Silent Scream

Three

Four minutes after receiving the phone call, Kim was pulling off the drive in the ten-year-old Golf GTI that she used only when the roads were icy or when the firing of the Ninja would be an anti-social act.

The torn jeans stained with oil, grease and dust had been replaced by black canvas trousers and a plain white T-shirt. Her feet were now encased in black patent boots with a quarter-inch heel. Her short black hair required little maintenance. A quick comb from her fingers and she was ready to go.

Her customer would not be concerned.

She weaved the car to the end of the road. The machine felt alien within her control. Although it was only small, Kim had to concentrate on passing distances of parked cars. So much metal around her felt cumbersome.

A mile away from the target property, the smell of burning found its way in through the vents. As she travelled, the smell became stronger. Half a mile out, she could see a column of smoke leaning and reaching above the Clent hills. A quarter mile, and Kim knew she was heading right for it.

Second only in size to The Met, the West Midlands Police covered almost 2.6 million inhabitants.

The Black Country was situated to the north and west of Birmingham and had become one of the most intensely industrialised regions in the country by Victorian times. Its name came from the outcropping coal that made the soil black over large areas. The thirty foot seam of ore and coal was the thickest in Great Britain.

Now, unemployment levels in the area were the third highest in the country. Petty crime was on the increase, along with anti-social behaviour.

The crime scene sat just off the main road that linked Stourbridge to Hagley, an area that did not normally attract high levels of law-breaking. The houses closest to the road were new double-fronted properties with sparkling white roman columns and black leaded windows. Further along the road the houses were spread further apart and were considerably older.

Kim pulled up at the cordon and parked between two fire tenders. Without speaking, she flashed her ID to the officer guarding the perimeter tape. He nodded and lifted it for her to duck underneath.

‘What happened?’ she asked the first fire officer she found.

He pointed to the remains of the first conifer tree at the edge of the property. ‘Fire was started there and spread through most of the trees before we got here.’

Kim noted that of the thirteen trees that formed the property line, only the two closest to the house were untouched.

‘You discovered the body?’

He pointed to a fire officer sitting on the ground, talking to a constable. ‘Just about everyone else was out watching the commotion but this house stayed dark. Neighbours assured us that the black Range Rover was hers and that she lived alone.’

Kim nodded and approached the fire officer on the ground. He looked pale and she noted a slight tremble to his right hand. Finding a dead body was never pleasant, no matter what training you’d had.

‘Did you touch anything?’ she asked.

He thought for a second and then shook his head. ‘The bathroom door was open but I didn’t step inside.’

Kim paused at the front door, reached into the cardboard box to the left and took out blue plastic coverings for her feet.

Kim took the stairs two at a time and entered the bathroom. She immediately located Keats, the pathologist. He was a diminutive figure with a completely bald head, set off by a moustache and a beard that fell into a point below his chin. He’d had the honour of guiding her through her first post mortem eight years earlier.

‘Hey, Detective,’ he said, looking around her. ‘Where’s Bryant?’

‘Jesus, we’re not joined at the hip.’

‘Yeah but you’re like a Chinese dish. Sweet and sour pork ... but without Bryant you’re just sour ... ’

‘Keats, how amused do you think I am at this time of night?’

‘Your sense of humour isn’t really evident any time to be fair.’

Oh, how she wanted to retaliate. If she wished to, she could comment on the fact that the creases in his black trousers were not quite straight. Or she could point out that the collar of his shirt was slightly frayed. She could even mention the small bloodstain on the back of his coat.

But right now a naked body lay between them, demanding her full attention.

Kim moved closer to the bath slowly, careful not to slip on the water that was being sloshed around by two white suits.

The body of the female lay partly submerged. Her eyes were open and her dyed blonde hair was fanned out in the water, framing her face.

Her body floated, so that the tip of her breasts broke the surface of the water.

Kim guessed the female to be mid- to-late-forties but well kept. Her upper arms appeared toned but limp flesh hung in the water. Her toenails were painted a soft pink and no stubble showed on her legs.

The volume of water on the floor indicated that a struggle had taken place and that the woman had fought for her life.

Kim heard footsteps thundering up the stairs.

‘Detective Inspector Stone, a pleasant surprise.’

Kim groaned, recognising the voice and the sarcasm dripping from the words.

‘Detective Inspector Wharton, the pleasure is all mine.’

