Chapter 3

With the front door open, they could see a brick laid on the accelerator pedal. The FSI leader looked closely at the outside of the door and pointed out a small depression.

“I expect that there were two of them. They started the car with the brick upright and one put the automatic into drive. As it started to edge forward, he pushed the brick over onto the pedal and would have ducked out of the way. The second guy would have knocked the door closed as it went past him. I expect that we will see some damage to the grass with wheelspin.”

Sue sent Lean and Maria to walk into the park on a line back from where the car was. The starting point was found, a pair of wheel marks where it had spun the driving wheels, some two hundred yards from the water’s edge. It was closer to the dumped body than it was to the water.

“Maria, lass. You’re racking up points faster than we can count. Old Butt will have kittens when this all gets out. Missing those tracks, which would have been fresh when the body was found, is a huge demerit on his team that were here. I gather that you weren’t invited to that particular party?”

“No, boss. It was boys only, without Butt leaving the office.”

“Those guys are the mirror-image of the old Serious Crimes Unit that we had. The difference is that the old unit fabricated evidence, this lot just ignored what was in front of them. If they’d seen those tracks, that car would have been out of the water that day. I’m sure that when the CS sees these results, there will be some serious questions being asked in the upper levels, maybe leading to an audit of Butt and his case history.”

Maria went back to the car, asking the FSI team for some small marker flags so that they can photograph and measure the marks, mainly to be assured that they were caused by the Astra, and not just a hoon having fun. When the two of them had set the flags, they returned to the car, which now had the doors closed again. A tilt-tray truck was backed up to it and preparations were being made to load it to take back to the lab.

Andy gave Lean Skinner the camera and tripod, and Susan declared that lunch was on her at the local pub, telling the divers that they would need to do another dive in the afternoon. Once again, Andy found himself in a group of professionals, discussing what they had found and the ramifications of the find. The divers knew that they should have been called in, months ago, but stayed away from openly declaring that the other team had dropped the ball.

Before they left, Susan gave Andy and Maria a notebook each, and asked them to write a quick precis of their week, so far, so that they could be shown to the CS, this afternoon. That only took about twenty minutes and then they were off, following the dive truck to the next site.

“Well, Andy, you did well. Decomposing bodies are a nasty sight, that’s for sure. It reminds me of a sight at one of the cathedrals, Winchester, I think. They got a famous sculptor from Italy to carve the likeness of a famous man for the top of his coffin. When the guy finally arrived, the body was showing bones, so he carved what he saw. It’s an odd memorial that can be seen today, no-one had bothered to paint the likeness and the sculptor had never seen the guy in the flesh.”

“It wasn’t a nice sight, that’s for sure. It didn’t affect me like the first one, though. That one hit home at a terror of mine. I would have a nightmare, sometimes, where I was about to be castrated, often so that I could sing in a higher register. I used to sing in the school choir.”

What he couldn’t tell her was that other times when he was going to be castrated, there was a wardrobe full of dresses standing open behind the shadowy figure with a large knife. That was too personal to pass on.

The next dive site was easy to get to, on the edge of the Edgbaston Reservoir. It was off an open grassy area, with some trees lining a walking path along the water edge. Susan had organised a uniformed team here, to rope off the area where they would park and dive. There weren’t many spectators, but the small crowd included a few journalists, who called out questions as they were let inside the cordon.

This dive was more of a long shot, seeing how much water’s edge they had to choose from. It was a bank of around twenty yards that had been chosen, and the divers kitted themselves out and entered the water at one end, the bubbles moving away from the two, sitting on the folding chairs.

“Don’t look around, Maria, but there’s a few cameras with long lenses recording our every move.”

“That means that your smiling face could be in tomorrow’s paper. Just stay focussed on why we’re here. Looks like there’s something down there, a buoy just popped up. This place will be a favourite dumping ground for old bikes, shopping trolleys, all sorts of stuff. I expect that there could be several markers before these guys surface again.”

While they sat and looked out over the water, Susan was sitting in the Chief Superintendent’s office, bringing him up to speed on what they had already discovered. He was almost incandescent when he realised the ramifications of the missed tyre tracks. He asked Susan how the two new members of the team were doing, and she showed him their precis reports.

