The deputy's fault? (4)
I believe the answer is:
vice
I believe this is a double definition.
'the deputy's' is the first definition.
(as in vice-president)
'fault?' is the second definition.
(I've seen this before)
(Other definitions for vice that I've seen before include "Bad habit - it grips" , "Gripper -- fault" , "Bad habits" , "Fault - gripping tool" , "Is the gripping tool evil?" .)