Page 13 of The Truth Will Out (DI Sam Cobbs #18)

Bob slammed his clenched fist against his thigh. “Why call her a traitor, and what secrets was she hiding?”

“I’m at a loss to know what this is about and if there’s a connection to Morgan’s murder. I’m trying to think back over the last couple of days as to how Claire had reacted to the news. Thinking about it, I suppose she’s been quieter than normal. What do you think?”

“I can’t really say. I hadn’t noticed. I’ve been too wrapped up in the case. But if you think that, then it must be true. ”

Sam glanced over her shoulder at Claire’s body and ran a hand around her face. “Not necessarily. Maybe it’s me clutching at straws because there is nothing else for me to cling on to. Have you had a chance to look around yet? Do we know where she entered the water?”

Bob waved at a tech who was trying to get their attention on the slipway. “I was about to tell you that Paul has that in hand. I think our luck is in.”

“What are we waiting for?”

They jogged over to the tech. “What have you found, mate?” Bob asked.

“Evidence of blood. Most of it has been washed away, presumably by the tide when it came in.”

“Seems like a possible spot. Sam crouched for a closer inspection of the area. She saw the blood in the cracks, and tears misted her vision. “What did the bastard do to her?”

“We won’t know that until Des has completed the PM,” Bob admitted. “Hard to consider her being out here alone. What time did she get here? Why didn’t she call one of us?”

“I’m probably to blame for her not doing that. I told her I was going out on a date night with Rhys.”

“That’s no excuse; she could have rung me. The fact is, she didn’t. I know we don’t want to consider the possibility of her being a bent copper, but the proof is mounting against her, Sam.”

“I know,” she reluctantly admitted. Sam was about to stand; however, something shiny caught her eye. She pointed at the object tucked away under a plank on the edge of the slipway. Not having any protective gloves on, she asked the tech, “Can you get that?”

He walked towards the plank and eased it aside. “It’s a USB stick.”

“What?” Sam rushed over to have a look for herself. “I wonder if Claire saw it before the person attacked her. Did the killer lead her to this specific spot? Tempt her with the idea of handing over the stick?”

“That’s doesn’t make sense,” Bob said. “Why would the killer leave it here? ”

“There’s only one way to find out. We’ll drop it over to the lab on our way back to the station.”

“Let me bag it for you and make a note that you’re taking it,” Paul said.

“What’s going on here?” Des joined them.

“We found a USB stick and clear signs of blood,” Sam replied. “We’re assuming that Claire was searching for the item and someone was watching her, possibly clobbering her over the head before she could retrieve the stick.”

He nodded. “I’ve had a chance to quickly examine her body. I was coming over here to tell you that she has a gaping wound on the back of her head.”

The rage built inside Sam. “So, what are we saying? That she was knocked out and then dumped into the harbour, left to drown in that filthy, disgusting water?”

“Possibly. I wouldn’t like to commit to anything just yet,” Des replied.

“I’ve seen enough. We’re going to head off to the station. I need to see what she was working on last night. Something brought her to this location. It’s nowhere near her home, so a walk after work to wind down wasn’t on the agenda. We’ll drop the USB stick off at the lab on our way.”

“You do that. There should be someone there to assist you. If you want, I can give them a call and ask them to examine it while you’re there.”

“That would be great. I didn’t want to suggest it in case your team are snowed under.”

“We’re always overworked, but I get the feeling the information on that thing might be essential to your investigation.”

Sam laid her hand on his arm. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t do sentimental offerings, so get out of here. ”

Fifteen minutes later, Bob drew up behind her in the lab car park. They entered the building together, and the tech, who was there to welcome them, invited them into his office.

“Right, let’s see what we have for you,” Mick said.

Sam and Bob remained silent and watched him work. He downloaded the information onto a file on the computer.

“Sorry for being a novice at all of this, but that seemed too easy, or did you just make it seem that way?” Sam asked.

Mick smiled. “I could tell you it was my expertise, but I’d be lying. It was easy to do—not encrypted, which makes a change.”

Sam glanced at Bob. “You know what this means?”

He shrugged.

“Someone wanted us to find it.”

“Claire or us?”

“You tell me. Maybe they tempted Claire there to pick up the USB stick and then thought better of it, deciding it was best to kill her.”

“Again, that doesn’t make sense. Why leave the evidence behind?”

