Mrs. Adams hand went to her mouth, as she stifled a scream, burst into tears, and buried her face in her husband’s shoulder.
A very shaken, Mr. Adams asked, “Are you absolutely sure, Chief Inspector?”
“I’m afraid so, sir. DNA tests confirmed the relationship. Can you think of anyone who would want to harm your daughters?”
“No, they were both popular and didn’t have any enemies, as far as we know. Our daughter Beth was a beautiful girl, but very headstrong. She would sneak out of the house and sometimes disappear for days. Then, one night after we argued with her for coming home drunk, she just disappeared. We didn’t realize until the next morning that she had taken her passport and emptied her bank account. Because she wasn’t a child anymore, the police waited 72 hours before doing any type of search. They were able to confirm that she had used her credit card to book a flight aboard British Airways from our local airport in Baltimore, the very night she walked out. By the next morning at 9am your time, she was in England.”
“What brought your younger daughter to England, Mrs. Adams?”
“Ali loved to travel and traveled a lot. Ali was studying law and had decided to take off a semester to travel all over Europe before having to finish her last semester and sit for the Bar Exams. She usually used WhatsApp to chat with us. The last time we heard from her was fourteen days before we were notified of her death. When she failed to contact us after a week, we became concerned and reported her missing.”
“Was she in England the last time that you spoke with her?”
“Yes, and that last call with her worried us, you see Beth was Ali’s big sister, and while they were complete opposites, Ali worshipped her sister, and Beth was devoted to Ali. We are sure that although we didn’t hear from Beth that Ali was in contact with her. The last time we talked to Ali, she said she had located a man who her sister had been involved with, and they had arranged to meet up. According to Ali, the man said that they had broken off their relationship after only a few dates and that Beth had moved on with her life. He offered to introduce her to some of Beth’s friends and help her find out where Beth may have gone.”
“Did she mention anything more about this man? His name, occupation, or where he lived?” asked Cam.
“No, she cut the call short because she said she had to get ready to go to the meeting.”
“Do you recall anything else from any earlier calls that might help us?”
The couple looked at each other before Mr. Adams replied, “When you mentioned that you were meeting us in Ross-on-Wye, the name rang a bell, and I remembered Ali saying that she had been to some type of festival near here and that she had stayed in some forest at a hostel. She seemed very upbeat and said she had made a lot of friends here.”
PC Parks stopped writing in her notebook, and looked at Cam, “Sir, there was an outdoor concert out on one of the farms not far from the Forest of Dean, and there are a few hostels in the area.”
Looking back at the grieving parents, Cam nodded and said, “That’s a start. We’ll follow up on that first. We know she was in the area of Goodrich because she was thrown out of a pub after becoming drunk and causing a lot of damage.”
Wide-eyed, both parents stared open-mouthed at Cam, before her father blurted out, “Something isn’t right, Chief Inspector, Ali didn’t drink.”
Chapter 8
Sergeant Dan Roberts was leaning on his elbows sifting through the pages of interview notes taken by PC Parks of the meeting with the parents of the dead sisters when the shrilling of his desk phone caused him to jerk upright.
“West Mercia Police, yes this is Sergeant Roberts. What can I do for you, Mr. Lambert?
On the other end of the phone, Tony Lambert stood in the garden of his house, smoking a cigarette, and sweating profusely, “I remembered something about the last time I saw Ali. There was this man I saw her with.”
“When can you come into the station and give us a statement, Mr. Lambert?”
“Not there, Sergeant. I don’t want to be seen talking to the police. Ever since I spoke to you in the pub, I’ve had this feeling that I’m being watched. Can you meet me after dark, somewhere else?”
Looking down at his wristwatch, Dan asked, “What time and where?”
“At the castle at 7pm.”
Dan made a note as he replied, “I’ll be there,” but the phone line had gone dead. Tony Lambert had hung up.
