“Did you report it?” Harry asked.
“No. Nick said to let it go, said he’d deal with it himself.”
“When was this?” Harry asked.
“Give me a moment and I’ll tell you exactly.” Craig Sutton looked at his mobile. “Ten days ago, just as we were closing for the day.”
“Has Ryan Cassidy or any of that family been back since?” Harry asked.
“No,” Craig said “I suppose Nick must’ve had that word. Mind you, Martha and her brood kept the contract. But we don’t send them the same volume of jobs now.”
Chapter Eight
They were back in the car when Harry’s mobile rang. It was Dr Melanie Clarke, one of the pathologists from Reid Pathology and Forensics.
“We’ve had a look at the body part, and I’ve compiled a preliminary report. There were a couple of interesting findings. Do you want to read my email or come down here and I’ll run through them with you?”
It was easier if Melanie explained in person, and they were only minutes away. She could go over the tricky bits he didn’t grasp. He could also have a quick word with Hettie. “Give us ten minutes,” Harry said. “We need all the pointers we can get.” He looked at Jess. “The Reid, they’ve got something. Okay to make the detour? We’ll visit the Baxendale later.”
“As long as we don’t leave it too late. The Baxendale is no place to be after dark.”
Harry laughed. “Afraid of the gremlins that wander the streets?”
“Dunno about gremlins. Druggies more like.”
“We’ll be fine, trust me. We can see if Kelsey Green is up to a conversation too.”
“It’s the kid we need to speak to, if that’s even possible,” Jess said.
“She’ll have settled in with her mother now, we might get something.”
“You’re joking. No kid could settle around Kelsey, the woman’s a nightmare. I hope social services are keeping that eye on things like they promised. They do have a reputation for being lax. They reckon they do their best, but they’re hampered by inadequate budgets and lack of qualified staff. We know all that but we still allowed that Jackson woman to give Lucy back to her mother.”
Harry shook his head. “That wasn’t our call, Jess. The social worker made the decision, so it’s up to her to ensure Kelsey does the parenting thing right.”
Reid Forensics was a purpose-built facility built to offer both post-mortems and forensic investigation services to several police stations across a wide area. It was a two-storey building situated on the far side of Ryebridge as you left the town and headed towards the hills and into West Yorkshire.
Melanie Clarke met them and led the way into the lab. “Hope neither of you are feeling squeamish. Severed body parts aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.”
The hand, which had been cut off just above the wrist, was lying on a table in the mortuary. The macabre sight made Jess shudder. That poor man. Had he been conscious?
“See the ragged edge.” Melanie pointed to it. “I think the hand was removed with an electric saw or hedge cutter. The wound has a lot of debris in and around it, there’s bruising too.”
“Does that suggest he was alive when it was done?” Jess shook her head. “Poor sod.”
I’ll run further tests, see what we find. But from the congealed blood gathered in the ragged wound, I’d say yes, he was.”
“Saw or hedge cutter?” asked Harry. “The stuff of most garden sheds.”
“They’re certainly easy to get hold of, I have one myself,” Melanie said. “Another point to bear in mind, despite what his wife has told you, it would be prudent to make certain of the identity. Nick Sutton’s prints are on record so we’ll soon know but we’ll do DNA tests to be sure.”
“His wife is sure it’s him. She recognised the ring,” Harry said.
“I take it you are looking for the rest of him?” Melanie asked. “If he is indeed dead. The weather is cold at this time of year, but it’s warmed up these last couple of days. If the body is out there, perhaps hidden, it won’t keep.”
“Any clue as to where this might have happened?” Harry asked.
Melanie shook her head. “I’m good, but even I can’t work miracles. I’ve got a hand, that’s all. Although I did find oil under the fingernails — dirty oil, the sort you get from an old car engine. Again, we’ll run tests.”
“That suggests a garage or workshop,” Jess said. “That could mean his brother, Craig.”
“Then again, it might not. Don’t forget the Cassidy clan figure in this too. We’ll keep an open mind for now, Jess,” Harry said.
