Careless in Red (Inspector Lynley, #15)(166)

Havers hooted, which Bea took as her version of a laugh. “Also felt the need to give a few words of encouragement to our Madlyn Angarrack,” Havers said. “You know the sort of thing: Don’t worry, lass, buck up, tut-tut, tallyho, and all that, keep your pecker pecking, and it’ll all come out in the wash at the end of the day. I found I’m a veritable fountain of clichés.”

“That was good of you. I’m sure she appreciated it.” Bea selected one of the heavier bolt cutters and applied it forcefully to the chock stone’s cable. Nothing but pain shooting up her arm. “That one’s a real nonstarter,” she said.

“Right. Well, she wasn’t overly friendly, but she did accept a wee pat on the shoulder, which was easy enough to give as she was loading up the front window at the time.”

“Hmm. And how did Miss Angarrack take your fond caress?”

“She didn’t debark from the tuna boat yesterday, I’ll give her that. She knew I was up to something.”

“Were you?” Bea suddenly took more notice of Havers.

The DS was smiling wickedly. She was also removing a paper napkin carefully from her shoulder bag. She brought it to Bea’s desk and laid it gently down. “Can’t use it in court, of course,” she said. “But there it is all the same for a comparison, if you’ve the mind for it. Not a regular DNA comparison cause there’s no skin attached. But one of those others. Mitochondrial. I expect we can use it for that if we need to.”

It, Bea saw, as she unfolded the napkin, was a single hair. Quite dark, with a slight curl to it. She looked up at Havers. “You wily thing. From her shoulder, I take it?”

“You’d think they’d have them wear caps or hairnets or something if they’re going to be around food, wouldn’t you?” Havers shuddered dramatically and took an enormous bite of the pasty. “I reckoned I needed to do my bit for hygiene in Casvelyn. And anyway, I thought you might like to have it.”

“No one has ever brought me such a thoughtful gift,” Bea told her. “I may be falling in love with you, Sergeant.”

“Please, Guv,” Havers said, holding up her hand. “You’ll have to get in the queue.”

Bea knew that, as Havers had said, the hair was useless in building a crown case against Madlyn Angarrack, considering how the sergeant had got her hands on it. They could do nothing with it save assure themselves through comparison that the hair they’d already found caught up in Santo Kerne’s equipment was one belonging to his former girlfriend. But it was something, a shot in the arm that they needed. Bea placed it in an envelope and labeled it carefully for Duke Clarence Washoe to peruse in Chepstow.

“I’m reckoning it’s all to do with sex and vengeance,” Bea said when the hair was taken care of. Havers pulled over a chair and joined her, munching the pasty with evident appreciation.

She shoved a wad of it to one side of her mouth and said, “Sex and vengeance? How’ve you got it playing out?”

“I was off and on thinking about it all night, and I kept coming back to the initial betrayal.”

“Santo Kerne taking up with Dr. Trahair?”

“For which Madlyn either seeks vengeance herself with this”?Bea held up the chock stone in one hand and a bolt cutter in the other?“and this. Or one of the men does it for her, after she’s supplied him with two of the chock stones, which she’s nicked out of the boot of Santo’s car. She’s already done the business on the sling. That was easy. But the chock stones require rather more strength than she has. So she needs a helper. She would have known where Santo was keeping his equipment. All she needed was someone willing to be her assistant.”

“That would be someone with a bone to pick with Santo anyway?”

“Or someone hoping to get himself into Madlyn’s good graces by helping her out.”

“Sounds like that bloke Will Mendick to me. Santo treats her badly and Will wants to sort him out for her sake; Will also wants into Madlyn’s knickers.”

“That’s how I see it.” Bea set the chock stone down. “Have you seen your Superintendent Lynley this morning, by the way?”

“He’s not my?”

“Yes. Yes. We’ve already been through it. He says the same thing about you.”

“Does he?” Havers chewed thoughtfully. “Not sure how I feel about that.”

“Mull it over later. As for now?”

“He’s off to Exeter. Second half of whatever he was up to yesterday, he said. But…”

Bea narrowed her eyes. “But…?”

Havers looked regretful about having to mention the next bit. “Dr. Trahair came to see him. This would be yesterday, late afternoon.”

“And you didn’t bring her?”

“I didn’t know, Guv. I didn’t see her. And since I haven’t yet seen her anyway, I wouldn’t know her if she flew in front of my car on a broomstick. He didn’t tell me until this morning.”

“Did you see him at dinner last night?”

Havers looked unhappy before she said, “Yeah. I s’pose I did.”

“And he said nothing to you then about her visit?”

“That would be the situation. But he’s got a lot on his mind. He might not have thought about telling me.”