Autographs In The Rain Part 38

Yet it was something which the two men had discussed only tentatively in the past, and never once in those conversations had the deputy allowed himself to antic.i.p.ate the time when he would sit permanently in the Chief's chair.

Even after an extended period in charge, during his boss's enforced absence on sick leave, Skinner had subtly avoided any detailed discussion of the future, or at least of the post-Proud era; so much so that the veteran wondered whether he might have developed an agenda of his own.

If he had, Proud mused, it was unlikely that a.s.sistant Chief Constable Theodore Chase featured in it prominently, if at all. Bob Skinner was almost invariably tolerant of the views of others; he demeaned his own skills as a man manager, yet he had gathered around him the most gifted team of detectives on any British force, and in spite of his own inclination to keep hands on, had given them the leeway they needed to achieve results.Ted Chase, though, was the exception; rule-defying, rather than rule proving. From the moment that he had settled himself into Jim Elder's old chair, the newcomer to the Fettes Command Corridor had set out an agenda which seemed to have been designed to challenge Skinner's position and authority.

His peremptory appointment of Jack Good had started the rot; technically, the Chief could have vetoed it, but Chase during his excellent interview had subtly established that, in the event of his appointment, he would have some say in the choice of his personal staff.

TJien there was his paper; his d.a.m.nably well-crafted paper on the conimand structure of the force, and of the benefits of the Deputy being a mirror image of the Chief Constable, rather than someone whose different attributes and skills ... however admirable they might be, as the doc.u.ment had made a point of acknowledging ... had in the past caused crises in the relations.h.i.+p between the police command and the elected board which supervised its operations.

Proud Jimmy had hoped that Chase would have backed off, if not in the face of Skinner's clear hostility, then of his own mildly discouraging signals.

But he had not; the man's ambition was built of strong materials. The old Chief had bought time by the simple ruse of saying that he wished to give Chase a chance to find his feet in Edinburgh, while he considered his thoughts at length.

He knew that this was merely postponing the crisis point, the moment when he would either have to tell Chase to fall into line, or put his paper up for discussion by the Board. Had no other considerations applied, he would, of course, have told the ACC what to do with his paper on Day One. However, he had more than a suspicion that, if he did that, Jack Good might carelessly allow a copy to fall into the hands of Councillor Agnes Maley, Bob Skinner's arch enemy. Although Sir James had contrived to have Maley removed from the Police Board, she was still around and capable of making mischief.

Still, he had been enjoying his period of peace, until that d.a.m.ned Civic Reception, at which the ACC's wife had made her debut and had behaved in front of Sarah Skinner, and even Chrissie, by G.o.d, as if she was Lady Chase already.

Fervently, the Chief Constable wished that he could discontinue his informal Tuesday management sessions with Skinner and Chase; that he could see them separately, but not together. However, he knew that that would only have widened the rift.

164.AUTOGRAPHS IN THE RAIN.

Now, as he looked at Chase sipping his coffee as if he wanted to get it and the last chocolate digestive biscuit, out of the way, he could sense a'new storm well over the horizon, some heavy rain about to fall on hislife.

'Okay, Ted,' he sighed. 'I can read the signs by now. Stop bristling; out

with it.'

The ACC looked at him as if he had been caught sneaking a biscuit out of turn. 'I'm sorry, sir, if I appeared on edge. It's just that there are a couple of points I have to raise this afternoon, and I have a feeling that they may provoke a reaction.'

'Oh yes,' said Skinner, not helping the situation by smiling. 'And what are they, Ted?'

Chase continued to look at Sir James, ignoring his colleague's grin. 'I'm finding it increasingly difficult to share a secretary with the deputy, sir. I don't know how much work my predecessor generated, but I really am finding it difficult to secure enough of Miss McConnell's time for my needs.

'This week, for example, Mcllhenney seems to be out of the office for long periods, and McConnell is having to cover for his absence. Why I was in her office yesterday, giving her dictation tapes, when the DCC buzzed.

She simply jumped up, excused herself and left the room.

'It's just not good enough, sir. I insist either that she is replaced or that I am allocated a secretary of my own.'

Skinner's smile vanished; Proud sighed inwardly as the first figurative raindrops began to fall. 'Don't you ever...' The words fell not far short of a snarl. '... suggest again, mister, that Ruth should be moved out.'

The DCC paused, waiting for Chase to return his gaze, but the ACC continued to look firmly at Sir James.

'Okay,' he exclaimed, eventually, Til support your request for a secretary of your own.' Chase's head seemed to turn on a swivel. 'But Jack Good has to go.'

