Read Online Against a Dark Sky by Katherine Pathak - Free Book Online Page B

that really the only reason?’ He turned to look squarely at his colleague.
                  Dani paused for a moment before replying. ‘No, it wasn’t. It’s your first active assignment since the heart attack. I didn’t want you to overdo it.’
                  Andy bashed the steering wheel hard with both hands. The jeep lurched violently over a line of loose rocks before he regained control. ‘With respect Ma’am, it sounds like you’re talking about one of your elderly relatives.’
                  ‘I wanted to ease you in gently. I realise now that may not be possible in a murder investigation.’
                  ‘It’s not fair to dismiss me as unfit for proper service. You aren’t a doctor, Dani.’
                  The words stung her. She and Andy were good friends, but he’d never shown her disrespect on the job before. ‘Perhaps it would make more sense for you to be assigned to another senior officer, someone who isn’t so emotionally bound up in your wellbeing. A person who didn’t see you lying there in agony on the ground; a young man with his life ebbing away from him...’ Dani turned her face towards the passenger window, determined that he would not see the tears that had formed in her eyes.
                  ‘I think you may be right,’ he replied stonily.                

 
    Chapter Thirteen
     
     
    I t was a crisp, sunny day, as Phil Boag made his way towards the Gallery of Modern Art in Royal Exchange Square.
                  Imelda Watson-Caballo, as she was now known, worked as an assistant curator there. Phil had arranged to meet the woman during her lunch-break, in the public cafeteria situated on the second floor. The room was flanked by windows, each displaying an impressive vista of the sun-drenched city. Phil placed his warrant card in an open wallet on the table. Imelda strode straight towards him with her tray, sitting down in the seat opposite.
                  The young woman before him was petite and very dark in colouring. Her clothes were chic and she wore a pair of impossibly high heels. Phil wondered how on earth she remained on them all day. Her lips were painted a deep plum and she separated them slightly in a pained smile.
                  ‘Good afternoon, Sergeant Boag. How may I help you?’
                  ‘I’m a member of the Major Incident Team investigating the murder of Joanna Endicott and the disappearance of Daniel Goff.’
                  Imelda grimaced. ‘I thought you might be. Am I in trouble?’
                  Phil leant forward. ‘Why do you ask that?’
                  She fiddled with a serviette, her burgundy nails contrasting sharply with the white material. ‘Because I have information about Goff, but I never came forward to tell the police.’
                  ‘Well, you can tell me all about it now,’ he replied gently.
                  ‘It’s rather embarrassing, really. My husband doesn’t know it happened.’
                  ‘There’s no specific reason why he needs to find out. Your case is unrelated, but it may give us an insight into Goff’s character and behaviour traits.’
                  Imelda nodded her head. ‘Daniel Goff was my tutor in English when I first came to Stirling. I was 18 years old and in a class of about twenty other students. I knew fairly early on that Daniel found me attractive. He gave me a great deal of attention and we often chatted about other stuff, like music and the cool places to go out in the city. I was very young, Sergeant Boag, and a long way from home.’
                  Phil considered how back then Imelda was only a year older than his eldest daughter was now. It made his skin crawl. ‘What was Daniel Goff like? We don’t have a very strong sense of his