BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book 1)

by Rebecca Bradley

‘You presume correct.’ He smiled.

  She clipped her bag shut and walked towards the door. ‘This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. Keep yourselves safe, guys.’ And with that she was gone.

  ‘She’s right,’ Kapoor said. ‘I want you all to make sure you take extra precautions. He’s obviously paying attention to the investigation team. So pay attention to yourselves and your surroundings. Do not let yourselves get caught in any dangerous situations. I don’t want to have to visit a crime scene with one of you as the victim.’

  The words cut through the room like a blade. Everyone looked at him. The words sinking in. The implications of what he was saying imprinting on brains. This guy knew who they were and he wanted their attention. They would be foolish to think he wouldn’t go after a cop. They’d have to keep their guard up.

  Chapter 33

  Claudia

  Twenty-one hours since Ruth’s attack

  They’d been at it for hours now. Claudia was exhausted. Dominic surely must be. Not that he’d admit it or agree to a break, but a break was what he would get. She needed to follow up with her team. See where they were in the investigation. If they had any leads or information she needed to be aware of.

  She looked at her dad, sent a silent prayer up — though she wasn’t one to pray — that Ruth would be found and that the man in front of her had nothing to do with this.

  ‘Interview ended at—’

  Dominic exploded. ‘What?! What do you mean interview ended? Why? What are you doing? We haven’t finished.’

  Claudia kept her calm. She’d expected this. When she was a child he’d worked all the hours the job had dictated, regardless of what effect it had on his family. She’d felt his absence keenly and it wasn’t until she became a detective herself that she understood the drive her father might have felt. But she also recognised that he could have walked away some of the time and left it to someone else. He’d chosen the job over his family. And that loss of time had driven a wedge so deep she didn’t know if she could ever drag it out. She felt Kane shift in his chair and continued her closure for the recording. ‘Eighteen oh-two hours.’

  Kane pressed the stop button and started the procedure of wrapping the discs up and labelling and signing the seals.

  Dominic glared at Claudia, waiting for a response.

  ‘You need a break. I’m going to ask the custody staff to feed you. We should have done this sooner but it’s been too important to stop.’

  ‘It still is,’ he barked. ‘I don’t need to eat.’

  ‘Maybe not, but you’re having a break and I’m going to check in with my team and see what’s been happening in my absence.’

  With that he settled a little, his shoulders relaxed, rounding off again.

  ‘Don’t worry—’ she tapped at the table with a finger — ‘I’m not going to sit and relax while you have a break. I’m still working. I’ll come back and we’ll pick up where we left off as soon as I know what’s been going on.’

  ‘Check in with my team, see if they’ve made in-roads with identifying the witness.’

  Claudia stayed silent. She didn’t want to antagonise him any further by informing him that her team was also working the Sheffield Strangler angle as he’d made it such a prominent part of Ruth’s case. She rose from her chair. ‘I’ll be with you as soon as I can.’

  Kane would return Dominic to his cell while she made a call back to the incident room.

  Exiting the interview room and heading into the bowels of the custody suite, Claudia could hear detained people locked in cells, banging on doors and shouting for attention. The clatter and shrieking was a regular soundtrack of the suite. People were very often angry, frustrated. It was a space of helplessness. And that’s how she felt. It covered her like a heavyweight blanket. Bearing down and smothering her.

  Running a hand through her hair, Claudia turned right and into the report-writing room where the computer terminals and phones were housed for attending officers to use. She picked up a phone and dialled in to her incident room.

  Graham answered. He sounded hassled. Stressed.

  ‘What do we have?’ she asked him after checking he was okay. She was eager for news and Graham didn’t bore her with details of his welfare. He was fine, just busy.

  ‘About half an hour ago we identified the second witness at the abduction site of the Sheffield Strangler’s latest victim — the one eating from a bag of chips.’

  A full working day had passed but she hadn’t expected this progress. ‘How did you manage that?’

