BLOOD STAINED an unputdownable crime thriller with a breathtaking twist (Detective Claudia Nunn Book by Rebecca Bradley (whitelam books .txt) 📗

The crime scene investigators did their thing around her body, sieving for evidence, slowly brushing away the soil around her. It wouldn’t be a quick job to get her out of the ground. They couldn’t just pick her up and take her away. The smallest piece of evidence in the damp woodland ground could prove to be the piece they needed to close the case.

‘I’m going to talk to the witness,’ Dominic said. ‘We’ll also search our missing person’s database now I have some kind of description to go on. See if we can ID her before the PM tomorrow.’

He walked away from the burial site and the quiet efficient scene of people hard at work, tirelessly taking it step by tiny step. He admired the CSIs and how they could focus on such detailed work and in such difficult conditions.

Back on the road Krish was still at the ambulance and Paul was waiting by the car with DC Hayley Loftus. There wasn’t much to do here as it wasn’t a place you were going to get a collection of witnesses.

‘What’ve we got, Sarge?’ Hayley asked.

Dominic ran his hand through his hair. ‘It’s not pleasant. She’s in a shallow grave and it looks as though animals have tried to drag her out. There are bruises around her neck but she’s also had her throat cut. Nadira won’t make a guess on which one killed her until she’s done the PM, as you can imagine. The woman looks to be in her forties. We need to check our missing people to see if we have anyone of that age that matches her basic description. How’s Krish getting on? Do we think the dog walker has anything to do with it?’

Paul shook his head. ‘From what I can gather the guy is shaking like a leaf. He’s either a really good actor or he’s had nothing to do with this at all. We’ll obviously look into him. Get his movements for however long this woman has been missing and around the time of death. Do what we can with him. But I think he’s a witness and nothing else.’

‘I’ll go and check in with Krish and we’ll go from there.’ And with that Dominic turned his back and strode towards the ambulance where Krish, the paramedic and the dog walker were waiting.

The dog walker was an older gent. He had thick white hair with a bald patch at the top, and was pale and shaken, sitting on the steps of the ambulance with a blood pressure pump around his arm. He was wearing tracksuit bottoms and a plain white T-shirt. Krish had obviously managed to get him changed and seized his clothes.

Dominic hoped that a CSI had done his examination as well. It annoyed him when tasks were left half done.

Krish introduced the man. ‘Sarge, this is Derek Fearns, he found our woman this afternoon. Derek, this is Detective Sergeant Dominic Harrison.’

Dominic held out his hand then withdrew it slightly, concerned that he would contaminate a crime scene — the other man’s hand.

Derek frowned.

‘It’s okay, sarge, a CSI has been and Garry here—’ he indicated the paramedic — ‘allowed us to use his van, so the forensic examination has taken place. You’re safe to shake hands.’

The puzzled look on Derek’s face balanced out. ‘Ah, yes, I’ve been prodded and poked and trimmed very comprehensively.’ He held out his own hand and Dominic clasped it between both of his.

‘I’m sorry you had to find her today. It must have been a shock. Thank you for staying around and helping us. We appreciate it. You don’t realise how helpful it is when members of the public give us their support, so thank you.’

A little blood surfaced in Derek’s face again and climbed up his cheeks. ‘I would rather I hadn’t needed to be quite so helpful if I’m honest, but I would never have dreamed of walking away. That poor woman . . .’ His eyes drifted off for a moment.

The paramedic took the blood pressure cuff off his arm. ‘It might be best if we get Derek checked out at the hospital.’

Dominic needed a quick account before they left. ‘You’ve probably told this story a couple of times already today, Derek, and you’re going to have to repeat it several more times before this investigation is through, but would you mind telling me what happened this afternoon?’

The dog, a shaggy-eared, liver-and-white spaniel, shifted at Dominic’s feet, lifted his head from his paws and looked up as though aware of what they were talking about and wary of what they were putting his master through. Dominic leant down and rubbed his head. ‘It’s okay, boy.’

Derek let out a deep sigh. ‘Oh, what a day. I so wish I had stayed at home.’ He rubbed his arms as though he were cold. ‘But Ralph here was desperate for a walk and he deserved a decent one so I brought him here. When he ran off the path I thought he was chasing a squirrel. I was so annoyed with him. I shouted and shouted at him. Remember that video of the man calling his dog that went viral? It was like that. He was ignoring me. I was furious. He’s usually such a well-behaved boy.’ They all looked down at Ralph who had now placed his head back on his paws looking for all the world like the best-behaved boy his owner was saying he was. Not the running wild animal he had previously been.

‘And what happened?’ asked Dominic.

‘I chased after him. You know, like that video. I didn’t want to lose him. He was turning a deaf ear and who knew how far he was going to run. I didn’t want anything