Read Online Thursday legends - Skinner 10 by Quintin Jardine - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Quintin Jardine
Tags: Mystery
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Bob?'
Martin
shook his head. 'No, it doesn't mean that at all ... although there is a hell of a lot of leap-frogging in the
police. No, there are other forces. I'll have to leave Edinburgh sometime if I
want to carry on up the ladder, I know that.'
He
might have said also that he would have to leave to move out of the Deputy
Chief Constable's shadow, but that was a thought which he had voiced to only
one man, Bob Skinner himself.
He
looked over his shoulder at Rhian, but she had moved away to join another
group. Turning back to Spike Thomson, he realised that he had been quizzed
gently by a professional interviewer. He had his own skills in that department.
'How
about you?' he asked. 'What was your career path?'
The
little man smiled. 'A lot less conventional than yours. I went to Heriot-Watt
University and did a Chemistry degree, then went to work in a path lab. On the
way through Uni, I did discos at weekends to make a few extra quid; eventually
I realised that I was far more interested in that than in my day job. This was
back in the seventies, when commercial radio was in its infancy - the pirates
had just come on shore, so to speak - so I sent in a tape to the managing
director of Radio Forth, just for fun.
'To
my great surprise, he liked it ... no
taste, that man. He gave me an audition and hired me on a short contract, to
present the weekend breakfast programme. Twenty years or so on, I'm still
there.'
'You've
been at Forth all that time?'
'More
or less. About fifteen years ago, I was lured away to the flesh-pots - Glasgow
- but it didn't feel right so, after a year, when Forth asked me to come back
and be the station's Head of Music, I haggled for about half a minute, then
agreed.'
'Have
you never fancied the BBC?' Martin asked.
Spike
Thomson drained the last of his red wine. 'I was approached, a while back, by
Radio One. They offered me a bigger salary and the chance to increase my
ancillary earnings about ten-fold. But I'd have had no control over anything, I'd
have had to start by doing a through-the-night show for six months, and it
would have been another short-term contract.
'Didn't
fancy it. I like my local audience, I like the instant feedback we get from our
listeners, and I like the feel of what I do. This might sound pompous, but I
believe that local radio is socially important. We talk to a lot of people, and
we have the ability to change the way they think.'
'Why
don't you work more closely with my Drugs Squad then?'
'Because
as soon as we start to sound like a mouthpiece for the police - or anyone else
for that matter - we're dead. We're independent local radio, remember; the word
means something. Don't worry, Andy, we get the drugs message across, all of
us, but through the attitude of our presenters, not through propaganda.'
The
disc-jockey paused. 'Come in and watch us at work sometime. You can sit in with
me in the studio.' He grinned. 'You can bring Rhian if you like, although she's
been already.'
He
caught Martin's look. 'Some girl, that. Twenty-one going on forty; you watch
yourself there. She can be a real heart-breaker.'
'You
speak from experience?' the detective asked. There was an edge to his tone.
Spike
Thomson held up a hand, as if to keep the big policeman at bay. 'Not guilty,
honest, officer,' he protested. 'The truth is that my interest is in her
mother. Juliet and I have been seeing each other for a while.'
He
broke off. 'You eaten yet?'
'No,'
Martin replied, hunger biting at once.
'Come
on then, let's get some grub and a refill.'
They
were halfway to the barbecue when the detective's mobile phone sounded in his
shirt pocket. He stopped and took it out. 'Yes?'
'Andy,
it's Maggie.'
'Hi,
Mags. How's it going out there?'
'A
town full of brick walls so far. I do have Sarah's postmortem report though:
it answers a couple of questions. I'm having a team briefing tomorrow morning,
at ten in the mobile. Want to come?'
'Sure,
I'll be there.' He ended the call and put the
Martin
shook his head. 'No, it doesn't mean that at all ... although there is a hell of a lot of leap-frogging in the
police. No, there are other forces. I'll have to leave Edinburgh sometime if I
want to carry on up the ladder, I know that.'
He
might have said also that he would have to leave to move out of the Deputy
Chief Constable's shadow, but that was a thought which he had voiced to only
one man, Bob Skinner himself.
He
looked over his shoulder at Rhian, but she had moved away to join another
group. Turning back to Spike Thomson, he realised that he had been quizzed
gently by a professional interviewer. He had his own skills in that department.
'How
about you?' he asked. 'What was your career path?'
The
little man smiled. 'A lot less conventional than yours. I went to Heriot-Watt
University and did a Chemistry degree, then went to work in a path lab. On the
way through Uni, I did discos at weekends to make a few extra quid; eventually
I realised that I was far more interested in that than in my day job. This was
back in the seventies, when commercial radio was in its infancy - the pirates
had just come on shore, so to speak - so I sent in a tape to the managing
director of Radio Forth, just for fun.
'To
my great surprise, he liked it ... no
taste, that man. He gave me an audition and hired me on a short contract, to
present the weekend breakfast programme. Twenty years or so on, I'm still
there.'
'You've
been at Forth all that time?'
'More
or less. About fifteen years ago, I was lured away to the flesh-pots - Glasgow
- but it didn't feel right so, after a year, when Forth asked me to come back
and be the station's Head of Music, I haggled for about half a minute, then
agreed.'
'Have
you never fancied the BBC?' Martin asked.
Spike
Thomson drained the last of his red wine. 'I was approached, a while back, by
Radio One. They offered me a bigger salary and the chance to increase my
ancillary earnings about ten-fold. But I'd have had no control over anything, I'd
have had to start by doing a through-the-night show for six months, and it
would have been another short-term contract.
'Didn't
fancy it. I like my local audience, I like the instant feedback we get from our
listeners, and I like the feel of what I do. This might sound pompous, but I
believe that local radio is socially important. We talk to a lot of people, and
we have the ability to change the way they think.'
'Why
don't you work more closely with my Drugs Squad then?'
'Because
as soon as we start to sound like a mouthpiece for the police - or anyone else
for that matter - we're dead. We're independent local radio, remember; the word
means something. Don't worry, Andy, we get the drugs message across, all of
us, but through the attitude of our presenters, not through propaganda.'
The
disc-jockey paused. 'Come in and watch us at work sometime. You can sit in with
me in the studio.' He grinned. 'You can bring Rhian if you like, although she's
been already.'
He
caught Martin's look. 'Some girl, that. Twenty-one going on forty; you watch
yourself there. She can be a real heart-breaker.'
'You
speak from experience?' the detective asked. There was an edge to his tone.
Spike
Thomson held up a hand, as if to keep the big policeman at bay. 'Not guilty,
honest, officer,' he protested. 'The truth is that my interest is in her
mother. Juliet and I have been seeing each other for a while.'
He
broke off. 'You eaten yet?'
'No,'
Martin replied, hunger biting at once.
'Come
on then, let's get some grub and a refill.'
They
were halfway to the barbecue when the detective's mobile phone sounded in his
shirt pocket. He stopped and took it out. 'Yes?'
'Andy,
it's Maggie.'
'Hi,
Mags. How's it going out there?'
'A
town full of brick walls so far. I do have Sarah's postmortem report though:
it answers a couple of questions. I'm having a team briefing tomorrow morning,
at ten in the mobile. Want to come?'
'Sure,
I'll be there.' He ended the call and put the
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