Catch as Catch Can (The Merseyside Crime Series Book 1) by Malcolm Hollingdrake (any book recommendations .txt) 📗

startled, he quickly placed a smile on his face. ‘Strange woman that.’ He saw April’s expression change and remembered the reprimand he had received when in the car. ‘In the nicest possible way. We’re all different but I’ll say no more. You’ll soon see how good she is and I can tell you from rumour and the limited knowledge I have of her, she’s frightened of nothing and nobody. Been here forever too. Her motto, I believe it’s tattooed somewhere on her anatomy and written in Latin, is, By any available means or method. You read into that what you like. I personally wouldn’t want to tackle her on a wrestling mat, never mind in a dark alley. She’s a bloody good copper and hard as nails.’

He wanted to say that in his opinion she was also a nutter but after his last bollocking he decided to only suggest that she was well-balanced.

‘She’s working against the moped gangs that have sprung up since the Met cracked down on the epidemic witnessed in London. It now seems that we have either the gangs moving north into other major cities, the copycats or it’s the cancerous tentacles that are simply spreading. Skeeter believes they’re part of the county lines. Diversification in all forms!’ Pete raised his eyebrows and smiled. ‘Anyway, enough of that. You’ve seen the report?’

April smiled and tapped the desk. ‘Neck broken – garrotted – our man in the sand.’

‘Pathologist’s results are here and from what you’ve said you’ve seen them I presume, ma’am?’

April’s facial expression did not alter. ‘Eastern Med, possibly Syrian but they can’t be so specific. No positive ID as yet, I note. He’d been dead some days. All the evidence suggests that he was placed in cold storage for a period and then buried in the sand whilst still frozen. He would have remained there had the storms of a few nights back not pounded the beaches. Yellow multistrand plastic rope was used and interestingly, we initially thought the knot used was a hitch. The more you struggle the tighter the rope could be pulled. It’s also easily removed. According to the pathologist, after studying the rope and the marks found on the tender flesh around the throat and neck of the deceased, it’s more likely a Lark’s Head knot. There was also rope bruising and burning around the ankles.’ She deliberately paused to see if he had fully comprehended the finer points of the report. He did not disappoint.

‘Suggests he was hogtied?’

‘How long is a “cold storage period”?’

‘Piece of string comes to mind,’ Brad said, his inexperience showing.

‘Freezing and salt water can be cruel to a cadaver. They believe up to five days plus. The grave has been waterlogged twice daily. The waxy, soapy appearance of the flesh, I’m informed, is a result of the cold water encouraging the formation of adipocere. It’s formed from the fat in the body and it partly protects from decomposition. However, sea lice and worms have helped Mother Nature in trying to return the corpse to nature. You’re correct with hogtied, Brad. Legs tied bent behind as close to his buttocks as possible with the other end of the rope around the throat. Any flexing of the legs would cause restriction and difficulty in breathing. It appears our man was tormented or tortured for a period of time before he died. Evidence of razor marks to both eyes. Possibly blinded before ...’

Brad shook as if shivering at the thought. ‘Can’t stand people touching my eyes.’

‘Anyway, it’s interesting to see there may have been amateur removal of tattoos to the hand, arm and fingers. Total skin removal often into the muscle. They’re trying to see if they can get anything from the lower dermis layers but they’re not optimistic. Something to do with the standard depth of a tattoo needle. If we have any trace it could be the key to identifying this guy.’

‘It’s amazing what science can find these days,’ mumbled Brad as he shifted some papers in front of him. ‘I’d imagine he was transported to the spot he was found either by quad bike or horse, possibly in a large holdall. Nothing on the transparent, Perspex disc found in his hand but you knew about the medal from the outset?’

April’s face showed her approval of his attention to details. ‘King’s Police Medal. You’re aware of the history of those I take it?’

‘I’m supposed to be a detective, ma’am. Your photographs were clear so I looked it up soon after we got back from locating the body. The medal was created by a Royal Warrant in 1909, 7th July if you want an exact date, but it wasn’t only for the police. It was given to the fire brigade too. It was awarded once a year to no more than one hundred and twenty recipients. Given for …’ he looked across to the wall and let his finger rest on one of the notes ‘… gallantry, saving life and property, a distinguished record of administration or detective services, success in organising police services and a few other special services. Interestingly it was superseded in 1940 with the King’s Police and Fire Service Medal and then The Queen’s Police Medal. It’s a fake.’

‘You’re right, but why leave it with or near the body and why leave a fa—’

Brad swiftly interrupted. ‘Original medals are worth a lot of money and are few and far between, but the fakes can be found on internet auction sites for a few quid. We’re only assuming it was left with the body. According to Radcliffe, it was possibly a metre away and so should we be considering both scenarios?’

April smiled and agreed.

‘We’re checking missing persons but my guess is he could be an illegal in which case …’ He looked up and raised his eyebrows. ‘I also believe he was killed for a misdemeanour, some kind of revenge killing if we accept the things found with him were part of this. Being tortured, stripped,