‘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.’
A Long Time Dead Page 26
