How the hell was a bone protruding from the eye socket?
Kim looked to Bryant, who shook his head. Clearly, he’d never seen anything like it before either.
‘I don’t know which bone it is,’ Doctor A continued. ‘But this just got a whole lot difficulter.’
No one corrected her.
If the bones were anatomically correct there were clues for the direction of excavation and recovery. Normally the skull would lead to the vertebrae and so on. If the bones were not in their proper place, the process for removal was far more complicated for the scientists.
And for themselves also, Kim thought, turning to Bryant.
‘We need to speak to Woody. There’s a lot to sort out.’
He nodded his agreement.
Kim leaned forward and explained their departure to the scientist.
‘About time, Stone,’ Travis said, as they began to walk away. ‘You’ve encroached on my crime scene—’
‘It is my crime scene, Sergeant Travis,’ Doctor A barked. ‘You will do well to remember that.’
‘It’s Detective Inspector,’ he corrected frostily.
‘My mistake,’ Doctor A said, although Kim knew it was no mistake. It was her way of telling him to act his rank.
Kim chose not to look at him as they headed back towards the car.
Her mind was already making a list of requests for Woody. First and foremost was the need to survey the rest of the area. They had found body parts, and the whole field would need to be checked for more.
‘Do you think we’ll get it?’ Bryant asked.
She shrugged in response. She hoped so. Woody had come through for her every other time. Had she never known about the bones she would not have been so determined but once she visited a crime scene it was there in her head. It was now hers.
As they neared the gate, Kim could see that the additional vehicles had taken the place of the minibuses that had transported the students back to class.
The road out was clear except for a gleaming white Audi.
As if by magic, Tracy Frost appeared at the gate just as they reached it.
‘Hello, Frost. You’re back,’ Kim stated.
‘Miss me, Stone?’
‘Only if my aim was off,’ Kim quipped.
Tracy laughed.
There was less animosity between them than there used to be. Saving each other’s lives could do that to a relationship.
To be fair to the woman, Tracy had been busy investigating a drugs supply chain that led from the Midlands to the nation’s capital.
Kim looked her up and down and was pleased to see the five-inch heels still in place. Good to know things hadn’t changed that much.
‘So, Inspector?…’ Frost said, holding up her notebook.
‘I’ll save us some time,’ Kim said, walking past her. ‘No comment, no comment, no comment.’
As she expected, Tracy followed.
‘Police presence is excessive for a university training session, eh?’
Kim ignored her.
‘I’m guessing you’ve found something that shouldn’t be there. Am I right?’
Kim continued to ignore her.
‘Why are there two police forces here again?’
Kim reached the car and stopped walking. ‘By my count that’s three questions, and I’ve already given you my answers.’
Bryant coughed to hide his chuckle.
‘Okay, just one more,’ Tracy said, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
‘You know I’m not going to…’
‘How the hell are you going to decide who gets this investigation?’ Tracy asked, anyway. ‘We’re right on the border of the two forces.’
‘Are we really?’ Kim asked, feigning shock.
‘So, you tossing a coin, pissing contest or arm wrestling?’ Tracy goaded.
Kim smiled. ‘Okay, this one gets an answer. We’re gonna take turns kicking you across that field and see who gets the furthest. Best of three. Now move your car.’
Tracy folded her arms over her breasts. ‘What if I don’t feel like?…’
‘Frost,’ Kim warned. She’d had enough. ‘Your car is gonna move if I have to ram it all the way back down the dirt track.’
Her arms dropped. ‘You wouldn’t.’
Kim nodded. ‘Oh, I would. It ain’t my car. It’s his,’ she said, nodding towards Bryant.
She got in and started the engine.
Tracy hurried backwards.
Kim gave her a little wave and revved the engine three times.
The reporter got into the Audi and began to reverse.
‘You wouldn’t have, would you, guv?’
Kim said nothing.
There was a body in the ground, and she needed to get back to the station.
Had Bryant really felt the need to ask?
SIX
Kim didn’t pause at the office before heading straight up to the third floor.
She had no doubt that news of the skull uncovered at Hayley Green would have reached her boss, DCI Woodward, already.
She knocked on the door and waited only a second for his call. He was expecting her.
She stepped into the office and held back the smile that teased at her lips. Never would she get bored of seeing that man sitting behind that desk. Although his six feet height was hidden behind the mahogany desk, his straight back and vertical torso were no less imposing; nor the smooth caramel skin accentuated by the crisp whiteness of a uniform he had earned.
Only six weeks earlier it could have been a very different story. They had never spoken of the incident in Welshpool and they probably never would. But a week after the case that had almost cost his granddaughter her life, Kim had received a solid gold miniature replica of a Triumph T100 motorcycle, her favourite model. With it was a colourful handwritten note from Lissy. And that was as much discussion as there would be.
‘Sir, I take it you know that…’
‘You found a skull in a field, Stone?’
‘Well, it wasn’t actually me,’ she corrected. She got enough shit for her own shit.
