Dialogues of the Dead

'Rosebud?' said Andy Dalziel. 'Go to the pictures a lot, young Boiler, does he?' 'No, sir,' said Pascoe, relieved not to have to make the decision whether to explain to Dalziel that rosebud, was the mysterious last utterance of the dying millionaire in Citizen Kane. The Fat Man could be brutally sarcastic if he felt his underlings were patronizing him. 'Bowler's never seen the movie so it meant nothing to him. More important, of course, is whether it meant anything to the councillor.' 'Mebbe. But I can't see Stutter going to the flicks unless there was free popcorn. You say young Bowler gave him the kiss of life?' 'So I understand,' said Pascoe. 'Braver man than me,' declared Dalziel. 'I've had me doubts about the lad, but I reckon anyone who can give Sniffer Steel the kiss of life ought to be put up for the Queen's Medal!' Pascoe glanced nervously around in case there was anyone in earshot ready to be offended, but the mezzanine floor which included Hal's cafe-bar and a book and souvenir shop was deserted except for a couple of uniforms. He'd been reluctant to close the Centre completely, but Dalziel had had no such qualms on his return. The Fat Man was staring up at a security camera as if contemplating ripping it off the wall. It wouldn't have made any difference if he had. One of the first things Pascoe had done was send Wield up to the security office on the top floor in the hope that there'd be something on video. His own expert eye had told him that the system was far from the state-of-the-art set-up you might have expected in such a new complex. Old-fashioned fixed cameras,

^7 and not a lot of them. But he hadn't been prepared for the news that Wield returned with. 'You won't credit this,' he said to Pascoe. 'System's not on during the day.' 'What?' 'No. Theory is that the sight of the cameras is deterrent enough. Wouldn't have been on at night either if Stuffer had had his way.' 'Stutter?' 'Aye, ironic, isn't it? Every penny they spent on building this place, they got a battle from Stutter over it. They had to let him win a few small victories else they'd never have got it finished. Security was one of them. He got the budget for installation, use and maintenance cut by eighty per cent. It was either that or lose a couple of staff.' 'Shit,' said Pascoe. 'But it does mean that whoever did this probably knew he wasn't on Candid Camera. That's something.' 'Not much consolation to Stuffer, wherever he is, knowing if he'd not been so penny-pinching, he might still be here,' Wield had mused. 'How long's yon sodding quack going to take?' demanded the Fat Man, turning his attention from the useless camera to the side corridor where the Gents was situated. 'What's he doing in there, for God's sake? Going through Stutter's pockets for change?' Yon sodding quack was the police medical examiner who was presently examining the councillor's body. When Bowler's judgment that Steel was definitely dead was confirmed by the paramedics, Pascoe had made them leave the body where it was, both to prevent further contamination of the scene and to please the imminent superintendent who had been heard to aver that looking at a murder site without a corpse was like eating an egg without a waxed moustache. 'I'm sure he'll be out shortly,' said Pascoe. 'Talking of bogs, where's our Boghead at now?' 'Up in the gallery with Wieldy, taking statements.' There'd been some muttering when he'd told the remaining preview guests that they could not leave till they'd been interviewed, but he'd been adamant. The near certainty that the murder weapon was Jude Illingworth's lost burin made everyone