Page 2 of The Truth Will Out (DI Sam Cobbs #18)

S am Cobbs felt contemplative as she sat on the banks of Coniston Water, one of her favourite spots.

It was a place she used to visit often with Sonny, especially when he was a pup.

It had been three weeks now since she’d lost him.

Gone… long before his time, thanks to an idiotic driver who had mounted the pavement.

They had been out on their evening walk, heading home to Rhys and Casper.

Her fiancé was running late that night and had told her to go ahead and enjoy her walk with her precious boy; they’d meet up back at the house.

She was listening to music at the time, not through her headphones.

Spotify was playing quietly on her phone.

Even so, it was enough to deaden the commotion behind her until it was too late.

She usually walked Sonny on the inside of the pavement, but for some reason, he’d found something interesting to sniff near the kerb and was investigating it.

He was still in the same position when a car travelling at speed hit something behind them and spun out of control.

Every time she closed her eyes since that evening, all she could see was Sonny flying through the air, his screams etched into her mind .

Sam shook her head and patted Tilly on the head.

The little border collie cross wasn’t Sonny’s replacement, but she had healed a piece of her heart that she thought would never mend.

It was her sister, Crystal, who had seen the advert for Tilly, a little rescue pup who had been transported to the UK from a kill shelter in Romania.

She was the sweetest thing ever. The only downside, if you could call it that, was that she had a tendency to murder her toys.

Sam had spent a fortune on her sweet pup since the day she had arrived.

Crystal had volunteered to drive to Wigan to meet Lily-Belle, the lady who had fostered Tilly since she’d arrived in the UK.

It had been a long day for the pup, and she’d been carsick a couple of times.

The second Sam had laid eyes on Tilly and cuddled her that evening, she knew she’d done the right thing in giving the dog a new home.

She and Casper got on great together. They wore themselves out running around the garden, enjoying their zoomies.

Doreen, Sam’s elderly neighbour who had cared for Sonny during the day while Sam was at work, had also taken to Tilly, and they’d become best of friends from the word go.

“We’ll never forget him, will we, Tilly? But I truly believe he sent you our way to help all of us heal. Between us, Rhys and I don’t seem to have much luck with keeping dogs safe, not after he lost Benji. But all that is about to change with you, I promise you, sweetheart.”

Tilly looked up at her and then placed her two delicate front paws on Sam’s lap. Sam smiled and bent down for a kiss. Tilly willingly obliged. Every morning, she gave the best hugs and kisses as she jumped on the bed to greet her and Rhys.

The moment of bliss was interrupted by Sam’s mobile ringing. “Hi, Bob. How are you?”

“Sorry, I know you’re supposed to be having a few hours off. Believe me, I hate doing this to you, but I thought you’d want to know about this as soon as the news broke.”

She frowned and continued to stroke Tilly. “What news?” Suddenly, it dawned on her what he must be referring to. “Shit! Has he been found?”

“You’ve just earned yourself a Blue Peter Badge. ”

“Do they even exist these days? Is that you, showing your age again?”

“Maybe. The good news is, yes, Morgan has been found. The bad news is… he’s dead.”

“Bugger. Okay, I’m out at Coniston at the moment. It’s going to take me a good hour to get back, plus a further thirty minutes to drop Tilly off.”

“You could always bring her with you and keep her in the car while you attend the scene. I’d love to meet her. I’ve heard you talk about her so much over the past few weeks.”

“All right. Just this once. It’s still going to take me a while to get to you. You’d better give me the location.”

“It’s the old clinic in Workington. You know, the one that has been earmarked for demolition along with the other run-down properties on that road to make way for a block of flats.”

“I think I know the one you’re talking about. I’ll be as quick as I can and meet you there. I take it the pathologist and his team are already at the scene?”

“That’s right. I called to make Des aware of what was happening, and he was already en route. See you in a while. Drive safely.”

“I will. I’ll have a very important passenger with me. Christ, if it gets out that I’ve brought along my dog…”

“It won’t. Anyway, if anyone asks, this is you putting work first despite being off duty.”

“You’re a good man, Bob. I don’t tell you that often enough.”

“You’re right, you don’t.”

They laughed, and Sam ended the call. She gave Tilly an extra hug and kissed the tip of her nose.

