Ugly Duckling

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Ugly Duckling Page 5

by Malcolm Allen


  Chapter 11

  Liz was tidying up the Lab after her examination of the body, it had been a very long, thorough examination, going over everything two, even three times to make sure there was no error and nothing was missed. She was beginning to formulate the report in her head as she went to the locker room to change into her “normal” clothes. As she removed the lab coat she couldn’t help but smile, the look on Johns face was priceless when she'd dropped her bathrobe. She stripped out of her long johns replacing them with a skirt and blouse and made her way to the office, where she was going to start to write up her findings to send to John.

  There was a knock at the door and John’s head appeared,

  'Anyone in?’

  'Hello John, I was just thinking about you. Just about to start on the report.'

  'I was wondering how far you’d got?'

  'Well, I've finished the examination but I need some more information.'

  'Oh. What do you need?' John was curious.

  'Regarding the time of death. I took the brain temperature because of the state of the rest of the body but because of the other factors, a cold night, blood loss, clothes had been opened, all those things, its still difficult to be more accurate than I've already told you'

  'I see' Said John, nodding knowingly

  'The examination of the stomach contents should have helped to give me a clearer time line, but all I know is, he had last eaten a burger and chips but we don’t know at what time he did that, it wasn’t breakfast, he’d already had breakfast, that was well on its way through the digestive process, but people eat burger and chips at any time of day. So without more information I still can’t be more accurate than I was'

  'Burger and chips'

  'My guess would be McDonalds, there was pickle and mayo and all the other stuff they put on their burgers'

  'Great! We'll start with them, most have CCTV we should be able to find him, anything else?'

  'Yes, the attacker was close, very close I'd say, and with the two slashes either side of the trachea was stood in front of the victim, facing him.'

  'Go on' John was interested in what was coming next

  'I can’t find any evidence of a struggle John, I think if someone ran up to me brandishing a knife I'd at least try to fight them off if I couldn’t run, or, I'd raise my arms like this.' she bought both arms up in front of her face shielding her head from potential attack.

  'If he'd done that, there may have been scratches or bruises on his arms, but there's not, there's nothing, either on him or the first one, he was already dead form heart failure of course, but this one wasn’t he was very much alive at the time of the attack.'

  'You think they knew their attacker?'

  'I just report my findings, it’s up to you from there on, but, personally I would say the indications are that certainly the second one knew his attacker.'

  'What about the eye's Liz?'

  'Being closed you mean? I found that Interesting. The attacker almost certainly would have closed them'

  'Another indication that the attacker knew them personally?'

  'Possibly, I couldn't really say John'

  John thought for a moment.

  'Has the knife given you anything?' Liz asked

  'Not a great deal so far Liz, They did find a trace of alien DNA in amongst all the other blood and dog slobber, probably nicked himself when he extended the blade, not uncommon, but there's nothing on the national database at Birmingham so all it does is confirm that we're looking for a man, Big help that.'

  'So what do you do next?'

  'Well, we'll get onto the McDonalds lead, see if we can pin his timeline down a bit and help you with time of death, and then I think tomorrow I'm going to call in a profiler.'

  'Good Idea.'

  John looked at Liz although he was about to say something else.

  'I've told you everything of interest John. But, I've still got to get this report done before I leave'

  'Of course Liz, yes. There was something though'

  'Yes?' Liz raised her eyebrows waiting for the question

  'The other night, at your place, you took my clothes off'

  'That’s right.' Liz had a feeling she knew what he was about to ask

  'All of them' John continued

  'Correct'

  'Did you, erm, you know'

  'Examine your penis?' Liz offered

  'Well, Yes'

  'It's quite a sufficient size I'd say, but I have to tell you, dealing with rigor mortis, as I often do, I'm used to handling something a little stiffer. Now can I get on with this report'

  John was embarrassed by the answer, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that.

