Shattered bones, p.7
Shattered Bones, page 7
She could feel the familiar cramping in her stomach that signalled another bout of IBS. ‘Fucking stress and mither,’ she muttered under her breath as she continued to flick through the emails, chancing the ones she could delete without even reading, going off the predictable subject heading.
Her cramps intensified as she read a long-winded email from a member of the public who wanted to lodge an official complaint about one of her staff. She scribbled a note to herself to deal with it, before leaning back in her chair and taking a moment of calm. All the staff were due a performance review and she couldn’t stand the thought of all the paperwork that entailed. It was also an opportunity for them to discuss any options for career development which would be futile as there wasn’t enough money or resources to send people on courses or specialist conferences.
She glanced at the whiteboard which listed everyone’s contact details. She pondered the list thoughtfully. She didn’t need the Myers-Briggs test to categorise the personality of each individual, she knew them all too well. She smiled at the board as she thought of her staff. They weren’t without their faults, God knows, neither was she, but she was lucky to have each and every one of them. They were a good team who worked like clockwork and supported each other. There were genuine close friendships amongst her team, and she was proud of the fact they were more than just colleagues.
‘Have you got a minute?’
Her reverie was broken by the arrival of Jack who had suddenly appeared at her doorway.
‘As long as it is only a minute, I’m up to my eyes in it. Please take a seat.’ Kym winced as he sat on the chair, legs spread as he rolled up his sleeves to accentuate his muscular forearms. If this was a David Attenborough documentary, she thought, he’d be beating his chest and pissing on the desk to prove his masculinity.
‘It’s about the body Chris and Maya helped me recover from the canal.’
Kym opened her mouth to contradict the recovery process but decided she didn’t have the energy.
‘Ah, yes, Operation Mermaid. I believe we’ve drawn a blank on fingerprints and DNA.’
‘Yes. I’m wondering what forensic opportunities we have left to identify him. I was thinking facial reconstruction and wondered how soon we could get the ball rolling with it.’
‘Woah, Jack. Take a breath.’ Kym raked her hand through her hair again. ‘There’s a huge cost implication involved in facial reconstruction. It would have to be approved by top office and you’ve a long way to go before it’s even considered.’
Jack puffed out his cheeks. ‘You’re saying no?’
‘No, listen to me. I’m saying you need to exhaust other lines of enquiry first.’
He raised a questioning eyebrow and her stomach cramped again, momentarily taking her breath away before she could carry on. ‘Have John Doe’s dental records been checked against all our current missings? Has he got any tattoos or scars – any identifying features at all that could be used to identify him? Did Dr Granger identify any operations he may have had that we can make enquiries about? Consider another press release appealing for information. Check the clothing – is there anything distinct about it we can work with?’
‘It’s still drying out. Maya said she’d let me know once it was removed.’
‘That will give you a new area of work to consider. Get the usual investigative legwork out of the way and then if we’ve still drawn a blank, only then will we consider our other options.’
Despite the fact he nodded, he was clearly dissatisfied with her response. Kym sighed as she leant across the desk, her demeanour softening as she appraised him. ‘I appreciate that the DI role is a huge step to take. It’s a massive learning curve for you and I appreciate it’s not ideal being thrown into your first job, which is complex to say the least. I don’t want to appear like I’m criticising or patronising you, my team and I are here to support you as and when we can, but honestly, Jack, facial reconstruction is the last resort. You’ve lots of other boxes to tick before we even consider it.’
His face flushed as he stood up. ‘Just so you know, that sounded very patronising,’ he hissed as he stormed out of the office, banging the door shut behind him.
Kym swallowed down a Buscopan as her phone rang. She listened intently to the caller as she scribbled down some details. A suicide had come in that appeared suspicious. She desperately hoped it wouldn’t be or that meant she wouldn’t be seeing much of home for the next few days. Still, it was preferable than dealing with office politics. Anything was better than that.
17
Marcus remained in the prison chapel long after the service had finished. He knelt in the pew, head bowed, hands clasped. If the chaplain could see his face, he would have observed Marcus’s lips moving in silent prayer. He walked lightly amongst the pews, collecting the prayer books, and then settled himself at the front, submerged in his own silent contemplation until Marcus appeared ready to talk.
‘You seem troubled today,’ said the chaplain as Marcus eventually joined him. ‘Is it the parole? You wouldn’t be the first person to have reservations about being released. I can arrange for you to talk to someone about it if it helps.’
Marcus’s gaze remained fixed on his feet as he shook his head solemnly. ‘I took your advice. About trying to reconnect with family before I’m released.’
‘And? Did it not go as you hoped?’
Marcus sighed again. ‘Better. I had a reply from Anthony, my older brother. He seems genuinely pleased to have heard from me. He’d like us to meet up once I’m out. He offered to come and visit before I’m released, but I don’t want him to see me in here. We’ve been speaking on the phone, though, and writing.’
‘That’s great news, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. It is. So much more than I could have hoped and prayed for. I don’t deserve his love and forgiveness.’