“Hi, you two.” Standing in the doorway was Hettie Trent. “I’ll let you know when the results are in. I’m prioritising the hand, so the shoes will have to take a back seat for now, sorry.”
“The kid’s home now, so no problem,” Jess said.
“Can I have a word?” Harry asked.
Smiling, Jess and Melanie watched him dart off.
* * *
They were on their way back to the car, Harry wearing that familiar daft smile on his face. “She’s agreed to come out with me again. Dinner at the Indian restaurant in the square.”
“More fool her. I thought Hettie had more sense,” Jess said
“We’re not going back to mine, so it should be fine.” He grinned. “Don and his lady have gone to his parents’ for a few days and left me the keys.”
“Well, let’s hope his housekeeping is better than yours.”
“Oh, it is, no worries there. Quite the little housewife is Don.”
“Where to now, the Baxendale?” Jess asked.
“We’ll make it a quick one. Check in with Kelsey and see if the kid is up to talking to us.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. According to her mother, she hardly talks at all. But let’s get in and out quick. It’s getting dark and that place is dangerous.”
They pulled up outside the house where Kelsey lived with her small daughter. It was a semi, on a wide street with a large front garden.
“It should be pleasant here,” Jess said. “A tree-lined street, plenty of space, and look at the size of the front garden. Kelsey Green is lucky to have a house like this and not one of those dreadful flats in the blocks.”
“Except that she’s trashed the place,” Harry said. “Look at it, even the statement old mattress leaning against the fence, and there’s bags of rubbish strewn all over what was once a lawn.”
Harry shuddered. Despite the state of his own camper van, seeing how Kelsey had let the place deteriorate creeped him out. Estates like the Baxendale weren’t alien to him. He’d lived on one himself for a while, and he knew the dangers. He also knew how hard it was to escape from a background of poverty and deprivation. And if you did, the move wasn’t always for the better. The place had caused bad memories to crowd his mind. He needed a distraction.
“Let’s get this over with.”
They approached the front door. It was growing dark but there were no lights on inside and the curtains were wide open.
“I can’t see much, except for Lucy. She’s sitting on the rug watching TV,” Jess said.
“Kelsey?”
“No sign. You don’t think she’d go out and leave Lucy alone, do you?”
“Who knows.” Harry banged on the door several times and shouted, but only the child responded, jumping up and looking around her.
“You’re scaring her, Harry. Even if Kelsey was asleep, she’d have woken up by now. We have to get inside. That little girl is all on her own.”
“Perhaps Kelsey is out the back.”
“I’ll go round and check, but I’m afraid something’s not right.”
After a few minutes, Jess let Harry in the front door. “The back door was wide open, and Kelsey looks spark out on the sofa.”
While Jess spoke to the little girl, telling her not to be frightened, Harry went to rouse the mother. “She’s not asleep, Jess,” he whispered. “She’s not breathing. I think she’s dead.�
��
Chapter Nine
Harry rang for an ambulance, which arrived within ten minutes. As they had feared, the paramedics pronounced Kelsey Green dead. Jess took Lucy upstairs while Harry rang Reid Forensics and Rhoda Jackson from child services. Soon, the house was crowded.
“Looks like an overdose to me,” he said to Melanie, who had come from the Reid.
She nodded. “There’s certainly enough drug paraphernalia lying around. We’ll find out exactly what she took, back at the centre.”
Upstairs, Jess was doing her best to calm the child, who was upset by the strange voices coming from downstairs. She kept asking for her mummy.
“You’re going on a little holiday,” Jess told her. “D’you want to choose some things to take with you?”
She seemed to brighten up. “Clara?”
“Sorry, Lucy, but I don’t know Clara.”
Laughing, Lucy grabbed a soft toy duck. She handed it to Jess saying, “Clara cluck-cluck.”
Jess smiled. “Oh, I see. Clara is your special toy.”
Lucy giggled. “No. Clara cluck-cluck. Clara not a toy.”
