Chapter 29
Laura saw him enter the morgue, the minute he arrived. She'd heard what happened from the medical examiner who attended the scene. To help, she'd pushed this autopsy to the front of the queue.
Motioning to Robbie, she went straight to the body, pulling back the sheet covering the young woman. "If you look in the center of the bruising, you'll see a tiny hole which may seem familiar."
She looked back at him as he nodded resignedly, "The same as the one on Reuben Beatty's arm." Laura nodded, Robbie sighed. "Someone just banged into her. Next thing she's on the ground. This figure in a hoodie ran off, got away."
Laura turned back to him, trying to keep him thinking. "Man or woman?"
Rubbing at his eye, "No idea. Quick on their feet, I'll give them that."
"Injected. Same drug, etorphine." A door opening made them both turn. James, looking worse for the wear, was watching them. "I heard you were with her when she died. That's rough, I'm sorry."
James nodded, "Yeah. Etorphine. We've had a result from our enquiries. Garsington Equine Center reported a theft."
James walked away without another word. Robbie followed, before he was gone Laura called to him. "Robbie, he needs to talk with someone."
He turned back to her, nodding, "Yeah, but how do I tell him that."
He was in queue at the shop for their sandwiches. Looking over his shoulder, he could see James on the bench, smoking looking more morose than normal. A near death experience was always harrowing but with someone like James, even more so.
Under the best of circumstances, James didn't look on the bright side. Always seemed to see the darker side of life, people. Robbie suspected it was why he never seemed to have someone in his life. Laura was right, he needed to talk to someone. Meanwhile, perhaps he could make him find a spot of light in the dark.
Robbie smiled at the young woman as she handed him the wrapped sandwiches. Walking across the courtyard, he searched his mind for some way to start the conversation. Dropping the sandwich into James' lap, he sat, closer to him than he normally would but he wanted James slightly off center from the proximity, hoped it would make him focus on that rather than what he needed to say.
"Great about your neck, eh?"
James played with the sandwich with his free hand, "Yeah, who'd have thought rugby tackling a syringe wielding murderer would be such good physio?"
Robbie snickered, "An inch and a half of foam away from certain death." He took a bite of his sandwich before continuing. "Just think, if you hadn't made it, I might have had to go and see a psychic."
"Would have been a very one-sided conversation."
Robbie grunted, "You say that now. You'd miss me if you were gone." Finally, James laughed and cracked a small smile as he took drag off his cigarette. Robbie watched him from the corner of his eye. Taking another bite, he continued. "So you think Justine was the real thing?" Waving his hand holding the sandwich, "She knew Reuben had been killed before we told her."
James' dour look returned, "Strange she didn't tell us something we didn't already know."
"Strange how the higher powers are so ambivalent, eh?" He looked over at James, knew it was a lost cause for now. Moving to stand, "Come on, let's get back."
Without moving, eyes fixed on the ground, James uttered words that could have many meanings. "I don't think I want to."
Robbie turned quickly, gauged the younger man's body language then returned to the bench. This time he sat a bit further away, turning slightly to James. "I used to feel like that."
"What happened?"
Shrugging, "The next case."
James finally looked at him, made eye contact. "Can we just sit here for a minute?"
For the first time, Robbie realized the lad was in real pain. He didn't know how to fix it but he could give him this. "Of course we can."
They sat in silence. Robbie finished his sandwich, waiting patiently. He let James come to him. Finally, his restraint paid off.
"The cases are getting harder to shake off. The next case builds on the prior case and on and on. I don't know how to push it away. How do you do it? How do you see the worst humanity has to offer and keep coming back for more?"
Robbie paused, giving thought to James' words. "I think after Val died, I stopped looking at it that way. I started looking at it as giving a voice to those who didn't have one. Making sure the worst of humanity couldn't harm anyone else."
"And that works for you?"
"I'm still here, all these years later. And when that fails, good whisky and better friends."
"Dr. Hobson?"
Robbie fought the smile, but James still saw it, "Among others."
"I've said it before, you're good together."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
"You and I are good together. I'm the light-hearted easygoing one, obviously. You're the brooding moody one. It balances out."
James laughed, "Yeah."
Leaning forward, arms on his legs, "Tell you what. I'll cover for you at the station. Why don't you go find some good whisky and some good friends?"
"Are you sure?"
"I assume you have some good friends. Perhaps a Dr. Hobson of your own?"
James smiled, nodding, "One or two."
Robbie smiled back at him, "See you tomorrow?"
James stood, hands in his pocket, looking down at his feet. "Yeah, you will."
The phone was ringing as he entered his flat. There was no takeaway to drop this time. He let the phone ring, let the machine pick up the call. Pulling on his tie, he smiled when he saw Val sitting on the sofa.
"You did good."
He shrugged, "No, I just gave him a different perspective."
"Is what you told him true or what you thought he needed to hear?"
Rubbing at his eye, "Does it matter?"
"To me, it does."
Crossing the room, he sat next to her. Wishing, not for the first time, that he could touch her. "Every word. Losing you, it almost broke me. But it changed how I do the job. I think it made me more compassionate."
"I love you, Robbie. Always will."
"Are you saying goodbye?"
She smiled, sadly, "Not quite yet, but soon."
"For the first time, I feel like I am ready."
"It's time, Robbie. Time to start a new chapter." At his look, she smiled brilliantly, "Go on, call her back, turn the page.