The Altered Case by Peter Turnbull Page B

that’s true.’
    Bateman leaned back in his chair. ‘So . . . if you would like to examine the ledgers at your leisure, gentlemen, I can let you have a small office. It has a small desk and a lovely view of our backyard,’ he added with a grin.
    Hennessey and Yellich gratefully accepted the offer of the small office and settled down to leaf through the ledgers while fortified by cups of tea provided by the smiling receptionist. Looking at the entries for September of the year in question, one entry caught Yellich’s eye and he drew Hennessey’s attention to it. It was a very significant entry because it was the only entry to record that the hire had been paid for in hard cash. All the other entries read either ‘cheque’, ‘credit card’, or ‘charge to account’. Laying the other ledgers to one side Hennessey and Yellich carried that particular book to Bateman’s office. Upon tapping on the door they were warmly invited to enter.
    â€˜Can you tell me anything about this entry here, Mr Bateman?’ Hennessey rotated the ledger and laid it on Bateman’s desk. He indicated the relevant entry.
    â€˜Cash,’ Bateman read, ‘that is quite unusual, pretty well unique in fact.’
    Hennessey stood upright. ‘That is why we are interested in it, from a police officer’s point of view.’
    â€˜Can’t be traced.’ Bateman glanced up at Hennessey and Yellich. ‘Is that the reason for your interest?’
    â€˜Yes,’ Hennessey replied, ‘yes, it is. All other forms of payment leave a paper trail but hard cash . . . hard cash . . . the good old folding brown and blue, especially if used and untraceable, has always been a favoured method of doing business in the criminal fraternity.’
    â€˜So I believe . . . so I believe.’ Bateman looked at the ledger. ‘So what does the entry tell us? Well, the first thing it tells us is that it dates from the time before we took over the business, just by a couple of years, so we won’t be able to tell you anything about it other than what is in the ledger. The handling agent is given as “E.E.”, that would be Edward Evans, of Evans and Marshall. He is still with us.’
    â€˜Still alive?’
    â€˜Yes, very much so. The plant in question, a Bobcat 322 . . . it’s a mini digger, the smallest design of digger there is.’
    â€˜I think I know the type,’ Yellich observed.
    â€˜Yes.’ Bateman glanced at Yellich. ‘Small, green-painted machines. They are very popular with gangs who dig up the pavements or the roads to access gas and/or water mains. The operator often looks to be quite cramped in the cab but they really are a very handy bit of kit, they have a long “reach”, as we say, they can get a long way down into the ground. They are designed for digging long, narrow trenches rather than excavating holes or large, deep foundations, and we often hire them to farmers who use them to clear their ditches. They also have a small shovel under the cab at the front, and so can be used like a very small bulldozer.’
    â€˜So good for digging graves,’ Hennessey asked, ‘and also good for filling in of same?’
    â€˜Ideal, in fact some of the larger local authorities have bought them for that purpose. They can do in less than an hour what a gravedigger would take a working day to do.’
    â€˜We have an interest in a hole about three feet wide and up to six feet deep.’
    â€˜So, a grave.’ Bateman raised his eyebrows. ‘You were not joking?’
    â€˜Nope.’ Hennessey retained a serious expression. ‘Not joking at all. Police inquiries rarely are a laughing matter. You will shortly hear about it in the regional news bulletins and read about it in the press. I dare say it will be the talk of the local pubs this evening.’
    â€˜I see. Well I live to the north of York so I won’t hear