Hunting Humans, page 7
part #3 of DCI Glover Series
Suddenly, Scot’s phone rang. He apologised to DS Paterson before quickly walking away to answer it.
“Someone’s got a fan,” DI Young teased.
DS Paterson playfully hit him. “Shut it, Rory.” She gave me an awkward look before returning her attention to Scot. “He looks a bit serious, disnae he?”
I looked toward Scot and realised she was right. He was talking into his phone with a furrowed brow and looked as though he was in deep concentration.
“Let’s just hope it’s someone with information for us,” I replied. “God only knows we need it.”
DS Paterson looked at me. “Not feeling tae hopeful on this one?”
I lifted my hat and scratched under it. “Whoever killed our victim is no fool. They may have missed at least one shot, but they hit their mark in the end... and they knew a good place to hunt her down without being interrupted.”
DI Young nodded solemnly. “Aye... I dinnae think we are dealing with any amateur either.”
Scot hung up the phone and approached us. “That was one of the other rangers, they think they’ve found something!”
“What?” the three of us asked in unison.
“There’s an abandoned cabin not tae far from here,” Scot continued eagerly. “Some of yer PCs are looking at it now. Shall I take ye?”
I glanced in the direction of Fiona, disliking the thought of leaving her alone, but eventually nodded. I knew Fiona would want to be thorough and, if she finished before we returned, she had our numbers.
Scot looked happy to keep moving and beckoned for us to follow him. He kept ahead of us—though I noticed quickly that he repeatedly glanced back at DS Paterson to ensure she was okay—and spoke to us as he directed us.
“I cannae believe some idiot may have used one of those cabins fur such a horrid reason!” Scot exclaimed in dismay, shaking his head at the thought. “Nae one has had permission tae use them fur years.”
“What are these cabins then and why are they there?” I asked curiously.
“There amn’t many abandoned ones around these woods... likely four at the most,” Scot answered. “They used tae be lookout stations or stop points fur rangers, but the ones we use now are a lot closer tae the trails... we dinnae use any as far out as this anymore.”
“Would someone find it hard to access them?” I queried.
Scot looked over his shoulder at me, his cheeks reddening. “There is nothing in them, so they are left unlocked... it isnae like anyone could take anything from them.”
No, just use them as places to murder innocent women, I thought unhappily.
We walked in silence for around fifteen minutes until I spotted the cabin, a ranger, and two PCs ahead of us. I looked back over my shoulder in the direction we walked and realised the victim had run for a little while before she’d been shot. I turned back to the cabin and pondered its role in all of this. Had this been where the victim had been left to fight for her life? Had she been wandering the woods in fear, then stumbled upon the cabin and hoped it would provide her with some safety for a moment?
I stepped toward the PCs and the ranger, who all looked at me respectfully. One of the PCs, a medium built woman, stepped toward us with a stern expression.
“Sir,” she said gruffly.
I nodded. “Have you had any chance to look inside?”
“We had a glance, sir, but once we were certain it had been used recently, we didnae want tae risk disturbing the scene.”
I thanked her, then turned to DI Young and DS Paterson. “Let’s get inside.”
They both agreed, and we made our way toward the cabin. Scot kept back and started talking to the ranger. The door had been left open—either from whoever had used it or the PCs who had looked into it—so we were able to enter it easily. As soon as we did my eyes were drawn to an old, flat mattress that had been left on the floor. It had a dated look to it, so it was impossible to know how long it had been there. Apart from that, the area was bare.
“We need forensics in here,” I said firmly, then turned toward DS Paterson. “Can you make some calls and get some SOCOs out here to assist Fiona?”
“Will dae, James.”
“And speak to Scot and his ranger friend,” I added. “The SOCOs will need guides.”
DS Paterson agreed, then left. However, when she turned back toward the door she stopped.
“What is it?” I asked, my eyes moving in the same direction.
DS Paterson didn’t need to answer as within less than a second, I saw what had caught her eye. We hadn’t noticed it before since the door was open, but now that we were on the inside of the cabin, I could see a piece of paper had been pinned to the inside of the door. We all moved toward it, and as we read the message there, DS Paterson exhaled in horror.
“This is sick!” she exclaimed.
I nodded, unable to say anything else. Whoever had killed our victim had been playing a sick game. They had brought her to this cabin—likely unconscious based on the message—and left her there to fend for herself. At some point, she’d been left with no choice but to leave this place and run right into their sick trap.