  ‘We narrowed down the time, went to the closest two chip shops and asked about customers. A couple of them had paid by card. We identified them, made contact, and we have a winner.’

  Claudia couldn’t believe it. If she was with him she could have kissed him. She realised her emotions really were running around unchecked with this case and reigned herself in. ‘You’ve spoken with him?’

  Graham made a grunting sound. ‘Not as such. We had a landline number. It was his wife we spoke to. She confirmed he was out the evening in question and provided his mobile number so we could contact him. He’s at work at the minute. We were just about to call him before you rang in.’

  Her skin itched. She was desperate to speak to this witness herself. So much of her life was invested in this case. It was fine to keep detainees in their cells while lines of enquiry were followed up and she had the time. He’d be frustrated, but if the end result cleared him and found Ruth then he’d soon get over it. ‘Text me his work address, don’t bother calling him, I’ll go and see him.’ Hers was a work mobile so it was fine to transfer personal information like this.

  ‘You’re sure? We can deal with it while you’re there.’ He wanted to be helpful but Claudia was twitchy. It was like her skin was going to crawl from her bones of its own accord.

  ‘It’s fine. I can fit it in.’

  * * *

  Mike Bell was a butcher. It was late in the day for a shop and the premises were quiet. Claudia and Kane entered, a small chime tinkling above their heads as they walked through the door. The smell of cold dead meat assaulted her nostrils. Metallic and raw. The temperature chilling her skin. Pimples rising on her arms.

  A large man, round with red cheeks, greeted them from behind the counter. The kind of man you’d imagine on the signage of a butcher’s shop. You’d describe him as jolly. Was this their guy?

  ‘Mr Bell?’ Claudia asked.

  ‘Ooh, no,’ the man laughed. ‘He’s out back. Anything I can do for you?’ He rubbed his hands together. To stave off the chill or with eagerness for the task in front of him?

  ‘We need to speak to Mr Michael Bell, please.’ Claudia showed her identification. The jolly man’s mouth clamped shut into a tight line and he glanced to the doorway that led to the rear.

  Claudia’s hackles rose. She parted her feet ready to run if necessary.

  Then the man spoke again. ‘He’s not in any trouble, is he?’

  Claudia shook her head. ‘We just need a word with him.’ Her patience was wearing thin. She wanted to get on with this. Find out what Bell knew. What information he was holding. She needed to know if they were on a wild goose chase.

  ‘Mike,’ the man shouted through the space between the store and the back. ‘You’d better come out front, mate.’

  Claudia heard him first. His footsteps on the hard floor echoing in front of him as he moved towards them. He walked into the shop, rubbing his hands down the front of his apron. He was small. Slim build with a head of red hair.

  ‘What is it, Tim?’

  ‘Police, mate.’ Tim stood stock still.

  Mike Bell looked at Claudia and Kane. ‘You’re after me?’

  ‘Is there somewhere we can talk?’ Claudia asked.

  ‘I’m supposed to be working.’ He turned to Tim.

  Tim shrugged.

  ‘We need to talk to you, Mr Bell.’

  Bell pursed his lips. There was a second door at the side
of the opening he’d walked through. He indicated they should go through there. Claudia and Kane followed him in. It led down a narrow corridor the length of the building and out the back where large industrial bins stood. It was shaded from the sun here and cool. Claudia shivered.

  ‘What is it?’ Bell asked.

  ‘You were recently seen eating a bag of chips on the corner of Well Road and Gleadless Road, can you first confirm that was you?’

  Bell cradled his chin as he thought about it. ‘I don’t understand?’

  ‘A woman, who would later become a murder victim, was abducted from there around the time you were seen.’

  His lips parted in an ‘Oh’.

  ‘We need to know what you saw.’

  Bell swallowed. ‘Yeah, there was a woman with a man. He had his arm around her. She was unsteady on her feet. I thought she’d maybe had too much to drink. He was keeping her upright.’

