‘I don’t know what I’m looking for.’ Mike was getting tetchy, but Oates lifted both hands to point.
‘It’s up in the big branch that curves over your head.’
‘Is it a ball?’ Anna asked, gazing upwards.
‘No, it’s a riding hat. See, the strap is caught, the chin guard is hooked over a branch and it’s probably full of water by now, but that’s my marker.’
‘How did you get it up there?’ Anna asked.
‘Threw it, of course, chucked it up. I mean, you’d never notice it was there if you didn’t know about it, right?’
They left two officers to get the hat down, while the rest of them walked on.
Oates still led them and gradually the wood began to get less dense and the ground beneath their feet grew soggy. It looked as if at one time a number of trees had toppled into the quarry, as there were many dangerous roots just waiting to trip someone up and a couple of trunks lay on their sides rotting in the wet clay. There was a shout from behind them and yet again everyone halted. It turned out to be the officers who had retrieved the riding hat, which they now handed to Anna. The velvet was covered in moss, and inside it was full of cones and broken twigs. She gently rubbed the moss away from the protective padding and although it was badly faded she could make out the name Rebekka Jordan written in marker pen. She asked one of the officers to take the helmet back to the forensic tent. Oates was getting impatient. ‘Come on, what are we waiting for?’
The path was now wide enough for Anna and Mike to walk either side of Oates and then it opened up onto flat ground.
‘Watch your step, this is all crumbling, so take it easy cos you slide and you’re going down into the pit,’ Oates warned.
Rather ominously they were now at the edge of the wood overlooking the giant quarry. From their position they could see all their vehicles and men waiting across on the other side of the quarry. To their right, about two hundred metres away at the lowest part of the old quarry, they could make out the pond area and the marine unit busily working away searching through the cloudy water.
‘Step back, please, Mr Oates.’ Mike was concerned he would jump and kill himself, but he laughed.
‘You’ll have to get a bit closer, pal. Look down and you’ll see a ledge, it’s about twelve feet down, then there’s another one below that, and then it’s free fall to the bottom.’
Oates was not at all out of breath and made a gleeful point of telling everyone that he was more athletic and fitter than any of them. He indicated where he had slithered over the sloping side of the quarry.
‘I was shit-scared, I admit it, cos it was pitch-black and I didn’t know if I was done for, but I was on me back as I slid and I almost dropped her. I had her by the hair and we just came to a stop. Got to remember I had the shovel in me hands as well.’
Mike sighed; this was going to be a more formidable task than anyone had anticipated as the gradient of the slope was not only extremely steep but everything was dangerously wet and slippery. To bring in the winch vehicle or heavy excavating equipment through the woods would be impossible. The uniformed sergeant, who was the search adviser from the POLSA team, suggested to Mike that they drop further abseiling ropes from where they were standing down to the ledge. This would allow one of his men to descend to the ledge and then drop rope ladders and harnessing equipment to the bottom of the quarry. His team, who were still at base, could then go down into the quarry pit using the winch and abseiling lines already set up by the operation’s base on the opposite side. They would then be able to cross the floor of the pit and climb up to the ledge indicated by Oates.
Oates told them he had buried Rebekka somewhere along the first ledge, and then he had dug another grave further along and the others were on the second, wider ledge.
‘How did you get back up from down there?’ Anna asked.
‘Clawed up, used the shovel as a chisel – ground was quite hard then, so I could get a good grip. It took me a long time, but there are lots of tree roots to hang onto so that made it easier. I also got another route to show you, one I found later; it’s easier, but it’s further along and that’s where I took the other girls.’
They followed Oates along the crumbling edge of the wood to another section, which was less steep, and with a vast amount of roots. Now there was another ledge visible.
An hour later they were driving back to the base. Everyone was covered in clay and chalk dust, their boots thick and crusted with it. Oates was taken back to the police wagon, where he would be given a hot drink and some food. It was nine-thirty.
Mike was surrounded by his team as he pinpointed on the map the areas where Oates claimed to have buried the bodies. As the search adviser had anticipated, it was felt that it would be less dangerous to go down into the main quarry, cross and climb upwards rather than attempt to go over the ridge, as it would be difficult to get all the equipment over there and through the woods. They already had the ropes in place ready for the men to abseil down. Mike now gave the order for the helicopter to circle the quarry and use its high-definition cameras to look for any noticeable ground disturbances in the areas indicated by Oates.
Barolli was still concerned that the other helicopter, which they’d noticed earlier circling the quarry, wasn’t one of theirs. They had been unable to see it whilst walking in the woods, but now Mike watched as it came into view again. It circled the entire perimeter of the quarry and swooped audaciously low over the gaping pit, at which point they could read on its side: News Flight Aviation.
‘It’s the fucking press!’ Mike shouted above the noise. He wondered helplessly how they could get the damned thing ordered out of the area.
‘When our lads fly in, they’ll put the wind up them,’ Anna said, glancing over to the parked BMW. Kumar was sitting in the passenger seat staring at them. ‘Somebody bloody tipped them off and I wouldn’t put it past that slimeball.’
