Woman in the Water

by Katerina Diamond

  ‘Hey,’ Adrian said, standing and stretching out of his hunched seated slumber.

  Imogen waved Adrian over to the corner of the room, as far away from the woman as they could get without actually leaving the room.

  ‘We found another body in the water, about a mile from where you found the woman. Male, similar age – dead, though; much worse injuries than her. They must be connected. I’m going to have to ask her about it,’ she said quietly.

  ‘Why didn’t you call and tell me?’

  ‘I thought it would be better in person. DCI Kapoor wanted me to question her, so I thought it best just to tell you when I got here.’

  The truth was, she wanted to check on Adrian. He had refused to leave until the woman had woken. Well, she was awake now.

  ‘Maybe he will have some ID on him. We still don’t know her name; she said she doesn’t remember.’

  ‘Do you believe her?’

  ‘I don’t know what I think, to be honest. I don’t know why she would lie. Do we know anything else about the body?’

  ‘No, but hopefully the pathologist will be able to tell us more. It’s possible he is your woman’s boyfriend but we don’t know that either. The DCI wants us back at the station to brief us after we have spoken to her.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave her.’

  ‘What did the doctor say?’

  ‘Dr Hadley said she is going to be fine – sore for a while, but fine. She was beaten quite badly, possibly with the intention of killing her. Now that we have found the other body, that seems quite likely. Whoever did this, I get the feeling it was personal. It must have been someone who had something against her, or him. She still had valuables on her so robbery wasn’t the end goal, and according to the doctor, neither was sexual assault. Most of the damage to her was on the surface, no internal injuries. I guess we need to figure out if they were both the target or if it’s something that’s only connected to one of them.’

  ‘It’s already been on the news that she’s in hospital,’ Imogen said.

  It was almost impossible to keep a lid on any kind of news these days.

  ‘Do you think she could still be in danger?’ Adrian asked.

  ‘I don’t think we can know anything for sure at this point. That could be why she isn’t telling us her name. We need to speak to her.’

  ‘She woke briefly but she hasn’t said much about anything. It’s entirely possible she really doesn’t remember what happened, given the state of her and the injuries she sustained.’

  ‘Or she doesn’t want us to know what happened. Maybe she is still afraid. Whoever did this is still out there,’ Imogen said.

  The truth was they could speculate all they wanted at this point. Until she gave them information, or they managed to identify the man whose body they found, they might as well just be pissing in the wind. Imogen could already see how invested Adrian was; he wasn’t about to walk away from this case. Imogen shuddered involuntarily, a chill at the nape of her neck. She had a bad feeling about this woman, whoever she was. Adrian was already well and truly hooked.

  Chapter Nine

  They found him. They think I am asleep, but I hear them whispering. Their words drift in and out of my head as they pass my bed. That’s what happens when I try to get away, people get hurt. He warns me and yet still I persist.

  When will I ever learn?

  I am both glad and disturbed that I can’t remember what happened that night. I have the tiniest ember of hope left. If he thinks I am dead, then there is still a chance that I can get far enough away before the truth comes out.

  Chapter Ten

  In the briefing room, Adrian had his phone on the table, waiting for Dr Hadley to call and update him on the condition of their Jane Doe. She had promised to message when the woman woke again. While violent attacks were on the rise by almost twenty per cent in the last year across the country owing to a multitude of factors, including government cuts and a mounting feeling of general hopelessness among the populace, this was something else. This was personal.

  He thought about the body they found. He should have checked the area to see if there was anyone else. He didn’t even think to do that. Maybe he could have saved that man if he had just walked a little further downriver. What if the man heard him? What if he tried to call out? Adrian waited for any small piece of information that would release him from the weight of his guilt.

  DCI Mira Kapoor walked into the briefing room with DI Walsh and nodded at Adrian before putting her mug down on the desk. Gary Tunney followed closely behind and opened his laptop. Gary was the district forensic computer analyst and all-round genius; they relied on him for a lot and he seemed more than happy to oblige. He was one of those people who was constantly thirsting for knowledge, always doing a course of some kind or other. At present, Gary was doing a part-time degree in forensic psychology. Adrian was a little in awe of Gary’s capacity to learn things.

  ‘First, great job, DS Miles. That must have been a very upsetting situation and I’m very proud of the way you dealt with it. You’re a credit to the station.’

  Adrian was slightly taken aback by this comment, as it wasn’t like Kapoor to heap the praise on quite so thickly. Just take the compliment, he thought.

  ‘Thank you, Ma’am.’

  ‘Also, thank you for staying with the Jane Doe at the hospital last night. Now, we don’t have an ID on the male victim, is that correct?’

  ‘Nothing as yet,’ Imogen said.

  ‘And she still hasn’t said who she is?’ DCI Kapoor added.

  Adrian looked at the DCI and shook his head.

  ‘Has anyone been reported missing?’ she asked.

  ‘Not in the last week,’ Gary said.

  ‘Well, they came from somewhere and so someone is missing them. When the woman spoke to you, did you notice an accent? Was she British?’

