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

ascertain her age for definite. If she falls in the fortyish age bracket then we have our profile and we can work on that.’

‘I think you probably had it before now,’ she said taking fingernail clippings from the woman. ‘You just hadn’t officially named it. You’re not stupid, Dom. Your team isn’t stupid and Adyant Kapoor definitely isn’t stupid.’

Dominic laughed. ‘You’re right there. He’s one of the most intelligent people I know but he’s under so much pressure and I think it’s getting to him. Not being able to identify this guy, it’s hard. The media will come down on us like a ton of bricks when we release the fact that we have another body and he’ll get it in the neck from above because of that.’

‘He’s clever.’

‘Our killer?’

She looked up. ‘Unfortunately, yes. I hate to say that. I really do. But he’s also an intelligent man, but with a violent streak and obviously a bit of a screw loose.’

‘That’s the official term I take it.’

‘Absolutely.’ She bagged the woman’s hands and taped them up.

‘He has a ritual, doesn’t he? There has to be a reason behind it.’

‘He’s certainly sticking to the same MO with every murder. From what I can see of this one, he’s not veering from anything he’s done in the past at all. Like you say, it must have meaning for him. In every grave there has been the House of Maven lipstick and I imagine when we move this young woman that we’ll find the same thing again.’ Nadira pulled a large plastic bag out of her medical bag. She gently lifted the woman’s head and placed the bag over, taping it into place just under her chin, making sure to avoid the cut to her throat.

‘If people could see this they’d be horrified.’ The sight of the dead woman with hands and head in clear bags was bizarre. Her lipstick-smeared face ghoulish through the plastic.

‘I know. But we need to keep all evidence intact on the journey from here to the morgue. We don’t want to lose particulates. It has to be done.’

‘I know. It just doesn’t look like we’re taking care of her, does it? It looks like we’re torturing her more.’

Nadira held the woman’s plastic-sealed hand a moment. ‘It’s because we care about what happened to her that we have to do this. Her loved ones will need closure and she’s the best way to try to find that.’

‘You’re preaching to the choir, Nadira.’

Nadira stood and stretched her arms over her head, straightening out the muscles that had started to seize up from crouching over the body. The CSI who had been at her side photographing her work stepped out of her way. ‘This has to stop, Dom. We need to find a way to identify him. We need to find some trace evidence that links back to him in some way. We can’t keep losing women like this.’

Chapter 42

Dominic

‘There’s a woman at the front counter waiting for you, Dom,’ said Kapoor when Dominic walked back into the incident room.

First of all Dominic was surprised to see Kapoor in the incident room and secondly why was a woman waiting to speak to him? He’d only this minute walked back into the station. ‘What’s it about?’

‘Word has already leaked that another body has been found and the woman walked in and asked to speak to the officer who had been to the crime scene. Her friend didn’t turn up for work this morning.’

Dominic swallowed. ‘You mean the woman hasn’t even been reported missing yet?’

‘Looks like this is it, the reporting of her being missing. I thought it best she talk to you because you’ll be able to ID her from a photograph and know if we have our victim.’

Dominic wanted nothing more than to sit down for ten minutes. It had been a long morning and he needed time out to process it. Not long, a few minutes quiet was all he was asking for. ‘Yeah, okay, I’ll grab my notebook and a pen and get myself down there.’

‘Want me to get you a coffee, Dom?’ Hayley asked, her voice subdued, obviously aware of how tired he was.

She was sitting behind her desk, paperwork strewn all over the top of it. She was busy and yet she had managed to read his mind. ‘I’d love a coffee. Thank you, Hayley.’ He smiled and her eyes lit up.

‘You’re not going to keep her waiting though, are you?’ worried Kapoor.

‘No, boss. I’m not going to keep her. I’ll grab a drink and take it down with me. I’ve just walked in. I need to recharge, if only for a second. That’s okay, yes?’

Kapoor capitulated. ‘Of course. I’m sure she’s fine for another five minutes.’ He patted Dominic on the shoulder as he walked past him and out of the incident room.

‘How long’s he been in here?’ Dominic asked Hayley as she rose from her chair.

‘He’s been in and out as long as I’ve been back. I think he’s been waiting for you to return and then the woman walked in and he realised he likely had his ID and he settled a bit more. Though he still looks like he’s walking on hot coals. Must be what it’s like being the boss.’ She crossed the room, the same path Kapoor had just walked. ‘I won’t be a minute with that coffee.’

He thanked her and sagged into the chair at his desk. Civilians didn’t realise the mental exhaustion this job took out of you. Seeing people desecrated the way this killer was working was soul destroying. No one should have to see another person hurt in such a way.

He was in a world of his own for a couple of minutes before Hayley returned with two mugs in her hands. She placed one