They walked in silence to the lip of the trench. Meredith Walker, Southampton Central’s chief forensics officer, was at the bottom, carefully excavating the body. Helen took in the scene, thewhite-suited forensics officer crouching sinisterly over a woman who looked completely at peace, despite the wet sand that stuck to her hair, eyes and lips.
The woman’s face, shoulders, upper torso and arms had been revealed. Her limbs were painfully thin and the skin very pale, which made her single tattoo stand out even more. Despite the partial decomposition, she was a strangely beautiful sight, her black hair still framing those vivid blue eyes. It reminded Helen of the Grimms’ fairy tales, of gothic damsels awaiting true love’s kiss.
“How long has she been down there?” Helen asked.
“Hard to say,” replied Meredith. “The sand at this depth is cold and wet—ideal conditions to preserve the body. There are no animals or insects to get to her here either. But it’s not recent. Given the levels of decomposition, I would say two, three years—Jim Grieves will be able tell you more once he gets her back to the mortuary.”
“I’ll need the crime scene photos tonight if possible,” Helen said.
“Will do. Though I’m not sure how much help they’ll be. Whoever did this has been careful. Her earrings and nose studs have been removed. The fingernails have been cut. And you can guess what time and tide have done to any residual forensic evidence.”
Helen thanked Meredith and walked down to the water’s edge to get a better view of the scene. Already her nerves were jangling. This was a careful, premeditated disposal by someone who knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn’t the work of an amateur. Which strongly suggested to Helen that their killer had done this before.
5
“Stay away. Don’t come near me.”
Ruby was backed into a corner of the room. She held out her arms to ward off attack, but she knew immediately that it was an empty gesture.
Click.A powerful torch beam fired straight at her. Her heart raced as she watched the torch beam run the rule over her, creeping down from her face, over her chest to her thighs and then her feet. Despite her determination to appear strong, she felt her composure abandon her now and she started to sob.
“Don’t be frightened.”
His voice was measured and steady. She didn’t recognize it, though the Southampton accent came through clearly.
“Please let me go,” she said through tears. “I won’t tell anyone. I—”
“Are you cold?”
“Please. I just want to go home.”
“If you’re cold, I can get you an extra blanket. I want you to be comfortable.”
His calm pragmatism was crushing. He was speaking as if nothing unusual had happened. As if this werenormal.
“Are you hungry?”
“I want to go home, you motherfucker. Stop... stop talking to me. Just... take me home. The police will be looking for me—”
“Nobody’s looking for you, Ruby.”
“My parents are expecting me. My mum’s coming round today—”
“Your parents don’t love you.”
“What?”
“They never have.”
“Why are you say—”
“I’ve seen the way they treat you. What they say about you when you’re not around. They want rid of you.”
“That’s not true.”
“Really? You walked out onthem, remember. So why should they come looking for you?”
The horrible logic of it rendered Ruby speechless. “No... no. You’re wrong. You’re lying. If you want money, they’ve got—”
