She Lies Beneath

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She Lies Beneath Page 2

by Frances Powell


  Raising his eyes, Sergeant Roberts starred deeply in the bartender’s hooded eyes, “I don’t believe I said anything about the young lady being dead.”

  “Look, officer, Goodrich is a small village, and this is its only pub. Anyone working at that dig up at the Castle stays at local B&B’s and grabs their meals and drinks here. The body and the skeleton were all they talked about last week before they went back to Hereford. So, when you show up with this picture, it doesn’t take a genius to make the connection.”

  “OK, so she wasn’t a local and not one of the archeology team. Do you have any idea where she was staying and why she was here?”

  “Nope, not a clue,” grumbled the barman as he turned his back and walked to the end of the bar to wait on a shaggy-haired young man who had just entered the pub.

  The pub was crowded, but everyone he spoke with turned away when presented with the drawing, denying knowledge of the girl pictured there. The atmosphere in the pub had grown decidedly cooler since Sergeant Roberts entered and began asking questions about the victim.

  Finally, siding up next to the young man who appeared to be about the same age as the victim, Sergeant Roberts quickly identified himself and once again laid the sketch on the bar, “Do you happen to recognize this young lady.”

  Pushing his long hair away from his eyes, he smiled, “Yes, sir. I remember her. Her name is Ali. She was camping out over here with a group of people staying here for the music festival over in Ross. Is she in some kind of trouble again?”

  “Again?”

  “Yeah, she made quite a mess here in the pub. When she left, she even pushed over the phone box out front. I can tell you, she didn’t make any friends among the locals.”

  “I see. Well, to answer your question, I’m afraid the young lady is dead. Do you happen to know her last name or where she was from? We’ve checked missing persons, and there’s no one meeting her description reported missing.”

  “Well, you wouldn’t find anything in your database. Ali was an American. She told me she was backpacking through the U.K. before going back to Uni. I don’t know her last name, but I do remember that she was a student at that real ritzy school in Boston where all those politicians go.”

  “Harvard?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one. Ali was studying law. I remember her spouting off about it after she caused the ruckus here.”

  “Seems strange that a girl studying to be a lawyer would commit criminal damage like she is alleged to have done,” remarked Sergeant Roberts as he scribbled in his notepad.

  “Well, she was off her face, wasn’t she?”

  “Drunk, huh?”

  “No Sir, I would say something a lot stronger than that,” said the young man casting his eyes to the floor and away from the glaring barman.

  “I’ll need your name and contact details in case we need to speak with you again.”

  “Tony Lambert, I live over in Lydbrook at Hillside Cottage.”

  Handing the young man his card, Dan said, “If you think of anything else, my direct number is on there. Give me a call.’

  As Dan walked out into the bright sunshine, a shadowy figure sat in the far corner of the bar, staring down into his pint, and watching as Tony tucked the card into his jacket pocket.

  Chapter 4

  Cam had just switched off his computer and was getting ready to leave the station for the evening when his sergeant returned from Goodrich. After listening to Dan share the results of the house-to-house, Cam stood up and moved towards the office door, “It’s late and tomorrow’s another day. We should have the forensic report back from Mary tomorrow and hopefully, cause of death. Then we’ll contact the American Embassy to see if they have anyone reported missing. You go home to your family and get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

  Leaving his sergeant climbing into his patrol car, Cam waved goodbye and hurried down Church Street before slowing down to a stroll as he turned onto High Street. Cam smiled as he made the short walk home. He had never regretted moving to Ross. Cam was a country boy at heart and had never felt content in London. As he approached the house, he shared with his wife, Helen; Cam stood silently and deeply breathed in the crisp autumn air as he stared down at the River Wye. Although the house was way too big for just the two of them, Cam had been drawn to the house due to its location overlooking the river.

  The sun had already set and Cam was so completely lost in thought that he didn’t even notice that Helen had come out of the house and was sitting at the wrought iron table on their patio until she said, “Fancy a glass of wine before dinner?”

