by Wonny Lea
Helen nodded. ‘Yes I see where you’re going with that but whatever angle they take it will be headline news and there is no way Tina is going to be able to stop her son finding out about his dad. I wouldn’t like to be the one to tell him.’
Martin pulled the car up outside the path to Diane Evans’ house and they were immediately surrounded by reporters, some of whom had been at the press conference earlier.
‘You promised to keep us up to date so what’s the line on the kid’s father?’
‘What are you doing back here? Did Diane Evans just find the boy or did she put him there in the first place?’
‘Have you found Susan Evans? Do you think she and her sister were both involved?’
Martin could see Diane’s face in the window and he wondered how she would react to the news about her sister. There had been no traces of sibling affection when she had spoken about Susan earlier but actions speak louder than words and Diane had gone to warn her sister that the police were looking for her.
DC Cook-Watts walked up the path and Martin turned to face the questions. ‘There is a press statement in relation to Susan Evans being prepared at this moment in time, but before it’s released I need to speak to her sister. That’s what I’m doing back here and that’s all I have to say for now.’
It was obviously not enough and a barrage of questions ensued but Helen had already been let into the house and Martin followed her. The sitting room was exactly as it had been earlier that day but Diane had company. Mark Davies introduced himself to Helen and acknowledged Martin. He was making the most of suddenly being catapulted into Diane’s life and stood manfully beside her.
‘I didn’t come straight back here after finding the boy and then we had to give statements to the police. With everything that had gone on I didn’t think I had a bloody cat in hell’s chance of getting any sleep but I collapsed in a heap on Mark’s comfy sofa and woke up about an hour ago.’
Diane went on to say that she had walked back and then had a shower and Mark had done the same at his place. ‘He arrived just ten minutes before you but then I don’t think you’ve bloody well come to hear about our domestic arrangements – it’s about Susan, isn’t it?’
Martin nodded. ‘It’s very bad news I’m afraid – do you want to sit down?’
Diane shook her head fiercely and no one was surprised when her bloodies turned to effings. ‘She’s fucking well dead, isn’t she? She’s fucking well dead!’
There was no denial and Martin expressed his most sincere regrets for her loss. Bad news, grief, and loss affects different people in different ways and during his years in the force Martin had seen countless reactions, but this was a new one on him.
For the next ten minutes only Diane spoke – or rather shouted. She lambasted her sister’s behaviour from the time she was a young girl up to her most recent relationship with Dan Painter. It was incredible that for a woman who professed not to give a damn about her younger sister, Diane seemed to able to recall most of Susan’s flings. One was simply referred to as ‘that bastard Len who took her to Brighton’ but many of the others had much more lengthy and colourful expletives attached to their names.
For as much as she laid heavily into the men who had been in her sister’s life, she also didn’t hold back with similar descriptions of Susan herself, and if only half of what she said was true then Susan Evans had been a pretty nasty piece of work. The phrase ‘do not speak ill of the dead’ had never been so totally disregarded, and Helen Cook-Watts was getting a first-hand lesson in the unpredictability of breaking bad news.
Her lesson didn’t end there, the next part being even more bizarre as suddenly Diane stopped shouting, sat down, and burst into tears and spoke in a whisper, almost to herself. ‘She may have been an out-and-out cow, but she was my sister and I loved her.’
‘Phew, follow that,’ said Helen under her breath and although she couldn’t have heard the comment Diane did her best for an encore by brushing away her tears with the back of her hand and staring intently at Martin.
‘Well you wouldn’t be here if Susan had died of natural causes so what was it – an accident, suicide, or murder?’
‘We have reason to believe that there was a row between your sister and Mr Painter and ended with him choking her to death. We can’t be absolutely sure until after the post mortem but that is what he has told us and superficially your sister’s injuries match that probability.’
‘To be honest I have a certain sympathy with the bloke and there have been times when I could have been in his position. She really could try the patience of a fucking saint. What happens now?’
The matter-of-fact question took Martin by surprise but he outlined the arrangements for a formal identification if she felt able to do that.
‘Let’s get it over and done with, and if it’s OK I’d like Mark to come with me?’
The four of them drove off in Martin’s car but not before the press had challenged every step they took towards it.
How Martin wished he could have the freedom to say to the press what Diane readily told them and so graphically. She left them in no doubt that they should mind their own business and they would need to be contortionists to perform some of the obscene actions she suggested. They looked suitably shocked and there was an uncanny silence as Martin drove off and he and DC Cook-Watts exchanged something of a smirk.
They entered Goleudy by the back stairs and Sgt Evans must have been told of their arrival as he pulled Martin to one side almost immediately.
‘Matt just called and he’s fine. He’s twisted the muscles in his calf and is badly bruised, but in his words he’ll live to tell the tale and will see you in the morning. Now, Alex got the body of Susan Evans brought here but he didn’t accompany her himself because of the new discovery at the building site. He asked me to speak to you as soon as you got back and to ask you to give him a ring straight away.