He sat back in his chair. ‘Sit down.’
She realised this conversation was going to take longer than she’d hoped. All she wanted to hear was ‘it’s yours, Stone’. Surely, she didn’t need to sit down for that?
‘Sir, we need to organise a full survey of the site, GPR equipment and—’
‘Slow down, slow down,’ he said, holding up his hand. ‘There is a geographical issue to deal with first that I gather you and Travis discussed at the scene.’
She just about stopped her eyes from rolling.
Travis must have called his DCI the second she was out of view. She added ‘telltale’ to the list of his unenviable qualities.
It wasn’t important. What was important was the fact that the two DCIs had already spoken, and Woody was not looking pissed off. It boded well for possession.
‘Stone, I’m curious to know what happened between you and Travis. Weren’t you close once?’
Kim frowned. Close was not a word she would have used in relation to Tom Travis, or anyone else for that matter. But they had been partners and almost friends before he’d defected from West Mids to West Mercia.
But that was before he’d placed her in an untenable position. A few months after the incident he had transferred to a smaller force. Within a month of her making DI before he did.
She had never spoken of it to anyone. And she never would.
She shrugged. ‘Just force rivalry, sir,’ she answered.
There was no doubt that he didn’t believe her but he accepted her response. He laced his fingers. ‘You already know the location of this one is a complete nightmare.’
She nodded. She still wasn’t hearing those magic words.
‘The field itself lies right on the border. West Mercia’s Hunnington at one end and our Hayley Green at the other. No one actually knows exactly where the boundary falls.’
Kim knew
that Hayley Green consisted mainly of owner/occupied housing stock. It was made up of Causey Farm Estate, St Kenelms Avenue, Squirrels Estate and an estate off Uffmoor Lane.
Hunnington was a village that fell under the Bromsgrove postcode. Originally a township in the parish of Halesowen, it had been transferred to Worcestershire in 1844.
And clearly no one seemed to know where it ended.
‘Now, we could get caught up in a pointless fight with our neighbouring force, which serves no purpose to anyone, especially the person who is in the ground.’
Kim’s earlier conviction was fading fast. That was way more words than she wanted to hear.
He continued: ‘So, having spoken to DCI Walsh at West Mercia and to Superintendent Shaw at Lloyd House, we have reached an agreement that satisfies all parties.’
Kim frowned. The case of the skull in the field was either theirs or it wasn’t.
‘This will be a joint investigation, led by both yourself and Detective Inspector Travis.’
He sat forward, awaiting her response.
She laughed out loud. ‘Oh, sir. I’m sorry, but for a moment there I thought you said “joint investigation”.’
‘Yes, Stone. I did.’
She stopped laughing.
‘Sir, you can’t possibly believe…’
‘Actually, Stone. I do. As you know, I have long held the belief that forces could and should work more closely together.’
‘But—’
He held his hand up to silence her. ‘I believe that each police force should maintain their own identity but there are practices and methodologies that could be shared across police in general. We’re all trying to do the same job.’
‘One team, one vision?’ she asked, testily.
‘Not quite. But we can all learn from others, Stone. All of us,’ he added meaningfully.
She ignored the remark. Her mind was already trying to process the logistics. Two investigating teams, two forensic labs, two pathologists, two SIOs. That was all one more than she was comfortable with.
‘But it’s doubling up on everything,’ she said, wondering how this was a sensible use of anyone’s budget.
‘It’s not going to work that way, Stone. Travis gets operational and you get technical.’
‘Technical?’ she questioned.
‘Laboratory and forensics.’
She frowned. ‘So my team?…’
‘Will not be joining you on this one and will be working on other cases,’ he said, confirming her worst fears.
‘Supervised by whom?’ she shot back.
‘You’re a very resourceful individual, Stone. I’m sure you can work it out.’
‘But…’
‘Travis has the larger team but our forensic services are more efficient than theirs. And they know that.’
Kim was stunned. The details had been arranged. She sensed there was no wiggle room on this at all, but she had to try a token movement.
‘You do understand that Travis and I can barely work in the same county, never mind—’
‘You are both professional adults,’ he stated.
Well, half of us is, she thought to herself.
It had been almost five years since they’d worked together, and it had not ended well. She wondered if Travis was feeling the exact same way as she was right now.
‘I’d like for the record to reflect that I don’t think this is a good idea,’ she offered.
‘Stone, the record had no doubt that’s what you’d think but this is evolution. We have to try new things. If you want involvement in this investigation it is on these terms. This is a test case for inter-force collaboration.’
‘I’m a guinea pig?’ she clarified.
He thought for a second and then nodded. ‘Yes, I suppose you are.’
‘Sir, do you want this project to fail?’ she asked, seriously. Her reputation for playing poorly with others was legendary.
Woody shook his head. ‘Why would you think that?’
‘Because you’re sending me out to work with another force, without Bryant. It’s almost like you want me to fu… mess up.’
A brief smile settled on his features.