“I don’t know. It’s up to us to find out. What information is on the file?”

“I’m going to have to leave that to you to sort through.

I’ve got your email address; I’ll send it to you now.

Sorry, I’ve got work coming out of my ears.

Although Des gave me the go-ahead to help you on this, I know what will happen if I don’t have the other work ready for him that he’s already requested for the day. ”

“Don’t worry. It’s early for us; we can go over it back at the station before the rest of the team arrive. We truly appreciate your assistance today, and thank you for squeezing us in.”

“Thanks. There you go, all sent and out there in the ethernet, winging its way to you.”

“Great. Thanks again. We’ll get out of your hair now. Can I leave you to deal with the stick?”

“Consider it done.” Mick ejected it from the machine and returned it to the plastic evidence bag .

Back at the station, Sam raced ahead of Bob. He’d got caught up in traffic a few streets away. She switched on the lights and went through to her office to boot up her computer. She found the file sitting in her inbox.

“I hope you haven’t opened it yet,” Bob said from the doorway. “I thought we were going to go through it together?”

“We are, and no, I haven’t opened it. I was checking it had arrived. Sort out the coffee, and I’ll take a quick look at the post.”

“Deal. Don’t be tempted to open that file,” he warned over his shoulder.

“Trust me. I’m your senior officer. Sometimes I think you forget that.”

He laughed. “I don’t. Because you won’t let me.”

Sam chuckled. That was true. She opened the five letters she’d received, sorted them into order of urgency and promptly returned them to her in-tray. “Perfect timing, thanks.”

Bob placed a mug in front of her. “Do you want me to move my chair?”

“No, it’ll be easier if I rotate the screen so both of us can see it.” She took a sip from her mug and let out a satisfied moan. “That tastes divine. I barely touched the one Rhys made me this morning.”

Bob raised an eyebrow. “Bit over the top; it’s a cheap make and tastes nasty at the best of times. But each to their own.”

Sam swivelled the screen. “Can you see it properly?”

“Yep, sort of.”

They both sat on the edge of their seats as Sam opened the file marked Pendle .

It was like entering an intriguing maze.

Inside was a series of documents, patient reports and incident logs, all linked to Pendle House, a long-forgotten children’s home that, during its time, had a dark reputation.

Sam cast her mind back. She could vaguely remember the place.

It had been closed for more than a decade, after a scandal had emerged involving missing files that hinted at abuse claims.

“Shit. I remember the scandal surrounding this place. Do you? ”

“I think so. We need to find out what Claire was working on before she left yesterday.”

They exited the room, taking their coffees with them, the file still open on Sam’s computer. It was going to take the team a few days to go through what they’d discovered.

“Shit,” Bob cussed. “I don’t know her password to get into the system.”

“Nor should you. Let me see if I can figure it out.” Sam entered the obvious information, such as family members’ names and dates of birth, which she located on Claire’s personnel file.

She eventually found the right combination and polished her fingers on the lapel of her jacket. “I did it. I broke the code.”

“Smart arse,” Bob muttered, rolling his eyes at her accomplishment.

“That’s why I’m your senior officer, because I thought outside the box.”

He raised his hand and coughed, discharging a single word: “Bullshit.”

Sam pounded the keyboard and searched Claire’s history tabs, the ones she’d recently closed. “Here we are. She’s been searching the archives for articles relating to Pendle House. This tab was closed at twenty-one thirty yesterday.”

“That has to be it.”

Instinctively, Sam checked Claire’s emails but saw nothing out of the ordinary in there.

“Check the Deleted box,” Bob said.

Sam gasped when she saw that an email had arrived at twenty-one twenty the evening before. “Bingo!” She opened it and read the message from the unknown sender.

The heading read: Four Must Fall, and the message itself said:

You think you’re the only one who cares? This time, they will pay. One by one, with their lives. Starting with the doctor .

Sam and Bob stared at each other, neither of them finding the appropriate words to say.

Bob pointed at Claire’s phone on charge. “What an idiot. She didn’t take it with her. She had no means of contacting either of us.”

Sam shook her head and let out a long sigh. “Shit. You’re right, she was out there on her own. She should have taken her phone with her.” There was a tap on the window, startling Sam. “What was that?” A crow cawed sharply in the wind. It had grabbed their attention then flown off.

“Jesus, that’s never happened before,” Bob said. “Bloody spooky, if you ask me.”