Read Online Hindsight (9781921997211) by Melanie Casey - Free Book Online

check out the crime scene again now that the techs have left. I want to get a feel for the place and see if I can get into the killer’s head.’
    â€˜It’s as good a place as any to start. We’d better head in to see Reg and his rookie too or he’s likely to get his nose out of joint. You know what he’s like. He hates to feel excluded.’
    Reg had been a police officer since the dawn of time. He was part of the local landscape, a career uniform, steady and reliable. He wasn’t a shining star but he was familiar, and his stern but fair approach made him a favourite with the locals. Ed and Phil had worked with him on every major crime in Jewel Bay.
    â€˜Yep, I thought we might ask him to organise all the local interviews. We can conduct them here and he and his offsider can either sit in or watch.’
    â€˜Sounds good. We might want to get his theory on who the killer could be too. I know the suits think it’s mob related but I’m not so sure. The crate bothers me. If it was a professional hit why bother to knock her out and stuff her into a crate?’
    â€˜Yeah, too risky and messy for a pro.’
    â€˜You’d have to have a van with a hydraulic lifter to move it,’ Ed commented.
    â€˜Yep, or more than one person.’
    â€˜Two of them? Nah, I doubt it. I reckon we start by looking at any van owners with priors.’
    â€˜Perfect job for the newbie if Reg agrees,’ Phil said.
    They left as soon as they finished their meals. Stuart Lane was a bit of a hike but they decided to leave their car and walk. The local cop shop was only a few hundred metres further than the lane.
    The day was cool and crisp. The sun broke through the clouds every so often but its pale rays did nothing to banish the bite in the breeze coming directly off the sea. The trees along the street were bare and the overall impression was of a summer haven that had hunkered down for the winter months. There were plenty of people out and about but they had the purposeful stride of locals about their business, not the dawdle of holiday makers.
    At the lane, the tape had already been taken down. They stood looking at the doorway where the body had been abandoned. As they were standing there a car squeezed its way down the lane, forcing them to step into the alcove while it passed. It stopped a bit further down and a bloke jumped out and started to unload cartons from the boot.
    Ed stepped out of the doorway. Watching the man, a piece of the puzzle fell into place. ‘The killer was coming back for her. I wonder what he was planning on doing?’
    â€˜I don’t want to know.’ Phil sighed.
    â€˜Hate to say it but I think this one has an agenda,’ Ed said.
    â€˜Great, let’s keep that idea to ourselves for a while shall we? We don’t want to start a panic. I can just imagine what would happen if they thought there was a serial killer or rapist in their midst.’
    â€˜Yep, let’s go see what Reg has for us. You never know, Constable whatever-his-name-is might have found some camera footage.’
    â€˜Yeah and I’m gonna win Lotto tonight.’ Phil gave him a crooked smile.
    They headed down the laneway, turning left at the end and covering the short distance to the police station. They passed the phone booth.
    â€˜I can’t remember, did forensics say they found prints on the phone or not?’
    â€˜Yeah, lots of them, we’ll check with Reg to see if Old Mick has a record. With a bit of luck we might at least be able to identify his prints and confirm that it was probably him who called it in.’
    They spent the rest of the afternoon with Reg and his offsider, whose first name turned out to be Alex. Alex Forsyth was a good kid — enthusiastic and willing to do anything asked of him. He’d had no joy finding any camera footage. Jewel Bay just wasn’t the sort of place where the local shopkeepers felt they needed CCTV.