by K Pierce
‘What? I heard you. Happy, coffee, vending. You’re such a coffee snob. This is actually a pretty awesome cup.’
Fiona peered up at her, eyes full of suspicion. ‘Ok. Out with it.’
‘Out with what?’
‘Whatever happened between queasy and,’ she gestured from Emily’s head to her feet, ‘this. Oh my god, are you on drugs? Did you find some lying around out there?’ Her eyes grew wide and her voice dropped a little as she loudly whispered, ‘Did someone sell you drugs? It’s not unheard of in hospitals.’
Emily flicked her gaze briefly to Josh who was watching Fiona and fighting to keep the smirk off his face. When she looked back Fiona was squinting oddly at her. ‘Nope, none for me, but apparently you got all the good stuff.’
‘She’s had some painkillers. Pretty strong ones,’ Josh raised an eyebrow at Fiona, ‘and although she told me she had, I’m guessing she hasn’t eaten today?’ He finished strapping a bandage around Fiona’s hand and pushed his little stool away from the bed. ‘I’ll just get rid of my rubbish and grab you a leaflet on wound care and we’re all done. You’ll need to take her home and keep an eye on her for a little bit. I wouldn’t advise letting her go back to work for a few days, or if she does don’t let her near anything heavy or sharp.’
Fiona grabbed Emily’s free hand, stroking the back of it she began to softly hum the theme tune to Friend’s Getting home was going to be fun. ‘What about the stitches?’ Emily asked.
‘GP can take them out in about seven to ten days. Try not to get them wet. Any angry swelling or weeping then come back in and see us. I’ll get you that leaflet and a prescription for some pain meds.’ He looked at Fiona who was now lovingly stroking her own hair. ‘Make sure she eats next time she takes them.’ He disappeared through the curtain.
Emily drained her cup and sat in the chair next to the bed. Fiona stopped what she was doing and gazed dreamily at her. ‘You’re my bestest friend you know. If I wasn’t married, which I am, then you’d be my even bestest friend. But I’m married, so you can’t.’ she babbled.
‘I really should be filming this.’ Emily smirked.
3.
The crime scene was alive with activity. Barry eased the car into a space behind the coroner’s van and killed the engine. In the time it had taken them to get there from the hospital he had filled her in on the conversation he’d had with DI Woods in the waiting room. After relieving them of their babysitting duties the DI had told them to head to a murder scene. The details were minimal, but he’d warned them that it wasn’t going to be pretty. Neither of them was sure what they were walking into and the tension always intensified when they arrived on site.
‘Looks like we’re the last ones to the party.’ Nat said.
‘Well it did take a while to pry you away from your date.’ She knew he was dying to ask but in between filling her in on their new assignment and pulling up to the circus that accompanied a serious crime they both knew that now was not the time.
‘Let’s find Phil or Ryan and see what we’ve missed.’ She tugged on the handle and stepped from the car. ‘Why isn’t Woods here anyway? Isn’t he SIO on this one? Or are we finally old enough to play out without adult supervision?’
‘Unfortunately, yes he is in charge and you will never be allowed to play out unsupervised. He’s in the middle of a meeting with top brass, this case is a doozy apparently. Just wrapping things up and then he’s on his way. Sounded rather stressed on the phone. I think that’s why he called me and not you.’
Nat tried her hardest to look offended. ‘Barry Cosgrove, just what are you insinuating?’
‘I’m not insinuating anything.’ He gave her a grin. ‘I’m outright telling you that you’re a pain in his arse and you’ll probably be the death of him one day.’ She snorted. While it was true that she and Woods rarely saw eye to eye she really didn’t think she was that bad. She still had her job after all.
Benson’s old slaughterhouse sat a quarter of a mile off the road. Abandoned for years, the building hadn’t aged well. The driveway funnelled into what used to be a car park but was now little more than a wide patch of dirt and gravel that gave nothing in the way of cover. Nat shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and took in the building before her. Squatting, low and menacing, it was nothing more than a cinderblock office building with a huge metal extension that looked more like an airport hangar than a slaughterhouse. Windows lined the tops of the walls and Nat noted that over the years practically all of them had been broken. The odd, sickly shade of green that covered the metal walls was spattered with patches of reddish-brown rust.