Barolli agreed. Kumar had ventured out from his car twice, to get refreshments, but otherwise nobody was speaking to him. He had been seen on his mobile phone a great deal. Mike asked if Anna would go and talk to him, to inform him that his client had been of assistance. It almost choked him to use the word assistance, as it had been obvious to them all that Oates was thoroughly relishing all the attention.
Kumar lowered his window and then turned in surprise as Anna opened the passenger door and got in beside him. She liked the fact that her mud-covered wellington boots left thick stains on the car’s pale blue fitted carpet.
‘Mr Oates has been very informative and has given us the locations where he claims he buried his victims. We have also retrieved Rebekka Jordan’s riding hat; he used it as a marker to find the way to get rid of his other victims.’
‘I would like to talk to him.’
‘I’m afraid for security reasons you will have to have armed officers present, so any consultation will not be private. He is being very helpful and we may need to take him down into the quarry, but if you wish to climb down as well I am sure I can arrange for you to do so.’
‘I don’t think that will be necessary.’
‘Can I also ask that you do not use your phone as we have our helicopter coming in to check the area, so mobiles have to be turned off.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, really, Mr Kumar. As you may have seen, we have another helicopter circling which belongs to the press. Extraordinary, isn’t it? But some idiot must have tipped them off that we were here. Let’s just hope there isn’t some God-awful accident, but we’ll get the local air traffic control onto them as soon as possible.’
‘I’ve heard it circling.’
‘Have you now – sad, isn’t it? We are here trying to uncover the victims your client claims he murdered and buried. And yet it’s possible that before we are able to identify the bodies and inform relatives there could be photographs splashed over every paper.’
Kumar turned away from her.
‘You know the names of these women,’ Anna went on. ‘If
it is leaked in any way that we are looking for their remains, then it must be obvious the information came from someone very close to the investigation. I know it’s none of my team, so that leaves . . .’
‘I don’t like what you are implying, Detective Travis.’
‘Really? Well I dislike intensely anyone who feels that media attention will be beneficial to their career. You’ll get your moments of hype at the trial of your client. Meanwhile, keep off your mobile or I’ll have you arrested for obstructing a police investigation, not to mention the more serious offence of perverting the course of justice!’
‘Would you please get out of my car?’
‘Can’t wait.’
She slammed the door so hard the car rocked, then she headed back to where Mike and the search teams were gathered ready to begin the climb down into the quarry pit.
Marked up on maps were crosses indicating where Oates said he had buried the victims. Mike decided that the first body they should attempt to exhume would be Rebekka Jordan’s. Although on a high ledge it looked more secure than the other areas pointed out by Oates. The police helicopter observer radioed down to Mike that they couldn’t see any unusual disturbances in the area, but there was a lot of moss covering the ledge, which had obviously re-grown over the five years since she was buried. Mike was keen to avoid taking Oates down into the quarry and across onto the ledge, as he knew if anything happened to him there would be serious repercussions. He decided that a team of four plus the archaeologist should go and examine the ledge for any signs of evidence that might pinpoint the exact spot. The archaeologist chose this moment to tell an increasingly agitated Mike that he suffered from vertigo and there was no way he could go near the edge or down into the quarry. He hadn’t admitted this before as he hadn’t thought the pit would be so deep.
Anna stood by watching as the four search officers began abseiling down into the quarry. The winch vehicle was brought in to lower the equipment the men needed and then they made their way across to the opposite side and attached themselves to the abseiling ropes that had now been put in position. The police helicopter came in low, hovering above the team base, the blades creating a storm of chalk dust. The air grew thick and many officers began reaching for their face masks so Mike radioed to the helicopter to go higher.
It was almost two o’clock by the time two of the team had abseiled down into the quarry to join their colleague who had already descended to the ledge from the wooded side. He had fixed two rope ladders and pulleys to haul up not only all the digging tools but also additional safety equipment to harness themselves to the ledge. It was all frustratingly slow. The quarry walls were breaking up and the ledge, already extremely slippery in some areas from the moss, was crumbling away. The rain started spitting at first, which in some ways helped as it kept the chalk dust down, but it also added to the dangers as the ledge became even more slippery.
Mike banged on the wagon door. The team on the ledge had found nothing unusual to indicate the location of Rebekka’s body so he decided he had no option but to ask Oates if he would be willing to assist the search team further. Oates agreed to be winched down into the quarry and then climb up the other side onto the ledge and point out the burial site. Kumar had been present and Oates had been very positive, but the search officers were wary about him joining them on the ledge. Kumar, egged on by Oates, complained about his client’s safety if he had to continue to wear handcuffs. Mike and Anna conferred, but they really had no option but to agree as it was very obviously a steep climb up and down from the ledge. Mike told Oates that the handcuffs would be removed but the armed officers would accompany him. If he pulled any stunts then he would be returned to the police wagon and they would continue without him.
Oates was behaving himself, smiling and showing off. He had to wait for the armed guards to reach the bottom before he was allowed to make his way down via a harness attached to the winch.
