‘A rough estimate?’
‘Can you wait until the PM? I’ll be able to give you all the details then. Right now we have to process her. We have to take the conditions into account as well as the average body breakdown process.’
Dominic scratched at his neck, the Tyvek suit rustling under his fingers. The paper suit chafing at his skin.
‘Look,’ said Nadira. ‘I know it’s frustrating, you want to ID her and start your investigation, but it’s important that we do things properly, especially at this early stage. If we don’t then everything falls down here and you don’t want that. Not if we do have a multiple killer on our hands.’
He let out a breath. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry.’ She was right. They had to take it step by step and get each stage right. They couldn’t afford for there to be any more women murdered by this guy. He was brutal. They had to stop him and that meant being meticulous.
The removal of the body was slow going. Dominic stayed for the whole period. For some reason he didn’t want to leave her. The cold in the woods seeped into his bones the whole time he stood there, making him ache for a warm room and a glass of whiskey. But he stayed and gave the woman the respect she deserved.
His team was busy getting statements from the witnesses who had found the woman and starting to collect CCTV from around the area. But again, as with the last victim, Julie Carver, there was none in the immediate vicinity.
As soil was brushed away from the body and as the woman was moved her injuries became more visible. She had the necklace of bruises around her throat and the remains of a smear of lipstick across her mouth. Her abdomen was a mess after spending time in the soil and with animals having got to her. Dominic swallowed his fury and clenched his fists at his side. How was he supposed to tell her family what had happened to their loved one? It was too horrific. These women had suffered. He would channel his anger into the investigation and work to bring the killer to justice.
Eventually she was loaded into a body bag and taken away. Some of the wildlife that had used her as a temporary home had now been housed in tubs and tubes to dissect later.
The lipstick was excavated and examined. It was House of Maven, Velvet Berry.
They were definitely looking for the same man. And it looked as though he had a definitive MO.
Chapter 25
Dominic
The couple who had found the victim admitted they’d been looking for a remote spot for a bit of outdoor sex and had got a lot more than they’d expected. Dominic informed his team that the couple would need investigating but he didn’t expect anything to come of it. Nothing had come of the old guy who had walked his dog and found Julie Carver. He figured again that this would be the same scenario. These were an innocent pair who had unfortunately stumbled upon a scene that they would now have to live with for the rest of their lives. It wasn’t something you could easily forget and throw off as one of those things that happened. She was a dead body. A real person who had once been living and breathing and having sex herself.
The next line of inquiry would be to identify the woman. Someone was at home wondering where she was, hoping she would walk through the door again. She would be loved and cared for. Or she could be a single woman with no family. No one to report her missing. But if she had a job Dominic hoped someone somewhere had put a report in. No one deserved to die in this way and not have anyone notice.
Back at the station he trawled through the missing persons files himself as his team were busy on other tasks. Normally one of the other Major Crime teams would have gone out to the body this morning as their team already had a case running. Because she resembled their case so closely Kapoor had decided they would pick it up. That meant the workload had doubled and they were stretched. Kapoor would have to make an application for more staff, secondments from uniform and other departments.
He didn’t have a timeframe for the woman’s death yet so trawling through the missing persons files was slow going. He had no idea how long she had been in the ground. She could even have been murdered before Julie.
That was something they hadn’t considered.
Approximately 200,000 people went missing every year. That was a lot of people. They took a huge amount of resources. Many of those returned. You got your regular teenage runaways. Those that left for the night, a couple of nights. Those in care homes that hated it and rebelled. They were all counted. They all had to be searched for even if the likelihood was they’d be found or come back of their own accord.
But some people, they simply disappeared and never returned. How many of those were buried, dumped out at sea, destroyed somehow? Dominic hated to think about it. The families who were left at home with no answers. Always wondering if their loved one would one day walk back through the door with a bunch of flowers and an apology for being away so long and worrying them. All would be forgiven because they were so pleased to see them back. But that day would never come because a stranger, or even someone close to the family, had destroyed their hope and hidden the evidence and it was never to be found.
Today one family had an answer. It wasn’t one they wanted, but in comparison to years of unanswered hope it was . . . the better option? Dominic clicked through to the next missing person file. Could this be the one? She was forty-five-year-old Madeleine Chapman. Something about the photograph looked familiar. He checked the file. A toothbrush had been seized by uniformed officers attending the scene. They could do a DNA match to see if she was Chapman. She was reported missing by her mother a week and a half ago.
Dominic picked up the phone and made the request to get the toothbrush sent to Forensics and to get the DNA matched up to the body recovered. This could be done in a matter of hours if it was expedited as urgent.
This whole case was urgent.
It made Dominic’s stomach crawl. Especially now they had two bodies. Someone was getting a taste for murder and Dominic didn’t like it.
Kapoor walked into the incident room. His mood sombre. ‘How are you, Dom?’
‘About as you’d expect after visiting that scene, sir.’ He leaned back in his chair.
Kapoor crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Are we dealing with the same killer?’
