“Well, unless something happens tomorrow I can’t see why not.”
She thought about him as she drove home. She’d felt sorry for him, but he’d handled himself well. She thought of him telling his wife, about the new woman brought in above him. That would be difficult. What would it be like? What did it feel like to have someone at home, someone waiting to hear about your day? Someone who knew all about you. Tanya had nobody anymore, not really. Her sister lived in Scotland, they never did get on anyway, mum and dad were gone, and she’d never had aunties, grandparents. What would that be like? And babies, what was that all about, with the pressure of this job, was it worth it? Why would someone inflict that on themselves?
She didn’t like babies, not much, didn’t see the attraction. She’d never been able to understand the whole business of having an heir, someone to carry on the name. It’s not as if Charlie and Carol were royalty, there was nothing for little Joshua to inherit, except maybe if he was lucky a semi in Oxford and a second-hand car. It just wasn’t worth all the stress. Not for her, no. Not even if she did meet someone she might want to be with for a while, nothing about this whole baby business was attractive.
There was a lasagne waiting for her, a couple of glasses of wine and then a Game of Thrones dvd. Her little house on the outskirts of Oxford was cosy. It was her haven. Her dad had left her money, shared between the two of them. More for her sister, supposedly because she had children but, whatever, it had been enough for a decent deposit, so the mortgage was manageable. She’d rented it out while she was posted away, but once she knew she was coming back she’d had it cleaned, got herself a woman to come in regularly. She was happy to be home, hoped that maybe it could be for a while. She didn’t feel lonely, never, but still, what would it be like sharing her space? She couldn’t imagine it now, it had been too long.
She closed the door behind her, paused for a minute, listening to the quiet; breathing in the faint scent from the diffuser wands in the hall. There was a small white card on the table by the door. “Sod it.” The delivery was supposed to have been in the afternoon, she had stated on the order, afternoon, so Mrs Green would be there to receive it. Since when was nine thirty, afternoon? Now, she’d have to go and collect it. She sighed, she was going to start having stuff delivered to work. The trouble with that though was everyone would know. It wasn’t that her shopping was unreasonable, she spoiled herself now and then, that was all. Well, she worked hard, she had no-one else to consider and, all things being equal she’d have a decent pension when she retired. She was going to make it to Assistant Chief Constable, maybe higher, maybe all the way to the top; then she’d be set up for the rest of her life, so why not spend what she wanted to. She needed decent clothes for work after all, needed to make the right impression.
She pushed the card into the pocket on the back of her bag, walked through to the kitchen and turned on the oven.
Chapter 15
The next morning Tanya was in the office early, the team all poked their heads around the door to say good morning; all except Sue. She made a point of giving her a smile as she walked into the incident room. She gave them time to grab a cup of coffee or whatever it was they did to mark the start of the day. Everyone had something, even if was only taking off their outside clothes and draping jackets on the back of the chair.
“Okay – today the main thing is to find a connection between these two women. You all know the statistics. Victims are usually known to their attackers. I know we didn’t see an ‘attack’,” Tanya waved quote marks in the air with her fingers. “But we must assume the same person has taken them and his intentions are evil. So, is there a connection? Look at schools, colleges, friends, gyms, shop loyalty cards, anything you can think of. For the moment I think we should all concentrate on that. We’ve still got bods on the ground at both service areas so that’s covered. Sue, can you co-ordinate it?” The special attention won her a grudging smile, she needed a friend in the ranks, but this young woman probably wasn’t going to be the one. “Paul, will you make sure they are both featured on the web site, Facebook page and Twitter. Be a bit careful, I don’t want them linked in the public mind yet, not until we’re sure. At the moment they are just two separate missing women.” As she spoke he typed notes into his tablet, nodded, pushed his glasses up on his nose, that was a particular habit of his.
She was getting to know the team quickly, trying to judge what might be their strengths and weaknesses. She stood from where she had leaned her hip on the corner of the desk, and gathered her things, “Me and Charlie are going back to see Steven Blakely, we need to let him know we are still on this. Then I’m going to talk to Millie’s mum and dad. All calls to me this afternoon. Charlie’s off doing other stuff.”
As they went back to their office Tanya spoke to Charlie, “I think they’re starting to accept what happened, aren’t they? Have you got used to the idea? I really appreciate the way you handled yesterday, it can’t have been easy.”
They were in the office gathering their clothes and bags, shutting down the computers.
“Yeah, well no point dwelling on stuff, is there? You’ve got things to offer. I won’t pretend I wasn’t a bit put out, but to be honest I wasn’t completely surprised. We’re stretched too thin, everywhere, it’s not like it used to be with teams together for years.”
“Tell me about it.” She sighed, scrubbed at her scalp, easing the tension. “Will it be today, Charlie, will we get a break today? It’s as if we still don’t even know what we are looking at. Is it abduction? Will there be some sort of demand, or is it all something darker? If it is and we don’t find something soon it’s all going to go horribly pear shaped, isn’t it? The longer it goes on with no contact, nothing, the more that seems likely. These poor women.”
