Play Dead (14 page)

A
s Kim pulled
up at the gate that separated Westerley from civilisation, she wondered how long it would be until this entrance was besieged by reporters and the placard brigade.

The press knew that a body had been found on ‘farmland bordering Wall Heath’, but as yet the exact details had been hidden. With the arrival of equipment and specialists, they were on borrowed time before the secret was out.

The gate began its slow journey. The CCTV camera had alerted her arrival.

The gravel parking area held three vehicles Kim didn’t recognise.

Bryant stood beside the Portakabin as she parked.

Kim felt the full force of the evening sun when she stepped off the bike and switched it off. The passing breeze had kept her cool, but the fact that the temperature had prised the suit jacket from Bryant’s back and rolled his sleeves up to the elbow told her they were mid to high twenties.

‘They’ve checked it twice,’ he said as she removed her helmet. ‘But I’ll let the guys explain when you get down there.’

‘Where are they?’ she asked.

‘Furthest point away, opposite side to where Jemima was found,’ he said, matching her stride as she headed down the hill.

‘Have you called Keats?’ she asked.

Bryant nodded.

And she had called Woody, so between the two of them key personnel should already be on their way.

She glanced down in the general direction Bryant had indicated and was dismayed at what she saw.

‘Jesus, it’s a circus already?’

Although the commotion was in the distance Kim counted at least nine or ten people around the area, including Professor Wright and Daniel Bate.

‘Watch out for Cher,’ Bryant said, guiding her to the left.

In her haste she had almost missed the cut in the grass and the metal grid that lay across the grave. Kim took a quick glance as she passed. The similarity to the real Cher ended with the long black hair. This version was bloated and waxy and writhing with worms.

‘Bloody hell… this place… ’

She shook her head and charged straight into the middle of the group.

‘Okay, guys, what have we got?’ she asked, stepping towards the machine. She sensed Bryant’s despair, but there was little point in introductions. Whoever had the information would shout up.

A man dressed in dark blue coveralls stepped forwards, holding out his hand.

‘Harry Atkins, I’m the archaeologist from Aston University.’

‘Nice to meet you, Harry,’ Kim said, offering a quick smile. ‘What can you tell me?’

If he was surprised by her brusqueness, he didn’t show it.

‘If you look here,’ he said, moving back to the machine. She’d seen ground-penetrating radar equipment before, but this one looked like a lawnmower.

‘What the machine does—’

‘Harry, I’m fine with the explanation.’

Realising how churlish that sounded, and with Woody’s warning ringing in her ears, she offered a smile. ‘But thanks anyway.’

She knew that the machine employed radio waves to emit a pulse to the ground and then recorded echoes.

The picture he wanted to show her was an image built from those echoes.

‘The apex of the hyperbolas indicates that there is a mass right there,’ he said, pointing at Professor Wright’s feet. ‘And it’s between two to four foot down.’

Kim had the sudden urge to tell the professor to move but stopped herself. If there was anyone down there they wouldn’t be hurting now.

She waited for more but Harry shrugged. She’d asked for the condensed version and that’s what she’d got.

She took two steps towards the professor. ‘Eventually there will be reporters and news crews. Now we will set up a cordon at the end of the lane to keep the vans and vehicles away from the entrance but the quarter-mile walk isn’t going to deter them.’

She made a quick appraisal of the people milling around and frowned.

‘Security consultant still here?’ she asked.

‘Needs to update his risk assessment for Darren. A body and an almost-dead body tends to change things for your staff members,’ Bryant said.

‘Okay, but he doesn’t need to be down here. In fact…’ She took a couple of steps away. ‘Folks, may I have your attention,’ she shouted out. ‘We need to clear this area and restrict it to necessary personnel only. That means police officers… and Harry. Can you remain with the equipment?’

He nodded.

‘Can everyone else please make their way back up to the office…’

‘Am I necessary, Inspector?’ Daniel Bate asked.

She thought for a moment. ‘I’d go as far as potentially useful… Daniel,’ she responded. ‘Kev, go and find something to place around Cher. I don’t want anyone falling in that hole.’

‘Got it, boss,’ he answered, heading off.

A soft chuckle sounded from Bryant to her left. ‘Jesus, guv, it’s a good job you sent people away ’cos this field ain’t big enough for everyone.’

She turned and followed the direction of his gaze.

Oh yeah, she could certainly see what he meant.

T
he first group
was led by a woman whose five-foot-four height did nothing to diminish her authority. The four taller males behind struggled to keep pace as she barrelled in Kim’s direction.

‘Oh hell no,’ Bryant said from behind her.

‘Hell, yes,’ Kim said, walking towards the forensic archaeologist.

The woman was clad in grey jeans, plain black T-shirt and Doc Marten boots.