‘Jesus teaches us to forgive, Marcus. That includes being able to forgive ourselves for our sins. Your brother is…’
‘Our mother died.’
Naylor’s words stopped the chaplain in his tracks. He opened his mouth to offer words of comfort but hesitated when he noticed Marcus had more to say.
‘She died two years ago. Apparently, she dropped dead of a heart attack. It would have been quick. Relatively painless, I believe. He did try to contact me in here at the time to let me know, but I’d already made it clear I didn’t want to hear from him.’
‘Would you like to pray for her?’
Marcus shook his head. ‘I have been ever since I read Anthony’s letter. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much after so long apart. I was so arrogant to think it wouldn’t happen.’ He coughed back a sob as he ran a hand across his face. ‘I just imagined she would be carrying on out there, without me. I never considered how she would be feeling or coping. Never thought about what would happen if she got ill, how she was coping financially, if she was in any trouble. I’ve been so selfish.’
The chaplain nodded, holding his counsel while Marcus held his head in his hands.
Suddenly he sat up and eyed the chaplain with a wild desperation that caused him to draw back against the pew. ‘Do you know what hurts more than grief?’
The chaplain shook his head numbly.
‘Guilt.’
18
‘Inspector Stevenson?’
Sean winced at the familiar shrill voice of Laurel Miller. He kicked himself for answering the office phone and glowered at Malone who was sat, oblivious to his pain, as he happily munched away on a bacon sandwich, whilst his own seemed to stale in front of his very eyes.
‘Mrs Miller, it’s detective constable,’ Sean said, not bothering to mask the irritation in his voice. He honestly believed he could call her the ‘c’ word and she would still only hear what she wanted.
‘Oh, it’s “miss” not “Mrs”.’ Oops, maybe not then, he thought, stifling a laugh.
‘How can I help?’
‘I have an urgent update. Trevor has been back to the address. I saw him with my own fair eyes. Chased after him but lost track. Out the side gate, down the path, back of the estate and puff in a cloud of smoke.’ The garbled words flew from her mouth as Sean rubbed at his eyes, trying to keep up.
‘Okay, and where…’
‘Of course, Bernadette didn’t see him. She was out for the count. On the sofa, would you believe? Honestly, I need to speak to her GP about cutting down those tablets. They’re doing her more harm than good, you know. Do you think her GP would speak to me?’
‘Miss Miller. Laurel, can you…’
‘So, I told her to check if he’d taken anything else or left something behind. I knew you’d want clues. He’s left his wallet in the kitchen which I’m sure he’ll come back for if nothing else. It appears he’s taken some extra clothing and Bernadette seems to think something has gone missing from the study, but she doesn’t know what, if you can believe it. Honestly, I despair at times. But more importantly this time, inspector, we have a key witness to Trevor’s state of mind.’
Sean, expecting not to get a word in edgeways any time soon, failed to comment quick enough as he waited for the relentless barrage to continue. ‘Are you still there? Are you even listening?’ Laurel harangued.
‘Yes, of course. Sorry. I was waiting for you to finish. Who’s the witness?’
‘Old Mother Dawlish. Rose, for your records. He sat and had a chat with her. Told her he was going to fetch her breakfast, so we’re hoping he’s not gone gone again. He may well be back at any minute this time. I knew you’d want to know. Shall I let Bernadette know that you’re on your way?’
‘I’m sorry, Miss Miller, but I’m tied up with something more pressing at the moment. I can try and see if a uniform patrol can attend, but if you think there’s a possibility he’s going to return imminently, we’ll wait until he’s back then we can attend as a priority and take a missing-returned report. That’s our standard procedure.’
‘Oh no, inspector. That simply won’t do. We need you here as soon as possible to speak to Mother Dawlish and to make sure when he does come back, he stays put.’
‘I’ve explained that unfortunately I’m dealing with something that takes precedence right now. If he’s gone again there’s really nothing I can do. I’ll arrange for a response officer to come and see you.’
‘Bernadette is used to you now, and it will only upset her if uniformed officers visit again. She finds it very intimidating and that only causes her to go to pieces. Not that it takes much.’
A lengthy conversation ensued during which his bacon sandwich practically decomposed before his eyes. His temples throbbed by the time he eventually ended the call. He glanced across the office to see Malone watching him, looking his usual unharried self, clearly amused by listening to Sean’s side of the conversation.
‘Don’t suppose you fancy doing me a huge favour? Could you go and speak to the family of one of my missings?’
Malone let out a chesty laugh. ‘Mate, I’d rather drape me sopping wet, hairy bollocks over an electric fence.’
Yes, thought Sean. That makes two of us.
19
Maya had finished removing John Doe’s clothing from the drying cabinet. As she had anticipated, it had taken several days for the clothing to completely dry out. She examined each item carefully, wrinkling her nose as the smell permeated her face mask. Due to the body’s heavy state of decomposition, this was the first time she’d been able to scrutinise the clothing properly.