  'Right, right, I'll um, leave you to it then'

  John stood and left the office quickly, blushing as he went.

  Chapter 12

  Ian had met John at the Laughing pig, they stood at the bar talking over the days events, Ian with a half of lager, John with a half of lager shandy.

  'Hey boys, got something for you' it was Phil the owner,

  'Have a look at this'

  He produced a “Billy Big Mouth singing Bass” and pushed the button, the fish sprang into action flapping its tail, wagging its head and opening and closing its mouth to a recording of “Don’t worry, be happy”.

  A girl, sat at one of the high tables just behind them, started sobbing.

  'Now look what you've done' Ian said to Phil 'you've reduced your customers to tears'

  'Don’t worry, be Happy' the song continued

  More, louder sobbing from behind.

  'Will you turn that tacky fucking thing off!' Ian snapped

  Phil turned it off, looking offended.

  'I bought this tacky fucking thing in from my lounge at home, thought it would give you a laugh'

  'Sorry Phil I didn’t mean' Ian started, but it was too late Phil Grabbed his fish and disappeared to the other side of the bar.

  'Phil, Phil! Come on mate, I didn’t mean anything' Ian followed Phil around the bar leaving John with a half of lager and a sobbing girl. He turned and walked towards her.

  'Are you ok? He didn’t mean anything'

  'It wasn’t the fish' she said 'I’ve just read this' she handed the Mail to John, on the front page was a photograph of William Broom and the headline “Local man found murdered on common”. The Media relations Office would have released the carefully vetted story to the press, making sure that all next of kin had been informed beforehand.

  'Did you know him?' John asked

  'He was my boyfriend, well, sort of, we broke up a couple of days ago' she continued to sob, tears rolling down her cheeks, John handed her a tissue.

  'J.D that’s her, the girl in the CCTV!' Ian rushed up to them.

  'I've just realised that Ian. I think we've been looking for you'

  'Me, Why?'

  'I'm Detective Inspector Dickie and this is Detective Sergeant Cripp, You may have been the last person to have seen him alive' John said

  She started to sob even more. The MRO were very careful about next of kin being informed before they read or heard it from the press, but unfortunately that courtesy couldn't extend to lovers.

  'I'm sorry you found out this way' Ian commented

  'What’s your name?'

  'Jenni Everitt' Jenni replied through the sobs

  'Did he ever mention anyone he was afraid of or any incident that made him think he was in danger?'

  'No, Nothing. He always seemed happy, up until the other night'

  'And what happened then?' John asked.

  'It was the opening night for this place, I'd arranged to meet Bill here for a drink, I thought we were going to go for a meal, but when he arrived' she started to sob again.

  'It’s alright' John put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a clean handkerchief from his pocket 'Take your time'

  'Thank you' Jenni looked John in the eye through her own tear filled eyes and blew her nose. He f
ound himself wanting to hug her, but knew that would be completely inappropriate on all levels.

  'He told me he was married' Jenni continued 'and that he didn’t want to hurt me but he'd decided to try again with his wife, he said he had only started the affair with me because he knew his wife was having an affair with the man next door, but that she'd promised him that she had ended it and wanted to patch things up with Bill, he said he had to give it a try for the sake of his kids, I didn’t even know he had kids! Anyway I got upset, called him some names. I didn’t mean them, I was just angry, so I tried to apologise but he just got up and dashed off, I went after him but he just vanished, there were too many people around. I wish I'd found him, perhaps none of this would have happened if I had, I know he loved me more than his wife.'

  'How do you know that?' Ian asked

  Jenni shot him a look that, if looks could kill, would have put Ian six feet under.

  'Because if he'd been with me, he would never have had an affair with anyone else.' Jenni retorted.

  'No that’s right Jenni; Sergeant Cripp can be a bit tactless at times. Is there anything else you can tell us about that night'

  'I don’t think so Inspector Dickie'

  'Please call me John'

  Jenni half smiled 'I don’t think so John, but if I do think of anything can I call you?'

