but they didnât look very promising, either. Of course, weâll do follow-up investigations on all of them, but Iâm not really expecting it to lead anywhere.â
âArenât there
any
other leads?â
Paniatowski shook her head. âNobodyâs been reported missing, and nobody in the immediate neighbourhood â if thatâs what you want to call a big stretch of open moors â saw anything that could be of the slightest use to us.â She looked deep into Woodendâs eyes. âLetâs forget the investigation for a minute, shall we? How are
you
feeling, sir?â
âHow do you think Iâm feelinâ? How would you feel if youâd been suspended on some trumped-up excuse?â
âIâd feel like hell,â Paniatowski admitted.
âWhat I donât understand â
really
donât understand â is
why
Iâve been fitted up.â
âMr Ainsworthâs not exactly the biggest fan youâve got in Whitebridge, you know, sir.â
âMr Ainsworth hates my guts with a passion â he has done from the very first moment I walked into the station. But even if he wanted to shaft me good and proper, why do it now?â
âMaybe he just saw his opportunity andâ¯â
âLook, this murder case is the most important one to break in Whitebridge since the war. Maybe even before that. The pressure will be on the force for a quick result, anâ Iâm the best person to deliver that result, arenât I?â
âUndoubtedly.â
âAnâ Ainsworth knows that as well as you do. Besides, if the case
isnât
solved, the press will be lookinâ for somebody to crucify. Up until a couple of hours ago, that person was me. But by suspendinâ me, Ainsworthâs put himself straight into the hot seat. Anâ thatâs not like him at all. So I say again, Monika, why try to shaft me
now
?â
âCould it be that he thinks that if you
did
solve the case, your position would be unassailable?â Paniatowski wondered.
âNow thereâs a possibility I hadnât considered,â Woodend conceded. He stubbed his cigarette out forcefully in the ashtray. âBut Iâm not the main issue here, anyway. Whatâs really got me worried is that whoever murdered that poor bloody kiddie might just get away with it.â
Paniatowski took a sip of her vodka. âThereâs nothing
you
can do about that now,â she said, with a warning edge to her voice.
âIsnât there?â
Paniatowski sighed heavily. âI really hope youâre not thinking what I think youâre thinking.â
âOn the one hand youâve got you anâ me â a good team. Anâ on the other hand, youâve got DI Harris â an idiot. Who do you think is more likely to solve the case?â Woodend asked â trying not to sound desperate, and knowing he wasnât
quite
making it. âWe can crack this together, Monika.â
âOr we could give Mr Ainsworth a
real
reason to bury you,â Paniatowski pointed out. âAnd me along with you.â
âNobody need ever know.â
âTheyâll find out. They always do.â
âYouâre probably right, lass,â Woodend agreed. âNo, Iâm
sure
youâre right. Anâ youâve worked far too hard â put too much of yourself into the job â to be dragged down with me.â He rose heavily to his feet. âBest of luck with the case, lass. Iâll see you around.â
He walked over to the door. The argumentative courting couple had left. The boy whoâd been gambling fruitlessly on the one-armed bandit had gone, too. And a few new customers â eager to get a last drink before closing time was called â had taken their place. That was how things went.
Times changed. Situations changed. The formidable sergeant who heâd lived in terror of when heâd first