Историческая библиотека. Том 8. Отсутствует

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СКАЧАТЬ let me be the first to … secretly … congratulate you. I’m dead chuffed and will do whatever I can to back you up, OK?’

      ‘Thanks. That means a lot. You know how much I look up to you.’

      ‘That’s only because you’re a foot shorter than me …’ And with that, any tension between the pair had been broken. Maggie knew she might struggle a bit to think of Nathan, one of the few people who really understood her, as her superior.

      ‘So, am I calling you boss now? Or would you prefer guv? Or how about your excellence?’ Maggie exaggerated a curtsey before him.

      ‘Let’s just leave things as they were. Nathan is fine, you cheeky cow.’

      ‘Oi, sir! You can get yourself in trouble for saying things like that.’ She laughed as she watched her partner squirm. Nathan looked around the room to make sure no one had overheard their conversation.

      ‘Be careful, or I’ll make sure your next duty is one that will wipe that smile clean off your face …’

      ‘Now THAT is better. Spoken like a true DS. Right then, are you ready to head to this briefing?’

      He took a deep breath. ‘Ready as I’ll ever be …’

      Maggie walked down the corridor to the incident room and found a seat at the back. She was curious as to how the rest of her colleagues would react to the news, but she also wanted to sit far enough away from DI Rutherford to avoid giving the game away. This was Nathan’s moment and she didn’t want anything to spoil it.

       CHAPTER SIX

      Maggie squeezed into the incident room and took a seat next to Bethany. With the evidence boards set up and the additional chairs, there was barely enough space to stretch your legs.

      DI Rutherford walked to the board at the front of the room with a concentrated frown and began describing the most recent findings. ‘Good afternoon. I appreciate it’s really cramped in here, we normally don’t have this many people, so I’ll try not to keep you longer than necessary. I just want to recap, especially for the benefit of the field team joining us today. A little over three weeks ago, a member of the public was pulling her bin to the kerb for collection when she noticed it was particularly heavy. She thought the neighbour had dumped extra items inside. But when she tore open one of the bags, she was horrified to find dismembered body parts. These were the remains of a female, now identified as Lorraine Rugman.’

      ‘What made her decide to actually open the bags, ma’am?’ Maggie hadn’t been part of the crime scene investigation and her curiosity was getting the best of her.

      ‘The witness said there was an odd odour as soon as she lifted the bin lid. She believed she might find something inside that could help identify whoever had dumped the bag.’

      ‘Were there any other witnesses?’ One of the field officers called out.

      ‘An older gentleman across the road claims a security light came on across the road in the early hours of the morning and he saw someone poking about the bins. He couldn’t give a full description, as he wasn’t wearing his glasses. It wasn’t until the next morning when he heard his neighbour scream that he knew he possibly saw the killer.’

      ‘Other than what we have already been given, has any new information come in that we can share with the field officers, ma’am?’ Maggie was churning the information through her head at a mile a minute.

      ‘We were waiting for pathology to confirm the weapon, but it looks like some sort of saw was used to dismember the body. We haven’t found any other body parts relating to the victim, and at the moment, we’re treating this separately from the original Chopper Investigation.’

      The pathology department had been slow to deliver the information to the team due to a number of staff shortages. Dr Blake was involved in interviewing agency staff to fill the gaps while they waited for the relevant checks to be undertaken.

      ‘How do we know for definite that Raven wasn’t responsible or at least involved in this murder? Could the body parts have been frozen and then later disposed of by someone working with him?’ Maggie finished speaking, and the DI sighed wearily.

      ‘I don’t have to remind you, but I think I will anyway, DC Jamieson. In fact – all of you listen up. Bill Raven’s appeal is based on those body parts turning up and it’s looking very likely that he may be released. But just in case you haven’t digested everything you’ve already been told, here is the pathologist’s report which came in this morning.’ She waved a folder in the air and the crowd of officers took a collective breath. She continued speaking. ‘The pathologist confirmed the limb and torso were not frozen. Lorraine Rugman had been missing, presumed dead, for over two years and the time of death, estimated at between two days and two weeks prior to them being found, proves that Raven was behind bars when the murder was committed. As for whether or not he could be involved in some way – well that’s what we’re here to investigate, isn’t it?’

      Maggie folded her arms and sank down in her chair. Her mouth felt suddenly dry. ‘Is it possible that Lorraine was … that the other women Bill Raven named … have been kept alive for nearly three years?’

      ‘If that’s true, we don’t have much time. Field officers will carry out house-to-house enquiries that focus on the recent murder of Lorraine Rugman, but I’ll also need someone to go through the previous case, which had linked all three women, to see if we missed anything; specifically, I want to investigate if there’s a link between the previous case and the murder of Lorraine Rugman. We need to use the media and appeal for anyone to come forward. Oh. There’s one more thing I’d like to share with you all. Nathan has been appointed as Acting DS, so I’d appreciate if you all treat him as such. Everyone know what they need to do, or do I have to hold your hands?’

      The whole room nodded like a sea of bobbleheads and clapped for Nathan’s promotion. A few shot curious glances Maggie’s way, but she just smiled and clapped along with them.

      Maggie shifted in her seat as her colleagues dispersed. Staring at the board before her, she reviewed all the information again and stored it for a time that she could sit and digest it on her own. Although she had been over the details a million times, since returning to the team, she was convinced that there was something they were failing to see. She just needed to find it first.

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      On leaving the incident room, Maggie stopped in the toilets to wash her face. She needed to focus on the press conference. The cool water felt invigorating. She used a paper towel to dab her face dry. Why did I agree to this?

      Maggie’s stomach fluttered with nerves. Although confident in most situations, Raven’s solicitor had recently been using her as a scapegoat with the media at every opportunity presented. It made her question her decisions and wonder whether she had actually convicted the wrong person. She stared at herself in the mirror. Dark circles had found a home under her eyes, and she ran her fingers through her hair before stepping out into the corridor.

      Nathan spotted her from the end of the corridor and walked over. ‘You ready?’ He squeezed her shoulder. ‘You’re as white as a ghost. Don’t let nerves get to you – the COMMS Officer and I will be doing most of the talking.’

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