A Long Time Dead (34 page)

‘So what I don't see is why she didn't completely immobilize Douglas Coutes while he was still trying to kill you. She surely had the necessary skills to do that, hadn't she? And since he was concentrating all his attention on choking you, he must have been a sitting duck.'

‘It was dark,' Woodend said.

‘True,' Forsyth agreed. ‘But I believe there was some kind of paraffin lamp burning. If that was adequate to dig up a body by, it would certainly have provided ample illumination for any manoeuvre Sergeant Paniatowski would be likely to contemplate.'

‘This wasn't some competition held in the police gym. She was tryin' to save my life.'

‘And I would have thought the best way to ensure that would have been to use her skills to maximum effect.'

‘You weren't there,' Woodend said, with growing unease. ‘You don't know what it was like.'

‘And then, of course, there's the small matter of the Minister's car,' Forsyth said.

‘What about it?'

‘Strange that it should crash like that, don't you think?'

‘No, I don't. Coutes was in a big hurry to get away, an' he made a miscalculation.'

‘Perhaps he did,' Forsyth agreed, though he sounded far from convinced. ‘Did I mention that I've had the boffins examine the scene of the crash. Not the local turnip tops, you understand, but the chaps who really know what they're doing.'

‘No, you didn't mention it. An' who
are
these chaps who really know what they're doin'? MI5?'

‘Something like that,' Forsyth said dismissively. ‘At any rate, it looked on the face of it to be an almost impossible task I'd set them, given the vehicle had been completely incinerated. But then they had a marvellous stroke of luck. It appears that one of the back wheels was seared off at the point of impact, and managed to roll clear. And the interesting thing about that wheel was that the tyre had been slashed. Did you slash it, Chief Inspector?'

‘No.'

‘They also found a rather sharp knife – a flick-knife, I think they call it – which they believe was responsible for the damage. I wonder where that could have come from?'

From Monika's handbag, Woodend thought. It was more than likely that it was the knife Chief Inspector Baxter had given her.

‘So this is the way I see it,' Forsyth continued. ‘Firstly, Sergeant Paniatowski slashes the back tyre of the Minister's car, and then she deliberately allows him to escape from the woods, knowing he'll get into the car and drive away as quickly as he can. Now why should she have done that?'

I wish I could help you, Charlie
, Monika had said in the van.
I wish there was something I could do to take away a little of the pain
.

‘There could be a dozen ways to explain the tyre bein' slashed,' Woodend said. ‘Coutes could have run over a broken bottle, for example.'

‘If that had been the case, don't you think the crack forensic team would have found some trace of it?' Forsyth asked. ‘No, Chief Inspector, you have to accept that any explanation other than the one I've just given you is completely implausible. And strictly speaking, you know, if Sergeant Paniatowski
is
responsible for sabotaging the car, she should be charged with manslaughter.'

‘I lied,' Woodend said. ‘I did shred the tyres. I suppose I might as well admit it now.'

Forsyth laughed. ‘So the age of chivalry is not dead after all,' he said. ‘But it
is
redundant.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘The CIA is not the only organization which is capable of doctoring reports, and I can assure you that neither you nor your sergeant will hear any more of this unfortunate incident.'

‘That's very kind of you,' Woodend said.

‘Not at all, my dear chap,' Forsyth replied. ‘How
could
we charge Sergeant Paniatowski, without blowing our own carefully-constructed cover story. There would be all sorts of awkward questions asked by all sorts of awkward people. What was the Minister doing in the woods, for example? Why did he get into a fight with a senior police officer? It could be very messy.'

‘True,' Woodend agreed.

‘Besides – from a purely personal perspective, and stepping well outside the bounds of my civil service responsibilities – I'm more than happy to let sleeping dogs lie.'

‘You are?'

‘I am. The Minister was, as I think I may have told you previously, extremely effective
as
a minister. But as a man, he was what I believe you'd call “a thoroughly nasty piece of work”. And let's be honest, if he hadn't had his unfortunate accident, there would have been no alternative but to bring him to trial, and that would have been quite embarrassing all round.'

‘So you're not exactly broken-hearted that he's dead?'

‘Just so. In fact, if I thought I could get away with it, I'd probably put Sergeant Paniatowski up for a medal.'