‘Did you look at the knot?’
‘The knot?’
‘That’s what I said.’
‘I’m trying to remember. You’d better help me.’
‘He used a slip knot. That’s of interest because it wasn’t a slip knot in the first incident. The woman was suspended from a loop with a fixed knot. You got the characteristic mark on the neck rising to a peak at the knot. That was why it was apparent that she’d been strangled previously with a ligature.’
‘Two sets of marks.’
‘Exactly. Hold on. I think someone is coming to this table.’
Diamond found himself listening to a commentary on movements in the coffee shop.
‘No, they’re going past. They’ve seen me using the mobile. Wait, they’re coming back, I think. It’s all right, they just wanted to borrow a chair. Do you know what I mean by a slip knot? It’s a running noose, as distinct from a fixed one. When a slip knot is used, and the cord takes the weight of the body, the noose tightens. The ligature mark is different. It runs right round the neck. Follow me?’
‘Because there’s no slack?’
‘Correct.’
‘Why would he use a different knot the second time?’
‘This is where the pathologist shuts up and lets the detective take over. Our job isn’t to answer questions like that. We report what we find. Bertram Sealy has done that.’
Diamond closed his eyes, concentrating hard. He knew Jim Middleton was hinting at something without wanting to compromise a professional colleague. ‘Can we look at this another way? If he’d used a slip knot when he suspended the woman from the swing, it could have covered the mark of the strangling, and we wouldn’t have known she was murdered.’
‘That’s if the rope was tight all the way round the neck and covered the original ligature mark.’
‘So how can we be sure the second death was a genuine hanging?’
‘The vertebrae were broken in the mid-cervical section of the spine. That’s what you expect from a hanging involving a drop. A judicial hanging will produce the same result.’
‘So the point of interest, as you put it, is the knot. Was there any need for a slip knot?’
‘Whatever knot he used, the outcome would have been the same.’
‘A quick death?’
‘Very.’
‘I’ll need to think about this some more.’
‘That’s up to you. And sod you, Peter Diamond. My coffee’s gone cold.’
And the shop had probably emptied, too.
Halliwell came in after lunch looking as if he’d won the lottery. There was a breakthrough on the ram raid. An informant had fingered a pair of villains called Romney and Jacob who were well advanced on plans for a second raid.
‘Is this reliable, Keith?’
‘It sounds kosher to me.’
‘Who’s the grass?’
‘A new guy, name of Gary Jackman. He’s got a record for doing up stolen vehicles. Moved into the area last Christmas. He figures that if he puts new plates on a four-by-four that’s going to be driven into a shopfront there’s a fair chance something will go wrong.’
‘Such as the front plate falling off?’
‘Right, and if we don’t get him, the villains will, for messing up.’
‘Who did they use last time?’
‘Nobody. They nicked the vehicle the same night from outside the technical college. This time they want to limit the uncertainty so they knocked off a Range Rover last weekend and asked Jackman to give it a new identity. He’s not happy.’
‘Yes, but what does he want from us?’
‘A blind eye to his activities.’
‘What, for ever more? That’s ridiculous. We can trade leniency, but not carte blanche.’
‘We’ll make that clear, then.’
‘See that he goes on the register. Every meeting and transaction. Who’s handling him for us?’
‘Our new boy. Paul Gilbert.’
‘Gilbert made the contact?’ This was worrying, the most junior member of CID.
‘Yes.’
‘Good lad. What’s the plan?’
‘Ours or theirs?’
‘Both.’
‘They want the Range Rover ready for Sunday night, according to Jackman. We don’t yet know which shop they’re targeting.’
‘Nothing is simple in this game.’
‘If we find out, we’ll have a reception committee waiting. We’ll bug the vehicle anyway and have a high presence on Sunday.’
‘What about Romney and Jacob? Do they have form?’
‘Not as ram raiders. Jacob may have done some stuff as a juvenile, petty theft mostly, but it’s possible it was someone else of the same name. They’re not out of their teens yet. This is new territory for them.’
‘Sounds like it. Rank amateurs.’
‘Do you want Georgina in the loop?’
Diamond thought for a moment and grinned. ‘Not yet. Let’s surprise her. Sunday night I reckon she puts her feet up and watches the Antiques Roadshow. We’ll put on a roadshow of our own.’
21
T his time he took a taxi up to Lyncombe. Paloma was ready and looking like one of the nominees on Oscars night, her cleavage framed by a white pashmina. Diamond told her she looked stunning, and meant it. He was glad he’d put on a suit and tie, but now wished the tie wasn’t just the Met Rugby Club stripes.
He was holding a cardboard box marked Heinz. ‘This is not what it may appear,’ he told her. ‘These are for Jerry’s hospital trolley.’ He’d remembered to bring Steph’s Agatha Christie collection.
‘That’s so generous. If you leave them in the hall he’ll pick them up next time he comes by.’
In the taxi she gave his hand a squeeze. ‘This is a lovely idea.’ The embarrassment of their last evening together wasn’t showing at all.
‘I can’t claim any credit,’ he said. ‘The tickets were passed on to me by my boss.’
‘The dragon?’
‘Georgina, yes.’
‘She doesn’t breathe fire all the time, then?’
‘Once in a blue moon she surprises me with something like this. Maybe there’s a payback that I’ll learn about later.’
Sooner, as it turned out.
At the theatre they bought a programme and chocolates and went to the bar for a drink and heard the announcement telling people the performance would begin in ten minutes. When they presented their tickets the usher asked them to step to one side. A tall, thin man appeared from nowhere and said, ‘Ah, you must be the real inspector.’
Diamond raised an eyebrow.
The man said, ‘It’s no mystery. We know from the ticket number. I’m Charles Fetherington-Steel, publicity director. You are Inspector-’
‘Detective Superintendent actually. Diamond is my name. And this is Mrs Paloma Kean.’
‘I was promised an inspector,’ Fetherington-Steel said as if he’d got second best. ‘Never mind. The main thing is that you’re from the police. I’m sorry to be such a pain, but the photographer wants his shots before the performance starts. You know what the press are like. If you’d kindly step this way, we’ll get it over with, and then you can take your seats.’
‘Nobody told me about a photograph,’ Diamond said.
‘Oh, I’m sure I told Miss Assisi. We definitely need some shots. It was made very clear.’
‘I don’t know a Miss Assisi.’
‘If I were you, I’d make a point of getting to know her,’ Fetherington-Steel said. ‘She makes the decisions at the police station. Ah, here he is, camera at the ready. It’s quite painless, officer. Relax and give him a smile.’
Diamond stiffened and gave him a scowl. ‘Sorry about this,’ he said to Paloma. ‘I’m not sure what it’s about, but I think I’ve been set up.’
‘Let me fix your tie. It’s coming loose.’ As she stepped close she said in an undertone, ‘A smile doesn’t cost anything, Pete.’
If she had not been there, they wouldn’t have seen him for dust. He didn’t want another blighted evening, so he stood beside a pillar and submitted to the camera, even managing a twisted grin.
‘Much better. All done,’ Fetherington-Steel said, beckoning to the usher. ‘There’s champagne for you both in the interval. The patrons’ room.’