Chapter 32

Robbie was in his office contemplating both the case and his inability to ask Laura on a date. At another time, he might have taken it as a sign that he wasn't ready. But the reality was, he simply didn't want the moment tarnished by a dead body or even conversations about a dead body. He wanted the moment to be singular, special.

His phone beeped, a text from Innocent requesting his presence. Grabbing his things, he walked to the door startled to meet Laura His stomach fluttered he was so happy to see her.

She stood, framed by the doorway. "I'm not going to make you a happy man."

Leaning against the door, he smiled down at her. "I'm always happy, my face is misleading."

"The assumed suicide."

He nodded, "Might just be murder."

"He was poisoned. A mixture of PCP, methanol and formaldehyde."

"Formaldehyde?"

She nodded, "Embalming fluid, combined with the alcohol and diazepam and there was some of it in his lungs."

Robbie motioned towards his shoulders, "Any sign of bruising to indicate he'd been held down."

Laura thought about it as she nodded. "Possibly but he's been face down on his desk all night and it's very difficult to find bruising through lividity." Robbie challenged her with a look, "Alright, I'll have another look."

He smiled at her, knowing she would do it as much for him as for the challenge. He took a step into her personal space, "I'll try not to pester you but if you could…"

She nodded, "Hurry it up?" She watched him as he stepped away from her. "Don't push it."

The challenging look in her eyes, almost made him laugh. He leaned in smiling and met her even gaze. Briefly he considered just asking her. But, he knew this wasn't the moment. Without another word, he walked away. Had he looked back, he would have seen a very satisfied smile on her face.

Robbie was talking through the points of the case with Jean when his mobile rang. Looking at the screen, he nodded at Innocent, "Hobson ma'am." Pushing the button, "Hi." He looked at Jean. "Excuse me ma'am." Jean nodded before taking last look at the board and walking away. "Yeah, right, why don't we try to meet halfway?"

Laura smiled when she saw Robbie walking toward her. Their earlier conversation playing through her head. Watching him, she was a bit concerned about how serious he looked. Then he spotted her, and a brilliant smile lit his face. It took everything in her not to break into a run. She needn't have bothered because he lengthened his stride easily to get to her sooner.

To hide her sudden nervousness, Laura started talking before she was all the way to him. "I found your ante mortem bruising on Dr. Whitby." She raised her hands and placed them on his shoulders to demonstrate. "Two areas of pressure on either side of the neck whilst he was sitting, probably too drunk to get up and fight them off because the bruising was pretty light."

Robbie stared down at her as her hands rested on his shoulders. She was gorgeous. As she finished giving him the explanation her hands lingered on his shoulder and their eyes met. He smiled to himself as she pulled back shyly realizing that she had been stroking his shoulders in public. If he'd needed any affirmation that she would say yes, this was it.

Before he could say anything, Laura pulled her hands and immediately filled the space with talk of the case "Final toxicology report, nothing new, same as before. Drunk, stomach awash with whisky and undigested pills." She looked up at him almost apologetically.

He motioned that they should walk. His thoughts returned to her earlier touch, almost a caress. It had been nice to have her touch him like that. He put his hands in his pockets before he pulled her into his arms. "Faulkner's into whisky."

Laura nodded, "As are a lot of people."

Robbie stopped walking and turned to her, "Faulkner said when his wife suddenly turned up, he said not this stupid lost body thing again." He started walking again. "But if she went off on the night of the party and she hadn't been in touch with anybody since why didn't she say to him what are you talking about?"

"Well you'd just told her her brother was dead."

"No, no, no, she knew. Her and her husband pretend to be at each others throats but actually their thick as thieves."

Laura shook her head, "Not if she ran off with Jack Cornish."

"Oh, I'd bet my pension she didn't. He wouldn't have anything to do with a woman like her."

They walked for a bit more when Laura asked, "You think it was him in that coffin don't you?"

"Well I hope not but I think he might have been about to uncover something, something big so the Faulkner's killed him."

Laura thought about that for a moment, "And Dr. Whitby? Think he was in on the murder?"

"I don't know yet. But I'm sure his murder links back to the Faulkner's too. Never mind, there's a lad that wants to tell me something and he's going to wrap up all of the answers for us nice and neat." Laura smiled as they continued walking.

They walked in companionable silence back to the station. When they reached where they would go separate ways, each paused, staring at the other. Suddenly there was an uncomfortableness between them. Knowing he had missed a moment, once again with talk of a body, Robbie simply shrugged and waved.