The typewritten notice pinned on Skinner’s office door read DCI SKINNER. ROOM 12, with an arrow pointing down the corridor. Frost poked his head inside. It was empty of furniture and a white-overalled workman was splashing paint on the walls. He looked up at Frost.
‘You the gentleman from next door, squire?’
‘First time I’ve been called a gentleman,’ said Frost, ‘but yes.’
‘We’ll be starting on your office next week. Understand you’re leaving?’
‘In my own bloody time,’ snapped Frost, slamming the door. Bloody Skinner, ordering the coffin while the corpse was still phoning for an ambulance.
Room 12’s door had a pinned notice: DCI SKINNER – KNOCK AND WAIT. Frost barged straight in.
Skinner sat behind a paper-laden desk in a tiny room jam-packed with furniture from his office. He glowered at Frost. Standing in front of him was WPC Kate Holby. She was biting her lip hard and looked on the verge of tears.
‘I didn’t hear you knock.’
‘Ah – that’s why I didn’t hear you say “Come in”,’ said Frost.
Another scowl from Skinner. He turned to Kate. ‘Now get out. You’ll hear more about this.’
She brushed past Frost and left.
Skinner leant back in his chair. ‘I’ll give that girl something to cry about. If she can’t obey orders, she’s out. I gave her a specific job to do and I find her out on surveillance at the Blue Parrot.’
‘I ordered her to do that,’ said Frost.
‘I don’t care a sod about you. She obeys my orders, not yours. She’s on probation. I’ve got to do a report on her suitability Well, I’m reporting that she’s unsuitable and that will be that.’
‘Even you wouldn’t do that,’ said Frost.
A nasty grin crawled over Skinner’s face. ‘Wouldn’t I just?’
‘You wouldn’t,’ said Frost as he sat down, ‘any more than I would report you for having sex with an under-age prostitute and bringing her to the station. I wouldn’t stoop so low – unless I had to, of course.’
The colour drained from Skinner’s face. ‘Under age?’ he croaked.
Frost nodded. ‘Fifteen this year.’ He had no idea how old she was, but Morgan had taken her home last night so he knew where she lived, and he’d get her to lie if necessary.
Skinner was trying to pull himself together. He gathered up the papers on his desk and patted them into a neat stack. ‘You’re too bleeding clever for your own good,’ he muttered.
‘Thank you,’ said Frost. ‘Praise from you is praise indeed. What did you want to see me about?’
Skinner waved a hand at the papers on his desk. ‘You know what these are? Overtime claims… unauthorised overtime claims. I’m the one who authorises overtime, Frost, not you.’
‘Superintendent Mullett – ’ began Frost.
‘And not Superintendent bleeding Mullett – you take your orders from me, not him. What did that Irish tart say about the phone?’
Frost told him.
Skinner snorted. ‘She took it from the girl’s locker? Just what I thought.’
‘Mrs Clark said Debbie had it the night she was killed.’
‘Then she’s wrong. It can’t have been in two bloody places at once, can it? The kid probably left it at school by mistake and lied to her mother. You’re wasting everyone’s time following that line of inquiry, so drop it. Bridget Malone is a petty, bog-paper-nicking thief, not a murderer, and Patsy Kelly’s a drug-dealer – I’m letting the drug squad deal with him. I’ve phoned the school. They don’t want to prosecute the woman, so that’s that.’
His phone rang. ‘Skinner.’ He pulled the hand set away from his ear as a stream of invective poured out. ‘Mr Beazley, my name is Detective Chief Inspector Skinner. I think we have a mutual friend.. . yes, he’s the one. Up to now this whole thing has been a complete mess. I’m going to kick arse to make sure it’s dealt with as it should be. You have my word on that, Mr Beazley, you have my word.’ He hung up and rubbed his ear. ‘More bloody money was taken last night while you were gallivanting around picking up a bog-paper nicker. I want Beazley off my flaming back, so do a proper surveillance for a change tonight and catch the sod… Comprende?
‘Arrivederci,’ said Frost.
Skinner stared at him, wondering as usual whether Frost was taking the mickey or was just plain stupid. A noise from his old office distracted him. ‘How’s that lazy sod next door getting on?’
‘What, Superintendent Mullett?’ asked Frost innocently.
‘You know damn well who I mean. And he’s doing your office next week, ready for your successor. Have you sold your house yet?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Then get a bloody move on. You start at Lexton the week after next.’
As Frost got up to go, Skinner suddenly remembered. ‘Where’s the change from my twenty quid?’
‘I gave it to your granddaughter,’ said Frost. ‘The under-age one.’
Back in his office, he sat and smoked, staring at the nicotine-stained ceiling. The thought that he would have to give this up and move to some sterile cupboard in Lexton added to his depressed mood. He hated to admit it, but Skinner was right about Kelly and Malone. Villains, yes; drug-dealers and petty thieves, yes; but killers and torturers of kids, no. So, with them off the suspects list they now had to try and trace the woman who was making the phone calls to Sandy Lane about the video.
He made his way over to the Incident Room to see if they were having any luck with the registration numbers of the few cars that had been in the vicinity at around the time the woman made the call.
Kate Holby was sitting at the corner desk with stacks of box files around her, transferring the contents to the computer. It was a boring, seemingly never-ending job. She looked as depressed as he felt. He wandered over to her. She looked up and gave him a weak smile.
‘I’ve just had a word with Skinner, love. He won’t be doing an adverse report on you.’
Her face brightened. ‘Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.’
‘Don’t thank me, love,’ said Frost. ‘I just pointed out one or two things to him and, living saint that he is, he realised he’d made a mistake.’
He moved across the room to Collier, who had the phone to his ear and was scribbling some thing down on a sheet of paper.
‘What are you doing, son?’ asked Frost when the call finished.
‘Jordan and Simms are out checking on the cars that were in the vicinity last night when the phone call was made. All vehicles cleared so far.’ He waved the A4 sheet at Frost. It was a list of registration numbers, ticked and marked when the owners had been traced and called on.
One registration number wasn’t ticked. Frost jabbed it with his finger. ‘What about this one?’
‘That’s a lorry Inspector. You said check only cars.’
Frost stared at the number. A little bell started ringing deep in the dark depths of his memory Where had he seen that registration number before? It was on a list. It was definitely on a list of some sort. ‘Check it out, son.’
He waited while Collier tapped away at the computer. A name flashed up on the monitor. ‘Registered to Kenneth Taylor, Denton Farm Produce Ltd.’
Frost shook his head. It still didn’t mean anything. ‘By the way, we’re back on surveillance duty at the Fortress cashpoints tonight. After midnight this time. Skinner has promised Beazley that he is going to crack this case personally, and we mustn’t let our Chief Inspector down, must we?’
As Frost returned to his office, DC Morgan hastily stuffed the Daily Mirror in a drawer and pretended to be busily filling in forms.
‘We’re back on cashpoint surveillance again tonight, Taff, so it will give your dick a rest.’
Morgan grinned. ‘I’ve got details of the cars picked up on CCTV around the time the money was taken from Fortress last night. No common factor.’