The Enemy Within by Sally Spencer Page B

want me to print.’
    â€˜Thank you,’ Woodend said.
    â€˜I mean it.’
    â€˜I’m sure you do.’ Woodend leant back in his chair. ‘Most things in this life operate on the tit-for-tat principle. Well, you’ve just offered me the “tit”. Isn’t it about time I heard about the “tat”?’
    â€˜You’re right,’ Bryant agreed. ‘I do want a favour.’
    â€˜I thought so. Let’s hear it, then.’
    â€˜Last night, when I heard about the fire engines being called out––’
    â€˜How
did
you hear about it?’ Woodend interrupted.
    Bryant smiled. ‘No comment.’
    â€˜Was it one of my lads who tipped you the wink?’
    â€˜I didn’t hear it from the police.’
    â€˜So it was somebody in the fire service?’
    â€˜Again, no comment. A reporter who reveals his sources doesn’t keep those sources very long.’
    â€˜So you knew that there’d been a fire and the police were involved. Were you also aware there’d been a murder?’
    Bryant frowned. ‘No, I wasn’t. If I had been, I might not have . . .’ He trailed off.
    â€˜Might not have what?’ Woodend asked, pouncing on the indecision.
    â€˜Might not have sent Jamie Clegg down there,’ Bryant admitted reluctantly.
    â€˜Is that what this is all about?’ Woodend asked. ‘One of your reporters?’
    â€˜Yes, it is. He’s a nice lad, Jamie. Very keen.’
    â€˜Go on,’ Woodend said.
    Bryant’s confidence had continued to ebb away, and now he seemed a little unsure how to proceed.
    â€˜What . . . er . . . what happened is at least partly my fault,’ he said. ‘I’ve been trying to inject a bit of life into the
Courier
, and it’s possible that, as far as my staff are concerned, I’ve gone a little too far a little too fast.’
    â€˜This Jamie Clegg,’ Woodend said. ‘He wouldn’t happen to be the feller my sergeant ended up chasin’, by any chance?’
    â€˜He would.’
    â€˜You
told
him to sneak on to Mad Jack’s Field an’ try an’ steal one of the petrol cans?’
    â€˜Of course not. I would never have done such a thing. Not only is it unethical, but it’s stupid – any journalist worth his salt knows you’ll get more out of the police by co-operating than you will from trying to pull a fast one over on them. In fact, what Jamie did was
doubly
stupid – because trying to find a vital clue on a large site in the darkness was about as effective as pissing into the wind.’
    â€˜Then if you had nothin’ to do with it––’
    â€˜But the point is, he may have thought that’s what I
wanted
him to do – may have imagined that’s what I meant when I told my staff they should use their initiative. That’s why I say this whole thing might be partly my fault.’
    â€˜I’m still not sure what you’re after,’ Woodend said.
    â€˜Now that you know who your intruder was, you’re probably thinking of charging him with something.’
    â€˜Damn right I am.’
    â€˜And indeed, you’re perfectly entitled to do so. I couldn’t blame you if you did. But the lad didn’t mean any harm. And as far as I can ascertain, he didn’t
do
any harm.’
    â€˜He made my sergeant ladder one of her new nylon stockings.’
    â€˜Then I’ll make sure he buys her a new pair. Or perhaps even half a dozen pairs, to compensate for the inconvenience he’s caused. But as I said, the only thing he’s really guilty of is being too eager to do his job well. You and I both know what that’s like. So could you let him off this time?’
    â€˜If I do––’
    â€˜If you do, I promise you I’ll give him the biggest bollocking he’s ever had in his life.’
    â€˜I suppose it would cut down on the paperwork if I looked the other