said.
‘ Can you hear anything?’
‘No! ’
‘ Jane, you’re doing really well. Are you hurt?’
‘ I can taste blood,’ she said. She raised her fingers to her mouth and touched her swollen lip. ‘I think I cut my hand on the knife. My head hurts. He pulled my hair.’
‘ Jane, like I said you’re doing really, really well. Keep talking. The police and the ambulance crew should be with you imminently. Were you alone in the house?’
‘Yes. I don ’t feel well,’ she said. Richard could hear a definite slur in her voice.
‘ Can you hear the sirens?’
‘Yes! ’ her voiced raised. ‘Thank God,’ she said. Jane’s breathing was laboured and her voice started to ebb away.
Jane was sprawled out on the floor, listening to her heart beating hard and fast.
‘Jane! Whatever you do, don’t hang up; keep talking to me,’ Richard said with a vein of urgency in his voice. ‘Without going into the hallway is there an open door or one that needs unlocking to allow us entry?’
‘I ’ll open the back door. I’m shaking so much...’ she said. Richard Pauley could hear Jane moving towards the door. ‘They’re here,’ she said. She stood at the open door where she fell into the arms of Police Constable Gavin Druce. He took the telephone from her hand.
The first paramedic on the scene ran in close behind PC Druce and took her limp body from the officer. Jane Simpson allowed herself to be shepherded to a chair.
‘Control, PC Druce. We’ll take over now. Paramedics are on site. I’ll update you once we know what’s happened and have searched the house.’
‘ Thanks for that,’ said Richard Pauley.
‘ Householder is in shock, no life threatening injuries. Search now commenced.’
Gavin Druce and PC Fiaz Hand prepared themselves, batons drawn, they were in control of the situation. No verbal communication was necessary between the pair as with trepidation they walked carefully towards the door to the hallway. The motionless body of a man lay spreadeagled, face down on the hallway floor. PC Druce dropped to his knees at his side and shouted to the paramedics to attend to the man. Standing, he proceeded to open the lounge door, peering around the room for further occupants. PC Hand headed up the open staircase in quick time.
The felled man was wearing a full head mask of an old man with grey wispy hair and a large crooked nose. A mask that the officer knew was readily available at the supermarket. At the left hand side of the body Gavin noticed a large black handled carving knife, which on closer visual examination appeared to be heavily bloodstained. There were two visible stab wounds in the middle of the victim’s shoulder blades and his light coloured shirt was saturated in arterial blood.
Checking his pulse the woman paramedic looked up at PC Druce. Her lips were pressed to a pale hardness. Fleetingly she closed her eyes and shook her head.
PC Hand having completed the search on the upper floor was on his way down the stairs. He shook his head at his colleague and PC Druce knew there was no one else present in the house. Consciously they disturbed nothing else at the scene.
The male paramedic was talking calmly and reassuringly to Jane, as the woman paramedic prepared her to be moved to the ambulance. She wrapped a thin blue blanket around Jane and tightened the strap on the wheelchair so she didn ’t fall. Jane sat very still, staring ahead. The male paramedic noted her tremulous limbs and looked at his colleague. The door to the hallway was open slightly and as the paramedic pushed her past the entrance she saw the body laid out on the floor. She turned her head away and screamed hysterically into her hands. Only when they got outside the door and stopped did she appear conscious of faces looking down at her. The faces of the paramedics who proceeded to try and calm her.
‘ PC Druce to Control, we have a murder scene. We have a male pronounced dead by the paramedics in the hallway of
‘ Can you hear anything?’
‘No! ’
‘ Jane, you’re doing really well. Are you hurt?’
‘ I can taste blood,’ she said. She raised her fingers to her mouth and touched her swollen lip. ‘I think I cut my hand on the knife. My head hurts. He pulled my hair.’
‘ Jane, like I said you’re doing really, really well. Keep talking. The police and the ambulance crew should be with you imminently. Were you alone in the house?’
‘Yes. I don ’t feel well,’ she said. Richard could hear a definite slur in her voice.
‘ Can you hear the sirens?’
‘Yes! ’ her voiced raised. ‘Thank God,’ she said. Jane’s breathing was laboured and her voice started to ebb away.
Jane was sprawled out on the floor, listening to her heart beating hard and fast.
‘Jane! Whatever you do, don’t hang up; keep talking to me,’ Richard said with a vein of urgency in his voice. ‘Without going into the hallway is there an open door or one that needs unlocking to allow us entry?’
‘I ’ll open the back door. I’m shaking so much...’ she said. Richard Pauley could hear Jane moving towards the door. ‘They’re here,’ she said. She stood at the open door where she fell into the arms of Police Constable Gavin Druce. He took the telephone from her hand.
The first paramedic on the scene ran in close behind PC Druce and took her limp body from the officer. Jane Simpson allowed herself to be shepherded to a chair.
‘Control, PC Druce. We’ll take over now. Paramedics are on site. I’ll update you once we know what’s happened and have searched the house.’
‘ Thanks for that,’ said Richard Pauley.
‘ Householder is in shock, no life threatening injuries. Search now commenced.’
Gavin Druce and PC Fiaz Hand prepared themselves, batons drawn, they were in control of the situation. No verbal communication was necessary between the pair as with trepidation they walked carefully towards the door to the hallway. The motionless body of a man lay spreadeagled, face down on the hallway floor. PC Druce dropped to his knees at his side and shouted to the paramedics to attend to the man. Standing, he proceeded to open the lounge door, peering around the room for further occupants. PC Hand headed up the open staircase in quick time.
The felled man was wearing a full head mask of an old man with grey wispy hair and a large crooked nose. A mask that the officer knew was readily available at the supermarket. At the left hand side of the body Gavin noticed a large black handled carving knife, which on closer visual examination appeared to be heavily bloodstained. There were two visible stab wounds in the middle of the victim’s shoulder blades and his light coloured shirt was saturated in arterial blood.
Checking his pulse the woman paramedic looked up at PC Druce. Her lips were pressed to a pale hardness. Fleetingly she closed her eyes and shook her head.
PC Hand having completed the search on the upper floor was on his way down the stairs. He shook his head at his colleague and PC Druce knew there was no one else present in the house. Consciously they disturbed nothing else at the scene.
The male paramedic was talking calmly and reassuringly to Jane, as the woman paramedic prepared her to be moved to the ambulance. She wrapped a thin blue blanket around Jane and tightened the strap on the wheelchair so she didn ’t fall. Jane sat very still, staring ahead. The male paramedic noted her tremulous limbs and looked at his colleague. The door to the hallway was open slightly and as the paramedic pushed her past the entrance she saw the body laid out on the floor. She turned her head away and screamed hysterically into her hands. Only when they got outside the door and stopped did she appear conscious of faces looking down at her. The faces of the paramedics who proceeded to try and calm her.
‘ PC Druce to Control, we have a murder scene. We have a male pronounced dead by the paramedics in the hallway of
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