Jess shook her head. Well, maybe the little girl believed that Clara was a real duck. She started to pack some of her clothes for her, then picked up another toy. “D’you want to take this dolly too?”
Lucy grabbed the doll and held it close to her chest along with the soft duck. “Mummy?”
The child was barely three. How to tell her? “Your mummy isn’t well, sweetheart. But don’t worry, you’re going to have a nice time.”
“Are you ready, Jess?” Harry shouted up the stairs.
She carried Lucy down and handed her to Rhoda Jackson. “I’ve sorted her some stuff.”
Thankfully, Kelsey’s body had been taken away. Jess looked at the sofa and shuddered. Poor woman, what had happened to her?
As if reading her thoughts, Harry whispered. “They think it’s a massive drug overdose. Look.”
A table beside the sofa was covered in white powder and there was a syringe lying on the floor.
“God knows what she took,” he said, “but she gave no thought to Lucy’s safety while she got off her head.”
“I didn’t think it would work, Kelsey looking after the child,” Rhoda said. “She had no concept of responsibility, that one. I only looked in this afternoon too. I’m afraid we had words. Kelsey resented the fact that she wasn’t allowed to speak to the press yet.”
“What will happen to Lucy? Does she have other family?”
“No, apart from Kelsey the mite had no one. She’ll go to foster parents. She’ll be much better off. The family I have in mind are good people and they’ll look after her.”
“I’ve put a few things together for her, including a toy she seems to like.” Jess handed over the bag. Thankfully, the child seemed quite content, oblivious to her mother’s sad fate.
Once Lucy was safely out of the way, Harry took a good look around. “Drug paraphernalia. This place is full of it.”
“It’s lucky that Lucy didn’t pick anything up, try to copy her mother and take the stuff.”
“Yeh,” Harry said.
Jess was angry at Kelsey’s sheer lack of consideration for her child. “Thankfully, I think Lucy was too intent on watching the telly to notice what was happening to her mother.”
“Even so, this could so easily have been twice the tragedy it is,” Harry said. “Particularly if we hadn’t come along when we did.”
“The kid is safe, and she’ll stay that way now. You should be pleased. She’ll be much better off.”
“We’ll seal the house,” Hettie said. “We’ll make a start now but most of the forensic work will be done tomorrow morning — orders from the boss. He’s decided to take a quick look for himself tonight on his way home. I’ll hang on and talk him through it.”
The man in charge at the Reid was Professor Hector Steele, a forensic pathologist. What was his interest, Harry wondered? Overdoses were fairly par for the course around here.
“I’ll get uniform to watch the place,” Harry said.
“I wonder what she took,” said Jess.
“A load of the usual crap I expect,” Harry said.
“It’s a helluva lot by the look of it. Where did she get the money to buy it? And more to the point, who sold it to her?”
“Yes, I get it, Jess,” Harry said. “We’ve got dozens of questions and no answers, but we will have. We’ll get the forensics report and deal with it then.”
“And meanwhile? What if there’s a bad batch doing the rounds? What then, Harry? Do more people have to die before we act?”
“You forget, we have no idea who’s doing the dealing on the Baxendale.”
“I think we can take a reasonable guess. Andy Marsh and his crew for starters. Who else?”
“So, what d’you want to do? Go bang on his door, drag him down the station? We can question him till we’re blue in the face, but we’ve got nothing that incriminates him. We need solid evidence before we tackle the man. Marsh is wealthy and knows the drill. He’ll have alibis oozing from every pore. He’ll probably deny even knowing the Baxendale exists.”
“You just don’t want to miss your hot date with Hettie,” Jess said, only half joking.
“I doubt that’ll happen now. She’ll be tied up with Hector all night.”
“Poor you,” Jess teased. “But we do need the forensics. With luck we might get prints from those packets scattered on the floor, and then we’ll know who sold Kelsey this crap.”
Hettie returned to the sitting room from upstairs. “Sorry, Harry, we’ll have to put our date on hold. This little lot will take a while. Apart from which, with the prof on his way I need to stay. He’ll expect my complete attention.”
