Page 3 of The Truth Will Out (DI Sam Cobbs #18)

“I appreciate it, thanks, Des. Does he have any other wounds to his body?”

“Not from what I can tell. I’ll know more once I’ve conducted the post-mortem. His arms and legs were bound, and he was strapped to the table at the chest. That alone would have stifled his ability to move.”

“Held him in place while the surgery was carried out?” Sam asked.

“To a degree.” Des shook his head. “Beggars belief, but those are the facts as I see them.”

“Why here? Why choose this place to carry out the dastardly deed?”

“Because it’s empty?” Bob suggested.

“Maybe. It’s a shithole with sections of mould everywhere. The windows at the front are non-existent. It used to be a clinic. Did he work here?” Sam asked, thinking aloud.

“So many questions and so few answers at the moment, as per usual this early on in an investigation,” Bob replied.

Sam surveyed the room and, for the first time, spotted something written in blood on the wall behind her. “Jesus, I take it they wrote that in his blood. No, don’t bother replying. It’s bloody obvious they did. Shit! DO NO HARM. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s a doctor. A GP,” Bob pointed out unnecessarily. “I’m guessing he’s wronged one of his patients in a major way and possibly a relative has gone after him. ”

“Maybe,” Des agreed. “I need to tell you that I believe the heart was removed with precision.”

“Someone in the profession did this to him?” Sam asked incredulously. “Is that what you’re telling me?”

“I wouldn’t like to say, not just yet, not without having a closer inspection of the dissected area back at the lab.”

“Is it easy to find out how to remove a heart via the internet?” Bob asked. “Or is that a dumb question?”

“I’m guessing either the internet or the dark web will come up with a clip or two. As far as I know, every question known to man can be answered via the web these days,” Des said.

“Oh God, don’t say that,” Sam said, her gaze drifting back to the body.

“I’m horrified by the thought of someone checking out a twisted bastard’s YouTube page, where they have filmed another person removing organs from a corpse.

Or, worse still, from someone who was alive at the time of the extraction. ”

Bob ran a gloved hand over his face as the colour drained from his cheeks. “Did you have to say that? That’s conjured up all sorts of images that I know are going to remain with me for a while.”

Sam and Des shared a look.

“It wouldn’t be YouTube, but I get your drift. Are we done here? Do you need to ask any further questions?” Des asked. “If not, I want to get this chap back to the lab as soon as possible.”

“Will it be all right if we continue our search outside, in the hallway?” Sam asked.

“Feel free. And before you ask, I’ll get the results back to you as soon as I can.”

Sam smiled. “Thanks, Des. I don’t care what the other officers say about you.”

He glared at her and tilted his head. “I think you and I need to have a quiet chat later.”

Sam laughed. “I was joking. Just winding you up.”

Des jabbed a thumb in Bob’s direction. “That’s usually your partner’s job.”

“Hey, you two, leave me out of this. ”

Sam smiled and pushed Bob out of the room. “Come on, let’s see what we can find out here. Any idea how they got in?”

“I’m presuming through one of the boarded-up windows. It looks like it has been removed and then replaced to me. This one here.” He pointed to the large board on the right-hand side of the reception area.

“How can you tell?”

He puffed out his chest and announced proudly, “Footprints beneath it, a few drops of blood, and some of the screws are missing.”

“Wow, go you. When did you work that out?”

“I told him,” one of the techs said from behind her.

Sam laughed. “I thought it was too good to be true.”

Bob grinned. “Go on, admit it, you were super impressed for a millisecond, weren’t you?”

“Pass, ask me another,” Sam retorted. She should have known better than to expect Bob to come up with anything half-plausible at a crime scene.

Stop it, you’re being too harsh on him. She examined the area as her mind raced.

“The intent was clear. The murderer chose this place for a reason. Until we find out why that was…”

“Yeah, don’t bother finishing off that sentence.”

She searched the rest of the area and the other rooms available on that level. Finding nothing of any use, she and Bob ascended the stairs.

“Shit, it stinks up here.”

Sam withdrew a mask from her pocket. It did little to block out the disgusting smell. Bob went ahead of her.

He pushed open a few of the doors and tentatively stuck his head into each of the rooms. “Fuck, don’t go in there. I think I’ve found the source of the smell.”

Sam had no intention of finding out what he was talking about. She backed up, and they descended the stairs together.

“Overflowing toilets are stomach churners.”

“Too much information. Thanks for that! Yet another unwanted image for me to deal with during the rest of the day. ”

He grinned an apology. “You’re welcome. That might explain the mould in the room where the body was located.”

