‘But the point is, Lydia, there’s not one scrap of evidence. Not a trace. Not the slightest little bit of a clue left for forensics to find, except for that hair. And what did it turn out to be? Acrylic. She was wearing a wig. And a facemask. Even contact lenses. All of the glasses used for drinks that night have been through the dishwasher several times, so there’s no chance of any DNA from them. CCTV only shows a few shadowy images of the woman. She was careful to stay out of any camera hotspots, almost as if she knew where they were focused. Bob has interviewed the staff on duty on Friday night. They reckon she could only have been there a short while. She must have waited in the ladies loo before she made her second appearance.’
‘But isn’t it a private members club? Doesn’t there have to be a sign-in register or something?’
‘Formally, yes. But this is not your average club, Lydia. A lot of the people there want to remain unidentified, and the staff understandably don’t push them too hard. Even so, the door staff can’t remember her coming in. They think she slipped in quietly at some point without signing in. As for Duff’s mobile phone number, he might have given it to any number of women over the past couple of years since his wife died. For all we know she had it quite legitimately. The only neighbour of Duff’s who saw anything remembers that she was a middle-aged, dark-haired and heavily made-up woman with a single bag and that she didn’t speak as they passed on the stairs. She had no car with her, of course, so Bob doesn’t know how she left. None of the local cab companies remember a client that matches her description. She probably had it all planned in advance, and had left her car nearby. But how did she get to the bondage venue? Again, no taxi driver remembers giving a woman a lift there. Look, I know what you’re saying, but there really is nothing to go on. And I don’t think we’ll ever find anything. We just have to leave it. None of it makes sense unless she had help of some kind and that rules the boss out, surely?’
‘Shouldn’t we at least tell Matt Silver?’
‘I already have. We had a quiet chat about it yesterday, and came to no conclusion. The boss’s name was mentioned as someone with a motive. But we went no further.’
‘How did he take it?’
‘He’d already thought of it. I could see it in his eyes. But there is one other problem, Lydia. Whoever did it knew exactly how to sever those nerves in Duff’s wrists. How would she have got that knowledge?’
‘A quick look at the internet will give you pages that show the wrist nerves in fine detail. I know, I’ve googled it to see. And she’s good with her fingers. She does embroidery and fine needlework for a hobby. She gave me a small tapestry for my birthday last month that she’d embroidered herself.’
‘That may be the case, but it’s very different from carrying out what was a surgical procedure. Look, Lydia, this is mad. We’re going nowhere, and we’ll continue to go nowhere. In the end, it’s not our problem. Bob Thompson over in Bournemouth is in charge of it, so let’s just leave it to him.’
‘If you say so, but I had to get it off my chest. It’s been keeping me awake at night, and few things do that.’
Marsh turned to face her. ‘If something else comes to light, then I promise I’ll bring it up again. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it was her. It would go against her whole being, her whole reason for existing. Justice and the law are so central to her character that I find it impossible to match her against what that woman did to Duff, however strong the boss’s motives might have been.’
He thought of the two occasions when he’d seen a different side to his boss. On the previous Wednesday, when she’d been so furious that she’d almost hit him. Then he’d had a momentary glimpse into a very different person, someone who was plumbing the depths of a desperate, personal anguish that she was unable to share. And just three days previously when they’d found Duff semiconscious and mutilated, she’d seemed lost in a dream world. He pushed the memories into a dim recess of his mind. Above all else he valued loyalty and Sophie Allen, his complex boss, deserved it.
‘No, it wasn’t her. Trust me.’
Pillay looked at him and turned back to the police station. Marsh watched her go. He knew that he’d failed to convince her.
Chapter 35: The Final Visit
Wednesday
Billy Thompson had deteriorated badly since Sophie’s last visit. His face was like a wax mask. His breath came in short, shallow gasps. His eyes were shut, but Sophie saw a slight flicker as she sat down. She took his hand.
‘Hello again, Billy.’
He made a sound, but she couldn’t understand it. His other hand pointed weakly towards the water jug on the bedside table. She poured some into a tumbler and held it up to his lips. He swallowed some of it, but most dribbled down his chin onto the coverlet. Nevertheless, he must have taken in enough to refresh him slightly, because one eye opened weakly, then the other.
‘Got him then,’ he gasped.
‘We arrested Charlie Duff last week, yes.’
