An Iron Rose by Peter Temple Page B

was on duty?
DSS FARADAY: Mackie and Allinson.
D-I RAPSEY: You didn’t think this was important enough for you to be there?
DSS FARADAY: No. Mackie knew Dennis. He knew Dennis better than I did. What would me being there help?
D-I RAPSEY: And with hindsight?
DSS FARADAY: With hindsight, I should have spent twenty-four hours a day on the job instead of just twenty.
D-I RAPSEY: Let’s go on. Mackie rang you.
DSS FARADAY: Correct. I was asleep.
D-I RAPSEY: What did he say?
DSS FARADAY: He said Dennis’d turned up.
D-I RAPSEY: And you said?
DSS FARADAY: I said: So?
D-I RAPSEY: Mackie suggested a tail on Dennis when he left. What was your response?
DSS FARADAY: I said no.
D-I RAPSEY: Didn’t even consider it? Five kilos of smack up there, brother shows up on short notice.
DSS FARADAY: Dennis is clean, no history, no connections. Rotary clean. In the time we covered him, he did nothing. He thinks Howie made his money on the stockmarket. He’s not going to courier smack for Howie.
D-I RAPSEY: So Dennis drives off. When did Mackie call you again?
DSS FARADAY: Nine o’clock. Just after.
D-I RAPSEY: The reason?
DSS FARADAY: He was worried about a call Howie made as Dennis came out.
D-I RAPSEY: Listened to it?
DSS FARADAY: I’ve listened to it.
D-I RAPSEY: Howard’s voice.
DSS FARADAY: Howie’s voice.
D-I RAPSEY: Sound a bit stagey?
DSS FARADAY: Yes.
D-I RAPSEY: Know the person on the other end?
DSS FARADAY: As you know, the person doesn’t say anything.
D-I RAPSEY: One-way conversation.
DSS FARADAY: Not unusual for Howie. They pick up the phone, he talks.
D-I RAPSEY: Never raised a doubt in your mind?
DSS FARADAY: Not when Mackie described it, no.
D-I RAPSEY: What did you tell Mackie?
DSS FARADAY: Told him I’d listen the next day.
D-I RAPSEY: Ten minutes later, he rings you again. What did he say this time?
DSS FARADAY: Someone rang Howie. Howie didn’t make any sense, didn’t answer questions, said goodbye in the middle of something the guy was saying.
D-I RAPSEY: That didn’t alarm you? Didn’t interest you?
DSS FARADAY: No. Sounded like vintage Howie.
D-I RAPSEY: And when you listened to the tape?
DSS FARADAY: I had the benefit of hindsight.
D-I RAPSEY: Would you have picked it if you’d been there?
DSS FARADAY: Yes.
D-I RAPSEY: And exactly when did you listen to the tape?
DSS FARADAY: The next day.
D-I RAPSEY: Mackie says he asked you to come back and listen. Is that right?
DSS FARADAY: He did.
D-I RAPSEY: And you didn’t.
DSS FARADAY: I didn’t see any reason to.
D-I RAPSEY: So let’s get this straight. Lefroy is sitting in his flat with five kilos. You believe that a pick-up could take place at any time. He gets a visit from his brother. Something that hasn’t happened before. Your man calls you to suggest a tail because he didn’t get a good look at Dennis. You say no. Howard makes a phone call to someone who doesn’t talk back. Your man calls you. Forget it, you say. Then someone calls Howard. and it sounds weird to your man. He calls you. You say, I’ll listen tomorrow. Is that a fair account?
DSS FARADAY: You have to understand, Mackie was new on Howie. I’ve listened to hundreds of Howie’s conversations. This stuff wasn’t weird for him.
D-I RAPSEY: Nothing else happened that night?
DSS FARADAY: No. Loud music. Stopped about midnight. Often that way.
D-I RAPSEY: No more calls.
DSS FARADAY: No.
D-I RAPSEY: Let’s go to the morning. What kind of routine did Lefroy have?
DSS FARADAY: Call to his broker. Six forty-five, Monday to Friday.
D-I RAPSEY: This Thursday he didn’t.
DSS FARADAY: No.
D-I RAPSEY: What else did he always do?
DSS FARADAY: Open all the curtains. Make coffee. Walk around naked. Phone people.
D-I RAPSEY: Didn’t happen either.
DSS FARADAY: No.
D-I RAPSEY: Who was on duty?
DSS FARADAY: O’Meara. Stand-in.
D-I RAPSEY: Briefed on Lefroy’s habits? Knew what to expect? Shown the log?
DSS FARADAY: He was a stand-in. He was covering for two hours.
D-I RAPSEY: What time did you show