  Cam jerked back to reality and shaking his head to clear his thoughts, “Yes, please, sounds like just what I need tonight.”

  “Another rough day?” asked Helen as she poured her husband a glass of wine

  Taking the glass from his wife, “Yeah, we found out that the young girl is American and tomorrow it’s likely that her parents will get the news that their daughter isn’t coming home.”

  Helen reached over and took her husband’s free hand. She knew that this was the part of the job that Cam dreaded the most. As the father of a grown son and daughter, Cam could understand the heartbreak that this news would cause. Patting Helen’s hand, Cam raised his wine glass to his lips and after taking a drink said, “At least, this time I won’t have to deliver the bad news. The American Embassy will have someone contact the dead girl’s family.”

  Cam was silent for a moment as his eyes sought the moody waters of the River Wye flowing silently below his house before asking, “Has Mary ever mentioned to you a man named Jim Henderson who she knew from uni?”

  “Jim Henderson? Let me think. Did he have something to do with ancient civilizations?”

  “Yes, that would be the one,” replied Cam tilting his head back to drain the last of the wine from his glass before passing it to Helen for a refill.

  Refilling her husband’s wine glass, Helen asked, “Why do you ask, Cam? Does he have something to do with this young girl’s death?”

  Shaking his head, “No, not directly. He’s actually a Professor now, and he was heading up the team of students doing the dig at Goodrich who discovered the remains. He and Mary’s warm reunion made me wonder if they had been closer than just friends.”

  “Oh, you think they were romantically involved, huh? Well, from what Mary has shared with me, she met the man she went on to marry during her first year at uni, and they were a couple throughout, marrying right after graduation. So, unless it was a brief affair before she met her future husband, it’s highly unlikely. Brrrr…I’m getting cold, so I’m going in. Dinner in five minutes,” replied Helen as she gathered up the now empty wine glasses and headed back inside to the warmth of her kitchen.

  “I’ll be right in,” called Cam as he stood up and walked to the edge of his patio and stared across the river at the ruins of Wilton Castle which lay bathed in moonlight before muttering to himself, “I’ll never get tired of this view.”

  Helen was just dishing up heaping bowls of steaming Cawl, one of her favorite stews from her childhood growing up in a coaling village in southern Wales when Cam hung up his coat and sat down at the table.

  Sitting down opposite her husband she passed him the plate of homemade brown bread, and as they began to eat, Helen asked, “Why did you want to know about this professor and Mary, and what made you think that they may have been romantically involved?”

  Putting his spoon down, “To make a long story short, he asked Mary about her husband, and when she told him that he had passed away, Henderson offered his condolences, but he wasn’t unhappy about the news.”

  Helen laughed, “My goodness Cam, are you sure you’re not overthinking this. It would certainly be a long time to carry a torch for someone if they haven’t seen each other since university days.”

  Reaching for another thick slice of Helen’s freshly baked bread, Cam winked at his wife, “I don’t know about that, I’ve b
een carrying a torch for you since the day I first saw you in that second-hand book store by the Thames over thirty years ago. Mark my words; he has designs on our Mary.”

  Chapter 5

  Mary was still working in her lab long after everyone else had gone home when the sound of a car door closing had her slipping off her examination gloves, and walking to the door. Looking out through the side window, she was surprised to see her old friend, Jim Henderson, approaching the door.

  Unlocking the door and swinging it open wide, Mary smiled, “Jim, this is a surprise! I thought you’d be back in Hereford by now.”

  “Actually, I’ve been there, dropped the students off, switched vehicles, and returned. I told the Chief Inspector that I’d stay in the area and wait for his all-clear to resume the dig. I’m scheduled off for the next fortnight, so no sense in sitting around my flat doing nothing. I thought I could do a little more research about the Castle while I’m here, and maybe visit with my old friend a bit,” he replied as he leaned forward and placed a kiss on Mary’s cheek.

