campaign targeted on Chief Superintendent Blaize and Diamond. Jacob Blaize had been hounded into ill-health and early retirement, which the press had maliciously and without justification written up as confirmation of their smears.
'I thought you should cast an eye over it as soon as possible,' Mr Tott said. 'You'll be relieved to know that none of the wilder accusations was shown to have any foundation.'
Diamond looked towards the desk. 'May I...?'
'May 'Go ahead. That's why you're here.'
Numbly, he got up, crossed the room and picked up the report.
'The main findings are towards the end, of course,' said Mr Tott. 'You'll find the paragraphs from Page 87 onwards are of personal interest. Take your time.'
Diamond flicked through and found the summary of the findings. His name sprang out of the text. He scanned the page swiftly, getting the gist of the comments. 'We found no evidence of racial bias on the part of Detective Chief Inspector Diamond . . . This officer acquitted himself impressively under intensive questioning . . . As to Missendale's statement, there was nothing in it that conflicted with the evidence .. . It was reasonable for Chief Inspector Diamond to deduce, as the court did, that Missendale's statement was supported by the facts.'
He turned the page, feeling curiously unmoved rather than vindicated after the months of abuse from the media. Then his eyes fixed on a sentence.
'Christ Almighty!'
Mr Tott had returned to his chair. 'What's wrong?'
' "We are bound to state that Chief Inspector Diamond's physical presence and forceful demeanour must have appeared intimidating to Missendale," ' Diamond read out. 'That's out of order. I'm built that way. I can't help the way I'm made.'
'Yes, it's unfair,' Mr Tott agreed in a tone that attached no importance to the matter.
But Diamond wasn't willing to let it pass. 'Sir, there was no intimidation used to obtain the confession. The judge established at the trial that there was no oppression.'
'Of course, but the inquiry team was charged to re-examine everything.'
Diamond's eyes were already moving on. 'I just don't believe this! "We view with concern the fact that hair samples from the woollen hat snatched from the assailant in the struggle were not compared with hairs from Mr Missendale." '
'What's the problem?' Mr Tott asked.
'We sent the hat to the lab.'
'But you didn't follow it up, if I understand this correctly. You didn't take hair samples from Missendale.'
'Sir, the man confessed.'
'It would still have been sensible to do so.'
Diamond stared at him in amazement. 'To what end, exactly?'
'As a comparison.'
'This was 1985, sir. Before genetic fingerprinting came in. Even if we had followed up, forensic couldn't have told us whether the hairs in the hat were Missendale's, or Sammy Davis Junior's. This report implies that if the samples had been compared, Missendale's innocence would have been established, but it simply isn't true.'
'The report doesn't go so far as to say that.'
' "We view with concern" . ..? It's suggesting somebody was at fault.'
Mr Tott said firmly, 'The point is that it should have been done routinely. Nobody is accusing you of withholding evidence.'
'They're accusing Jacob Blaize and me of fitting him up.'
'Oh, don't be so melodramatic, man! If that were the case, you'd be out of a job. Your integrity isn't in question.'
Diamond knew that he should have shut up at this point. He still felt aggrieved. 'I told them at the inquiry what must have happened and they seem to have disregarded it. Missendale was fitted up, but not by me. He was a petty thief with a record, not much good at it. He had a low IQ. There were bigger operators in the background, too smart to be caught. It's obvious with hindsight that Missendale was their fall-guy. They wanted the other character, the guy who actually gunned down the sergeant-major, to keep pulling the jobs, so they made it clear to Missendale that if he didn't fake a confession,
'I thought you should cast an eye over it as soon as possible,' Mr Tott said. 'You'll be relieved to know that none of the wilder accusations was shown to have any foundation.'
Diamond looked towards the desk. 'May I...?'
'May 'Go ahead. That's why you're here.'
Numbly, he got up, crossed the room and picked up the report.
'The main findings are towards the end, of course,' said Mr Tott. 'You'll find the paragraphs from Page 87 onwards are of personal interest. Take your time.'
Diamond flicked through and found the summary of the findings. His name sprang out of the text. He scanned the page swiftly, getting the gist of the comments. 'We found no evidence of racial bias on the part of Detective Chief Inspector Diamond . . . This officer acquitted himself impressively under intensive questioning . . . As to Missendale's statement, there was nothing in it that conflicted with the evidence .. . It was reasonable for Chief Inspector Diamond to deduce, as the court did, that Missendale's statement was supported by the facts.'
He turned the page, feeling curiously unmoved rather than vindicated after the months of abuse from the media. Then his eyes fixed on a sentence.
'Christ Almighty!'
Mr Tott had returned to his chair. 'What's wrong?'
' "We are bound to state that Chief Inspector Diamond's physical presence and forceful demeanour must have appeared intimidating to Missendale," ' Diamond read out. 'That's out of order. I'm built that way. I can't help the way I'm made.'
'Yes, it's unfair,' Mr Tott agreed in a tone that attached no importance to the matter.
But Diamond wasn't willing to let it pass. 'Sir, there was no intimidation used to obtain the confession. The judge established at the trial that there was no oppression.'
'Of course, but the inquiry team was charged to re-examine everything.'
Diamond's eyes were already moving on. 'I just don't believe this! "We view with concern the fact that hair samples from the woollen hat snatched from the assailant in the struggle were not compared with hairs from Mr Missendale." '
'What's the problem?' Mr Tott asked.
'We sent the hat to the lab.'
'But you didn't follow it up, if I understand this correctly. You didn't take hair samples from Missendale.'
'Sir, the man confessed.'
'It would still have been sensible to do so.'
Diamond stared at him in amazement. 'To what end, exactly?'
'As a comparison.'
'This was 1985, sir. Before genetic fingerprinting came in. Even if we had followed up, forensic couldn't have told us whether the hairs in the hat were Missendale's, or Sammy Davis Junior's. This report implies that if the samples had been compared, Missendale's innocence would have been established, but it simply isn't true.'
'The report doesn't go so far as to say that.'
' "We view with concern" . ..? It's suggesting somebody was at fault.'
Mr Tott said firmly, 'The point is that it should have been done routinely. Nobody is accusing you of withholding evidence.'
'They're accusing Jacob Blaize and me of fitting him up.'
'Oh, don't be so melodramatic, man! If that were the case, you'd be out of a job. Your integrity isn't in question.'
Diamond knew that he should have shut up at this point. He still felt aggrieved. 'I told them at the inquiry what must have happened and they seem to have disregarded it. Missendale was fitted up, but not by me. He was a petty thief with a record, not much good at it. He had a low IQ. There were bigger operators in the background, too smart to be caught. It's obvious with hindsight that Missendale was their fall-guy. They wanted the other character, the guy who actually gunned down the sergeant-major, to keep pulling the jobs, so they made it clear to Missendale that if he didn't fake a confession,
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