Viper

56

Stazione dei carabinieri, Castello di Cisterna Back at her desk, Sylvia mainlined on more coffee and nicotine. Creed's picture stared up at her from an open file and begged a bunch of questions. Was he the type to kill because he felt inadequate? The type to crash a press conference to flaunt his power? Or, was he the proverbial fly in the ointment? One of those weird interlopers who bog you down and bleed you of resources?

The last thing she needed right now was another twist in the already tangled tale of murder and missing women. But that's exactly what she got. It came in the form of the man hastily ushered in to see her. A fresh-faced detective from the local homicide division of the polizia. He'd arrived unannounced and had insisted on seeing her straight away.

'Capitano, my name is Mario Dal Santo.' He was in his early thirties, maybe even late twenties. Sylvia noticed the trousers of his smart grey suit were splashed with mud, as were the soles and heels of his highly polished shoes. 'Please, sit down.'

'I saw you on the news yesterday – the Di Lauro killing. Everyone at the station house is talking about that press conference.'

Great, a surprise dose of public humiliation. Get used to it, girl, you're going to hear that a lot. 'And that's why you're here?'

He managed a sympathetic look. 'No. Not at all. We're investigating the shooting of a young courting couple, not far from here – teenagers…'

'Wait a second,' Sylvia cut him off. She picked up the overnight area crime report from her in-tray. 'This must be really fresh. I've no cross-force intel.'

'We're still at the scene. The ME isn't even there yet. My boss sent me because he remembered a confidential you'd circulated, asking to be alerted if anyone came across a homicide in which a woman was killed by fire.'

Sylvia frowned. 'But you said two shootings, didn't you?'

'I did,' he smiled. Perfect teeth and puppy-dog eyes. 'But I hadn't finished telling you the full story. Two teenagers were killed in the car belonging to one of their parents. A third body was also discovered, a woman's, and this one was burned as well as shot.'

'How? Where?'

'In a pit near where the kids were killed. It's some kind of garbage dump for a campsite. Maybe local rubbish is torched there as well.'

'You said burned – how was she burned? Completely burned, partly burned? I mean, forensically is there anything left of her?'

'There's almost nothing left. Well, there didn't seem much to me. Like I said, the scene is still active. You want to come and see for yourself?'

'Mister, the last thing I want to do is go and see another burned body, but I think I'd better.' She grabbed her lighter and cigarettes and slugged back the now cold coffee, knowing it might be her last for a while. 'Give me a second to update my team. If this incident is connected, I want jurisdiction, understood? No disrespect, but I think we're better equipped to deal with this incident. Agreed?'

'Agreed. I'll have to double-check with my boss but we've got so much on, I reckon he'll be glad to dump the paperwork on your desk.' Dal Santo glanced down at the mess. 'Providing you promise not to lose it in there.'