“Maria has a real talent for detection, now elevated with an excitement of actually being able to do what she knows she can do. Andy was lost to us when they stopped him joining the force as a probationary constable. I would like to see the two of them made permanent in my team, and I think that Andy should be given the position he really deserves. He was the main one to look at the pools and pinpoint the dive sites, so far, his drawings have been spot-on.”

“Right, give me a few days with the boys upstairs to mull this debacle over, and I may have some news for the two of them, next week. Are you sure that Andy has mastered his mental problems?”

“I had him filming the recovery this morning, and he was upset by what he had to film, anyone but a hardened detective would have been, but he was steady and did what was asked of him. Yes, I think that the horrors are now behind him. If anything, it showed that he is human, and not just an adrenalin junkie that we sometimes see coming out of that college.”

Back at the dive site, the bubbles had been up and down the chosen area, moving further out each lap, and around twenty markers were bobbing on the water when they came to the surface. Maria and Andy waited until they were free of their kit and hosed off before going over to their truck.

“There’s a lot of crap, down there, much of it just debris. There is a sack, as you had predicted, two motorcycles and three cars, all looking like they had been down there years. They were probably dumped before the trees grew and the path laid. We will have to bring it all up, tomorrow, with a bigger area closed off. There will have to be a guard here, tonight, just in case the papers get a private diver to have a look. See you tomorrow about ten, and get your boss to organise more uniforms, there could be TV cameras here when we start pulling cars out.”

Maria got Andy to call Lean and tell him what was going to happen, and the need for a guard and a bigger cordon in the morning. Lean told him that he would get it organised and that he would see them on the site in the morning. That evening, Maria and Andy went to a quiet pub and had a meal, together. They had been in each other’s company, by now, for long enough to be able to talk, openly, about their lives and ambitions.

The events of the day were not lost on either of them. Maria admitted that she was now worried about what may happen when her old boss found out about her involvement.

“I dare say that I’ll have a target on my back. That team is a bunch of bullies. I’m sure that they’ll start off by spreading rumours about me, mainly because I fended off all the advances they made. With the promises that were going around, I might have been a Chief Inspector if I had just opened my legs. Some days my arse was black and blue from the pinching.”

“Does that make you unhappy to be a girl?”

“It takes the shine off things when it’s constant, but now being with a group who treat me as a person makes it all fade into the past. Especially sitting here, with you, having a meal and a drink. If we hadn’t found another body today, it would almost feel like a date.”

“Don’t make me blush! I’ve really enjoyed being with you, at work and after. I’ve held back; you’ve no idea how many times I’ve wanted to give you a hug when we achieve one success after another. You are, though, a Detective, with all of that experience, and I’m just a lowly Special, living in a dream that I’m afraid I’ll wake up from, with someone giving me a lollipop and telling me that there’s a school crossing calling me.”

“You want to give me a hug! Well, we’ll have to break the ice on that before we get back to the car. It’s no problem when two people have enough respect for each other to have the occasional hug. If it makes you feel better, I’m sure that I’ll feel better, as well.”

They clinked their glasses and smiled at each other. Maria was true to her word when they got to the car, giving Andy a hug that may not have been the first one he had been given, but was certainly the best one.

The next day, when they arrived at the reservoir, it took a while to get through a bunch of journalists, grouped at the end of the roadway next to the Red Shed. The cordon was well away from the water’s edge, and the dive truck was already parked near the bank, with three tilt trays parked further away, next to a tow truck. A council truck was there, with a crew clearing a passage between the water and the grass.

“Looks like we brought the circus to town, eh, Andy”.

“Sure, it looks like it. I’ve never been in the thick of it like this, before. Yesterday was nothing, compared to this. We’re going to have to bring the sack up unseen. I’ll ask the divers to get the FSI van close to that passageway, and time a car emerging so that the sack can be quietly pulled in and put away.”

Maria watched him as he walked over to the dive truck. She wondered where all this new confidence had come from. If one hug did that, she wondered what would happen if she gave him a kiss. She stopped herself at that point. She was a good five years older than him, not the best looker around, but she was sure that they had hit it off last night and broken the ice.

Sue and Lean arrived with the FSI van behind them. Lean parked next to Maria’s car, while the dive leader beckoned the FSI to where he wanted them parked. Sue looked around at the crowd and then went over to one particular man. Lean smiled.

“Looks like old Jackson has heard about your party. Sue will give enough to make him happy that he’s got a scoop, but not enough to give him the real story. He is a good writer and is fair with us when we give him something to go on. It’s going to be fun, today, and I’m looking forward to what comes up. Looks like the council is expecting a few trolleys.”

