“In a way. Yes. They were gods. And you know what the gods got up to.” She drank some more gin. “Have you asked her why she took so long to report this . . . incident . . . or whatever it was?”

“She didn’t. She reported it at the time and nothing was done.”

A triumphant and unpleasant grin split her features. “Seems like it’s down to you lot, then, doesn’t it, ducky?”

“I’m not saying the police weren’t at fault. We’ll be checking out that aspect of the case, too.”

“I’ll bet you will. You could probably save yourself the trouble, you know.”

“Oh, yes? How?”

“Well, think about it. Danny was a big star. People liked to be around him. Bask in his glory. He had charisma, you know. Tons of it. People came under his spell. Important people, like senior coppers, judges, politicians, royalty, for all I know. Or people who relied on him for their jobs, to keep raking in the money. You don’t kill the cash cow just for a quick slice of beef, do you? And the others, the coppers and their like, they liked to be seen with him, liked to be able to impress their mates by saying they’d been down to Danny’s for the weekend, rubbed shoulders with Mick and Keith, and, by heck, you should have seen the crumpet. He played golf with the chief constables. Gave generously to the Police Widows and Orphans Fund and a few others. Someone always owed him a favor, belonged to the same club, was a mate, depended on him for their livelihood or status. He was clever with people like that.”

“Manipulative? A user?”

“Of course. But without seeming so obvious. He was a charmer, was Danny, when he wanted to be. When he wanted something. If he committed the occasional indiscretion, odds were there’d be people to cover it up, people who didn’t want any grief to fall on him.”

“You’re saying he bribed his way out of an investigation?”

“I’m saying he didn’t have to. He was golden, was Danny. Untouchable.”

“Rape isn’t a simple indiscretion, Mrs. . . . Canning . . . and Danny wasn’t particularly charming when he wanted to have sex with the girl we’ve just talked to.”

Carol made a dismissive gesture. “He always got what he wanted, one way or another. There’s no doubt he was screwed up. But he’s not stupid. He might not have had much formal education, but he taught himself.”

“The point remains,” Banks went on, “that the girl did report the assault, the rape, to the local police at the time, which makes me inclined to believe that it did happen.”

“And they did nothing. What I said before still stands. She got pissed and went too far. Regretted it in the morning.”