‘Paid? It’s funny you should mention that. I was hoping to get a job in the school holidays, before I go to college, just to earn some money of my own. I do help Grandad, but he can’t afford to pay me, though he does keep me, buys my food and clothes and things. It would be nice to have a spot of money of my own.’

  ‘Well, that dog’s your answer! Say no more. Let’s start now,’ continued Claude. ‘Here’s twenty quid.’ ‘Twenty quid?’ echoed David.

  ‘That’s just for starters, but not a word to your grandad.’

  ‘But this is a fortune, I’d never earn this in a week!’

  ‘It’s the sort of money a good dog can earn his master, son. It’s to show what’s to come, if you play your cards right and go along with my plans.’

  ‘Well,’ said David, I suppose it would be a nice surprise, he would be proud of Jimbo helping others.’

  ‘Proud, he’d be more than proud. He might even be rich when Jimbo’s trained up to be a racer. That’s what

  we’re aiming for. So shall I have words with Wilf, to have him booked in here regular like? For training sessions, pacing them other dogs?’ ‘Does it cost anything?’

  ‘Look, I’ll see to any costs, right? As a gesture from me, as a token of my faith in your dog. Consider it done. You go and collect Jimbo now, and I’ll talk to Wilf.’

  But as the youngster went off to collect his splendid greyhound, Greengrass went over to Jack Scarman and said, ‘Well, Jack, how about it then? Was that a dog or wasn’t it? Didn’t I say I had an eye for a dog.’

  ‘Shut up, Claude, don’t go bragging all over the district. This is between you and me and nobody else. Now, as you say, you can hardly tell those dogs apart, except for that white patch …’

  ‘Just what I was thinking, Jack. And a white patch is easily covered up, eh? And he did leave your dog standing, didn’t he? And all them others. Now, I know how much the Maddleskirk Trophy means to you …’

  ‘All right, Claude, you don’t have to say any more. It’s on. Now you get this Jimbo down here on a regular basis, get him used to running and to the crowds. I want him racing fit, able to take on the best in a packed noisy stadium. Right?’

  ‘It’s already been fixed, Jack,’ grinned Claude, ‘me being summat of an entrepreneur.’

  ‘Right. Make his training as realistic as possible. Then on the night, it’ll be Northern Flash who’s carrying my money. I think we understand the arrangement? There’ll be summat in it for you, naturally.’

  ‘Naturally,’ beamed Claude. ‘Leave it to me, I’ve got this lad eating out of my hand.’

  ‘I’ll be in the Aidensfield Arms tonight,’ nodded Scarman. ‘Be there, I’ll buy you a drink.’

  ‘As you say, Jack. I wouldn’t miss that for anything.’

  Claude took David and his dog home in the old pick-up, with the greyhound inside and Alfred in the rear. When they arrived back at Parrish’s house, Dr Rowan’s yellow Triumph Herald was parked outside. Kate was just leaving.

  ‘Oh, hello, David,’ she smiled. ‘And Mr Greengrass. Been exercising your dogs, have you?’

  ‘Yes, Mr Greengrass has shown me the greyhound track,’ beamed David. ‘He let Jimbo have a run … he did really well.’

  ‘It was just a bit of fun, you understand, Dr Rowan, lads having fun with their dogs, nowt serious.’

  ‘Of course it was a bit of fun,’ smiled Kate. ‘Now, David, I’ve seen your grandfather, he’s got respiratory problems as you know. He has terrible trouble getting his breath sometimes. He’s really Dr Ferrenby’s patient, but Dr Ferrenby’s not too good himself these days.’

  ‘Grandad said Dr Ferrenby wasn’t very well.’

  ‘No, so I’ve come instead. I’ve examined your grandfather, and he tells me he does a bit of animal farming?’

  ‘Yes, we keep a few calves for fattening, and a few sheep on the moor.’

  ‘But he never did farming before he came to Aidensfield?’

  ‘No, he’s a townie, Dr Rowan, and when he retired he thought he’d like to have a small farm with some livestock. He’s always liked animals, you see. And me, I like them too, so I came here to help him. I’ve always wanted to live and work in the countryside. I fancy being a vet.’

  ‘Well, I hope you achieve your ambition. Now, so far as your grandfather is concerned, I’ve got a sample of his blood, which I’m having examined, and I’ve told him not to work with the animals until I’ve got the results through. So that means more work for you, I’m afraid, feeding the calves and so on.’

