Play Dead (D.I. Kim Stone, #4)(64)

Bryant stepped forwards. ‘No, actually she didn’t.’

Dunn nodded. ‘Yeah, yeah, she was in line for it, a dead cert, really but…’

‘What happened?’ Bryant asked as Kim shoved her hands into her pockets.

‘There was this raid on a flat in Hollytree. The gangs weren’t prolific back then, and it was every man for himself. A car chase led to a run up three flights of stairs at Holden Court.’

‘One of the maisonette blocks?’ Bryant asked.

Dunn nodded. ‘By the time the two chasing officers, that’s your boss here and a kid named Lampitt, got to the scene, we’d had intelligence the youth was high on heroin and carrying a knife. The order was issued not to enter until backup arrived.’

‘And?’ Bryant asked.

‘They forced entry, and the kid jumped out the window. The little shit didn’t die, but he wasn’t very well for a bit, and your boss here was the one that made the call to enter, said her statement. Promotion gone,’ he said, opening his hands as though setting something free.

‘Okay, that’s enough reminiscing about the good old days,’ Kim said, moving to stand between Bryant and Dunn.

Dunn looked around her. ‘Poor old Officer Lampitt was first day back on shift after his missus had suffered a miscarriage and it’s ever so strange that he was the one with the bruised shoulder, not your boss here.’

‘I don’t mark easily,’ Kim said, narrowing her eyes at Dunn.

‘Yeah, so you said.’ He looked back to Bryant. ‘Cost her a good nine months until she eventually got what she deserved.’

‘Mike…’ she warned.

He shrugged. ‘Just thought the guy could do with knowing what kind of boss he was working with.’

Bryant nodded his head. ‘Thanks for that, but I’ve got a pretty good idea.’

‘Hey, Inspector, glad you could make it,’ Keats called, looking up at her from the ground.

Kim ignored him as her eyes focussed on the thing she’d come to see. The body. This male had been dumped closer to the treeline approximately twenty feet from the water. An old condom sat three inches away from his head, leaving Kim in little doubt about some of the woodland activity.

This victim was the complete opposite of the man found at Fens Pool. She could see by the greying of the hair that they were similar in age, but this man was tall and gangly. His frame was slight and appeared undernourished.

His feet were clad in trainers that had not accumulated their filthy colour over a few days. His jeans were supermarket brand and ingrained with oil stains that would never come out. She knew all about that.

His T-shirt was plain and had once been white. She wondered if it had been washed alongside the oil-stained jeans.

As her gaze travelled up the body it met with the bloody stumps that ended at his wrists. The flies weaved and ducked around the open flesh, undaunted by the police presence. Kim was instantly reminded of Westerley.

Although the picture had walked out of a bad horror movie, no special effects had been used. Gruesome as the sight was, the stumps were unusually clean.

‘After death?’ Kim asked Keats as she nodded towards the wrists.

Keats nodded. ‘Volume of blood indicates that the heart was no longer pumping.’

‘Cause of death?’ she asked as her eyes continued their journey looking for clues.

‘Ahem…’ said Dunn from beside her.

Damn, she had forgotten it was not her crime scene. She was here for information purposes only.

‘Sorry,’ Kim said and continued to walk around the body.

‘Well, for whichever detective inspector cares, there is no identification on his person, and I would estimate he’s been here for between fourteen to eighteen hours. I can’t state cause of death yet, however there is bruising to the upper-neck area.’

Kim knew this was for her benefit and that Keats was offering any information that might help her without her having to ask and encroach on someone else’s crime scene. He was also aware that she would not be able to attend the post-mortem.

‘Are you finished?’ Dunn asked her.

She nodded and turned away from the body. She had learned all she’d needed to know. The two murders were linked. Bob was involved in this somehow.

But good manners and ingrained ethics dictated that as it was now an active case again she should not do anything to hamper or interfere with the investigation of her colleagues.

‘So this other guy from Fens Pool…?’ Dunn asked.

She held up her hands. ‘It’s clearly your case now. I’ll step away and leave it alone.’

She was surprised when he threw back his head and laughed loudly.

‘Oh no you won’t, not if you learned anything from me at all,’ he said wryly before walking away.

She headed back to where Bryant leaned against the side of the changing rooms. Both of them viewing the body on a case that was not theirs would have been overkill.

‘What’s the betting his name is Larry?’ Kim asked.

She couldn’t help but focus on the similarity in location to where Bob had been found at Fens Pool.

‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Bryant said, staring across 20,000 square feet of water.

‘What is it that…?’

‘He’s luring them,’ Bryant said and immediately Kim knew he was right. Both locations were easy to get to but had areas of bush, foliage and trees. The perfect place for illicit activity.