Read Online Cop to Corpse by Peter Lovesey - Free Book Online

it could be a life-saver. The pockets at the front contained helpful items including a torch, a taser and, not to be thought about, a personal first aid kit, for use by medics if he were injured.
    He and Gull were side by side, twenty feet apart, in the line that presently started a slow rake through the wood. He had mixed feelings about this search. It was difficult to understand why the sniper would have thought it necessary to hide in Becky Addy Wood when no one knew what he looked like. Instead of skulking in this godforsaken place, he could have taken tea in the Pump Room without any risk of being recognized provided he tucked the gun out of sight.
    ‘Where’s the tree?’ he called to Jack Gull.
    ‘What do you mean – “the tree”?’
    He’d touched that raw nerve again. ‘The tree he’s supposed to have used for target practice.’
    ‘Why ask me? They must know.’
    The voice of the chief inspector told them to shut their faces. A reasonable request in the circumstances, if crudely expressed. They’d asked to be treated like everyone else. Or Gull had. But there were respectful ways of saying it.
    Five minutes in, and Diamond was ready to defect. He’d twice tripped over roots and once nearly lost his shoe in thick mud. Everyone else was in boots or heavy duty trainers. If he’d known how this morning would turn out, he’d have dressed for a hike through the woods. He was still in the oxfords he wore for the office. And his second best suit. He’d sometimes remarked to friends that his job was never boring. You couldn’t predict from one day to the next where you would be and what you would investigate.
    Suddenly the people on the left stopped and gestured along the line for everyone to halt. They’d reached a thickly wooded stretch where it was impossible to see more than two of the searchers to right or left. The rule of silence now was too much to hope for. The news of a find was soon passed along. There was evidence of a tent being pitched and the ashes of a wood fire.
    ‘That’s it, then,’ Diamond said. ‘He’s upped sticks and gone. He’d be a fool to come back.’
    ‘It’s got to be taped off for checking,’ Gull said. ‘We could get his DNA. This could take some time.’
    ‘I’m going to have a look,’ Diamond said.
    ‘We’re not supposed to break rank.’
    ‘Stuff that.’
    He strode off to see what was happening. He hadn’t come here to make up the numbers. If Jack Gull chose to toe the line, that was his loss, Diamond decided. The stride became a swagger, but not for long. The going was rough and made worse because of the downward incline. Soon his steps were more like stumbling. Once he caught his foot in a rabbit hole and landed on all fours. He got up, rubbed his hands and carried on, watched by more of the team waiting compliantly for the order to move on. They didn’t question his insubordination.
    Presently the ground dipped and he looked down on a sunken section formed possibly by quarrying and protected on three sides, yet entirely grassed over, a perfect hideaway. The CIO from the Wiltshire force was standing on the opposite bank overseeing police tape being staked around an area where a flattened square was clearly visible, as were the holes made by tent-pegs. The embers of a fire were still giving off faint wisps of smoke.
    ‘What do you reckon?’ Diamond asked.
    The CIO looked up, surprised that someone had left his post. Seeing that it was Diamond he didn’t make an issue of it. ‘Not kids, for sure. No fag-ends, no beer cans. Looks to me like one careful camper was here last night.’
    ‘Careful in what way?’
    ‘Not to leave any rubbish behind.’
    ‘The sniper, sleeping rough?’
    ‘We’ll find out, won’t we?’ The CIO’s beady eyes were more than just hopeful.
    ‘Why would he have returned to the wood this morning?’
    ‘To bury the murder weapon is my guess. Easy to cover with leaf mould. Very difficult for anyone else to