Thompson laughed, a broken cackle that left him gasping for breath.
‘No. Before that.’
‘What do you mean?’
He breathed out the words almost one at a time. ‘Before you arrested him. Heard he suffered. Serves the fucker right.’
‘Nothing to do with me, Billy. We only arrived after. But he’s not too bad. He’s recovering quite well in hospital. The surgeon thinks he can save a little movement in each hand, enough for him to cope with a spoon or fork. Which is all he’ll need, anyway, once he’s in prison for the rest of his life.’ She looked into his eyes. There was still a slight glimmer there. ‘I met your niece, Jennie. I like her. She feels things deeply, Billy, just like me. We may not always show it, but we do.’
‘Will you do me a favour?’
‘If I can, Billy.’
‘Andy’s funeral is tomorrow. I don’t want Jennie there by herself. I’d go, but . . .’ He waved weakly. He tried to raise himself but gave up, falling back onto his pillow with a gasp. ‘Will you go? Please?’
‘Of course. I’d already planned to. We’ve become good friends, you know.’ She smiled. ‘She’s coming up this way again next week to visit some of her mother’s family. You need to know, though, that the people she’ll always love most will be her adoptive parents. She’s adamant about that. They gave her the life she has now.’
‘That’s how it should be. But I’ll never forget what you did, finding what happened to Andy,’ he wheezed. ‘I never told anyone what you said. Never will. Fuck. What an end to it all. Little Miss Prim. Hah.’
He collapsed back onto his pillow, coughing weakly.
‘I’ve got rid of all those feelings I told you about, Billy. I think I’m at peace with myself now. But I came close to losing my sanity over it. You’re a good listener.’
‘What else can I be, lying here, dying?’ He coughed again. ‘At peace? You? Hah. Don’t believe it.’
‘Bye, Billy. Bless you.’
* * *
On her return to Dorset, Sophie called at the safe house where Nadia and her mother were packing their few belongings. Sorina was there too, along with Catalina. They had both been discharged from hospital.
The four women were due to fly back to Romania early the next morning, although they would be returning later in the month to help prepare evidence for the trial.
Nadia poured her a cup of tea. She presented Sophie with a bouquet of flowers.
‘Is not enough,’ she said. ‘I wish to give you much, much more. But I cannot. I cannot say how I feel. My heart is full for you. The flowers are from all of us.’
‘They’re lovely. Thank you, all of you. Nadia, there will always be a place in my heart for you. Do you promise to write? Jade is expecting you to.’
‘Yes. I send photos from my home. Sorina and I, we come to visit, if you will have us?’
‘Of course. Write to Jade and she will let me know. She’d love to see you both.’
‘She will take us clubbing? She said so.�
��
‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’
Epilogue
Sophie Allen sat on a bench under a tree, looking across to the bedraggled flower beds that surrounded the crematorium. It was late afternoon and the weak February sun was about to slip below the horizon. She pulled the collar of her coat up and snuggled deeper into its warm lining. The woman with the dark ponytail approached, carrying a small package that contained her birth father’s ashes. Sophie moved aside to give the younger woman room to sit down. They linked arms and spoke for several minutes. Then they stood up. They hugged briefly and then these two women, the daughters, both deeply scarred by their recent discoveries, went their separate ways.
THE END
ORDER THE FIRST DCI SOPHIE ALLEN BOOK NOW!
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A young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart.
It seems like a simple crime for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning. The case grows more complex as DCI Sophie Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation. There’s an obvious suspect but Detective Allen isn't convinced. Could someone else be lurking in the shadows, someone savagely violent, looking for a warped revenge?
Glossary of English terms for US readers
ACC: assistant chief constable
Asian: someone who (or whose ancestors) originates from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Bladdered: drunk
Bob: money
Bod: person
Boffin: smart person, scientist
Boot: trunk, as in car trunk
Bother: as in bother, means in trouble
Charity Shop: thrift store
Caravan: camper or small motorhome
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chinwag: conversation
Ciggy: cigarette
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Copper: police officer (slang)
Cotton wool: raw cotton
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Coach: a bus, often used for travel, holidays or trips
Cos: because
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, body which decides whether cases go to criminal court
Council: local government
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Diary: appointment book
Div: idiot (offensive)
Dodgy: not to be trusted, illegal
Dosh: money
Double glazing: insulated windows with two layers of glass
DC: detective constable
DI: detective inspector
DS: detective sergeant
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Fag: cigarette
Fancy: find attractive
FE: further education college
Freshers: Students in their first term/year at university
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gas people: company selling consumers gas for heating and hot water
Gobsmacked: surprised
Get off: make out
GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community
Gran: grandmother
Guest house: a private house offering rooms to paying guests (in the days before Airbnb!)
