Wild Thing: 'a chilling cold-blooded killer' (Ted Darling crime series Book 7)

by L M Krier

  'I don't have any more details yet, but if the girl was found up near Marple, as I was told, there must be a vehicle involved. Mike, you're excused going inside, but make sorting out any CCTV a priority, please. Anything from the front here, but also round the back. That means Broadway, Parndon Drive, Morton Walk, if any of that is covered. Get someone round there as soon as possible, see if there's anyone about to ask if they saw anything. And check on coverage between here and where she was found, up Marple Old Road, near the junction of Marple Road and Torkington Road.

  'Clearly someone will need to talk to the daughter as soon as possible. I'll phone the hospital and ask to be kept informed. I want to know who's with her, who's the next of kin. They'll need to ID the body, of course, poor sod. Oh, and I'll also want to listen to that 999 call, to hear exactly what was said.'

  Jo and Mike nodded and got to work. There wasn't a lot Ted could do immediately, while he waited for the all-clear to go inside. He wasn't kept waiting too long before one of the crime scene officers, fully suited up and masked, came to the front door and called quietly to him, 'The Professor says you can come in now,' handing him coveralls at the door.

  The suits were always too large for Ted's stature, making him feel like a small boy dressing up in his dad's clothes. Once he was fully covered, so he didn't transfer any of his own DNA to the crime scene, he made his way to the kitchen at the back of the house, already sucking greedily on the first of his menthol lozenges.

  He paused in the open doorway, looking carefully round the room to take in the scene. As he had feared, it was not pretty. There was a fair amount of blood, on the floor and splashed on the kitchen cupboards and work surfaces. Ted's keen eyes noticed immediately that there were a lot of footprints, the blood trail trampled about, going through into the hall.

  Bizzie Nelson was bending over the body of a woman which lay on the floor. Ted could see that there were extensive injuries to her head. A hammer, already in an evidence bag, was sitting in the middle of the table.

  'There's your murder weapon. Our killer conveniently left it for you. Numerous blows to the head. I'll be able to give you chapter and verse on them from the post-mortem findings, but that might have to wait until Wednesday morning. We're backed up with the multiple fatality crash from the ring-road. Part of the reason I was paranoid about not driving, after dealing with the shocking aftermath of a drunken driver.'

  'It looks like there's been an awful lot of to-ing and fro-ing in here.'

  'I noticed that immediately. But I would imagine that whoever found her like this may well have panicked. I heard it was the teenage daughter, and that she was abducted?'

  'That's the initial information we have, but none of it is confirmed yet. She's been taken to hospital with a head wound. I'm going to phone to see when I can talk to her. Clearly, the sooner I can do that the better.'

  'We'll need her DNA, of course, as soon as possible, to help us untangle the crime scene and its secrets. I can already tell you that the body was moved. You can see that the wounds are principally, but not exclusively, towards the back of the head, so the victim was facing away from her killer. Over there is where the initial attack took place, but this is where she was found.'

  'Moved rather than crawled?'

  'Oh, I think so, definitely. The traces here in the blood would tend to suggest she was pulled along the floor. There's no sign of her having moved by herself. And over there, on the edge of that work surface, there's a bit of blood and some hair traces. The surface looks like granite, so it would be quite hard to impact against. There are some blonde hairs sticking there which, at a first superficial glance, are too light and too long to belong to the deceased. Possibly the origin of the daughter's head wound?'

  'It goes without saying that I need every inch of the house and garden gone over with a fine- tooth comb, but I know you and the team will be on it thoroughly. I'll go for a mooch round outside, see what Jo and Mike have found so far. Call me if there's anything else of interest.'

  'Hand your overalls in before you disappear, please,' the investigator who had let him in told him, although he knew there was no need. Ted knew the overalls he'd worn would have to be checked to see if he’d picked up any vital evidence and that if he needed to come back in, it would be in a clean set.

