benches like pews. There were bad acoustics. The walls were grimy. The air was chill, damp, neglected.
He noticed Setters sitting on the right, staring boredly at the Counsels’ tables, and near these, at another table, sat two reporters, also bored. In the public gallery sat Mrs Bixley, her eyes fixed mournfully on the Bench. She was one of only two spectators. The other one was Deeming.
Gently went into the gallery, seated himself beside Deeming. Deeming turned to give him a smile, then held up a finger.
‘Listen a moment… this witness.’
He was leaning forward on the varnished partition. The voice of the witness was barely audible across the sound-deadening room. She was a dowdy, middle-aged woman in a rusty black coat. The tone of her voice was indignant and she held her chin tilted upwards.
‘Magnificent!’ Deeming whispered to Gently. ‘Like she’s the soul and bowels of Christ-ish hypocrisy. Man, the accused was a wild one when he piddled in front of her.’
‘Was she what brought you here?’ Gently asked.
‘Like she’s the bonus,’ Deeming said. ‘I’ve come to find out what you’ve got on Sidney. But keep it down, man, keep it down.’
He lowered his chin on the partition and continued to absorb the witness’s testimony. Beyond him the bulk of Mrs Bixley shifted uneasily on the hard bench. She, too, was dressed in black, and she had artificial violets pinned to her lapel. She didn’t pay any attention to Deeming, the Bench engaged her whole interest.
The case ended with a fine and some stiffish words from the magistrate. After some consultations, enterings, and exitings, a parking offence was heard.
‘These are a drag,’ Deeming said to Gently. ‘Like thy ruin a morning at the court. If it wasn’t for Sid coming on I’d duck out and leave it with them. What’s Sid done — pitched a screw?’
Gently shrugged. ‘You’ll hear,’ he said.
‘I’m anxious about him,’ Deeming said. ‘I come here like a probation officer. Give me the action.’
‘I think you know it,’ Gently said.
‘You mean like my pad being frisked?’ Deeming asked. ‘You were way off the beam there, screw. Nobody stashes their dope with me.’
‘Somebody stashes it somewhere,’ Gently said.
‘Sure,’ Deeming said. ‘That stands to reason. But not in their own backyard they stash it. And not in my backyard, neither.’
‘Where would you stash it?’ Gently asked.
‘Right under your nose,’ Deeming grinned. ‘Some place so obvious the screws wouldn’t see it, like because they’re seeing it every day. What do you say to the bridge near your hotel?’
‘You’d need a boat,’ Gently said.
‘Yes,’ Deeming said. ‘That’s a drawback, but I still think the bridge is good. Then there’s the market cross outside here. You could stash some dope in the roof. Or maybe that sand-hopper outside the screw-shop. You had a look in your sand-hopper lately?’
‘I’ll make a point of it,’ Gently said. ‘Anywhere else you can think of?’
‘Down in the forest,’ Deeming said. ‘Something might stir there.’
He grinned again, ran fingers through his short brown hair.
‘Like stop fishing,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t help you if I could, screw. You make it a crime for these kids to get a touch out of smoking. That’s Squaresville from Squaresville. It’s no crime east of Suez.’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ Gently said. ‘It’s outside our jurisdiction.’
Wit,’ Deeming said, ‘wit. I like your sense of humour, screw. Big deadpan stuff. I always go for it crazy. But it wasn’t very bright to go hanging Sid up, not because he smokes a little. Sid’s been keeping it pretty cool.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Gently said.
‘Yeah, pretty cool,’ said Deeming. ‘Considering what he used to be and all the action he’s been through. You oughtn’t to jump on a kid like that, you ought to lay on him light. Let him feel he’s being something, don’t sit on his ego. That way he’ll cool some more. But if you push him, he’ll keep flipping his lid. Man, even screws were young once, they ought to remember the way it is.’
‘I can remember,’ Gently said. ‘Though I never stood in one of those.’
