Sins of the Fathers Read Online Free PDF Page A

firmly. ‘That is a direct order, and though I will not personally be here to see that it is enforced—’
    His mouth snapped shut like a steel trap, as if he’d suddenly realized he’d said too much.
    â€˜What was that, sir?’ Woodend asked.
    â€˜I will not be supervising you directly in this investigation, but whoever assumes that responsibility will be working to the remit that I have given him,’ Marlowe said, attempting to blur his previous statement.
    â€˜You’ll be replacin’ Bradley Pine as Conservative candidate, won’t you?’ Woodend asked.
    â€˜The idea has been mooted,’ Marlowe admitted, ‘but that is really no concern of yours, Chief Inspector.
Your
task is to track down the brutal and insane killer who may well yet turn out to have had no connection with Bradley Pine at all, but merely selected him because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
    Woodend said nothing. If Marlowe was prepared to accept that particular theory as a possibility, he thought, then persuading him that the moon was made of green cheese should be a doddle.
    â€˜And speaking of Pine’s movements, I might be able to point you in the right direction, there,’ Marlowe continued.
    â€˜Oh aye?’
    â€˜Indeed. I attended a meeting that Bradley addressed yesterday evening, and at the end of it he came up to me for advice.’
    â€˜What kind of advice?’
    â€˜Nothing that could possibly have any relevance to the case. He wanted to know how I thought his speech had gone down, and wondered if I could make any suggestions to improve his performance in the future.’ Marlowe paused. ‘I think he was beginning to realize he was completely out of his depth, you know. I think he was starting to regret accepting the nomination at all, when there was another – clearly more able – candidate available.’
    â€˜An’ that candidate would be?’ Woodend asked.
    â€˜That candidate would be
me
!’ Marlowe said, not quite sure whether or not he should take offence.
    â€˜Of course it would, sir,’ Woodend said.
    â€˜But that’s neither here nor there,’ Marlowe ploughed on. ‘The important point is that he happened to say to me that when he left the village hall he intended to drive straight to St Mary’s Church. Bradley was a Roman Catholic, you know, though you shouldn’t hold that against him.’
    â€˜I won’t,’ Woodend said, wisely concealing what would have been his second broad grin of the meeting. ‘Us Buddhists tend to be very tolerant of other religions, sir.’
    â€˜Are you a
Buddhist
now?’ Marlowe asked.
    â€˜I am,’ Woodend lied.
    Marlowe shook his head. ‘Extraordinary – though not really all that surprising,’ he said.
    The chief constable glanced involuntarily at the telephone, then at his watch, then at the telephone again.
    He was on tenterhooks, Woodend thought. He knew he was almost certain to be contacted by the Conservative Party Selection Committee, but he wouldn’t really be at ease until the call had actually been made.
    â€˜Can I go, sir?’ the chief inspector asked.
    â€˜Yes, yes, by all means,’ Marlowe said impatiently, as if the murder case were now no more than an annoying distraction.
    Woodend turned and walked to the door. He was already turning the handle when he heard Marlowe say, ‘You will remember what I told you, won’t you, Chief Inspector?’
    â€˜I’m sorry, sir?’
    â€˜You are not – under any circumstances – to carry out a detailed check on Bradley Pine’s background.’
    â€˜Oh yes, I’ll remember that,’ Woodend assured him.
    â€˜Good, because if you don’t …’
    â€˜You’ve no worries on that score, sir. Us Buddhists have memories like elephants. It’s part of the trainin’.’
    Woodend stepped out in the reception room