Alan Hunter: Gently where the roads go

‘Has it occurred to you,’ Gently said, ‘that Sawney may have been the source of Razek’s tip-off?’

‘It has, old man,’ Empton said. ‘I do occasionally look all round my facts. But why should Sawney break up this racket by sticking Razek on to Teodowicz? The threat would have made Teodowicz toe the line, it didn’t need to go any further. No, I think Sawney is innocent there. I think Razek got on to his man independently. What really stumps me is the reason for the killing, unless, as I said, the motive was personal. But that isn’t terribly satisfying, old man. It may be for you, but it isn’t for me.’

‘It isn’t for me either,’ Gently said.

‘Cheers,’ Empton said. ‘Perhaps you know the motive?’

‘I don’t know the motive,’ Gently said. ‘But I’m picking up someone who certainly does.’

Empton was silent, then he said: ‘Not Madsen, surely?’

‘Madsen for one,’ Gently said. ‘He knows. And I’m hoping I’ll persuade him to talk very shortly. Would you care to come along to the station?’

‘Charmed, old man,’ Empton said. ‘You may need me to help with the persuasion.’

‘I’d like Campling and Brennan to come too,’ Gently said. ‘Would you mind handing me back to Campling?’

Campling came back. Gently said: ‘I think you should be present at Offingham HQ. We’re dealing with some business that relates to Sawney and which will probably be helpful to you. And I’d like Brennan right away. I’ve got some jobs for him to do. Tell him to bring his outfit with him and Sawney’s cards and a set of his dabs.’

‘You want Brennan to do something for you?’ Campling asked.

‘Yes,’ Gently said. ‘I’ve a reason for asking.’

‘Well, that’s all right with me,’ Campling said. ‘I was just surprised that you wanted Brennan. We’ll come right along.’

‘Thank you,’ Gently said. He rang off. He stood up. ‘That’s all,’ he said. ‘We can pick up Mrs Lane on the way.’

Whitaker said: ‘I’m not quite with you.’

‘We’ll have a meal,’ Gently said. ‘Then we’ll talk.’

The early evening of Friday, August 16th. Coloured shadows taking a slant in the market place of Offingham. A man stripped to the waist sculling meditatively down the Ound. A man with a hose washing market refuse from the backs of the stalls, into a heap. Youths, girls, on the stroll. Cars parked near the pubs and cafes. Couples loitering on the towpath. Pensioners sitting with their pipes. Outside Police HQ, a number of cars, some with pressmen sitting in them. A straight shaft of blue smoke from the fish-and-chip van by the conveniences. Windows open very wide. Doors open. Fans turning. A soundless chalkline extending itself across the deeper blue of the sky. In its brick tower, dusty, hot, the Town Hall clock ticking boredly. Pigeons crooning by the clock, perched on tender pink feet. Pigeons dropping to run among the stalls. Large-eyed pigeons. Running pigeons. In the mortuary the body of a man who was not cremated or buried. A man with arms. A man with hands. A man with fingers and skin on the fingers. A man whose finger-skin was being printed by another man, who kept breathing in starts. While other men waited in other places to see what the finger-skin would print. All in the early evening of Friday. Night in Russia. Day in America.

Brennan went up the stairs at HQ, knocked on a door, went through the door. The room behind the door was Whitaker’s office and the room seemed crowded, so that Brennan hesitated. Then he went forward to the desk and placed on it an attache case he had been carrying. He opened the case, took out a file, took two cards from the file. He handed the two cards to Gently. Gently was sitting behind the desk. Beside Gently were sitting Campling and Whitaker and beside Campling sat Empton. Felling stood to the left of Whitaker. Madsen and Wanda Lane sat facing the desk. The two detective-constables, Rice and Freeman, stood towards the door, behind Wanda Lane.

Brennan said: ‘These are the dabs, sir, and these are the ones we got at Huxford.’

Gently laid them side by side, looked from one to the other.

‘You’ve made a comparison?’ he asked.

‘I made a quick one,’ Brennan said. ‘I counted seven points of similarity, sir, using a four-inch pocket magnifier. I also measured the height of the subject and looked for the scar on the left knee.’

‘Did you find the scar?’ Gently asked.

‘Yes sir,’ Brennan said. ‘It’s Sawney all right.’

The others looked at the two cards. Empton had hold of them last. He brought out his nest of magnifiers, used the desk lamp, used pins as pointers. At last he brushed the pins away and pocketed the magnifiers with a shrug. Gently looked across at Felling.

‘Anything to tell us?’ he asked.

Felling’s heavy face was paled, he was clasping his hands behind his back.

‘It’s a bloody mystery to me, sir,’ he said. ‘That’s all I can say about that. I took his prints, Freeman was with me. Freeman knows I took his prints.’

Gently picked up another card. ‘Is this your signature here?’ he asked.

Felling glanced over the card. ‘Looks as though it might be mine,’ he said.

‘Yes, but is it?’ Gently said. ‘Take a good look at it and tell me.’

Felling took the card. His hand was unsteady. He didn’t seem to see what he was looking at. He handed it back.

‘Could be, sir. I’m not going to swear that it’s mine. Like I said, it’s a bloody mystery, but Freeman knows I took those prints.’

‘What you’re saying,’ Gently said, ‘is that someone switched this card for the genuine one? That someone had access to the blanks? That someone forged your signature accurately?’

‘Well, what else could it be?’ Felling said.

‘Between the time,’ Gently said, ‘when you took the prints, and the time you compared them with Teodowicz’s record?’

‘It must have been done,’ Felling said. ‘That’s the only explanation.’

Gently shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. There’s another explanation, Felling.’

‘Well, I don’t know what it is,’ Felling said. ‘I took his prints, I bloody know that.’

‘You also identified the body. With Madsen.’

Felling pulled his head back, didn’t say anything.

‘I can add to that,’ Gently said, ‘that somehow I didn’t get to hear of this cremation. And somehow Madsen’s prints were found in Teodowicz’s flat to support Madsen’s story about destroying the documents. That’s two sets of prints with something queer about them, two curious facts that need explaining. I could add some other pointers if I thought it worthwhile.’

‘What are you trying to get at,’ Felling said. ‘I could bring a case for defamation of character.’

‘That’s enough of that sort of talk, Felling,’ Whitaker said. ‘It stands out a mile, man. Your goose is cooked.’

‘It’s a lot of lies,’ Felling said. ‘He can’t prove a thing, sir.’

‘It’s self-evident!’ Whitaker snapped. ‘Shut your mouth, I’m bloody ashamed of you.’

‘I’m going to have my lawyer,’ Felling said.

Whitaker looked at Felling. Felling was silent.

‘Any comment?’ Gently said to Wanda.

Wanda’s mouth was bitter. Her chin was lifted.

‘Or from you?’ Gently said to Madsen.

Madsen gave him a shrinking smile.

‘All right then,’ Gently said. ‘I’ll do the talking, since none of you seem to want to begin. And while I’m talking it may occur to you that there isn’t much point in keeping silent. Because I’m going to charge each one of you three with being an accessory to Sawney’s murder, and if you were accessories after the fact it’ll be up to you to convince me of it. You know the ropes. What you say after this may be taken down and used in evidence. Freeman, put a chair there for Felling.’