What Breaks A Detective.

Chapter 1

A/N. Before we start, let's get one thing straight. I am without a doubt the biggest liar on Planet Earth;)

Matthias Bentley sniffed, shuffling his papers on his desk and putting his pens neatly in a little blue pot. He leant on his elbows, looking over at his boss's door. It was staying firmly shut. Bentley sighed, and began brushing the dust off his desk and off his pristine navy blue suit, before standing up and combing his fair, blonde hair in the reflection in the window of his little office in Scotland Yard.

Matthias Bentley liked to keep neat.

"Bentley?"

Bentley turned smartly at the call of his name, and nodded submissively as he saw it was one of the Chief Inspectors, Barnes, the big one with the striking ginger moustache.

"Sir?" he asked politely.

"How's Smart?" Barnes asked, waddling through into Bentley's office and leaning on the desk, making it creak. Bentley cringed, but hid it well.

"He hasn't come out of his office, sir" Bentley reported. "I've taken food in on the five-hour like we always do when he's like this, but I've never seen him this bad."

"We need to get him out" Barnes sighed. "Before he works himself to death. Normally, on cases, it's never more than a few days. But this..."

"It's because of the woman who died, isn't it, sir?" Bentley asked curiously.

"Alianna Winter? Yes" Barnes admitted. "He can't let go."

"Well he's going to be dead along with her soon, if he doesn't take some rest" Bentley pointed out. Barnes nodded in agreement.

"I know. Carry on, Bentley. I'm going to gather a few old friends together. See if we can't persuade him."

Bentley nodded smartly as Barnes walked out. The young man went back to his tidy desk, and began to tidy it some more. When he was done, he tidied his tidy office, and he was just about to start beating the rugs when Barnes returned, with three men in tow. The first was tall and skinny, and quite gaunt, with a sallow face, and struck a strange resemblance to Bentley's boss. The second was small and wiry, and Bentley recognised him as Inspector Fisher, another Scotland Yard man. The third was an old man who must have been about sixty-five, but he was huge, a man mountain who had to duck to get under the doorframe, and hands the size of dinner plates, easily.

"Bentley" Barnes snapped.

"Sir!" Bentley replied smartly, hands behind his back and a polite smile on his face.

"Bentley, meet ex-Detective Inspector Carmen, and Inspector Fisher" Barnes introduced the huge man and the wiry one. "And this is Mr. Smart, D.I. Smart's elder brother."

"We'll see what we can do about your boss" Mr. Smart said tiredly, smiling faintly at Bentley.

"Please do, sir. My name's Bentley, sir" Bentley replied smartly. Mr. Smart chuckled, shaking his head and crossing over to Detective Inspector Smart's office door.

"I know what he's like better than anyone" he told Bentley. "As do these three. We'll sort him out."

Mr. Smart opened the door with some difficulty, and Bentley followed him, Carmen, Fisher and Barnes into the office. It was a bombsite like Bentley had never seen. The floor was an inch deep in papers, every single book was off the shelves, cups of coffee and plates with half-eaten meals on them were dotted here and there, starting to smell a little, and everywhere, from floor to ceiling, scribbled notes and little bits of paper were stuck, hung and piled, and the curtain rail was so heavily loaded with them it was threatening to fall down. Bentley stared at the mess with utter horror, and quietly passed out.

"Toby!" Mr. Smart snapped.

A curly mop of hair popped up from behind D.I. Smart's desk.

"Quinne, I'm busy!" D.I. Toby Smart called back vaguely. "It's all a little messy right now, but I reckon perhaps with a little more time I could work out how she..."

"TOBY!" Quinne Smart shouted.

"Quinne!" his brother exclaimed, jumping up as if he hadn't spoken to him the first time, a slightly sleep deprived grin on his face. "Are you here to help?"

"No, Toby" Carmen sighed, wading forward though the piles of paper and clamping a huge hand over the young Detective Inspector's shoulders. "We're here to get you out of this mess."

"What mess?" D.I. Smart asked innocently, before his eyes slipped to the floor and he realized.

"It's not much of a mess, really" he said, trying to make excuses. "It's more of organized..."

"Chaos?" Inspector Fisher chipped in quickly. "Look, Smart. We're all upset about Allie's suicide, but you can't honestly think..."

"She's not dead!" D.I. Smart cut him off firmly. "I know she's not. She'd never give in like that. I'd know if she was..."

"I've spoken to Mother, Toby" Tarquin said firmly. "And she's agreed to let you stay with her for a few weeks..."

"No!" the other Smart brother snapped. "Not when I'm so close..."

"Are you?" Barnes said bluntly. "Are you really?"

Tobias Smart looked guiltily at the mess he had created. He looked at the dirty dishes, finally noticing the smell and wincing, and he realized he was, in fact, standing on top of a good inch of paper. He hadn't realized how much of a tip his office was. Oh dear.

"I'm getting somewhere" he lied, as in actuality he was getting nowhere. There were just too many possibilities...

"Where, exactly?" Tarquin asked him. With the madness of the addicting puzzle finally beginning to dissipate, Smart shrugged sadly.

"Nowhere" he admitted, as all of his energy whooshed away in one, making him stumble and have to lean on the desk for support.

"Toby?" Quinne asked worriedly. Slightly light-headed now, Smart let an easy smile play across his lips.

"I pushed too hard, Quinne" he murmured deliriously. "You always said one day, I would, and now I have. Funny, that."

With that, his mind shut down, and D.I. Tobias Smart collapsed to the floor.