Blood Lost
Nobody’s Home…
Anna-marie Morgan
Also by Anna-marie Morgan
In the DI Giles Series:
DEATH MASTER
YOU WILL DIE
TOTAL WIPEOUT
DEEP CUT
THE PUSHER
GONE
BONE DANCER
Copyright © 2019 by Anna-marie Morgan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This work is a work of fiction.
For my Mum, with love.
Contents
1. Homecoming
2. Perplexing
3. Max
4. A farmer’s wrath
5. Melting pot
6. Insights
7. Tension
8. A friend in need
9. Carter and Sons
10. Cuckoos
11. Brotherly love
12. Lines
13. Shayne Steadman
14. Pods
15. Nebulous
16. Undercover
17. Kate
18. Scarface
19. Evans and Harries
20. Confession?
21. Nothing is ever simple
22. Hodley
23. Renewed search
24. County Lines
25. The wanderer returns
26. Stakeout
27. Hiding places
28. Blood loss
29. Shifting sands
30. A problem shared
31. Tightrope
32. A tense time
33. Showdown
34. Dinner
Afterword
1
Homecoming
Max Harries grabbed a holdall and two bin bags from the back of his mini, elbowing the door closed. His nostrils filled with earth and grass and cow dung. The life-affirming aroma of home.
A furtive sun tip-toed around the clouds as though announcing the twenty-one-year-old’s arrival. It tingled his back as he swung open the gate and deposited the bags on the doorstep. An expectant smile curving his lips, he rapped the door of his parents' home in Hodley.
No answer.
He tapped again, harder this time, holding his breath for the sound of running feet.
None came.
He banged the door with his fist. “Mum? Dad? Hello?”
When the silence continued, he took the walkway to the left of the house, standing on his toes to peer over the hedge. The family's people-carrier was there, but his father’s pickup wasn't.
Sweat beading on his forehead, he ran to the back of the cottage, trying a door he knew would be unlocked.
It creaked complaint as he pushed it wide.
“Mum? Will?”
The kitchen was thick with silence, save for a ticking clock and the faint hum of the fridge-freezer.
Chills travelling the length of him, he dumped the holdall and bin bags next to the washing machine, not noticing mud-stained socks spilling to the floor.
He checked his watch. Two-thirty pm. He'd told them he would arrive at two, he was sure of that. They wouldn’t have forgotten? His mum never missed his homecoming.
Breakfast was still on the table, his father’s newspaper lying open by his seat. Perhaps they had popped into town in the pickup, his father had seen an advert in the paper. A special deal?
He turned the paper towards him, examining the open pages. No adverts, just a piece about sheep rustling in the area.
Knotted nerves, twisted his stomach, spreading to the small of his back. The paper was Sunday’s. The semi-eaten food, comprised solid egg yolk and hard baked beans. The coffee in the mugs had separated.
He ran a hand through his hair. This was all wrong.
“Mum! Dad! Will?” His voice cracked as he ran upstairs, throwing open each bedroom door one-by-one.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The beds lay unmade. Not unusual in seventeen-year-old Will’s room, but his parents? This time in the afternoon? Never.
Taking the stairs back down, heart thumping, he entered the lounge, almost choking on his own tongue. The wall opposite the window was littered with directional blood-spatter. On the floor, a foot-long candle holder lay, also bloodied. Something had happened to his family. That something was bad.
❖
“Ready for a new case?” Chris Llewellyn took off his reading glasses, coming out from behind his desk to help Yvonne sit.
She waved his hand away. “It’s okay, I’m fine, honestly.”
Although off the crutches for several weeks, she walked with a limp which the doctors assured her was temporary.
“I’m ready for the next challenge.” She jutted her chin out, gaze, firm and direct.
Llewellyn studied her face as though reassuring himself she was ready. “It’s a strange one,” he warned, handing her a file from his desk. “A family have disappeared under violent circumstances. At least, that’s how it looks from the blood found in the lounge. Uniform are talking to neighbours and forensics are still working at the house. It’s not known if the violence came from inside or outside the family. We suspect the blood is the father’s, but that is unconfirmed. They’ve taken samples from the eldest son, Max, to compare. He reported the incident, apparently. He’d gone home for a visit and obviously wasn’t expecting what he found.”
“I see.” Yvonne read through Max Harries’s statement. “He thinks they disappeared last Sunday?”
“Yeah, around breakfast time. He said his family always breakfasted at eight on Sundays.”
“Signs of forced entry?”
“None, but according to Max, they always left the backdoor unlocked. Even at night.”
“Ooh.” Yvonne frowned. “Not sure I'd do that.”
“Many people in the hamlets still do. They are trusting communities.”
“And he found a bloodied candlestick?”
Llewellyn nodded, “Made of oak and heavy.” Llewellyn nodded. “The missing are dad, mum and their other son.”
