by Sally Rigby
‘I’ll second that,’ Frank said.
‘Me, too.’ Doug added.
‘I’d like to sit down and compare notes,’ Brian said. ‘Technology is my thing, too.’
‘Um … okay,’ Ellie said.
Whitney glanced at her new sergeant. Was he trying to muscle in on Ellie’s territory? Assisting was one thing … taking over another. She’d keep an eye on things and make sure it didn’t happen.
‘Now that you’ve all introduced yourselves, we will—’ The door opening interrupted her.
In walked the new detective superintendent. Helen Clyde.
Chapter 2
‘Good morning, team,’ Detective Superintendent Helen Clyde said as she looked first at Whitney and then to the rest of them. ‘Welcome to the newly formed Lenchester CID. I’m sure I will get to know you all in time. Do you have any questions?’ She looked around, but no one said anything. For once, even Frank kept quiet. ‘I’m sure if you do, DCI Walker will answer them for you.’ She turned to Whitney. ‘We have a case. Let’s discuss it in your office.’
Whitney frowned. Surely the new super wasn’t going to be dishing out cases for them. It would be way below her pay grade. They’d come directly to Whitney before, as was procedure.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
The team was quiet as she walked behind Clyde and they made their way to Whitney’s office. The super was tall, maybe even taller than George. She was in her late forties, and had short, sleek dark hair, which she’d tucked neatly behind her ears.
Had the super come up through the fast track? Whitney would definitely be enquiring. Not that she was going to let that interfere with their relationship, although she had no patience for people who hadn’t worked their way up through the force like she had. Her previous boss, Jamieson, was fast tracked and his knowledge of police work was slim, to say the least. But he had now gone after being appointed as Head of Intelligence Analysis for the South Wales Police. She had enjoyed his leaving party, in more ways than one. George had advised against her giving him a police manual as a leaving present when she’d suggested it.
‘Please take a seat,’ Whitney said as they entered her office. She gestured to the coffee table so they couldn’t be seen by the rest of the team.
‘Whitney, it’s good to meet with you again. Is there anything you would like to ask me before I tell you about this case?’ Clyde asked once they were both seated.
‘Yes, ma’am. Are you planning to be distributing all the cases we take on or is it just this one?’
She had to get it out in the open, or it would be playing on her mind all day.
‘Definitely not,’ Clyde said, laughing. ‘You don’t need me breathing down your neck all the time.’
Whitney exhaled the breath that she’d been holding for what seemed like ages. Thank goodness for that.
‘No, ma’am.’
‘It just so happened I was there when this one came in and as I wanted to meet you and the team together to introduce myself, I said I would pass it on.’
‘That makes sense, ma’am. I did think it a bit strange. What’s the case?’
‘Five days ago, skeletal remains from two bodies were found on a building site at Oak Tree Farm. Part of the farm had been designated for housing development, and the bodies were found after they’d started digging. The building work has now been suspended while the investigation takes place.’
‘I know the farm, ma’am. It’s five miles north of Lenchester.’
She also remembered that all hell had broken out in the community when the council had given permission for the development, because of what it would do to the countryside. There were petitions galore, but none were successful.
‘You come from around here, don’t you, Whitney?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘I remember in your interview we spoke about you not wanting to progress up the ladder and that you were happy to remain a DCI. Is that still the case?’
Not this conversation again. Not everyone wanted to hit the dizzy heights of superintendent and above.
‘That’s correct.’
‘I see. Did you ever consider working at another force, bearing in mind this is the only one you’ve experienced?’ Clyde tilted her head to one side.
‘I have personal reasons for wanting to remain in Lenchester.’ Maybe once they got to know each other better she’d explain more fully, but for now this would have to suffice.
The super nodded. ‘I understand. We’re lucky to have you here, in that case. Other forces would have snapped you up in an instant should you have applied to any of them.’
Whitney allowed herself a smile. It appeared she was going to get on very well with her new boss. That should make her life much easier and would certainly put them on a more even keel. George would be happy about that.
‘Thank you. I appreciate you telling me that.’
‘I think you’re going to like the new squad we’ve put together, there are a lot of useful skills in there which you can utilise.’
‘Yes, ma’am. I’m pleased to have three of my old members, and I’m sure the others will slot in well. I also wanted to ask you about Dr Cavendish, the forensic psychologist we’ve worked with before. Do you have any objections to the relationship continuing? I’ve always had a budget put aside for her.’
‘I’m all for having a multidisciplinary approach, so continue using the doctor when you need to.’
‘Thank you, ma’am. I’ll go to the site and take DS Chapman.’
‘Report back to me once you’re done there. I want to know, as soon as possible, how long the bodies have been there, as we need to be mindful of the resource implications of investigating deaths from many years ago.’
Whitney’s heart sank. Clyde had given the impression she wanted to keep her distance, but this sounded like she wanted constant updates on every step of the investigation.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘I like to operate in a fairly hands-off manner, but I do expect to be kept informed of major developments.’
