to me,’ Setters said. ‘That’s what you were driving at just now. Hallman didn’t just happen to have a knife by him which he handed to Bixley.’

‘There was no object in it,’ Gently said. ‘Hallman wouldn’t have thought of a knife. You say yourself there’s been no knife trouble in Latchford lately.’

‘Deeming wanted Bixley to buy something.’

‘Yes,’ Gently said. ‘The lot. Then we wouldn’t pay any attention to what he might tell us about Deeming and Lister. Coming after Bixley had knifed a policeman, it wouldn’t sound very convincing. The more he told it, the more we’d think he did the Lister job himself. And no Elton, no proof. We couldn’t do a thing to Dicky. Hallman’s too much concerned with his hide to admit any knowledge of the knife.’

‘And I was falling for that,’ Setters said, pressing his arms against the desk. ‘I was falling right into it. It’d have gone the way you said. All I could see was chummie Bixley with that knife in his hand. I can’t see much more now. It’s one of those things that stick.’

Gently nodded. ‘Bixley was a tool. It doesn’t excuse him, but he was one. Deeming was throwing him to the wolves, there can be no doubt about that. And we haven’t proved it yet, Deeming’s still riding high. And Bixley can’t prove it for us. He can only tell us where to look for Elton.’

‘He’s going to tell us,’ Setters said.

Gently shrugged. ‘It won’t be easy. Bixley’s tough. He’ll never accept Deeming’s treachery on our say-so.’

‘He’ll tell us,’ Setters said.

‘Also, he’s implicated,’ Gently said.

‘Sooner or later,’ Setters said, ‘he’s going to tell us but everything.’

The door was tapped, Simpson entered. Setters came up off his chair.

‘It’s all right,’ Simpson said. ‘He’s all right. They’ve fixed him up. They had to do an artery job and stitch him, I can’t remember what they called it. But he’s all right, just weak. He had a pint or more from me.’

Setters slowly sat again. ‘Thanks, Simpson,’ he said. ‘Thanks a lot. You’d better knock off. You can come in in the morning if you feel fit.’

‘I’m fine,’ Simpson said. ‘A pint of blood doesn’t worry me. And I’ve brought a message from the medics. You can talk to Betty Turner.’

‘How’s that?’ Setters said.

‘Betty Turner,’ Simpson said. ‘She’s on the mend, she came round last night. You can talk to her if you want to.’

The hospital at Latchford was the South West Northshire and it stood on a swell of rising ground to the north of the town. It had a Georgian foundation which had been added to at other periods, the last addition being a modern ward block connected to two new theatres. Betty Turner was in the modern block, which was the furthest from the car park. After entering the spacious main hall they had to trek down several corridors. A lift took them to the second floor where they were met by the ward sister. She was a determined, strong-voiced woman who read them a lecture as she led them to the room.