Read Online Brock And Kolla - 09 - Spider Trap by Barry Maitland - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Barry Maitland
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possibility that Adam was only one of many visitors removing trophies from the place. Yet all of the interviews in the neighbourhood had met with the same response, that no one had ever heard of anyone getting onto the waste ground before, or known of the possibility of human remains being buried there.
‘Could there be more? That Marlowe hasn’t found yet?’
‘It’s possible.We’ll be digging up the whole site,all one and a half acres of it, grid square by grid square, but that will take time.’
He waved an arm across the breadth of the area and, at the windows of the upper classrooms of Camberwell Secondary, dozens of grinning schoolkids waved back at him.
‘What about the age of the remains? Any more information there?’
This was the crucial question; until they had some fix on that it was impossible to focus the investigation, and so far the pathologist had been frustratingly reluctant to commit himself.
‘We’ve definitely ruled out an old burial ground or Blitz victims, as has been suggested. They are modern, probably between ten and forty years old. That’s as close as we can get at present.’
‘So you can confirm that they are murder victims?’
‘That would seem to be the likely conclusion. We have evidence of what appear to be gunshot wounds.’
And two spent cartridge cases, Kathy knew. Just then she felt a hand touch her arm, and turned to see Tom Reeves at her side. She smiled and they moved away from the others so that they could talk.
‘How’s it going?’ he asked.
‘Fine. Aren’t you guarding your mass-murderer?’
‘I got an hour off and decided to come over. They told me you were here. I was worried about you.You were pretty stressed yesterday.’
‘A good night’s sleep helped. But thanks.’
‘Maybe you should talk to somebody.’
‘I did, over lunch yesterday.’ She smiled at him and he grinned back.
‘Look, if you’re going to work around here you need to get some background. How do you fancy some Jamaican food tonight? I know an excellent chef.’
‘That sounds interesting. All right.’
‘Good. This is where I live . . .’ He gave her a handwritten card.‘Can you come there? About seven?’
‘Fine. I’ll phone if I’m delayed.’
‘I’d better get back. See you.’
She watched him stride away, amazed that he’d now divulged both his mobile number and his home address. Maybe he really was giving up the undercover life.
The press conference was breaking up and she waited until Brock was able to get away. They had heard that Adam Nightingale had recovered consciousness and might be fit enough to be interviewed. As she drove him up to Waterloo she described her visit to the Roach compound.
‘Definitely promising. Adonia couldn’t rule out the two girls as her attackers. She was badly shaken up by the attack, and the family has rallied around her,especially the daughter,Magdalen.She seemed very protective of her mother, but I got the impression that she doesn’t get on so well with her father.He stops her smoking around the house and so on. Do we know why she’s still living with them?’
‘Pretty common these days, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. It’s just that I had the impression she was used to her own space. She had to be reminded about the smoking, for instance. I might do some digging. Anyway, there was one definite flaw in their story. Adonia said they were particularly upset that the thieves snatched her necklace, a very personal gift from Ivor when Magdalen was born, but that she found it again under the floor mat of the car when it was returned. I checked with the forensic team that dealt with it, and they say that’s impossible, they would have found it first.’
‘Can we believe them?’Brock asked.‘People are under pressure, sometimes they cut corners.’
‘He sounded pretty convincing to me. Apparently, at the stage they went over the car there was still doubt about how serious Adonia’s injuries would turn out to be, and they
‘Could there be more? That Marlowe hasn’t found yet?’
‘It’s possible.We’ll be digging up the whole site,all one and a half acres of it, grid square by grid square, but that will take time.’
He waved an arm across the breadth of the area and, at the windows of the upper classrooms of Camberwell Secondary, dozens of grinning schoolkids waved back at him.
‘What about the age of the remains? Any more information there?’
This was the crucial question; until they had some fix on that it was impossible to focus the investigation, and so far the pathologist had been frustratingly reluctant to commit himself.
‘We’ve definitely ruled out an old burial ground or Blitz victims, as has been suggested. They are modern, probably between ten and forty years old. That’s as close as we can get at present.’
‘So you can confirm that they are murder victims?’
‘That would seem to be the likely conclusion. We have evidence of what appear to be gunshot wounds.’
And two spent cartridge cases, Kathy knew. Just then she felt a hand touch her arm, and turned to see Tom Reeves at her side. She smiled and they moved away from the others so that they could talk.
‘How’s it going?’ he asked.
‘Fine. Aren’t you guarding your mass-murderer?’
‘I got an hour off and decided to come over. They told me you were here. I was worried about you.You were pretty stressed yesterday.’
‘A good night’s sleep helped. But thanks.’
‘Maybe you should talk to somebody.’
‘I did, over lunch yesterday.’ She smiled at him and he grinned back.
‘Look, if you’re going to work around here you need to get some background. How do you fancy some Jamaican food tonight? I know an excellent chef.’
‘That sounds interesting. All right.’
‘Good. This is where I live . . .’ He gave her a handwritten card.‘Can you come there? About seven?’
‘Fine. I’ll phone if I’m delayed.’
‘I’d better get back. See you.’
She watched him stride away, amazed that he’d now divulged both his mobile number and his home address. Maybe he really was giving up the undercover life.
The press conference was breaking up and she waited until Brock was able to get away. They had heard that Adam Nightingale had recovered consciousness and might be fit enough to be interviewed. As she drove him up to Waterloo she described her visit to the Roach compound.
‘Definitely promising. Adonia couldn’t rule out the two girls as her attackers. She was badly shaken up by the attack, and the family has rallied around her,especially the daughter,Magdalen.She seemed very protective of her mother, but I got the impression that she doesn’t get on so well with her father.He stops her smoking around the house and so on. Do we know why she’s still living with them?’
‘Pretty common these days, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. It’s just that I had the impression she was used to her own space. She had to be reminded about the smoking, for instance. I might do some digging. Anyway, there was one definite flaw in their story. Adonia said they were particularly upset that the thieves snatched her necklace, a very personal gift from Ivor when Magdalen was born, but that she found it again under the floor mat of the car when it was returned. I checked with the forensic team that dealt with it, and they say that’s impossible, they would have found it first.’
‘Can we believe them?’Brock asked.‘People are under pressure, sometimes they cut corners.’
‘He sounded pretty convincing to me. Apparently, at the stage they went over the car there was still doubt about how serious Adonia’s injuries would turn out to be, and they
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