by Helen Cox
‘And how did you find out about it?’ Ricci pushed.
Evie told herself sternly she mustn’t even glance at Halloran otherwise he really would spend an eternity working the Saturday night shift at York train station. ‘In the news at first, and Kitt’s a semi-regular customer in that bookshop. So we have naturally chatted about how awful it was, as anyone would when there’s been a local burglary.’
‘And there’s nothing else you want to tell me in relation to this case?’ said Ricci.
Interesting wording, thought Evie. She wouldn’t want to tell Ricci about anything, if she could avoid it.
Evie shook her head. Again, not quite willing to tell an outright lie in case it came back to haunt her later.
Ricci took a step closer to Evie and nodded at her face. ‘Those scars look quite new.’
All oxygen left Evie’s body and a numbness started to creep in.
‘How did you get them?’ Ricci asked. Her tone wasn’t as hard as it had been before but the question still felt like a punch to the gut. Evie was so taken aback that this time she couldn’t help shooting a glance at Halloran. The lines on his face remained hard and stern but there was a certain sadness in his blue eyes. A sign that indicated he wished his superior had asked any question except that one. Ricci looked between the two of them for a moment before Kitt broke what was becoming a thick, heavy silence.
‘You don’t have to answer that.’
Ricci kept her eyes fixed on Evie. ‘But you can, even if your friend might prefer you didn’t,’ she said. ‘If you’ve been pulled into a difficult situation, I might be able to help.’
‘I’m not sure asking somebody with facial scarring intrusive and cruel questions is helping them,’ Kitt said.
Evie wanted to smile at Kitt, to let her friend know she appreciated her yet again leaping to her defence – especially when Ricci was only sniffing around because of something Evie had done. But after Ricci’s question there was no hope of a smile. It was taking all of her effort to hold back tears. She had become accustomed to the wary sidelong looks but nobody had had the gall to perform a mini-interrogation as Ricci had just done.
Ricci sighed and looked back at Kitt. ‘We will be looking at CCTV footage of the hospital entrance to glean whether you paid a visit this afternoon. You’ll make this a whole lot easier on yourself if you just admit it now. Halloran will take notes on it and then we’ll arrange a follow-up statement at the station.’
The librarian took a deep breath and very slowly exhaled. Kitt had quite a temper on her sometimes so Evie could only assume it was Ricci’s superiority that was saving her from a proper scolding. ‘If I was going to pay a visit to a suspect in a criminal case and didn’t want to leave my real name I’d come up with something a lot more ingenious than “Kitt Schmartley”. You insult my intelligence, and I will tell you now that looking at that video footage would be a terrible waste of police time.’
‘I’ll decide how best to use my officers’ time, Ms Hartley,’ Ricci said in a tone that made Evie feel at once cold to her core. ‘If they find anything in that video footage, you’ll be hearing from me again. Picking you out shouldn’t be hard. We already have your photograph on file from when you were arrested for murder six weeks ago.’
‘Like Evie, wrongfully arrested,’ Kitt said through her teeth.
Ricci nodded. ‘Just so we’re clear, I recommend that you stay away from this case, and any others currently being worked by the North Yorkshire Police. If I find any evidence at all to suggest you’ve been interfering with our duties, there will be serious consequences.’
Without another word Ricci turned and began walking towards the staircase, giving Evie one last look up and down as she passed.
‘Coming, Inspector Halloran?’ Ricci said, as she realized Halloran wasn’t following her.
The inspector looked at his watch and then back at Ricci. ‘It’s gone seven o clock, ma’am. I’m off duty now. I’ll make my own way home.’
Ricci sucked her teeth, presumably put out that Halloran was uninterested in helping her put on a show of solidarity, but then nodded and marched out of the door.
Halloran went as far as the doorway and looked down the row of bookshelves, craning his neck to check that Ricci really had made an exit. Once satisfied, he turned back to face the most unforgiving hard stare Evie had ever seen Kitt administer.