  'Yes, Please do' John handed Jenni his card, 'I'll also need your address and contact details just in case we have any further questions'

  Jenni went into her purse and gave John one of her personal cards.

  'Do you mind if I leave you now? I think I'd like to get home'

  'No, that’s ok; I think we've got enough for now. Will you be OK? Do you want me to run you anywhere? Or contact somebody to stay with you?'

  'That's very kind John, but I'll be ok and I think I'd rather be on my own tonight' and with that she got up, gave John a sweet, but tearful, smile and left the pub, John watched, his eyes following her until the door closed behind her.

  'OH, Sergeant Cripp can be very tactless, Can I run you anywhere, would you like some help getting out of those knickers?' Ian said mimicking John.

  'What you on about?'

  'You! God if you made it any more obvious you'd have been laying on top of her with your tongue down her throat!'

  'Don’t be stupid Ian, she's upset, I was just trying to be nice, comforting. Now get me another drink, it's your round.'

  Ian went to the bar and ordered another beer and a shandy. John stood looking at the door; there was something about her, even though she was upset, she was amazingly attractive John thought. He strangely wanted her to come back through the door with some more information, just so he could talk to her a bit longer, but she didn’t return. John decided to find some more questions to ask her, just so that he could visit her tomorrow, it was something he didn't need to think about too long.

  'Anyway' Ian said returning with the beer's 'You’d better get those contact details out, I've just remembered where I've seen her before'

  'Where’s that?' John asked half heartedly

  'She was one of the reporters at the scene.'

  Perfect, thought John.

  Chapter 13

  John arrived home put the T.V on but turned the volume right down and poured himself a whiskey from the new bottle he had bought on his way home and sat starring at the T.V, he took a sip from the glass.

  'Ah! That’s better' he said out loud, but to himself, there was no one else there to hear him. As he rested his glass on the table next to him he picked up a photograph of Sonia, it was taken on their last holiday together in Corfu, she looked so happy and very glamorous in those designer sunglasses he had bought for her, There was something about Jenni that reminded him of Sonia. He closed his eyes and almost instantly, as had happened many times before, the picture of Sonia laying in the morgue came into his head, he shook his head slightly but the image of her laying there remained.

  'I'm so sorry Sonia' he said

  'What for?' came the reply

  'The crash'

  'John, it wasn’t your fault, you had to work, I knew when I married you that you were a copper and everything that came with it, sometimes I got a bit peeved when we'd made arrangements and had to cancel because you were called in, but I knew that was the way it was, I loved you. And nothing would ever change that.

  'But look at you; this is where it got you'

  'No John, this is were an accident got me, nothing to do with you or your job, let it go now, tell me about our holiday in Corfu'

  'You already know about it'

  'I know but I'd like to hear you describe it to me, will you do that? For me?'

  The picture in Johns mind instantly changed to Corfu, It was sunny, and he could feel the warmth on his skin and the smell of citrus trees seemed to be everywhere, he could see Sonia standing at the edge of the water she was wearing a bright translucent floral summer dress and was holding her shoes as she paddled in the water, the light shining through her dress showed off her perfect figure. She looked so happy, smiling and laughing, she had such a great laugh and a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts.

  'Do you remember when we hired that little boat?' Sonia asked.

  'Oh yes, that was a great day, it was so hot that day wasn’t it? But on that boat with the wind and the spay from the sea, it was really nice, perfect in fact. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky that day.'

  'That's right John, and do you remember we sailed the boat round to that little cove?'

  'Yes! That was such a beautiful place and completely deserted apart from us,

  the water was so clear you could see the bottom and all the fish's swimming around, it was deep though, I remember when we dropped anchor I thought it was never going to stop sinking. That water was great to swim in though, so warm and it just seemed to hold you on the surface. Do you remember the wine?'

