Rat Poison by Margaret Duffy Page A

hospital for a couple of days but was in a tearing hurry. So as I was worried about being watched by Uncle and if Charlie cooperated we could come to a satisfactory arrangement.’
    â€˜He’s much heavier than you.’
    â€˜We arranged a few hay bales underneath; he lay down on the top one and I pulled them away afterwards. You should have questioned him when you found him.’
    Carrick threw his arms up in the air and went away.
    â€˜Cops don’t think like you do,’ I explained.
    â€˜I gave him that man on a plate ,’ Patrick said furiously. ‘And now he’s dead, murdered. He should have been questioned and given police protection. As it was he went home, rang Uncle to complain about his treatment and they promptly took him apart and then killed him to teach the interferer a lesson. Uncle – and who the hell else could have done it? – now knows someone’s on to him. It wasn’t me who screwed up, was it?’
    â€˜No,’ I agreed calmly. ‘But don’t forget Joanna’s due to give birth at any time and James is dead worried about her. And while I remember it, Matthew has his appointment with the Youth Offending Team a fortnight tomorrow. Will you be there?’
    â€˜Of course.’
    â€˜What are you going to tell them?’
    â€˜The truth.’
    â€˜What, about Andrews having a possible connection with criminals?’
    â€˜If necessary. That boy’s future is far more important than a bloody police investigation.’
    Michael Greenway was furious, blaming both Carrick and Patrick for what he called ‘their appalling lack of consultation and communication with one other’. As the commander was the latter’s immediate superior it was he who received the reprimand, and I am sure, having overheard that bit without difficulty, the fact it was delivered over the phone did not dilute it one iota.
    I had tactfully withdrawn from the room – the call had come during that evening only a few minutes after Patrick had come home from work – and when I returned from my little walk around the garden he was pensively pouring himself a tot of whisky.
    â€˜I screwed up,’ he said. ‘Official.’
    I refrained from trite statements along the lines of ‘you can’t win ’em all’ and reckoned the oracle was about to be released from her box.
    â€˜So what do I do?’ he asked.
    â€˜You could turn everything around by working with what you’ve got. As you said yourself Uncle knows someone’s on to him but he probably won’t think it’s the police as cops don’t tend to string mobsters up by the heels. I’m sure you’ve created a certain amount of confusion so Uncle might be on the trail of Mick the Kick right now, assuming he was behind it.’
    â€˜And?’
    â€˜Stay in character.’
    â€˜Go after him, you mean?’
    I did not want to say it but did. ‘You might have to gain his interest even further in order to get inside his organization.’
    â€˜People like him are always on the lookout for specialists.’
    â€˜That’s right. He might offer you a job in order to get you off his back. He might think that’s what you’re after.’
    â€˜Serious criminals are always on the lookout for experts, in money laundering for example. I’ve done a bit of work on the ins and outs of international finance but that kind of thing has never been my strong point.’ Patrick pulled a wry face. ‘He already has an in-house psychopath: Murphy.’ He added wistfully, ‘I’m good at those.’
    â€˜She could always be taken out.’
    â€˜Ingrid, you don’t normally suggest I top women.’
    I tut-tutted and then smiled at his concern. ‘I’m not. Surely she’s wanted in connection with several crimes – under suspicion for murders committed during the Bath turf war, for one thing. Arrest