Seven
‘I know what you’re going to say,’ said Halloran. He walked slowly back into the room, approaching Kitt like a zookeeper might approach a tiger. Slow steps. Both hands raised.
‘Do you now?’ said Kitt. Her tone was as cold as it always was when the librarian felt hard done by, but Evie noticed a watery film had also formed over her blue eyes.
‘Don’t look like that, pet. I did what I could to put her off coming down here but I’m not in a position to oppose the professional judgement of a senior ranking officer. If I’d pushed any harder, Ricci would likely have put me on desk duty for the insubordination – if I was lucky.’
Kitt didn’t say anything. Instead she let out a steady sigh and continued to stare at the inspector.
‘You don’t know the trouble I could get into for the things I shared with you when we were investigating those murders back in October. And although I’m reserving judgement on this whole case right now, I want to be in a position to help Banks should I need to and if I’m on desk duty that won’t be possible.’ He paused and a smile flickered at the corner of his mouth. ‘It’s difficult to do anything productive when you’re bound to a desk.’
The corner of Kitt’s mouth twitched, seemingly desperate to join her lover in his smile. ‘Well, I suppose that depends on how creative you are,’ Kitt replied, staring into Halloran’s eyes.
Evie could feel the heat between the two of them. Were they really talking about getting up to no good on Halloran’s desk? In front of Evie? Shameless. Ordinarily she would have had a field day with this kind of exchange but just at this moment she had a confession to make.
She cleared her throat and Kitt jumped as though she had completely forgotten her friend was even in the room.
‘There’s something I need to say,’ Evie said, looking between the two of them but unable to meet their eyes.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Kitt, taking a couple of steps towards her friend.
Evie worked her hands one over the other. ‘Yes, I think so, but I might not be in a few seconds.’
‘Why do you say that?’ asked Halloran, folding his arms.
‘Because I’m about to tell you that it was me at the hospital this afternoon . . .’
There was a moment’s silence as Kitt and Halloran digested this information and then Kitt rubbed her brow, her hand obscuring her expression. ‘Oh, Evie, what on earth were you thinking?’
‘I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. I think it’s safe to say I wasn’t thinking at all. I didn’t plan on crossing paths with Alim’s mother. Charley hinted that she was bad news.’
Halloran frowned. ‘Banks knows about this?’
‘Oh no,’ said Evie, shaking her head harder and faster now. ‘If Charley had known what I had planned she would have stopped me without a doubt but I . . . I just had to do something so when she mentioned Alim’s name in passing I thought it couldn’t hurt to . . .’ She couldn’t say any more. She was too distracted by the thunderous look on Halloran’s face. He didn’t shout or bark or snap, he didn’t have to. It was perfectly obvious what he thought of her actions.
‘I have to admit, I thought this had Grace’s name written all over it,’ said Kitt, referring to her library assistant who was known for impersonating Kitt just for the fun of it and could be quite mischievous at times. ‘Evie, you can’t just go around interfering in police business. Especially when an internal investigation is under way. You do realize Ricci might suspect Banks of putting somebody up to a hospit
al visit to put more pressure on the victim of her alleged assault?’
‘I . . . I hadn’t really thought of that,’ Evie said, her voice growing quieter.
‘When Mrs Buruk called the station she made it clear she would be reporting this incident to the IOPC, she’s probably got them on speed dial,’ said Halloran.
Evie bit her lip, thinking for a moment before she spoke again. ‘That’s not the best news. But I don’t think they’re going to find Charley at fault. It’s so obvious from what Alim said that she isn’t responsible for the attack.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Halloran, his curiosity finally overcoming his annoyance.
Keen to distract Halloran and Kitt from any anger they might be feeling towards her just now, Evie explained. ‘Alim said the assailant wore black gloves, and then ditched the assault weapon.’
‘Yes, I was already aware of that detail,’ said Halloran.
‘What does that prove?’ asked Kitt.
