Page 30 of Silent Scream

Bryant chuckled. ‘Did my imagination just conjure her up?’

‘No, she’s real. Make sure everyone gets a hot drink and a bacon sandwich before they start.’

Bryant smiled. ‘You know, Guv, at times ...’

Kim didn’t hear the rest of his words as she was already heading down the hill towards the derelict building.

She walked the perimeter of the fence but there was no access point. The front of the building faced onto the road and the houses opposite. Too many prying eyes. She returned to the rear and started looking for an area of vulnerability.

The fencing was not a traditional design of slatted pieces overlaying each other. Each panel was made of strong, thick wood normally used for pallets and lay flush with the one above and below. A tiny sliver of daylight escaped between each nine-inch piece.

She pushed at one of the tall wooden fence posts. It moved back and forth, the bottom of the post rotted in the ground.

‘Don’t even think about it, Guv,’ Bryant said, offering her a hot drink. She took it in her left hand and continued to work her way along the posts. The next two were steady but the fourth rocked to and fro.

‘How’d you get Doctor Matthews here? Did you bully him?’

‘Define bullying,’ she said, pushing at the next post.

‘Probably best I don’t know. Plausible deniability and all that.’

‘It doesn’t hurt to have the presence of a forensic archaeologist on site.’

‘Course not, except that at this point we have no authorisation to instruct anyone to do anything.’

Kim shrugged.

‘What if there’s nothing down there?’

‘Then we all get to go home for tea. But if there is, we have a head start. Doctor Matthews is fully qualified to ...’

‘Oh, I know. He’s just given me his entire education history but Woody said nothing is to be touched until the paperwork is in order.’

‘See, now you’re just being pedantic.’

‘Just trying to protect your ass, Guv.’

‘My ass is fine. You should worry more about your own if you’re planning to eat that second bacon bap in your pocket.’

‘How did you know?’

Kim shook her head. Because he would have brought one down for her, even though he knew she probably wouldn’t touch it.

She stood away from the fence and drained her coffee cup. ‘Now, more importantly, should I go over or through?’

Bryant groaned. ‘How about away from it?’

‘Not one of the options I gave.’

‘We have no authority to enter.’

‘Either help me or leave me to it. Your choice.’

She set the empty cup on the ground as Bryant sighed heavily.

‘If you try to go through you’ll be leaving the area vulnerable for kids.’

‘Over it is then,’ Kim said, heading for the middle section of slats between the two stable fence posts. She aimed a kick at one of the panels level with her thigh. It splintered. She kicked it again and the panel cracked in half. She pushed the broken slats inwards so that the stable piece below could be used as a step.