Hard nut: tough guy
Hatchback: a car with an upwards-opening door across full width of back
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Home Office: UK government department in charge of domestic affairs
Inne: isn’t he
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Jobcentre: unemployment office
Jumper: sweater
Kosher: genuine or legal
Lad: young man
Lamped: hit
Lay-by: an area off a road where cars can pull in and stop
Lift: as in give a lift, drive someone somewhere
Loo: toilet
Lounge: living room
Lorry: a truck
Mobile phone: cell phone
Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent curtain
Newsagents: shop selling newspapers, confectionery, cigarettes etc.
NHS: National Health Service, public health service of UK
Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)
Nowt: nothing
Nutter: insane person
Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)
OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder
OS: Ordnance Survey, detailed map
Overalls: dungarees
Paki: (racist) short for Pakistani, may be applied to any Asian
Pants: underwear
PC: police constable
PM: post-mortem
Petrol: gasoline
Petrol station: gas station
Piss off: as exclamation, go away (rude). Also can mean annoy.
Planning Department: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property
Plod: policeman
Posh: upper class
Punter: client of prostitute / can also mean gambler
Randy: horny
Ready meal: prepared food which only needs to be reheated
Rock: a sugary candy often on sale at the seaside
Semi: semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only
Skinful: enough alcohol to make you drunk
Skip: a large container for building rubbish
Services: Shops and gas station by highway
Sixth-former: student in the final two years of high school (16-18 years old)
Sod: an annoying person
Sod it: expression meaning you’ve decided not to give a damn
Solicitor: lawyer
Squaddies: soldiers
Tea: dinner (Northern English)
Till: cash register
Tipsy: a bit drunk
Toerag: loser (insulting)
Ton: a hundred pounds
Torch: flashlight
Tutor: university teacher
Tower block: tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)
Two-up two-down: house with two bedrooms upstairs, and two rooms downstairs
Uni: university/college
Uniform: a police officer wearing a uniform, usually a police constable
Van: a vehicle for carrying goods
Warrant card: police ID in the UK
Young offender: criminal between 14-17 years of age
CHARACTER LIST
Detective Chief Inspector Sophie Allen is Dorset’s acknowledged expert on murder and violent crime, newly appointed to run the county’s Serious and Violent Crime Unit. She is 42 years old as the series starts, and lives with her family in Wareham. Sophie has a law degree and a master’s in criminal psychology. Sophie may appear at first to be somewhat of a ‘cold fish,’ over-intellectual and too clever by half, but conceals a dark past.
Detective Sergeant Barry Marsh is in his early thirties and in Dark Crimes, the first novel, is based at Swanage police station. He’s quiet, methodical and dedicated, the perfect foil for Sophie’s hidden fragility.
Detective Constable Jimmy Me
lsom is also based in Swanage. He has only recently joined the CID, and is a little gung-ho in his attitude to crime investigation.
Detective Constable Lydia Pillay is a talented young officer based with DCI Allen at Dorset County police HQ.
Detective Inspector Kevin McGreedie is attached to the Bournemouth and Poole division of Dorset police. His assistant is DS Bob Thomson.
Detective Superintendent Matt Silver is Sophie’s immediate boss. He helped to appoint her to lead the Violent Crime Unit but, to his regret, has a largely administrative role in the county police hierarchy.
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Dunnett is the overall commander. He clashes with Sophie several times in Dark Crimes. The source of the antagonism is not clear.
Martin Allen is Sophie’s husband. He is head of the mathematics department at a large secondary school in Dorchester. Martin has a minor, but very supportive, role in the novels. He and Sophie met while at university. He has a more prominent role in later novels in the series.
Sophie and Martin have two daughters. Jade is fifteen in the first novel, and appears in all the subsequent stories. She has a lively and very quirky personality. Hannah, the elder daughter, is a drama student in London. She is quieter in her approach to life. She appears as a minor character in the first novel, but has a more important role in later books.
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