Exit Music (2007) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Dr. Colwell?”
    Colwell shook her head again and had to remove a strand of hair from over one eye. “It was always pretty much like this.”
    “So no need for Forensics,” Rebus told Clarke. “Just Hawes and Tibbet.” Clarke was nodding as she reached for her phone. Rebus had missed something Colwell had said.
    “I’ve a tutorial in an hour,” she repeated.
    “We’ll have you back in plenty of time,” he assured her, not particularly caring one way or the other. He held out a hand towards Clarke. “Keys.”
    “Pardon?”
    “You’re staying here to let Hawes and Tibbet in. I’ll drive Dr. Colwell to the mortuary.”
    Clarke tried staring him out, but eventually relented.
    “Get one of them to bring you to the Cowgate afterwards,” Rebus said, hoping to sugar the pill.

4
    T he identification was immediate, even though most of the body was kept in its shroud, concealing the work done by the pathologists. Colwell laid her forehead against Rebus’s shoulder for a moment and allowed a single tear to escape from either eye. Rebus regretted not having a clean handkerchief on him, but she reached into her shoulder bag for one, dabbing her eyes and then blowing her nose. Professor Gates was in the room with them, dressed in a three-piece suit that had fitted him beautifully four or five years back. He held his hands in front of him, head bowed, respecting the formalities.
    “It’s Alexander,” Colwell was eventually able to say.
    “You’re sure of that?” Rebus felt obliged to press.
    “Positive.”
    “Perhaps,” Gates piped up, raising his head, “Dr. Colwell would like a cup of tea before the paperwork?”
    “Just a couple of forms,” Rebus explained quietly. Colwell nodded slowly, and the three of them went to the pathologist’s private office. It was a claustrophobic space with no natural light and the smell of damp wafting in from the shower cubicle next door. The day shift was on, and Rebus didn’t recognize the man who brought the tea. Gates called him Kevin, told him to close the door again on his way out, then opened the folder on his desk.
    “By the way,” he said, “was Mr. Todorov any sort of car enthusiast?”
    “I don’t think he’d have known the engine from the boot,” Colwell said with a hint of a smile. “He once got me to change the bulb in his desk lamp.”
    Gates smiled back at her, then turned his attention to Rebus. “Forensics asked if he maybe worked as a mechanic. There was some oil on the hem of the jacket and the trouser knees.”
    Rebus thought back to the crime scene. “Could have been some on the ground,” he admitted.
    “King’s Stables Road,” the pathologist added. “A lot of the stables were turned into garages, weren’t they?”
    Rebus nodded and glanced towards Colwell, gauging her reaction.
    “It’s all right,” she told him. “I’m not going to start blubbing again.”
    “Who was it spoke to you?” Rebus asked Gates.
    “Ray Duff.”
    “Ray’s no slouch,” Rebus said. In fact, Rebus knew damned well that Ray Duff was the best forensic scientist they had.
    “What’s the betting he’s at the locus right now,” Gates said, “checking for oil?”
    Rebus nodded and lifted the mug of tea to his lips.
    “Now that we know the victim really is Alexander,” Colwell said into the silence, “do I need to keep quiet about it? I mean, is it something you want to keep from the media?”
    Gates gave a loud snort. “Dr. Colwell, we wouldn’t stand a chance of keeping it from the Fourth Estate. Lothian and Borders Police leaks like the proverbial sieve—as does this very building.” He lifted his head towards the door. “Isn’t that right, Kevin?” he called. They could hear feet beginning to shuffle back down the corridor. Gates gave a satisfied smile and picked up his ringing telephone.
    Rebus knew it would be Siobhan Clarke, waiting in reception . . .
    After dropping Colwell back at the university, Rebus treated Clarke to lunch. When