‘Bravo,’ Garth Williams said thoughtfully. ‘It seems you do know the sort of people you’re up against.’
‘What did you think?’
Garth smiled for the first time, took out a cigarette and lighted it without asking permission. Lorne tacitly took out his pipe and smiled to himself as Garth’s smile faltered, momentarily belying a distaste which under the circumstances he knew he wasn’t entitled to- this showed clearly in his face as well, but he soon pressed on.
‘My first impression was that you passed this matter on to us because you felt yourself and your department not up to the task. To be truthful I thought also that the reason might be that you were tired of pursuing this case, that you had simply put your hands up. I see now that your motives were more than warranted. I see also, where this matter is concerned, that you must be brought into the fold.
‘Like you I have no love of the political mind. Just to make them wary, to respect you where before they thought of you as a mere and useful pawn, I am going to make a show of lending your department our full support. Until now the ante has been raised solely by these arrogant sods. On this score at least we shall demonstrate to them that their control over the situation is less than perfect.’