Read Online The Evil Beneath by A.J. Waines - Free Book Online

morning. We’re not able to release any more information until we’ve made an identification.’
    ‘Have you identified the other woman yet? At Hammersmith Bridge?’ called another voice.
    ‘We have no reason to link this death to the body found downriver, over two weeks ago. We are, however, appealing to anyone who might have any information about the woman found at Hammersmith Bridge, to come forward.’ He held up a detailed charcoal drawing of the woman’s face. He went on to give further details about her height, weight and what she was wearing.
    A voice from the back of the press conference called out: ‘Do we have a serial killer on our hands, sir?’
    Rollinson looked like he hadn’t heard the question and pushed his papers together, as he stood up. ‘That’s all we have for now, I’m afraid. We’ll keep you posted.’
    My mind was racing in several directions at once as I switched off the television.
Was this connected to the second text message I’d been sent? Was this teenage girl also going to be wearing my clothes?
    I sank back onto the sofa, my head spinning, as I tried to slow myself down and decide what I should do. I’d spoken to DI Roxland again about the second text message; he’d been grateful, but his voice betrayed a certain tone in it - the kind normally reserved for small children who make outrageous claims. I wondered if they’d bothered to trace the message.
Did it have any connection to this death?
Without being consciously aware of it, I’d crossed my fingers, twice, on both hands.
Please let it be nothing to do with me.
But, even my most optimistic streak couldn’t convince me. It was another body under a bridge - surely it had to be connected to the other one.
    I pulled myself to the edge of the sofa. What I needed most was more information and the only way I was going to get that was through calling the police station again. DCI Madison picked up the phone, this time. I didn’t expect to reach him in person; I must have been lucky. Of the officers I’d come across so far, he was not only the most approachable, but the only one who seemed to be on the same wavelength.
    What he suggested didn’t fill me with enthusiasm.
    He wanted me to see the second body.
    Because it was a river death, the Marine Policing Unit had taken the body to the mortuary at Wapping Police Station for identification. I needed to get there before they got started with the post-mortem, so I had to cancel my clients for Wednesday morning. Everyone else’s problems were going to have to wait.
    I showed my identification at the front desk and then followed the attendant along a bare corridor, until we reached a small booth on the left. Inside, one wall was a wide glass window with a view of a larger space on the other side. It was cold and there was a nasty smell that reminded me of dissecting frogs at school.
    ‘We can’t let you get too close to the body. Cross-contamination…’ said the attendant rubbing his fingers together, as if this explained what he meant. On the other side of the glass, a door opened and a covered trolley was wheeled in. My knees went rubbery and I wondered whether I was going to stay upright.
    ‘Ready?’ asked the attendant.
    I wasn’t, but gave the faintest nod.
    In turn, he nodded through the window and a figure, masked and gowned on the other side, pulled down the sheet covering the girl’s face. I craned forward in the cautious way one looks over the edge of a cliff, holding on to the thin ledge that ran under the window.
    I took a sharp intake of breath and covered my mouth. I recognised her at once. I didn’t feel too well. I looked around the room for a wastepaper bin: I might be needing it.
    ‘Take your time,’ said the attendant, with a well-practised sympathy he must use every day for relatives taking those fateful steps towards the glass.
    ‘She’s stopped chewing…’ I said in a whisper.
    ‘Sorry?’
    I stared at the large hoop earrings and the