Authors: Helen Phifer
‘You know none of that was your fault. You were not responsible for his actions. Please be careful, Annie. Promise me that if you so much as see a man looking your way that you’ll gas him and get him cuffed.’
‘I will, but I need you to be careful as well because you almost stopped him in his tracks, and I don’t think it will be just me he goes after. I should imagine he knows that we’re a couple now and he won’t like it one little bit.’
She ended the call and Will felt his shoulders slump with the weight of the world that was about to come crashing down on him. He felt Kav’s huge hand squeeze his shoulder and he turned to look at him.
Kav said, ‘If this even shows the slightest link to that fucker, Smith, I’m on it. In fact I think that you, me, Jake and Annie need a little emergency meeting when we get finished today to get a contingency plan together, should the need arise.’
‘I think you’re right. I’ll phone Jake and see what he has to say and let you know what time.’
The dog wriggled its way out of its collar once more and this time it took off in the opposite direction. Kav and Will laughed as Stu took off after it. Three police vans and the CSI van rounded the bend with Debs – Stu’s wife who was also the on-duty CSI – driving.
‘Ooh looks like Stu’s in the doghouse. Hope he catches it before Debs catches him.’
Will smiled then turned around to brief the officers and give them instructions to close the roads. This part of the island would be sealed off until a thorough investigation had taken place, which could take days. Whoever the killer was knew there were no cameras over here, not many dog walkers apart from their very own Stu, and relative seclusion. He told every officer and PCSO who had been drafted in to take the registrations of any vehicles that tried to gain access and to note who was in the car. He had a feeling that the killer wouldn’t be expecting them to have discovered his little barn yet, and would get the shock of his life when he turned the corner and was greeted by a police van blocking the road. A silver car headed in his direction and he waved a hand to greet Matt, his friend and the pathologist for this part of the county. Matt got out of his car and strolled across to him.
‘It’s been a while; I was beginning to think you were losing your touch, Will.’
‘I wish. One of these days it will be someone else on shift when this shit happens.’
‘Then what would I do?’
Matt looked around to see Kav explaining how to fill out a scene log to the student officer who was holding it clutched to his chest. A red-faced Stu was having a bit of a domestic with Debs, who was in the process of getting suited up.
‘There’s someone missing from this scene. I know, where’s Annie and Jake? They are nearly always around when the bodies start to pile up.’
‘So far they’re safe in Bowness, as far out of the way as they can be. I hope. I don’t want Annie anywhere near this.’
Matt nodded, well aware of what both Annie and Will had been through the last couple of years. Matt handed Will a face mask and Will took it off him, relieved to have something to block out some of the smell.
‘I suppose we should get this over with then. No point putting it off.’
Matt followed Will into the field and the short distance to the barn. Debs followed them with her camera. As the first scent of death hit her nose she tugged down her mask. Will turned to her.
‘Have you thought about letting that poodle of yours join the dog team? It’s a great sniffer dog.’
She shook her head at him and gently punched his arm.
‘It’s Stu who’ll be joining the dog team. All he was supposed to do was take it for a quick walk and now we’re all going to be working late and we’ll stink to the high heavens.’
Will pushed the door open and stepped inside, not really wanting to look at the two bodies, but not having much choice. Matt needed him to shine the torch until they brought some better lights up. Debs groaned under her mask and Will nodded in agreement. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Matt, ever the professional, walked across and scanned both bodies.
‘In my opinion as a medical doctor I can confirm that these are both deceased.’
‘No shit, Sherlock, what gave it away – the missing heads?’
‘Of course.’ He bent down and leant closer. ‘Both female, one has been dead a lot longer than the other, but you know that, Will. I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you. The state of decomposition is far more advanced on subject one. I’ll need to do a full post-mortem and send off samples of the bugs to give you a better estimate of when they died.’
He opened his bag and began rooting around inside until he pulled out some specimen jars and a pen. He wrote on one and began to pluck the insects and drop them into the jar, then screwed the lid on tight. Then taking another jar he did exactly the same for the second body and then dropped each of the jars into its own evidence bag. He didn’t speak, but worked diligently and fast. Standing up, he nodded at Debs.
