Dead Sweet: A D.I. Turnbull mystery

by Sally O'Brien

  Mandy knew she was about to die. She kicked and bucked, fighting against her handcuff restraints, but Terry held on tightly to the funnel and began to chant over and over, "Fat girl, fat girl, fat girl, fat girl."

  The chanting continued as Terry watched Mandy die on the bed. As the bucking reduced to twitching and the sherbet came up through to the open circle of plastic, now fully packed in Mandy's lungs, nowhere else to go but to overflow from the funnel, Terry's chants turned into silent cheers.

  "Yes and the fat girl dies," Terry whispered, throwing gloved hands into the air in celebration.

  Terry reached back into the bag on the floor and produced a huge sack of sweets. "Time to feed the fat girl," Terry said, taking a shiny metal scalpel from a pocket. Terry licked at the sherbet on the gloves and chewed on a boiled sweet taken from the sack, sucking intently on the fruity taste as the scalpel made its first incision into Mandy's silicone enhanced breast.

  Chapter Two

  Friday July 5th 2013

  09:30 hours

  Detective Inspector Todd 'Todger' Turnbull was enjoying some banter with the property officer at Olinsbury Police Station. Paul Ward had been in charge of the property store for as long as anyone working in the station could remember. He had seen hundreds if not thousands of police officers and civilian staff come in the front doors of the station and wished them well when they made their way back out of them, heading for promotion or pastures new.

  The property store was an integral part of the police station, it was where all property which had been seized was recorded and stored until the police could use it in evidence at court. Drugs would be stored until they were sent for destruction, knives and guns were put through the property store until they could also be destroyed and lost property was held until the owner could be found. Paul was in charge of every scrap of property which landed on his desk and he took his job very seriously; often staying past the end of his normal day so he could ensure the property was stored correctly.

  Todd admired Paul's handling of the property store. Paul had never lost any of Todd's property and always seemed able to find something within minutes even though it may be in one of a thousand boxes, stacked one on top of the other in the back room. Paul was smart, efficient and always happy to take a minute out of his busy day to share some friendly conversation and discuss the affairs of the police station.

  Paul's easy going nature, his efficiency at his job and the fact the property store was hidden away in the basement of the station where a sneaky cigarette could be had, made Paul very popular with cops and civilians alike. If anyone fancied a conversation, then heading to the property store was a safe bet.

  Todd had initially gone to the property store in order to sort out his property list, he had a long list of exhibits attached to his name and he needed to do some maintenance on it and make sure property was returned or destroyed as needed, so the stores didn't become unmanageable with countless unnecessary items. Paul had sent Todd a couple of polite reminders and he finally had some down time so made his way to the basement. When he had arrived at the stores, however, all notion of work had left his mind as Paul had immediately started a conversation about Wimbledon and how fantastically Andy Murray had played to win the entire tournament. Todd was now on his second cup of coffee and very aware that it was almost time to review the prisoners who had been arrested that day to see if any of them required the CID to get involved.

  "Right Paul, come on, let's stop fannying about. I've written against each one what needs to happen, can you deal with them like that?" Todd handed over his computer printout which he had written on in bright red pen.

  "Yes Guv, no problem." Paul took the list and began to read it.

  "Helloooo," A cheery voice echoed along the empty corridor. Todd and Paul turned to look out of the property store door to see an extremely large woman sashaying her way towards them. She was white-skinned, tinged with red tones after too long in the summer sun. Her bright red hair fell in curls from a pile on top of her head, garish make-up added extra colour to her blue eyes, chubby cheeks and many chins.

  "Don't be intimidated by my beauty." She smiled at them, swinging her hips from side to side, almost touching the walls of the narrow hallway as she filled it with her bulk. Todd laughed at the woman's comment.

  "You could never intimidate me Tessa." He smiled at her, "Whoo, what a woman." He said as he took her hand and turned her in a jive circle.

