Marmion.
‘I didn’t know there were any, Harv.’
‘We’ve just talked to one of them.’
‘Maureen Quinn?’
‘She’s a survivor, Joe. She was in that outhouse only minutes before it went off. Without realising it, she’s a source of valuable information. If her father hadn’t been there, we’d have got far more of it out of her.’
‘Yes,’ said Keedy, ‘he was an awkward customer, wasn’t he?’
‘More to the point, he doesn’t like policemen. He made that clear. As a rule, that means one thing. He’s been in trouble.’
‘Is it worth checking up on that?’
‘I think so.’
Keedy lurched sideways as the car went around a tight corner.
‘Right,’ he said, sitting up straight again, ‘what are the other positives?’
‘The local police were very cooperative. They don’t always put the flags out for what they see as overpaid detectives from Scotland Yard.’
Keedy snorted. ‘Overpaid! Is that what we are? I can’t say I’ve noticed.’
‘We’ve got them on our side, Joe. That will save a lot of time arguing over boundaries. They accept that we’re in charge. Another positive is that man you spoke to when you went to the factory?’
‘Mr Kennett is the works manager.’
‘According to you, he promised all the help we’ll need.’
‘He sounded like a thoroughly decent man, Harv. He was close to tears when I told him that five of his female employees had been blown up at that pub.’
‘Then we come to the last and best positive.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘We don’t have to go back to the Yard to tell Chat what we’ve been up to.’
Keedy laughed. ‘That’s a huge relief,’ he said. ‘Chat is bad enough in the daytime when he’s full of beans. By late evening, he gets tired and that makes him even more fractious. He’s like a bear with a sore head.’
‘That’s why I advised him to go home.’
After exchanging a few jokes about the superintendent, they turned their minds back to the case in hand. Marmion listed all the things they had to do on the following day. They had to deliver a comprehensive report to Claude Chatfield, then appear at a press conference, asking crime correspondents of newspapers to broadcast an appeal for anyone who saw any suspicious activity near the Golden Goose recently to come forward. Detectives would be deployed to go from house to house in the area in search of potential witnesses.
‘That outhouse was kept locked,’ said Marmion. ‘How did the bomber gain access to it to plant his device?’
‘And how sophisticated was the bomb?’
‘It was sophisticated enough to do the job, Joe. That’s what really matters. But it will be interesting to see what the experts say when they’ve collected enough bomb fragments. It should tell us if we’re looking for a rank amateur or for someone who works at the factory and is used to handling explosives.’
‘Do you still think someone had a grudge against one of those women?’
‘Yes, I do – against one or all of them. It may be some crank who objects to the very idea of women doing jobs always done by men in the past.’
‘There’s another way of looking at this,’ mused Keedy.
‘Is there?’
‘What if the real target was the landlord? Somebody could have fallen out with him or been banned from the pub. When he blew up that outhouse, he might have been completely unaware of the fact that someone was inside.’
‘It’s an idea worth considering, Joe, but there’s one thing against it.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Anyone who hated Mr Hubbard enough to plant a bomb on the premises would surely want to cause maximum damage. He’d blow up the pub itself,’ said Marmion, thoughtfully. ‘And I reckon he’d do it after dark so that no customers would be injured. If the landlord was the target, the best time to set off an explosion would be when he’s completely off guard, snoring in bed beside his wife.’
‘I still think we shouldn’t rule him out,
‘I didn’t know there were any, Harv.’
‘We’ve just talked to one of them.’
‘Maureen Quinn?’
‘She’s a survivor, Joe. She was in that outhouse only minutes before it went off. Without realising it, she’s a source of valuable information. If her father hadn’t been there, we’d have got far more of it out of her.’
‘Yes,’ said Keedy, ‘he was an awkward customer, wasn’t he?’
‘More to the point, he doesn’t like policemen. He made that clear. As a rule, that means one thing. He’s been in trouble.’
‘Is it worth checking up on that?’
‘I think so.’
Keedy lurched sideways as the car went around a tight corner.
‘Right,’ he said, sitting up straight again, ‘what are the other positives?’
‘The local police were very cooperative. They don’t always put the flags out for what they see as overpaid detectives from Scotland Yard.’
Keedy snorted. ‘Overpaid! Is that what we are? I can’t say I’ve noticed.’
‘We’ve got them on our side, Joe. That will save a lot of time arguing over boundaries. They accept that we’re in charge. Another positive is that man you spoke to when you went to the factory?’
‘Mr Kennett is the works manager.’
‘According to you, he promised all the help we’ll need.’
‘He sounded like a thoroughly decent man, Harv. He was close to tears when I told him that five of his female employees had been blown up at that pub.’
‘Then we come to the last and best positive.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘We don’t have to go back to the Yard to tell Chat what we’ve been up to.’
Keedy laughed. ‘That’s a huge relief,’ he said. ‘Chat is bad enough in the daytime when he’s full of beans. By late evening, he gets tired and that makes him even more fractious. He’s like a bear with a sore head.’
‘That’s why I advised him to go home.’
After exchanging a few jokes about the superintendent, they turned their minds back to the case in hand. Marmion listed all the things they had to do on the following day. They had to deliver a comprehensive report to Claude Chatfield, then appear at a press conference, asking crime correspondents of newspapers to broadcast an appeal for anyone who saw any suspicious activity near the Golden Goose recently to come forward. Detectives would be deployed to go from house to house in the area in search of potential witnesses.
‘That outhouse was kept locked,’ said Marmion. ‘How did the bomber gain access to it to plant his device?’
‘And how sophisticated was the bomb?’
‘It was sophisticated enough to do the job, Joe. That’s what really matters. But it will be interesting to see what the experts say when they’ve collected enough bomb fragments. It should tell us if we’re looking for a rank amateur or for someone who works at the factory and is used to handling explosives.’
‘Do you still think someone had a grudge against one of those women?’
‘Yes, I do – against one or all of them. It may be some crank who objects to the very idea of women doing jobs always done by men in the past.’
‘There’s another way of looking at this,’ mused Keedy.
‘Is there?’
‘What if the real target was the landlord? Somebody could have fallen out with him or been banned from the pub. When he blew up that outhouse, he might have been completely unaware of the fact that someone was inside.’
‘It’s an idea worth considering, Joe, but there’s one thing against it.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Anyone who hated Mr Hubbard enough to plant a bomb on the premises would surely want to cause maximum damage. He’d blow up the pub itself,’ said Marmion, thoughtfully. ‘And I reckon he’d do it after dark so that no customers would be injured. If the landlord was the target, the best time to set off an explosion would be when he’s completely off guard, snoring in bed beside his wife.’
‘I still think we shouldn’t rule him out,
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