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Authors: Peter Lovesey
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they'd wipe him out. He was safer in the nick. He had no future on the outside.'
Mr Tott nodded. 'I'll take your word for it. Organized crime is behind so much of our casework these days. But this sort of theorizing falls outside the scope of the inquiry. They were looking at the particular circumstances in which the miscarriage of justice was perpetrated.'
Diamond heard himself saying, 'I'm far from satisfied.'
'In a report that runs to over a hundred pages, it would be surprising if anyone was satisfied with all that it contains. I think you'll find that this lays the whole wretched business to rest. The media won't be interested in the points that seem to be exercising you.'
'But I don't believe it wipes the slate clean.'
'I think I hear the chink of cups,' said Mr Tott.
Diamond waited while the coffee was poured in genteel fashion from a chrome and glass container. When they were alone again, he said, I'd like to ask what effect this will have on my career with Avon and Somerset, sir.'
'None at all,' said Mr Tott, and the voice was metallic in its positiveness. 'What happened four years ago in London is history.'
'Plenty of mud has been slung my way since then.'
'Yes, and none of it has stuck.'
'But you won't deny that you clipped my wings?'
Mr Tott stirred his coffee and said nothing. It was transparently obvious that this was a reference to the replacement of Billy Murray by John Wigfull, the headquarters man.
'I'm not beefing about that. From your point of view it was a reasonable precaution after the Missendale thing blew up,' Diamond conceded. 'But I had a right to expect that this report would vindicate me, and I don't believe it has, not completely.'
'If it makes you just a little more punctilious about procedures, it won't be entirely wasted, Peter. You must admit that you can be rather resistant to technology. The scientific developments of the past few years are mind-boggling, I grant you, but it behoves us all to make an effort to work with them.'
'Up to a point, sir. There's still a lot that native intelligence can achieve. There's a danger in surrendering to technology.'
'Come now. I'm not suggesting any such thing. It's a question of balance, of proportion.'
Diamond closed the report and planted it on Mr Tott's desk. 'So what will happen next time some petty crook objects to the way I question him?'
'I would treat any complaint on its merits,' said Mr Tott, showing in his tone that indulgence can only go so far.
'And I would take exception to any suggestion that I might show prejudice. I see no mud sticking to you, and I hope I don't see a chip on your shoulder, either. Is there anything else you wanted to say to me?'
'In which regard, sir?'
'About your present investigation.'
'No, sir. Nothing else.' In the stress of the moment he had already said more than was politic.
'I appreciate that,' said Mr Tott. 'Wigfull's transfer to your squad was at my insistence. He is not - I stress this -he is not there as some kind of informer. I keep tabs on all my officers without assistance from the likes of John Wigfull. Is that understood?'
'Understood, sir.'
'And accepted?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Then I'll tell you about Wigfull.' Looking down at his cup, Mr Tott traced a finger slowly around its rim. 'Knowing as I did that this report was imminent, but not knowing its findings, I had to face the possibility - the worst conceivable scenario - that you might have to be removed at short notice from the murder squad. I wanted a man capable of taking over, and without going into personalities, there was no one in your team I could confidently turn to. Wigfull was my choice. He hasn't, of course, been told the reason, but as a good detective, he may have worked it out for himself. I appreciate that his temperament and yours are not in tune. You, too, are a good detective. You are also a big man, as the report unjustly emphasizes. Be big in the best sense, big enough to get the best out of Wigfull.'
Shordy
Mr Tott nodded. 'I'll take your word for it. Organized crime is behind so much of our casework these days. But this sort of theorizing falls outside the scope of the inquiry. They were looking at the particular circumstances in which the miscarriage of justice was perpetrated.'
Diamond heard himself saying, 'I'm far from satisfied.'
'In a report that runs to over a hundred pages, it would be surprising if anyone was satisfied with all that it contains. I think you'll find that this lays the whole wretched business to rest. The media won't be interested in the points that seem to be exercising you.'
'But I don't believe it wipes the slate clean.'
'I think I hear the chink of cups,' said Mr Tott.
Diamond waited while the coffee was poured in genteel fashion from a chrome and glass container. When they were alone again, he said, I'd like to ask what effect this will have on my career with Avon and Somerset, sir.'
'None at all,' said Mr Tott, and the voice was metallic in its positiveness. 'What happened four years ago in London is history.'
'Plenty of mud has been slung my way since then.'
'Yes, and none of it has stuck.'
'But you won't deny that you clipped my wings?'
Mr Tott stirred his coffee and said nothing. It was transparently obvious that this was a reference to the replacement of Billy Murray by John Wigfull, the headquarters man.
'I'm not beefing about that. From your point of view it was a reasonable precaution after the Missendale thing blew up,' Diamond conceded. 'But I had a right to expect that this report would vindicate me, and I don't believe it has, not completely.'
'If it makes you just a little more punctilious about procedures, it won't be entirely wasted, Peter. You must admit that you can be rather resistant to technology. The scientific developments of the past few years are mind-boggling, I grant you, but it behoves us all to make an effort to work with them.'
'Up to a point, sir. There's still a lot that native intelligence can achieve. There's a danger in surrendering to technology.'
'Come now. I'm not suggesting any such thing. It's a question of balance, of proportion.'
Diamond closed the report and planted it on Mr Tott's desk. 'So what will happen next time some petty crook objects to the way I question him?'
'I would treat any complaint on its merits,' said Mr Tott, showing in his tone that indulgence can only go so far.
'And I would take exception to any suggestion that I might show prejudice. I see no mud sticking to you, and I hope I don't see a chip on your shoulder, either. Is there anything else you wanted to say to me?'
'In which regard, sir?'
'About your present investigation.'
'No, sir. Nothing else.' In the stress of the moment he had already said more than was politic.
'I appreciate that,' said Mr Tott. 'Wigfull's transfer to your squad was at my insistence. He is not - I stress this -he is not there as some kind of informer. I keep tabs on all my officers without assistance from the likes of John Wigfull. Is that understood?'
'Understood, sir.'
'And accepted?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Then I'll tell you about Wigfull.' Looking down at his cup, Mr Tott traced a finger slowly around its rim. 'Knowing as I did that this report was imminent, but not knowing its findings, I had to face the possibility - the worst conceivable scenario - that you might have to be removed at short notice from the murder squad. I wanted a man capable of taking over, and without going into personalities, there was no one in your team I could confidently turn to. Wigfull was my choice. He hasn't, of course, been told the reason, but as a good detective, he may have worked it out for himself. I appreciate that his temperament and yours are not in tune. You, too, are a good detective. You are also a big man, as the report unjustly emphasizes. Be big in the best sense, big enough to get the best out of Wigfull.'
Shordy
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