‘I’d forgotten that.’
‘All I’m saying is, be a bit careful, yeah? This isn’t handbags on the pitch with Mario Balotelli, boss. You’re up against someone with a very murky past. I watched that Panorama special on Viktor. He’s got more skeletons in his fucking cupboard than the Museum of Cairo. So, promise me you won’t accuse him or anything daft like that, not without speaking to me first, eh?’
‘Fortunately all the evidence is very circumstantial,’ I said. ‘So unless I find some real hard evidence I’m not about to do anything crazy.’ I shrugged. ‘But the fact is, I’m still going to have to consider my position here.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘I mean that if I do finally conclude that the person who killed João Zarco was the proprietor of this club then I can hardly remain here working for him. That would be impossible. Quite apart from anything else I’d always wonder if the reason I got the job was to keep me on side. But the fact is, I loved Zarco. I might not be able to tell the police about it but I couldn’t be around someone who’d killed Zarco, or had him killed. You do see that, don’t you? It would be a betrayal of my friendship for Zarco. He may not always have been entirely honest but he was always a good mate to me. And that’s what counts, Maurice.’
‘Would he have done the same for you? I don’t know.’
‘It’s what I think that matters, Maurice. It’s my bloody conscience that’s affected here, not Zarco’s. When I was in the nick I read Dante’s Inferno. Being in a hell like Wandsworth it seemed appropriate. Dante places Brutus and Cassius in the worst part of hell because they chose to betray their friend, Julius Caesar, rather than their country. I feel much the same way about Zarco.’
‘All right, I get that. But how will you decide? If Viktor’s guilty?’
‘I don’t know. I suppose I’ll keep my ears and eyes open for some clue as to his guilt or innocence. And then, when I’ve thought about it for a while, I’ll make my decision. To leave this club, or to stay.’ I shrugged. ‘That’s something real I can do. There won’t be a big reveal in the fucking dining car or the library when I’ve decided what really happened. I’ll just resign. Simple as that.’
39
A little later on, Detective Inspector Considine appeared in my office doorway. She was wearing a black coat and a little black dress. She had very bright red lipstick for a policewoman and she looked smiley and nice.
‘I’m beginning to feel like the bad penny,’ she said. ‘Always turning up.’
‘You know, I’ve never really understood what that means.’
‘I suppose you’d have to understand the value of a penny, first. And it strikes me that you don’t. Haven’t done for a long while. Not with a flat like that in Manresa Road.’
I smiled. ‘You like my flat, don’t you?’
‘Who wouldn’t? It makes my own flat look like a broom cupboard.’
‘Drop by sometime and I’ll make you another coffee.’
‘I’d like that. Listen, there are two reasons for my being here now. One is to apologise for yesterday; I’m afraid I was rather abrupt in the way I told you that Matt Drennan’s friend had raped Miss Fehmiu. That must have come as quite a shock to you. Not to mention your friend’s part in covering it all up. I’m sorry about that. Really I am. I was only doing my duty in telling you, but—’
‘Forget about it. Like you say, you were only doing your job.’
‘Honestly? I could have handled it better.’
‘Apology accepted. And the other reason?’
‘You’re going to hate me.’
‘No, I’m not.’
‘Another equally unpleasant duty, I’m afraid. Only this time I’m going to do my utmost to handle it with more sensitivity.’
‘Which is?’
‘Maybe you don’t remember, but you volunteered to identify Mr Zarco’s body.’
‘Oh Christ, yes, I did, didn’t I?’
‘I’m sure you can think of a hundred things you’d rather do this afternoon. But it is important. A legal requirement. Fortunately, his body isn’t so very far away from here, in East Ham, so I can drive you there myself. Now, if it’s convenient. Later, if it’s not.’
I glanced at my watch. ‘Now is good, as it happens.’
‘All right then. Let’s go.’
She made a quick call to the mortuary to let them know we were on our way. Every time I saw her I liked her a little bit more. Maybe it was because she was posh; I like posh, good-looking birds. But mostly it was because she was clever. I followed her outside to a black Audi TT and got in. A minute or so later we were heading north away from the dock and up East Ham High Street.
‘All I really know about you is that you studied law,’ I said. ‘Did you ever want to be a lawyer? Or did you just watch too many episodes of Inspector Morse?’
‘Actually I really wanted to be a vet, but I abandoned that idea because I used to faint at the sight of blood. I’m still pretty squeamish sometimes.’
‘Forgive me, but a career in the police doesn’t seem like an obvious alternative. Especially under the present circumstances.’
‘True. Most of the time I’m okay with these things. And I absolutely adore working in the police. It’s just now and then that something makes me feel a bit dodgy. I’ve got several strategies for dealing with it. Bodies, I mean. What about you? Will you be all right with this? With seeing Mr Zarco’s body?’
‘I’ll let you know when I see him.’
‘What, you mean you’ve never seen a body before?’
‘You make it sound like I should have done. I’m only forty, for Christ’s sake. My parents are still alive and so are my grandparents.’
‘Oh, I see. I thought when you volunteered it had to be because you were cool with this kind of thing.’
‘I volunteered because I hoped to spare his wife, and because I’ve known him longer than she has. But I’m not in the least bit cool about it, Miss Considine. In fact, you might tell me one of your strategies for dealing with your squeamishness, just in case I go wobbly on you.’
‘It’s just a bottle of smelling salts. Sal volatile. I keep some in my handbag. I know it sounds a bit old-fashioned of me but it’s actually quite scientific, you know. They give it to weightlifters before they compete in the Olympics because the ammonia triggers an inhalation reflex and activates the sympathetic nervous system; and this elevates the heart rate, blood pressure and brain activity, thus counteracting the faint. Before I see a body I just take a whiff of the stuff and I’m usually fine. Now it’s just another tool in my forensic kit.’
‘Well, if I keel over don’t forget to loosen my clothing, will you? I’m a bit old-fashioned myself. Besides, I like to wake up with a smile on my face.
‘You’re very funny, do you know that?’
‘I’m glad you think so.’
When we got nearer the East Ham Mortuary, she pointed left and said, ‘I think West Ham Football Ground is about half a mile that way, on the Barking Road.’