“You’re the cutest thing ever. Come on, sweetpea, let’s get you a drink and settle you in the car.

How exciting, you’re coming to work with Mummy.

” She fell silent and thought, Even Sonny didn’t do that.

God, I miss that boy so much. I guess I will until my dying day.

As pet owners, we never truly forget the special dogs that come into our lives for a reason.

I believe Sonny comes under that category.

She wiped away a tear that had slipped onto her cheek and opened the back door for Tilly. After securing her pup’s lead in the seat belt fastening, she filled the water bowl and encouraged Tilly to have a drink.

Sam put the address into the satnav and groaned.

She had misjudged how far away she was from Workington.

It was going to take longer than she’d anticipated, unless she used her siren.

There lay a second dilemma. Did she risk scaring Tilly with the noise, just so she could get to the scene quicker?

Once she was on the open road, she decided to give it a trial run.

Tilly seemed a little perturbed to begin with, then showed no sign of a reaction to the loud noise, so Sam put her foot down.

She pulled up behind Bob’s car, checked if Tilly was all right in the back, and then went to the boot to remove a protective suit and shoe covers, which she slipped on.

Bob must have either sensed her arrival or been watching out for her. He came to meet her at the front door. He shook his head. “It’s awful. His wife is going to be devastated.”

“Crap, that’ll be the next job on the agenda: breaking the news to her. I’m going to need to see what we’ve got here first.”

She picked her way past the debris strewn across the reception area, most likely caused by vandals over the years.

The front windows were all boarded up, making the area dark and gloomy.

Bob led her through to a large room that was filled with the pathologist and his team.

Sam stood in the doorway for a while, taking in the scene before stepping into the room.

Her gaze was drawn to the man strapped to a metal table.

A pool of blood lay on the floor directly beneath him.

“Jesus. Someone definitely did a number on him.”

“You could say that,” Des replied. “Come in, Sam, don’t be shy.”

“Sorry, I didn’t want to intrude. What can you tell me?”

“Meet Robert Morgan, a well-known doctor in the area who, I believe, was reported missing a couple of days ago. Am I right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. We were hoping we’d find him alive.”

“Well, as you can see for yourself, that clearly isn’t the case. ”

Sam strained her neck from where she was standing to view the man’s wounds. Bile instantly rose in her throat. As well as the victim’s lips being sewn up, he had a gaping wound in his chest. “Oh, God. Has he had his heart removed?”

“He has. We’ve carried out a thorough search of the property and haven’t come across it as yet.”

“Shit. Does that mean we’re dealing with a trophy taker?”

“So it would seem. The question is, what are the odds that he’s going to add to his collection?”

“Heck, don’t say that. One murder at a time is enough for us to deal with.”

Des grinned and shrugged. “I’m just putting it out there. The killer came prepared.”

Sam frowned. “Prepared to kill him?” To her, that much was obvious.

“No. I’m suggesting the killer brought some kind of container with him to transport the heart.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“Simples… the lack of blood trail from the room. Although a tech found some in the reception area. It might be the victim’s, or it could belong to the killer. We’ll run the necessary tests when we get back to the lab.”

“Damn, yes, sorry. I should have considered that myself. Hang on, you’re not suggesting this is about organ harvesting, are you?”

Des shrugged. “I’m wondering if he was still alive when this person, or persons, removed his beating heart. I think it’s too early to dismiss such a suggestion, but what do I know?”

Sam thumped her clenched fist against her thigh. “More than most. He’s a doctor, for fuck’s sake. Who would do such a thing?”

“I take it you haven’t been to a doctor’s surgery lately?”

“No, I haven’t had the need to go. Why?”

“Sitting on the phone first thing for hours to get an appointment is driving the public crazy, and then, only emergency cases are seen. It’s getting totally out of hand. ”

“Ah, yes. I remember Dad telling me he had to wait several weeks to see the doctor, and by that time, the symptoms he’d had cleared up. I’m afraid I have to be at death’s door before I ring my surgery.”

“You’re the exception. There are a lot of seriously ill people out there who have to deal with these frustrations day in, day out.”

“I feel for them. What are you saying? That you suspect one of his patients has done this to him? Punished him for not having the heart to deal with his patients correctly?”

“Who knows? That’s your job to find out the motive. All I’m giving you are the facts of what’s going on here.”