  "Oh Todd, you know how to treat a girl." Tessa laughed. Todd had known Tessa for two months now, ever since she had begun her role as a station reception officer. Tessa Small was a rule unto herself. She made no distinction between officers and their ranks, calling everybody by their first name. Todd hadn't minded, but when the Borough Commander pointed out his rank to her, she had politely informed him that she was not a police officer but was a work colleague and choosing to be equal in the workplace, she would not be using the police ranking system. Totally unprecedented, but perfectly reasonable, a flustered Borough Commander who had been reduced from Sir to just plain George, had removed himself from the station office and was yet to be seen in there again, especially when Tessa was in situ.

  "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Paul smiled at Tessa, who was still twirling under Todd's arm. She didn't reply, instead smiling up at Todd.

  "When you're ready," Paul admonished.

  Todd laughed, "Sorry Paul, she's just so damn sexy."

  "You know it." Tessa said as she released herself from Todd's grip. "Just got something for the sharps bin, some old dear is cleaning out her knife drawer." She waved a tissue wrapped object in her hand. Paul reached over to his back shelf and retrieved a yellow box with a white lid. He passed it to Tessa who threw the knife, tissue and all, into the bin.

  "Why they can't just wrap them up and put them in the rubbish, I don't know." Paul complained.

  "No, it's good they bring them here, gets them off the streets," Tessa said, "We don't want knives getting into the wrong hands and it gives the oldies somewhere to go. They like to have a chat, they're lonely."

  "Anyway," Todd said, "I better get some work done, thanks Paul; I will see you later."

  "Yeah cheers Guv, I'll do this list for you." Paul said, putting his sharps bin back on its shelf. "Tessa, do you want a cuppa?"

  "Oh you're joking aren't you Paul?" Tessa laughed, "I've got ten people waiting for me up there, no time for tea and sympathy. Need to get back to it."

  "Oh shame, next time?" Paul asked.

  Tessa laughed, "I come down here three times an hour; I would become a flipping cup of tea at that rate."

  Paul chuckled, "I know, I'll give you a choccie biscuit next time though."

  "Now you're talking my language." Tessa high-fived Paul and turned in the direction of the hallway. "Come on Todd, I'll walk with you." She winked at Todd. It amused him how she freely used his first name; he rarely heard it spoken as everyone else called him Sir or Governor, or Guv, only those senior to him called him by his name and he tried not to speak to them more than once a day if he could help it. Todd liked Tessa; she was a breath of fresh air to the police station. With her attitude she had been steadily gaining the reputation of a good solid station officer, efficiently dealing with callers to the station and deflecting any nonsense; bringing only necessary crimes to the attention of police. Petty squabbles, bullshit reports and disputes which could be resolved with a quick word of warning, were all being dealt with very effectively by Tessa and the uniforms were loving her for it.

  Todd also quite fancied a woman with stature as he liked to call it. There was nothing more unattractive to him than a woman who was skin and bone, wrinkled sagging skin aging them prematurely and giving them a permanently hungry look. A bit of meat on the bones, something to get hold of was more his cup of tea, although he often held back from forming relationships, preferring his own company and being happily single.

  "Come on then Tessa; let's go back to the lion's den." He took Tessa's ch
ubby arm in his hand and guided her along the corridor. Tessa broke out into song, "Let's fall in love." She crooned up at Todd as they walked. Todd hummed along then waved goodbye to Tessa on the ground floor as she broke away to return to the station office, turning sideways to ensure her hefty frame could fit through the door.

  "Bye-eee." Tessa waved at him.