  ‘Oh, well, I was arranging to go to the greyhound track every day, but I’ll be able to fit everything in.’

  ‘I’ll see to that dog of yours, David,’ butted in Claude Jeremiah, I’ll make sure he gets his regular training in. You leave it to me. You look after your grandad, he’s more important than a dog, eh, Dr Rowan.’

  ‘Well,’ said the youngster, ‘it’s very kind of you, Mr Greengrass.’

  ‘All part of my generous and helpful nature. See you, later,’ and Claude turned around the pick-up and drove away with Alfred, leaving David and Jimbo with Kate.

  ‘What a lovely dog.’ Kate patted the sleek coat of the greyhound who responded with a wag of his slender tail.

  ‘He’s very fast,’ said David. ‘Mr Greengrass is very impressed by him, he says he’s a good pacer but I’ve got to keep his training secret from Grandad. Till he gets better, that is. Well, I’d better get in to see to Grandad.’

  ‘He’s going to be all right,’ Kate reassured him. ‘I’ll keep in touch about the tests I’m having done.’

  When Nick returned for his tea, he told Kate he’d bumped into Bellamy in Ashfordly, and explained the trauma of Phil’s suspension from duty. Like Nick, Kate was appalled at Phil’s misfortune, neither of them believing for one minute that Phil was a bent copper.

  ‘He can be stupid at times,’ Kate agreed. ‘But he’s never a criminal masquerading in police uniform, not Phil Bellamy.’

  ‘He’s stupid over women,’ Nick told her. ‘He’s putty in their hands. I think a woman’s behind these troubles.’ ‘How do you figure that out?’

  ‘Just suppose he was with a woman on the night the pawnbroker’s was broken into. If that woman was seeing one of the local villains, she might have tempted Phil into her bed to get him out of the way while her friend committed the crime.’

  ‘Would that sort of thing go on in Ashfordly?’

  ‘Why not? It’s been done before, all over the place. Policemen are only human, they can all fall for pretty faces?’

  Kate just smiled. ‘Would you fall for a pretty face?’

  ‘Haven’t I already?’ he responded, kissing her. ‘But seriously, Kate, I reckon Phil’s been set up and I think that woman’s behind it.’

  ‘What woman?’

  ‘The woman whose photo I saw in Phil’s room when I was there. I’m sure I’ve seen her around with Jack Scarman, and, like I told you, Phil’s been seeing Scarman’s woman. Knowing the sort of company Scarman keeps, it wouldn’t surprise me if he set up a raid on the shop with her help.’ ‘You’ve asked Phil about her?’

  ‘Unofficially. If I was seen talking to him, I’d be disciplined so I had to be careful, but he wouldn’t say anything about her. He wouldn’t even admit he was with a woman - he’d end up with a disciplinary charge for neglect of duty or being absent from his beat, though that’s not half as serious as being charged with a crime. Whatever his reaction, Kate, I’m convinced he was with her that night.’

  ‘So what can you do?’

  ‘Well, I told Phil I was going to ask Scarman where his girlfriend was that night. I’ve left him to stew over that. I said I’d give him till half past seven tonight to think about telling me!’

  ‘So he might ring you?’

  ‘Yes, in the next half-hour!’

  ‘But Nick, you could both get into deeper bother, you’re both breaking the Discipline Code!’

  ‘If it means proving a mate of mine is innocent, then I’m prepared to do that,’ he replied. ‘Anyway, how was your day?’

  ‘I went to see that Mr Parrish - he lives up at Ghyll End with his nephew.’

  Kate shared her worries with Nick, telling him in confidence that she felt Alex Ferrenby had misdiagnosed Mr Parrish’s problem. He’d been treating him for bronchitis, but in Kate’s opinion, the symptoms for bronchitis were not present. She explained how she’d secured a blood sample and was having it analysed.

  ‘So if it’s not bronchitis, what can it be?’

  ‘You remember that doctor in the Dales, Nick? I forget his name, but he discovered that some farmers, who work with livestock, can get a disease which he called Farmer’s Lung.’

  ‘No, never heard of it.’

  ‘Well, I have. It was in our medical periodicals. It’s caused by the spores from mouldy hay; if a farmer is working among hay which has gone mouldy, he can breathe in the spores and they set up a reaction among the air sacs in the lung, which in turn causes breathlessness. The only cure is not to work where there’s any risk of mouldy hay.’

