Goodbye California - Alistair [113]
Jeff digested this in silence. Parker said slowly: ‘It’s all very well for you to sit there in – what kind of judgement do you call it?’
‘Olympian?’ Ryder said helpfully.
‘That’s it. It’s all very well for you to sit there in Olympian judgement, but you’d made up that crafty mind in advance that you weren’t going to believe a word Morro said and you were also certain that he wouldn’t say what you were convinced he couldn’t say.’
‘Very shrewd, Sergeant Parker. Confusing, mind you, but shrewd.’
‘And you’ve just said it all fits in.’
‘I did say that.’
‘You know something we don’t know?’
‘I don’t know any facts that you don’t know, except for those I get from reading about earthquakes and contemporary history, a practice for which Jeff here thinks I need the services of a head-shrinker.’
‘I never said –’
‘You don’t have to speak to say something.’
‘I have it,’ Parker said. ‘All good detectives come up with a theory. You have a theory?’
‘Well, in all due modesty –’
‘Modesty? So now the sun sets in the east. I don’t even have to take time out for a reflective pause. Mindanao?’
‘Mindanao.’
When Ryder had finished, Parker said to Jeff: ‘Well, what do you make of that?’
‘I’m still trying to assimilate it all.’ Jeff spoke in a kind of dazed protest. ‘I mean, I’ve just come to it. You’ve got to give me time to think.’
‘Come, come, boy. First impressions.’
‘Well, I don’t see any holes in it. And the more I think – and if you would give me more time I could think more – the fewer holes I can see. I think it could be right.’
‘Look at your old man,’ Parker said. ‘Can you see any sign of “could” in his face?’
‘That’s just smirking. Well, I can’t see any way in which it must be wrong.’ Jeff thought some more then took the plunge. ‘It makes sense to me.’
‘There you are now, John.’ Parker sounded positively jovial. ‘As near a compliment as you’ll ever be likely to extract from your son. It makes a lot of sense to me. Come, gentlemen, let’s try it out for size on Major Dunne.’
Dunne didn’t even bother saying it made sense. He turned to Leroy and said: ‘Get me Mr Barrow. And have the helicopter stand by.’ He rubbed his hands briskly. ‘Well, well. Looks as if you’re going to ruffle a few feathers in Los Angeles, Sergeant.’
‘You go and ruffle them. Top brass rub me the wrong way. Your boss seems almost human, but that’s more than I can say for Mitchell. You know as much about it now as I do, and I’m only guessing anyway. The person I would like to see is Professor Benson. If you could fix that I’d be grateful.’
‘Delighted. If you fly north.’
‘Blackmail.’ Ryder didn’t sound too heated.
‘Of course.’ Dunne regarded him over steepled fingers. ‘Seriously. Several things. First off, we could kill two birds with one stone – Pasadena is only ten minutes’ helicopter hop from our offices up there. Again, if you don’t turn up both Barrow and Mitchell will automatically assume that you lack the courage of your own convictions. You can talk to them in a way that would get me fired on the spot. They can probe more deeply than I’ve done and ask questions that I couldn’t answer – I know you’ve told me all what you regard as the essentials, but there must be details that you consider irrelevant at the moment. What’s the point in staying here? There’s nothing more you can accomplish here, and you know it: to convince the mandarins of your belief would be a major accomplishment.’ Dunne smiled. ‘Would you be so heartless as to deprive me of the