‘It looks like it. I’ll know more this afternoon after the PM.’
‘Dammit.’
‘Sorry, boss.’
Kapoor shook his head. ‘It’s not your fault, is it? We need to do a press conference as soon as possible. Get in front of this before they start printing whatever they want to.’
‘What are we going to say?’
Kapoor let out a deep sigh. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got that far, Dom. That we’ve found another body and at this time it’s too early to say if it’s linked to the one we’re investigating from three weeks ago. We’re cautiously using the same investigating team and will let them know as soon as we have anything more definitive.’
‘I think you’re telling them it’s linked by using the same team.’
‘I know. But they’re going to know. No matter how much I tell people to not talk to the press there’s always a leak. They always find out. We have to be as open as we can be. It saves embarrassment further down the line.’
Dominic tapped his pen on the desk. ‘Do you want me there for the press conference?’
‘Ideally. You’re the one who’s been to both scenes. If they ask any questions you’re going to be best suited to answer.’
‘The answer will be no comment. Even you can give that response, boss.’
Kapoor laughed. ‘You’re right, I can. But there might be one or two in there we’re willing to answer. You never know. I’d feel better if you were there.’
‘I have the PM today, what time are you scheduling it for?’
‘What time are you back?’
This time it was Dominic’s turn to laugh. ‘Okay. I get it. I’m definitely doing this press conference. I’ll get on to Nadira and see how soon she can set up the PM.’
‘I’m gr
ateful, Dom. Go and get a bite to eat. You have a busy day ahead of you.’
The PM was grim and evidence gathered indicated that it was the same offender who had killed Julie Carver. Nadira put her time of death at seven days which meant he had kept her for a few days before killing her. She’d been missing a week and a half. Cause of death was exsanguination from the knife wound to her neck. It appeared he had had some fun with his hands before he finished the job with a knife. She would have bled out quickly. Death, Dominic thought, might even have been a release for her. He couldn’t imagine the fear she would have gone through at the hands of this guy.
By the time he made it back to the station the DNA test had come back from the lab and it was confirmed that the body they had examined belonged to Madeleine Chapman. He let out a long sigh. He had to go and break the news to her mother. A task he hated with a passion. Parents should never lose their children under any circumstances. Murder was particularly horrific.
He walked to Kapoor’s office, knocked on the door. ‘Boss.’
Kapoor waved him in. ‘What is it, Dom? How did the PM go? Anything out of the ordinary?’
Dominic barked out a laugh. ‘It was all out of the ordinary. He’s one sick bastard.’
Kapoor leaned back in his chair. ‘You know what I mean.’
‘It looks to be the same offender. He has his own rituals and we need to get to the bottom of them.’
‘None of this goes out to the press, are we clear on this?’ Kapoor opened a notebook on his desk and started to scribble in it.
‘About that . . .’
‘You’re not backing out. No way. Not now we know they’re connected. This is something you need to be present for, Dominic. No excuses.’
‘The DNA has come back on the toothbrush I submitted. We have a result, an ID on the woman. I need to go and speak to her family. Give them the death message.’ He paused. ‘Before the press tell them we’ve found another body of a middle-aged woman and they jump to conclusions.’
Kapoor let out a sigh. ‘Okay, you get some time to inform the family, but I’m delaying the press conference, I’m not cancelling it and I’m not doing it without you.’
‘Yeah, okay.’ Dominic stood. ‘I’ll get on that home visit and catch up with you when I’m back.’
‘Don’t be too long, Dom. I can’t keep the baying crowd back for long.’
Dominic walked towards the door. ‘Beers are on you, boss, when we catch this bastard. The team are working their arses off on this case.’
‘I’ll take them all out and thank them when the time is right. But let’s make sure we have something to celebrate, shall we?’
Chapter 26
Dominic
The house was a small terraced property with a ramp at the door. Dominic had come alone. The team were tied up with their own enquiries. He couldn’t pull them away. He’d allocated an FLO who was currently tying up all their loose ends on their own workload and preparing to visit the family after Dominic had broken the news, which involved getting a personal briefing from Kapoor. They needed to be up to date with the investigation as it was.
The door was opened by a woman in a wheelchair. Her left leg was amputated from above the knee. She appeared to be in her sixties, but still young considering what she struggled with in her life. Dom brought himself up. Maybe she coped perfectly fine. Why shouldn’t she still look young because she was in a chair and was an amputee?
‘Mrs Grady?’ He hadn’t phoned and warned her he was coming because if he had she would have jumped to conclusions and would have had to wait for the answers. Instead it was better to give her the news and the answers she needed all at once.
‘Yes, can I help you?’
He had his warrant card clasped in his hand and opened his palm out to her to show her the identification. ‘I’m DS Dominic Harrison. I’m here to talk about your daughter, Madeleine.’
Her hand went to her mouth. Not a sound escaped, but it was that moment when the news passes silently between people without a word having to be said. Dominic hated it. He would rather form the words and have an actual say in how the news was imparted but this freaky sense that some people had of taking the information from you without you having any choice in the matter rattled his cage.
