“So what, then?”

Annie explained how Templeton had behaved with Kelly Soames.

“It sounds a bit harsh,” he said when she had finished. “But I don’t suppose he was to know the girl would be physically sick.”

“He enjoyed it. That was the point,” said Annie.

“So Winsome thought?”

“Yes. Look, don’t tell me you’re going to go all male and start defending the indefensible here, because if you are, I’m off. I’m not in the mood for an all-lads-together rally.”

“Christ, Annie, you ought to know me better than that. And there’s only one lad here, as far as I can see.”

“Well… you know what I mean.” Annie ran her hand through her tousled hair. “Shit, I’m hungover and I’m having a bad-hair day, too.”

“Your hair looks fine.”

“You don’t mean it, but thank you. Anyway, that’s the story. Oh, and Superintendent Bloody Gervaise had a go at me yesterday in her office.”

“What were you doing there?”

“I went to complain about the personal remarks she made about me during the briefing. At the very least I expected an apology.”

“And you got?”

“A bollocking, more personal remarks, and an assignment to statement reading.”

“That’s steep.”

“Very. And she warned me off you.”

“What?”

“It’s true.” Annie looked down into her coffee. “She seems to think we’re an item again.”

“Where could she possibly have got that idea from?”

“I don’t know.” Annie paused. “Templeton’s in thick with her.”

“So?”

Annie leaned forward and rested her hands on the table. “She knew about the pint you had at the Cross Keys, that first night, when we went to the scene of Barber’s murder. And Templeton was there, too. He knew about that. But this… Look, tell me if I’m being paranoid, Alan, but don’t you think it’s a bit suspicious? I think Kev Templeton might be behind it.”

“But why would he think we were an item, as you put it?”

“He knows that we were involved before, and we turned up at Moorview Cottage together. We also stayed overnight in London. He’s putting two and two together and coming up with five.”

Banks looked out of the window, seeming to mull over what Annie had said. “So what’s he up to? Ingratiating himself with the new super?”

“It looks that way,” said Annie. “Kev’s smart, and he’s also ambitious. He thinks the rest of us are plods. He’s a sergeant already, and he’ll pass his inspector’s boards first chance he gets, too, but he’s also smart enough to know he needs more than good exam results to get ahead in this job. It helps to have recommendations from above. We know our Madame Gervaise thinks she’s cut out for great things, chief constable at the very least, so a bit of coattail riding wouldn’t do Templeton any harm. At least that’s my guess.”

“Sounds right to me,” said Banks. “And I don’t like what you told me earlier, about the Soames interview. Sometimes we have to do unpleasant things like that – though I believe in this case it could have all been avoided – but we don’t have to take pleasure in them.”

“Winsome thinks he’s a racist, too. She’s overheard him make the odd comment about ‘darkies’ and ‘Pakis’ when he thinks she’s not listening.”

“That would hardly make him unique in the force, sadly,” said Banks. “Look, I’ll have a word with him.”

“Fat lot of good that will do.”

“Well, we can’t go to Superintendent Gervaise, that’s for certain. Red Ron would probably listen, but that’s too much like telling tales out of school for me. Not my style. No, the way it looks is that if anything’s to be done about Kev Templeton, I’ll have to do it myself.”

“And what exactly might you do?”

“Like I said, I’ll have a word, see if I can talk some sense into him. On the other hand, I think it might be even better if I tipped the wink to Gervaise that we’re onto him. She’ll drop him like the proverbial hot potato. I mean, it’s no bloody good having a spy who blows his cover on his first assignment, is it? And gets the wrong end of the stick, into the bargain.”

“Good point.”

“Look, I have to go to Leeds to see Ken Blackstone later today. Want to come?”

“No, thanks.” Annie made a grim face. “Statements to read. And the way I feel today, if I’m doing a menial job, I might even just knock off early, go home and have a long hot bath and an early night.”

They paid and left the Golden Grill, then walked across the road to the station in the light drizzle. At the front desk, the PC on reception called Annie over. “Got a message for you, miss,” he said. “From Lyndgarth. Local copper’s just called in to say all hell’s broke loose up at the Soames farm. Old man Soames went berserk, apparently.”

“We’re on our way,” said Annie. She looked at Banks.

“Ken Blackstone can wait,” he said. “We’d better put our wellies on.”

Annie drove, and Banks tried to find out what he could over his mobile, but coverage was patchy, and in the end he gave up.

“That bastard Templeton,” Annie cursed as she turned onto the Lynd-garth road by the Cross Keys in Fordham, visions of flaying Templeton alive and dipping him in a vat of boiling oil flitting through her mind. “I’ll have him for this. He’s not getting away with it.”

“Calm down, Annie,” Banks said. “Let’s find out what happened first.”

“Whatever it is, he’s behind it. It’s down to him.”

“If that’s the case, you might have to join the queue,” said Banks.

Annie shot him a puzzled glance. “What do you mean?”

“If you were thinking clearly right now, one of the things that might cross your mind-”

“Oh, don’t be so bloody patronizing,” Annie snapped. “Get on with it.”

“One of the things that might cross your mind is that if something has happened as a direct result of DS Templeton’s actions, then the first person to distance herself will be Detective Superintendent Gervaise.”

Annie looked at him and turned into the drive of the Soames farm. She could see the patrol car up ahead, parked outside the house. “But she told him to do it,” Annie said.

Banks just smiled. “That was when it seemed like a good idea.”

Annie pulled up to a sharp halt, sending gobbets of mud flying, and they got out and walked over to the uniformed officer. The door to the farmhouse was open, and Annie could hear the sound of a police radio from inside.

“PC Cotter, sir,” said the officer on the door. “My partner, PC Watkins, is inside.”

“What happened?” Banks asked.

“It’s not entirely clear yet,” said Cotter. “But we had a memo from East-vale Major Crimes asking us to report anything to do with the Soameses.”

“We’re glad you were so prompt,” Annie cut in. “Is anybody hurt?”

Cotter looked at her. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Young girl. The daughter. She rang the station, and we could hear cursing and things breaking in the background. She was frightened. Told us to come as soon as we could. We came as soon as possible, but by the time we got here… Well, you can see for yourselves.”

Annie was first inside the farmhouse, and she gave a curt nod to PC Watkins, who was standing in the living room scratching his head at the sight. The room was a wreck. Broken glass littered the floor, one of the chairs had been smashed into the table and splintered, a window was broken and lamps knocked over. The small bookcase had been pulled away from the wall, and its contents joined the broken glass on the floor.

“The kitchen’s just as bad,” said PC Watkins, “but that seems to be the extent of the damage. Everything’s fine upstairs.”

“Where’s Soames?” Annie asked.

“We don’t know, ma’am. He was gone when we arrived.”

“What about his daughter, Kelly?”

“Eastvale General, ma’am. We radioed ahead to A and E.”

“How bad is she?”

PC Watkins looked away. “Don’t know, ma’am. Hard to say. She looked bad to me.” He gestured back into the room. “Lot of blood.”