LITMIR.BIZ

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‘He doesn’t like me.’

      ‘Would he get a freshly preserved lab skeleton, place it here and call you out to get you fired?’

      Jessie’s face collapsed in panic. ‘A lab skeleton?’

      Sally nodded. ‘I’m pretty sure these bones have been treated.’ They emerged from the tent. Sally arched backwards, stretching her spine. Jessie was too distraught to speak. ‘The undertakers are here. Let them bring the remains to the hospital. We’ll wait for the results on these swabs, see what we’ve got. If your DI has borrowed this from a medical college, we’ve got him. If he didn’t, then we’ll do a PM tomorrow and find out what we are dealing with. Okay?’

      No, she was not okay. She had danced right into Mark Ward’s trap.

      ‘Tell all the undertakers to wear protective clothing,’ said Sally.

      Jessie lifted her head. ‘Why protective clothing?’

      ‘The smell could be a cleaning agent mixed with formaldehyde, but it could be worse. We don’t know and it isn’t worth taking the risk. Plastic gloves will protect them from germs, not acids.’

      ‘Acid?’

      ‘It’s possible. Acid is still used as a way to make people disappear. No skull means no dental records. These bones are virtually unidentifiable.’ Sally touched Jessie’s arm. ‘For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing. Leaving it to the undertakers to pick up without examining it first could have got someone hurt.’

      ‘You think so?’

      ‘Yes. Something is not right here. Stick to your guns, Detective. Whoever this dead woman is, she did not end up here by accident.’

      ‘So it’s a woman?’

      ‘Yes. But that’s all we know.’

      The two women made their way laboriously up the bank. The mud sucked at their boots. Jessie looked back at the staked-out area. Already the furthest two poles were being licked by the rising water.

      ‘We going?’ said DC Fry hopefully.

      ‘Once you’ve checked that lot have picked up everything and photographed everything. I’m making you exhibits officer, don’t let me down.’

      ‘Come on, ma’am. You’re not still going through with this?’

      ‘Through with what, Fry?’

      He did not answer her. Not directly. ‘It’s just … I thought you were doing something special with DCI Jones.’

      There was no point in saying anything. Jessie left him smirking. Fry sat so neatly in Mark Ward’s pocket she kept forgetting he was there.

      PC Ahmet was still taking the rowers’ statements. ‘Can you stay here, guard the site until it is completely covered in water, then be back here when the tide falls?’ said Jessie.

      ‘Would overtime commence at the appropriate time?’

      ‘Of course.’

      ‘Then I accept your request.’

      ‘Thanks. Here’s my card – if anything strange happens or anyone comes asking questions, take their details, get a PDF and call me. Only me. Got it?’

      ‘Yes, ma’am.’

      ‘Thanks, PC Ahmet. You’ve been great.’

       CHAPTER 6

      Clare Mills stood at her father’s grave and listened to the belching buses trundle by. Cars hooted, mopeds buzzed and boys swore loudly. Not a very peaceful resting place, Whitechapel. She knelt down and swept away dead leaves. Here lies Trevor Mills. Loving husband and father. Born May 13th, 1933. Died April 27th, 1978. RIP. When Clare had first found the plot, she’d been angry that it didn’t say murdered. ‘Died’ implied that her father had something to do with his own death. He’d had a bad heart, weak genes, hadn’t eaten his greens, or had fallen at work. Drowned. Clare watched a drunk urinate against a once majestic headstone. The angel’s head was missing. Vandalism was a great leveller.

      She looked back at the small flat square of stone under which her father’s bones lay. ‘Good news, Dad,’ she said quietly to herself. ‘The police are finally taking us seriously. I’m going to find Frank.’ Her mother was in Woolwich burial ground. Another almighty disaster in a life coloured by other people’s mistakes. Even in death, they couldn’t be together. Clare always felt bad that she visited her father more often than her mother. She felt guilty whenever she walked into Woolwich and saw the fresh yellow roses that Irene had dutifully brought. Irene had been her Mum’s best friend. It was Irene’s family who took Veronica in when her mother had run off. In a way, Irene was Clare’s only real friend too, if she thought about it. Irene never said she left the flowers. Clare knew that it still hurt her to talk about it. Irene missed her friend as much as Clare missed her mother, they were united by that common denominator. It was their foundation. Irene had been with her all through the search for Frank. Given her valuable clues and held her when, again, they came to nothing.

      A man stood by the bench behind her. She glanced at her watch. Trawling time again. She was due at work. She blew a silent kiss to the ground and turned away. Two men were emerging from behind an ivy-clad tree. One was rolling up a rug, the other was struggling with his flies. It made her sick what went on in the graveyard, but she’d never seen anyone do anything near her father’s grave. No grip on a small flat stone. The tombs were the worst off. Illicit sex: another of life’s levellers. Judges or bricklayers, they all looked the same with their trousers down.

      Clare took the bus to work, changed into overalls for the morning shift and began to sweep. She liked autumn. Red leaves made a welcome change from fag butts and beer cans.

       CHAPTER 7

      In the police station’s yard Jessie rinsed the mud off her boots, watching the dirty water mingle with the soapsuds that bubbled in the drain. Above her was the shower-room window, where the washing men’s words billowed out into the yard, enveloped with steam and the smell of expensive soap. Jessie wished she smoked; she needed more time to think about how she would handle Mark. The men were talking football. Something about transfer rules. Then she heard something that made her concentrate.

      ‘That was gross, wasn’t it?’

      ‘This fucking job is bad enough without rotting jellyfish pouring out all over us.’

      ‘Insides is one thing, jellyfish have always given me the willies.’

      Jessie catapulted herself into a run.

      ‘Do you think it was part of the joke?’

      ‘What, some metaphor about a stinking fish?’

      They laughed.

      ‘Fucking hell, ma’am!’

      ‘What jellyfish?’ demanded Jessie.

      The scene of crime boys slipped around on the wet tiles, frantically trying to protect their modesty.

      ‘Jesus Christ –’

      ‘Do you mind –’

      ‘This is the men’s locker room.’

      ‘What fucking jellyfish?’

      A ballsy lad put his hand on his hips. Jessie’s eyes did not leave his.

      ‘The one that fell out of the skeleton’s torso.’ He gave her a challenging half-smile.

      ‘Did you bring it in?’

      ‘No way.’

      Jessie

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