Jess gave Harry a sympathetic grin.
“Don’t you dare say a word,” he whispered.
Chapter Ten
Day Three
The following morning, Jess collared Harry as soon as he entered the main office. “Rodders has been asking for you. He didn’t look happy either. What’ve you been up to?”
“Nowt. I’m a good, clean-living lad, you know that.”
But that wasn’t the image he presented this morning. “You look rubbish. Grey in the face, scruffy hair . . . another heavy night I’d say. You really do need to rethink the lifestyle, Harry.”
There was a lot about Harry Lennox that Jess couldn’t work out. He was smart, good at his job, so why did he live the way he did? And why his reluctance to discuss his past? “Why d’you have to drink so much? I know the job is stressful but most of us manage. Your body might cope while you’re young but give it a few years and the lifestyle will catch up, mark my words. It always does.”
He grabbed a coffee from the machine. “I cope well enough. I drink to get to sleep, that’s all.”
Jess didn’t understand that either. At the end of most days she fell into bed exhausted and slept until her alarm woke her. “Why is that? Bad dreams? Memories? Or that cesspit you’re living in?”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
Again, no proper answer. Jess had to admit the man intrigued her. They’d been working together for two years now, and she hardly knew any more about him than she did that first day. He was a good detective and always had a wisecrack at the ready. But what lurked underneath the superficial, affable young man? What had his past done to him to make him this way?
“Never mind the coffee, go and see the super,” she urged. “And be sharp. Professor Steele wants to see us at the Reid ASAP.”
“Popular this morning, aren’t we?”
* * *
Harry went along the corridor to Superintendent Roderick Croft’s office. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
Roderick Croft looked up from behind his desk. He was a heavyset man in his fifties with greying hair and a ruddy complexion. He was sweating, which accentuated the freckles on his face. He’d spent the last twenty years in the force at Ryebridge and had worked his w
ay up the ladder. He lived in a Cheshire village, had been privately educated and spoke with a plummy accent. The team had nicknamed him ‘Rodders’ from the off and it had stuck. “We have a problem, Harry. If the stuff collected last night from Kelsey Green’s place is anything to go by, then the Baxendale is awash with a new batch of drugs — cocaine cut with fentanyl. I’ve had Steele on the phone this morning and he’s worried. The stuff is strong and deadly. So far, there have been three fatalities including the Green woman.”
That was bad news. Harry had a feeling that it wouldn’t get any better. “Do we have any intel, sir? Knowing who was supplying it would do for starters.”
“Nothing much, but Steele said something interesting. He reckons anyone who knows anything about preparing this stuff would be aware of how lethal it is because of the amount of fentanyl used. This is no money-making scheme, Harry, this is some idiot on a killing spree.”
That put a new slant on the dealing. “Not the old contenders then,” Harry said. “Given the hand found yesterday, Sutton is presumed dead. That means Marsh has the opportunity to clean up. He stands to make a fortune, so it doesn’t make sense for him to kill off all the customers.”
“That’s what I thought,” Rodders said. “Someone new then, with a quite different agenda. What d’you think?”
Harry didn’t know what to think, other than they had a lot on their plates — the probable Sutton killing and now this.
“I’ve allocated a larger than usual uniform presence on the Baxendale estate. They’ll keep their ears to the ground, and we’ll see what they come up with. Meanwhile, I want you to continue with the Sutton case. We need to determine if the man’s dead or not. How are you doing with that? Making any headway? He was a dealer and Marsh still is. Not that we’ve managed to get the proof we need to put either of them away. If there’s the slightest possibility that Marsh is behind what happened to Sutton, perhaps this time we could try harder, get the evidence and make the charges stick.” He glared at Harry as if that was down to him alone. “And bear in mind that there could well be a connection between the bad drugs and Sutton’s disappearance.”
THE GUILTY MAN an absolutely gripping crime mystery with a massive twist (Detectives Lennox & Wilde Thrillers Book 1) Page 4