  ‘I believe so. She hasn’t said much, but it seemed to be an English accent.’

  ‘Gary, do you have anything?’ the DCI said.

  ‘I haven’t managed to find anything through the CCTV; there’s not a whole lot of cameras down that way,’ Gary said sheepishly.

  Adrian watched and waited as DCI Kapoor sucked in a breath. It was always tough when there were no leads. All they could do was hope that once the crime scene was processed and the autopsy had been carried out, they would have more to go on. It wasn’t a given. Some investigations required a little more investigating than others.

  ‘Do we know the time of the death of our John Doe? Was he alive when I got her out of the water?’ Adrian asked.

  ‘I spoke to Karen Bell. She was heading the forensic team down there and she said he had been dead for more than twenty-four hours. Likely, he died some time before you found her on the Saturday morning. You couldn’t have saved him,’ Imogen said.

  Adrian could see she wanted to reach out across the table to reassure him, but with all the prying eyes, she settled for giving him a comforting look. He wondered if anyone noticed these affectionate glances between them. It was mostly her decision to keep the relationship a secret, though he was happy to go along with it for now, until they were comfortable enough to go public.

  ‘There was nothing you could have done,’ Walsh added, which was uncharacteristically comforting.

  Adrian could tell Walsh’s opinion of him was, at best, on the fence.

  ‘So, we have nothing? Nothing at all?’ DCI Kapoor said with a prominent tone of disappointment in them.

  ‘I can check with other constabularies re MisPers. It’s possible whoever they were that they were just visiting the city,’ Adrian said.

  ‘Is that likely? That would make this an opportunist attack and it certainly doesn’t feel that way,’ DCI Kapoor said.

  ‘It’s got to be worth checking. I don’t mind doing it,’ Adrian said.

  ‘Thank you, Adrian, that would be great,’ DCI Kapoor said. ‘The preliminary report from the pathologist records that he died from multiple blows to the
head. Definitely deliberate, definitely with the intent of killing the young man. He will have a more detailed report for us in a few days.’

  Gary raised his hand. ‘I know someone at the university who may be able to help. He’s the professor of forensic anthropology and archaeology on the Streatham Campus.’

  ‘How is an archaeologist going to help us?’ Adrian said.

  ‘He does skull reconstruction and can get a good likeness of John Doe for us to work from. He is superfast. I don’t have any decent facial reconstruction software here and if we send it off to London or one of the other constabularies with the program, it’s likely to take a week minimum because of backlog. It’s actually two separate programs run by two different people.’

  ‘Why don’t we have this software? Can’t you run it?’ DCI Kapoor asked.

  ‘I can run it. It is, however, several grand. I put in for it a couple of years back but was denied owing to budget constraints. My guy at the uni is a fast worker and he would prioritise it; he lives for this kind of thing.’

  ‘OK, brilliant. Has he worked with us before? Is that how you know him?’ DCI Kapoor said.

  ‘No. He’s in my guild. He’s the Healer.’

  ‘Your guild?’

  ‘Warcraft. It’s a computer game thing. We have a local guild and we meet up occasionally. Anyway, he is kind of a big deal. In the real world, I mean, but also in the game.’

  Denise Ferguson, the duty sergeant, knocked on the door of the briefing room and walked in with a piece of paper, which she handed to Gary. When Denise looked up, her eyes widened at Adrian and she had a smirk on her face.

  ‘This was just on the local news Twitter feed.’

  Gary put a video up on the big screen. Bloody mobile phones. Adrian knew before it even started what it was going to be. He watched himself pulling Jane Doe from the bushes and then carrying her to safety on the bank, to the soundtrack of gasps from both the women in the video and his colleagues in the room, followed by a round of applause when it ended on a freeze-frame of him walking towards the camera. He blushed.

  ‘I see they cut out the bit where I asked her not to share this with anyone until we identified the woman,’ Adrian said.

  ‘Well, DS Miles, I think you are probably going to have a few questions to answer as soon as the press learn your name. It’s always great to have some good PR for a change and so it would be nice if you would issue a statement, even nicer if we had any good news with regard to Jane Doe’s progress.’

  ‘Do I have to?’ Adrian said.

  ‘It’s better if you do, then it’s over and you can get on with things. Trust me, I learned this lesson a long time ago. If you cooperate then you control what information they get hold of. They are going to talk about you anyway,’ DCI Kapoor said.

  ‘Are we going to give them a picture of the woman’s face? Like a proper one. You can’t see who she is in this video. It might help us to identify her,’ Adrian said.

  ‘I think we should get an ID on the man first. Until we know the circumstances of this attack then I don’t want to risk it. She could still be in danger and I don’t want to advertise her location at the moment. It’s annoying that this video is out there; it makes our job a little harder by forcing us to deal with the bloody newspapers,’ Kapoor said. ‘Let’s just give the press a statement for now.’

  ‘Fine,’ Adrian said.

  ‘I’ll set something up. You never know, maybe someone saw something and we might even get a lead out of this. You’re unusually quiet, DS Grey,’ Kapoor added.

  ‘Sorry, Ma’am. I can give Gary a hand checking out missing persons in other constabularies,’ Imogen said.

