Dying Fall by Sally Spencer Read Free Book Online Page A

time they saw him,’ Woodend said discouragingly. ‘Besides, how many people really
look
at a tramp at all? Most folk just want to get away from them as quickly as they possibly can. An’ anyway, given that they’ve all got long hair an’ ragged beards, they pretty much all look alike to anybody who’s not studied them in detail. Bloody hell, even I would find it difficult to tell the ones we’ve interviewed this morning apart.’
    â€˜If the public can’t help us to identify the victim, then maybe they’ll be able to help us identify the killer,’ Beresford said.
    â€˜If they can, they’ll have been a damn sight more observant than they normally are,’ Woodend countered, rather sourly.
    The meeting was not going well, and they all knew it, Paniatowski thought. There were a number of reasons for that, but one of them was certainly that the team worked best as a
whole
team, and the second most important member of it hadn’t even bothered to turn up yet.
    â€˜The best chance we’ve got is that the killer will try to strike again, an’ will be caught by one of the extra patrols I’ve arranged to be on duty tonight,’ Woodend said. ‘Or, to put it in much the same terms as Sergeant Paniatowski did earlier, our best chance is that the killer will be caught nibblin’ at some of the live bait I’ve thoughtfully laid out for him.’
    â€˜I’m sorry, sir, I was completely out of order talking like that,’ Paniatowski told him.
    â€˜Aye, you were,’ Woodend agreed. ‘But then we all make mistakes.’ He glanced down at his watch. ‘Where the bloody hell
is
Inspector Rutter?’
    â€˜Maybe he’s caught up in traffic?’ Beresford suggested.
    â€˜Caught up in traffic?’ Woodend repeated. ‘For
so
long? This is Whitebridge, not central bloody London.’ He sipped moodily at his pint, then turned to Beresford and said, ‘You remember what I said earlier – that I’d got an idea about how we could get closer to the hard mods?’
    â€˜Yes, sir?’
    â€˜Well, I’ve been thinkin’ it through, an’ I’ve decided it will work. But before it
can
work, you need to pay a visit to the barber’s shop.’
    â€˜Why?’ Beresford wondered. ‘My hair’s not that long, sir.’
    â€˜No, it isn’t,’ Woodend agreed. ‘But it’s too long for the job that I have in mind.’
    â€˜Wait a minute!’ Beresford exclaimed. ‘You want me to … to infiltrate the hard mods?’
    â€˜That’s about the size of it,’ Woodend agreed. ‘Monika’s got a source which
she
thinks is reliable among the tramps, I need a man I can trust in among the other buggers.’
    â€˜But I’m
twenty-three
!’ Beresford protested.
    â€˜Aye, but somehow – despite havin’ worked for me for over a year – you still haven’t lost your boyish charm,’ Woodend said, with a smile. He placed an avuncular hand on Beresford’s shoulder. ‘Look, lad, I realize it’ll probably all be a waste of time, but when straws are all you’ve got to clutch at, you make a grab for ’em.’
    â€˜Do you really think I can pull it off,’ Beresford said.
    â€˜I don’t know, but you’ve certainly got more chance than I’d have,’ Woodend told him. ‘But I don’t want you runnin’ any risks. Carry your warrant card with you at all times, an’ if it looks like you’re about to be rumbled, get the hell away – as quick as you can.’
    The bar door swung open, and Rutter walked in.
    Woodend gave him the briefest of glances, then turned to Beresford and Paniatowski, and said, ‘Well, murders don’t usually solve themselves, so we’d better get back to it, hadn’t we?’
    The DC and sergeant drained their glasses and stood up, and Rutter, who had