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CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

PRESENT DAY

A na was just about to sit at her desk when DI Miller came out of his office. ‘Round everyone up, please, Matt. Briefing room, five minutes.’

Ana’s phone lit up. It was a message from Jonny. She replied:

Urgent briefing. I’ll call you back.

Luke deliberately pushed past her. ‘Perhaps this vigilante has murdered one of your mates,’ he whispered.

‘What’s your problem?’ she asked.

‘You’re my problem,’ he hissed. ‘Trying to make me look incompetent at my job.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘I thought you were dropping the hit and run, but no, you’re still pushing it and making me look like a dick.’

‘Yeah, well, that’s not hard to do, is it?’ she sneered. She walked past him and into the briefing room, stared at the photo of a smiling Laine on the crime scene board, and felt stupidly weepy.

When everyone was settled, DI Miller pointed to the image. ‘I’m sorry to have to tell you that the hospital just informed us that Elaine Lees had a cardiac arrest in the night. She didn’t make it. There will be a post-mortem later today. We need to find the person she was arguing with at the fair. We’re now looking at manslaughter.’

Ana couldn’t speak. She couldn’t believe Laine hadn’t made it. Yesterday, they’d said her brain injury wasn’t as serious as they’d first thought.

‘Fuck,’ muttered Matt.

There was a chattering of voices, but she wasn’t listening to what was being said. It was like she was falling into a dark abyss. ‘Would you like to attend the post-mortem with me?’ Beth asked.

Ana’s head jerked up.

‘Don’t eat first,’ Luke said with a smirk.

‘Yes,’ she replied to Beth.

Jonny said he had more information on the car for her and asked if she fancied trying the new French restaurant that had just opened in town. Ana felt a heaviness in her body. She found herself doing what she vowed she would never do. She was obsessing over him again. He was stealing her life. It was time to let him go. She wasn’t going to find him. It was impossible to trace the nameless. So she told Jonny yes, but not this evening as she was meeting her boss for a drink.

Ana had never attended a post-mortem. Beth checked with her several times before they entered the mortuary.

‘I’m not good at this myself,’ Beth admitted.

It was the smell that hit her first. The smell of death. A faint, sickly sweet odour, disguised by litres of antiseptic. She donned the mask and scrubs handed to her and shivered uncontrollably as the cold air from the mortuary hit her in the face.

Laine’s body was covered with a white sheet. Ana thought she looked peaceful, and she felt grateful. The blood had been washed from her hair, which now framed her pretty face, and so she appeared angelic. The open wound in her head had turned purple. Ana tried not to look at it.

‘Hello, I’m Gina, one of the pathologists. As you can see here, there is a head wound corresponding with the evidence of her falling onto a piece of stone. The debris removed from her injury during her operation shows she hit her head quite hard when she fell. There is no evidence of her being hit with anything. There are several bruises on the body, which correspond with the fall.’

‘Cause of death?’ asked Beth.

Ana could see that Beth wanted to escape the post mortem as soon as possible.

‘This is where it gets interesting,’ said Gina, her eyes brightening.

Ana saw Beth turn white and thought any moment she would throw up.

‘The head injury wasn’t good, but it wasn’t fatal. However, we found a high level of Rohypnol in her blood.’

Ana felt a cold finger stroke her back, and she shivered. ‘Rohypnol?’ she repeated.

‘It’s often used to spike people’s drinks and–’

‘Yes, I know,’ interrupted Ana. ‘But it’s not enough to kill someone, is it?’

Gina shook her head. ‘No, I agree with you. The amount to spike a drink is sufficient to incapacitate a person but not to kill them. This kind of dose was fatal.’

‘Thank you,’ said Beth, making her way to the door. ‘If you could send over your report as soon as possible.’

‘The person who witnessed the encounter saw the man kneel beside Laine and give her a drink. It could have been the Rohypnol he’d given her,’ suggested Ana.

‘That’s supposition,’ said Beth.

But most likely, thought Ana.

‘Was she a virgin?’ she asked.

Gina raised her eyebrows. ‘No, she wasn’t, but it’s interesting that you ask. There was no evidence of recent sexual activity, but there was some bruising on the breasts and a fair amount of soreness in the vagina which would suggest previous sexual activity may have taken place without the victim being aroused or perhaps she had indulged in rough sex.’

‘Or while under the effects of Rohypnol,’ suggested Ana.

‘That’s not something I can comment on. I can only tell you that there were no signs of sexual activity that evening.’

‘DNA?’ asked Beth.

‘Loads. She would have had contact with many people at the fair.’

‘Great, thanks.’

The sound of a door closing told Ana that Beth had left. Ana glanced around at the other bodies lying on gurneys, some with tags on their feet, others covered with sheets. She found herself wondering how they died. Were they good people? Or had they done evil things like him? Something deep within her told her she was close and that he wasn’t that far away after all.

‘So, she was murdered?’ asked Ana.

‘That’s my conclusion, or someone gave her too much without thinking, in which case you’re looking at manslaughter.’

Ana found Beth waiting outside.

‘She was murdered,’ said Ana.

Beth nodded. ‘Possibly. It seems we’re not just looking for a vigilante anymore.’