There was no doubt in my mind that we were dealing with one seriously depraved killer, and I knew someone who went to great lengths to kill a woman for a game would likely do so again.
We could be dealing with a serial killer.
9
DS Paterson left the cabin and started to call some SOCOs to join us. I kept my eyes on the piece of paper as my mind drifted to DI Arnold. I didn’t relish the idea of her case being pushed to the sidelines—yet again—but with someone as dangerous as this killer out there, I knew they had to be my priority.
I read the letter several times. Although there were only a few words on it, they spoke volumes: Freedom is yours… if you have the courage to take it.
It was like the killer was baiting her, pushing her to leave the cabin so they could stalk her like a deer. They had a depraved mind, and I couldn’t deny that a large part of me was afraid we hadn’t seen the last of them. As much as I felt for our victim, I just had to hope this kill was personal and not the start of a spree.
I stepped outside of the cabin with DI Young—who was a bit behind me as he quickly grabbed the letter and bagged it—and I was happy to see that DS Paterson had finished her phone call.
“I have good news,” DS Paterson said. “It wid appear they were already contacted by Fiona and will be here within a few minutes.”
I looked toward Scot. “Can you ensure one of your rangers will be there to meet them, please?”
Scot nodded and quickly walked off with his phone.
Once he was gone, I approached the PCs and the other ranger. I shook the ranger’s large hand and his brows raised in surprise. He had short black hair that was in tight curls and a beard that looked rather small and pointless on his weak chin.
“We appreciate everything you and your fellow rangers have done to help us,” I said sincerely.
He smiled weakly. “We respect these woods, Detective, so I can assure ye we are just as invested in this case as ye are.”
I nodded, then turned toward the PCs. “The SOCOs will be here soon to look at the cabin. We need you all to stay and preserve the scene until they get here.”
“Aye, sir!” the two PCs answered.
“I have a guy waiting near the car park fur them,” Scot said, rejoining us. “He is relatively new tae being a ranger, but he kens how tae get tae the cabin at least.”
“Thank you,” I said respectfully. “Are you able to take us back to our pathologist now, please?”
Scot agreed, and we started to follow him. As we walked, I noticed he still looked relatively pale and shaken by the morning’s events. I had thought the body was a bit gruesome, and I was a seasoned professional, so I could imagine how difficult it all was for him.
“Thank you for all of your help today,” I said to him gently.
Scot smiled weakly. “I’ve been a ranger fur years now, ye ken. I cannae deny it was a hard hit to see something so awful in such a peaceful place.”
I patted his back reassuringly. “I promise, we will find the person responsible and see them locked away for the rest of their life.”
Eventually we made it back to Fiona, who looked as though she had finished her preliminary assessment of the body. She was leaning against a tree a few metres away from it, and her eyes were closed. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about. There was blood on her white forensic suit, and it was only when she lowered her mask that I realised she looked slightly paler than usual. Before she’d seemed void of emotion and keen to focus, but it seemed time alone with the body had broken down her walls.
“Done?” I asked.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at us all. “Aye, I’ve done as much as I can here.”
I noticed that Scot kept a safe distance away from the body. I nodded to him understandingly, and he walked away from us all. Once he moved away, I looked back at Fiona. “What can you tell us so far?”
“Not much apart from the obvious, at least until I get her body back to the lab,” Fiona answered as she pushed her back away from the tree. “She was killed by the gunshot wound to the head, and from the size of the entry wounds I wid assume she was shot with some form of rifle.”
I nodded, knowing I had thought the same. In an environment like the woods, a rifle would be the perfect hunting tool for someone. Plus, the bullet that DI Young had found had undoubtedly come from a rifle. I gestured for DI Young to come forward and he showed Fiona the bagged bullet.
“We found this in a tree not too far from here,” I said. “We believe it could be from the same weapon.”
Fiona took it and analysed it in the bag for a few seconds before she answered. “Aye, very likely. Once I’m able tae either move the body tae locate the bullets or have the chance tae open her up and find them, I’ll be able tae tell ye more.”
“Did ye find anything on the vic?” DS Paterson queried. “A phone, an ID, anything tae help us figure out who she is?”
“Unfortunately not,” Fiona said disappointedly. “I dinnae have anyway of figuring out who our vic is until we get her tae the lab.”
