‘Valuable in what way, ma’am?’ Banks asked.
‘I’ve told you, less of the ma’am. We can be informal in here.’
‘Valuable in what way?’
Gervaise deferred to Inspector Passero. ‘Joanna?’
Joanna Passero held Banks’s gaze as she leaned forward and set her coffee mug down on the table. There was a pink lipstick stain on the rim. Banks realised that he was being outflanked by two strong women, one above him in rank, and the other with a cool demeanour and any number of little feminine wiles up her sleeve. He also realised that there was probably nothing he could do about any of it. Once Gervaise’s mind was made up, that was it, and she had the backing of ACC McLaughlin and the Chief Constable. This meeting was a mere formality, a courtesy, perhaps. Banks wasn’t going to get Joanna Passero sent back to Newby Wiske or Thames Valley, no matter how much he might try. About the only thing he could hope to get out of this meeting was to escape with his dignity intact and maybe gain a few minor concessions. But he wasn’t going to give up without a struggle. He listened as Joanna Passero spoke in her lilting Edinburgh accent.
‘I’m sure you’ll agree with me,’ she began, ‘that in the light of the compromising photographs you found in DI Quinn’s possession, implicating him in the possible corruption of a minor, not to say grave dereliction of duty, this investigation goes somewhat beyond the norm.’
‘There’s no evidence that the girl was a minor.’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’ She gave an impatient twitch of her head. ‘Look at her. Just look at her.’
‘It’s possible that DI Quinn was being blackmailed because of those pictures,’ Banks said. ‘It’s also possible that he was set up.’
‘In what way?’
‘If you look at the way he’s lying in that bedroom photo, you can see he seems quite out of it. Maybe he was drugged?’
‘Or drunk.’
‘Possibly. But—’
‘He didn’t appear drugged in the bar, or in the restaurant. In fact, he seemed to be very much enjoying himself.’
‘And where’s the law against having a drink or a meal with an attractive young woman? If he was drugged, have you considered that the restaurant or the bar may well have been where the drug was administered? In his drink or his food? She may even have been as much a victim as he was. We just don’t know. This is all a bit premature, in my opinion.’
‘There’s no point you two arguing back and forth about this,’ Gervaise said, glancing first at Banks. ‘Alan, you have to admit that the whole business is extremely fishy. The photos, the murder method, everything. You said yourself that you think DI Quinn might have been blackmailed because of the girl.’
‘But we’re just starting out on our investigation,’ Banks argued. ‘We don’t really know anything yet. These are just theories.’
‘That’s why I want Joanna in right at the beginning.’
‘To do what?’
‘My job,’ said Joanna. ‘What do you think? I’m happy to tag along and observe and ask what questions I think necessary. Believe me, DCI Banks, I have no intention of getting in the way of this investigation, or of slowing it down in any way. I want the same as you. A result. I also want to know if there is any hint of wrongdoing on the part of the police. Is that so unreasonable?’
‘Not when you put it like that. But this is already a complex investigation, and I don’t want to be in the position of having to describe or explain my every move and decision to someone else. I also don’t want someone looking over my shoulder and judging my methods all the time.’
Banks didn’t think he had anything to fear from Professional Standards. Whatever his methods, whatever corners he cut and instincts he followed, he stayed within the boundaries of the law. Usually. He noticed once again the intelligent pale green eyes, the expensive blonde hair, the freckles, straight nose, full lips lightly brushed with pink lipstick. She held his gaze without flinching. She would probably be formidable in an interview room, or at a poker table.
‘I understand that,’ said Joanna, picking up her coffee again, flicking him a Princess Di upwards glance, ‘and I can only repeat that I have no intention of slowing things down, or of looking over your shoulder. I know all about your methods, DCI Banks. They’re legendary at County HQ. But you’re not my brief. DI William Quinn is.’
‘But you will slow things down, whether you intend to or not. Your presence will affect my whole team.’
‘I can only repeat: neither you nor your team is my brief.’ She paused and shot him a cool glance. ‘Why? What have you all got to hide?’
‘Oh, come off it. You know perfectly well what I mean. When the taxman calls, you don’t expect it’s about a rebate, do you? We’re working at cross purposes here. I’m after the person who murdered Bill Quinn. Period. You want the dirt on Quinn. You’ll be trying to prove him corrupt or perverted, or both. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be, or that his reputation doesn’t deserve to be trashed if you find evidence he was bent. I have no more tolerance for bent coppers than you have. But as yet, there’s no evidence that Bill Quinn was crooked, and plenty that he was murdered. We’re not searching for the same thing at all.’
‘I had hoped you would be more understanding, Alan,’ Gervaise chipped in. ‘Quite frankly, I’m disappointed in you. I realise that some of your arguments are not without merit, but no matter what you say, you will do this. There’s no point in getting off on the wrong foot. This thing is going to happen. I say it’s going to happen. ACC McLaughlin says it’s going to happen. The Chief Constable says it’s going to happen. The purpose of calling this little tête-a-tête right here and now was to see that it happens in the spirit of cooperation and amicability. Is that too much to ask? If Bill Quinn were alive, and you found what you found hidden in that book in his room, with all its implications, what do you think would happen then?’
‘I presume there would be an investigation by Professional Standards, probably in the form of Inspector Passero here. But that’s not the case. Bill Quinn was murdered. That changes things. Please excuse me if I sound dismissive, but that makes it a fully fledged murder investigation, not a hunt for a bent copper.’
‘But it’s both,’ argued Joanna. ‘And they may be connected. Can’t you see that?’
‘Right at the moment, all I can see is that the murder investigation takes precedence, and I want everyone on my team to have some expertise in that particular area. Have you ever been involved in a murder investigation before, Inspector Passero?’
‘I don’t see how that’s relevant.’ Joanna paused, licked her lips and inclined her head slowly. Her voice softened. ‘Of course, I understand what you’re saying,’ she went on. ‘Don’t think for a moment that I don’t know what you all think of Professional Standards. I’ve heard all the insults you could possibly imagine, and more. Aren’t we the “rat squad”, which you called me just a few minutes ago? It’s not very nice or polite, but I can live with it. Like you, we have a job to do, and it’s an important job, even if it is an unpopular one. In this case, we have a murdered detective who may or may not have been having sex with an underage girl, but who most certainly had in his possession proof that he was sexually involved with someone other than his wife. And that proof, as you have already pointed out yourself, suggests that he was subject to blackmail. Whether he paid this blackmailer in cash or in inside information, it makes no difference. We’re talking about possible police corruption here, and what one man does taints us all.’ She glanced at AC Gervaise, and Banks noticed Gervaise give an almost imperceptible nod. ‘There’s been rumours, as you probably know,’ Joanna went on. ‘Rumours of corruption, of a “bent copper”, as you call it. Now this. No smoke without fire, I say.’