He then gave Maria the morning paper. On page five there was a picture of her and Andy watching the divers. The heading was ‘CID looking for sunken treasure’ with the story wondering what the point of the obviously serious operation was.

Another truck from the council was now parked next to the tree clearing truck. The divers were suiting up and Andy came back to join Lean and Maria.

“The divers are going to connect up the smaller things first, trolleys and bikes. Then there are two motorcycles. Then one of the cars is a fifties Armstrong Siddeley. They are going to make a big thing about pulling it out, so that the cameras are all pointed at it when they pull the sack out.”

The day went as expected, After the tenth trolley, some of the onlookers found a reason to be somewhere else. The first of the motorcycles had a few cheers. It was locally made, back in the heyday of British motorcycling, a BSA Bantam. It looked as if it had been almost new when it was dumped.

After that there were more trolleys and cycles, until there were just five markers left bobbing in the water. The divers connected up the second motorcycle, and it was pulled out and taken to the grass. Lean walked over and whistled. The bike was an early sixties Triumph Bonneville, and he thought it may be a good restoration project for a keen enthusiast. Someone like himself. It would look good next to his Trophy and Tiger.

The next dive hooked up the Armstrong Siddeley. That was some way out as it must have floated a while before sinking. It took a little while getting it up the bank, then the tow truck loosened the brake on the hawser drum and drove slowly onto the grassed area, before chocking the wheels and pulling the car into full view of the watchers. The car was almost futuristic in its shape, a 234 Sapphire of the mid-fifties. The FSI guys added to the drama by suiting up before having a good look. The leader opened the back door, with a flourish, and was as shocked as the onlookers as the deluge of water included a skull, which fell out at his feet.

Sue was on her phone within a few seconds.

“Doggy, the dive has pulled out a 234 Sapphire with a body in it. I’ll text you the number. Run it through the records. If you pull up anything juicy, get Terry to give me a call and send Porky and Sky over here as quick as they can.”

She texted him the registration number and stood, waiting for a call back. As she looked around, she noticed that there were only two markers left. She walked over to where Andy and Maria stood.

“Good thinking, you two, although the show was a bit more dramatic than you thought.”

“It was all down to Andy, boss. He had the idea. The sack is with the FSI, nice and safe. I’m sure that if the papers get the idea that it was the main reason for the dive, I’m certain that our targets will be a lot more careful.”

The second car was coming up the bank and across the path when her phone rang again. She listened for a few minutes, then stood for a while, making up her mind. She gave Terry some orders and put the phone back in her pocket.

“All right, you two. Stay with this until they’ve finished and get an early day. You can come back to the station and make out proper reports. There may be some information from the FSI on the earlier finds to read. For your ears only, that car was owned by ‘Syd’ Singh, a successful supermarket owner in the sixties and seventies. Doggy has found a missing person’s report. His wife reported that he had emptied the safe, one Friday evening, and driven away, never to be seen again. What Doggy has discovered is that in the years after he had gone, his wife had declared him dead after seven years, married the shop greengrocer, and opened up three more supermarkets. Terry is organising surveillance of the pair. I’m just about to set the trap.”

She walked back to the reporter, Jackson.

“Jacko, old chum. I’m going to give you the scoop of the year. That Sapphire belonged to Syd Singh, the shop owner that disappeared in the early seventies. I think that the body is him. You might like to be the one to break the news to his wife, she may have something interesting to say for your column, tomorrow.”

Jackson left the scene, quietly so no other reporter got wind of his eagerness to get the scoop, with his phone stuck to his ear as he called his office to get the information he needed. Susan walked over to Lean Skinner with a big smile on her face.

“This is a day which keeps on giving. That skull was probably a guy who disappeared fifty years ago. I’ve put Jackson on the scoop trail, and Terry is organising some watchers. We may be able to arrest the wife before Monday if I’m an optimist. Are you going to get the bike?”

“The council guy thinks I’m a good chance, if I call in and get some paperwork to fill out. They would rather get rid of them instead of having to store them. Otherwise, they’ll just go to the dump. It’s been an interesting day, for sure. The show that Andy organised was really over the top, in the end. He’s thinking that we shouldn’t give away too much at this stage. The next dives are going to have to be a quieter operation if we don’t want to give our target too much information. We’ll need to discuss this this afternoon.”

