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

‘It’ll have to be referred to Professional Standards,’ Kapoor said walking towards the stairs that took them back up to the incident room.

‘You never know,’ said Dominic, ‘They may have sent Danielle an email and it could be traced. It might be as simple as that.’

Kapoor laughed. ‘We’re talking about cops, Dom. I’d hope if they were going to do something where they didn’t want to get caught that they’d have a bit more sense than that. But we can but hope.’

‘It might not be a cop, it could be civilian staff.’

‘Yeah, forensic civilian staff. The people who think about getting caught all day long. I don’t hold out much hope but I’ll put the referral in to PSD when I get into my office. We’ll leave this messy investigation in their capable hands, we have enough to be getting on with without twisting ourselves inside out with this.’

Dominic couldn’t believe it. Not only were they dealing with a serial killer, they were also facing a professional standards investigation because they had a snitch on the team somewhere. This was dangerous because if the killer got too much information it could help him stay one step ahead. It was also not good for the morale of the city where people were already frightened and twitchy.

He said goodnight to Kapoor and headed towards the incident room. It was time to brief his team before heading home for the day.

‘DS Harrison?’ A voice called out behind him.

Dominic turned. The man standing behind him was familiar but he couldn’t quite place him. He was in his thirties, medium build with a full beard.

The man could obviously sense Dominic’s misremembering as he strode forward, holding out his right hand. ‘Samuel Tyler, Victim Support, we met about four weeks ago when I spoke with you about Julie Carver and seeing her family?’ It was phrased as a question. A question about Dominic’s memory.

The conversation returned to Dominic. He kept his eyes up, looking at Samuel’s face, but remembered the burnt hand and his faux pas in staring at it when they’d met. ‘Oh yes. Sorry about that. Busy day.’ He was embarrassed. He was usually pretty good with people.

Samuel smiled. ‘Don’t worry about it. I imagine you’re struggling to recognise yourself in the mirror in the morning, the pace this job is going, never mind remembering a stranger from a month ago.’

Yes, Samuel would know all about the pace of the job working in Victim Support. ‘You’re not far wrong there.’ Dominic laughed at how well Samuel had zoned in on the fatigue the job was creating. ‘You’re assigned to the family of the second victim?’

Samuel’s smile slid away. ‘Afraid so. They seem to think it’s best that one person deals with the families so it keeps the information contained.’

Dominic could understand that. ‘It has to be tough on you though. Picking up every job that comes in. I’m sure we’ll ID the third victim any day now.’

‘No tougher than you’re finding it, DS Harrison.’

‘Call me Dominic.’

Samuel inclined his head. ‘Dominic. I make sure I find ways to relax when I’m not working.’

Dominic rubbed his head. He wasn’t sure he was as well balanced as Samuel. He was pretty caught up in the case and barely had any free time to relax outside of it. ‘How are the families bearing up?’ He was kept up to date through the daily briefings of any case-relevant information the FLOs were feeding back to the team, but he wasn’t aware of the families’ emotional stability.

Samuel rubbed his left hand. Dominic couldn’t help but look down as the action caught his eye. He dragged his gaze away quickly.

‘As you’d expect really. They swing between disbelief, anger and denial. Every hour is a new hour, never mind every day. In fact it’s a minute-by-minute process. Grief is difficult at the best of times, but when a loved one has been snatched from you in such violent circumstances it becomes pretty hard to accept and process.’

‘And that’s where you come in.’ Dominic didn’t envy the man. He’d rather be following the leads on the investigation than be mired in the turmoil of the relatives’ emotions. Not that he was heartless, but because he didn’t think his heart could take it. It would break him.

‘I try.’ Samuel shrugged.

‘Don’t undersell yourself.’ Dominic liked the man. It was a tough job and he was grateful to him. ‘What you’re doing is invaluable. To us as well as the families. If I can ever do anything for you then you only have to ask.’ He fished in his pocket and pulled out a contact card handing it over to Samuel.

A small flush crept up the top of Samuel’s cheeks, the part that wasn’t covered by his beard, as the man took Dominic’s card. ‘I don’t know what to say, thank you.’

Dominic clapped him on the shoulder. ‘We’re going to get this bastard.’

Chapter 38

Dominic

The incident room was half empty. People had started to taper off and head home. His team was still here, waiting for him to finish his briefing.

‘How’d it go?’ asked Hayley.

‘Not good.’

‘What happened after I left?’ Rhys closed down his computer and stood from his chair.

‘Someone leaked to Danielle Spicer that we’d had contact from the killer.’

‘Jesus.’ Hayley’s face dropped. ‘Who the hell would do that?’

‘That’s a serious question, Hayley, and one the boss is taking up with PSD as we speak.’

‘I’m not surprised.’

Paul pulled on his coat. ‘How about we go for a drink? We know it’s not one of us. It’s been a long day, I think we all deserve it.’

Dominic was tired. Paul was right, it had been a long day and he could do with