‘Jaunty décor.’ She muttered.
Barry led the way through the crime scene tape around the perimeter, stopping momentarily to show credentials and check in. They acknowledged several people on their way across the yard and stopped again to put on booties and gloves before they stepped through the grimy front door.
They passed through a reception area that had seen better days and followed the trail of portable spotlights through a maze of offices. At a door marked Authorised Personnel Only they were met by Phil. ‘Evening.’ He nodded. ‘Brace yourselves, it’s not a fun time down there.’
He pulled out a notebook, led them through the door and down a flight of metal stairs. The air was damp, cold and heavy with the lingering scent of death, both bovine and human. At the bottom of the steps they found themselves at the entrance to a large holding pen. Behind Phil were the tattered remains of plastic that separated them from the killing room.
‘The building has been derelict for years, most of the equipment has been ripped out and nicked for scrap by the look of it so it’s essentially an empty shell plus the offices you just passed through.’ He flipped back through a few pages of scribbled shorthand and continued. ‘Due to be pulled down to make way for a new housing estate. Demolition team came in to assess and found our victim down there.’ He pointed over Nat’s shoulder to the far corner where a small group of people were gathered. She saw Ryan making notes.
‘Any ID?’ Nat asked.
‘Nothing. No bag or phone and she hasn’t got any pockets in what she’s wearing.’ He paused. ‘The guy’s done a real number on her.’
Nat glanced back towards Ryan and he broke away from the group and headed over to them. ‘Janet’s about ready to move her.’ He said ‘They’re just finishing up with some of the pictures. We’re thinking that he brought her in through the cattle entrance over there.’ He gestured to the huge double doors on the opposite wall. One hung at an odd angle on its runner allowing enough space between them for access. ‘It’d be too much of a ball-ache to bring her in the front door, more chance of being seen and too many stairs. Forensics did a quick sweep of the stairs and the main entrance just to be sure but came up empty for any trace.’
‘What’s out the back?’ Barry said.
‘The doors open into another pen with access around the side of the building for unloading the cattle. That pen opens into a field. The field ends with the woods behind it and there’s a high mesh fence that runs the perimeter. Uniforms and forensics are out there but they’re losing light, so they might have to call it a night and come back in the morning.’
‘Doubtful we’ll find much out there if she’s been here a while, not with the British weather being as helpful as it is.’ Nat saw the coroner waving them over. She turned to Barry. ‘Come on, let’s get this over with.’
‘We’ll be outside drinking crap coffee.’ Phil smiled mirthlessly and slid his notebook back into his coat.
The victim lay curled up on her left side, her back to them and her face obscured by tangled blonde hair that was streaked with various shades of red, brown and pink that reminded Nat of the rust splotches outside. The woman’s black skirt was filthy and rumpled up around her waist. There was no underwear. She wore only a thin white t shirt, stained across the front with the reddish-brown hue of old blood. Her feet were bare, the soles badly lacerated and caked in mud a
nd grass.
‘He walked her in.’ Nat said quietly.
‘Judging by the state of her feet and the amount of blood I’d be inclined to agree with you.’ Janet Winters, the area pathologist, moved methodically around the body scratching notes onto a clipboard. She handed her notes to her photographer and squatted down on her haunches to help one of the techs slide a body bag into place. ‘I’ve already done a quick once over. Extensive facial injuries and both hands are broken, probably from trying to defend herself, but I’ll be able to tell better once I’ve got her back to the lab. I’m going to hazard a guess here and say she was also sexually assaulted. Your killer had a lot of rage.’ She aimed a pointed look at Barry, ‘I hope neither of you ate before you came here.’ Slowly they turned the woman onto her back, careful to keep as much trace evidence on the body and in the bag as they could. Gravity and the momentum of the roll shifted some of her stiff hair and exposed what was left of her face.