‘Doctor A, good to see you,’ Kim said. Everyone referred to the woman as Doctor A. Originally from Macedonia, her first name was long and complicated. She had termed the name herself.

‘
Dobra vecher
, Inspector.’

The curt nod and brief smile told Kim that was a greeting of some kind.

‘What are we having here?’ she asked, looking around the group.

Harry stepped forwards to explain his findings as Doctor A took an elastic band from her pocket and tied her ombré hair into a tight ponytail.

‘Guv, permission to be moved to another case,’ Bryant said from beside her. ‘Few of us mortals can deal with both you and her together.’

‘Denied,’ Kim said in response.

Many people had an issue with the direct approach of the forensic specialist. Kim did not.

She had met Doctor A once outside of a crime scene and had found her to be both charming and effervescent with a wicked sense of humour.

Doctor A nodded knowingly at the screen Harry was showing her.

The second group arrived, headed by Keats. She recognised two of the techies who had been removed from site earlier in the week and transferred to Digbeth. She’d heard that their findings had led to the apprehension of two suspects, and they had gathered intelligence on a third.

Nods and acknowledgements travelled between the two groups and within a few minutes Kim no longer knew who belonged with whom. Her own team she could account for.

Dawson had found some yellow ‘wet floor’ signs that he was placing around Cher and Bryant was sharing a joke with Daniel Bate.

‘No, not like that,’ Doctor A cried as one of her team began to spray white paint onto the grass. She stepped towards him. ‘I shall show you.’

She spoke to him in hushed tones and began to spray in a gentle motion to and fro, lengthening the line with each stroke. She handed back the can. He followed her example.

‘Perfect,’ she said, patting him on the back.

The male positively beamed from the compliment.

‘Doctor A, good to see you again,’ Keats said, offering his hand.

She accepted it and smiled. ‘You too, Keatings,’ she said, before turning and instructing a second assistant on the equipment she required.

Kim noted the cheek muscle that jumped along the jaw of the pathologist.

Doctor A looked around at her audience as she took possession of a shovel. ‘Stepping away from the area please,’ she said.

Keats moved forwards. ‘Doctor A, it is sunset in two hours’ time. You will not have time to recover the—’

‘Thank you, Keatings, for the reminder that, surprisingly, it will eventually go dark.’

Keats shook his head and walked away.

Kim leaned in and whispered, ‘Doctor A, his name is Keats.’

Doctor A turned to face her. A smile tugged at the woman’s lips.

‘Yes, of course, I know this.’

Kim coughed and turned away.

‘Doctor A,’ Keats insisted. ‘You will not be able to complete in normal daylight.’

She tipped her head and nodded. ‘Then get me the generatings to power the lighting. Chip chip. If there is a lady down here she will be leaving the ground this night.’

And that was why Kim liked her.

K
im leaned
into the back of the car and unclicked Barney from his seatbelt. He remained seated while she attached the lead to his collar. Only when she said ‘out’ did he bounce past her legs.

He turned, sat and waited for her to close the car door.

Bryant had questioned whether Keats and Doctor A could be left alone. But Kim had every faith in their professionalism. And if that failed, Dawson was there and would soon let her know if anything began to brew.

Right now what she needed was a little space to think, the opportunity to get a little clarity. Very little about the Westerley case was making sense to her. She couldn’t help being torn between wishing for the forensic team to uncover something or someone who would help her solve the case and praying that no one else had suffered the same fate as Jemima Lowe. If she received word that there was a body in the ground she would be right back and would not leave until it had been removed.

And then there was Bob. By making a deal with the devil she had removed her own freedom of choice to investigate his murder. Both mysteries were swimming around her head.

The Clent Hills were the perfect place to help her clear her mind. Referred to as Klinter in the Domesday book, the hills rose over a thousand feet and offered 360-degree views.

Their nightly walk was a little earlier than normal. The sun was in the process of setting and they normally walked once it was dark.

Barney wasn’t keen on other people and certainly not on other dogs.

Kim often wondered what had happened in his early years to make him such a complex little character. She supposed he wondered the same thing about her.

She’d recently discovered a small wooded area at the southern base of this hill. Most people walking their dogs were heading for the summit to catch a glimpse as the sun set and plunged the Black Country into a hot, sticky night.

She headed towards an overgrown path that had once been a ramblers’ route but had been cut off by new fencing to prevent access to a hazardous area. It was perfect for just the two of them.

‘Well… fancy seeing you here,’ said a deep and slightly amused voice behind her.

Kim groaned inwardly as she turned to see Daniel Bate smiling at her.

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked.

‘Building a sandcastle,’ he offered sarcastically as he looked down towards Lola.