‘He wouldn’t ring you directly because he said he knew what you were doing and it didn’t seem right to disturb you. If you like I’ll stand by while Helen conducts the official identification and arrange a squad car to take these people back home.
Martin was relieved to hear about Matt, but for the moment was more anxious to know what was up with Alex.
Sgt Evans wouldn’t be pushed on handing over any information and just gave a knowing smile.
‘I think the big man wants to tell you himself, so I’ll make your excuses here and you make the call.’
‘Alex. What’s the mystery?’
Martin could feel his friend and colleague grinning on the other end of the phone.
‘You were barely out of sight when one of my lot spotted something in the place where Matt almost disappeared. Looking at that area now I would say he had a lucky escape because it drops down about eight feet onto a concrete base. It looks like part of the foundations for the house that was supposed to be built here. If he had gone through he would have had a nasty surprise waiting for him, as we have discovered a second body.’
‘You what?’
‘Yes, it’s a body alright, and like the first one it’s the body of a young woman – but according to the Prof this one’s been there for years. It’s unlikely that she crawled into that hole and died but it’s possible, just like Matt, that she fell and was not as lucky as he was. We can’t rule out foul play but you know what the Prof is like: he won’t commit himself until after he’s had a proper chance to examine the body.
‘To him the body of Susan Evans represents bread and butter work for a pathologist, but the second body got him quite excited. He was on the phone to some of his cronies who specialise in putting a date on these types of corpses, and by the sound of things there was no lack of offers of help.
‘I think we’ve done everything you would have wanted and I can brief you and your team fully in the morning before the post-mortems. The body is already on the way to Goleudy with the Prof in charge so if you want a sneak preview they should be with you at
any moment.’
‘No, I think I’ll leave that level of excitement until the morning,’ replied Martin. ‘I know some of my team have been trying to chase up the owners of the building site but they weren’t having much luck. All we wanted to do initially was inform them about the recent activity in their caravan but this new discovery throws a very different light on things. It may have nothing to do with them but I certainly want to know why work on the site came to an end and who the last people were that had reason to be there. Thanks, Alex. I knew things were too good to be true. I had a kidnapping that was sorted and an unlawful death where the killer had confessed. All I had left to do was sort out the paper work – but you had different ideas!’
‘Don’t thank me, mate, thank that sergeant of yours. If he hadn’t ploughed through that debris the body would still be down there. Now all you need to do is find out who she is and how she got there – easy peasy. See you in the morning.’
Martin suddenly felt hungry and remembered that Shelley had an evening training session and so nine o’clock would be the earliest she’d get home. It wasn’t that long since she had effectively moved into the cottage and he couldn’t make up his mind which part of their day he liked best. Waking up in the mornings was like continuing to dream and parts of her warm body were always draped over his. At first he had taken time to slowly remove her arm or her leg so that he wouldn’t wake her but now he knew that nothing would wake Shelley until she was ready to open her eyes.
They had made a conscious decision not to fall into the trap of routine and they ate, made love, and slept when they felt like it and not according to the clock. It was all part of the excitement of discovering each other and they knew that eventually life, work, and possibly kids would make spontaneity more difficult but for now it was brilliant.
He made his way to the staff dining room and although Iris had knocked off for the day she had left the usual selection of sandwiches and freshly made meals that could be heated up in one of the microwaves.
Martin chose a beef cobbler and wasn’t disappointed. The gravy was rich and the meat tasty and tender, and topped with scones and cheese it went down a treat.
‘Looks like you enjoyed that, guv,’ suggested Helen as she watched her boss mop up the sauce with the last piece of a bread roll. ‘I’m just having a coffee as hopefully I’m getting treated to dinner tonight. Do you want a coffee?’
‘No thanks but sit down and tell me what happened with the identification, and I’ll tell you about something that is going to keep us busy for the next few days at least.’
‘I’m intrigued but as far as the Susan Evans case is concerned it was straight forward. Diane Evans identified Susan and there was no shouting, no swearing, no tears, just nothing but a simple acknowledgement that the body was that of her sister Susan.’ Helen looked at her DCI and asked if he had ceased to be amazed by people’s behaviour and Martin laughed.
‘I don’t think I ever will be and perhaps we never should be. We human beings are a pretty mixed-up bunch. You won’t come across the likes of Diane Evans and her sister very often but there will be other relationships just as complex.’
Helen nodded and asked Martin about his news. Not having been at the scene when Susan Evans’ body was discovered Helen asked a lot of questions about the logistics of the site.
‘We’ll all be treated to images of how the first and the second bodies were found when Alex briefs us in the morning. As I understand, it the Prof and some of his university colleagues are hoping to re-enact one of the episodes from Waking the Dead, and I for one am looking forward to their findings.’
Chapter Sixteen
Named
Matt was bearing weight on his left leg with no signs of the pain from the day before, and even the stairs up to the fourth floor were no problem. In response to Martin’s enquiry, he put his rapid recovery down to the expert massages of his personal Florence Nightingale and confessed to encouraging the hands of his masseur to stray.