“Something’s going to come up soon. I wondered about a reconstruction.”
“It’s on the cards for Sarah. Next Friday if we are still no further on, there’s a chance some of the regulars at the services will remember something.”
“Oh right. I didn’t know.”
“Sorry, I arranged it first thing.”
“Right, I see. Are you sure it’s okay for me to take this afternoon off?”
“Yeah, with a bit of luck we’ll find something today and then you’ll be too busy chasing bad guys to go swanning off playing happy families.”
With a glance back at the building, at the light shining in the incident room window and the movement of figures behind the glass, she shook her head, and muttered under her breath, “Come on guys, find me something.”
* * *
They had expected the interview with Steven Blakely to be difficult, but Charlie was surprised, yet again, by his deterioration. He’d lost weight, his face was unshaven, haggard looking. The liaison officer said that he was hardly eating.
Tanya wished she’d been able to avoid coming but it was the right thing to do. She had nothing of any substance to tell him, nothing to give him any hope but she needed to show her face, introduce herself. They went over old ground, he had found some more pictures, recent trips and holidays. Though they didn’t see what good they would be, they didn’t have the heart to say so, and they took the prints away with them.
“He’s really going to pieces. Meeting him for the first time, what do you reckon?” Charlie leaned on the car, talking through the window.
“It’s awful isn’t it? I can see he’s falling apart, and we can’t offer him anything.”
“Do you think it’s a bit, intense? I know she’s missing, I know it’s scary and worrying and all that but right from the start he’s been like this. The very first time we met him, he was a wreck.”
“What are you saying, Charlie?”
“I reckon we should look a bit more closely. Maybe have another word with some of their friends, see just how tight they were. You know, just see if there was any suggestion of trouble, any girl talk over a bottle of wine, that sort of thing.”
“Can’t do any h
arm I suppose. Why don’t you get on that tomorrow? A bit discrete though, don’t forget how all this started, him ranting on the internet. I understand that he’s keeping off at the moment and I prefer it that way and Bob Scunthorpe does as well.”
They split up, Tanya to go and make herself known to Millie’s distraught and frantic parents, and Charlie to go and have a bit of light relief with his son.
It was four o clock in the afternoon when the call came in. If the day had been sunny, if it had been more like September than November, there would have been more people about, more walkers, more visitors to the country church and it would have come sooner, but when the phone burbled, and she clicked the hands free on the steering wheel, Tanya’s stomach flipped.
Sometimes you just know.
Chapter 16
Station road was lined with cars that had been pulled onto the grass verge beside St Mary’s Church, churning up the mud. Crime scene tape was stretched through the crossroads behind the churchyard. Although there was a low stone wall around the area, they had cars on the roads. Just now, there weren’t many people about in the dull, drizzling rain, but once word got out there would be dozens, drawn by the drama. It wasn’t possible to avoid it, so it had to be managed, as best they could.
A safe path had been marked out with a uniformed officer posted at the gap that formed a gateway leading to the narrow tarmac path.
Tanya pulled on the shoe covers, gloves, the suit and tucked her hair up inside her hood. She made her way round the end of the old building and into the graveyard. The pop-up plastic cover was already there. Suited figures moved quietly on the mounded grass, faceless and spectral between the old graves in the fading, grey light. Out beyond the wall the mortuary van waited.
It was a very English church, ancient and plain with just some fancy stonework round the windows and doors. Grey stone walls, a dark slate roof, merging with the miserable day. It had probably featured in hundreds of wedding albums, christening pictures, happy days, precious memories and now it was tainted, spoiled by wickedness.
Tanya moved on, she didn’t want this to be Sarah Dickinson, Millie Roberts, she didn’t want to take this news to Steve, worried and wasting away in his silent flat. She didn’t want to go back to Millie’s parents with the worst news she could bring them. But then, she didn’t want it to be anyone, didn’t want any family torn apart and plunged into such grief. There was nothing she could do about it except to find the reasons, search out the explanations and find the monster who had left a young woman’s body draped across a grave in an old English churchyard.
She called Charlie, but his phone was off – not surprising if he was in sole charge of the baby, and it might be his last chance for a while. She left a message, asked him to meet her there in Ardley. Told him that they may have had the breakthrough, but that it was the worst possible thing.
She had to pull back the plastic to gain access so when she turned to the scene it hit her full in the face. She had expected to see a body, probably blood, possibly lots of blood, maybe something worse. There was none of it.
Because of the dimness, they had brought in floodlights, which caught the shine and gleam of jewels. They turned the white gown into a living shimmering thing, glowing against the dark stone slab. For a moment Tanya was speechless, breathless. For just a brief while it was astonishing, an ethereal figure, pale hands crossed on her breast, long blond hair cascading towards the wet grass. Like something from a fantasy film.
Then the medical examiner spoke and the moment broke, reality hit her, and the brutality stole away the magic.
A tall figure, covered in protective clothing, leaning over a medical bag, unfolded to his full height, well over six feet, and nodded at Tanya. She held up her warrant card. “Hello Detective Inspector, Dr Hewitt – Simon. I believe this young woman may be one of yours.” He waved a gloved hand towards the body.