It was almost 7pm when Sergeant Roberts, pulled into the empty welcome centre carpark and taking his torch from the car, switched it on to light his way, and headed up the gravel path towards the castle.
It had rained earlier in the evening, and the moon had just come out from behind the clouds casting an eerie glow on the still wet castle walls. Having seen no sign of his informant, Dan started across the drawbridge that stretched over the moat when the beam of his torch rested on something on the bridge directly beneath the castle ramparts. It took just an instant for Dan’s brain to register what his eyes were seeing as he quickly pulled out his phone and called for the emergency services, and then ran towards the body lying face down on the bridge.
Reaching down and placing his fingers on the victim’s neck, Dan checked for a pulse. Finding none, he pulled his phone out again and called Cam, “Sir, I’m at the Goodrich Castle, and the young man that I was to meet is here, and he’s dead.”
Cam had just sat down to dinner and raised a fork full of meat pie to his mouth when he dropped the fork, “I’ll be right there. Have you called emergency services?”
“Yes sir, as soon as I realized it was a body. I hadn’t checked for a pulse at the time.”
“OK, Dan. Cordon off the area, and I’ll call Mary while I’m on my way.”
Looking over at Helen as he jumped to his feet and grabbed his coat off the hook, Cam apologized, “Sorry Helen, there’s been another death up at the castle. I have to go.”
Going to the door with her husband, Helen gave him a quick hug, “I’ll wait up. Call me when you’re on your way home, and I’ll heat dinner up. Oh, and if Mary hasn’t eaten, bring her along. I have plenty.”
Kissing his wife on the forehead, Cam was out the door and on the phone with Mary arranging for her to meet him at the scene, “Mary, its Cam here. We have another victim up at the castle. Sergeant Roberts is already there and has notified the team in Hereford and is securing the scene. I’m on my way now.”
By the time Cam made the slightly longer drive from Ross, Mary was already there and sharing a cup of tea from her thermos with Dan as she waited for the crime investigation team from Hereford to arrive and take photographs before she examined the victim.
Within minutes of Cam’s arrival, the Crime Investigation Team came hurrying up the gravel path and immediately went to work taking photos of the deceased. Pointing up to the castle rampart, Cam turned to Dan and leading the way said, “He must have fallen or been pushed from up there. Let’s get up there and see what we can find.”
As Cam and Dan made their way up the narrow, winding steps to the area above where the victim must have either fallen or been pushed, the crime scene photographers stepped back to allow Mary access to the victim. Turning the victim onto his back, Mary stepped back to let the photographers take additional photos before beginning her examination. Starting at the head, she worked her way down the young man’s body. For such a chilly and rainy evening, Mary was surprised to find the young victim in short sleeves. Lifting his left arm, Mary called for another photograph before looking up towards the top of the rampart for Cam.
Soon as Cam’s head appeared, Mary yelled, “The victim appears to have marks on his forearms, better check to see if you can find any sign of a struggle.”
Waving his hand in acknowledgment, Cam and Dan began searching the area as Mary continued with her examination. Holding the victim’s hand in hers, she called for another photograph and grabbing an evidence bag from her case, secured the victim’s hands in plas
tic evidence bags.
“Cam, it appears there may be skin under his fingernails. I’ll have to wait until I can get it back to the lab to see if it belongs to the murderer.”
Cam’s head popped up again, “No evidence of a struggle up here. Are you saying that this is definitely a murder?”
Rolling her eyes as she struggled up from a squatting position, Mary called back, “I’ll bet my reputation on it. This poor lad fought for his life. He didn’t step off that wall of his own accord. There’s something else bothering me, Cam. I saw Tony earlier this evening, and he was wearing a denim jacket.”
After clearing the rampart so the SOCO team could take their photos and conduct a further examination of the area, Cam quickly approached Mary as she stood gazing down at the young man’s lifeless body.