I grabbed the bagged letter from DI Young and passed it to her. “Hopefully you can get some prints off of this.”
Fiona took the letter gingerly. She read it and her eyebrows rose into her hairline. “Where did ye find this?”
“When you were looking at the victim, we received a call about an abandoned cabin close by,” I answered. “This was attached to the door. There is also a mattress inside the cabin so we requested for some SOCOs to go there as soon as they get here.”
Fiona sighed as she put the bagged letter in the same hand as the one holding the bullet. “I fear we are dealing with one sick individual.”
“Me too,” I said unhappily.
Fiona looked at the victim’s body with a morose expression before looking back in our direction. “I believe she was killed less than twelve hours ago, likely only a few hours ago. As I said, the gunshot wound tae her head wid have killed her, but from the look of her leg I think her death was likely slow and painful.” She paused for a second before continuing. “There were some signs of nature intervening, but luckily nothing seems tae have damaged the victim’s body excessively. At least I dinnae think so... again, once she’s on ma table I’ll hopefully get some better answers fur ye.”
I jerked my head discreetly in Scot’s direction. “The ranger told us they were certain the girl couldn’t have been dead for long. One of his lot would have found her earlier if she had been, so your preliminary assessment fits with his assumptions.”
Fiona nodded. “I’ll hopefully get a more accurate time of death fur ye, but I ken she was killed during the night or the early hours of this morning.” She glanced at the bagged letter in her hand. “I think ma tests will reveal some form of drug in her system if she was left in that cabin. I cannae imagine the lass wid have come tae such a place willingly.”
DI Young moved, which caught my attention. I turned to face him and saw he was folding his arms and jutting out his jaw. “I’m disgusted that someone could make sport of a lassie’s death! We have tae catch this bastard.”
I gripped his shoulder tightly. “And we will, Rory.”
DS Paterson rubbed her face nervously. “Dae we think this was a personal kill, or dae ye think we could be looking at something much worse?”
Everyone was silent at her words. I could tell we were all pondering the idea that the victim could be a pawn in a much larger game. I had already wondered if we were looking at a potential serial killer, but now that DS Paterson had voiced it out loud it felt much more real.
Luckily, we were saved from answering by the arrival of a couple of rangers and six Scenes of Crime Officers.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s split them up. Keep some here with the victim and some can do the cabin.”
As we moved in their direction, I could sense everyone moving with more urgency than before. We all knew how high the stakes were, so it was more important than ever to get the SOCOs and Fiona analysing the cabin, our evidence, and the victim’s body.
There had been a monster in these woods scarier than any fictitious beast, and we couldn’t waste any time in finding them.
10
Iwas impressed by how quickly the SOCOs got to work. Within minutes the team was separating and following the rangers to their allocated places. With Fiona now joined by a new ranger and three Scenes of Crime Officers, I felt comfortable leaving. I knew she would now have the help she needed to remove the body and get it to her lab.
Scot escorted us back to one of the trails and pointed us in the right direction to get back to Young’s car.
I shook his hand. “Thank you again, Scot. If I were you I’d get yourself home and try to rest a bit, yeah?”
Scot took my hand and nodded. “Aye, I think I will.”
We all said our goodbyes—Scot’s hand lingered on DS Paterson’s longer than it did on mine and DI Young’s—then we started walking to Young’s mustang. After a few minutes we made it there, and part of me was surprised to see no members of the public or press loitering around the police tape. I was convinced the press would have been alerted by now, so I was relieved that I was wrong.
I knew they’d find out soon though, and our moment of peace would be short-lived, so I was keen for us to get away from Plodda Falls as soon as possible.
We nodded politely to the PCs as we ducked under the tape and got into Young’s car. DI Young wasted no time starting the drive back to the department. A dark silence sat between us all, filling the car. It was clear we were all mulling over the case. I hoped the journey to the station would be quick.
After fifteen minutes of silence, I welcomed the sudden sound of my phone ringing in my coat pocket.
“It’s Murray,” I said to the others before accepting the call. “Hello, sir.”
“Are ye still at the scene, Glover?” DSI Murray asked.
Clearly he’s in no mood for pleasantries, I thought humourlessly.
“We’ve just left and are on our way back to the station, sir.”
“Well, I need ye tae turn around then!”
I looked at the others in surprise. “What do you mean we need to turn around, sir?” I asked out loud so DI Young and DS Paterson could follow along.
