But it all happened too fast. Annie launched herself forward as Dr. Wallace drew the scalpel across her own throat. The warm spray of blood caught Annie full in the face, and she screamed as it kept pumping and gushing down the front of her blouse, all over her jeans. The scalpel fell from Dr. Wallace's hand and skittered across the shiny tile floor, leaving a zigzag of blood. Annie knelt beside her and became aware of movement all around her, soothing words, hands reaching for her, Winsome's voice. She tried to remember her first aid and press down hard on the bleeding carotid, but it was impossible. When she did, all that happened was that the blood spurted faster from the jugular. And Dr. Wallace couldn't breathe. Like Templeton, she had a severed carotid, jugular and windpipe. Annie didn't have three hands, and there was chaos all around her.

Annie screamed out for help. It was a hospital, after all; there had to be doctors everywhere. And they were trying. People milled around and manhandled her, bent over Kirsten with masks and needles, but when it was all over, she lay there on the floor in a pool of blood, her eyes wide open, pale, dead.

Annie heard someone say there was nothing more to be done. She rubbed her mouth and eyes with the back of her hand, but she could still taste the sweet metallic blood on her lips and feel it in burning in her eyes. God, she thought, she must look a sight, sitting on the floor rocking, crying and covered in blood. And after what seemed likes ages, who should come walking towards her but Banks.

He knelt beside her, kissed her temple, then sat on the floor and held her to his chest. People all around them were making various motions, but Banks's presence seemed to silence them and create a cocoon of peace. Soon it seemed as if there were only Annie, Banks and Kirsten in the room, though she knew that had to be an illusion. Kirsten's body was covered, and the lights seemed dimmer. Banks stroked her bloody brow. "I'm sorry, Annie," he said. "I should have realized sooner. I was too late."

"Me, too," said Annie. "I couldn't stop her."

"I know. I don't think anyone could. She'd come to the end. There was nowhere else for her to go. She'd already had a second lease on life. She didn't want to live any more. Can you imagine how terrible every day must have been for her?" Banks made a move to get up and help Annie out of the mortuary.

"Don't leave me!" Annie cried, clinging on tight, not letting him move. "Don't leave me. Not yet. Stay. Please. Just for a little while. Make them all go away."

"All right," Banks said, and she could feel him gently stroking her hair and humming a tuneless lullaby as she held on to him tight and buried her head deep in his chest, and for a moment it really did feel as if the whole world had gone away.

Acknowledgements.

I would like to thank all the people who read and commented on this manuscript, in particular Dominick Abel, Dinah Forbes, Sheila Halladay, Carolyn Marino and Carolyn Mays, and the many copy editors and proofreaders who worked hard to ensure that the book you hold ends up as error-free as possible.

Yorkshire-born Peter Robinson, who now lives in Toronto, is one of the world's top writers of crime fiction. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his Inspector Banks novels, including the prestigious Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere, the Edgar Award, Denmark's Palle Rosenkrantz Award, several Arthur Ellis best novel awards, and the Dagger in the Library from the British Crime Writers' Association.

Please visit his website at www.inspectorbanks.com.

OTHER INSPECTOR BANKS NOVELS.

BY PETER ROBINSON.

Gallows View.

A Dedicated Man A Necessary End.

The Hanging Valley Past Reason Hated Wednesday's Child Final Account.

Innocent Graves Dead Right In a Dry Season Cold Is the Grave Aftermath.

The Summer That Never Was Playing With Fire.

Strange Affair Piece of My Heart.

ALSO BY PETER ROBINSON.

Caedmon's Song.

No Cure for Love.

Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories.

Praise for Friend of the Devil.

"Friend of the Devil is one of the most COMPELLING, RAW and bitterly emotional chapters in the Banks anthology." Edmonton Journal.

"Brit cop-job books don't come much better than Peter Robinson's.... This is relax-on-the-sofa stuff, layered and engrossing with just the right balance of thrill, chill and human spillage to keep the reader honest.... BLOODY MARVELLOUS." Daily Sport (U. K.) "Robinson is good at producing INGENIOUS mysteries and this one doesn't disappoint." Sunday Telegraph.

"Friend of the Devil will remind readers of many adventures of the past, settle some old scores in surprising ways, and hold out the promise of more twists and turns to come...an ABSORBING mystery." Times Literary Supplement "A police procedural that grips like pliers." Independent on Sunday.

"Friend of the Devil is Robinson at his best.... A SURE-FIRE WINNER." Huntsville Forester.

"This crime thriller is not a simple whodunit. The Edgar Award winner plumbs the depths of his characters to hold a mirror not only to their devices and desires, but to humanity as a whole. The Devil holds thrills for both heart and brain." Metro "The 17th Chief Inspector Banks outing is CLASSIC Robinson: a labyrinthine plot merged with deft characterisation." The Observer "Readers will be on the edge of their seats." Publishers Weekly (starred review).

"Nobody does the one-on-one interrogation scene better than Robinson...with a master's hand." Montreal Gazette "Banks remains the unflappable investigator, with an inner life as intriguing as his outer. And Robinson remains a MASTER of the police procedural." Winnipeg Free Press "Peter Robinson is one of the most reliable names around.... His writing has the confidence that is commensurate with the best in the field." Crime Time "Robinson makes his way through the parallel stories with MASTERFUL confidence." Toronto Star.

"The characters are beautifully drawn, the frequent conflicts sharply etched and the soundtrack of pop tunes ubiquitous. The resolution to both cases seems almost beside the point." Kirkus Reviews "Robinson offers up his usual troika of BRILLIANT writing, COMPELLING plot, and strong, realistic characters.... This book will please Robinson's legion of fans and make fans of readers new to his work." Quill & Quire "A mature novel, rich in character, by a man who on the evidence cannot, no matter what, write a bad book." London Free Press Copyright 2007 by Eastvale Enterprises Inc.

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