‘Yeah, but you could have done,’ Deeming said. ‘That’s the point, you could have done. You’re fighting it out when you’re a kid. You don’t quite see the margins plain. You’ll like as not step over the side and then you’ll wonder why they’re shouting. And all of a sudden you’re getting shot at, you’re a delinquent, you’re branded. Like there isn’t a couple of worlds between a criminal and his neighbour, and when you’re young there’s next to nothing. You could have stood there in that dock.’
‘Say I was lucky.’ Gently said.
Deeming caught him with a smile. ‘Lucky it is,’ he said. ‘You take a point well, screw.’
‘And Bixley’s just misunderstood?’ Gently said.
‘Misunderstood,’ Deeming said. ‘Like you can give that “just” the air, it didn’t sound very bright.’
‘I was working late, this isn’t my morning for being bright,’ Gently said.
‘Wit,’ Deeming said. ‘It sends me. Play Sid for a fine and let him loose.’
Setters came down the aisle for Gently. He didn’t manage to see Deeming sitting there. Deeming grinned, gave a little bow. Setters kept not managing to see him.
‘Bixley next,’ he said to Gently. ‘I’ve had a word with the Bench about it.’
Gently followed him back to the side-stall, took a seat beside Setters and Baynes.
Bixley was called and brought in from some subterranean region. He stalked defiantly into the cage and stood lounging against it. But there was a peakiness about him, he was continually jiffling, moving his hands. He looked sullenly about the court, he saw Deeming. Their eyes met. Mrs Bixley was standing up, but Bixley didn’t look at her.
The preliminaries were gone through and Bixley represented. The Clerk of the Court addressed the magistrate. Gently was called. He gave sparse details of the charge, referring to the episode at Castlebridge; asked the Court for a remand in custody pending further investigation. Bixley’s solicitor rose, made a formal objection. Gently answered it. The remand was granted. It all took exactly five minutes. And during that elapse of time Deeming hadn’t taken his eyes off Bixley.
‘So far, so good,’ Setters said, as they went down the steps from the courtroom. ‘Me, I’m still a bit surprised it’s gone off so quietly. I thought we’d have seen his pals around, but no, only friend Dicky. What was he saying up there that pleased him so much?’
Gently shrugged. ‘He was trying to sell me a line about Bixley.’
‘It’s his aim in life,’ Setters said. ‘He was selling me some last night. I was praying I’d find that dope there all the time we were searching. I don’t live clean, that’s my trouble. But I’d love to see Dicky in the dock.’
He went with Baynes back to the Wolseley which had brought Bixley to the court. Gently returned to his Rover, prepared to follow the police car. When it came out of the side lane he could see Bixley in the back between Baynes and another detective constable. Gently fitted in behind it. They drove out of the square and into Tungate Street.
And in Tungate Street they saw the motorcycles, six, spread out and charging towards them.
From then on it went too fast to make a coherent picture.
Gently braked, nearly hit the Wolseley, and finished up with one wheel on the kerb. Other motorcycles were coming from behind them, they jam-packed the narrow street. Black-clad figures locked machines together and ran shouting towards the Wolseley. A brick crashed through one of its windows. A door was pulled open, a man dragged out. Setters, a flailing fury, came jack-in- a-boxing into the fight. Baynes was struggling in the back with Bixley, he was trying to get some cuffs on to him. Gently launched out of the Rover. He downed a couple of assailants who set on him. As he got to the Wolseley he heard a cry from Baynes and saw Bixley come out holding a bloodied flick-knife. He saw Gently. He came at him. His mouth was dragged down at one corner. His eyes were flinching and small, the brows knotted, twitching. He didn’t say anything. He came at Gently. He held the blade pointing at Gently’s stomach. He lunged. Gently struck down the blade. Then he nearly decapitated Bixley with the side of his hand.
Bixley folded with a choking shriek and the knife went shimmying along the tarmac. Gently kicked it under the
