Dead Inside. Noelle Holten
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first encounter with her immediate superior did not go as she expected. She found herself sitting with her new colleagues near the back of a large briefing room, listening to the details of the murder her team would be investigating.
‘Good morning, everyone.’ Her boss, DS Jim Hooper, looked around the room, stopped at Maggie, giving her an uncommitted nod, then carried on outlining details of the gruesome murder.
‘This is what we know so far. A taxi driver called 999 at 4 a.m. this morning, to notify us that he stumbled across the victim’s lifeless body while he stopped for a break—’
Maggie’s take-charge instinct kicked in and she interrupted Hooper mid flow. ‘Has the driver been questioned by the responding officers or will we be interviewing the witness?’ She immediately regretted her decision.
‘If you let me finish,’ he glared at her then looked down on the desk at a piece of paper in front of him, ‘DC Jamieson, I’ll give you all the information you and the rest of your colleagues need.’
Maggie felt her neck burn with embarrassment.
Hooper posted a picture on the investigation board and a chorus of gasps could be heard around the room. It wasn’t a pretty sight and Maggie regretted having that cream cake when she first arrived.
‘As I was saying, the victim – Drew Talbot – was found lying on his back blocking the path not far from the entry into Beacon Park. The witness indicated that no one else was around and given the time, it is unlikely that anyone else was about – though we’ll still need to confirm that. An empty syringe was sticking out of his neck. His arms were outstretched beside him – palms up – and his hands completely pulverized. You can see from the pictures.’ He pointed at the screen. ‘It looks as if someone took a hammer or a similar implement and battered both hands to a pulp. A large pool of blood gathered underneath his head, the top portion of his legs and his groin area. Initially it was unclear where the wounds were located, but his jeans had two slices on the upper inside thigh of each leg. The wound across his windpipe was easily identified.’
Maggie tapped her pen on the desk and glimpsed at the pictures that were being passed around the room. She made a note to have a closer look once the briefing was finished. Her fascination with crime scene pictures was well known at her old office, but she didn’t want her new team to learn that just yet.
Hooper continued, ‘With the arrival of the pathologist, photographs of the male victim were taken and evidence collected. A wallet found in the back pocket of the body determined that the victim’s name was Drew Talbot – although a formal ID is yet to be made.
‘PC Reynolds, I’d like you to work with the handover team to track down and notify Mr Talbot’s family after the briefing. Mr Talbot had recently appeared in court under a charge of grievous bodily harm, and he has a history of violence against partners. I understand that Lucy Sherwood was supposed to be writing a report—’
‘I think Mark told her earlier that Mr Talbot would not be making the appointment, but he didn’t go into too much detail.’ Maggie looked at Mark.
‘That’s right, guv. Lucy called to let me know that her pre-sentence report had not attended for interview. That’s when I advised that Talbot wouldn’t be making his appointment and, because of an ongoing investigation, I couldn’t share anymore information with her yet. Not sure why someone didn’t contact probation.’
‘As he was one of our nominals, that would have been down to one of you lot. We’ll call it crossed wires and move on, shall we? Fiona Blake, the Home Office pathologist, noted that there was an injury to the back of the victim’s head. She believed that Mr Talbot was attacked from behind and knocked unconscious. It appears he was then rolled over onto his back, a syringe stuck in his neck – we will have to wait for toxicology to find out what substance he was injected with – his hands were mashed to a pulp and the three cuts were then made. Any one of them could have led to his death. That’s where we are at. So, what are your initial thoughts?’
Maggie jumped straight in. ‘Do we have the time of death established? And do we know where Mr Talbot’s victim was during the relevant times?’
‘Talbot’s ex-partner is in hospital with a broken cheekbone, broken jaw, broken arm and strangulation marks around her neck. She is barely able to stay awake for more than an hour at a time and is heavily medicated; we don’t believe she is directly involved, but we will need to interview her family and friends, in case they decided to seek their own revenge. Estimated time of death is any time between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. when the body was found. Anyone else?’
‘The injuries would suggest to me that this was personal. The injuries on his hands indicate someone was clearly angry with Mr Talbot and took that anger out on his body. Could the killer have been making a statement against Mr Talbot’s abuse?’ Maggie said. Hooper looked at her and she thought she saw the makings of a smile forming on his face.
‘Interesting observation, Jamieson. That’s a line of enquiry I would like you to explore further. You and Mark can look at people close to Talbot’s ex-partners and see if you can eliminate any of them as persons of interest. Kat? Pete? Mark? Do you have anything you want to add?’
‘Fuck sake, guv. I can just about keep my breakfast down at the minute.’ Taking a deep breath Kat added, ‘Were there any other witnesses or vehicles around the area at the time?’
‘Only the taxi driver. Pete can trawl CCTV to see if there were any cars or people acting suspiciously during the times noted and let you know.’
‘OK, guv. I can go out and interview anyone we come across,’ Kat said.
Pete made note of his task and sighed. He had been hoping to get out in the field more.
‘Mark, can you speak to the pathologist and see if she can shed some light on the exact cause of death, and then chase up toxicology?
‘Maggie, you and Kat can interview Wendy Parker; her daughter is the victim of domestic abuse at Talbot’s hands,’ Hooper said.
Mark gave him a thumbs up and gathered his papers.
‘That’s it then. You all know what you need to do. Keep me informed of any developments … oh, and Maggie – welcome to the team.’
Patrick had made sure Lucy knew exactly how he felt about her bloody note when he’d texted her back earlier. He wondered if Lucy’s sister, Melody, would also be coming over. A bit of eye candy would make it easier to tolerate the whole situation.
Unlike Lucy, Mel looked after herself. She had big tits she liked to put on show and wore short skirts to accentuate her long, toned legs. Even though she was a solicitor, Patrick liked her down-to-earth personality. He often wondered if he had chosen the wrong sister. He made his way to the bathroom, the thought of Mel still stuck in his head.
There were only a couple of hours before he had to collect Siobhan, so he jumped in the shower in an attempt to sober up. Lucy would have a go at him if he was drunk and he couldn’t be bothered with the hassle. If the nosy bitches that hung around the school gate smelled alcohol on him, that social worker would start her home visits all over again. He wouldn’t put it past any one of those tramps to ring social services. Lucy would go ballistic.
Back downstairs, he picked up the post, sat down in his favourite chair, and went through the envelopes. Bills, bills, and more bills. He threw them on the coffee table for Lucy to deal with when she got home. He thought about looking for a job, but remembered how quickly he had lost the last one. The row with his old colleague that had spiralled out of control. The way people had laughed at him, taken the piss. A good kicking is what they deserved.
Patrick’s main concern was his kids – Siobhan and Rory – and anyway there was no need to work if Lucy continued to pay for everything. They were struggling financially,