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

‘Dominic’s been bailed,’ Claudia said sitting in the chair opposite Sharpe without waiting for an invitation. She was too tired for politeness.

‘And your thoughts after spending two days with him?’

‘He’s my dad . . .’ She paused, attempting to parse out her thoughts.

Sharpe waited her out.

‘The bottom line is I need evidence. You know me, the way I work. There isn’t a rule book I don’t like.’ She bit her lower lip. ‘They don’t have the perfect marriage. He admitted to an affair with Hayley Loftus who’s on his team, but said it’s over or it’s going to be over.’ She rubbed at her eyes. ‘I’m not sure which it is to be honest.’

‘Could be motive.’ Sharpe shuffled the papers in front of her and tidied them into a neat pile, tapping the edges on the desk to align them.

‘He’d been caught lying to us, he had to be honest about it. I don’t think it’s anything more than a work fling that has probably run its course. We have the lipstick in the same make and colour the Sheffield Strangler uses, at the scene where Ruth was taken.’

‘Mmm.’ Sharpe was thoughtful. ‘You heard from him this morning.’

‘Yeah, said he doesn’t have Ruth.’

‘What do you think of that?’

‘Dominic seems to think he’s waiting to dump her so we can find her body. Says he likes the ritual of the burial, and the strangulation. It’s his thing. It’s what gets him off. Dominic thinks the Strangler wants us to find her like that. I think Dominic has a point. He’s worked the case for six months. He knows the guy pretty well.’

‘You’re right. And there was nothing on the lipstick?’

‘No. There never has been in any of the cases. It’s not unusual.’

‘What about Ruth’s cells on the lipstick, has he used it on her yet?’

‘I didn’t want to tell Dominic this but yes, he had smeared the lipstick on Ruth.’ Claudia let out a long sigh. The last two days had been difficult.

‘Go home, Claudia. It’s a new day tomorrow. We have a late shift on tonight, they’ll keep making enquiries and will be available should anything come in overnight, but for now, you need some sleep or you’ll be no use to anyone and I want you fresh for tomorrow.’

Claudia stretched her arms over her head and yawned, only now realising how tired she was, though it was doubtful she would actually sleep.

‘You look like shit,’ Sharpe said.

Claudia didn’t comment. But how was it she looked like shit and Sharpe looked immaculate? She rose from the chair. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Bright and early, Claudia.’

* * *

It felt like she’d only been away from her desk a couple of hours when Claudia found herself sitting back at her desk the next morning. She immediately started to type up the interview from the previous day. She had an hour or so before the rest of the team was due in. It should give her enough time to catch up on deskwork. She needed to go through her emails. Two days of not going near them meant they would be stacking up.

Staff started to trickle in. Then it was time to do a team briefing and see where everyone was up to with their enquiries. She looked at the clock, eight a.m. They should be ready for her now.

Claudia’s office was two doors away from the incident room. She liked that she was close to her team. It meant she was accessible and she liked that they came to her if they had a problem. She strode the short distance to the morning briefing.

‘Sorry I didn’t get to see much of you yesterday. It was a tough day all round and I want to thank you for your dedication and professionalism as well as your generosity in dealing with such a sensitive job. I’m sure you’ve already collared Russ and if I know him, he’s been discreet and not given anything away.’

Kane inclined his head in agreement.

‘We’ve no leads on Ruth and it looks like the Sheffield Strangler has her, but we don’t count her out until we have her body. Do I make myself clear?’

There was a quiet round of agreement in the room.

‘So, let’s get on and work through what we have.’

Graham went first, updating the room about the forensics on the lipstick and that it was clean other than having Ruth’s DNA on the actual lipstick itself. Though it didn’t fit with the usual scenes of being left with the body, the make and colour did match that of the Sheffield Strangler and that was a part of the MO that hadn’t been made public.

Claudia looked at Harry. ‘You were tasked with liaising with the source handling team to see if anyone on the streets had heard anything about the missing woman or the Sheffield Strangler. How did you get on?’

Harry leaned back in his chair. ‘No one is reporting having heard anything. It seems that the killer is pretty much keeping to himself.’

It was as she expected.

‘Have we had any results from the photofit we put out?’

Harry again. ‘There have been a few phone calls from people who think they recognise him, but we’ve followed through on them and the majority have alibis for the time period Ruth went missing — it was the easiest period to check. You know what people are like, they want to be involved in a high-profile murder investigation so are nominating their neighbours. Poor guys are gobsmacked.’

‘Someone does know him though.’ She was exasperated they were no closer.

Harry kept quiet. There was nothing to add. Claudia took a deep breath. ‘Russ and I interviewed Dominic Harrison and, for anyone who doesn’t know, he’s my dad.’