Honour Among Men by Barbara Fradkin

her presence, let alone included her in the invitation. The thought of a boozy, backslapping evening on his own with the inspector and his wife made him cringe.
    â€œThat’s very thoughtful of you, Leo. But judging from the number of boxes on that table, I may be here all night.”
    Norrich waved a dismissive hand. “Most of this is irrelevant. Witnesses interviewed five times over, who never saw anything in the first place. Or have forgotten anythingthey might have seen.” He winked. “It happens when you’re three sheets to the wind, eh?”
    This time Green didn’t bother with the dutiful smile. “Even so, I’d like to have a look. I’ve come all this way, might as well be thorough.”
    A scowl flitted across Norrich’s florid features. “Suit yourself. I can’t see why you think Patti Ross’s death is connected to this case anyway. This was ten years ago, just one of those pig-headed bar fights that gets out of hand when a little pussy starts ramping them up. I don’t know what things are like in Ottawa, but down here, sometimes guys just have to blow off steam. They’re cooped up all winter, jobs are scarce, and they’ve got too much time on their hands. And truth be told, Patti’s life hasn’t been all smooth sailing since then either, and she’s been known not to choose her company too carefully.”
    Beside him, McGrath bristled. Green lifted an eyebrow. “You’ve been keeping track of her?”
    The subtlety was lost on the man. He beamed triumphantly. “I made some inquiries when I heard you were coming down. She was on welfare for a long time till she got this part-time dry cleaners job. She’s been living in a shitty little one-room hole, drinking away most of what she makes.” He stopped, obviously thinking he’d made his point—that a drunken welfare tramp more than asks for whatever tawdry fate befalls her.
    Green moved briskly to the table to hide his anger. “Well, that’s very helpful, Leo. Saves me some legwork. Now I won’t keep you any longer. The sooner I get to that stack of files, the sooner I can take you up on that dinner.”
    â€œKate will take good care of you. And any questions, you know where to find me.” He pumped Green’s hand again andtrundled out of the room, leaving a palpable tension in his wake. Green heard McGrath exhale softly and wondered if there was a silent curse in her sigh. But she was all business as she strode over to the table.
    â€œHe could be right, I suppose,” she said.
    Green didn’t reply. It was not really good form to tell a sergeant that her senior officer was an idiot, who would never spot a suspicious coincidence through the film of booze and prejudice with which he viewed the world. Patricia had scraped together a meagre existence for ten years since her fiancé’s death, without even escaping the town in which the trauma had occurred. Then suddenly she buys a ticket to Ottawa fifteen hundred kilometres away, and less than two weeks later, she’s dead. It could be simple bad luck, but the odds were long.
    â€œShe witnessed her fiancé’s death, right?” he said. “She saw the man who punched him?”
    â€œYes, but she didn’t know him. She would have given anything to see him caught, believe me.”
    â€œThen maybe something happened recently, to give her a lead on him. Someone told her something, or she discovered something.” He had been sifting idly through the files, and now he glanced up, excited. “And that trail brought her to Ottawa. Either to meet the man or to find out more about him. Whatever she stirred up, someone wanted her silenced.”
    McGrath looked thoughtful. “If she was naïve enough to confront the murderer, it’s a good bet he’d kill her to protect himself. He must have thought he was home free after ten years.”
    Green nodded.