Blood Loss by Kerena Swan (good beach reads .txt) 📕

Paton rushed over to a shop and bought bottles of fruit juice and water, then quickly phoned Wendy. He was relieved when she answered the phone. Her voice was flat and she sounded weary but at least she was up. She promised to keep an eye on Tommy and he thanked her, adding that he’d get home as early as possible. He rang his sister quickly to tell her she didn’t need to look after Tommy, after all.

Paton walked across to meet Cheryl, his heart a little lighter. He disliked having to ask his sister for help. She had her own busy life to deal with. Cheryl smiled at him and he was about to suggest she should go and look for Mrs Nash when the woman appeared with reddened eyes.

‘Sorry about that. I’m fine now. Shall we go?’

The heavy silence was like a fourth person in the car as they allowed Victoria Nash time to compose herself. Paton glanced at her occasionally in the mirror but she continued to stare out of the window. He’d asked Cheryl to come along as he knew she’d be good at managing the situation. She exuded warmth and empathy, encouraging people to open up about their feelings and worries. She’d even cajoled news about Wendy out of him. Cheryl was often the designated family liaison officer and it was surprising how much information she could glean from families of victims or missing persons. Paton waited for her to use her skills and knew she was biding her time.

‘This must be very distressing for you,’ she said eventually, turning in her seat to face Victoria.

‘I keep thinking it won’t be Robert but, if it isn’t, then where is he? I want an answer but not like this.’ Victoria shook her head and bit her lip.

‘When did you last see your husband?’ Cheryl asked.

‘I dropped him off at Leeds airport twelve days ago. He was only supposed to be gone a week. He called me when he arrived but the signal was dodgy.’

‘Did you speak to him every day?’

‘I didn’t hear much from him all week but that’s not unusual when he’s constantly in meetings. He’s not the chatty sort. I went to the airport to meet him as planned but he didn’t arrive. I waited for the next two flights from Munich, but he wasn’t on them either.’ Her voice snagged on the last four words.

‘Why did he go to Munich?’ Paton asked. He knew he should leave the informal interview to Cheryl, but he was intrigued.

‘Business. He’s a negotiator for acquisitions and mergers. He’d been working on this takeover for months.’

If this was a fictitious reason for leaving his wife to have an illicit week with a lover, then this man was clever and had gone to considerable lengths to build an alibi. Perhaps the body wasn’t Mr Nash after all.

Paton waited quietly at the back of the room. Cheryl sat down with Mrs Nash while the mortician explained that the person in the next room would be covered with a sheet up to his neck but his face and one hand would be visible. He’d also be pale. They rose together and Mrs Nash was shown into a small room where the body lay.

The mortician withdrew and Paton and Cheryl watched from the doorway as Mrs Nash took a tentative step forward. She stopped abruptly with a loud gasp and pressed her knuckles to her mouth. A low moan escaped her and her knees began to buckle. Cheryl rushed forward to support her by the elbow and waited a moment before speaking. ‘Mrs Nash. Is this your husband, Robert Nash?’

‘Yes,’ his wife whispered, taking his hand in hers. ‘Yes it is. Oh, God. He’s so cold!’

They left Victoria Nash alone with her husband’s body and withdrew to the waiting room. When she emerged she looked at them, her eyes puffy and rimmed with red. ‘I want to know everything,’ she said. ‘Where was he found? What happened to him? Did he suffer?’ Her voice broke and she sank into a chair with her head in her hands.

It wouldn’t do her any good to stay here. Paton needed to get her to her hotel. Cheryl would stay in an adjoining room for the night and offer support if needed. They’d agreed that she’d update him regularly with any new information and tell Mrs. Nash a little about where her husband was found without giving evidence away. He caught Cheryl’s attention and tilted his head. She understood and gently took Victoria Nash’s elbow to guide her from the seat.

Back at the station he called all team members who were in the building into a meeting. He couldn’t deny he was pleased when he heard that the SIO had been called away to attend the scene of a shooting involving drug gangs in Edinburgh. Paton enjoyed being in charge. The sky beyond the windows was beginning to fade into dusk as he talked and the fluorescent lighting hummed above them.

‘We have an ID for the victim. His name is Robert Nash and he lived at 1, Bishops Court, Leeds. He worked for Fusion Mergers UK as a negotiator and was supposed to be flying to Munich but came here instead.’ He looked around at his team as they waited expectantly for his direction, and felt a moment of satisfaction. ‘Mitchell, I want you to speak to his employer – find out what projects he was working on, who he met up with and what he liked for lunch. I want every detail.’

Mitchell nodded and scribbled notes on the pad in front of him.

‘Tony, I need you to contact Leeds airport. See what flight he took from Leeds – likely to be Glasgow or Edinburgh, but try Aberdeen as well – then we’ll check out CCTV to see what vehicle he got into. We’re getting closer. I can feel it in my bones.’

Chapter 17

The Following July | Jenna

‘Morning,’ I mumble as I shuffle