Read Online The Missing and the Dead by Stuart MacBride - Free Book Online Page B

his way down the ramp, boots slithering on the weed-covered concrete, and squatted down at the edge of the water. Licked the tip of his index finger, then tapped it against the snagged red shoe. Pressed the finger against his tongue. Salt.
    ‘Deano, when’s high tide?’
    ‘No idea. Can find out, though.’
     
    ‘Definitely not an accident?’
Inspector McGregor was cranked up to full volume, trying to compete with the siren of the car she was in.
‘You’re sure?’
    ‘As I can be, without screwing up the scene.’ Logan marched back to the road, pulling off his blue nitrile gloves and stuffing them into an empty carrier bag. Fingers trembling, struggling with the plastic. ‘Looks as if someone battered her head in, but there’s no sign of blood on the walkway, or the wall, or the steps. So she didn’t do it falling into the pool. Best guess: she was dead by the time she hit the water. Probably had been for a couple of hours. Must’ve been completely submerged at one point – her skirt, legs and shoes are covered in salt crystals.’ He stopped, blew out a breath. ‘Poor wee soul was only five or six.’
    The second-hand roar of the siren wailed from his Airwave’s speaker.
    ‘Guv?’
    ‘I’ll be there in five minutes. You’ve secured the scene? And got a lookout request on the go for Neil Wood?’
    ‘Deano handed it off to the OMU soon as we knew the guy was missing. Don’t know if they’ve done it or not.’
    ‘For God’s sake, Logan, it’s—’
    ‘You said, get back to you ASAP.’ The carrier bag went in his pocket. ‘Thought that made it top priority.’
    A sigh, barely audible over the background noise.
‘Suppose you’re right.’
    Deano scrambled up the shingle beach, back onto the road. Stopped and shook one leg, as if he’d stood in a puddle. Waves hushed against the pebbled shore.
    ‘Guv, you still there?’
    ‘Yes. Fine. I’m getting the MIT up from Aberdeen. Make sure no one touches anything till I get there.’
    ‘Already got Constable Quirrel as acting CSM.’
    ‘Tufty’s our Crime Scene Manager? … Wonderful … We’re all doomed.’
This time she was gone for good.
    Deano marched over – one shoe leaving damp footprints on the age-dulled tarmac – while Logan punched in the badge number of the admin assistant Inspector McGregor had dug up for them.
    The woman on the other end picked up.
‘Sergeant McRae?’
    ‘I need you to run a check on all missing persons aged eleven and under.’ The wee girl looked a lot younger than that, but there was no point taking any risks. ‘Female. Blonde hair. Wearing a school uniform – grey with white socks and shirt. Red shoes and tie. No school badge on the jumper.’
    ‘Where am I looking?’
    Deano stopped in front of him, pointed at himself. Mouthed, ‘Anything needing doing?’
    ‘Better start with the Northeast and expand it from there. Go UK wide if you have to.’ He took his finger off the transmit button. ‘Deano, whoever you spoke to at the Offender Management Unit – give them a poke and make sure they’ve got a lookout request on for Neil Wood. I want him picked up.’
    ‘Sarge.’
    ‘… OK, I’ve got three mispers that match the age range in the Northeast …’
The clatter of fingers on keyboard.
‘Two are female … One red-haired, one brown. Sure yours hasn’t dyed her hair?’
    He pulled out his mobile and scrolled through the photos he’d taken. That pale little face, staring down at the stones. Deep breath. ‘Far as I can tell. Eyebrows match the hair colour, anyway.’
    ‘Then we’re going to have to search further out. Might take me a while. How far back do you want me to go: one month, two, three?’
    ‘Better give it two years. Just because she only turned up today, doesn’t mean she’s not been missing for a long, long time.’
    A sigh. Then,
‘Josef Bloody Fritzl has a lot to answer for.’
    ‘Email me if you get anything.’ Logan clipped the handset back in place.
    Deano was on the