Hustling up to the door, the bearded driver smiled as he pushed the flowers at Mary, “No mistake, luv. The gentleman who ordered them was very specific about where I was to deliver them. There’s a card if you don’t believe me.”
Snatching the card from the arrangement, Mary saw her name printed on the outside of the envelope, “I see. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting them. Wait there, so I can get you a tip for your troubles.”
Shaking his head, the driver replied, “Oh no, ma’am. That’s already been taken care of by the gentleman. He specifically said that I wasn’t to accept anything from the lady.” With that, the driver winked, then turned and strutted back to his van, and was gone, leaving Mary staring down in astonishment at the flowers.
“Cheeky devil,” muttered Mary as the driver drove off.
Carefully pulling the card from the envelope, she read its contents, Thank you for a wonderful evening. Will you join me for dinner on Saturday night? James.
Mary sat tapping the edge of the card on her office desk, and then reached for the telephone, “Hello Helen, its Mary. Are you free for a couple hours this afternoon? I thought we could grab some lunch, and then maybe you could help me with a little problem that I’m having.”
“Of course Mary, is everything alright?” asked Helen.
“Yes, everything is fine, nothing to worry yourself about. I’d just like another woman’s opinion on something. How about I pick you up at noon?”
“Sounds perfect, Mary. I’ll be ready.”
Hanging up the telephone, Mary stared at the large clock on the wall opposite her desk, just gone past 9:00, so still plenty of time to finish the postmortem and drop off the report to Cam at the station, before picking Helen up for lunch. Leaving the flowers sitting in the middle of her desk, she returned to her lab. The last thing that she needed to do was take any particulates from under the fingernails of the victim.
Removing the plastic evidence bag from Tony’s hand, Mary gently held her young neighbor’s hand in hers before saying, “Hope you scratched whoever did this to you real good.” Scrapping the matter from under the nails, she prepared it to go for testing, hoping that a match could be found.
Chapter 11
Slipping out of her lab coat and running her fingers through her short hair, Mary grabbed the recently printed autopsy reports from the printer and stuffed them into the folder labeled Tony Lambert. Switching off the lights and locking the door behind her, Mary climbed into her Land Rover and drove the short distance to the police station on Old Maids Walk.
Cam was in the middle of his morning briefing when he looked up to see Mary standing in the doorway, “Come on in Mary, what have you got for us?”
“Not a whole lot at the moment. As I noted at the scene, the victim has bruising approximately six inches below his shoulders. From the bruising patterns, the markings indicate a grab, then what appears to be pinching.”
“In your experience, Mary, what would have caused that type of bruising?” asked Cam as he took the envelope from Mary’s outstretched hand.
“Like I told you before, Tony fought for his life. He didn’t fall or throw himself off there. By the way, any news on his jacket yet?”
Sergeant Roberts spoke up, “I spoke with Tony’s parents, and they confirmed what Mary said. Tony was definitely wearing the jacket when he left home the night he died.”
Standing in front of the whiteboard that displayed a photograph of the deceased, Cam wrote ‘jacket’ and drew a big circle around it before turning to his team, “Why would the murderer take Tony’s jacket?”
Dan Roberts theorized, “Trophy? Serial killers are known to take personal items of their victims.”
“It’s possible; however, there was residue under Tony’s fingernails. I’ve taken samples from under his nails that appear to indicate that he probably scratched his attacker. The jacket may have come off in the scuffle, and that would explain the pinch-like bruises. If this scenario is correct, then in all likelihood, the jacket had the murderer’s blood on it,” said Mary.
“OK team, you heard what Mary said; we need to find this jacket. Check the area of the Castle, especially the wooded area next to the path, and along all the roads leading out of there. The murderer may have tossed it out of his car. Speaking of the murderer’s car, any luck on that tyre tread impression?”
Dan turned and posted an enlarged photograph of the tire tread on the board, “Since the area had been closed to the public since the discovery of the bodies, we are confident that these tread marks are from the murderer’s car. They appear to be made by a medium-sized passenger car with new tyres. So, either a new car or an older model fitted with new tyres.”
Looking down at her watch, Mary grabbed Cam’s arm, “Need to dash, I’m picking up your wife for lunch.”
Walking Mary to the door of the station, Cam waved goodbye and immediately went to his office and not even bothering to sit down, picked up the phone, “Hello Sue, how are you?”
Sue and her husband had recently sold their home at Wilton Castle and moved south to be closer to family. Aside from being good friends with Cam and Helen, Sue had proven invaluable in Cam’s more serious cases because of her experience as a criminal profiler.
Sue had just come back from her morning bike ride and was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of tea when Cam called, “Hi Cam, I’m fine. How are you and Helen, and when are you two coming for a visit?”
“To tell you the truth, I would love to be there right now.”
Sue could tell by the tone of Cam’s voice that something was terribly wrong, “You sound upset, Cam, what’s going on?”
“It’s these murders of the two American sisters, Sue. The one witness we had was murdered the night he was to meet us with our first break in the case.”
Putting down her teacup, Sue asked, “What murders, Cam? We just got back from a fortnight in Italy, and I haven’t had time to catch up with local news.”
