technically committed a crime.
Surely we have to do
“I think you’ll find that in this matter the law is very much concerned with any criminal offense he might have committed, or lack of one, and I can’t think of any.”
“We’ll leave that to the CPS.”
“Hmph. Do you know how much pressure I’ve had from above to drop this? About the only one who hasn’t been on my back is ACC
McLaughlin, and that’s only because he has no particular liking for the secret intelligence services. But the chief constable is adamant. I don’t want this on my plate. Bring in Wyman, by all means. Have a chat with him. And if he admits anything that supports your theories, send the file to the CPS and see what they come up with. Just you and DCI Banks make damn sure that there’s no room here for things to go pear-shaped.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Annie, draining her glass and standing up before Gervaise changed her mind. “I’ll do that.”
“Where
“He’s finishing his holiday at home,” said Annie.
“Things not work out in London?”
“I suppose not.”
“Well, let’s hope they improve. The last thing I want is a lovesick DCI moping about the station. Go on, then. Get to it. I’ve got to get back to my herbaceous border before Keith and the kids get back from the cricket match and want their dinner.”
“ T H I S I S a bloody godforsaken hole you’ve chosen for a meeting place,” said Burgess as they walked around the scenic footpath.
“It’s supposed to be a spot of great natural beauty,” said Banks.
“You know me. I’m a city boy at heart. I have to tell you, though, Banksy, Dewsbury is a boil on the arse of the universe.”
“It’s got a nice town hall. Same architect who designed Leeds, I think. Cuthbert Broderick. Or Broderick Cuthbert.”
“Bugger the bloody town hall. It’s the mosques that interest me.”
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P E T E R R O B I N S O N
“That’s why you’re up there?”
“Why else?” He sighed. “It just gets worse, doesn’t it?”
“So what’s the answer?” Banks asked.
“You tell me. I’ve been up in Dewsbury for a couple of weeks or so investigating various terrorism-related matters, and now we know that two of the young lads involved in planning yesterday’s bombing live there. They’re all homegrown these days. We don’t need to import our terrorists anymore.”
“Don’t feel so bad. They could have sent you to Leicester.”
“Not much in it, if you ask me. Anyway, for what good it’ll do, we’re searching for a garage, a lockup somewhere out of the way. Obviously to rig up the car and driver the way they did, they had to have a secure place, out of the public eye. Could be Dewsbury.”
“Leicester’s closer to London,” said Banks.
“What I said, but did they listen?”
“And why not use London as a starting point?”
“It’s not the way they do things. It’s their policy to use cells. Net-works. Contract out. You can’t centralize an operation like that. Too many risks involved. Besides, we’ve got London sewn up tighter than a gnat’s arsehole.”
“I’d say there were plenty of risks involved in driving a car full of explosives down the M1 from Dewsbury to London,” said Banks. “Or even from Leicester. Haven’t you ever seen
“Great film. But they use much more stable stuff these days, for crying out loud. It was hardly nitroglycerin.”
“Even so,” Banks said
Burgess kicked a stone off the path. “Can you imagine it, though?
Some bastard driving a car full of explosives two hundred miles or more knowing he’s going to die at the end of it.”
“Same as those terrorists on the planes that f lew into the twin towers. It’s what they’re trained for.”
“Oh, I know all about their training, Banksy, but it still boggles my imagination. Twenty-two years old, the kid who did it. Bright lad, by all accounts. From Birmingham. Islamic Studies degree from Keele.
Anyway, he’s wearing an explosive suit wired to a bootful of explosives and he drives two hundred miles to his appointed destination, A L L T H E C O L O R S O F D A R K N E S S
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where he promptly presses the button. The score’s forty virgins for him, forty-six dead, fifty-eight injured, some seriously, and seventy-three orphans for London.” Burgess paused. “I counted. Do you know, when they raided one