They went and stood with Andy and Maria as the last car was pulled out. The three tray tops were loaded up, the Sapphire covered over and heading for the FSI laboratory, the Vanguard and Anglia, having been checked over to make sure they didn’t contain any bodies, would be heading for the council pound. Sue thanked the divers and told their leader that they would have a serious think about the next dives, considering the press that this one had attracted, with her calling them next week.

She sat with Lean in their car as the circus left and the crowd dispersed. Then she went and thanked the uniformed sergeant for the way his team kept everything under control. They were busy packing up their barricades and bunting and were laughing and chatting as they did so. When she was going back to the car, Porky and Sky drove onto the grass. She gave them all the information she had on the Singh situation and told them about Jackson having a head start at seeing the wife.

“What I want you two to do is go and see her, this evening, and tell her that we think we’ve found her husband’s body. Act as if you think she might be a suspect. Terry is setting up surveillance and will notify the airport, ferries, and Eurostar to let us know if she and her new husband make a booking to leave the country. I expect that there’ll be things in their luggage that you don’t usually take on holiday. I’ll authorise weekend overtime.”

When she got back to the office, she saw Maria and Andy sitting at a desk, busy writing their reports. There was a small pile of files next to them. She left them to it and went upstairs to give the CS a verbal report on the week’s work. He was amazed at the outcome of today’s recovery operation. Before she left, he gave her a new warrant card for Andy, making him a Probationary Detective Constable. She dropped into the clerical section and told Charlie that Andy wasn’t coming back to his office, then went up to her floor, to call the canteen and order a tray of pies and cakes for her team.

When the food arrived, she called for everyone to stop what they were doing, get a cup of tea, and tuck in. When they had eaten, she got Lean to give them a report on the day’s dive recovery. Other cases were discussed, and then she said that she had an announcement.

“The Chief Super has just given me something for Andy. After seeing him in action, today, this is well deserved. Welcome to the team, Detective Constable!”

Andy was almost in tears when she gave him his new warrant card. The whole team shook his hand, except Maria, who gave him a big hug, prompting Sue to follow suit.

“Anyone who isn’t in a hurry, after work, can join me at the usual pub. We need to toast our new detective with more than tea. First two rounds are on me and then I have to go home. Porky and Sky won’t join us, they’re off talking to the wife of a certain skull that made an impressive entrance today. I expect that she’ll be in custody before Monday. Now, Andy and Maria, what did the FSI tell us?”

Maria went and picked up the files, opening one.

“The Astra gave up some interesting information, a bigger file will be coming our way when they’ve had a better look at it. The original body, according to the documents found in one of the sacks, was Sven Erikson, a Swedish national who had been in the country two months before he was found. The girl was his girlfriend, they think. Aneka Amundson, who arrived with him. She had, they think, been strangled, as they couldn’t find any other obvious cause of death. She was complete, no organs missing, which is probably because she was a junky, and there was a trace of ice still present in her system. They are still looking at the clothing, but one thing they do know is that her handbag was on the backseat and was flung forward when the car hit the water. It opened and spread the contents under the front passenger seat. It had contained all the usual things you would have expected, but one item made them sit up. It’s a napkin ring, solid silver, with the letters ‘H’ and ‘N’ picked out in gold. The picture looks as if it was something you may order for a big society wedding.”

“What about the car, itself?”

“That bit needs some more investigating. It belongs to a guy living in Coventry and had been reported stolen a week before the body was found. If we’re not diving, next week, Andy and I can go and talk to him.”

“You do that, I think that if we’re seen diving at all the dump sites, our target might get jumpy. We’ll hold off and plan the next few dives more carefully. Anything else?”

Andy put his hand up, so Sue nodded at him.

“Boss, it’s been four, or is it five weeks since we last had a body. They’ve been roughly every three months, so it’s likely that the next victim has already been picked out. I suggest that we set up a watch on all missing persons reports from now just in case one is a match to our other victims. If they were kept long enough to have no drugs in their systems, it’s possible that they’ll be abducted in the next few weeks.”

“Good thinking. Doggy, can you get that in place. Now, let’s call it a good week and I’ll see you at the pub. If I don’t get a chance to say anything, there, it’s been a good week, so well done, all of you.”

Marianne Gregory © 2023