That wasn’t the impression she was giving. Whitney had initially thought it was going to work out well between them, now she wasn’t so sure. It would be a case of wait and see.
‘Yes, ma’am, I understand.’
‘This is going to be the start of a very successful and effective team, I’m absolutely sure of it.’
The super opened the door leading out into the corridor which saved her from walking through the incident room. Whitney watched her striding away. It would work well, providing Clyde left her alone. She had no desire to butt heads, yet again, with her superior officer.
She returned to the incident room and stood next to the board.
‘Listen up, everyone, we’ve got our first case. Skeletal remains from two bodies have been found at Oak Tree Farm.’
She wrote up the name of the farm on the board behind her.
‘Isn’t that the building site for all those new homes?’ Doug asked.
‘The place where they’re going to build two hundred little boxes,’ Frank added.
‘It’s part of Lenchester’s development plan. We’ve no idea how long the bodies have been there, although it will have been for some time as they’re reduced to bones. Brian, you and I are going to visit the scene,’ Whitney said.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Guv,’ both Frank and Doug called out at the same time.
‘Sorry, I mean, guv.’
‘You’ll get used to it. Ellie, I want you to start researching the development. See if there were any issues during the planning application process, I know there was a huge amount of opposition at the time, which was unsuccessful.’
‘Will do, guv,’ Ellie said.
‘Frank, you can look into the farm, and its owners. See if there’s anything useful there. Doug and Meena, you two look at missing persons cases, in particular those concerning two people. We’re going to need to identify the bodies as soon as we can.’
‘Yes, guv,’ Doug said.
‘Brian, what car do you drive?’
‘A Volkswagen Golf,’ he replied.
‘New, or old and crappy?’ she enquired.
‘It’s two years old, guv,’ he said, frowning.
That suited her.
‘In that case, you can drive. I’m sure it’s a lot more comfortable than my old Ford Focus. I’ll direct you to the site as I’m assuming you don’t know where Oak Tree Farm is.’
‘No, guv. But my satnav will find it.’
Of course it would. Why hadn’t she thought of that?
She retrieved her jacket and bag and they left the room.
‘What do you think of the new station?’ she asked as they headed down the corridor towards the lift.
‘It’s much more comfortable than Willsden, which was run-down. The designers have done a good job.’
‘We’ve got all the latest equipment, which is allegedly going to help us in our interviews, although I’m going to need someone to show me how to use it.’
Did she sound like a dinosaur? Probably. She wasn’t, apart from where technology was concerned. There she had a blind spot.
‘It’s easy, you’ll soon get the hang of it,’ Brian said, his voice a tad on the patronising side.
‘Good. Glad to hear it,’ Whitney replied, ignoring his tone. ‘Let’s go and see about these two bodies.’
Chapter 3
‘Take a left up here.’ Whitney pointed to the track leading to Oak Tree Farm.
‘That’s not the direction the satnav is showing, guv,’ Brian said.
‘It’s a shortcut locals know of. Trust me, it will take a good few minutes off our journey.’
‘Okay, providing I don’t get my car too dirty.’
Not another person precious over his car. He was as bad as George. She glanced out of the window. It was a typical December morning, cold, windy and with a damp mist in the air. The car wasn’t going to stay clean, whichever route they took.
‘I’m sure you can run it through the car wash if you do.’ Though if he was anything like George, he’d wash it by hand in case it got scratched. She’d never understand people who loved their cars that much.
He turned and drove down the track, encountering potholes every few yards. Through the wing mirror, she saw dirt splashing up the sides of his ultra clean car. She wouldn’t tell him. He could find out for himself.
‘Where is it?’ Brian said after they’d been driving a couple of miles, an impatient tone in his voice.
‘Not much further and we’ll be there,’ she said to reassure him, despite not being sure. It was a shortcut she knew, but it had been years since she’d taken it.
‘Okay,’ he muttered.
They continued driving, and she breathed a sigh of relief when eventually a large piece of flattened land, surrounded by a police cordon, came into view.
Two yellow diggers stood on the track beside the blocked off area and Brian parked in front of them.
‘Mind where you walk, it’s very boggy,’ she said, getting out of the car and stepping onto the mud.
She glanced down at her black work boots, which were already caked in mud, as were her trouser legs. She should have brought her wellies with her, but they were in the boot of her car.
They ducked under the cordon and made their way to a large hole surrounded by bollards, which presumably was where the bodies had been found.
‘It’s strange that someone buried the bodies in the middle of an open field,’ Brian said.
‘It hasn’t always been like this. I’m fairly certain there were trees and bushes dividing the different fields, before all this land was cleared for the development. The farmer will confirm that when we speak to him.’
‘So, this is going to be a housing estate,’ Brian said as he scanned the place.
‘Yes, unfortunately. People complained, but it fell on deaf ears as the county has a housing shortage. Perish the thought we get in the way of progress,’ she said, grimacing.
‘I don’t see anything wrong with having housing developments rather than empty fields. It makes perfect sense to me,’ Brian said.