For a second or two, the c.u.mbrian's mouth worked like a goldfish tipped on to a kitchen counter. 'But, but...

'Absolutely no way,' he protested, turning back to Proud Jimmy for support.

'Sir, do I or do I not have the right to appoint my own personal staff?'

The Chief Constable studied his desk. 'As I recall Ted, you have a say in H; that much is certainly true. Of course,' he added, freezing the ACC's smirk. 'There are cost considerations. How would it be if we gave you yourown secretary, and replaced Inspector Good with a promising young sergeant?'

T couldn't accept that. I chose Good; I have great regard for his abilities.'

'Well, no other b.a.s.t.a.r.d does!' Skinner boomed. 'The man's your sneak.

Do you think I don't know that? Do you think I don't know that you've had him going round out-stations, and even some princ.i.p.al divisional offices, making snap inspections and reporting back to you?

'The b.u.g.g.e.r's even been checking on CID. He wandered into Dan Pringle's office last week in his well-pressed uniform; all that was missing, ,apparently, was a swagger stick. Dan advised him to f.u.c.k off, but I'll bet he "didn't tell you that.'

'Well?' Chase exclaimed, raising his voice. 'I am responsible for operations; why shouldn't my exec. act on my behalf in visiting stations and asking whether they have any operational problems which we can help them solve?'

'In principle, because you shouldn't have an inspector even appearing to be checking up on a chief super. In practice because this one's a t.w.a.t!'

'Chief!' the ACC shouted. 'I object to that language. What can the DCC have against Jack to mistreat a junior officer in that manner?'

Sir James sat quietly in his chair. Skinner, with an effort, hauled on the frayed reins of his temper. 'If you had consulted Jimmy, or me,' he said evenly, 'or anyone else before you were blinded by the s.h.i.+ne of his shoes and the gleam of his badge, we'd have b.l.o.o.d.y told you.

'Jack Good's wife is an executive on the Scotsman; and she has him by the b.a.l.l.s. We've had three serious leaks to that paper in the last few years, and Good is suspected of being the source, inadvertent or otherwise, in every instance. That's why he was stuck in the Operations Room for the duration, and only allowed out on special occasions as a b.l.o.o.d.y ornament.

'Then you swan in like a guardian angel and pluck him out of there.'

'You might have told me,' Chase complained.

'You didn't give us a chance. Once you'd appointed him, we couldn't simply say "no". We've got nothing we can pin on him; we had decided to keep him out of the heart of the action. There was nothing wrong with that, by the way; his record as an officer warranted his previous posting.'

The ACC sat back in his chair, silenced for the moment. Then a strange look came into his eyes; looking at him, Sir James Proud saw, for the first time, a sign of malevolence in him.

'Good has his uses,' he said quietly. 'For example, this morning heI.AUTOGRAPHS IN THE RAIN., back to me on a visit he paid, on my instruction, to the telecommunications department.

'H told me that he had found a number of very odd installations made by that department over the last couple of days. Specifically, we have just t lied a state-of-the-art alarm system in a house in the Craiglockhart

a of Edinburgh. This is linked not only to the Torphichen Place Divisional Office but also to a private address in the same area. On checking, Good discovered that it is the home of Detective Inspector Mcllhenney.

'The installations were made on the personal instruction of the Deputy Chief Constable.

'Further investigation on Good's part revealed that the house in which the alarm system is fitted was leased yesterday to a film production company; the signatory of the lease was one Louise Bankier, an actress.'

Once more Chase focused his gaze on the Chief Constable, as he produced a single sheet of paper from a folder on his lap. 'Here, sir, is a cutting from Sat.u.r.day's Evening News, which appears to link this woman with a senior police officer, who is unmistakably our colleague, Mr Skinner.

'Chief Constable, the inescapable conclusion is that the Deputy Chief has been using police resources to provide sequestrated accommodation for his lady friend during her stay in Edinburgh.'

As Sir James Proud looked at Bob Skinner, he saw the colour drain from his face. He pushed himself to his feet with surprising speed and glared sternly at Chase. 'Thank you, Ted,' he said. 'Now leave the room ... at once.'

The ACC stood, a smile of unconstrained triumph on his face, and slipped out of the side exit.

As the door closed, Proud Jimmy looked at the ceiling. 'Sorry about that, Bob,' he exclaimed. 'But at that moment, I thought you were going to kill him.'

Skinner was so enraged that he was breathing slightly heavily. 'At that moment, Jimmy, I might have. Even now, you may only have given him a stay of execution.'

The Chief dropped into the chair behind his desk. 'What the h.e.l.l am I going to do about that man?' he said.