Pascoe did not doubt that Shorter could stand up to all this, or rather that the man would imagine he had stood up to it all. But Dalziel would know this too. He would merely be probing for weaknesses at this stage, not expecting a quick breach.
Why the Superintendent was interesting himself so closely in this relatively minor case when there were more important matters, including a murder, on hand, Pascoe did not know. Perhaps he owed Burkill a favour. He seemed to think highly of the man. One thing was certain – he'd have a good reason.
At three o'clock, Colbridge rang back.
Pascoe had not expected a reply till the following morning at the earliest, but Colbridge obviously saw this as a chance to keep his provincial friends in due awe of metropolitan efficiency.
'Haggard was dead easy. The pubs round Whitehall are full of gossipy, old, disappointed civil servants who'd tell you anything for a sympathetic ear and a gin and tonic.'
'I'm sure,' said Pascoe.
'According to my source, Haggard was bent in every sense. Little black boys were his downfall in the West Indies, so they shipped him out. They don't object to that kind of thing in the Diplomatic as long as you don't do it on the Queen's Birthday. But Austria was different. When the Hungarians started coming across the border in 'fifty- six, Haggard seems to have set himself up as a private travel agency. It's pretty clear he'd been in a lot of fiddles before this – Vienna was still a pretty hairy place in those days – but he went too far this time. Again, no drama. They know how to look after their own! Just the invitation to resign. That any good to you?'
'Thank you,' said Pascoe. 'It's confirmation. What about the other business?'
'Hang on. I got one of my lads to check that. Here we are. Yes, a fellow called Toms was a guest at the Candida that Friday night. Yes, he rang Harrogate. You want details?'
'If you've got them.'
Evidently the number called plus time and duration of the call were all on the bill. Pascoe noted them down, listened to a short digression on the extortionate charges these hotels made for phone calls and was about to give his thanks and ring off when Colbridge said, 'Are you interested in his other calls?'
'Other?'
'Yes. You just asked about the one to Harrogate, but after that he made three other calls, all to your part of the world.'
'Might as well have them,' said Pascoe with affected indifference.
They were all local numbers. None of them meant anything to Pascoe but he suspected they were going to. And with the second of these there came an extra bit of information, coaxed from the hotel switchboard girl (besides being efficient, the bastards want us to know they're sexy too! thought Pascoe). The call had been put through, the telephone lifted at the other end, then everything had gone dead and subsequent enquiries through the exchange had merely produced the reply that the line was out of order.
'Toms made a lot of fuss, that's why they remembered. Probably that's why they charged the poor sod for it too. One second, no conversation, you know what they charged? Go on. Guess.'
Pascoe guessed and finally, full of excitement, got the phone down. Quickly he checked the numbers with the local exchange.
The Harrogate one was Penelope Latimer's. The other three in order of phoning belonged to Godfrey Blengdale, Gilbert Haggard and Maurice Arany.
'Well, well, well,' said Pascoe.
When Dalziel walked into his office ten minutes later, he was still examining the implications of what he'd got.
'Nice of you to drop in,' said Dalziel. 'Thought you might spend the day wandering round on other people's patches.'
So there'd been something in Crabtree's warning.
'I've been back since the middle of the morning,' protested Pascoe.
'Have you now? If I'd known, you could have helped me with this mate of yours. God, he's a hard nut.'
'Have you charged him?' asked Pascoe.
'Not yet. I just thought the time was ripe to have him in.'
'Ripe?'
'Well, first the bugger went back to work, so he couldn't play sick any more. And I didn't have that wife of his on my back when I picked him up at the surgery. Though she found out quick enough.'
'Has Mrs Shorter been here?' asked Pascoe.
'Too bloody true,' said Dalziel. 'I can't abide hysterical women. Wanted to know what right I had to arrest her man. I told her I had more than a right, I had a duty. That shut her up.'
'Duty?' said Pascoe.
'Like any right-thinking man,' said Dalziel ponderously. 'These buggers need sorting out.'
'But you said you hadn't charged him.'
'Not yet, but I will. I reckon we've got enough now, though,' he added wistfully, 'an admission's always nice for tying things up.'
'Enough?'
'Oh aye. There's the girl. She'll not be budged. Then there's her friend, Marilyn. Detailed observation there, and when it comes to sex, she knows what she's talking about. Then there's that lot at the surgery.'
'Who do you mean?'
Dalziel laughed meaningfully.
'His friends and colleagues, people he'd expect to rely on as character witnesses. Some help they'll give! Old MacCrystal doesn't want to know. Washes. his hands of the fellow. La Lacewing reckons he's capable of anything. I think he probably tried his charms on her when she arrived. Well, she's a good-looking lass, that's what's behind these half-baked ideas of hers. What she wants is a month with a squint and buck-teeth, that'd soon put her right. Any road, put either of these in the box, and he'd be lucky to escape lynching.'
'But his nurse. Alison Parfitt.'
'Oh yes. I read that statement carefully. Then when I went to the surgery this morning, I had a chat with her myself. That's what made me decide I was right to bring him in.'
'But surely her testimony will favour Shorter. A bit biased, perhaps…'
'Biased! Bloody right it's biased! All the weight on one side and that's her backside. He's been screwing the arse off her this twelvemonth, you knew that?'
'You're sure?' said Pascoe, knowing full well Dalziel must be sure. Bitterly he recalled Shorter's man-to-man totally convincing denial. 'I did wonder, but…'
'I did more than wonder, I found out. You know what it's like round here. If you do it in ditches wearing a hood, you might just about keep it quiet for a week. But once you start having the cocktails before or the little dinner afterwards, you soon get spotted. She didn't deny it long, they never do if you press 'em. That's what they all want, these fancy women. To be found out. Get it in the open. It's their only hope if you look at it right. So no one'll pay much heed to any testimonial she gives.'
'But her evidence about time?'
'Vague,' said Dalziel. 'Only significant date is the day Sandra says the deed took place. Remember, Alison went off to pick up some X-ray plates? Well, she had to sign for them, with a note of the time. Twelve-fifteen she got 'em, and it's a good quarter of an hour from the surgery. Sandra had a double appointment that day. Tricky job, said Shorter. No doubt, said I. So tricky you send your nurse off. That shut him up. Well, I suppose I'd best go and finish him off. I've wasted too much time on this as it is. What about you? What have you been wasting your time on?'
Quickly Pascoe gave an outline of his own investigations.
'If I take you right, lad, you're now thinking there's a link between Homeric and this affair at the Calli?'
'There's certainly a link,' said Pascoe. 'The phone calls did take place. It's whether it's a significant or coincidental link that needs to be decided.'
Dalziel looked at him in mock surprise at this bold affirmation.
'All right. Let's take it step by step. Toms rings Latimer to explain why he's not back in Yorkshire as promised. You reckon she mentioned your interest in that film, right? He rings off, then gets on to Blengdale. Why?'