“Who’s still in school?”
“Yeah. Seventeen-year-old Will Harries attends Newtown High School. The school confirmed he hasn’t been there since last week. The neighbours are telling us they saw nothing out of the ordinary last weekend. Your team might want to follow-up with interviews, in case they’ve remembered anything else. The dad, Michael, is a partner in a business on the Mochdre Industrial Estate. The firm is Evans and Harries. Employees say, he hasn’t been there since Friday.”
“And now it’s Thursday.” Yvonne turned her gaze to the window. The trees outside blazed in orange, gold and red. She watched as the leaves drizzled from them, one-by-one. “And mum?”
“Kate Harries works at a local estate agents in Newtown, Carter and Sons. She’s worked for them for around fifteen years.”
As she watched the falling leaves, her eyes glazed over.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Llewellyn’s gaze was soft, his head tilted as though trying to work out what she was thinking.
She ran her hands down her skirt. “I’m ready.”
“There are valid reasons to suspect foul-play in their disappearance. Whether we have a murder or murders is another question. Do what you can. I know you’ll find out what happened. If anyone can, it’s you.”
“I’ll give it my best shot.” Yvonne pressed her lips together, shifting her weight on the seat, enabling her rise.
The DCI placed a hand under her elbow, to support her. “Does it hurt?”
“I’m stiff, but I’m okay. It’ll get easier.”
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“Dewi and Callum will go with you, when you are working. Be gentle with them and don’t send Callum away. I know what you’re like, stubborn… You and your independence. We need your brains on this one, not your brawn. Remember that.” He winked at her. “No risk-taking, got it?”
She grinned. “Got it.”
2
Perplexing
“Right, Callum. You take one arm and I’ll take the other.”
Yvonne looked at Dewi, his face, deadpan. “Are you having a laugh? I don’t need carrying.”
The DS and DC laughed at she glowered at them.
“Oh, I see. Hilarious. The pair of you, together, will drive me round the twist. It’s not nice to make fun of the disabled.” She pulled out her tongue.
“Sorry, couldn’t resist, ma’am.” Dewi held the car door open.
“At least I can still ride in the front.” She grinned.
“You need the legroom.” Dewi ruffled her hair. “Seriously, ma’am, it’s good to have you back. We’ve missed you.”
“I missed you guys, too.” She reached for her seatbelt, wincing at the discomfort in her shoulder.
“Still sore?” Callum asked, climbing in the back.
“Movement is awkward, but improving all the time. I’m told everything is healing well. So, give it a few more weeks… I’ll be able to beat you both for mocking me.”
Dewi paused before firing up the engine. “Joking aside, you’re amazing. I admire your resilience.”
“Oh, don’t, please.” Yvonne grimaced. “I’m a noodle. A noodle who needs counselling again, apparently. Lucky me, eh?”
“Seriously?” Dewi frowned. “They’re making you go through that again?”
She nodded. “They made it a condition of my early return to work. I was going stir-crazy worrying at the madness you two might unleash on Dyfed-Powys. I badgered them to come back.”
Dewi put on a mock-hurt face as he started the engine.
Yvonne laughed. “Come on, we’d better go. Three people are missing. I want to know why, where, and how. We’ll examine the crime scene and speak to Max Harries. Where’s he staying, anyway?”
“He’s with an Aunt on the crescent, at the top of town.” Callum scratched his head. “He couldn’t stay at his parent’s house, but he wanted to stay in Newtown, until he has news of his family.”
“Where does he live when he’s not visiting his parents?”
“London. He graduated from college there. He’s on a gap year, deciding what he wants to do. That’s everything we have on him, really.”
“Okay let’s hear what he has to say.”
❖
They entered the house, while SOCO were on their break, first giving their name and rank to the officer on scene-duty.
Yvonne shivered. “It's damp in here.”
“No heating.” Dewi rubbed his hands, turning up the collar on his jacket. “It doesn't take long for an old house to become damp.”
"Front door’s been open, that won’t have helped." Callum felt the radiator. "It's off, I’ll check the boiler. If that's also off, it’ll suggest the family or the perp flicked the switch."
"It’s over here." Dewi pulled open the front hatch. "Boiler's dead. So, either the family switched it off, or the eldest son did."
Yvonne nodded. “Well, we can ask him when we see him.”
She adjusted her plastic suit and mask before leaning over the kitchen table. “Three plates of half-eaten food. Something disturbed them, I would say.”
“Ma’am?” Dewi joined her.
“Mum might leave food on her plate, but the dad? And how often do you see a teenage boy leaving half his breakfast?”
“Family argument, maybe?”
“Could be, Callum.” Yvonne pursed her lips. “Except, the cutlery is leaning on the plates, like they expecting to come back. No signs of violence at the table. Though they may have started an argument here and moved to the lounge when it became heated.”