Anna and Mike looked down as Oates was winched to the bottom of the quarry and then crossed with the officers to the ledge opposite where a safety harness was attached to him before he climbed up the rope ladder. He was very fit and agile, using his physical strength to pull himself quickly up onto the ledge to join the search team. Mike passed his binoculars to Anna and she was able to see Oates waving his hands around and then guiding the search team further along the ledge. She saw him pointing downwards and nodding.
‘Christ, he’s even helping them dig – take a look.’
‘I can see,’ Mike snapped, clearly frustrated at not being a part of the physical activity. He turned up the collar of his protective suit. The rain was still coming down, thankfully not heavily, but it was nevertheless making visibility more difficult, especially for the two cameramen recording the entire operation. Mike was in constant radio contact with the helicopter, explaining that if a grave was uncovered they could have another flight to check over the lower ledge.
Anna lowered the binoculars. Even without them she could see four men digging and one who was hacking at the side of the ledge as Oates kept digging alongside them. Then he was shaking his head and turning this way and that.
‘I don’t think they’ve got the right spot . . . they’re moving further along. This is ridiculous, Mike – he couldn’t have spent all that much time digging up there by himself. The chalk and clay is pretty hard, so it had to have been somewhere more shallow.’
Mike turned away, pressing his earpiece.
‘They got something.’
The excitement was awful; it was so inappropriate to what was happening. But the team on the ledge gave the thumbs-up, and then they put down their spades and started to use their hands to clear the surface clay and chalk as the forensic officers made their way down into the quarry.
‘Bring him back,’ Mike ordered.
The first thing the team found were Rebekka’s riding boots. As the clay was delicately scraped back they could see they had a very decomposed body, virtually a skeleton. Oates climbed back down and made his way across the quarry to be winched up. As he reached the top he was handcuffed again.
‘I found her,’ he said, smiling.
He didn’t like being taken back to the wagon, and complained once more that he was claustrophobic, but after they cajoled him and arranged for food to be provided, he acquiesced and went inside.
It took a long time for the body to be excavated by the three forensic officers who were now working on the ledge. Eventually the remains were placed into an airtight body bag and lowered down into the pit and then taken across to a metal caged stretcher, which had been attached to the winch. They could not use the helicopter to lift the body as the downdraught would be too dangerous for anyone on the ledge, but by four-thirty the body was finally lifted out of the quarry. They carried the body bag into the forensic tent, where Anna and Mike stood outside watching.
The helicopter went back into action, scanning the lower ledge as the forensic team began to descend for a break. The rain was still coming down and rain capes had been handed out. At least it stopped the dust.
As the black body bag was unzipped Anna moved closer. It was without doubt Rebekka Jordan, even though her long hair, caked in clay, was no longer attached to her skull. The jodhpurs, riding boots and sweater were still in reasonable condition. The jacket was in shreds. Nobody touched her; the bag was zipped up and she was taken to the mortuary van.
‘One down, four to go,’ Mike said quietly.
The helicopter circled for the fifth time. Suddenly they radioed that they had found an area of possible disturbance near a small very narrow pathway that was invisible from the forensic tent.
‘Big enough for us to get through?’ demanded Mike.
Back came the distorted voice, warning that it was doubtful, but that it was conceivable a dog could make its way round to the ledge.
Not long after this news, Langton’s old brown Rover came splashing through the puddles and parked behind Kumar’s BMW. Barolli plodded over with a rain cape a
nd boots. Langton pulled on the boots, but ignored the rain cape. He waved across to Anna before he headed over.
‘Mike sent me a text saying that you’d found Rebekka. I’ve been trying to track down who instigated that bloody press helicopter. I’d place a bet that it’s Kumar hoping for front-page news so he can allege Oates won’t get a fair trial. Anyway, air traffic control is onto it now.’
‘Yeah, I’d put my money on it being him too,’ she said, pulling her hood up as they made their way over to the mortuary van. Langton took a long time looking at the remains of the child it had taken five years to find. He asked that they take her straight to the mortuary, as he wanted a post mortem done as soon as possible.
‘Maybe wait – when we find the other bodies they’ll need to be taken to the mortuary as well,’ Anna suggested.
‘There’s a second van on standby and judging by how long it’s taken you to find her I doubt we’ll be uncovering the others until . . .’ He looked at his wristwatch. ‘Christ, it’ll be getting dark soon. I’ve not got this whole circus for another day, you know. Why is it taking so long?’
Annoyed with him, she walked off without answering. If he’d seen what they had been up against all day he’d have bloody known.
Langton, still refusing to put on his rain cape, joined Mike, who was at the catering wagon ordering sandwiches and coffee. They had pulled out a canopy for shelter, but the rainwater was flowing off the sides as if it was coming from a tap, creating an ever-deepening muddy puddle. Anna, who was with Barolli, could see that they were having a heated argument. Barolli pulled at his cape as the rain was dripping down his neck.
Mike came over to report that Langton wanted the burial sites found today, so he could cut the number of officers at the quarry by half and the digging-out could be done the next day. Anna remarked how Langton had already complained to her about the time they were taking. Mike was not happy.
‘I’d like to see him bloody climbing up and down those frigging rope ladders; it’s already very slippery and the rain’s getting worse.’
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