‘They’re all yours.’
Will followed him out of the barn, which was stifling, making it hard to breathe in the paper suits and face masks. He pulled his mask down, glad of the fresh air and the breeze that was blowing.
‘Do you think it’s Beth O’Connor?’
‘You know I’m not supposed to say until I’ve done the post-mortem, but yes, I’m almost one hundred per cent sure. The cut marks on the base of her neck are almost identical to the ones on the head back at the morgue. Of course we won’t know for sure until I place her head against the neck to see if they match up.’
‘What about the other? Have you had any heads come into the mortuary from anywhere else in the county?’
Will desperately hoped he was going to say, ‘Yes, one came in from Carlisle or Workington,’ but Matt shook his head.
‘I’m afraid I’ll have to leave that in your capable hands. You’re going to have to find the head. Have you had any missing person reports in the last week? Because judging by the bloating and marbling of Jane Doe number two she hasn’t been dead that long. The heat in the barn and the insect activity has sped her decomposition up; this is a real mess, Will.’
‘You’re telling me. Thanks, Matt, as always, for coming straight out and not making us wait around for ages.’
‘I’d say it was my pleasure but, to be honest, this time it’s not. I’m not looking forward to doing the post-mortems on those two. I’ll let you know when we’re good to go.’
He began to walk back to his car. As he got to the gate he stripped off his paper suit, foot covers, gloves and mask and dropped them all into a brown paper sack. Debs came out to get the rest of her equipment so she could do everything that needed to be done before the undertakers came.
Kav walked across to Will.
‘Undertakers are on standby. What did Matt say? Is it the rest of Beth?’
Will nodded. ‘He thinks so.’
‘Good, I hate to think of that poor woman’s head all alone in the mortuary fridge. Gives me the shivers. Be nice for her husband to have all of her to bury, don’t you think?’
Will didn’t want to even think about what the poor bloke was going through. What a way to lose your wife. The familiar black 4x4 of the chief super pulled up outside the field. He got out along with the detective chief inspector and Kav sniggered. ‘Should we let them go in and ruin their designer suits or make them wait outside?’
‘Let them go in, of course. Which one do you think will come out looking green and puke first?’
‘My money’s on the super.’
Will smiled at the two men who were in the process of getting suited and booted. This should add a little bit of laughter to an otherwise very sad day.
‘I suppose we best get checking the cellar over with.’
Annie looked at Cathy. Annie thought even Cathy seemed wary about going down there now they had checked everywhere else. Dawn pulled a bunch of keys from her pocket and began flicking through them to find the ones to open the padlocks. Sam and Tracy had gone quiet; all four of them were silent and the atmosphere was so heavy it made Annie feel weary. As Dawn slid the last bolt across she turned to look at them all.
‘Are you quite sure you want to go down there – on your own? Can you not call for backup and get some male officers here to go down with you?’
Cathy had just been wondering the same thing, although normally she would have given anyone who spoke like that a piece of her mind for being so outright sexist; however, on this occasion she actually agreed with the girl. But then she shook her head. ‘I think there’s enough of us to handle anything that might be down there.’
Dawn pulled the heavy door open and stood holding it. ‘If I hear any screaming I’m slamming this door shut and locking you all in.’
‘You’re fucking not. If you hear us screaming you get on the phone and ask for urgent assistance and give us a chance to get out of there. I’m telling you now, do not lock us in.’
Annie smiled. It wasn’t often she heard her boss swear in front of members of the public but she had a fair point. She didn’t want to be locked in that cellar for anything. Knowing that they might be standing dithering on that top step for the next hour, she leant forward and pulled the light-string and the bulb came to life. Dawn smiled and Annie took this as a good sign. So she began to walk down the stairs, followed by Cathy, then Tracy and Sam, who had her finger poised over her emergency button should they need help.
All four of them had switched on their torches. The cellar smelt like a cellar should again. It was damp and mouldy. It didn’t smell as if there were any rotting bodies tucked away. She tried her best to push the picture of the grey face with the sharp teeth out of her mind. They shone the torches around and began checking every corner, nook and cranny. Nothing. There was no one there. Annie walked towards the iron grate, her heart racing. Cathy was behind her and they both leant over, shining the light down into the dark hole. This time there was no sudden movement. It was empty and Annie almost cried with relief.