  In the end, Ted decided it would probably be as quick to drive round to the hospital for news of the daughter's condition than to waste time phoning. If it was a busy night, there'd be no one free to talk to him and if he happened to land on a Jobsworth, he could spend precious, frustrating minutes getting nowhere fast. At least in person - even if, at his size, he didn't look particularly impressive - he could wave his badge.

  He parked his car, put the Police sign on the dashboard, and headed for A&E. Even at this hour of the morning, there were plenty of people waiting. A young woman was staffing the reception desk and phones. Her smile was welcoming enough, even when Ted produced his card.

  'DCI Darling. I'm enquiring about a Morgane Edwards who was brought in earlier with a head injury. It's in connection with a police enquiry.'

  'Darling?' she smiled. 'That must cause you a few problems. Oh, I'm sorry, that was a bit tactless. Morgane has been taken through to cubicles to be examined. I'll see what I can find out for you. That's her father, over there; he's also waiting for news.'

  Ted looked in the direction she was indicating and saw a man who looked to be in his early forties, shifting impatiently in his seat, constantly crossing and recrossing his legs and glancing up at any sign of movement. He was solidly built. Ted thought he wouldn't look out of place on a local rugby team.

  'Is there somewhere I could have a quiet word with him, while we're waiting for news?'

  'Yes, you could take him to the relatives' room. I'll make sure someone knows where to find you. I think it's free at the moment.'

  Ted went across to the man, still holding his warrant card, which he showed him discreetly, not wanting to draw attention to either of them or to the reason for their presence there.

  'I wondered if we could have a quiet word, please, Mr Edwards? They know at reception where to find us, so they'll come and let you know as soon as there’s any news of your daughter.'

  Ted led the way to the relatives' room. He'd had to use it on various occasions in the past, so he knew where it was. He stood aside to usher the man in, then invited him to take a seat.

  'First of all, I'm very sorry about your wife.'

  'Ex-wife,' the man corrected him automatically. He looked shell-shocked, clearly unable to take everything in.

  'I apologise, we don't yet have much information. So, does your daughter live with her mother?'

  The man nodded then said, 'I don't even know how she is. I only saw her very briefly when they brought her in. She looked awful. A lot of blood...'

  'Please try not to worry, Mr Edwards, although I know it's hard. They do know where we are and someone will come and find us as soon as there's any news.

  'So did your ex-wife work? What did she do for a living?'

  'She's ... she was a solicitor. Criminal law. You've probably seen her in court, or maybe at the police station.'

  Ted frowned. The name meant nothing to him and he hadn't been able to recognise the battered figure he'd seen at the house.

  'She went back to her maiden name. Mason. Stephanie Mason. Morgane is Edwards.'

  Someone had got their wires crossed early on, Ted thought to himself. He'd need to update the whole team with the correct information. He also made a mental note that they would need to look into the possibility of any disgruntled clients, ones the victim hadn't managed to save from a conviction, especially from a custodial sentence. He did remember her. A formidable defence solicitor with a good reputation for winning tricky cases.

  'I'm sorry to sound as if I'm prying, but I do need to know facts as soon as possible in the enquiry, to have the best chance of getting justice for you, for Morgane and for your ex-wife. Was she involved with anyone
else, since the divorce? A new partner, anyone she was seeing?'

  The man shook his head wearily. He looked utterly bewildered by everything which was going on, a reaction Ted had seen so often in his career.

  'Tell me about your daughter. What age is she? Still at school?'

  Edwards nodded. For a moment he smiled with pride.

  'She's sixteen. Doing really well at school. She's very good at art and design. Hoping to go on to Loughborough.'

  'And what about friends? Boyfriends? Who does she spend her time with?'

  A noise like a derisive snort.

  'I can tell you don't have a teenage daughter, Inspector. She doesn't tell her dad that sort of thing. There is a boy she's friendly with, she told me, but it's mainly because he has a snake and it really fascinates her. The colours and textures, she says. She's drawn it, based a piece around it. But why are you asking about Morgane? She's the victim here, as much as Stephanie.'