  ‘OK, then. When you’re done, could you check with the pathologist for any updates on the autopsy of John Doe?’

  ‘Of course.’

  The DCI picked up her mug and left the room. Gary put the video on again.

  ‘Look at those strong arms and that pretty face. The press are going to love you, don’t you think, Grey?’

  ‘Irresistible,’ she said flatly, standing and turning to Gary. ‘I’ll meet you in your office so we can go through the missing persons files.’

  Adrian couldn’t tell if she was upset. What could she possibly be annoyed with him about? Gary took the hint by shutting his laptop and leaving.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ Adrian asked as they left the room.

  ‘You tell me.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘I’m just concerned that you are too emotionally involved in this case already. That must have been tough, finding her, pulling her out of the river like that.’ Imogen’s voice softened.

  ‘It’s not something I particularly want to experience again. It was horrible.’

  ‘Do you think maybe you should go and see the counsellor? Might be good to talk it through properly.’

  ‘No, thanks. I just want to find out what happened.’

  ‘I know. We will.’

  ‘I genuinely thought she was dead. How could anyone do this?’

  ‘If there is one thing we have learned, it’s that people are capable of anything. Look, I know you found her and that you’re invested in this case, but I really have a bad feeling about this whole thing. I can’t explain it, Adrian, and you know I am not superstitious or anything, but I want you to promise me you try and stay level-headed about it.’

  ‘It’s sweet of you to worry, but I am fine. Let’s just find out who Jane and John Doe are, then we can figure out who did this to them. I’m not some ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Have a little faith in me.’ Adrian squeezed Imogen’s hand.

  They were at work and had promised to keep their relationship out of the office as they knew the DCI didn’t really approve and it could affect the way the DCI treated them. Neither one of them had a particularly stellar reputation for following the rules and so they needed to be careful not to piss the boss off. Adrian had promised himself that he would stop walking that line between what he was obligated to do and what he thought he should do. The law existed so people like him didn’t get to decide other people’s fate, he needed to remember that.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was amazing how much the woman’s appearance had improved since she had come in just a few days ago. She wouldn’t be winning any beauty competitions just yet, but the swelling on her face was almost gone, and she was sitting upright in the bed when Adrian and Imogen arrived at the hospital. But her face was still a patchwork of pinks and purples.

  Imogen noticed the way the woman smiled at Adrian. She wasn’t threatened by every female who spoke to Adrian, but she had come to realise he was more naive than she had first thought. He didn’t seem to notice when he was being manipulated by a woman, or even flirted with, which was refreshing. Probably because he didn’t have a manipulative bone in his body.

  Maybe he deserved more credit than she was giving him, but she was concerned that someone might take advantage of his good nature. This woman was obviously just expressing her gratitude again and yet there was still something about her that Imogen had a problem with. She was off in some way.

  They had to tell her about the body of the man, they had to ask her who he was, and Imogen had a feeling they weren’t going to get the truth. But they at least had to try.

  ‘Hello. I am DS Imogen Grey. I need to talk to you about something.’

  ‘OK,’ the woman said, sucking in a breath, bracing herself for the conversation.

  ‘There’s no easy way to say this. We found the body of a young man near where DS Miles found you. We are in the process of identifying him. Do you know who he was?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I don’t,’ she said too quickly, reaching for her glass of water.

  She gulped it down. She was clearly trying to obscure her face for a moment, just enough to compose herself. It was obvious the question wasn’t a complete surprise to her.

  What had happened to her? Why wouldn’t she tell them? Imogen didn’t
have a medical degree, or in fact any degree at all, but she felt sure this woman was lying about not remembering. Why wouldn’t she want them to know who she was? Or who the man she was with was? Could Adrian see past what was happening to her? Could he see she was lying to them? Imogen wasn’t sure.

  ‘So, you have no recollection of him? Of what happened?’ Imogen said.

  ‘I’m sorry, I wish I did,’ she said. ‘Was it quick? When he died, was it quick?’

  ‘We don’t know yet. He sustained some very serious injuries,’ Adrian said.

  ‘I’m really tired. I would like to be alone, if it’s all the same to you. I really can’t tell you anything useful.’

  Can’t? Or won’t? Imogen thought.

  ‘We’ll be back again if we learn anything about your situation. Do you have any idea as to why no one would have reported you missing?’ Imogen asked.

  ‘None, I’m sorry.’ Their Jane Doe lay back and folded her arms, closing her eyes.

  ‘It’s highly unusual,’ Imogen said, hoping to catch the woman’s eye. She wanted her to know she was on to her, in case there was anything to be on to.

  But Jane Doe wasn’t going to say anything that might give an indication as to who she was, that much was clear. They were wasting their time talking to her. They could come back when they had more information on the body – maybe then they would find something they could press her with. They could run a DNA sample on the dead body, something they couldn’t do to Jane Doe without her permission, which she hadn’t granted. At this time, she was an obstruction to finding the truth and they had to treat her as such. After the forensic anthropologist had reconstructed the man’s face, they would come back and question her further.