Page 16 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)
“They have. You’re working late.”
“I left an hour ago. I just remembered something I wanted to fetch from my office,” she said, hoisting her work bag over her shoulder and then turning to go.
“While you’re here – I have a question for you,” Josiah said. She paused in the doorway, her back stiff with irritation. Then she turned, her face flushed and annoyed.
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow? It’s late, and I’m in a hurry.”
Josiah saw Alex make a face behind Baumann’s back. Even Alex, who hadn’t known him that long, knew it wasn’t a good idea to mess with Josiah when he was working a case.
“No, it can’t,” Josiah said curtly. It could, but her attitude infuriated him. “I’ve been working non-stop all day and will likely be here for a few more hours yet. You’re new here, so maybe you don’t understand, but I expect the same devotion from my staff.”
“I’m not your staff,” Baumann snapped. “I answer to Director Lomax.”
“Who assigned you to my team for the duration of this case,” Josiah snapped back.
She took a deep breath and inclined her head. “What’s your question?” she demanded in a tone bordering on rude.
He noticed her hands forming into fists as she tried to get her emotions under control. “I want to know how much of a corpse might be left if it’s been tightly wrapped in a rug, weighed down and sitting at the bottom of a lost zone for seven years,” he said. “Enough to determine cause of death?”
“Oh, that’s like asking the length of a piece of string,” she replied tetchily. “It depends on so many factors. Decomposition in water is affected by temperature, animal predation, clothing, and microorganisms. There’s also the issue of what kind of material the body was wrapped in.”
“Your best guess – how much of the body might survive for you to examine?” he pressed.
She glanced at her watch. “I don’t know, is the honest answer. There might only be a skeleton, and that’s likely not going to be intact. I can give it some thought, read a few resources, and give you my best guess in the morning, but I really do need to go now, Investigator Raine.”
She didn’t wait to hear his reply. She turned and practically ran out of the room.
Alex let out a low whistle. “Wow. She really does hate you.”
“I know,” Josiah sighed. “I rub her up the wrong way.”
“Well, to be fair, she’s an indie, and she thinks you’re the evil indiehunter.”
Josiah was unsettled by his conversation with Baumann.
He didn’t dislike the woman, but her hostility towards him made her hard to work with, even if he did understand where it was coming from.
He felt more annoyed with Esther for putting him in this situation.
If Baumann had been free, he’d have felt able to give her a good kick up the arse about her attitude, but she wasn’t, and the last thing he wanted to do was to complain to Esther about an IS.
From what Esther had said, Baumann was relying on her servitude to get her family out of a work camp.
Alex brought him a cup of tea and sat down next to him. “I hate to think of Solange’s body being eaten by fish or something,” he murmured. “Will it even be in the same place? Even if Mick remembers where they dumped her, it’s been years, and with the movement of the water…”
“The water around Tyler’s house in Lewes isn’t tidal, and you said the body was weighted down pretty heavily. It’s possible it hasn’t shifted much.” Josiah grunted.
“But the truth is that even if, by some miracle, you’re allowed to search the area, we might not find her,” Alex murmured.
“Yes.” Josiah met his eye. “It’s possible.”
Josiah arranged for Mick to spend the night in Inquisitus’s cells to keep him safe and buy some time.
Mick seemed perfectly happy with this arrangement – Josiah guessed that the warm, comfortable cell with an en-suite bathroom was nicer than the square grey box he lived in.
After that, he spent a few hours taking Alex’s detailed testimony about every aspect of Solange’s murder.
“The clearer it is, the more persuasive it’ll be to Esther,” he explained. Alex was an excellent witness – far more precise and thorough than Mick. The only point that would work against him was his reputation, because his testimony was consistent, detailed, and faultless.
It was gone eleven by the time they left Inquisitus, so Josiah bought them some chips, which they devoured in the duck on the way home.
“What do you think Esther will decide?” Alex asked as they pulled into the garage beside Peter’s car. “Will what we did today be enough to persuade her to open an official investigation?”
“I don’t know,” Josiah said wearily. “We’ll find out tomorrow. All I know is that she’ll listen; she’ll give me that much.”
They climbed out of the duck and walked wearily into the dark house. Alex looked as exhausted as Josiah felt; it’d been a long day.
“So, how did I do?” Alex asked, pausing in the living room doorway. “My first day as an investigator – how was I?”
“Well…” Josiah pulled a face. “You’re not exactly a natural. You should probably stick to the job you do best.”
“Indentured servant?” Alex made a face.
“No, artist,” Josiah said firmly.
Alex’s eyes brightened like a child’s, full of joy at an unexpected gift. He leaned in and kissed Josiah gently on the lips. “Thank you,” he said softly.
“Aw, how sweet,” a voice behind them drawled.
Josiah threw himself in front of Alex, pulled out his stun gun and turned on the living room light, all in one smooth move. There, sitting in the armchair beside the screen, was George Tyler.
“I’d disagree about what he does best, though.” Tyler smirked. “Judging by the way he’s screwing with you right now, I think the word you’re looking for is ‘whore’.”