DI Young put on his hazards and pulled over to the side of the road quickly. Once he’d stopped the car, I put my phone on speaker so I didn’t have to keep repeating myself.
“It may be unrelated, but DC Gamble noticed a recent report aboot an abandoned vehicle,” DSI Murray answered. “This vehicle was left on a country road not tae far from Plodda Falls Circular. I want ye tae get there immediately and see if the car could belong tae our victim.”
I looked at the others, who both nodded.
“Will do, sir.”
“I’ll send ye the location... just hurry!”
DSI Murray hung up before I could say another word.
DI Young turned off his hazards and expertly turned the car around. “I’ll make ma way back tae Plodda Falls while we wait fur the exact location.”
I wasn’t surprised when DSI Murray messaged me immediately, so I passed my phone to DS Paterson and she showed it to DI Young. Both of them showed signs of recognition, so I was glad they knew where they were going. DS Paterson passed me back my phone, and there was more contemplative silence as we drove to the abandoned car.
Eventually, DS Paterson broke it. “From Murray’s tone he must be pretty certain the car is our vic’s.”
“I hope he’s right,” I replied. “It would make our job of IDing her a lot easier.”
After a few minutes, I knew we had made it to the correct road as there was a PC standing behind some police tape blocking off entry to it. DI Young pulled up close to the tape and opened his window.
“DI Rory Young,” he said to the PC as he flashed his badge.
The young PC nodded. “The car is a bit further down the road, sir.”
We all thanked him, then waited patiently as he moved the tape so we could access the road. DI Young drove his car forward, and I watched in the mirror as the PC quickly closed the road off the moment our car had passed. We drove down the road for a minute before we found three cars parked on the road. One was a panda car, one was a damaged car, and the other was a small mini parked neatly to the side. There were two PCs chatting to a woman, and I quickly assumed she was the one who found the car and called it in. We pulled over, exited the car, then approached her and the PCs.
The woman had an unhappy face and quickly looked in our direction. I’d have put her as being in her late forties based on the lines around her eyes. She had blonde hair that showed signs of a few greys, bright blue eyes that shone behind her small glasses, and I couldn’t tell if her lips were full or if they simply looked that way because she was impatiently pouting.
“Why am I being detained like this?” she huffed the moment we were in front of her.
“Someone’s got a fan,” DI Young teased.
DS Paterson playfully hit him. “Shut it, Rory.” She gave me an awkward look before returning her attention to Scot. “He looks a bit serious, disnae he?”
I looked toward Scot and realised she was right. He was talking into his phone with a furrowed brow and looked as though he was in deep concentration.
“Let’s just hope it’s someone with information for us,” I replied. “God only knows we need it.”
DS Paterson looked at me. “Not feeling tae hopeful on this one?”
I lifted my hat and scratched under it. “Whoever killed our victim is no fool. They may have missed at least one shot, but they hit their mark in the end... and they knew a good place to hunt her down without being interrupted.”
DI Young nodded solemnly. “Aye... I dinnae think we are dealing with any amateur either.”
Scot hung up the phone and approached us. “That was one of the other rangers, they think they’ve found something!”
“What?” the three of us asked in unison.
“There’s an abandoned cabin not tae far from here,” Scot continued eagerly. “Some of yer PCs are looking at it now. Shall I take ye?”
I glanced in the direction of Fiona, disliking the thought of leaving her alone, but eventually nodded. I knew Fiona would want to be thorough and, if she finished before we returned, she had our numbers.
Scot looked happy to keep moving and beckoned for us to follow him. He kept ahead of us—though I noticed quickly that he repeatedly glanced back at DS Paterson to ensure she was okay—and spoke to us as he directed us.
“I cannae believe some idiot may have used one of those cabins fur such a horrid reason!” Scot exclaimed in dismay, shaking his head at the thought. “Nae one has had permission tae use them fur years.”
“What are these cabins then and why are they there?” I asked curiously.
“There amn’t many abandoned ones around these woods... likely four at the most,” Scot answered. “They used tae be lookout stations or stop points fur rangers, but the ones we use now are a lot closer tae the trails... we dinnae use any as far out as this anymore.”
“Would someone find it hard to access them?” I queried.
Scot looked over his shoulder at me, his cheeks reddening. “There is nothing in them, so they are left unlocked... it isnae like anyone could take anything from them.”
No, just use them as places to murder innocent women, I thought unhappily.