  “Well, I was just finishing up for the evening and on my way home to feed my animals. Have you had your dinner, yet?”

  “No, I came right here. I was hoping you might still be here, and I was actually going to ask you out for a meal.”

  “Well, give me a minute, and I’ll finish closing up, and you can follow me to the farm. I live over in Lydbrook, but it’s not far. Once I get the animals fed, we can get that dinner.”

  Mary smiled as she locked up the lab and joined Jim outside on the parking lot.

  “I’ll drive slowly, so we don’t get separated. It’s not very far to my place, but there are quite a few twists and turns,” called Mary as she climbed behind the wheel of her old Land Rover and eased the vehicle out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

  It was only a matter of twenty minutes before they arrived at Mary’s smallholding. Climbing out of her car, Mary waited for her friend to catch up with her as she headed for the house. Holding the door open wide, Mary smiled as she ushered Jim into her kitchen, “Pull up a chair and have a seat. I’ll run out and feed the animals. It shouldn’t take long, and then we can be on our way.”

  “Can I be of any help, Mary?” asked Jim.

  “No, just have a seat. If you fancy a drink, there’s a small selection of liquor in the drinks cabinet in the lounge or beer and cider in the fridge. Just help yourself.”

  As Mary tended to her animals, Jim grabbed a beer and roamed around the lounge, stopping in front of a table laden with photographs, picking up a photo of Mary in her wedding gown; Jim smiled then muttered out loud, “Still as beautiful today as she was then. It could have been me. I was such a fool.”

  Mary stood silently in the doorway and overhearing her old friend’s declaration, coughed to announce her arrival, “Just going to have a quick wash and change my clothes, and then we can be on our way.”

  Turning at the sound of Mary’s voice, Jim smiled as Mary disappeared down the hall. True to her word, Mary was back and ready to leave in fifteen minutes. The drive into Ross was filled with talk of days gone by and remembrances of friends from days at university.

  After settling for a dinner of lamb chops, talk quickly turned to the case. Between mouthfuls of fresh vegetables, Jim asked, “So what have your tests revealed so far?”

  Laying her fork down as she reached for her glass of wine. Mary replied, “I’m not so sure this topic is conducive for enjoying one’s dinner.”

  Laughing, Jim pressed on, “If it doesn’t bother you, it certainly won’t bother me. I dare say we’ve both seen enough dead bodies to become, how shall I say, somewhat detached.”

  “I’m afraid I’ve never been able to get to that point. I know a lot of my colleagues manage it, but I can’t. That’s why I never refer to the victim by their name. It’s easier that way for me to disassociate myself with the person that they were, and the family and friends they left behind to grieve,”

  Reaching over and covering her free hand with his, “Same Ol’ Mary. You always were a soft-hearted woman. I guess that’s why I was so shocked to find you doing this type of work. Come on Mary, flatter me at least tell me I had the cause of death correct.”

  “I’ve only had the victim a matter of hours, so it’s too early to draw any conclusions. I will agree that the victim’s head shows signs of blunt force trauma, but whether that was the cause of death or whether it happened post mortem hasn’t been determined. Luckily, despite the damage done to victim one’s face, the police have been lucky and found a witness who could identify her based on the police artist’s sketch. Of course, all my findings will be submitted directly to Chief Inspector Fergus, and if he says it’s ok, then I’ll share them with you. Regulations must be followed, but I’m sure you understand.”

  Jim smiled and nodded his agreement before lowering his eyes to concentrate on the apple pie in front of him, but not before Mary glimpsed something strange in his eyes. Was it resentment or anger? As quick as it was there, it disappeared, leaving Mary to believe she had imagined it. The rest of the evening passed pleasantly with no more discussions about the case.

  Chapter 6

  Pulling off her examination gloves and stripping off the scrubs she wore when performing autopsies, Mary sank down in the chair and pressed the button on the recorder to playback the findings she had listed as she performed the procedure.

