Read The Wood Beyond for Free Online

sweater clung to her melopeponic breasts.
    'Nay, lass,' he said. 'No one's restraining you, whoever you are. You can bugger off any time you like, once you've made your statement. You have been asked to make a statement, Miss er . . . ?'
    'Marvell. Amanda Marvell. Yes, we've been asked but most of us are refusing till such time as we have proper representation.'
    She glared accusingly, and in Dalziel's eyes, most becomingly, at Wendy Walker who snapped, 'Yeah, I've made my statement. In fact, when it comes down to it, I'm the only one who's really got owt to state. Mebbe more than you'll care to hear, Cap. All I want is to get out of here.'
    'You surprise me, Wendy,' said Marvell, all cool control. 'What happened to all the big talk about going for the jugular and taking no prisoners? First sign of trouble, and you're all for breaking ranks.'
    'Yeah? Mebbe I should have been more choosy who I formed ranks with in the first place,' snarled Walker.
    'Really? You mean we don't match up to the standards of your mining chums? Well, I can see that. Once they encountered real opposition, they pretty soon crumbled too, didn't they?'
    There was a time when a provocation like this to a Burrthorpe lass would have started World War Three, and indeed a small red spot at the heart of those pallid cheeks seemed to indicate some incipient nuclear activity. But before she could explode, a round-faced blonde who looked even wetter and more miserable than the rest said, 'Wendy's right, Cap. This is serious stuff. It was bones we found out there, a body. Let's just make our statements and go home. Please.'
    Marvell's et-tu-Brute look was even more devastating than her j'accuse glare, and Dalziel was experiencing a definite wringing of the withers when the door opened and George Headingley's broad anxious face appeared.
    'Hello, sir. Heard you were here. Can we have a word?'
    'If we must,' said Dalziel reluctantly, and with a last mnemonic look at Cap Marvell's gently steaming bosom, he went out into the corridor.
    'All right, George,' he said. 'Fill me in.'
    Headingley, a pink-faced middle-aged man with a sad moustache and a cream-tea paunch, said, 'That lot in there belong to ANIMA, the animal rights group and they were—'
    Dalziel said, 'I don't give a toss if they belong to the Dagenham Girl Pipers and they've come here to rehearse, they're witnesses is all that matters. So what did they witness?'
    'Well, I've got one statement on tape so far. The others aren't being very cooperative but this lass...’
    'Aye. Wendy Walker. First time in her life she's been cooperative with the police, I bet. Let's hear this tape then.'
    Headingley led him to a small office where the recorder was set up. Dalziel listened intently then said, 'This Cap, the one with the chest...’
    'Marvell. Captain Marvell, get it? She's the boss, except that she and Walker don't see eye to eye.'
    'I noticed. She sounds a bit of a hard case.'
    'Yes, sir. Patten, that's the TecSec chief, reckons she had serious thoughts about taking a swing at him.'
    'Could pack quite a punch with that weight behind it,’ said Dalziel, smiling reminiscently.
    'It were a set of wire cutters she was swinging. We've got them here, sir. Give you a real headache if these connected.'
    Dalziel looked at the heavy implement and said, 'Bag it and have it checked for blood.'
    'But no one got hurt,' protested Headingley.
    'Not here they didn't.'
    'You don't mean you think maybe Redcar .. . but they're women, sir!'
    'World's changing, George,' said Dalziel. 'So what else have you been doing, apart from collecting one statement?'
    'Well, I had a talk with Dr Batty when I got here .. .'
    'He was here when you arrived?'
    'Yes, sir. Expect that Patten rang him first. Then I got things organized outside, and I thought I'd better see if we could rustle up some sort of refreshment for the ladies. I asked that fellow Howard - he used to be one of ours - but he said he couldn't leave the door, so I went to look