  "Bye Tessa." Todd said back then continued up to his office on the first floor, he changed his face and demeanour from humorous to serious as he returned to his position in charge of the CID office. Game face on as he reached his desk, Todd sat down and began to search through his emails for anything which required his immediate attention. Detective Sergeant Candace Whelan had spotted Todd enter his office and spent a short time watching him as he worked. She had had a crush on the suntanned silver fox ever since she had arrived at Olinsbury nick two years before. Todd's piercing blue/green eyes could turn her stomach to jelly with just one look and his perfect smile made her knees quiver. It didn't matter to her that at forty five he was twenty years her senior. Todd always smelt clean and fresh, his 6'02", naturally athletic frame was well dressed and he was always clean shaven. Candace had been trying to impress him from day one of their working relationship but he seemed immune to her size ten figure, wavy auburn hair and attractive face. No amount of hair flicking, lip biting or humour making flirting could break through his defences. Todd remained a close colleague and good friend but the spark Candace so desired just would not come.

  Todd glanced up from his work, sensing eyes were upon him. He caught Candace look away quickly and smiled to himself. He was very aware she liked him but had vowed to never sleep with a work colleague again since a disastrous one night stand had earned him the nickname of 'Todger' which most people used when he wasn't part of the conversation.

  "Candace," Todd called out to her. She turned her head to look at him, pretending she had been busy with something else and not ogling her boss.

  "Yes Guv?" she asked.

  "Come in here please, I need to discuss something with you." Candace rose from her chair and straightened the red pencil skirt she had chosen to wear that morning.

  "Blimey Candace, you won't be chasing anyone in that get up." Todd said, Candace blushed slightly but replied, "This won't stop me," she grinned, "I can run perfectly well. I'll just pull it up." She began to move the material of her skirt to show how she could get it up past her knees.

  "Stop it Candy Cane, you'll give me a coronary," laughed Todd. The other CID officers who had been watching their exchange, laughed with him. Candace gave them a look of reprisal before making the short walk into Todd's office, closing the door and sitting in the chair opposite him.

  "Right Guv," She started, "What's up?"

  "We have to go over the burglary figures." Todd said, "There is a meeting with Olinsbury council tomorrow and they want to know how many burglaries were reported in the last six months, how many were solved and how many are still being investigated."

  Candace groaned, "We went up in the last three months. That little scrote Davey Danley got out of the Young Offenders, he's done nothing but nick bikes since then. The figures are going to be crap." Candace's face twisted in annoyance. The last thing they needed was a grilling from the Borough Commander because the council were unhappy.

  "Have we nicked him yet?" Todd asked.

  "No, we know it's him through prints and DNA on a drinks can he left in a shed, but we can't find him at the moment; it doesn't help that he has no fixed abode."

  Todd picked up his pen and the list of burglary figures. Each bicycle one he came across he drew a line through and wrote 'theft from shed' or 'theft of pedal cycle' next to it. Handing the now depleted list of 'burglaries' over to Candace, Todd grinned; "That's got our numbers down, now we just need to go through motor vehicle crimes and any distractions."

  Candace and Todd worked at their figures for the next forty minutes; two cups of coffee keeping them going as they endured the monotonous task. Statistics were a boring but necessary part of their job, if they were to justify spending tax payer's money on covert operations and overtime.

  "Ok, thank god that's over." Todd threw his pen on the desk and leaned back in his chair. "Coffee?"

  Candace nodded ascent and picked up the two coffee cups which still held half a cup of lukewarm coffee each. She turned to leave the office when a knock came at the door. Candace opened the office door, dangling the two cups from the fingers of her left hand. A uniformed officer stood at the door, still in a flat cap even though he was now indoors.

  "Serge. Is D.I. Turnbull there?" The young officer asked. Candace didn't know him but his shoulder number was 587TX.

  "Yes, what's up?" asked Todd from behind Candace. He had risen from the desk in anticipation of being needed.

  "A dead body has been found Guv. They tried to get you on your mobile but can't get through."

  Todd cursed the phone network and mobile he had been given as standard police issue. It only ever seemed to have a proper signal when he was sitting on the toilet or at any other moment he really didn't need signal. He checked his phone now and saw the notification of seven missed calls. Clearing the entries, he looked at the officer awaiting further information. The young officer just stared at Todd, seemingly unwilling or unable to divulge any more.