‘Right, come on, you lot. Let’s get back upstairs before that woman freaks out and locks us down here.’
Cathy led the way and Annie was the last to reach the steps. A sharp scratch against the iron railings made her hair stand on end. She paused, wondering if she was imagining it, but then it happened again and this time it was much louder. She pushed Tracy’s back and shouted, ‘Run.’
Cathy was already out of the door and the other two didn’t need telling twice. They shot up the last few steps closely followed by Annie, who fell out into the corridor. Dawn slammed the cellar door shut, sliding the bolts across. Annie began to help her click the padlocks into place then turned to see her three colleagues, who were all white-faced and wide-eyed.
‘What was it?’
‘I don’t know, boss; I probably just spooked myself.’
Cathy laughed. ‘Jesus, you should have seen your face! That’s the last time I’m coming on a job with you. Scared the shit out of me, and those two look as if they’ve seen a ghost.’
All four of them began to laugh but Dawn didn’t. She shook her head and went back into the kitchen to check on Martha. She nodded at the old woman and Martha crossed herself, thanking the Lord that all four officers had made it out of the cellar alive. The others followed Dawn into the kitchen and Annie smiled at Martha. Inside she was shaking and scared but she wouldn’t let anyone see just how scared she was.
‘We just need to check the grounds now and then we’re done.’
‘Good. Tell me, officer, what did you see or hear down there?’
Everyone stood still, waiting to hear Annie’s reply.
‘I heard a sharp scratching sound, against the metal grating, but I didn’t see anything and it might have been rats.’
Martha nodded her head. ‘I think you and your friends had a very lucky escape. Next time you won’t be so lucky. If you need to come back and go down there you bring big, strong men with guns. And if you have no guns, then bring whatever it is you use to kill animals that are big enough to steal children and grown men.’
***
Henry had the head in a cool box surrounded by bags of frozen ice. Much to Megan’s disgust he’d tried to put it into the freezer in the caravan, but it wouldn’t fit. So after much begging by Megan he’d agreed to dump it somewhere that Annie could find it. He’d made Megan stay at the caravan. They would look far too conspicuous as a pair, walking around at night with a cool box. He’d managed to fob her off by telling her if he got caught it didn’t mean that she would be. He wouldn’t tell a soul where she was hiding, and if he wasn’t back in two hours she was to pack her stuff and leave.
He thought about putting it outside the police station on the steps, but there were bound to be cameras on the doors to the building or looking onto it. As he drove past he looked to see if her bright red Mini was there and was surprised not to see it. He knew she was on duty because he’d phoned the 101 number and asked if she was available. The operator had told him she was on patrol but he could leave her a voicemail if he wanted. Henry had been sorely tempted. What would she think on hearing him speaking to her in the flesh? But he’d decided against it. Far too risky. They might be able to trace it back or something.
He wondered if she’d got a new car. The only one that was worthy of her was the shiny black Mercedes, but he didn’t think her wages would be enough to pay for that. It probably belonged to the inspector. There was a battered old Clio next to the Mercedes and an Astra. He parked up the street and watched the station. There were no police vehicles parked outside so they must all be busy working.
Getting out of his car he pulled his baseball cap down and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up. He walked up and down a couple of times. There were no cameras. Henry grinned to himself. He was probably going to regret this but he had to see if it was possible. He tried the boot of the Astra, which was locked; he didn’t even touch the Mercedes as it was bound to have a fancy alarm system. Then he tried the Clio and much to his surprise it opened.
After pushing it back down but not quite shutting it, he jogged back to his car and drove down until he was parked directly in front of the boot of the Clio. He walked around to the passenger side of the car. With one hand he pushed the car boot open and with the other he pushed the lid from the cool box off and scanned the area. There was no one around so he pulled out the plastic bag containing the head and unzipped it. He dropped the head into the boot of the car then screwed the bag up and stuffed it into his pocket. If it was her car it would be a massive bonus, but if not it didn’t matter. She would know it was a present meant for her.