Owing to the prolonged exposure to water and maceration from the body it was unlikely they would yield anything forensically, yet she continued to fastidiously examine each piece as she photographed it before repackaging. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of John Doe and particularly the fact he had been strangled. The majority of strangulation cases involved females who suffered from domestic violence, and it was unusual for a male to be strangled. She wondered if John Doe had been murdered by his partner. She pondered yet again on how Trevor Dawlish’s bank card had ended up in his pocket, and if he was involved in the murder.
After cleaning the drying cabinet ready for its next use, Maya de-suited and placed the repackaged clothing into the exhibits store. As she headed back into the main office hoping for some lunch, Kym saw her and beckoned her over.
‘Shut the door, please, Maya.’
‘Oh God, that’s never a good sign.’
Her comment was met with a raised eyebrow. Kym removed her reading glasses and raked her hand through her hair before she spoke. ‘I’m not going to beat about the bush, but I’ve had a complaint about your conduct.’
Maya let out a hollow laugh. ‘Oh, let me guess, Councillor Hanford? Honestly, Kym, it wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything wrong. The guy’s a massive prick with a CSI box set and a shitty attitude!’
‘He claims you were rude, appeared incompetent and took personal calls while you were at the scene.’
‘No.’ Maya shook her head incredulously. ‘He was the rude one. He was arrogant, patronising and wouldn’t listen to me from the moment I got there. And yes, my phone rang while I was there, but of course, I didn’t answer it. You can check my call record.’
Kym smiled, shaking her head. ‘I don’t need to. I believe you. As with any complaint, I just needed to discuss it with you first before I provide a written reply. I have no doubt your integrity is without question. Right, forget about all that. How are things generally?’
‘Okay.’
‘If you’re going to lie to me, Maya, at least do me the courtesy of making it convincing.’
Maya felt suitably chastened and began to pick at her cuticles with her teeth, unable to look her boss in the eye. She knew she could confide in Kym. She knew she could trust her implicitly. She worried that once she said the words out loud, they would become a reality. For now, she felt safer living in denial.
‘Maya, don’t,’ Kym said softly as she reached for Maya’s hand, pulling it away from her mouth. She was shocked to see blood beading at the cuticle where she had bitten too hard. She felt the sting as Kym passed her a tissue. The kind gesture was overwhelming. Maya felt as if she had a golf ball in her throat as she choked back tears, her lip trembling so much she could barely make herself heard.
‘Naylor’s being released.’
Kym’s eyes widened and she let out a small gasp as she reached again for Maya’s hand. ‘Oh God, no. When?’
Maya shook her head. ‘I don’t know. That’s all my mum told me. It was such a shock; I couldn’t cope with hearing the rest. I said I needed time for it to sink in. I don’t know any of the details.’
‘Whilst your reaction is understandable, forewarned is forearmed. There will be conditions to his release.’
‘That’s what Mama said.’
‘And has she told you what they are?’
Maya began to shred the tissue. ‘No. Not yet.’
‘Okay, finish your shift as early as you need to and go and see her. Find out what’s what. Then, ring me or come and see me tomorrow, whatever suits. Keep me in the loop. We will support you as much as we can. Whatever you need, you’ve got it.’
Maya nodded her thanks, the lump of emotion in her throat left her unable to speak.
‘Also, Jayne from Welfare has been in touch with me. She said she’s been emailing you to arrange a follow-up appointment now you’ve been back to work for a while. She was concerned that you’d not replied.’
Maya grimaced. She had deliberately ignored Jayne’s emails. As wonderful and supportive as her counsellor had been after her previous incident, she had shied away from the idea of going back and talking about things. She felt like she’d talked and shared enough. She felt drained at the thought of being so emotionally exposed again. She would prefer to just put it all behind her and move on.
‘Oh, it’s just been tricky trying to arrange time to see her.’
Kym eyed her sternly. ‘Maya, I have made it perfectly clear that regardless of your shifts and operational requirements, your appointments with Welfare remain a priority. Particularly in light of what you’ve just told me. I am telling you to make an appointment with Jayne by the end of the day and I want to see proof of it, please. No excuses.’
‘Yes, Kym.’
‘Anyway, Tara will be joining us shortly, so staffing will soon ease. She’s collecting her things from Pine Grove this morning and should be with us in a couple of hours. Are you still okay to shadow her? I can ask one of the others if it’s too much in light of what you’ve got going on.’
‘No, honestly, it’s fine. It’ll be a nice distraction meeting someone new.’
‘I assume the others have told you about Tara?’
Maya shook her head. ‘I’d rather not know to be honest. I’d much rather just meet her and make my own judgement. She’s clearly got something of a reputation judging from everyone’s reaction when you mentioned she was moving here, but people can change. I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt and I’ll see for myself what she’s like.’
Kym smiled. ‘That’s refreshing to hear. We just need to convince the others of that.’
Maya stood to leave, thanking Kym as she tucked her chair under the table.
‘One last thing,’ called Kym as she reached for the door handle. ‘Jack seems to be out of his depth in his new role as DI. I appreciate you two have had issues in the past, but just be mindful that his change in rank denotes respect.’
‘I cleared the air with him when he first told me about his promotion. He knows he’s got my support if he needs it. Unfortunately, his arrogance might be his downfall.’