Barney had tensed his front shoulders and was staring Lola down. The brief power play ended as Lola looked away.

Instinctively Kim’s hand reached out towards the submissive dog. Lola’s nose nuzzled into her palm and her tail wagged.

Daniel reached towards Barney.

‘Don’t,’ she advised. ‘He doesn’t like it.’

Barney hated being approached by strangers and expressed his disgust in a growl. Normally.

Although he didn’t nuzzle like Lola, he tolerated the hand on his head and Kim could swear in better light his tail might have moved slightly.

‘Hmmm… sounds like a case of owner projection there, Kim.’

She resented that she could not maintain that barrier of ‘Detective Inspector’ between them, but she had no jurisdiction over him outside of a crime scene. And even then it was tenuous at best.

‘So you got yourself a dog since we last met?’ he asked.

She should have known the goldfish ruse wouldn’t last for ever.

‘Yeah, apparently they help you socialise,’ she said, raising one eyebrow.

He laughed out loud and his green eyes sparkled. ‘I can see that’s working out well for you,’ he said.

Yeah, she remembered that he was one of the rare people who had actually been able to tell when she was joking.

Silence fell between them. It was charged, and Kim had no choice but to break it.

‘What are you doing here, Daniel?’ she asked.

‘Walking my dog,’ he said, meeting her gaze. Unlike his dog, he did not look away.

‘Why here?’ she asked.

He looked around. ‘Local beauty spot. Thought the dog might enjoy it.’

‘Owner projection?’ she asked.

He shrugged and began to walk. She wasn’t prepared to let him off the hook quite so easily.

‘In this exact spot, at this time?’

‘Just a coincidence,’ he said and smirked.

Yeah and its name was Bryant. She had allowed him to tag along on one of her night-time walks but she wouldn’t bloody do it again.

‘It’s a really nice view from the top,’ she said, nodding towards a well-trodden path.

He watched as a male with two Dobermans headed in that direction. ‘Seems it might be a bit crowded that way. I think I’ll head over here.’

So her choice was to bundle Barney back in the car and take him home or to the local park.

Hang on, why the hell was she even considering it? This was her walk, not Daniel’s. He lived in Dundee and was no threat to her well-being.

She tugged gently on Barney’s lead and strode past the dawdling pair.

‘So how’s the case going?’ he asked, keeping step with her.

‘Slowly,’ she responded.

‘Any suspects?’ he asked.

‘Perhaps.’

‘Oh come on, Kim. I’m sure we can talk about our work without clashing. Ask me something about mine.’

‘When do you have to get back to it?’ she joked.

He chuckled. ‘Predictable, even for you. But to answer you, I’m due back at the weekend. I have two lectures booked for early next week.’

‘So what brought you down here?’ she asked. It looked like she was stuck with him and talk about work was safe enough.

‘The professor wrote to us asking for some advice on the timings of bone decay in sandy soil.’

‘And you couldn’t have sent an email?’

He shrugged. ‘It was worth a visit. I find myself drawn to the Black Country. There’s something dark and moody that brings me back.’

‘Yeah, it’s called smog and grime,’ she retorted.

‘You do realise just how deeply you’re overcompensating, right?’ he asked, ducking below a veil of gnats.

‘For what?’ she asked, tugging Barney away from a stinger.

‘For finding me attractive.’

‘Ha, you wish,’ she said and then offered him a bemused expression. ‘Do you think everyone who doesn’t like you really wants to sleep with you?’

He lifted one eyebrow.

She continued. ‘Because I gotta tell you, Dawson’s not that keen on you either.’

He snapped his fingers. ‘Damn, and I had high hopes for him as well.’

Kim smiled at the humour that was so much like her own.

‘You’re like the playground bully,’ he said.

‘Hey now, just a—’

‘Calm down. I’m giving you an example. It’s like you go out of your way to show people you despise me but it’s really an effort to prove it to yourself.’

‘Oh please,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘I’m sorry if you feel I’ve pulled on your pigtails or stolen your conkers but you couldn’t be more wrong.’

‘Really?’

‘Is it really inconceivable to you that I don’t find you attractive? In fact I think you’re annoying and aloof.’

Daniel surprised her by throwing back his head and laughing.

‘Aloof? You dare to call me aloof?’

Kim stopped walking and he did too. It was time to put him straight once and for all.

‘Daniel, I respect you as a colleague. I know that you’re dedicated and passionate—’

‘Thanks but I already have a CV. What I want is for you to finally take notice and admit there’s a spark between us.’

She faced him squarely. ‘Not even an ember, Doctor Bate.’

He took a step towards her. His eyes danced with the challenge.

‘Want to test the theory and see?’

No, she bloody well did not.

‘You take one more step, Daniel—’

Her words were cut off as both their phones began to ring.