Gazing into Mary’s eyes, Cam reached over and rested his hand on his friend and colleague’s shoulder, “Did you know the victim well, Mary?”
“I’m afraid so, Cam. He was a local lad. I’ve known him all his life.”
Turning to the team, Mary said, “You can take him back to the lab now.”
As soon as Cam and Dan rejoined Mary, Cam instructed his Sergeant to notify the victims next of kin before turning to Mary, “You’re not going to do the postmortem tonight are you?”
“Goodness no, the poor lad can wait until the morning. I haven’t had dinner yet.”
Smiling now, Cam said, “Good, Helen told me to bring you home with me. She made meat pie and has plenty to go around.”
“Oh, that sounds good. I’ve wanted to have a girl-to-girl chat with Helen anyhow.”
As they walked down the path towards the carpark, Cam thought to himself, ‘Now why do I have the feeling that Professor Henderson figures in this chat?’
Chapter 9
The light from the open door silhouetted Helen as she stood waiting to welcome home her husband and Helen.
“Dinner is ready. I hope you’re both hungry,” she called as she opened the door wide and hurried back into the kitchen. Giving Mary a warm hug before helping her out of her coat, Helen called to Cam, “Open a bottle of wine. I’m sure you both could use a drink.”
“I can’t speak for Cam, but I know I sure could. What in the world is going on around here? Three young people so brutally murdered and at Goodrich of all places. It’s unbelievable! What kind of monster is roaming our streets?”
Helen felt a chill go up her spine hearing the normally stoic Mary speaking about the young victims with so much emotion, and wondered what had changed in Mary’s life to cause this sudden personality change.
Placing steaming plates of beef and ale pie on the table, she took the bottle of wine from Cam and filled their glasses, before saying to Cam, “I take it from what Mary says that this victim was murdered, too.”
Tucking into his dinner, Cam stopped eating long enough to reply, “According to Mary, the young lad struggled with his assailant before going over the castle rampart. Poor sod didn’t stand a chance.”
“What was he doing there at that time of night, anyway?” asked Helen as she raised her glass of wine to her lips.
Between bites, Cam said, “He phoned Sergeant Roberts earlier in the day, and asked him to meet him there. He said he had information about someone he remembered seeing with Ali Adams before she disappeared.”
Contemplating the meeting place, Helen asked, “But why didn’t he just come to the station to give his statement?”
Mary set her fork down and pickup up her wine glass, before saying, “From what Dan told me before Cam arrived, Tony said he had a feeling that someone was watching him, and he was afraid to be seen talking to the police.”
“Tony? Did you know the victim, Mary?” asked Helen.
Furrowing her brow, Mary replied, “Tony lived in Lydbrook, not too far from me. I’ve known the family for donkey’s years, and I’ve watched Tony grow up. He was a quiet lad. Never one to get in trouble, he seemed to prefer staying home, watching the telly, and playing video games.”
“Oh Mary, I’m so sorry to hear this,” said Helen as she reached across the table and patted her friend’s free hand.
“That’s the one major drawback of this job. I’ve lived in the area for such a long time that every time someone dies, or in this case, is murdered, it’s almost certain that I will know the person. Normally, I can emotionally detach myself from a person’s death, but when it’s a young person, I really struggle.”
Cam remained silent as he finished his dinner and drained the last drop of wine from his glass, content to listen to the two friends talk. Excusing himself from the table, “Ladies, I’ve got some phone calls I need to make, so I’ll leave you two to catch up.”
As soon as Cam had left the room, Mary asked Helen, “Did Cam happen to mention to you that the person who phoned in the discovery at the dig was an old friend of mine from uni?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he did. Cam mentioned he’s a professor of archeology and that he had a group of his students there, and it was them who discovered the first victim. Cam felt bad about having to close down the dig and your friend having to leave and take his students back to Hereford.”
Blushing, Mary replied, “That’s just it, he did take his students back to Hereford, but then he came right back. He showed up at my lab, and invited me to dinner that very night.”