  'It's often helpful to form a picture of people connected to the victims in some way. Cases like this involving total strangers are comparatively rare, so we would always begin by looking at anyone in the immediate circle of family and friends. Can you remember the name of the boy with the snake?'

  He shook his head, looking completely overwhelmed.

  'Not really. Mark? Matt? Max? Something like that.'

  At that moment, there was a brief knock on the door and a nurse came in.

  'Mr Edwards? We've finished with Morgane for now and she's asking for you. She seems to be fine but we're going to keep her in for a few hours yet, just to monitor her condition. That's routine with a head injury, so try not to worry too much. If you'd like to come with me, I'll take you to her. Just you at the moment, I'm afraid,' she added to Ted.

  The man leapt to his feet in evident relief. Ted rose as well and handed him one of his cards.

  'We will, of course, need to talk to Morgane as soon as possible. And we'll need her clothes, please, for forensic examination. Will you be taking her home with you when she's discharged?'

  When he nodded, Ted went on, 'Then please let me know as soon as we can come and talk to her. The sooner she can tell us everything she can remember, the more helpful it will be to the enquiry.'

  Ted's mobile beeped to announce a text message as he was walking back to his car. He was surprised to see from the screen that it was already gone eight o'clock. He realised he was feeling hungry and looking forward to a cup of tea, as soon as he could lay his hands on one. The text was from Trev.

  'Wow! Just saw it on the news. Nice neighbours we have. You ok? Go catch the bad guys! Txx'

  Ted reached his car and slid into the driver's seat. He decided to give Trev a quick ring.

  'I'm just taking five minutes so I thought I'd call. It's a grim one. I've no idea what time I'll get home tonight. I'll text you when I know. Sorry.'

  'Don't be daft. It's your job. I understand that. I'll see you when I see you. Just take care of yourself.'

  'We're all right, aren't we?'

  'Of course we're all right. Silly sod. Go get the baddies. Love you.'

  Ted decided to call at a café on the way back to pick up hot drinks and bacon rolls for himself, Jo and Mike. They'd done nearly a full day's work already and there was still a lot of ground to cover. At some point, they needed to get back to the station and bring the rest of the team up to date. Ted had already phoned Rob O'Connell to put him in charge until they got back. He also called Jim Baker to fill him in.

  'Anything so far to link it to any of the other cases?'

  'Nothing concrete yet. Just a slim coincidence in that she apparently knocks around with the lad with the snake sometimes, her father told me. I haven't been able to interview the daughter yet. They're keeping her in hospital for now, to make sure she's all right. The father will phone me as soon as she's released, then I'll go round there and get a statement from her, see what that throws up.'

  He phoned Mike before he left the café, to let him know he had breakfast for all of them, suggesting they walk down the road and meet him in Broadway for a short break. He didn't want them to be sitting in front of the house munching bacon rolls. It wouldn't give a good impression and he didn't want any more bad publicity. He guessed, from what Trev had said, that the press pack would be there already.

  Mike arrived first. He'd been doing door to door, talking to anyone he could find, asking standard questions, taking notes. No one he had come across had seen anything at all suspicious, but he had mostly been speaking to people who lived on Hillcrest Road itself. If the killer had come in the back way, across the field, they could conceivably have passed unnoticed. Mike hadn't gone round that way onto the field itself, not wanting to trample where the attacker might have walked before the investigators had had a chance to check for footprints.

  Jo came slightly later. He'd been helping to coordinate the search of the house, so he would have had to change out of coveralls before leaving the scene. He opened the rear door, slid on to the back seat and gratefully accepted the cardboard cup of hot coffee and the delicious-smelling roll, oozing grease through its paper bag, which the boss handed to him, between the two front seats.

  'Marvellous, boss, thanks. My belly thinks my throat's cut, despite looking at all the gore in there. You did well to avoid that, Mike. Oh, and boss, I have something for you in return.'

  He pulled a clear plastic evidence bag out of his coat pocket and passed it to Ted with the triumphant air of a magician who'd just found the correct card.

