Peter Robinson: Children of the Revolution

‘Fair enough,’ said Gervaise. ‘But why was it necessary to kill Miller? Couldn’t his death have been an accident, as Litton said?’

‘It could have been, but it wasn’t,’ said Banks. ‘Lady Chalmers called her brother-in-law and asked for his help when Miller first got in touch with her, and he said he would deal with the problem, so he went to the arranged meeting with Miller instead of her. Her husband was abroad, and I doubt that she wanted him to know any sordid truths about her past, anyway. He knew nothing about Miller, and he accepted the story that he had phoned to con money out of her, posing as a member of the alumni society. According to Anthony Litton, Miller was drunk, or stoned, or both, when they met, and he became aggressive, demanding more money, physically attacking Mr Litton, and saying vile things about Lady Chalmers and the things they’d done all those years ago. There was a struggle, and Miller was so emaciated he ended up over the side and Litton scarpered. At the most, Litton said, it was manslaughter. And that was probably what it would have come to in court. But I think he set out to kill Miller, to put an end to his blackmail, once and for all. We all know that blackmailers always come back for more. He couldn’t risk that, not with his son’s career at stake.’

‘That’s it?’

‘Yes. Whoever killed Miller must have physically lifted him off the ground to drop him over that bridge. It’s my opinion that it would have been very unlikely to happen by accident, and Stefan Nowak and Dr Glendenning concur. There were also ante-mortem wounds indicating a struggle of some sort.’

‘And now Anthony Litton’s dead, too?’

‘As you no doubt know,’ Banks said. ‘I approached the accident scene on my way home. They hadn’t found the body when I drove up, and they turned me back, but I’m sure it didn’t take them long, and I’m equally sure they told you all about it.’

‘It was Anthony Litton,’ said Browne, speaking up for the first time. ‘The police found his body several yards downstream. Drowned. It seems he’d managed to get out the car and was trying to swim for safety, but the current was too strong, and he wasn’t much of a swimmer. It was an accident black spot, according to the police at the scene.’ He paused and put his finger to his chin. ‘Though you might be forgiven for thinking that someone who lived in the neighbourhood would be aware of that fact and would consequently drive more carefully.’ Browne shrugged. ‘According to the accident investigator, he must have been doing about sixty. No matter. It was a bad night. Fog and all. The thing is, as soon as we heard what had happened, we — that is, some colleagues of mine — paid a hasty visit to Mr Litton’s home in search of any, well, sensitive material, and they found... well, perhaps you can tell me what they found, DCI Banks?’

There was no point lying about that, Banks thought. ‘I think Mr Litton panicked when I got the truth out of him. He took me by surprise, hit me over the head with a cut-glass decanter.’ He turned to show them the bump. ‘It bled quite a lot, and I lost consciousness for some time. When I came to, he was gone. I cleaned myself up and went out to try and find him. All I found was the accident scene.’

‘We were able to clean up the mess before any questions were asked,’ said Browne. ‘You see, none of us have the depth of understanding of this case that you have, Mr Banks, especially after the extensive inquiries you and your team have been making into Lady Chalmers’ past, but I’m sure it’s all quite irrelevant now.’ He stared blankly at Banks.

‘Quite irrelevant,’ Banks said.

Browne nodded slowly. ‘Yes. You see, as I’m sure you are also aware, we, and our sister organisation the police force, of course, have a very strong interest in wanting Oliver Litton to become the new Home Secretary, though we are aware it’s still not a foregone conclusion. It would be a tragedy if anything were to jeopardise his chances at this stage. For the first time in a long while, we would have a sympathetic and understanding Home Secretary, and perhaps some of these dreadful enforced budget cuts we’ve all been undergoing might be somewhat eased. Perhaps. At least the prospect is far better than any of the alternatives, even if nothing changes.’

‘Well,’ said Banks, spreading his hands, ‘the last thing I wanted was for the press to get hold of the story and distort it out of all proportion.’

‘Admirable, Mr Banks,’ said Browne, a glint in his eye. ‘Of course, the young Mr Litton will be the recipient of a great deal of sympathy over the loss of his father at a time when it certainly can’t do his future career any harm. Perhaps a few days of personal time, for grieving, you understand, the funeral, then back into the fray with renewed vigour. After all, it was a tragic accident. A terrible night, a notorious black spot. What can one say?’

‘Indeed,’ said Banks. Why did he always feel he was entering into a John le Carré novel every time he talked to Mr Browne? Well, this was only the second time, to be strictly fair, but he felt that it could never be otherwise. ‘And the murder of Gavin Miller?’ he said.

‘Hardly murder, wouldn’t you think?’ said Browne. ‘A bit of a puzzle, still, but one that will fade very quickly. Nobody much cares about Gavin Miller.’

‘But what about my team?’

‘What about them? Do they know anything?’

‘Just some background. They’ve put in a lot of work.’

‘Then there’s no need to worry, is there, if all they know is a little background. You were getting nowhere, the investigation is being scaled down. Soon, everyone will have forgotten about it.’

‘Are there any other promising leads?’ asked McLaughlin.

‘No,’ said Banks. ‘We were looking into drugs, and connections with Eastvale College, but we kept hitting a brick wall.’

‘There you are,’ said Browne. ‘People will assume it was probably a criminal gang who does something like that. Such killers are notoriously difficult to bring to justice.’

‘Then I don’t really think we can justify the cost of an ongoing investigation, can we?’ McLaughlin said. ‘I think we can safely put it on the back-burner.’

‘What about Lady Chalmers?’ Banks asked. ‘He tried to kill her.’

‘We’ve had a brief word,’ said Browne. ‘Naturally, she is grief-stricken. I understand that she and her sister were very close, and since her sister’s death, her brother-in-law and her nephew have become even closer to her. She’s bearing up well. I’d say she’ll be right as rain, given a little time.’

‘And me?’ said Banks.

‘Just a little bump on the head,’ said Browne. ‘You’ll recover.’

‘I didn’t mean that. Should I be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my days?’

Browne raised an eyebrow. ‘No need to be melodramatic. Oh, we’ll keep an eye on you. The way we always do. I heard rumours of a promotion.’ He glanced towards ACC McLaughlin. ‘That should be nice.’

Banks turned to Gervaise and McLaughlin. Neither of them seemed very happy. ‘Well,’ said Banks, ‘I’m not sure I’ve behaved myself well enough for that.’

‘Oh, nonsense,’ said Browne, standing to leave. ‘You did exactly the right thing. Discreet inquiries. No sending for the cavalry. A plausible conclusion to a relatively simple case. As it happens, you’ve done us all a favour this time, whether you intended to or not. Do much better, and the next thing you know we’ll be asking you to join us.’

‘I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult,’ Banks said.

Browne chuckled and left the office, waving farewell without turning around as he went.