‘Far too much information,’ laughed Martin.
‘I can’t believe I nearly landed on a corpse, but Alex was telling me about it when we arrived together earlier. Have you got any ideas about the woman?’
Martin shook his head. ‘I’ll have a better idea where to start looking when we know how long she’s been there. We have had some joy from the council’s planning department, who have tracked down the plans for the development on that site and have the owner listed as a Manuel Romanes. There was apparently one hell of a rush to get the plans through the various committees something like five years ago and then the whole project came to a sudden halt.
‘Carol Price from the planning department is trying find out more about this Manuel Romanes. Apparently they sent out letters to his home address at the time, asking about progress on the building. There are copies of everything and she seems to think that Mr Romanes would have received the first couple of letters but then there was one returned to sender, indicating that he no longer lived there.
‘There’s a note in the file describing how one of their inspectors visited the site at the time and followed his visit up with a letter advising Mr Romanes of the need to make the site secure if, as it had appeared, work had been suspended. Apparently such an instruction should have been followed up with a compliance visit, but Ms Price told me it had been overlooked and the file hasn’t been opened since the inspector’s letter was added.’
Reaching the top of the stairs the usual odour, one of disinfectant mingled with death, caught the noses of both detectives simultaneously.
‘This would have really churned up my stomach if it was yesterday and I was still recovering from the great night we had with Charlie and Alex.’ Matt patted his stomach. ‘Thankfully today my breakfast is nicely settled and I’ve no hangover to contend with.’
Mrs Williams, the professor’s right-hand woman, was not her usual calm self and it wasn’t difficult to understand why. Not one but two of the PM rooms were set up for business and she had three distinguished professors to cope with instead of just the usual one she knew so well.
She seemed pleased to see some familiar figures and smiled broadly as Martin and Matt approached the changing room and indicated where she had put out two sets of scrubs for both of them.
‘The professor is even more keen than usual to ensure there is no cross-contamination between the two PM rooms, so it will mean a second change of clothing if you intend witnessing both examinations.’
‘Which room first?’ asked Matt.
‘Well, as you can see, the main focus of interest for our visiting professors is that poor woman in there – or at least what’s left of her. The only comments I’ve heard so far are that she was probably a fit and healthy young woman until someone broke her neck. I heard my Prof telling them how she was found in quite a deep hole and I don’t know how they know she didn’t simply fall into it and break her own neck.’
Martin was surprised by Mrs Williams’ comments. In fact he was surprised to hear her say anything as usually she just got on with her job very quietly and efficiently. This morning she had plenty to say.
‘As you can see Prof. Moore is in PM Room One, and the body on that slab is Susan Evans. He seems certain that he’ll complete a full examination on her within the hour but has warned me that the other one will take us well past lunch time. Excuse me, I’m wanted in there.’
She had seen the Prof beckon her and disappeared through the adjoining door, leaving Martin and Matt to follow behind.
Susan Evans’ body was partially covered with a white mortuary sheet but the cause of her death was clearly visible. The bruising around her neck was livid and the skin had already started to break down, partly due to the initial damage but mainly because her death had immediately cut off the vital oxygen supply needed to facilitate tissue repair.
Dafydd Moore looked over his half-rimmed glasses at Martin. ‘I will be very surprised if I’m able to tell you anything you don’t already know about thi
s woman or about the cause of her death. The contusions you can see around her neck are commensurate with the confession you’ve already obtained from her killer. You’re welcome to stay and watch the full PM, but I’m sure you have better things to do and I’ll let you know if anything unexpected turns up.
‘The other corpse is a different kettle of fish, and has got two of my colleagues more excited than I’ve seen them for some time.’ He stopped as he noticed Matt smirking beneath his mask. ‘Excitement gets more sparse as you get older so you grab it where you can – and each to his own.
‘They don’t expect to find anything special about the woman and have already figured she’s not some ancient relic of scientific importance but they don’t get many bodies that have been dead for years to work on.
‘They know the theory of decomposition and the factors that delay or speed up the process and this is a rare opportunity to test theory against reality.’
Matt grinned more broadly. ‘Whatever floats your boat! Do they know exactly how she died?’
‘We think that’s something the two women have in common,’ replied the Professor. ‘With Susan Evans it’s easy to witness the damage done but with our unknown corpse there’s no tissue left to examine and so we will be looking at other factors. Our initial thoughts are that they both died because something or someone prevented air and de facto oxygen from getting to their lungs. You know how that happened with Susan Evans but it’s going to take some effort and possibly a bit of science to unravel the mystery of the lady that interests my colleagues.’
Martin looked at Matt who had, as always, looked away to avoid watching the Prof make a mid-line incision and begin the systematic process of the PM on Susan Evans.
Smells and sights he could cope with but that surreal moment when the Prof’s scalpel cut through dead flesh was one he liked to miss.
The two men changed and went into the second room where the set up was very different and where two absorbed professors didn’t even notice their arrival.
