Read Online Monument to Murder by Mari Hannah - Free Book Online Page A

was in her nostrils too.
    She looked at her watch.
    It was past teatime and her tank was empty.
    She nodded towards the rest of the squad. ‘Have they all eaten?’
    ‘Fed, watered and ready to go,’ he told her. ‘And there’s something green and boring in the fridge for you too.’
    ‘OK, briefing in ten. That’s everyone. No excuses.’
    Picking up the overnight bag she carried in her car in case of emergencies, Kate vaulted the stairs two at a time to the rest room on the floor above. She took a hot shower, a touch of jealousy creeping into her thoughts over Naylor’s dinner date with Jo. She’d been sorely tempted to accept his invitation to join them. But how could she? Especially when she and Jo were not on the best of terms right now.
    With no time to indulge that thought, she got dressed quickly. Repacking her bag, she stowed it in a free locker, then reverted to type and went back to work. By the time she walked into the incident room, Hank had prepared the team for a full briefing.
    Kate ate while she brought the team up to date with Tim Stanton and Abbey Hunt’s findings.
    Or lack thereof .
    ‘I have an observation to make,’ she said. ‘Bamburgh’s like a lot of coastal villages in that it’s not a place you come upon by accident. In my humble opinion, that could be highly significant.’
    ‘It’s not on the main road, if that’s what you mean,’ DS Robson said.
    ‘Exactly my point, Robbo. To get there you need to leave a major north-south border route. I’m pushing the scientists for a time of year when the burials might’ve taken place. In the meantime,I want checks on all hotels, guest houses and holiday rentals for anyone staying in the area during 2001 and 2006. That’s everyone, leisure guests or business. I want names. And I don’t give a monkey’s if we have to copy every database in the area to get them.’
    ‘Are we releasing this to the press?’ Lisa Carmichael asked. ‘They’ve been on the blower already from both sides of the border.’
    ‘Good question. The answer is no. Let’s be clear here . . .’ The SIO scanned the faces of her team, making sure they were all paying attention. ‘What we have is two bodies of young girls: one approximately ten years old, the other fifteen. The ten-year-old has been buried about ten years, the fifteen-year-old about five. From a media point of view, we found two bodies on a beach. I want no hint or suggestion that those girls were buried at different times. Nothing I’ve told you leaves this room. If you get asked any awkward questions you say we’re doing random checks, building a profile of people visiting the area. I’m particularly interested in regulars.’
    Kate’s eyes searched the room and came to rest on DC Maxwell. ‘Neil, you’re on missing persons. You’re looking for kids who went AWOL in the relevant years and a couple of months either side. Got that?’
    Maxwell answered with a nod.
    ‘That’s a very precise timeline, isn’t it, boss?’ The question had come from DC Brown. He blushed as heads turned in his direction. ‘I mean, can we really be that certain? Look at them!’ He pointed at the murder wall where crime scene photographs of the two victims were pinned side by side. ‘If we’re out by a year we’ll be wasting our time, won’t we?’
    ‘You’ve obviously not met Abbey Hunt.’ Hank slipped into cowboy drawl to make his point. ‘She don’t make no mistakes, boy! Pity anyone who suggests she do.’
    Everyone laughed.
    The next question came from Maxwell. ‘With regard to missing persons, you want me to concentrate only on our force area or what?’
    ‘For the time being, yes. Then, depending how you get on, we widen the search gradually. I suggest we start with neighbouring forces: Lothian and Borders, Durham, Cumbria – in that order. Maybe North Yorkshire too. We go national after that, if necessary.’ She waited as he scribbled a note to that effect. ‘I want to be informed each