Craigh went over the reliable tip-off syndrome and was interrupted by the Chief. ‘You call Eddie Radford reliable?’
Craigh coughed and pulled at his collar. ‘Well, we got a phone call with the information that a certain amount of weapons belonging to Radford were being held at the Grange Manor House.’
The Chief slapped the reports. ‘I can read, Detective Chief Inspector, but what I am reading into all this has a slightly different slant from what you’re trying to bullshit me with.’
Craigh sat back in his chair. He didn’t look up, he could hear the flick, flick of the pages as the Chief went through one file after another, and then slapped the top one.
‘You want to tell me about DS Mike Withey?’
Craigh loosened his tie. He had tried to cover for Mike, but it was pointless now.
‘I am referring to the fact that his sister, a Shirley Ann Miller, was shot in the armed raid that you and your team have been trying to...’
‘Sir, I have to say that at the outset of my investigation I was unaware that Withey had any personal grievances against Mrs Rawlins. But that said—’
‘That said, Detective Chief Inspector, Rawlins was never accused of having any part in that robbery. She was never accused because there was never any evidence to connect her with it. She was charged with the manslaughter of her husband, not the diamond robbery.’
‘Yes, I know, sir, but—’
‘But I am suggesting that your DS, because of his personal motivation—’
‘He believed that Rawlins did, in fact, have something to do with it, sir.’
‘Her husband might have, before she shot him, but dead men can’t talk.’
‘Nor can dead girls,’ interjected Craigh.
The flick, flick of the stack of files and reports continued for at least three minutes before the Chief spoke again. ‘There is still not one shred of evidence to link Dorothy Rawlins to that robbery, and it’s clearly written here and verified by not one but six members of the social services that she was actually being interviewed by them at the time of this man Donaldson’s unfortunate accident.’
Craigh looked at his Super, who remained stony-faced with his head bent low, refusing to look at Craigh.
‘When questioned about Donaldson, Mrs Rawlins agreed that she had made contact with him. She also agreed that he was holding certain items for her to collect on her release from Holloway prison, and I quote, “Mr Donaldson was keeping two Victorian garden gnomes for me. They had been in the garden at my house in Totteridge.”’
‘That really is bullshit, sir.’
The Chief looked hard at Craigh. ‘So is most of this, but we take very seriously Mrs Rawlins’s allegations of police harassment, and we also have to take seriously her claim for ten thousand pounds’ worth of damages done to her property.’
Craigh knew that had been at the bottom of it all, the bloody claim for damages.
‘I would now like to interview DI John Palmer. Thank you for your time, Detective Chief Inspector. That, along with a lot of money, has been wasted. I have also been discussing a backlog of work in your division that should by rights have taken priority over this entire Rawlins situation.’
Craigh stood up and shoved the knot of his tie up to throttling position. ‘Yes, sir.’
Palmer took one look at Craigh’s face as he walked out and hissed out his breath. ‘Bad, huh?’
Craigh nodded. ‘Look, it’s no good trying to cover for that prat Withey. I’m not carrying the can for this, so don’t you. They know all about his sister so just tell the truth.’
Palmer would have liked to talk further but he was asked to enter the boardroom by a WPC who had been taking notes throughout.
Craigh looked around. ‘Where is he? Has he come in yet?’
Palmer paused at the door for a moment. ‘He walked in about ten minutes ago, said he’d been sick.’
Craigh knew that Mike would be sick all right when they finished with him and he knew what the outcome of the internal enquiry would be: that one or other of them would be just that. Finished. He just hoped to Christ it wasn’t going to be him.
Half an hour later, Palmer left the boardroom. He looked even worse than Craigh had when he walked out, and he just hoped he’d not screwed himself. Mike was sitting with a plastic beaker of coffee in his hand. ‘How did it go?’
Palmer gave a wry look. He went closer before saying quietly, They don’t know about the diamonds, seems the big gripe is about Donaldson and that ruddy ten-grand claim Rawlins’s lawyer put in.’
Mike exhaled and then swallowed. ‘What did they ask you?’
‘A lot. But, Mike, they know about your sister, I mean, I never said anything, they knew before I went in. I know the Gov wouldn’t have told them so you—’
Palmer was interrupted as the female officer stepped into the room and asked for Mike. Palmer watched him follow her like a doomed man. He took off to find Craigh and compare notes.
Mike knew it was going to be heavy but he had not anticipated the icy anger of the Chief. He knew he could be up for suspension but he hadn’t bargained for the fine and return to uniform for a year. That had taken the wind right out of him. No way would he be back with the hard hat — not after all he’d been through. Even the job at the security company was better than that, and probably better paid too.
‘You have abused your position as a police officer. You have used personal grievances to instigate a full-scale investigation of Mrs Dorothy Rawlins without disclosing to your superior officer your personal motives.’
Mike remained with his head bowed as the cold voice continued that he had not disclosed on his original papers that his sister had been married to a known criminal and had taken part in and been shot during an armed robbery. He interrupted, ‘She was dead, sir. I didn’t think there was any reason to put that—’
He was silenced by a wave of the Chief’s hand. There was every reason and you know it, so don’t try and be cheeky. If we had been privy to this information, it would obviously have been taken into consideration by DCI Craigh and it would have been his decision either to go ahead with the investigation without you or decide not to, whatever the case may be.’
Mike licked his lips. ‘I’m sorry, sir, but I feel I should mention that both DCI Craigh and DI Palmer acted with the utmost professionalism throughout, and I apologize for misinforming them and for not filling in the required data on my application to join the force.’
The Chief nodded. ‘You were accepted because of your exemplary army record, noted in the letters from your commanding officers. You are a highly intelligent and dedicated officer. I do not wish to lose you but at the same time action must be taken.’
Mike looked at his hands and then straightened his shoulders. He resigned there and then, and felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. What his wife would think about it, what he would do, he couldn’t give much thought to. He just wanted to get out, have a drink and go home. They had not discovered his part in the switching of the stones or the part his mother had played, and right then he didn’t even want to get her by the throat and throttle her. He might later. All he wanted was to get out of the room and have a few drinks. He needed to get drunk.
Both Palmer and Craigh were waiting and they seemed really twitchy. It was Mike who smiled, lifting his arms wide in a big open-handed shrug. ‘Well, one of us had to go and it was my decision. I’ve resigned, so how about a drink?’
Craigh banged him on the shoulder, unable to hide his relief. ‘Maybe you should think about it. I mean, they didn’t ask you to leave, did they? It wasn’t the big heave-ho?’