‘It doesn’t prove anything, but it is contradictory behaviour and one of the key elements of the case that suggests Banks is being set up,’ said Halloran.
‘I suppose you’re right,’ said Kitt. ‘Were there any signs that the weapon had been wiped down to remove prints?’
Halloran shook his head. ‘There wasn’t any mention of that. But remember the fingerprints were partial, smudged, which already calls into question whether she was the last person to handle the weapon.’
‘Even so, if it was Banks who committed the assault, it would be lunacy to leave the weapon at the crime scene,’ said Kitt.
‘Not just at the scene, Alim said it was left on his doorstep,’ said Evie.
‘Ricci didn’t mention it had been left on the victim’s doorstep,’ said Halloran pondering.
‘Why wouldn’t she tell you that?’ Kitt asked, narrowing her eyes.
‘I don’t know. If she’s holding specific details back it might be a sign that she doesn’t trust me. That she thinks I might be in on it with Banks. But even she must know that Banks wouldn’t be so stupid as to leave that weapon on the victim’s doorstep knowing it would lead straight back to her.’
‘What does that mean?’ asked Evie.
‘It means Ricci could be looking at this only from an angle that suits her,’ said Halloran.
‘I’m a bit confused about how a corrupt officer in the ranks could be to Ricci’s benefit,’ said Kitt. ‘Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to her to cover it up so her officers didn’t suffer a damage to their reputation?’
‘She could be counting on accolades for hunting out a corrupt officer,’ said Halloran. ‘That would buy her a lot of favour with people even higher up in the force than she is.’
‘And there’s no way this could be a personal vendetta?’ Kitt asked, looking at Halloran. ‘You did say that Ricci wasn’t exactly a fan of Banks.’
Halloran shook his head. ‘Ricci’s dad was a highly respected copper in his day and she comes recommended by Percival. He’s given thirty years of his life to the force and can tell a good apple from a bad one. If he says she’s on the level, she’s on the level.’
‘All right,’ said Kitt. ‘We’ll rule that out for now. The weapon was left there to implicate Banks so the bigger question is, who would benefit from having Banks suspended from duty?’
‘The people she suspected of committing the Bootham Bar Books burglary,’ said Evie. ‘I certainly wouldn’t put it past Alim’s mother to frame an officer for a crime if it got her son off the hook. That woman was beyond creepy.’
‘All right, that’s one idea for the pot,’ said Kitt. ‘Anyone else?’
‘Banks has a lot of enemies,’ Halloran said. Whenever you put people away for something, there’s always a chance they’ll seek you out one day, looking for payback. The list of people who might want to hurt either of us isn’t short.’
‘But the people who know enough about this case to orchestrate this is quite short, isn’t it?’ asked Kitt.
‘Well, probably,’ said Halloran.
‘Only probably?’
‘Alim or his mother could have bragged to anyone about pulling off the burglary, or made it known that Banks liked them for it.’
‘Considering everything he gave away to me at the hospital, and how suspicious his mother was about what he might have let slip to me, Alim didn’t strike me as the most discreet person on the planet,’ said Evie.
‘But did he strike you as a book expert?’ asked Kitt.
‘Not particularly,’ said Evie. ‘Though unlike you, I don’t start up conversations about books so easily, so I didn’t really get him onto that. Charley seemed to think Alim might have been a pawn and someone else was behind it. Someone with that kind of specialist knowledge.’
‘A book expert . . . yes,’ said Kitt, clasping her hands. ‘The Burglar in the Library.’
‘What? Where?’ Evie said, her eyes widening as she looked behind her.
‘No, no, no, it’s the name of a book by Laurence Block.’
‘Of course it is,’ said Halloran, with a grudging smile.
‘I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before,’ said Kitt. ‘The central character in that book is a man called Bernie Rhodenbarr – he’s a bookseller and burglar and he sets out to steal a very valuable copy of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.’
‘Wait, wasn’t that one of the items stolen from Bootham Bar Books?’ said Evie.