The two of them had worked together a few times and her disdain had never been hidden. He was a career officer who wanted to climb the ladder as quickly as possible. He had no interest in solving cases, only adding to his tally.

His final humiliation had been when she’d made D.I. before he had. Her early promotion had prompted him to move house and transfer to West Mercia; a smaller force with less competition.

‘What are you doing here? I think you’ll find this is a West Mercia case.’

‘And I think you’ll find it’s right on the border and I got first dibs.’

Unconsciously, she’d stepped in front of the bath. The victim didn’t need any more curious eyes roving over her naked body.

‘It’s my case, Stone.’

Kim shook her head and folded her arms. ‘I ain’t budging, Tom.’ She tipped her head. ‘We could always make this a joint investigation. I was here first, so I’ll lead.’

His thin mean face filled with colour. Reporting to her would be done only after gouging out his own eyeballs with a rusty spoon.

She assessed him from head to toe. ‘And my first instruction would be to enter the crime scene with appropriate protection.’

He looked down at her feet and then at his own unprotected footwear. More haste, less speed, she thought to herself.

She lowered her voice. ‘Don’t make this a pissing contest, Tom.’

He gave her a look filled with contempt before turning and storming out of the bathroom.

Kim turned her attention back to the body.

‘You’d have won,’ Keats said quietly.

‘Huh?’

His eyes danced with amusement. ‘The pissing contest.’

Kim nodded. She knew.

‘Can we get her out of here yet?’

‘Just a couple more close ups of her breastbone.’

As he spoke, one of the forensic officers pointed a camera with a lens the length of an exhaust pipe at the woman’s breasts.

Kim leaned in closer and saw two marks above each breast.

‘Pushed down?’

‘I’m thinking so. Preliminary exam shows no other injuries. I’ll tell you more after the post mortem.’

‘Any guesses on how long?’

Kim could see no evidence of the liver probe, so she was guessing he’d used the rectal thermometer before she'd arrived.

She knew that a body dropped temperature by 1.5 degrees centigrade in the first hour. Normally it was between 1.5 and 1.0 degree centigrade every hour thereafter. She also knew that figure to be affected by many other factors. Not least that the victim was naked and submerged in now-cold water.

He shrugged. ‘I’ll do further calculations later but I’d say no more than about two hours.’

‘When can you ... ’

‘I’ve got a ninety-six-year-old lady who expired after falling asleep in her armchair and a twenty-six-year-old male with the needle still in his arm.’

‘Nothing urgent then?’

He checked his watch. ‘Midday?’

‘Eight,’ she countered.

‘Ten and no earlier,’ he grumbled. ‘I’m human and need occasional rest.’

‘Perfect,’ she said. It was the exact time she had in mind. It would give her chance to brief her team and task someone to attend.

Kim heard more footsteps on the stairs. The sound of laboured breathing came closer.

‘Sergeant Travis,’ she said, without turning. ‘What have we got?’

‘Officers are canvassing the area. The FOA rounded up a couple of neighbours but the first thing they knew was the fire service rolling up. Alert call was from a passing motorist.’

Kim turned and nodded. The First Officer Attending had done a good job of securing the scene for the forensics team and corralling any potential witnesses but the houses were set back from the road and separated by a quarter acre. Not exactly a mecca for the nosey neighbour.

‘Go on,’ she said.

‘Point of entry was a smashed glass panel in the back door and the fire officer states that the front door was unlocked.’

‘Hmmm ... interesting.’

She nodded her thanks and headed down the stairs.

One technician was inspecting the hallway and another was dusting the back door for fingerprints. A designer handbag sat on the breakfast bar. Kim had no idea what the gold monogram fastener meant. She never used handbags but it looked expensive.

A third tech entered from the dining room next door. He nodded towards the handbag. ‘Nothing taken. Credit cards and cash still intact.’

Kim nodded and headed out of the house. At the doorway she removed the shoe coverings and placed them into a second box. All protective clothing would be removed from the scene and examined for trace evidence later.

She stepped under the cordon. One fire tender remained on watch to ensure the blaze was totally extinguished. Fire was clever and just one ember that went unnoticed could set the place ablaze within minutes.

She stood at the car, surveying the bigger picture of the scene before her.

Teresa Wyatt lived alone. Nothing appeared to have been taken or even disturbed.

The killer could have left safe in the knowledge that the body would not be discovered until the following morning at the earliest and yet they had started a fire to expedite police attention.

Now all Kim had to do was work out why.