Page 49 of First Blood

Kim had known the woman would not return to work to finish her shift. Despite the strange reaction to the news of her brother’s death, there had been enough emotion bottled up inside Lisa Bywater to cause her to punch a corpse, after bursting into tears, and she wouldn’t want to take all that baggage back to work.

Bryant pressed the intercom button.

No answer.

He pressed it again.

And again.

She answered.

‘DI Stone and DS…’

‘I don’t want to talk to you.’

Bryant continued. ‘Mrs Bywater, we really need to speak to you about the events at the morgue.’

‘Please go away. I have nothing…’

‘We’re not going anywhere,’ Kim said, moving closer to the intercom box. ‘And if that means waiting out here until your husband comes—’

The door opened to reveal Lisa Bywater still dressed in her work uniform.

‘Come in,’ she said, without emotion, as she walked away from the door.

‘Mrs Bywater, your actions at the morgue were peculiar to say the least. Would you care to explain?…’

‘I hate him, Inspector. I think I made that clear earlier today.’

‘Your response to his death wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from a relative; however punching a dead man in the face is an extreme emotional response.’

‘Not when you hate someone as much as I hate him. If you’ve been investigating him you must already know he is not a nice man.’

‘Was,’ Kim said, feeling the need to remind the woman of the correct tense, despite the fact she’d seen his dead body.

Lisa nodded her acknowledgment of that fact.

‘I would like to find the person who did this and shake them by the hand. I’m only sorry it wasn’t me.’

Kim sat down and Lisa followed.

‘I’m assuming that as you weren’t close you know nothing of his private life?’

Lisa appeared guarded but shook her head.

‘We’re trying to trace a woman and child who lived with him for a while. Would you have any idea who they might be?’

Lisa shook her head again.

‘The woman had a birthmark over her—’

‘Inspector, I have no idea. I’ve spent my adult life trying to stay away from him.’

‘Only there were photos of the child on a computer that he made every effort to keep secret.’

She said nothing.

‘In fact, there were lots of photos on your brother’s computer that would lead us to believe that he was a paedophile.’