Page 13 of Silent Scream

‘No friends or family at all?’

‘Certainly none she cared to keep in touch with. I’ve requested her home phone records and her laptop is on the way. Maybe there’ll be something there.’

Kim grunted. ‘So, basically, thirty-six hours in and we’ve got absolutely bugger all. We know nothing about this woman.’

Bryant stood. ‘Give me just a minute, Guv,’ he said and left the room.

She rolled her eyes. ‘Okay, while Bryant powders his nose, let’s recap.’ She looked to the board which held barely more information than it had the day before.

‘We have a woman in her late forties who was ambitious and hard-working. She was not particularly sociable or popular. She lived alone, with no pets and no family connections. She was not involved in any dangerous activity and seems to have had no hobbies or interests whatsoever.’

‘That may not be the case,’ Bryant said, taking his seat. ‘Apparently she was quite interested in an archaeological dig that’s just been authorised to take place somewhere in Rowley Regis.’

‘And you know this how?’

‘Just spoke to Courtney.’

‘Courtney who?’

‘Courtney who brought us coffee all day yesterday. I asked if our victim had spoken to anyone different during the last few weeks. Courtney had been asked to get a number for a Professor Milton at Worcester College.’

‘I saw something on the local news about that,’ Stacey offered. ‘The Professor's been trying to get permission to work on that site for ages. It’s just a field since the old kids’ home caught fire but it’s rumoured to hold buried coins. He’s been fighting objections for about two years but got the final go ahead this week. It made the national news ‘cos of the long court battle.’

Finally, Kim felt the stirrings of excitement. Expressing interest in a local activity was hardly a smoking gun but it was more than they had ten minutes ago.

‘Okay, you two carry on digging, excuse the pun. Bryant, go fire up the Batmobile.’

Dawson sighed heavily.

Kim grabbed her jacket and paused at Dawson’s desk. ‘Stace, don’t you need the toilet right about now?’

‘No, Guv, I’m fine ...’

‘Stacey, leave the room.’

Tact and diplomacy had been invented by someone with too much time on their hands.

‘Kev, put your phone down a minute and listen. I know you're going through it a bit right now but you really brought it on yourself. If you'd managed to keep your dick in your pants for another couple of weeks you'd be in the loving embrace of your girlfriend and newborn daughter instead of back in your mum's spare room.’

Kim was not in the habit of employing sensitivity with her team members. She had enough trouble conjuring it for the general public.

‘It was a stupid, drunken mistake at a stag party ...’

‘Kev, no offence, that's your problem not mine. But if you don't stop sulking like a little girl every time you don’t get your own way, that desk over there will not be the only one going spare. Do we understand each other?’

She gave him a hard stare. He swallowed and then nodded.

Without another word Kim left the room and headed down the stairs.

Dawson was a gifted detective but the line he was treading was a very thin one indeed.

Eight

For the secondtime in as many days, Kim walked amongst that air of naïve expectation present at every learning facility.

Bryant headed to the reception desk while she stood to the side. A group of males to her right were laughing at something on a mobile phone. One of the males turned to her. His gaze travelled the length of her body, pausing at her breasts. He tipped his head and smiled.

She mirrored his actions and took in the skinny jeans, V-neck T-shirt and Justin Bieber hairstyle.