‘You’re clearly not from the country, then,’ she said.
In theory, nor was she, but her parents had often taken her away from the city when she was young, and she’d made a point of doing the same with Tiffany. It gave her an appreciation of an alternative way of life.
‘No, I’ve always lived in a city. The closest I got to a farm was on a school trip, when I was eight. I got bitten by a so-called tame goat and that was it for me.’
Whitney bit back a smile at the image.
‘You’ll find people around here like the city, but also like having the countryside on their doorstep so they can enjoy it. I’m not going to get into a conversation about the legitimacy of the development, though, as it’s a contentious issue and we probably won’t agree.’
‘No, guv,’ Brian said.
She headed over to the hole from which the bodies had been taken, the mud squishing each time she placed her foot on the ground.
‘There’s not a lot here to see, apart from the digger’s track marks,’ she said, walking carefully around the perimeter. ‘All we’ve got are two holes in the ground. Let’s go to the farmhouse and have a chat with the farmer. He might be able to give us some more information.’
‘Agreed, guv. Hardly worth getting so dirty over.’ He grimaced and Whitney glanced at the state of his shoes and trousers. Did he regret wearing such expensive clothes to work?
They retraced their steps back to the car and drove to the large stone farmhouse, which was a further hundred yards down the track. It was three storeys tall and had a large open barn to the left of it, which was used as a garage, judging by the number of cars in there. She knocked on the racing-green wooden door and waited. She was about to try again, when it was opened by a man in his early fifties, with unruly, curly grey hair, and a deep lined forehead.
‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Walker and this is Detective Sergeant Chapman. Do you own the farm?’
‘Yes, I’m Anthony Gibson.’
‘We’d like to talk to you about the human remains found on your land.’
‘I assumed they were human, after seeing them, but nobody would confirm when I asked. People have been here for days digging up my land. Finally, they left yesterday afternoon.’
‘A forensic dig to recover remains properly isn’t a quick job. There are protocols which have to be followed, and samples taken. They would have examined a wider area than where the actual bodies were buried, looking for forensic evidence and more remains.’
‘I understand all that, but I need someone in charge to give me permission to resume the building work. Is that you? I asked the person who seemed to be leading the dig, but he said it wasn’t for them to decide. We’re on a tight deadline and can’t afford to get behind. Losing five days is bad enough, any more could be disastrous.’
She scrutinised his face. Did he have no compassion? People had died on his land, and even if it was hundreds of years ago, he should show some respect.
‘No work can be undertaken at present as this is a crime scene,’ she said, coolly.
‘How can it be a crime scene when people have walked all over it for God knows how many years? I’m assuming it’s years as there were only bones found.’
‘We’ll let you know as soon as you’re allowed to start work again, in the meantime we’d like to talk to you,’ she said, as a gust of icy wind whistled around them and she pulled her coat tightly around her.
‘Come inside,’ he said, opening the door fully. ‘We’ll go through to the kitchen down the hall. The Aga’s on so it’s warm in there.’
They left their muddy footwear outside, beside the front door, and followed him through the hall into a farmhouse kitchen with a flagstone floor. At one end was an Aga, next to a conventional oven and hob. In the middle stood a large eight-seater oak table. He gestured for them to
take a seat.
‘Would you like a coffee or tea?’
‘Coffee would be lovely, thanks.’ Whitney loosened her coat as the heat from the Aga warmed her.
‘Same for me,’ Brian said.
Whitney nodded her approval. Matt had always refused drinks for some reason. After placing the filled cups on the table, Mr Gibson sat opposite them.
‘How many of you live here?’ Whitney asked.
‘Five. Me and my wife, who’s visiting a friend in London today. Our fifteen-year-old twin boys, who are at school, and my father who moved back in here a few years ago after my mother died.’
‘How long have you been here?’
‘The farm has been in the family for over one hundred and fifty years. I grew up here and after going to agricultural college went to work in Dorset. I moved back with my family to one of the farm cottages twenty years ago, to help run the farm. My father handed over the reins ten years ago, and we moved into the farmhouse. He moved into one of the cottages with my mother.’
‘What can you tell us about the housing development?’ Whitney took a notebook and pen from her pocket. Although she had some knowledge, it was always better to get it from the source and not the reports in the media, which were bound to have been exaggerated.
‘We’re building two hundred houses on the land, a mix of two, three, and four-bedroom properties. There’ll be houses to suit all budgets. We’re also planning to build a grocery shop, a takeaway, and a small community centre. It’ll be a sought-after place to live.’
‘What made you decide to use the land for development, rather than continuing farming it?’ Whitney asked.
‘Financial reasons. The farm hasn’t been doing well recently, what with the reduction in subsidies and the erratic weather we’ve been having. The upkeep costs are astronomical, far higher than most people realise, and the fields weren’t being used. So, after much deliberation and discussions with the family, I went into partnership with a local developer. We still have a thousand acres left to farm to the east.’ He pointed out through the kitchen window to an area in the distance.