‘That’s right,’ said Kitt. ‘It was a first edition too – just like the one in Laurence Block’s story.’
‘Much as I enjoy your parallels between fiction and reality,’ said Halloran, ‘please don’t tell me you’re suggesting somebody is acting out that book for real. Because I’m not sure that thieves are usually interested in that kind of rigmarole.’
‘That’s not exactly what I’m suggesting,’ said Kitt. ‘In that book, Rhodenbarr wants the book because he believes it has a rare inscription to another author – Dashiell Hammett?’
‘Never heard of him,’ said Halloran.
‘The Maltese Falcon?’ Kitt tried again, a note of incredulity in her voice.
Evie and Halloran stared at Kitt blankly.
Kitt tutted. ‘Never mind. But what if there’s something special about these books besides their face value?’
‘Special how?’ asked Halloran.
‘I . . . well perhaps there’s something hidden between the pages. The details of a drug meet or the code to a safe at a mansion or . . . Oh! Maybe the book itself provides the solution to some kind of code that leads to a lost treasure.’
‘Surely any old copy of the book would do, in that case?’ said Evie.
‘Not necessarily, each edition of the book is typeset in a particular way and—’
‘Hang on a minute,’ said Halloran, his voice growing sterner. ‘I see where this is leading. You’re thinking about looking into this, aren’t you?’
‘I might consider it,’ said Kitt, a note of defiance flaring in her tone.
‘Ricci just warned you off.’
Kitt shrugged. ‘The way I see it, if I’m going to get into trouble for investigating things I haven’t been investigating, I might as well investigate them, especially when it relates to the serious matter of stolen books.’
‘I don’t think that’s a very prudent way of thinking,’ said Halloran.
‘It wasn’t prudent for Ricci to come to my place of employment and make accusations, but she did it anyway,’ said Kitt. ‘It would be worth investigating it just to see the look on her face when I uncover those books before she does.’
‘Before you launch yourself headlong into the Revenge Book Recovery trade, maybe you should consider the fact Banks’s job is on the line here, and possibly even mine too.’
Kitt crinkled her nose, thinking. ‘All right, that’s a fair point.’
‘But . . .’ said Evie, looking between Kitt and Halloran, ‘isn’t that even more reason to investigate it? The more people working for justice on this case, the better, right?’
Kitt bit her lower lip as the arguments of her best friend and her boyfriend battled it out in her head.
‘I’m not suggesting we make a nuisance of ourselves,’ said Evie.
‘Bit late for that, isn’t it?’ Kitt said.
‘Yes, well. That was when I was left unsupervised. You know how to be more discreet about these things. So Ricci never has to know, if we’re careful. And who better to trace a set of stolen antique books than you? It’s a book case. A book CASE. Get it? Come on, you cannot resist that kind of symmetry.’
Kitt nodded. ‘My knowledge of the book market is a distinct advantage in this case, it’s true.’
Halloran surrendered to a smirk at Kitt’s unexpected boasting.
Making the most of the advantage, Evie turned her attentions on Halloran. ‘I promise you, I’m not doing this for the thrill of it. I’m genuinely concerned. It’s obvious that something’s not quite right about this story and when I saw Charley yesterday she was in a right old state over it. We can’t just leave her to suffer, can we? Especially when it’s so obvious she didn’t do it.’
Halloran rubbed the back of his hand along his beard. ‘Ricci has assigned this burglary case to Wilkinson in Banks’s absence which is a sure sign she doesn’t feel she can rely on me to be objective.’
‘Wilkinson?’ said Kitt. ‘Do cases like this usually get handed to a PC?’
‘In the absence of an available detective constable or detective sergeant to investigate them, it’s not completely unheard of,’ said Halloran. ‘He’s made no secret of the fact he wants to progress up the ladder as quick as he can. He’s keen to take his exam to become a trainee detective so he might even have stepped forward and pushed to work on the case.’
