Definitely Dead by Kate Bendelow (howl and other poems TXT) 📕

was going to prove the deaths were suspicious before they had a chance to throw her off the force.

The database held details of intelligence pertaining to each suspect as well as their criminal history, lists of associates, aliases, addresses and even details of any vehicles they were associated to. Maya could also read the physical descriptions, which included any identifying features such as scars or tattoos and warning markers. The warning markers included details such as whether the individual was violent, had access to firearms or if they had any contagious diseases.

Photographs of suspects were also taken every time the individual was admitted to custody. Maya had always found it alarming to see how drink and drugs took a toll on someone’s appearance over the years. The earlier photographs of someone beginning their criminal career usually displayed subdued and teary-looking youngsters. As the years progressed and addiction and poor lifestyle choices took their toll, the images displayed gaunt, hardened-looking, toothless individuals who had aged well before their time. Mark Posner was a typical case in point, and he hadn’t been on the gear half as long as most.

Maya sighed. It was a fruitless task, none of the information she had read about Posner provided her with any answers. She decided to review the photographs taken at Karl Gorman’s house. After all, that first scene was where her suspicion had been initially aroused. Perhaps whatever she had overlooked on the day would be revealed in the photographs.

She took a moment to recall everything of that scene, including her interaction with Chris before she even entered the house. She recalled how impatient he had been with her until he had found out Gorman was her first death. Then she slowly studied each of the photographs Chris had taken before she’d even got there.

She scrolled through the external house shots and the ones leading from the hall and the living room. Each picture had been taken before a stepping plate had been placed down so the floor could be viewed. Eventually, she clicked onto the images of the kitchen. Just seeing the photographs triggered her olfactory memory. Once again, she could smell the rotting stench with a top note of body odour. She was reminded of the state of disarray the kitchen had been in, from the overflowing bin to the sink which was piled high with rubbish.

Then she spotted it. There it was. On the table close to Karl Gorman’s head and the overflowing ashtray – a tea towel. Suddenly, she realised what had left her with the niggling feeling of uncertainty as she was about to leave the scene.

Why would someone who lived in as much squalor as Karl Gorman, a man who clearly didn’t even bother with the washing up, have a clean tea towel out on his dirty kitchen table? Fair enough if he had a couple tucked away in a drawer somewhere, but why was it out on the table next to his dead body? The sink was overflowing with detritus and being used as a bin. It just didn’t make sense.

Maya was now adamant there had to be a link between each of the deaths. There was a common denominator somewhere. She just needed to find it. She typed in Gorman’s details. One by one she scanned through each of the crimes he had been linked to and reread the circumstances. She made a note of the crime numbers. Then she logged into Socrates, the SOCO database.

She searched for the crime numbers and got a match. There had been a rape scene, which Gorman had been sentenced for. According to the system, Chris had examined the scene and Andy had dealt with Gorman. Interesting. She did another frantic crime search, this time against Posner. The last time he had been arrested for possession and supply of a controlled substance, officers had searched his house. Once again, Andy Carr had been the SOCO who had attended the scene.

The hairs on Maya’s neck began to stand. This was it – she was getting close. She just knew it. She felt breathless as she reached for the phone and called Ewan. He answered straight away.

‘Ewan, it’s Maya again. Listen, I need to ask you a huge favour and it’s quite urgent.’

‘Fire away.’

‘When we provide our fingerprints and DNA for elimination purposes, are those samples input onto the main database?’

‘No. There’s an additional system just for elimination purposes.’

‘How often are eliminations checked?’

‘It’s not something that’s routinely done. Usually just on request.’

‘Is there any chance you can compare the other fingerprints found on Celeste’s suicide note to the fingerprints on the elimination database.’

‘Yeah, I can ask. You sound excited – care to share?’

‘Not yet. If you don’t mind. I’m learning not to open my mouth until my assumptions are proven to be fact.’

‘Fair enough. Leave it with me. I’ll let you know if we get an ident.’

‘Thanks so much, Ewan.’

As Maya hung up, she pondered. The answer was so obvious it was staring her in the face. Andy Carr had to be the link between them all. She just needed to wait for the results of the fingerprint ident to be confirmed before she voiced her concerns. Even then there was still one huge question to answer: if Andy was responsible for all the sudden deaths, then why?

Today is the day.

72

Maya had hoped that examining the stolen cars at the garage would be a welcome distraction. Unfortunately, she still found herself checking her phone every few minutes in case Ewan contacted her. She was consumed with the link between Andy and the deaths and was finding it hard to think about anything else. She didn’t even know how long it would take to check the elimination database. It might be an hour or a week. Would she be told the results straight away or would a fingerprint expert have to double-check the fingerprint like they did with crime-scene marks and suspects? She would phone Ewan again as soon as