BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book by Rebecca Bradley (rooftoppers .TXT) 📕

pertinent parts? Wouldn’t that be quicker?’ Multiple questions were not the best way to interview a detainee but she had the feeling he was playing for time rather than trying to be helpful. What was the point of that, though?

‘You haven’t been involved in the case. You only know about it from the gossip that’s been travelling round the force and from what you hear through the media like everyone else. It’s important you know the savagery of who we’re up against and how he works. If he’s taken Ruth you might find something that piques your interest as I talk. You’re a fresh pair of eyes and a very competent pair at that. It may be that you see something we missed and in doing so you find the way to Ruth.’

Chapter 13

Dominic

 

Six months ago

Nadira was ready to move the woman. They had spent hours at the site gathering as much evidence as they could. Outside scenes like this were difficult to process due to the amount of product that could potentially be part of the crime.

The woman’s hands were bagged to prevent loss of forensic evidence and a body bag was laid out at the side of her. The crime scene unit would still have work to do once she had been removed from the shallow grave as they processed whatever lay beneath her. The offender could have left some microscopic evidence beneath her as he laid her down.

Very gently she was lifted and moved over to the body bag.

Nadira looked down into the empty space left behind. Dominic’s eyes were trained on the same area.

‘What’s that?’ She pointed to an area where the victim’s torso had previously lain.

‘Where?’ Dominic couldn’t see what she was pointing at.

‘At the edge of the grave. Soil is covering half of it. Can you see, it seems to be reflective, shiny almost.’

Dominic spotted it and pointed it out to the nearest CSI who bent down and collected it, lifting it up for both Nadira and Dominic to see.

‘What is it?’ Dominic asked.

‘Looks to me to be a . . .’ Nadira tilted her head. ‘Lipstick?’

The CSI tipped the item so he could see the bottom. ‘Yep.’

‘It looks pretty new,’ Nadira said. ‘Like he left it here for us.’

‘Can we get DNA off it?’ Dominic asked.

‘We should be able to. I doubt he’s used it on himself though and I’d not imagine he’s left his prints on it, but of course it’ll get tested for prints as well.’

‘What do you think he’s trying to say?’

‘I don’t know, but it smacks to me of organisation, of someone who has thought this through and who is playing a game. All things I tend not to like in a killing.’

* * *

‘What do we have on the missing persons system?’ Dominic asked of his team as they sat huddled around their desks, each of them with a bag of chips open, forks moving between bag and mouth as they talked. The sharp tang of vinegar permeated the room along with the slick of grease.

‘We have it narrowed down to two possibles within the age range and ethnicity,’ said Hayley. ‘One of them, Vanessa Simpson, has been missing a little over three weeks and the other one, Julie Carver, has been missing—’ she looked up at the team — ‘four days.’

Dominic wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. Grease left a slick across his skin. ‘It could be either, but the likely candidate is Julie, is that what you’re saying?’

A chip was halfway to Hayley’s mouth but she put it back down into the bag. ‘I’d say she was the best bet with our woman only being dead about two days. If we were to ask family to ID the victim I’d go with Julie’s family first.’

Dominic took a slurp from his mug and washed down the cheap and cheerful, but very-bad-for-him, meal they had grabbed while working. ‘Okay then, let’s visit Julie’s husband, let him know what we have and see if he’s willing to do an ID. It won’t be pleasant for him but you’re right, the likelihood is that this is Julie Carver. What was she wearing when she went missing?’

The phone on his desk rang and he held a finger up to hold the question before he answered the call.

‘DS Harrison, it’s Nadira Azim. I haven’t caught you at a bad time, have I?’

‘No, no, not at all. We were going through possible identification scenarios and think we have one. We have a little work to do on it first, of course, but I might be calling you back to do an ID procedure.’

‘That’s good. It’s not easy when relatives don’t know what’s happened to loved ones.’

‘It’s not what you called for though.’

Nadira sighed down the phone. ‘I’ve got the results for the lipstick on the victim’s face and the tube left in the grave and they match.’

Dominic folded the paper over his chips and threw the bag of remains into his bin, then realised he would have to move it into the kitchen otherwise he would be haunted by the smell of greasy chips until the cleaners came in the morning and by then the whole room would be infused with the smell. He shook his head. He’d do it as soon as this call ended. ‘You think he’s starting a calling card?’

‘It’s the way it feels to me and I thought you’d want to know what you’re dealing with sooner rather than later.’

Dominic checked his watch. ‘What time are you doing the PM tomorrow?’

‘I’m going to table her in first,’ Nadira said, her voice had a faraway sound to it as though she was considering something else while she was talking to Dominic. ‘So, I’ll expect you about nine a.m.?’ she asked.