  'That was awful wasn’t it?' Sonia laughed.

  'Yes, screw top as I remember and plastic cups, but it was so warm by the time we opened it, I'm sure there was steam coming off it'

  'You said we could use it in the engine if we got low on fuel' they both laughed

  'We made love on that boat, do you remember that John?'

  'Of course, you were so beautiful, your eyes sparkled your skin was shimmering, your body lovely and tanned, I remember the boat was rocking so much I thought we were going to cause a tsunami, and my back got sunburnt, you had to rub that cream in for me. It was a great day, wasn’t it Sonia?'

  'Yes it was.' she paused and smiled her most radiant smile 'John, that’s how I want you to remember me. Remember the good times when you think of me, I don’t want you to forget the good memories, but I also think you deserve to make some new good memories'

  'What do you mean?'

  'I mean its time to move on John. You've been alone now for three years with just your job for company, You'll always have those memories of us together and I know you love me, and I will always love you, but you need to be with someone, you need to move on. You'll meet new people and there's someone you already know that loves you very much'

  'You're talking about Liz, Do you want me to get together with her?'

  'Not necessarily, I'm just saying she's there, and if you wanted too get together with her that’s fine with me, but you also seemed quite taken with that girl in the pub'

  'Jenni, she was upset, but something about her reminded me of you'

  'So perhaps you should get to know her more, I know you'll never forget me, and will always love me, but I want you to live your life and be happy. Sleep now and when you want to think of me, we shall forever be in Corfu.'

  That night John slept where he was on the sofa, but it was the most peaceful, relaxing, regenerative sleep he'd had in years.

  The next morning John found himself singing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” in the shower. He felt good, no better than that, he felt great. It was like a huge weight had been lifted, he actually felt physicall
y lighter, he stepped onto the bathroom scales 'they must be faulty' he thought, and got off again. He made his coffee and went through to the lounge where the T.V was still on, as it had been all night, with the volume turned down. “Local Man's Dog hero in the hunt for the Bournemouth Butcher” it read at the bottom of the screen.

  'Bournemouth Butcher, I don’t believe it, they've given him a name' he said as he reached for the remote and turned the volume up.

  'I'm here now with local man and war veteran Frederick Dunn' the reporter said. Fred was stood to attention next to the reporter; he looked very smart and was wearing all his wartime medals, Patch sat obediently next to him.

  'Mr Dunn, thank you for talking to us, can you tell me how your dog “Patch” has helped the police in their hunt for the Bournemouth Butcher'

  'Yes of course' said Fred, puffing his chest out even more as he realised the camera was pointing his way 'You see it was Patch here that found the body of what I now believe was the Bournemouth Butchers second victim'

  'Oh God' thought John 'this is all we need, I can just picture it now “police cuts lead to pensioners and their Dogs being recruited”'

  'And then Patch actually went and searched for the weapon you see' Fred was saying 'The police probably wouldn’t have found it, but my Patch did, and despite the danger and injury he caused himself he bravely bought it back to me'

  'Patch injured himself?' The reporter asked

  'Oh yes, you see it was a very sharp knife with a long blade, but patch carried it in his mouth, he doesn’t have arms and hands you see. But in doing so got quite a nasty cut in his mouth'

  'Did he need treatment for it?'

  'Just a bit of cake' Fred replied

  'No' the reporter said 'I said treatment, not treat'

  'Oh, Treatment. Em, no he didn’t want any treatment, he's a very brave and strong dog you see.'

  'Thank you Mr Dunn and thank you Patch. So there you have it, the brave Dog Patch helping the police to solve the case of the Bournemouth Butcher'

  John couldn’t stop himself from laughing as he switched the T.V off and left for work. He was looking forward to the day ahead, getting on with this case, meeting the criminal profiler, and, of course, he needed to go and speak to Jenni. He was unaware that the person now dubbed the Bournemouth Butcher had also seen the T.V report.

 

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