Free A Pinch of Snuff by Reginald Hill Page A

She's just the daughter of one of the club secretaries. He's friendly with most of them.'
    'Good for business, I suppose.'
    'I suppose so,' she said, slightly surprised as though the notion had not previously occurred to her. 'But it wouldn't matter. I mean, we're the main agency anyway. No, I think he's just naturally friendly.'
    It was Pascoe's turn for surprise. Nothing he'd seen of Arany to date had made him suspect the man of amiability.
    'You always work on Saturday?' he asked.
    'Oh yes. It's one of our busiest days. Everywhere's open on Saturday night, and there's always things to sort out during the day. Artistes going sick, that sort of thing. Look, are you hanging on here a bit?'
    'Maybe,' said Pascoe.
    'I'll just leave this stuff, then. OK? I'll ring Mr Arany later to see if he's got it. He can always pop up from his flat to pick it up, so you needn't hang about if you don't want to.'
    'That's kind of you,' said Pascoe.
    'Thanks,' said the girl, 'See you!'
    Pascoe listened to her departure, smiling at his own ambiguous feelings. Much concerned with softening the prevailing hard image of the police, he nevertheless felt slightly piqued to be treated with such insouciance by one so young.
    He found he had twisted the lid off the gherkin jar. One of the green fruit protruded temptingly above the level of the vinegar. He regarded it thoughtfully. The unity of the quality of life was a question he and Ellie had often debated. Were protests against motorways, contributions to Oxfam, demonstrations against apartheid and discussions of the merits of fresh over bottled mayonnaise part of the same grand whole? Similarly, would the eating of this gherkin put him in the same sub-class as Dr Crippen, the Great Train Robbers, and people who cheated on their TV licences? The gherkin's head was in the air; perhaps its roots lay in the eighth circle of hell.
    Such a conceit deserved reward. He removed the gherkin and sank his teeth into it. And behind him something screamed like a mandrake torn from the earth.
    Pascoe turned so sharply that the vinegar slopped over his fingers and he dropped the jar. In the doorway stood the devil sent to summon him to pay for his gluttonous theft. It took the shape of a small Siamese cat with dark brown head, tail and paws setting off its sleek ivory coat. Realizing it had caught his attention, it yelled angrily at him once more.
    'Hello there,' said Pascoe, recovering his self-possession. 'Come here. Puss puss puss, pretty puss.'
    The cat ran forward, and he was congratulating himself on his subtle way with animals when, ignoring his down-stretched hands, it picked up four or five of the spilt gherkins in its mouth and ran from the room.
    He went in pursuit, following it up the stairs to the second floor where it entered Haggard's living-room and ran across to the kitchen door.
    Here it halted, swallowed what remained of the gherkins and addressed the slightly panting Pascoe once more.
    He did what he was told and opened the door. The cat walked across the kitchen, sat down by the door in the far wall and repeated the instruction.
    'Well well well,' said Pascoe, understanding.
    He tried the door. It was locked. The cat rolled its eyes at his stupid inefficiency and began to wash itself.
    Pascoe pounced.
    'You're under arrest,' he said sternly, then, softening instantly as the animal began licking his ear, the while purring like a circular saw, he added, 'Let's go back to your place.'
     
    It was Miss Annabelle Andover who answered the door. She regarded him without surprise.
    'I stumbled on this young fellow,' said Pascoe.
    'Girl. Where've you been, Acrasia? Step inside, Mr Pascoe. Will you have a cup of coffee? I always have one after lunch. Ready ground, I'm afraid, but the beans cost a fortune. It's a bastard this inflation when you're on a fixed annuity. In here. I won't be a tick.'
    She showed him into the Habitat-furnished living-room and a few moments later reappeared with a tray bearing a