“Mum may have followed dad and son, trying to calm them.” Dewi folded his arms.
"But, in that case, where are they?" Yvonne shook her head. "What if they were in here eating? Doorbell goes and dad lets in the visitor. Takes him into the lounge and a discussion gets out of hand. Mum and Will enter. Dad is unconscious, and the perp keeps the others under control with a weapon? Ties them up, get’s them into the pickup, and drives?"
“I doubt one person could do all that on their own.” Callum led them into the lounge.
“Unless, he’s incapacitated dad, and hits the son as soon as he comes through the door?” Yvonne peered at the blood spatter, highlighted with SOCO markers.
Dewi scratched his head. “Or, Will Harries injured his father, threatened his mother and got them both into the pickup.”
“We’ll investigate Max Harries’s whereabouts last Sunday. He’s stated he’s on a gap year. Let’s see where he was and if we can confirm that alibi.”
Dewi snapped photographs with his mobile. “Right you are.”
On the way out, Yvonne limped over to a returning SOCO officer. “Did you find blood anywhere else in there?”
He nodded. “Tiny spots on the lounge floor, below the wall. We carried out luminol tests in every other room and found none anywhere else. Nothing in the bath or sinks. The perp didn't clean himself up while he was here. We lifted prints from the weapon. We have several partials, most of them smudged. Whoever hit him, was likely wearing gloves. Hence, the smudged prints.”
“How soon can you get the full report to us?”
“A week to ten days? Time permitting.”
“That’s great. I’ll look forward to it, thank you.”
As they headed back to the car, each detective was silent, lost in their own thoughts as they pondered what might have happened.
3
Max
They parked on the hill at the top of The Crescent in Newtown. The long view, down through the centre of town, past the clock, and on up to the hills beyond, comprised the stunning backdrop.
As Dewi helped her from the car, the DI stilled to gaze at that view, reminded of why she found the place so beautiful.
Max Harries stood in the conservatory at the front of his aunt’s semi.
Yvonne frowned at the steep steps up to the house.
“Need your cane?” Dewi asked, his voice low.
She sighed. “I was hoping I wouldn’t need it, but yes, thank you, Dewi.”
He retrieved it from the boot.
“Do you need me?” Callum asked. “It’s a small house and three… overkill?”
She chuckled. “Yes, all right. You can stay here for a smoke.”
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Callum grinned, taking out his cigarette packet. “Give me a shout if you need me.”
Max led them into the sitting room. Yvonne guessed him to be six feet in height and stocky. His sandy hair was short-cropped, and he walked with a swagger, the DI judged to be an unconscious thing.
“I’m sorry your family is missing.” Yvonne lowered herself into an armchair, leaning her cane against her knee. “It must have come as a shock. Can you take us through your arrival that afternoon and what you saw?”
Max took a shuddering breath. “Did you see my statement? It’s all in there. I came home, as I had said I would, and nobody answered the door unusually for them. Not only that, they knew I was coming and they wouldn’t have gone out without leaving a note.”
Yvonne made notes. “How did you get in?”
“Through the back, which they usually leave unlocked. I called out and nobody answered. Sunday’s breakfast was still on the table. I touched nothing, aside from the doors upstairs. I ran up there to see if it was just that they hadn’t heard me calling to them. It was only afterwards, when I saw the blood in the lounge, that I realised something was wrong. It was terrifying. The animals outside were all on edge and their food troughs were empty. Since then, I’ve been feeding them, myself.”
“Did you se
e anyone, on your approach to the home? Cars? People?”
He shook his head. “No-one.”
“Where were you, last Sunday?”
“Last Sunday? Wait, a minute. You think I had something to do with their disappearance, do you? No way. Please don’t waste time looking at me. Just find my family.” His large eyes stressed the point, their dark lines showing a lack of sleep.
“I promise you, we will, Max. We still need your whereabouts, however, on the morning your family went missing.”
He leaned back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other. “I spent the day at Avebury. It's my gap year. I’m fascinated by ancient stones… rings, lay lines, ancient monuments and such like.”
“Can anyone confirm your trip to Avebury?”
He locked eyes with her. “I took pictures and made drawings. There were others around, but we didn’t make conversation.”
“What about lunch? Did you eat with anyone else?”
He shook his head. “I took a packed lunch, picked a quiet spot out in the open and ate on my own.” He sighed. “Oh, dear.”
“Where’ve you been living, Max?”
“Bristol. I share a three-storey house with a bunch of friends.”
“Did they see you leave the house that morning?”
“Ben did. I left before eight. Ben Crawley is one of my best friends. We chatted, before I set off. I drove straight to Avebury in my mini. You can verify the first bit with Ben.”
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