  Ted looked at it, then looked at Jo, who nodded.

  'Yes, boss, I think you'll find that that's the bridge off a violin. It was propped up on a bookcase in the lounge back there. Looking for all the world like a trophy on display.'

  Chapter Twenty

  Ted decided to leave his car where it was for now and walk back to the house. He wanted to touch base before leaving Jo to manage the crime scene. He and Mike would go back to the station to brief the rest of the team.

  As he walked the short distance, he saw a familiar, unwelcome figure lurking about amongst the small crowd of onlookers and cameras standing near the taped-off area, craning his neck to see what was going on.

  'I wonder if I can arrest our favourite news-hound for being in possession of offensive teeth?' he joked quietly to the other two, then forced a smile as he said aloud, 'Alastair, fancy seeing you here.'

  'Morning, Ted. You're on this case, then? Not been called away to deal with any dead bunny rabbits or poorly parrots?'

  Ted gritted his teeth at the inappropriate humour, but there were too many people about for him to risk the response he felt like giving.

  'I'm SIO on this case, Alastair, and it's receiving my undivided attention, like all my cases. Now, I'm just off back to the station, where I'll see to it that you're the first to get a press release on this. In the meantime, if you have any questions, I'll leave you in the capable hands of DI Rodriguez.'

  He knew Jo would be more than a match for the reporter. He went to the front door once more and asked for Professor Nelson to come out to him, to save him dressing up again. He asked her to keep him posted on when the body was being removed, and when the post-mortem would be. He could have sent Jo to that, as he was currently managing the crime scene, but he preferred to take it himself.

  'I'm leaving Jo Rodriguez in charge here for now, so if there's anything you need, he's your man.'

  'I do like your gold-toothed friend. So very charming.'

  Ted chuckled to himself as he walked back to the car. He wondered if there was any woman anywhere that Jo wouldn't try flirting with. He'd probably made the Professor's day, coming on to her. Ted was one of the few people who knew that the inspector with the wolfish smile, which revealed the gilded tooth, was all talk and definitely no action, thanks to a feisty Spanish wife who ruled the roost at home.

  Ted had arranged to talk to the Ice Queen after the briefing, and Jim Baker would be coming over to sit in on both meetings, then to catc
h up with Ted afterwards. The way this case was going, they were going to need to expand the team, so Ted was anxious to talk to both his senior officers, the purse-string holders.

  'Right, we now have our first possible link to the Luke Martin case,' he told his team, at the start of the morning briefing.

  He held up the bagged violin bridge found at the scene, which he would be sending off to the lab shortly. He wasn't sure if the forensics team would be able to match it exactly to the violin, but he hoped they would get something from it which would be of use to them.

  'This does give more weight to Jezza's trophy killer theory. Jo found it on a bookcase at the Hillcrest Road crime scene. You'll get the photos of it in situ, but he did say it was on display there, rather like a trophy. So it is just possible that the killer brought it with him to leave at the scene. We shouldn't overlook the outside chance that it was already there, for some reason; also that it's not connected to the case in any way. It might not be the same one, but it is a coincidence and I don't like coincidences.'

  'Steve, I want you to continue trying to find out anything you can online about trophy killers and their motivation, particularly those who take something from one scene and leave it at another. Now, there's something of a time-lag here, if it was our killer who left it. They've had it for two years before they left it somewhere. Is that unusual?

  'Maurice, anything at all in the files you've been looking at, on people who do that kind of thing? Let's check if there's anyone on our patch with form for doing something similar. Any cases where something was taken from the scene and never found? I want it all recorded and flagged up.

  'As soon as I get word that she's fit to interview, I want to go and talk to the daughter in this case, obviously. She might have vital information for us. Megan, I might need you with me on that one, please.'

  He mentioned the possible link to Max Newman, the owner of the snake. It was an angle that would need investigating.

  'Rob, what news of this ex of Tyler's mother? Have you tracked him down yet?'