‘Fuck.’ Barry turned away. Nat heard him suck in a breath and mutter something about lasagne. She ignored him and stepped closer.
‘How long do you think she’s been here?’
‘I won’t know for sure until the post mortem.’ Janet tugged up the zipper on the bag and stepped back when a gurney appeared beside her.
‘Rough guess?’ Nat pressed.
Janet pulled off her gloves. ‘She’s starting to bloat a little and we’ve had a few flies and such so I’d say a week? Maybe two. Like I said I won’t really know until we get her back, the temperature in here may put us out a little.’ They watched the gurney until it passed through the doors and with a gentle squeeze of Nat’s arm Janet followed.
‘Sorry.’ Barry mumbled.
‘Don’t worry about it, she was a mess.’ Nat moved along the makeshift footpath that forensics had created and stopped just inside the door. ‘Why walk her all the way in here? Why not just kill her in the woods?’
‘Assuming they came in through the woods.’
‘If they’d come in through the offices there’d be trace evidence to prove it. Footprints at the very least, but there isn’t.’
‘Yeah, but the woods only stretch across the back of the property, although I suppose there could be a hole somewhere. To either side of the field out there is open space. He could’ve parked up somewhere and come around the side.’ They both squinted out into the darkness. ‘We’ll have to wait until they’ve checked the fence line before we can say for sure.’
‘We’re about what, two miles from the nearest town?’ Nat asked.
‘Two and a half miles from town, there are three main roads within half a mile of here and we’re sort of in the middle of them. He could’ve come in from any of them, or he could’ve parked up somewhere and done the last bit on foot.’
‘So how did he get her to walk here without putting up a fight? Think they knew each other?’
They headed back towards the stairs. ‘He demolished her face, seems kind of personal to me. Plus, we’re only guessing that she didn’t put up some kind of fight on the way in because she definitely did when she got here. She doesn’t look that big to me, maybe our guy is a big lad, easily overpowered her?’
‘Or maybe he promised he’d let her go if she did what he asked.’ Nat said.
They followed a couple of the crime scene techs carrying paper evidence bags back up the stairs. The spotlights cast their shadows across the scuffed walls and their footsteps echoed in the emptiness. Nat shivered, this place was eerie as all hell and she couldn’t wait to get out of it. Discarding their gloves and booties at the door they made their way back to the car. Phil, Ryan and a third man stood waiting for them.
DCI Woods was in his late fifties. His perfectly coiffed hair had greyed at the temples and the designer suit he wore finished off a distinguished look that really didn’t match his personality. He’d grown a goatee that was whiter than any other colour and Nat couldn’t hide a wry smile at his latest effort to stay trendy and youthful.
‘Glad you could join us.’ Woods said. ‘Bring me up to speed.’
‘Female,’ Nat started, ‘she’s dead.’
‘That’s all you have?’
‘We’re good but we’re not miracle workers.’
‘You know, Johnson, one of these days that mouth is going to get you into a lot of trouble. I don’t know why I keep putting up with your shit.’ He turned to Barry. ‘Sensible answer?’
‘Deceased female, excessive blunt force trauma to the face, looks like sexual assault.’
Woods looked pointedly at Nat. ‘See? Now that wasn’t so hard was it?’
‘A lot less fun though.’ She scuffed the toe of her boot into the gravel.
He ignored her and looked at his watch. ‘Ok, Janet’s agreed to get the autopsy done as soon as she gets back. Nat, Barry, I want you on that. Uniforms are canvassing for anyone who might’ve seen anything but we’re not holding out much hope since we’re in the arse end of nowhere and there’s no CCTV or houses nearby.’ He turned towards his car, his immaculately polished shoes crunching across the stones. Opening the door, he shouted, ‘Oh, and cancel your evenings, I want everyone in the incident room within the hour. It’s going to be a long one.’
4.
Emily’s phone vibrated against the arm of Fiona’s leather sofa. Her best friend was currently curled up in the matching recliner watching Jerry Springer reruns. ‘You don’t have to babysit me, you know.’ Fiona grumbled. ‘Trust me, the drugs wore off a while ago.’ Emily glanced down at the unfamiliar number flashing on her screen. It buzzed again. ‘Are you going to get that?’
