THREE
SUNDAY, 3 APRIL
Gina pulled up alongside the police cars and spotted PC Smith tying cordon tape around the lamp post. At one in the morning, the usually desolate road would normally be quiet apart from the occasional fox. She glanced around, wondering if anyone would be close enough to witness what happened. There was a row of detached houses a short walk away, maybe someone heard something. The tall trees lining their houses told her that they probably hadn’t. Beyond that, this narrowing road led to countryside. She imagined the perpetrator weaving in and out of the country roads to make their escape. Maybe they were drunk, maybe they were speeding, but where was Annabel Braddock? Stepping out, she headed over to PC Smith who filled out the login sheet and let her through. ‘Alright, guv. Sad news.’
She shook her head. ‘I can’t believe this has happened to Jennifer. Jacob went straight to the hospital to be with her. Did the paramedics say anything?’
‘It’s bad, guv. She wasn’t conscious. They mentioned possible swelling of the brain and they left with the blue lights on. We took some photos, then Bernard arrived with the forensics team. I forwarded them to him.’ Smith shook his head.
‘Any witnesses?’
‘There doesn’t seem to be.’
‘How about the woman she was with? Jacob said she went out with her friend, Annabel Braddock. Any sign of her yet?’
He shook his head. ‘Uniform have searched the area but there is no one else around. Her bag and belongings are marked out on the road. Some of the items are Jennifer’s, like her purse.’ A pile of parrot-topped cocktail sticks lay crushed flat on the road in a smear of blood. Amongst them, a keyring painted like a raspberry.
‘Keep looking.’ Gina turned to the other side of the road. Opposite the houses and just beyond the passing place was a dense copse full of mature trees and behind that an overgrown field. ‘She may have stumbled off or crawled away from the scene, but who would leave their friend in the road in the state that Jennifer was in? Maybe she was hit too and is wandering around concussed. We need to knock on all the doors of these houses and check their gardens, maybe she passed out.’
‘There is something, guv.’
‘What?’
He fidgeted in his uniform, trying to loosen it a little. ‘Her phone was found close to Jennifer. It’s been smashed, like someone has stamped on it.’
‘I don’t like this at all. I best speak to Bernard, see if he and Keith have managed to find anything that might help.’ She waved, catching Bernard’s attention, then she took a crime scene suit and gloves from Smith. Before heading closer, she slipped it on over her trousers and shirt, then hurried towards Bernard Small. As she approached, he towered over her, half blocking out the light from one of the portable units. In the distance, Keith hunched over on the floor as he searched for further evidence of what had happened. The occasional groan about his bad back came from his mouth as he moved.
‘Bernard.’
He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. His creased eyes held a sadness in them as he stared at the place Jennifer had been left. ‘Whoever did this to her—’ He clenched his gloved fist. Gina knew how he felt.
‘We’re going to find them and they will pay. I promise you that. What do we have?’ She only hoped that she could make good on that promise.
‘You can see that we’ve marked out Jennifer’s outline. That’s where we found her. There is a phone next to her but it doesn’t belong to her as her phone was in her pocket. The other one must have belonged to her friend. Both phones have been logged into evidence as we didn’t want any further damage to come to them. See the blood?’
Gina looked down. ‘Yes.’
‘It’s not all Jennifer’s. Her friend’s blood drips for half a metre, then there are no more spots. The victim either covered up her wound before leaving the scene, or she was taken away from the scene. The trail ends there.’
Gina bit her bottom lip. ‘Given that her phone is smashed and all her belongings have been left behind, it’s looking like she was taken from the scene. Officers have been looking but she hasn’t been found as yet. Jennifer was with a friend called Annabel Braddock.’ She spotted PC Kapoor standing just outside the cordon. ‘Jhanvi?’
‘Yes, guv?’
‘Can you call the station and get a dog team down here? That will confirm if the trail ends here or if she’s lying out there somewhere, and we’ve missed her. We can’t take any chances if that’s happened.’
‘I’ll do it now.’ Kapoor walked away to make the call.
Gina turned back to Bernard. ‘What do you make of the accident?’
‘The way she fell, it looked like she’d been thrown over the bonnet like a rag doll. I’d say the car came at her with speed.’ He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
‘This is going to be tough on all of us but we need to do this for her.’
‘I know.’
‘Can I see the photos?’
Bernard unzipped his crime scene suit and pulled his phone from his pocket and held up a photo.