Tanya leaned closer, she already knew. “Yes, I’m afraid so. Can you tell me anything?”
“Not much as yet. She hasn’t been here very long I don’t think. This rain has been coming down since first thing so everywhere is soaking and that doesn’t help us. I’ve only just arrived really, it’s taken us a while to get all this organised…” He raised his hand to indicate the plastic walls and roof. “Haven’t moved her much yet so you are getting the full experience. As is obvious, she has been posed, prepared – look.” He lifted up the slender hand. “Her nails have been painted, she has make up on.”
“What’s the smell? Something faint?”
“Yes, it was probably a lot stronger before the rain got to it. Bleach I’m afraid. So, she’s been washed and the clothes as well I imagine. I don’t think we’re going to get anything much in the way of residues, dust, whatever.”
“What killed her.”
“Ah. Well now. I’m not going to say. I have an idea, but I would rather wait until I have her back in our place. I will let you know as soon as I can, I’ll call you, but no I’m not going to guess and really, it’s not going to matter much, if it is what I think.”
“How do you mean it won’t matter?”
He turned away. “No, please just have a little patience.”
“We have another woman missing.”
He stood straight, she could tell by the creases around his eyes that he had grimaced, “I’m sorry to hear that. I really am. I will get back to you as quickly as I can. In the meantime, all I can do is ask for your patience.”
Tanya thanked him, turned and ducked back out into the graveyard. Charlie was making his way towards her over the grass, dodging between the graves. She waved to him, a sad, small acknowledgement. She was thankful for the wet weather disguising the moisture on her cheeks.
Chapter 17
Tanya went with Charlie to see Steven Blakely. The whole thing was hideous. He railed at them, sobbed, threatened, and then collapsed into his chair, his head buried in his hands, groaning and shaking, murmuring her name. Sarah would only just have been taken to the mortuary, and there was work to be done before he could see her. They would take him the next day, he was incapable right then and anyway, they knew it was her. There would have to be a formal identification, but the ring and bracelet they had brought with them, in plastic evidence bags, had been enough to destroy him.
Just as they arrived at the office, the Liaison Officer called to say that they had needed the doctor and he was now under sedation.
Tanya thought about her own parents, her mother slowly slipping away within a year after her father had died. Then there was her sister: one drama after the other with her kids until in the end it was all too tedious, and she stopped asking, just didn’t bother anymore. It wasn’t worth it, better by far to keep to yourself, live your own life, no partner, no kids, no pain.
* * *
The mood in the incident room was sombre. It was after nine o’clock. They’d stayed late, though Tanya told them that if they needed to get home, there wouldn’t be much more information until the next day and, providing they were contactable, they could leave. Nobody left. Tanya decided she might as well make the most of it, start the meeting she had planned for early morning.
Charlie pinned the pictures on the board – the body, the church, the graves – for a minute nobody said anything. Tanya let them settle, take in the facts: this was murder. Though it had always been on the cards, right from the very first report, while there was a chance, until now, there had been a tiny glimmer of hope.
She leaned against the corner of the desk. Waited for them to turn off phones, grab their drinks, open notebooks and so on. “Right, the SOCO team are pretty much finished on the ground, first formal reports due tomorrow, but I’ve had a chat on the phone.”
“Let’s start with what we know. It was wet, and so there was no-one about until the poor old biddy who found the body. There are tyre tracks on the verge near the gate but that may not mean much. There was a wedding yesterday, cars all over the place. The medical examiner reckons that the body an
d the clothes had been washed in bleach and then left out in the rain for a while; he doesn’t think more than a few hours. The verger opened the church doors at seven in the morning and he is sure there was nothing there then, so that gives us a time window.”
Sue raised her hand, “We don’t have a cause of death yet?”
“No, but I reckon Doctor Hewitt has an idea. He wouldn’t share but he promised to give us a call soon as… I haven’t worked with him before, anybody else know him?” She glanced around, no-one responded. “Right. Tasks. Starting first thing, Sue, will you get on to trying to find out where that dress came from. It looks expensive, a wedding dress, how hard can that be, they’re pretty special aren’t they?”
“They’re bloody expensive I’ll tell you that.” Everyone turned to look at Paul, standing near the door. “I got married last year and they cost an arm and a leg. It all does: shoes, cars, flowers, reception. I’ll tell you what, by the time you get there you wonder if it’s all worth it. Maybe that’s it, this is just someone who couldn’t take it anymore, the constant wedding, wedding, wedding, every bloody day.”
There was a moment of silence broken by Kate, “Aw poor you.” He turned and glared at her.
Tanya spoke, diffusing the moment, “Maybe I should put you on tracing the dress then, eh?”
“No thank you. I’ll tell you what, after two years of solid wedding talk I don’t want to hear about bridal shopping ever again. Anyway, I didn’t have anything to do with that, all secret that stuff, supposed to be unlucky for the groom to know about it – load of bunk.”
Charlie had been quiet until now, he coughed. “There wasn’t any hint that Steve and Sarah were going to get married, before all this I mean?”
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