  After listening to the recording, Mary picked up the phone and called Cam, “Hello Cam, Mary here…. I have the preliminary autopsy report for victim one. Time of death based on the rate of decomposition is within a week to 10 days. The body has bloated due to the buildup of gases in the abdominal cavity, and there is evidence of insects, namely maggots. One important thing to note is that there is evidence of pooling of blood in the front of the legs. Since the victim was found lying on her back, we can state with certainty that she was murdered elsewhere and left face down in that position for at least eight hours before being moved to the burial site. I’m still waiting on toxicology reports.”

  Frantically scribbling in his notebook, Cam said, “Excellent Mary. Is there anything else I should know?”

  “As for victim two, I’m guessing that she’s been dead about a year based on the soil and the weather conditions. It would take about that long for the body to be reduced to a skeleton.”

  “Is that all, Mary?”

  “Not quite, and you better be sitting down for this bit of news. I had a DNA test run on both our victims, and they are sisters.”

  Letting out a low whistle, Cam exclaimed, “Bloody Hell, Mary! What’s going on here? One sister killed and dumped in a grave, and a year later her sister murdered and dumped on top of her in the same grave. This is personal. We need to talk to the family.”

  “I don’t envy you breaking that news to them. Bad enough to have lost one child, but two murdered and dumped like this. It’s just inhuman. What kind of monster would do something like this to a family?”

  “I don’t know Mary, but when I first started working homicides, I promised myself that I would never rest until the victims had justice and the murderers were punished. I don’t intend to stop now.”

  “I know you won’t Cam. We should have the autopsy results on victim two in the next couple days and the toxicology report this week for victim one. I’m waiting for that before I give you cause of death. I’m not 100% sure the head injury was the cause of death.”

  “Good job, thanks Mary. I’ll speak to you soon,” said Cam as he put the phone back in the receiver and leaned back in his chair taking time to mull over Mary’s findings before calling his team together.

  After gathering his small team together, Cam began, “The autopsy revealed that victim one was murdered elsewhere and left lying face down for a minimum of eight hours before being moved. She was murdered between seven and ten days ago. Cause of death is still pending, but we still need to start trying to locate the murder scene. Now, our vic
tim two was murdered at least a year ago. No definite cause of death, at the moment for either victim, but DNA reports indicate that the two victims were sisters.”

  You could have heard a pin drop as all the officer’s stared at Cam in disbelief.

  Chapter 7

  Cam had arranged for a liaison officer to meet the parents of the victims when their morning flight arrived at Heathrow, and drive them to Ross. After allowing them the rest of the day to recover from the overnight flight, he and PC Anne Parks met with them at their hotel the next morning.

  PC Anne Parks had joined the small contingent of police officers at the station on Old Maid’s Walk during Cam’s first murder investigation in Ross-on-Wye. She had proven her worth when she worked undercover to expose the murderer of members of a Shakespearean theatre group who had been performing in the grounds of Wilton Castle. Injured during the murderer’s capture, she had since recovered and returned to work, continuing to serve the community.

  Cam hated this part of the job. He had been glad when he had been spared the task of breaking the news to the parents that their child would never come home again when Ali Adams was identified as an American. While the American Embassy went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Adams in Baltimore to notify them of the death of Ally, it now fell to Cam to break the news of the discovery of the remains of their other daughter.

  Shifting uncomfortably in the chair opposite the grieving parents, Cam began, “Mr. and Mrs. Adams. I’m afraid I have some very bad news for you.”

  Obviously grieving and agitated, Mr. Adams leaned forward and said, “Yes, we know, the embassy personnel came to the house.”

  Shaking his head, Cam continued, “Yes sir, I understand, but I regret having to tell you that a second set of remains have been found in the same grave as Ali, and according to DNA results this victim is Ali’s sister.”

 

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