He stepped over the threshold and into the house. They were still on the doorstep. ‘Can we go inside?’
She moved back allowing him to enter.
‘Shall we go into the living room and I can explain why I’m here.’
She agreed and pushed the door closed behind him.
‘Is there anyone else here with you?’ Dominic asked.
‘No. I’m here alone. Madeleine used to visit me every day. That’s how I knew she was missing. My grandson is currently staying with me since she went missing but he’s out at college at the moment.’ She wheeled herself into the living room.
It was comfortable with a large cream sofa facing the small television in the corner and plenty of room for her chair to move around. Dominic paid attention to the size of the television because nowadays most people had the largest TVs they could fit into the house. This was small and neat and fitted well with the décor of the room. It was comfortable. Homey.
He indicated the sofa. ‘Mind if I sit?’
Mrs Grady shook her head and Dominic sank into the deep cushions, feeling at odds with Mrs Grady in her hard looking chair. He tried to straighten himself and stiffened his back in the process but ended up collapsing further into the softness of the fabric. He wriggled to gain control but was losing so gave up and hardened his posture as much as he could.
‘I’m sorry to tell you, Mrs Grady—’
‘Gwen.’
‘Sorry?’ The uncomfortable position he was lodged in was affecting his brain.
‘My name,’ said Mrs Grady. ‘It’s Gwen.’
He had to lean forward to hear her. A feat of its own.
‘I’m sorry, Gwen. We think we’ve found Madeleine.’
‘You’re not talking about safe and sound, are you?’ Her hands were tight in her lap.
‘No, I’m sorry, I’m not. We found her body early this morning. A young couple happened upon her.’ He left out the reason they were out and about. No need to add details like that.
Gwen Grady talked down to the floor. ‘What happened to my baby?’
‘She was killed. We’ve launched a full murder inquiry and no stone will be left unturned in order to identify who did this.’ He climbed out of the soft fabric that held him and crouched in front of her. ‘You’re going to hear on the news that her murder may be linked to another murder we had a few weeks ago.’
‘You could have stopped this?’ Tears were streaming from her eyes.
Dominic hated this question. He shook his head. ‘Not with the evidence we have so far. And on that basis I need to ask you some questions about Madeleine, if that’s okay? We need to learn more about her. About her life and her last movements. Shall I make us a drink first? Is there anyone I can call to come and sit with you?’
Gwen let out a quiet sigh, like the world was now too heavy for her. ‘The kitchen is through there. I’ll call my sister while you do that. She thought the world of Maddy. She’ll be devastated.’
Dominic stood and walked through to the kitchen. Everything had been lowered so that Gwen could do the tasks herself. He could see she was an independent woman even if her daughter did come to visit her every day. At first he had presumed it had been to come and take care of her, but looking at the layout of the kitchen, the units and the utensils, he realised it was probably because she loved her mother and wanted to see her. Some parents had such a relationship with their children.
He walked back into the room with two mugs of coffee and placed them on coasters on the small square table at the end of one of the sofas.
‘How’s your sister?’ he asked.
‘She’s on her way, but it’ll take her a while to get here. We can talk.’ Gwen was shaking, tears silently slicing their
way down her face.
This time Dominic perched on the edge of the sofa and managed not to collapse into it. ‘When did you see Maddy last?’
Gwen took in a deep breath. ‘It was about two weeks ago. Like I said, she comes to see me every day. She doesn’t live far away. She didn’t want to move too far from me. I told her I didn’t need her but her whole life she’s been the same. She married and stayed close by and when they divorced I thought she might take the opportunity to move and get away from those memories, but she didn’t.’
‘How did she seem?’
‘She was good. She said she’d met someone.’ Gwen’s hand fluttered over her chest as a gasp of grief escaped.
Dominic’s ears pricked at the mention of the similarity to their current case. ‘She was dating? Do you have his details?’
‘I’m afraid I don’t. She’d only just met him. She joined a dating app for women over forty. Said she was too old to date otherwise and was thrilled when she matched with someone. She showed me his photograph though.’
Dominic leaned forward. ‘We need to talk to anyone who saw Maddy in her last days. Can you describe him, or sit with an artist to do a composite?’
She shook her head. ‘The photograph was awful. I laughed at her.’ Gwen’s hand went up to her mouth. ‘I actually laughed at her. That she had chosen to go on a date with someone she couldn’t see from the photo. She in turn scolded me for being so shallow. Oh, I don’t mean we had a falling out or anything, it was more relaxed than that. After the divorce she was the shell of the woman I knew her to be. It had taken her a while to start dating again. Her husband wasn’t a good man and had made her feel less than human. It was so good to see her excited about going out.’ She sobbed again and Dominic comforted her until her sister arrived.
Chapter 27
Dominic
Dominic gathered the team. Kapoor was waiting for him so they could do the press conference, but Dominic wanted to pass on the details of the meeting with Gwen Grady before he moved on to the next step.
BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book 1) Page 13