Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill Page A

about media coverage? Them sharks can smell blood at a Scotch mile.’
    ‘A bit of local interest, but we had it covered. Alex had written a letter of resignation when they put him on compassionate. Mathias had stuck it in his desk drawer till he saw how things panned out. When the time came, he dug it up and slipped it into the files. So when the press started asking questions, all they found was an ex-cop who’d resigned because of personal problems, then walked away. Worth a para or two on a bad day.’
    ‘And you personally, Mick? What did you think had happened?’
    ‘Breakdown, maybe. Losing a kid’s devastating for anyone, and Alex was the sensitive sort — university entrant, bit of a bleeding heart, you probably know the type.’
    ‘Yeah, I’ve got one of them, but mine’s come along nicely. Like they say, you can do a lot with a graduate if you catch the bugger young.’
    ‘True, and I had high hopes of Alex, but it wasn’t to be. So, as I say, some kind of breakdown seemed favourite, but as time went by and there wasn’t the slightest trace, no movement on his bank account, nothing on credit cards, no contact with Gina…’
    ‘You knew that for certain?’
    ‘I believed her then and, since we got close, I’ve been absolutely sure. Anyway, as time went by I stopped thinking breakdown. Something doesn’t move for that long, it’s got to be dead.’
    ‘Right,’ said Dalziel. ‘Educated guess at how he might have died?’
    ‘Could have cracked under the strain and topped himself,’ said Purdy. ‘Could have been an accident. Guy in his state of mind is quite capable of walking under a bus.’
    ‘Except bodies under buses get noticed, and even suicides usually draw attention to themselves. All Wolfe’s details would be on record, so even if they found him bollock naked, it wouldn’t be long before the magic box popped him up, would it?’
    ‘Still on the ball, eh?’ said Purdy admiringly. ‘Gina said you struck her as being very sharp. Made an impression there, Andy.’
    ‘Save the bullshit for your roses,’ said Dalziel. ‘If he is dead and hasn’t been found, then it’s likely ’cos someone didn’t want him found. Any suggestions, Mick?’
    ‘You’re thinking Gidman, right?’
    ‘It’s a motive.’
    ‘Only if Gidman is a wrong ’un, and Alex was bent. I don’t think so.’
    ‘Either or both?’
    There was a silence, then Purdy said, ‘You and me have been around a long time, Andy, and we’ve seen a lot of good coppers caught with their hands in the till. Circumstances change people. You got a dying kid on your hands, there’s not much you won’t do to try and buy a cure.’
    ‘So a maybe there. And Gidman, what’s your take on him?’
    ‘Pure as the driven snow, on paper at least. Lots of stories about his younger days, several accusations, but nothing ever proved. And since he got into the big money game, what with doling out cash on a regular basis to good causes, and sitting on financial advisory boards, he’s fast approaching sainthood.’
    ‘Not surprising if you can afford the best PR firms,’ said Dalziel cynically.
    ‘He can certainly do that,’ said Purdy. ‘My reading is, if they really want to get rid of MRSA, they should give Goldie Gidman the NHS cleaning franchise.’
    ‘So you do think he’s got things to hide?’
    ‘We’ve all got things to hide, Andy. All I know is the Met gave it their best shot. And long after everyone else had given up on the job, old Owen Mathias kept on niggling away. But try as hard as he could, in the end he didn’t even lay a parking ticket on him.’
    ‘Why was Mathias so obsessed then?’
    ‘Well, he was always a man of principle, Owen. Signed up with South Wales but got himself transferred to the Met in the late seventies. Operation Countryman time, remember? Robert Mark cleaning out the stables. Owen reckoned Mark was the new Messiah. Wanted to be around to do his bit. Cynics said that he was a wily Welshman