“That makes sense. Right, there’s nothing else for us to do here. We’d better break the news to Mrs Morgan before the press get wind about what’s gone on here.”

“I agree. Can I meet Tilly first?”

Sam nipped back to the crime scene and said farewell to Des. “We’re off. Ta-ta for now.”

“Hope all goes well with the wife.”

“Thanks.”

Sam and Bob stripped off their protective suits and put them in the awaiting black sack. Then she introduced her partner to the new love of her life, well, apart from Rhys and Casper, that was.

“Oh my. She’s tiny. I mean, I know you said she was small, but bloody hell, she’s such a sweetheart. Can I have a cuddle?”

Sam ejected the safety harness and lifted Tilly out of the car. “Stop kissing me. A word of warning: her tongue gets into every orifice; she’s not fussy about where she sticks it.”

Bob laughed as Sam handed Tilly to him. “Light as a feather. Hello, precious. Well, you’ve definitely landed on your paws finding a home with my boss.”

“She’ll want for nothing and is already the boss at home. Fortunately, Casper hit it off with her the second she stepped into the house.”

“Do they snuggle up together?” Bob kissed the top of Tilly’s head, and just like a snake, her tongue came out and she started licking him.

“When they’re not haring around the garden. I warned you about that tongue of hers.”

“I think I’m in love.” Bob sighed and kissed Tilly’s head again.

“Easily done with this one. She stole my heart the minute I saw her.”

“I can see why.”

“Right, I’m sorry to break up this love affair, but we have work to do. Can you remember Morgan’s address? Is it anywhere near my place?”

“Nope, it’s in the opposite direction. She’ll be fine in the car for a little while, won’t she?”

“I might need to stop off at a park somewhere to let her have a wee.”

Bob held Tilly away from him. “You could have told me that before you handed her to me.”

Sam chuckled, put Tilly back in the car and secured her once more. “I’ll follow you. If you see any greenery on the way, pull over.”

“I know just the place. Does she go on command? Have you taught her that yet?”

“Sometimes. Every command is hit and miss at the moment.”

“Stubborn, is she? Not surprised—she’s a female after all.”

“Bugger off.”

Sam followed him to the outskirts of the town. Bob came to a stop by a grassy verge no bigger than a small front garden.

Sam got out of the car and said, “Is this the best you could do?”

He grinned and shrugged. “It’s the only place I could think of that was on the way. Go on, let me see if she follows your orders as well as I do.”

“Ha-bloody-ha, no pressure then.” Sam eased Tilly out of the car and whispered in her ear, “Don’t let the side down now, go wee-wees for Mummy like a good little girl.”

No sooner had Tilly touched the grass than she squatted.

Sam faced Bob and grinned broadly. “That’s my girl. Watch and learn, partner. If a pup who has been learning English for only two weeks can follow my orders, there’s no reason why you can’t do the same.”

Bob had remained in his car. His response was to raise his window without speaking.

Sam let Tilly have a sniff around for a few extra minutes and then put her back in the car.

They set off and arrived at the Morgans’ house ten minutes later.

Sam lowered all of the windows a couple of inches.

Luckily, it was overcast today, not as sunny as it had been during the week.

She topped up Tilly’s water bowl, gave her a handful of treats and locked the car. “I hope this doesn’t take us too long.”

“I can make an excuse halfway through and check on her; just give me the nod.”

“You’re a pal. Thanks, partner. Okay, back into professional mode.”

They walked up the garden path that had several stunning rose beds on either side. At the edges were dozens of companion plants. The display took Sam’s breath away. “I’d love a garden like this.”

Bob shrugged. “It’s all right, I suppose. Not really my cup of tea. I prefer something maintenance-free. There’s a lot of work gone into keeping this garden in good nick.”

“That’s true. If only I had the time.” Sam rang the bell.

Mrs Morgan answered the door within seconds. She gasped as soon as she saw them standing on the doorstep. “Oh no… this isn’t good news, is it?”

Sam shook her head. “Can we come in, Melinda?”

The woman took a step back. She slid down the wall and covered her head with her hands. “I knew it… knew I’d seen him for the last time.”

“Come on, let me help you up. We’ll chat in the lounge, shall we?”

Sam held out a hand, and Melinda gripped it. She struggled to get to her feet until Bob offered to lend a hand.

“Thank you. I guess I’m not as young as I used to be. It’s all right getting down there; it’s getting up that’s the hardest part. Shall I make a drink?”

“Not for us. Do you need one?” Sam asked.

“No, I’ll be all right.”