‘I don’t know who it is.’
‘So, answer it and you will.’ Fiona couldn’t keep the irritation out of her voice. She was sore, and she was tired and everyone else was going to pay for it. Emily gave her a look and she turned back to the screen as the phone went silent. A few seconds later it rumbled again to let Emily know she had voicemail. Fiona’s attention was pulled from the television. She watched in fascination at the myriad of emotions that quickly crossed Emily’s face as she listened. Surprise, joy, puzzlement. Without a word she got up and left the room with her phone clutched tightly in her hand.
Emily sat on Fiona’s bed and took a deep breath. Nat had sounded apologetic when she’d asked Emily to call her back, never a good sign. Emily replayed their meeting at the hospital, not recalling anything that might’ve led Nat to a change of heart about their date. She looked down at the number on the screen. She tapped a few times and added it to her contacts, chiding herself for procrastinating like a coward and finally pressing the call button. The ringing in her ear sent her heartrate up and she had a brief moment of panic when she was tempted to hang up, then Nat’s smooth voice was in her ear and there was nothing she could do about it.
‘Hi, Emily.’ There was a smile in Nat’s voice and Emily’s stomach tumbled.
‘Hi. You called?’
‘I did.’ There it was again, that apologetic tone. ‘I’m really sorry but I’m going to have to cancel our date. Something came up at work.’ There was silence on the line and Emily wondered what the right way to respond would be. Nat beat her to it. ‘I know that sounds like a total brush off but believe me it’s not. I was really looking forward to it.’
Emily tried for light and airy. ‘No problem.’
‘It is though. I’d like to get to know you, but this case is going to be a hard one and I probably won’t be around a whole lot. It’s not fair to you.’
Emily wanted to protest but she didn’t think there would be much point and she didn’t want to seem desperate.
‘Before I go though,’ Nat’s voice wavered a little, ‘I have a confession.’ She laughed quietly, a sound that Emily found she wanted to hear more.
‘Go on.’
‘I didn’t set up my profile on that site. My so-called friends did.’ She paused to let the information sink in. ‘It was my friends who set us up.’
It took a moment for the penny to drop. ‘W
ait, so it wasn’t you who I was talking to?’ Emily frantically racked her brain to try and remember the conversations they’d had. She was fairly certain that they’d been innocent enough. What kind of music are you into? Favourite movie? Favourite colour? Have you ever used your handcuffs for personal reasons? Ok, so maybe not that last one. Emily blushed, relieved that Nat couldn’t see her.
‘Unfortunately, no. Don’t worry though, I’ve had stern words and they won’t be doing it again. I’m sorry Emily. I meant what I said, one day I’d love to get to know you properly.’
Emily sat quietly trying to process everything. She should feel violated but all she felt was disappointed. She could hear muffled sounds on the line and a phone rang nearby. ‘Well I should get back to it.’ Nat said.
‘Ok, no problem.’ Emily rolled her eyes at her sudden struggle with the English language. She was never normally lost for words, but nagging doubts had begun to creep in. Maybe Nat just didn’t fancy her and was too polite to say? Maybe she’d read ‘their’ conversations and decided that Emily wasn’t smart enough? Funny enough?
‘Are we ok?’ Nat asked.
‘We’re ok.’
‘Can I call you sometime?’ There was uncertainty in Nat’s voice and Emily realised that she was nervous, especially after her confession.
‘Sure.’ Emily said, certain that she’d never hear from her again. ‘I hope everything works out on your case.’ Emily added.
‘Me too. Enjoy your evening, Emily.’
Emily went back into the living room and sat quietly.
‘Well?’ Fiona asked.
‘Well what?’
Fiona huffed. ‘Who was it?’
‘Don’t be nosey.’
‘Emily Shaw, I have known you for a long time and I know when you’re bummed about something. And when you’re not telling me things.’ She switched off the television and rearranged herself in the chair. ‘Out with it.’