  ‘But the poor chap has come here just to do that, hasn’t he? He’s rearing calves.’

  ‘Yes, I’ve had to stop him working with his animals until I get the results through, which means that his grandson will have to feed the existing stock. By the way, I saw him with Claude Jeremiah.’

  ‘Saw who?’

  ‘The grandson, David Parrish.’

  ‘What’s Greengrass doing with that lad? He’s only a schoolboy!’

  ‘They’d been exercising David’s greyhound,’ she said.

  ‘Not at Welford’s place?’ Nick sounded horrified. ‘That’s where Scarman and his cronies get to. They’re a real bunch of hard men. It’s not the sort of place a decent lad should hang around.’

  ‘Well, he’s got to learn about life sometime,’ Kate shrugged.

  ‘But not from Greengrass, Scarman and their like! So, how about a drink tonight?’

  Kate looked startled. ‘A drink, what’s brought this on?’

  ‘Well, if Greengrass is tempting young David into greyhound racing, Scarman might be involved. The Maddleskirk Trophy’s coming up, I happen to know, being a good local constable, and the word is that Scarman’s set on winning it. Now, Greengrass always hangs out at the Aidensfield Arms; Scarman was at the track today, I saw his car when I passed, which means he could also be in the pub tonight.’

  Kate laughed. ‘Good reasoning, Sherlock Holmes!’

  ‘Simple logic, Dr Watson! And, if they’re there, the chances are that woman might be with them. So I thought I’d drop in.’

  ‘But you’re off duty tonight, Nick!’

  ‘Country constables are never off duty, Kate, not when their mate is likely to get done for a crime he never committed. Come on, once we’ve eaten, we’ll have a walk down there.’

  ‘Aren’t you going to wait in case Phil rings?’

  ‘He’s only got a few minutes left before the deadline,’ said Nick.

  Phil Bellamy did call Nick. He admitted he had been with Debbie Chapman at the time the pawnbroker’s had been entered. And he also added that Debbie was Scarman’s current woman friend and warned Nick to keep away from

  Scarman - he was known to have roughed up a few people who had crossed him, either in business or in love.

  ‘Debbie’s frightened to death of him, Nick,’ said Phil. ‘She wants to leave him but can’t get away. She really is terrified. She never set me up, I’d swear to that. She’ll be out with Scarman tonight, he told her to be there and she daren’t disobey. He’s scum, Nick, he’s real scum, and bloody dangerous.’

  ‘And you’ve taken up with his woman? Doesn’t that put you in his firing line for something horrible?’

  ‘What do you mean? He has no idea Debbie’s seeing me, she’s kept it all very quiet.’

  ‘So you believe! But it’s not as secret as you think; I’d heard about it! It sounds to me as if Scarman has set you up. I’m sure he knows you’re knocking off his woman. Don’t forget he’s got ears and eyes all over the town.’

  ‘He’s never said owt to Debbie about seeing me.’

  ‘So he’ll deal with you first, and then her, won’t he? He’ll want you out of the way before he sets about her, and where better to get rid of a copper than to have him put away inside Armley Gaol or some such place? Once you’re out of the way, he’ll deal with his wandering woman, won’t he?’

  ‘He wouldn’t have me sent down, would he? For summat I’ve not done?’

  ‘You don’t know the sort of villain you’re dealing with, Phil. Right, leave this to me. And make a note of all your movements, official and unofficial, over the last few months. There might be other jobs they’ve got lined up to blame you for! And if you have been skiving from your beat or visiting one or other of your lady friends when you should have been on duty, include that as well. If Debbie is as innocent as you say, then she could be your only hope, Phil, your only alibi for lots of crimes.’ ‘Oh, bloody hell,’ said Phil as he rang off.

  Shortly afterwards, Nick and Kate were sitting at a quiet table in a dark corner of the pub. Eventually the door opened and in came Jack Scarman, accompanied by a woman.

  “That’s her,’ Nick muttered to Kate. ‘The woman in the photo in Phil’s flat.’

  ‘And that evil-looking character with her?’

  ‘Jack Scarman, greyhound fanatic, property developer, small-time crook, woman beater … you name it, he’s done it, but we can never nail him, never get him to court. He’s too crafty for that, he always operates just within the law. He’s trouble, Kate.’