Sitting down in his chair, Cam shared all the available details of the case with Sue. When he had finished, Sue asked, “How can I be of help, Cam?”
“I have no idea what kind of person we’re looking for. I could sure use your profiling skills at the moment.”
“I was planning on coming up your way on Saturday. I should be there between eight and nine, so tell Helen to have the kettle on.”
“Thanks, Sue, I really appreciate it. We’ll see you on Saturday morning.”
“Don’t mention it, Cam. See you then!”
Hanging up the phone, Cam hoped that Sue could give him some insight into the mind of a person who would murder one sister, and then a year later murder her younger sister and bury them in the same grave.
Meanwhile, across Ross, Mary was just picking up Helen for their lunch date. Having never dated anyone other than her late husband since they were students at university, Mary hoped to get some much-needed advice from Helen.
As soon as Helen heard the sound of tyres on her gravel drive, she slipped on her jacket and left the warmth of her kitchen, locking the door behind her.
Opening the car door and sliding in next to Mary, Helen shivered, “Goodness there’s a chill in the air. How are you, Mary?”
Slowly backing out of the drive, Mary said, “Good as can be expected, I guess. I’ve been working since before dawn, so I’m hungry and to be perfectly honest, I needed to see a friendly face and not anyone connected with the case.”
“I understand completely, Cam has been obsessing over the fact that they’re no closer to solving these murders since day one. I can’t even escape the topic at dinner time.”
“Well, they’ll be no discussions of that sort at lunch today. I have other things I need your help with,” hinted Mary as she brought her car to a stop outside their favorite lunch spot.
“Oh, that sounds intriguing,” replied Helen smiling widely as she climbed out of the car and headed for the café.
Both ladies settle
d for the lunch special of fish pie and were well into their meal when Mary brought up the subject of Professor Henderson. “You’ll never guess what was delivered to me at the morgue this morning.”
“Mary! I thought we weren’t going to discuss the case,” admonished Helen between bites.
“Oh no, it has nothing to do with the case.”
“Thank goodness, I thought you were about to tell me another murder victim had been delivered.”
Blushing now, Mary watched Helen’s face for a reaction as she divulged her secret, “Flowers…Jim Henderson sent me flowers to thank me for a lovely evening and wants me to have dinner with him Saturday night.”
Helen lowered the fork that was halfway to her mouth before replying, “Well, that’s nice, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. The flowers were a lovely surprise, but I feel a bit strange. Jim’s nice enough, but I really don’t know him all that well and to be honest, I’ve never been on a real date since my husband, and I were courting.”
Watching the concern cloud her friend’s eyes, Helen asked, “Is there something else bothering you that you aren’t saying?”
“Well, I was thinking about accepting his invitation, but I’ve already worn the only really nice outfit for our last dinner, and it’s been a while since I bought anything new. I don’t know anything about fashion or what’s in style now. I was wondering if you could possibly go shopping with me and help me pick out something appropriate.”
“Is that all? I’d love to go shopping with you, as a matter of fact, I need to pick up a new outfit for a wedding Cam and I was invited to next month. I can use your unbiased opinion on what looks nice.”
Hesitating for just a moment, Mary confided, “There is something else? The last time we went to dinner, Jim wanted to discuss the case. I guess he’s just curious because it was his team that discovered the body, but he seemed really annoyed when I told him that I really couldn’t discuss the investigation. There was just something in his manner that disturbed me, but I could have just imagined it.”
“I’m sure that he’s just curious. I would be curious too if I were in his position, but I’m sure he respects your position.”
Finishing their lunch, the two friends walked arm-in-arm from the café and headed for the shops on Broad Street.
Chapter 12
Helen heard the sound of tyres on her gravel drive as she put the kettle on Saturday morning. Peeping out the window, she was just in time to see Sue exiting her car and called to Cam, “Sue’s here.”
Throwing open the kitchen door, Helen wrapped her arms around her old friend in a warm embrace, “Come on in and have a seat, Sue. The kettle’s on, and Cam will be right out.”
Slipping out of her coat and hanging it on the peg by the door, Sue slid into a chair and accepted the cup of tea from Helen, “It’s good to see you, Helen. How have you been? Any new gossip?”
Sitting opposite Sue, Helen smiled as she said, “I’ve been fine, and yes, there is a bit.”
“Oh, do tell!”
“Well, I’m sure that Cam has told you about the discovery at the Castle by the archeology team from Hereford.”
As Sue nodded and sipped her tea, Helen continued, “The professor who was in charge of the students just happened to be an old college acquaintance of Mary’s, and it seems that he has taken quite an interest in her. As a matter of fact, they are going on their second date tonight.”
Sue’s eyebrows shot up, “My goodness, in all the years that I have known Mary, I have never known her to keep company with anyone. Knowing Mary, she must be all ins and outs when it comes to dating.”
“You are right about that. We met for lunch, and Mary was asking me all kinds of questions. Then we went shopping so she could get a new outfit to wear. She wore her only other dress the first time they went to dinner.”
Laughing now as she put her mug down on the table, Sue replied, “That sounds like our Mary.”