We walked in silence for around fifteen minutes until I spotted the cabin, a ranger, and two PCs ahead of us. I looked back over my shoulder in the direction we walked and realised the victim had run for a little while before she’d been shot. I turned back to the cabin and pondered its role in all of this. Had this been where the victim had been left to fight for her life? Had she been wandering the woods in fear, then stumbled upon the cabin and hoped it would provide her with some safety for a moment?
I stepped toward the PCs and the ranger, who all looked at me respectfully. One of the PCs, a medium built woman, stepped toward us with a stern expression.
“Sir,” she said gruffly.
I nodded. “Have you had any chance to look inside?”
“We had a glance, sir, but once we were certain it had been used recently, we didnae want tae risk disturbing the scene.”
I thanked her, then turned to DI Young and DS Paterson. “Let’s get inside.”
They both agreed, and we made our way toward the cabin. Scot kept back and started talking to the ranger. The door had been left open—either from whoever had used it or the PCs who had looked into it—so we were able to enter it easily. As soon as we did my eyes were drawn to an old, flat mattress that had been left on the floor. It had a dated look to it, so it was impossible to know how long it had been there. Apart from that, the area was bare.
“We need forensics in here,” I said firmly, then turned toward DS Paterson. “Can you make some calls and get some SOCOs out here to assist Fiona?”
“Will dae, James.”
“And speak to Scot and his ranger friend,” I added. “The SOCOs will need guides.”
DS Paterson agreed, then left. However, when she turned back toward the door she stopped.
“What is it?” I asked, my eyes moving in the same direction.
DS Paterson didn’t need to answer as within less than a second, I saw what had caught her eye. We hadn’t noticed it before since the door was open, but now that we were on the inside of the cabin, I could see a piece of paper had been pinned to the inside of the door. We all moved toward it, and as we read the message there, DS Paterson exhaled in horror.
“This is sick!” she exclaimed.
I nodded, unable to say anything else. Whoever had killed our victim had been playing a sick game. They had brought her to this cabin—likely unconscious based on the message—and left her there to fend for herself. At some point, she’d been left with no choice but to leave this place and run right into their sick trap.
There was no doubt in my mind that we were dealing with one seriously depraved killer, and I knew someone who went to great lengths to kill a woman for a game would likely do so again.
We could be dealing with a serial killer.
9
DS Paterson left the cabin and started to call some SOCOs to join us. I kept my eyes on the piece of paper as my mind drifted to DI Arnold. I didn’t relish the idea of her case being pushed to the sidelines—yet again—but with someone as dangerous as this killer out there, I knew they had to be my priority.
I read the letter several times. Although there were only a few words on it, they spoke volumes: Freedom is yours… if you have the courage to take it.
It was like the killer was baiting her, pushing her to leave the cabin so they could stalk her like a deer. They had a depraved mind, and I couldn’t deny that a large part of me was afraid we hadn’t seen the last of them. As much as I felt for our victim, I just had to hope this kill was personal and not the start of a spree.
I stepped outside of the cabin with DI Young—who was a bit behind me as he quickly grabbed the letter and bagged it—and I was happy to see that DS Paterson had finished her phone call.
“I have good news,” DS Paterson said. “It wid appear they were already contacted by Fiona and will be here within a few minutes.”
I looked toward Scot. “Can you ensure one of your rangers will be there to meet them, please?”
Scot nodded and quickly walked off with his phone.
Once he was gone, I approached the PCs and the other ranger. I shook the ranger’s large hand and his brows raised in surprise. He had short black hair that was in tight curls and a beard that looked rather small and pointless on his weak chin.
“We appreciate everything you and your fellow rangers have done to help us,” I said sincerely.
He smiled weakly. “We respect these woods, Detective, so I can assure ye we are just as invested in this case as ye are.”
I nodded, then turned toward the PCs. “The SOCOs will be here soon to look at the cabin. We need you all to stay and preserve the scene until they get here.”
“Aye, sir!” the two PCs answered.
“I have a guy waiting near the car park fur them,” Scot said, rejoining us. “He is relatively new tae being a ranger, but he kens how tae get tae the cabin at least.”
“Thank you,” I said respectfully. “Are you able to take us back to our pathologist now, please?”
Scot agreed, and we started to follow him. As we walked, I noticed he still looked relatively pale and shaken by the morning’s events. I had thought the body was a bit gruesome, and I was a seasoned professional, so I could imagine how difficult it all was for him.
