Read Online Heart of the Demon (D.S.Hunter Kerr) by Michael Fowler - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Fowler
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tandem. Finally after fighting sleeplessness and seeing the dawn light creep through the fabric of the bedroom curtains he rose early, showered quickly, and drove the eight miles to work hardly noticing what the car radio was playing.
Closing the computer down, he scoured the handwritten sheets he had scribed late last night. They contained detailed notes on each of the murders, featuring all the relevant discoveries from the enquiries already carried out together with a list of fresh tasks that required working on today. There was a lot of work to do and he had to be very focused as he scribbled down further notes for the forthcoming briefing. He glanced up for a moment, and stared at some of his old personal photographs on the wall, particularly at the class photograph of his younger self, standing proudly in the middle row at Detective Training School at Wakefield.
Those had been amongst some of the best days of his career. How he wished he could turn the clock back and be more hands on. He found it so difficult not to get personally involved in a case and accept that his role was no longer operational. He now ‘flew a desk’. It was his job to sift and sort the evidence; to identify new leads; pick out suspects, or break down alibis. The greatest personal satisfaction he could hope for was picking out that crucial bit of information from an action or statement through his meticulous reading and careful observation, that others had missed and which would initiate that first step to catching their killer.
Placing the cap back on his Waterman fountain pen he picked up his notes, pushed himself up from his desk and walked out of his office and down the corridor. He could hear the familiar voices of some of his HOLMES team beginning their preparations for the day, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee teased his nostrils. Entering the MIT office he spotted the new incident white boards that had been erected. There were timelines for each of the victims. The latest one displayed the rotted face of Jane Doe. He knew the immediate task was identifying the unidentified, placing a name to that gruesome form, which had once been a young girl. Without that how could they uncover her lifestyle; her habits; where she hung out and whom she associated with? That valuable information was the crux of the matter right now. He knew how important it was that Jane Doe became a somebody whom he could give back to her family.
He quickly reviewed photos of the scene, looked at the dental x-rays and combed through the post mortem report. He knew behind the scenes that attempts would be being made to obtain finger prints from the corpse, and also that one of the detective’s would have the sole task of making the numerous phone calls to track down the orthodontist who did her dental work. At the same time forensic would be working with the clothing and other articles found on the body.
His mind was finalising the day’s assignments as members of the team filtered into the briefing room. He fixed his gaze on a few of them and acknowledged their arrival with a firm smile.
Morning briefing began at eight am. He satisfied himself that all who should be here were here, glanced at his watch, and cleared his throat.
“Morning Ladies and Gents, you don’t need me to tell you that we have a very busy few days ahead.” Referring to his notes he began by re-visiting all the ‘actions’ so far relating to the murder of Rebecca Morris. He double-checked with detectives on confirmed sightings, revealed that the reconstruction had not brought in any new leads, and finished by bringing in DS Hunter Kerr and DC Grace Marshall to confirm the work they had done with her parents and revealing what her best friend had stated about the man who had been ‘coming on to her’ to photograph Rebecca. “It is vital we find this man. He is our main TIE suspect.”
The detectives around the room didn’t need reminding that was the acronym for trace,
Closing the computer down, he scoured the handwritten sheets he had scribed late last night. They contained detailed notes on each of the murders, featuring all the relevant discoveries from the enquiries already carried out together with a list of fresh tasks that required working on today. There was a lot of work to do and he had to be very focused as he scribbled down further notes for the forthcoming briefing. He glanced up for a moment, and stared at some of his old personal photographs on the wall, particularly at the class photograph of his younger self, standing proudly in the middle row at Detective Training School at Wakefield.
Those had been amongst some of the best days of his career. How he wished he could turn the clock back and be more hands on. He found it so difficult not to get personally involved in a case and accept that his role was no longer operational. He now ‘flew a desk’. It was his job to sift and sort the evidence; to identify new leads; pick out suspects, or break down alibis. The greatest personal satisfaction he could hope for was picking out that crucial bit of information from an action or statement through his meticulous reading and careful observation, that others had missed and which would initiate that first step to catching their killer.
Placing the cap back on his Waterman fountain pen he picked up his notes, pushed himself up from his desk and walked out of his office and down the corridor. He could hear the familiar voices of some of his HOLMES team beginning their preparations for the day, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee teased his nostrils. Entering the MIT office he spotted the new incident white boards that had been erected. There were timelines for each of the victims. The latest one displayed the rotted face of Jane Doe. He knew the immediate task was identifying the unidentified, placing a name to that gruesome form, which had once been a young girl. Without that how could they uncover her lifestyle; her habits; where she hung out and whom she associated with? That valuable information was the crux of the matter right now. He knew how important it was that Jane Doe became a somebody whom he could give back to her family.
He quickly reviewed photos of the scene, looked at the dental x-rays and combed through the post mortem report. He knew behind the scenes that attempts would be being made to obtain finger prints from the corpse, and also that one of the detective’s would have the sole task of making the numerous phone calls to track down the orthodontist who did her dental work. At the same time forensic would be working with the clothing and other articles found on the body.
His mind was finalising the day’s assignments as members of the team filtered into the briefing room. He fixed his gaze on a few of them and acknowledged their arrival with a firm smile.
Morning briefing began at eight am. He satisfied himself that all who should be here were here, glanced at his watch, and cleared his throat.
“Morning Ladies and Gents, you don’t need me to tell you that we have a very busy few days ahead.” Referring to his notes he began by re-visiting all the ‘actions’ so far relating to the murder of Rebecca Morris. He double-checked with detectives on confirmed sightings, revealed that the reconstruction had not brought in any new leads, and finished by bringing in DS Hunter Kerr and DC Grace Marshall to confirm the work they had done with her parents and revealing what her best friend had stated about the man who had been ‘coming on to her’ to photograph Rebecca. “It is vital we find this man. He is our main TIE suspect.”
The detectives around the room didn’t need reminding that was the acronym for trace,
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