The Last Detective (Peter Diamond Book 1) by Lovesey Peter

Author:Lovesey, Peter [Lovesey, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781569478080
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 2003-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

NINE

THE DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLES was slight, no more than a flaking of paint from the Mercedes and a small dent in the nearside wing of the Mini. But it was enough to provide a pretext. Having established that neither driver was injured, Wigfull solemnly took particulars from the old man—a retired doctor—who owned the Mini, while Diamond opened the door of the Mercedes, introduced himself and asked the woman inside to hand him the key.

‘Thank you. Now would you move across to the other seat?’

She obeyed, her hands trembling as she put them out to support herself.

‘Sure you’re all right?’

‘Yes.’

He lowered himself towards the driver’s seat, then realized just in time that he wouldn’t fit. The level of the seat had been raised by two squares of foam rubber, leaving so little space below the steering wheel that it would have courted disaster to squeeze the already suffering portion of his anatomy under there. ‘I’ll have to move these.’

She shrugged her consent and he managed the manoeuvre at the second try.

‘You’re Mrs Dana Didrikson?’

‘Yes.’ Her face had turned the colour of skimmed milk, accentuated by the brown hair that framed it. A neat, finely-shaped mouth and dark, intelligent eyes that now had a hunted look. Without it, Diamond might have guessed that she was a teacher or a social worker.

Capable of murder? he asked himself as he said aloud, ‘Would you care to tell me how this happened?’

‘I was driving too fast. It wasn’t his fault. I thought I’d stopped in time.’

‘Why the hurry?’

She let out a sigh that said this was playing games because they both knew the reason. ‘I was trying to escape.’

Simple cause and effect. Naturally she’d hurried because she was trying to escape. From her deadpan manner, she might have been talking about the weather.

Diamond couldn’t match her composure. He quivered. The adrenalin coursed through him. The breakthrough was happening. All those miserable hours by the lake, in the caravan, on the phone to Merlin, at case conferences, watching the pesky computer screens, teasing out information from the professor—were about to be rewarded.

His throat had gone dry. He dredged up the one word that mattered. ‘Escape?’

‘Out of the back of the house. Didn’t you see me?’

‘We saw you.’

‘Well, then.’ More words, apparently, were superfluous.

Not wishing to say one syllable that might discourage her candour, he kept to practicalities. ‘Your car was parked at the back, I take it?’

She nodded. ‘I got in and drove too fast. What’s going to happen to me?’

‘We’re going to require a statement. Would you wait here, please?’ He hauled himself out of the seat and approached Wigfull, who was still going through the motions of questioning the elderly Mini driver. ‘Reverse the Mercedes, John. She’s willing to cough the lot, I think.’

The old man said at once, ‘If she’s admitting responsibility, I’d like it noted.’

‘Thank you for drawing it to our attention, sir,’ said Diamond. ‘An officer will come and see you in due course.’ He returned to the Mercedes and got into the back seat, behind Dana Didrikson.

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