“Thank you for all of your help today,” I said to him gently.
Scot smiled weakly. “I’ve been a ranger fur years now, ye ken. I cannae deny it was a hard hit to see something so awful in such a peaceful place.”
I patted his back reassuringly. “I promise, we will find the person responsible and see them locked away for the rest of their life.”
Eventually we made it back to Fiona, who looked as though she had finished her preliminary assessment of the body. She was leaning against a tree a few metres away from it, and her eyes were closed. I couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about. There was blood on her white forensic suit, and it was only when she lowered her mask that I realised she looked slightly paler than usual. Before she’d seemed void of emotion and keen to focus, but it seemed time alone with the body had broken down her walls.
“Done?” I asked.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at us all. “Aye, I’ve done as much as I can here.”
I noticed that Scot kept a safe distance away from the body. I nodded to him understandingly, and he walked away from us all. Once he moved away, I looked back at Fiona. “What can you tell us so far?”
“Not much apart from the obvious, at least until I get her body back to the lab,” Fiona answered as she pushed her back away from the tree. “She was killed by the gunshot wound to the head, and from the size of the entry wounds I wid assume she was shot with some form of rifle.”
I nodded, knowing I had thought the same. In an environment like the woods, a rifle would be the perfect hunting tool for someone. Plus, the bullet that DI Young had found had undoubtedly come from a rifle. I gestured for DI Young to come forward and he showed Fiona the bagged bullet.
“We found this in a tree not too far from here,” I said. “We believe it could be from the same weapon.”
Fiona took it and analysed it in the bag for a few seconds before she answered. “Aye, very likely. Once I’m able tae either move the body tae locate the bullets or have the chance tae open her up and find them, I’ll be able tae tell ye more.”
“Did ye find anything on the vic?” DS Paterson queried. “A phone, an ID, anything tae help us figure out who she is?”
“Unfortunately not,” Fiona said disappointedly. “I dinnae have anyway of figuring out who our vic is until we get her tae the lab.”
I grabbed the bagged letter from DI Young and passed it to her. “Hopefully you can get some prints off of this.”
Fiona took the letter gingerly. She read it and her eyebrows rose into her hairline. “Where did ye find this?”
“When you were looking at the victim, we received a call about an abandoned cabin close by,” I answered. “This was attached to the door. There is also a mattress inside the cabin so we requested for some SOCOs to go there as soon as they get here.”
Fiona sighed as she put the bagged letter in the same hand as the one holding the bullet. “I fear we are dealing with one sick individual.”
“Me too,” I said unhappily.
Fiona looked at the victim’s body with a morose expression before looking back in our direction. “I believe she was killed less than twelve hours ago, likely only a few hours ago. As I said, the gunshot wound tae her head wid have killed her, but from the look of her leg I think her death was likely slow and painful.” She paused for a second before continuing. “There were some signs of nature intervening, but luckily nothing seems tae have damaged the victim’s body excessively. At least I dinnae think so... again, once she’s on ma table I’ll hopefully get some better answers fur ye.”
I jerked my head discreetly in Scot’s direction. “The ranger told us they were certain the girl couldn’t have been dead for long. One of his lot would have found her earlier if she had been, so your preliminary assessment fits with his assumptions.”
Fiona nodded. “I’ll hopefully get a more accurate time of death fur ye, but I ken she was killed during the night or the early hours of this morning.” She glanced at the bagged letter in her hand. “I think ma tests will reveal some form of drug in her system if she was left in that cabin. I cannae imagine the lass wid have come tae such a place willingly.”
DI Young moved, which caught my attention. I turned to face him and saw he was folding his arms and jutting out his jaw. “I’m disgusted that someone could make sport of a lassie’s death! We have tae catch this bastard.”
I gripped his shoulder tightly. “And we will, Rory.”
DS Paterson rubbed her face nervously. “Dae we think this was a personal kill, or dae ye think we could be looking at something much worse?”
Everyone was silent at her words. I could tell we were all pondering the idea that the victim could be a pawn in a much larger game. I had already wondered if we were looking at a potential serial killer, but now that DS Paterson had voiced it out loud it felt much more real.
Luckily, we were saved from answering by the arrival of a couple of rangers and six Scenes of Crime Officers.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s split them up. Keep some here with the victim and some can do the cabin.”
