The Wood Beyond

'But why should that rouse her suspicions? He is in the business, after all.'

'Probably doesn't. Not at first. In fact she might be more worried he'd clock her and start asking questions. So she calms things down, cooperates to get away without any more hassle. But when she gets home she starts thinking. And when she catches on that we're asking questions about whether ANIMA could have been involved in the previous raid at Wanwood which in its turn looked tied into the Redcar raid, bells start buzzing. She mebbe starts asking questions about TecSec, finds they got the contract as a result of that summer raid. It's still a long way even from firm suspicion, but unfortunately for her, Patten's cottoned onto who she is.'

'How?' asked Pascoe.

Dalziel scratched his neck punitively and said, 'Me. First thing I did when I saw her was mention Burrthorpe. Patten were earwigging. He must've known Shufflebottom's background. Not summat he'd keep secret. Perhaps Wendy's face rang a bell with him too. And it wouldn't be difficult to check her maiden name.'

'And he killed her on the off chance she was onto something?' said Pascoe incredulously.

'Why not? Soldier's creed, isn't it? You get 'em in your sights, shoot. You may not have another chance. But mebbe there was more. She must have slept on it and woke up feeling worried whether she had summat or nowt. So she called on Cap Marvell for a chat..'

'But she didn't even like the woman,' protested Pascoe.

'Walker was a bright lass,' said Dalziel. 'She knew there were other ways of looking at things than her own and she wouldn't let likes or dislikes get in the way of doing whatever she set out to do. She'd use anybody or anything she thought might be helpful.'

He means Ellie too, thought Pascoe. Interesting idea. Could it be that it was the aboriginals converting the missionaries after all?

'Ms Marvell told you this?'

'No. I overheard,’ said Dalziel. 'Got nowhere. Cap didn't have the time so they had a row instead. Next Walker goes round to your place

'And gets nowhere again,' said Pascoe. 'But she arranged to see Ellie that night.'

'Yeah, but she wasn't the kind to sit on her thumb all day when there were things she could be doing. Suppose she started nosing round the TecSec office in town, asking questions about Patten, and he found out. Then, being the way he is, he might think, better safe than sorry. And after Rosso, he could have got a taste for traffic accidents.. '

'Rosso?'

That's what you were suggesting, wasn't it? That Rosso became a liability so they knocked him off? Or did you have it down to Act of God?'

'Well, no, but it was just a hypothesis.. look, if any of this is true, it all started because TecSec faked an animal rights raid on FG's plant at Redcar. Why?'

'Think about it,' said Dalziel. 'Suppose there's something another firm's got that you'd like a look at, without them knowing of course. And you talk about this with an old chum in the security business who then meets up with another old acquaintance who just happens to have left the outfit looking after security at the plant his chum's interested in. Suddenly it seems possible. In, out, make it look like animal libbers, wreck a couple of offices, and take some snaps of whatever it is chummy wants. Goes like a dream till Shufflebottom runs into Patten. And that's blown it altogether. I mean, no one's going to believe Des Patten is an animal rights protester! So he gets rid of the problem the only way he knows how. And again with Rosso who's shooting his mouth off when he's pissed. And again with Walker. And mebbe again …'

'. . with Jimmy Howard if he started thinking he knew more than he ought and we had some kind of hold on him. Sir, shouldn't we get over to Wanwood and have a word? If Wieldy's there already and Patten gets the wrong idea..'

'Wieldy can take care of himself. But you're right. Let's go — '

He rose and made for the door.

'Sir, your telephone.. it's on repeat.'

'Oh aye. Switch it off, will you?'

Before he did so, Pascoe looked at the number being printed on the display. It was local. He didn't recognize it but as he reached to press the cancel button the call was answered by a woman's voice saying simply, 'Yes?'

Just one syllable, but he had no difficulty in recognizing Cap Marvell's voice. Which meant that either Dalziel was certain she was in the clear, or that for once he was taking Pascoe's advice.

He went to the door and looked into the corridor. No sign of the Fat Man, just the echo of his voice coming up the stairwell, '.. bloody move on!'

He went back to the phone, pressed the cancel button and hurried out after his great master.

iii

By the time they reached the lab area it was as if Noah's Ark had struck an iceberg. There were terrified animals everywhere and through the open windows a rising gale was hurling blasts of icy air and volleys of horizontal hail. A couple of TecSec men, roused by the alarm, had arrived simultaneously.

'Don't just stand there,' screamed Patten. 'Grab those bloody things!'

'But take care,' admonished Wield. 'You never know what they've got.'

The men, galvanized into activity by their boss's parade-ground bellow, slowed visibly as the implications of Wield's warning struck them.

Patten shot him a furious glance and yelled, 'It's OK. There's nothing communicable, Dr Batty's word on it.'

'Is that right or did you make it up?' asked Wield, the policeman in him reluctantly taking over. If any of the escaped beasts did have a communicable disease, then there could be a serious problem.

'Any that need special precautions when they're handled are kept in there,' said Patten indicating another door. 'And it doesn't look like she's been in.'

Wield tried the handle. It was still locked. Through the glass panel the cages appeared untampered with, though their inmates were setting up a tremendous racket as if in sympathy with their fleeing fellows.

'Well at least she's got some sense,' said Wield.

'More likely the bitch simply doesn't have a key,' snarled Patten. 'Come on, let's find her. Where the hell are you going?'

'To the car park,' said Wield. 'First off, I need to radio this in. And second, unless she's planning to walk all the way back to town, that's where the lass'll be heading too.'

That was the trouble with the army, he thought. Good at doing things, not so good at thinking. Even Jimmy Howard would have worked this one out.

Which reminded him.

'You see anything of Jimmy Howard?' he asked as they hurried out of the building.

'Not since you arrested him. Isn't he still banged up then?'

Funny, thought Wield. Tony Beasley, the TecSec brief, had rung last evening to check that his client was being released as the law required. Perhaps he only communicated with Captain Sanderson.

'No, we had to let him go.'

'Another police cockup then? Done a runner, has he? Don't blame him. Once you lot get your teeth into someone, you'll keep crunching till you draw blood. Jimmy would know that.. there she is. Stop, you fucking bitch!'

Ambler was opening the door of the white Polo. She saw them coming, chucked her holdall onto the passenger seat, scrambled in after it and with a speed which won Wield's admiration got her key in the ignition and started the engine. Even so Patten had moved fast enough to get his hand on the door handle. Ambler banged down the locking pin and accelerated away. The TecSec man ran alongside, letting his grip on the handle tow him to Olympic sprint speed before he had to decide whether to let go or be dragged. He let go, but kept on running, shouting something over his shoulder. The wild wind whipped his words away, but Wield caught, '.. gates…' Presumably he meant the two security gates across the drive completing the boundaries of the cordon sanitaire. If these had been closed, they could still overtake the woman. Reluctantly he broke into a jog. He was still, thank God, wearing his light topcoat, but it didn't feel like it was going to offer any long-term protection. He wasn't motivated by any burning desire to arrest Ambler, but it didn't seem a good idea to leave the task to Patten, not the way he was acting.