  Claudia’s adrenalin burst through her veins and she shared a look with Kane. She could see he was as excited by this as she was. ‘Did you get a good look at the man?’

  ‘Oh yeah, they walked right under the streetlight in front of me. I was messing about with my phone and nearly walked into them. The guy apologised and carried on walking, controlling the woman.’

  They finally had a real witness. One who had come face to face with the Sheffield Strangler.

  Chapter 34

  Claudia

  Claudia and Kane drove Michael Bell back to their home-base police station, Snig Hill, and to the incident room where the team could follow up with him.

  For his part, Bell wasn’t happy. He’d stripped out of his whites complaining about the fact that he was supposed to be at work. Tim had tried to reassure him that he could hold the fort down until they closed, which Claudia realised wasn’t going to be long. Tim would hardly be standing alone for hours. It was getting close to seven p.m. They were probably going to close soon anyway. She wanted to remind Bell of this but kept her mouth closed. The guy was doing them a favour, best not to antagonise him.

  ‘We’re grateful for your help,’ she said as Kane manoeuvred the car into its parking space.

  ‘What is it you want me to do?’ He looked down at the phone in his hands.

  Claudia rolled her eyes. She’d been through this with him already. ‘We’re going to get you to work with someone to create a photofit for us. Of the guy you saw that night.’

  Bell opened his phone. Claudia raised an eyebrow.

  ‘I’m letting my wife know I’ll be late home.’

  Claudia thought of her empty house. She had no one to keep up to date with her movements. Not even a pet she could talk to. Ruth was the person she turned to when she needed someone. Ruth was there regardless of what was happening in her own life and Claudia loved her for it. She was aware she had given too much time to the job. That her body clock was ticking by. She’d had that very conversation with Ruth who had told her she didn’t need a man. She was an independent woman and could raise a child on her own. But Claudia didn’t know if that was what she wanted. She looked at other couples and liked what she saw. She wanted some of that for herself.

  She shook herself free of her melancholy and climbed out of the car. She had a job to do. If she were to have such intimate conversations with Ruth again she needed to focus, not drift off in a world of her own.

  In the incident room Claudia introduced Bell to Harry and asked him to take care of the photofit. Harry’s face lit up.

  ‘You mean we have a real lead on the Sheffield Strangler?’

  Bell stood mute. Hands by his sides.

  ‘It certainly looks like it, if Mr Bell here can create us an image of him.’ She smiled at Bell who decided the floor was a more interesting proposition. She’d have thought he’d be more excited to be involved in the investigation, especially in such a pivotal way. But some people were worried about repercussions, blowback. She’d have a quiet word with Harry and ask him to reassure Bell that this was not likely to happen. His details would not be made public.

  With Bell ushered out of the room, Claudia turned to Kane. ‘I suppose we’d better head back to the custody suite to interview Dominic.’

  ‘You going to tell him about Bell?’

  Claudia thought about this. What were the pros and cons of telling her father they had a lead on the Sheffield Strangler case? Would it distract him from recounting his knowledge of the Strangler or focus him more? ‘I’m not sure.’

  Kane read her mind. ‘You’re worried he’ll lose concentration?’

  They headed back to the car. ‘Yeah. You never know what might be valuable in the telling. So much has happened over the last six months. Our fresh eyes over events might be what’s needed. But if he clams up . . .’

  ‘It’s a risk but he’s going to want to know what we’ve been doing all this time.’

  Kane was right. Dominic wouldn’t let it go until he knew what they’d been doing.

  At the custody suite Kane went to bring Dominic out of his cell while in the interview room Claudia considered the impending conversation.

  ‘Where’ve you been?’ Dominic was speaking before he was fully through the door.

  ‘I told you I was giving you a break.’ She kept her voice calm. There was no point in getting into it with him.

  ‘I’ve been locked in that cell for what feels like well over an hour.’

  It was a good guess. And that was all it was because he’d had his watch removed when he was booked into custody.