‘Or am I sending you because I know you won’t allow it to fail?’
Oh, that was low. How was she supposed to fight that?
Woody handed her a piece of paper. ‘This is Tom Travis’s address. Pick him up first thing in the morning, make your peace with him in the car and then get on with this case.’
Kim hesitated before taking the offered paper. This was her last chance to refuse. To let someone else take her place, or just hand the investigation to West Mercia.
Could she work with Tom again? she asked herself. After all the bitterness and animosity that had built between them over the last few years? Could either of them let it go?
She could walk away now and work the current caseload with her team. Was she really that desperate to uncover the identity of a skull found in a field and meet the challenge that had been set out before her?
Kim reached out and took the address.
SEVEN
‘Righty folks, we need to have a little chat,’ Kim said, as she entered the squad room.
She noted that the board had already been wiped clean and the words ‘unidentified skull’ had been written across the top.
She had taken a walk outside and around the building to work off her irritation. It didn’t need to follow her into the squad room. Her team would pick up on her negativity, and she didn’t want that.
‘So, you guys are going to get a bit of a rest for a while.’
‘Really?’ Dawson asked.
‘Not really,’ she offered, smiling. ‘The skull case is going to be a joint investigation with West Mercia.’
Three surprised expressions turned her way.
‘I’ll be working alongside Detective Inspector Travis and his team while maintaining contact with forensics.’
There, the great big ball of tension rolling around her stomach could be explained in one simple sentence.
‘So, we have no involvement at all?’ Dawson asked, looking up at the board.
Kim shook her head, feeling the dissatisfaction travel around the room.
‘You’re working with Travis?’ Bryant asked.
Kim silently thanked him for noting the obvious.
‘What’s wrong, Bryant, feeling left out?’ Dawson asked.
Bryant smirked. ‘Nah, just wondering where I can buy tickets.’
‘So, what are we supposed to do?’ Dawson asked.
She glanced at his untidy desk. ‘I think you have enough to be going on with. Find out if the guy that was assaulted on Friday has regained consciousness yet, and I want Bryant on that with you.’
‘You want any follow-up with Paul Chater?’ Bryant asked.
She shook her head. The CID team at Brierley Hill had made it clear they required no further involvement from her on that case. Because of her, their questioning had been delayed by three hours awaiting medical authorisation after she’d knocked him off his moped. She had not hesitated to remind them that it was only because of her they had the little shit to question at all.
Dawson rubbed his hands together. ‘Fantastic. I get a partner. But we’re the same rank so who’s in charge?’
‘Me,’ Kim said. ‘And Stacey will continue to be your hub, okay folks?’
They all nodded.
Kim checked the clock on the wall. It was almost five.
‘Okay, enough for today,’ she said, not sure how much longer she could keep up the pretence. ‘We’ll brief at seven in the morning,’ she added, before stepping into The Bowl.
The frustration was not leaving her as quickly as she’d hoped. If it was her case, her team, they would all have been assigned jobs and tasks by now. Her team would be animated, keen and eager to unearth the clues.
The potential problems were already beginning to stack up in her mind.
‘Good sell, there, guv,’ B
ryant said from the doorway.
She shrugged. There was little point trying to lie to him.
‘So, I guess this is goodbye,’ he joked, as her phone signalled receipt of a text message.
It was from Doctor A confirming that all facilities were now on site and that recovery would continue in the morning. She knew full well that if it were up to the scientist she would work all night to extract the bones but, like herself, Doctor A had the welfare of a team to consider.
She sent back a short message acknowledging the information, and then dropped her head to the desk and groaned.
‘How the hell are you gonna cope with this?’ Bryant asked from somewhere above her.
Once again, he appeared to be reading her mind.
EIGHT
17 OCTOBER 1989
Jacob James opened his eyes and instantly knew four things.
The room was dark around him.
A searing pain surged from the side of his head.
His wrists were bound.
And he was naked.
The panic that seized him was immediate as thoughts and questions flew into his mind but he forced himself to consider one terrifying detail at a time.
The darkness was resting heavily against his bare skin. He blinked twice. He felt the physical action of his eyes opening and closing but the dense blackness of his vision didn’t change.
Another dart of panic speared him. He blinked once more and raised his bound hands from his lap in front of his eyes. There was a slight shadow. He was not blind.
The pain in his head was thick and travelled around the entire contour of his skull. He narrowed his eyes, trying to focus through the pain and remember what had happened.
An interview. He knew he’d had an interview.
After so many months of looking, he’d met with the owner of a new printing company in Perry Barr. He’d been hopeful.
After the interview, he’d been going to buy chips for the two of them. To celebrate.
He carefully retraced the steps in his mind, looking for the missing information like a set of car keys.
He had turned into Shaft Street and then… nothing.
He tried to force the memory by picturing himself walking down the familiar road. But it wasn’t natural. It was like a film that he was directing instead of a recollection.
Dead Souls: A gripping serial killer thriller with a shocking twist Book 6 Page 3