“What sounds like our Mary?” asked Cam as he wandered into the kitchen and dropped into the chair next to Sue.
“I was just telling Sue about Mary’s budding romance with the Professor,” replied Helen as she slid a cup of tea across to her husband.
Rolling his eyes, Cam’s only response was a grunt as he noisily stirred his tea.
Peering over her eyeglasses, perched low on her nose, Sue said, “Now, if I were a betting woman, I would bet that you aren’t a fan of this professor.”
Swallowing a gulp of tea, Cam was quick to reply, “As usual Sue, your intuition would be spot on. He’s too self-important for my liking.”
Receiving a disapproving look from his wife, Cam quickly changed the subject, “I appreciate you driving all the way up here to lend your expertise to the investigation, so I guess we should get over to the station and get started.”
“Thanks for the tea, Helen. I’ll stop by and see you before I head home.”
Wiping her hands on the dishcloth, Helen walked to the door with Sue and asked, “You’re not planning on driving home tonight, are you? Why not stay, have dinner with us, and stay the night?”
Smiling brightly, Sue gave Helen a hug, “That would be lovely. I was hoping you’d ask. I’ll give Alan a call and tell him not to expect me tonight. See you later.”
The station was deserted when Cam and Sue arrived, so after putting on a fresh pot of coffee, Cam led Sue to the briefing room. Perching on the top of the table closest to the whiteboard, Sue stared intently at the notes sprawled there.
“So, from forensics, it looks like almost a year between the two deaths. Did Mary establish murder as the cause of death in the older remains?”
“Yes, she found evidence that the hyoid bone was fractured indicating that the victim was strangled.”
“And you said, the sisters’ parents said that the younger sister traveled to England searching for her older sister.”
“That’s right Sue. The last time they spoke with her, she was going to meet someone that had information about her sister,” said Cam as he filled two coffee mugs and passed one to Sue.
“So, either that person murdered her or whoever they told her about did.”
Sue hesitated for a moment as she lifted the cup of coffee to her lips, “Cause of death for victim two?”
“Well, that’s where it gets a bit strange. The toxicology report indicates that Ali died of a drug overdose.”
Interrupting, Sue asked, “What’s so unusual about that?”
“The victim also received a massive wound to the back of the skull, giving us the initial impression that she had died of blunt force trauma. During the postmortem, Mary determined that the injury occurred after she was already dead.
Cupping her chin in her hand, Sue thought for a moment before asking, “Have you discovered the place of death?”
“The only thing we can say for certain is that she was murdered somewhere else and left lying face down long enough for blood to pool in the front of her legs. When we found her, she was lying on her back, completely covering her sister’s remains. We didn’t realize that there was a second body in the grave until SOCO removed her for transport to the morgue.”
“I’ll need to see Mary’s full report and photos from the crime scene, Cam.”
Going into his office, Cam returned and laid the envelope on the desk in front of Sue. After a few minutes of staring at the photos, she said, “Notice how both victims are laid out, both on their back with their hands folded across their midsection? This wasn’t a body dump; the murderer was careful how he buried them. He could have dumped victim two where she was murdered, but he chose to bring her here. In his mind, he felt like he was reuniting the two sisters.”
“Any ideas where we go from here, Sue?”
“The key is the older sister. The younger sister was just collateral damage. She got too close to finding out what happened to her sister. Discover who she was meeting that last night, and you’ll find your murd
erer.”
“Any idea what kind of person are we looking for?”
“I’d say, you are looking for a local or someone very familiar with the area, strong enough to dig the grave and carry the bodies to the site. As I recall, there’s no close vehicle access to the area, and then the murderer would have to get the bodies down into the moat.”
“What’s the possibility that the murderer had an accomplice?
“It’s possible Cam, but I don’t think so. I don’t think the man you are looking for would trust anyone with his secret. I think that he is someone with a position he needs to protect. Why else would he have chosen this site for the burials?”
“True, the dig at the castle was never publicized, so he probably assumed the bodies would never be found.”
Sue grew pensive for a moment, “It’s such a shame about Tony Lambert.”
“Yes, he was our first real break in the case.”
Sue’s eyes grew moist as she replied, “I knew the family and watched Tony grow up. His parents must be devastated.”
“I’m sorry, Sue. I didn’t mean to sound cold-hearted. I have two sets of grieving parents and little information to go on, so the pressure’s on.”
“It’s me that’s sorry, Cam. I wish I could give you more to go on, but until we have more information, I’m afraid it’s the best I can come up with.”
Chapter 13
While Cam and Sue were going over all available evidence, PC Anne Parks was walking the streets of Hereford following up on the lead that the last call from Ali to her parents came from the town centre. It was an area frequented by students with many coffee shops and pubs. Armed with the new photo, pulled from the last image of Ali’s video chat with her parents, she begins to make the rounds. After stopping in two coffee shops close to the uni, she gets lucky when the lady behind the counter recognizes Ali from the photos.
Leaning on the counter, she carefully examined the photo, “I haven’t seen her for a couple weeks, but she came in here regularly for a week. She showed me a photo, too. Said she was looking for her sister and asked if I recognized her.”
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