Dying in the Dark by Sally Spencer Page A

case rising up to meet him.
    But then that was only to be expected, he thought, because Bob Rutter was a popular inspector, and nobody would like what was happening to him.
    Monika Paniatowski had moved her desk to the far corner of the room, well away from any of the other officers. At that moment she had the phone in her left hand and was making notes with her right.
    Woodend was surprised to see her there – and if she felt anything like as bad as she looked, it was a miracle that she’d managed to find the strength to turn up at all.
    She forced a tired smile to her face as Woodend sat down beside her. ‘Good to have you back, sir,’ she said. ‘How are you feeling?’
    â€˜I fell out of an upstairs window, an’ I’ve got bruises on parts of my body I didn’t even know I had,’ Woodend said. ‘Other than that, I’m feelin’ grand. What have
you
been doin’ while I was away?’
    â€˜I’ve been trying to reconstruct Inspector Rutter’s movements from the notes he made,’ Paniatowski said.
    Good old Monika! Woodend thought. I knew I could rely on you.
    â€˜You might not have found anythin’ quite yet that’ll blow the case apart,’ he said, in a low but encouraging voice, ‘but just keep pluggin’ away at it, an’ I’m sure you very soon will.’
    A puzzled look came to Monika’s face. ‘I’m not sure that I quite understand you, sir,’ she said.
    â€˜What is there not to understand?’ Woodend asked. ‘You’ve been reconstructing Bob’s movements. Isn’t that right?’
    â€˜Yes, sir.’
    â€˜An’ you’ve been doin’ it so that you can prove he was nowhere near his house at the time Maria was killed, haven’t you?’
    â€˜No, sir.’
    â€˜Then
I
don’t understand.’
    â€˜I’ve been trying to work out what he did yesterday on the Rainsford case, so that we can pick up the threads where he left off.’
    â€˜An’ what about Maria’s murder?’
    â€˜I thought you’d have been told, sir. That’s already being investigated by another officer.’
    â€˜Another officer!’ Woodend exploded. ‘It’s bein’ investigated by that bloody hatchet man DCI Evans!’
    â€˜Yes. I know.’
    â€˜The man who tried his damnedest to fit me up in the Dugdale’s Farm murder case!’
    â€˜He
didn’t
try to fit you up,’ Paniatowski contradicted him.
    â€˜Didn’t he? Well it certainly felt like it at the time.’
    â€˜What he
did
do was fail to understand the nature of the conspiracy which had been set up to bring you down. But he played no part in that conspiracy himself.’
    â€˜No, he didn’t,’ Woodend admitted. ‘But we had to do all his work for him. An’ that’s all I’m suggestin’ this time – that we do his work for him.’
    â€˜We have another case to investigate, sir,’ Monika Paniatowski said.
    â€˜I don’t believe this,’ Woodend told her. The words came out louder than he’d intended them to, and several of the other officers looked up. ‘I really don’t believe this,’ he continued, more quietly. ‘Are you so obsessed with your own precious career that you’ll just ignore the mess that Bob’s in?’
    â€˜That’s not fair!’ Paniatowski hissed angrily.
    â€˜Isn’t it?’ Woodend asked. ‘My, but appearances can be deceptive, can’t they? I thought you used to have some feelings for him, but apparently I was quite wrong.’
    â€˜I still have feelings for him,’ Paniatowski said, even angrier now. ‘I
love
him! I tried to put it all behind me after we broke up, but I couldn’t. All right? Are you satisfied now you’ve got me to admit it?’
    â€˜Then I don’t see why you won’t help me.’
    Paniatowski slammed her palm