As we moved in their direction, I could sense everyone moving with more urgency than before. We all knew how high the stakes were, so it was more important than ever to get the SOCOs and Fiona analysing the cabin, our evidence, and the victim’s body.
There had been a monster in these woods scarier than any fictitious beast, and we couldn’t waste any time in finding them.
10
Iwas impressed by how quickly the SOCOs got to work. Within minutes the team was separating and following the rangers to their allocated places. With Fiona now joined by a new ranger and three Scenes of Crime Officers, I felt comfortable leaving. I knew she would now have the help she needed to remove the body and get it to her lab.
Scot escorted us back to one of the trails and pointed us in the right direction to get back to Young’s car.
I shook his hand. “Thank you again, Scot. If I were you I’d get yourself home and try to rest a bit, yeah?”
Scot took my hand and nodded. “Aye, I think I will.”
We all said our goodbyes—Scot’s hand lingered on DS Paterson’s longer than it did on mine and DI Young’s—then we started walking to Young’s mustang. After a few minutes we made it there, and part of me was surprised to see no members of the public or press loitering around the police tape. I was convinced the press would have been alerted by now, so I was relieved that I was wrong.
I knew they’d find out soon though, and our moment of peace would be short-lived, so I was keen for us to get away from Plodda Falls as soon as possible.
We nodded politely to the PCs as we ducked under the tape and got into Young’s car. DI Young wasted no time starting the drive back to the department. A dark silence sat between us all, filling the car. It was clear we were all mulling over the case. I hoped the journey to the station would be quick.
After fifteen minutes of silence, I welcomed the sudden sound of my phone ringing in my coat pocket.
“It’s Murray,” I said to the others before accepting the call. “Hello, sir.”
“Are ye still at the scene, Glover?” DSI Murray asked.
Clearly he’s in no mood for pleasantries, I thought humourlessly.
“We’ve just left and are on our way back to the station, sir.”
“Well, I need ye tae turn around then!”
I looked at the others in surprise. “What do you mean we need to turn around, sir?” I asked out loud so DI Young and DS Paterson could follow along.
DI Young put on his hazards and pulled over to the side of the road quickly. Once he’d stopped the car, I put my phone on speaker so I didn’t have to keep repeating myself.
“It may be unrelated, but DC Gamble noticed a recent report aboot an abandoned vehicle,” DSI Murray answered. “This vehicle was left on a country road not tae far from Plodda Falls Circular. I want ye tae get there immediately and see if the car could belong tae our victim.”
I looked at the others, who both nodded.
“Will do, sir.”
“I’ll send ye the location... just hurry!”
DSI Murray hung up before I could say another word.
DI Young turned off his hazards and expertly turned the car around. “I’ll make ma way back tae Plodda Falls while we wait fur the exact location.”
I wasn’t surprised when DSI Murray messaged me immediately, so I passed my phone to DS Paterson and she showed it to DI Young. Both of them showed signs of recognition, so I was glad they knew where they were going. DS Paterson passed me back my phone, and there was more contemplative silence as we drove to the abandoned car.
Eventually, DS Paterson broke it. “From Murray’s tone he must be pretty certain the car is our vic’s.”
“I hope he’s right,” I replied. “It would make our job of IDing her a lot easier.”
After a few minutes, I knew we had made it to the correct road as there was a PC standing behind some police tape blocking off entry to it. DI Young pulled up close to the tape and opened his window.
“DI Rory Young,” he said to the PC as he flashed his badge.
The young PC nodded. “The car is a bit further down the road, sir.”
We all thanked him, then waited patiently as he moved the tape so we could access the road. DI Young drove his car forward, and I watched in the mirror as the PC quickly closed the road off the moment our car had passed. We drove down the road for a minute before we found three cars parked on the road. One was a panda car, one was a damaged car, and the other was a small mini parked neatly to the side. There were two PCs chatting to a woman, and I quickly assumed she was the one who found the car and called it in. We pulled over, exited the car, then approached her and the PCs.
The woman had an unhappy face and quickly looked in our direction. I’d have put her as being in her late forties based on the lines around her eyes. She had blonde hair that showed signs of a few greys, bright blue eyes that shone behind her small glasses, and I couldn’t tell if her lips were full or if they simply looked that way because she was impatiently pouting.
“Why am I being detained like this?” she huffed the moment we were in front of her.