Smiling now, Helen said, “That was nice. You did go, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but we had to stop off at the farm first so I could feed the animals, and while I was doing that, I left him in the house. He didn’t hear me come back in, and I saw him holding my wedding picture.”
“Well, that’s normal. People will always look at photos sitting around on tables. Is that what’s upset you, Mary?”
“No, not him looking at it, what upset me was what I overheard him say out loud to himself.”
“For goodness sakes, what did he say, Mary?”
Mary lowered her head before responding. “He said that I was as beautiful now as I was then, and it should have been him.”
“Oh, I see. But why would that have upset you so much.”
Standing up and facing her friend, Mary said, “For one, look at me. I know we’re good friends, but I don’t think even you, as kind as you are, could ever describe me as beautiful.”
“Mary, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone’s idea of beauty is different. To me, you are a beautiful person.”
“OK, I’ll give you that, but what about the other thing he said?”
Filling up their now empty wine glasses, Helen remarked, “I think we may need another one of these for this conversation. First, did you ever go out with this professor what’s-his-name?”
Taking a gulp of wine, “His name is Jim Henderson and no, never. He was in our circle of friends, but more like on the outskirts, if you know what I mean. I remember him as a painfully thin, very studious, shy guy.”
“Well, Mary that may explain it, perhaps he had feelings for you and was just too shy to approach you. Add that to the fact your late husband, who you were dating at the time, was a big, strapping lad, the poor guy probably felt he didn’t stand a chance. I don’t understand why what he said would upset you. Actually, I think it’s kind of romantic to think that he’s been carrying a torch for you all these years.”
Cam entered the room before Mary could answer and asked, “What’s this about a torch?”
Jumping up to clear the table, Helen said, “Just girl talk, nothing that you would find interesting.”
Mary was on her feet, too and reaching for her coat, “I better be on my way home. I’ll need to start early if we’re to find out who murdered Tony.”
After walking Mary to her car and saying goodnight, Cam came back into the kitchen where Helen sat finishing her wine, “Well Cam, your instincts were correct again. It seems this Professor Henderson does have designs on our Mary.”
Chapter 10
Mary spent a restless night and was in her lab before the sun had come over the horizon. She was eager to get this autopsy over with as soon as possible. Three young people were dead, and Mary feared that a serial killer was in the area.
Suiting up, Mary removed the remains of Tony Lambert from the refrigerated unit and moved them to the centre of the examination room. Turning on her tape recorder, she slid the body bag from the gurney onto the autopsy table and began the procedure that she knew way too well.
“I am breaking the seals on the body bag. The victim is fully clothed. He is wearing denim jeans, no belt, a short sleeve shirt, trainers and no socks. There are bloodstains to his shirt, consistent with the head and facial injuries suffered from the fall.”
Standing back from the table, Mary grabbed her camera and took another photo of the body, before proceeding. “The victim is a white male with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. He is 21 years old and has the tattoo of a Welsh dragon on his left forearm.”
Turning her attention to Tony’s arms, she continues, “There appear to be signs of pinching or grabbing approximately six inches below the shoulder on each arm.”
Turning off the recorder for a moment, Mary leaned over the body of the young lad she had watched grow up and asked, “What happened, Tony? Did someone grab you up there and where is your jacket, lad? It was a chilly night, and I saw you wearing it earlier. Did it come off in the struggle?”
She’d been working for three hours and had nearly finished the post mortem on young Mr. Lambert when the front door buzzer sounded. Peering out the window, she saw a local florist delivery truck and a man retrieving a massive bouquet of flowers from the back of the van.
Swinging the door open, Mary called to the driver, “Excuse me, I think you’ve made a mistake or have a wrong address. If those flowers are for the deceased, the bodies haven’t been released for burial yet, and even if they were, you should be delivering the flowers to the church or the designated place of service.”
She Lies Beneath Page 3