  ‘I can’t understand Claude Jeremiah wanting to get involved with him. He’s in a different league,’ said Kate.

  ‘He’ll be using Claude, just as Claude’s using Parrish’s lad. Now, somehow, Kate, I must have words with that woman, without Scarman knowing.’

  ‘Not tonight!’ Kate protested.

  ‘No, tomorrow perhaps, when Scarman’s thinking about greyhounds or developing some of his property. He’s got an office in town, he’s always there before ten. That’s when she’ll be at home. I can easily get her address from the register of electors.’

  A few minutes after ten o’clock the next morning, Nick Rowan, in full uniform, knocked at the door of Number 21, Ryecroft Terrace, Ashfordly. The door was opened by the woman whose photograph Nick had seen in Phil’s flat.

  ‘Deborah Chapman?’ He used her full name.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘PC Rowan from Aidensfield,’ Nick introduced himself, I’m making enquiries about a breakin at St Nicholas Pawnbrokers. I think you might be able to help with my enquiries.’

  ‘Me?’ She looked shocked. ‘What’s it got to do with me?’

  ‘It’s got a lot to do with Phil Bellamy,’ Nick said gently. ‘So I think I’d better come in.’

  She glanced up and down the street, then said, ‘All right.’

  She offered him a coffee and as she made it, Nick explained about the breakin, how Phil had been absent from his beat at the time, and how the hiding-place for the stolen goods had been revealed in an anonymous telephone call. He added that Phil had been suspended from duty and that, unless this matter was cleared up, he could face dismissal from the force and even imprisonment for a crime he had not committed.

  The woman bit her lip anxiously, I never knew about that, Mr Rowan, honest. Jack never used me to get at Phil, he couldn’t have, he doesn’t know about us. I’ve always been very careful, I’ve always seen Phil when Jack was well away from the town.’

  ‘Someone’s told Scarman,’ said Nick. ‘Someone’s seen you and Phil together. Even I’d heard you were seeing him. I believe you didn’t set up Phil, but I am convinced Scarman’s trying to frame him because he’s seeing you. And when he’s got Phil out of the way, then he’ll deal with you, won’t he?’

  She shuddered at the thought. ‘He’s vicious, Mr Rowan, you’ve no idea … I hate him, I can’t get away from him … but if he is setting Phil up, you’ll never prove anything against him. He’s too cunning for that, he’d use somebody else to do his dirty work, like he did when he threw me out before. When I said I’d not go back, he had me thrown out of my flat and beaten up. He didn’t do it himself, he got somebody else to do it, that’s how he operates.’

  ‘And would that somebody have a minivan that makes a lot of noise, as if it’s got a duff exhaust?’

  ‘Eddie, you mean?’ she replied.

  ‘Who is this Eddie?’ asked Nick.

  ‘I don’t know his surname. He’s the one that beat me up. The bastard, he’s evil, Mr Rowan, he’ll do anything for Jack. Jack always has him on hand when there’s likely to be trouble.’ She looked almost on the verge of tears, but then she brightened. ‘Like the Maddleskirk Trophy greyhound meeting, Jack’s plotting something there. He made sure I was always out of the way when he was setting it up. I’m not sure what it is, but I do know he wants Eddie around at the time.’

  ‘Where’s this Eddie chap from?’ asked Nick.

  ‘He used to live in Leeds, that’s when Jack came across him. Eddie knew his way around the hard men in Leeds.

  He was into property repairs then, fixing roofs or driveways, doing rotten work and charging poor pensioners the earth, then scaring the living daylights out of them when they objected to his charges.’

  ‘Not a very nice fellow at all,’ said Nick.

  ‘He’s not.’ Debbie agreed. ‘He’s rotten, Mr Rowan, he thinks he’s a hard man who can dominate any woman, and he does most of Jack’s dirty work. I don’t know where he lives now but he often hangs out at Finkle Street garage. He’s good with car engines, likes a bit of stock-car racing, that sort of thing. That mini has a special engine, souped up, he once said. It makes one hell of a racket when he revs it up.’

  ‘Right, thanks for all that. Now, it’s important you can confirm Phil was with you that night. It means I know he’s clear of the shopbreaking charge. Though even so, we need to find out who actually did it.’

  ‘It might be Eddie,’ she said in a whisper.