  ‘Tell me, Claudia.’ He was using his parenting voice again.

  She glared at him as Kane unwrapped the discs to start the interview.

  ‘Let’s get the interview started first, shall we?’

  Dominic folded his arms. ‘So it’s relevant to the investigation?’

  ‘You think we’ve just been sitting having some tea?’ she snapped at him, losing her temper. She didn’t want to but sometimes he was just too ridiculous.

  The room fell quiet as each of them contemplated the situation. A buzz filled the space as Kane pressed record on the machine and the interview was commenced again.

  Once they had run through the preliminaries, Dominic tried again. ‘So, are you going to tell me where you’ve been?’

  Claudia looked to Kane.

  ‘Stop looking to him for answers. Just tell me.’

  She balled up her fists in her lap. Yes, he was in a difficult position, but did he think she wasn’t? How did he think she was feeling having to interview him, considering him a potential suspect for this? She ground her teeth before answering him.

  ‘The witness you were looking for . . . the one eating chips . . .’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘We’ve identified him and been out to speak to him. He saw a man holding a woman up and helping her along. He’s doing a photofit as we speak.’

  Dominic opened his mouth but nothing came out. For a change, figured Claudia, relishing the peace.

  Eventually Dominic let a breath go and spoke. ‘You’ve managed to find a real witness? After we’ve been at it all this time . . .’ His voice was barely a whisper. There were tears in his eyes.

  ‘Hey,’ Claudia said. ‘You put in all the hard work. We were simply working from where you’d got to.’

  ‘But still.’ He scrubbed the back of a hand over his eyes. ‘If you locate him you can find Ruth.’

  Claudia’s breath caught in her throat. She struggled to compose herself.

  Kane leapt in for her. ‘Shall we go back to the letter you received?’

  Chapter 35

  Dominic

  Five months ago

  The rest of the press releases that morning were pretty scathing of the police. Dominic read them with a sinking heart. He hated when the police were under such negative scrutiny and this time it was one of his cases. It felt personal.

  They were doing everything they could but murder cases were complex investigations. You couldn’t just run a set of prints from the body an
d then identify the killer. It was never that simple. He wished it were. For the sake of the family and for the clear-up rate of the investigation teams.

  Linking the two murders like this was going to make people anxious. It was going to make the women of the city anxious. Did they have cause, he wondered? The fact that they had been contacted by the killer pretty much guaranteed they now had a single murderer for both victims. Kapoor had informed the team they were officially working both cases and he was linking them. Much as he hated to. There was no way out of it now they had the letter.

  The day dragged on in a blur of work. Dominic had managed to stuff a sandwich down his throat at his desk when his phone rang. It was Catherine.

  ‘What do you have for me? Please tell me it’s good news.’ He tapped his fingers on his desk.

  ‘I’m sorry, Dom. There’s nothing on the letter or the envelope. He knows how to avoid forensic detection. I imagine he used gloves and he bought a self-sealing envelope. He didn’t need to lick it. Both the paper and the envelope are commonplace items. I can’t give you anything to chase up. I’ve photocopied the letter and sent it back down to you so you have it for your records.’

  Dominic let out a deep sigh. ‘Thanks, Catherine.’

  ‘I’m sorry it’s not better news.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault.’ He’d been hoping there had been a print, one they could compare against Alex Chapman. Not that they had his fingerprints, but it would come with time as the evidence gathered.

  ‘Sarge . . .’ Hayley broke through his thoughts. He turned and looked at her.

  ‘The DI wants you. He tried your phone but it was engaged. He said can you go to his office.’ She looked worried.

  ‘Did he say why?’

  ‘No, but he didn’t sound happy.’

  Dominic knocked on Kapoor’s door and walked in. ‘You wanted me, sir?’

  Kapoor stopped typing. ‘Come in and close the door, Dom.’

  Dominic did as he was asked and took the seat in front of Kapoor’s desk.

  ‘Don’t get comfortable, another body has been found.’