  "Well?" Todd asked, not happy with the suspense, "Tell me more son, where is the body? What happened? Come on." He almost stamped his foot in frustration. Time was always a factor in effective investigation of any crime and procrastinating was one thing that impeded the flow of Todd's detecting skills.

  "Oh sorry, I've just been asked to get you. If you phone the control room they can give you more information."

  "Oh for fucks sake," Todd tutted as he pushed himself past the officer and strode purposefully to the control room which was based along the corridor from CID; a phone call would have been infinitely longer than making a quick visit as it always took ages for them to answer.

  Entering the air conditioned room - the only one in the station - was always a relief in the summertime and Todd took a moment to enjoy the breeze on his skin before walking to the civilian CAD controller.

  "Good morning Mark." Todd addressed him.

  "Guv."

  "What have we got?"

  "Pretty bad one Guv; A woman was found in her bedroom by her boyfriend this morning. Coroner believes she's been tortured and killed."

  "How was she killed?"

  "Sherbet." Mark raised an eyebrow as he spoke, knowing his statement would be difficult to believe.

  "Sherbet? What? How?"

  "Funnel in mouth, force fed sherbet until it filled her lungs guv." Mark grimaced. "Death by sherbet."

  "Holy fuck," Todd exclaimed, "I better get down there, how many are on the scene?"

  "Duty Inspector, Coroner, SOCO, Photographer, two uniforms and there's a PCSO on the door."

  "That's good; looks like all the bases are covered."

  "Yeah well they've been there an hour Guv." Mark turned to him, accusation in his eyes as to Todd's tardiness.

  "Fucking phone," Todd checked it again. It now displayed a full service. "I was only in my office; you should have sent someone to look for me earlier."

  "We did Guv; you weren't there about three quarters of an hour ago."

  Property store, Todd remembered; definitely no hope of reception down there.

  "Alright, print out the CAD for me, I'll get down there, is the body still in situ?"

  "Yes Guv. They are waiting for you."

  "Ok." Todd waited by the printer for the computer aided dispatch machine to printout the address of the murder and details of investigations so far. It gave details of the boyfriend's call to the station, assignment to the relevant officers and made plenty of mention about failed calls to his phone. Great, he thought, that will look really good on my appraisal.

  "Come on Candace, I'll drive."

  Chapter Three

  D.I. Todd Turnbull and D.S. Canda
ce Whelan got into Todd's police issue Vauxhall Astra car; unmarked and unloved it did its job adequately and Todd was in no rush to replace it with any other. They made their way to the crime scene at a flat on the Fern Bridge Estate. The Fern Bridge was a large council run housing estate, giving homes to five percent of the population of Elisworth, a small town in the Borough of Olinsbury, West London. It was served by Olinsbury as that was the main station for five different towns in the borough and Todd had found himself on many an occasion hot tailing it from one end of the borough to the other.

  Being home to such a large amount of people, Fern Bridge was a constant destination for the police; domestics and burglaries being the most prevalent of crimes but it was not without the odd murder, in fact Todd had investigated the disappearance, rape and murder of a little girl on the borough about two years previously. He still had flashbacks of seeing her little body cold and lifeless on a riverbank in the arms of what he later found out was her killer.

  Todd didn't enjoy his trips onto the estate; the four tower blocks cut out any natural light for the houses huddled below, giving a shadowed and claustrophobic feel to the whole area. It was a scene set for any crime, just awaiting a nefarious figure to position him or herself into the dramatic backdrop.

  The blue flashing lights and growing crowd of bystanders made it easy for Todd to find the flat which held its macabre contents. Todd parked his Vauxhall on the pavement behind a marked police car and he put the logbook in his front window to mark his car as police issue.

  Todd and Candace got out of the car and made their way through the crowd, offering a polite excuse me here and there as they went and flashing their warrant cards at stubborn non-movers who didn't want to lose their place in the spectator's section.