crime scene. Within an instant, The Phantom was the number one suspect for both Summers and her new protégé.
Charlie's corpse had lost a considerable amount of blood, his face and hands were now very pale and his open eyes were lifeless.
Summers took in the sight before her.
It was clear that the murder weapon was a sharp object, likely a knife, used to stab the victim repeatedly until he was dead or very close to dying, certainly there wasn't much fight left in the victim when his murderer stopped attacking him.
The stab wounds were grouped around the face, neck and body of the victim, as was The Phantom’s typical modus operandi, although, the attack would seem to have taken place through the window of the car, meaning wounds to the lower parts of the victim’s body were less likely. This should be taken into account.
Kite and Summers had a look around and under the car, with the small hope that the murderer had amateurishly discarded his weapo n before fleeing. This proved a fruitless waste of time. They approached each other and Kite summed up the situation.
‘ No weapon, no CCTV, no witnesses, style of the murder would indicate our guy to be the primary suspect,’ he said.
Summers nodded, commending his brevity, but asked why The Phantom would be here in this car park for the killing. Was it not random this time?
‘ Let's hope forensics pull a rabbit out of the hat,’ she said.
‘ Or a hair?’ joked Kite.
A small smile from Summers let him know that he got away with a bad joke in a sad moment, as two journalists walked around the corner but were blocked by some uniformed officers. Summers saw them and indicated to Kite that it was time to go, so they climbed into his car, reversed to the far end of the car park, and pulled out of the exit.
‘ How were you getting on with the census details?’ Summers asked.
‘ In fact,’ he replied, ‘the ONS were more helpful than I thought they would be. They’ve got a pretty organised system up there. With any luck, we should have a list of names and address' when we get back to the station.’
Summer s gave a small sigh of relief. Even when all you've got is a long shot, it's better than nothing, and for once they’d a few things to go on. The list from the ONS should have a number of names that fit the profile of the killer, and live in the right part of town.
Also, the employees of the recently deceased Charlie Peacock meant a new line of enquiries had arisen, and if this was The Phantom, something had changed, he was working out of his comfort zone, this meant he was more likely to mess up.
And the n there was the hair that ‘looked out of place,’ what did that mean? She kicked herself for not pushing for an explanation at the time, but trusted forensics to pass along any valuable information as and when it arrived.
They headed ba ck to the station to set out a plan of action.
33
Ben and Natalie sat on the sofa.
The sofa had been the first thing that they'd bought together, a joint decision they'd made within days of her moving into his home, in an effort to make the place more suitable for both of them, instead of the bachelor pad that it was before she arrived.
Slowly, over the years, she had put her distinct feminine touch on most of the rooms of the house, using Ben's money of course, but he didn't mind. It kept her happy and occupied, which was easier than living with a woman who was unhappy and bored.
Ben held the pregnancy test in his hands, twiddling it round, not knowing that this piece of equipment had, months ago, been placed in the path of another woman's urine, none other than the wife of his disloyal friend, David.
He couldn't believe how complicated his life had become in less than forty-eight hours. What was he to do now? Just this afternoon, he had resigned himself to the fact that he was born to be a murderer, to follow in the footsteps of his father. But now there was a further complication, a baby.
He had always wanted
Charlie's corpse had lost a considerable amount of blood, his face and hands were now very pale and his open eyes were lifeless.
Summers took in the sight before her.
It was clear that the murder weapon was a sharp object, likely a knife, used to stab the victim repeatedly until he was dead or very close to dying, certainly there wasn't much fight left in the victim when his murderer stopped attacking him.
The stab wounds were grouped around the face, neck and body of the victim, as was The Phantom’s typical modus operandi, although, the attack would seem to have taken place through the window of the car, meaning wounds to the lower parts of the victim’s body were less likely. This should be taken into account.
Kite and Summers had a look around and under the car, with the small hope that the murderer had amateurishly discarded his weapo n before fleeing. This proved a fruitless waste of time. They approached each other and Kite summed up the situation.
‘ No weapon, no CCTV, no witnesses, style of the murder would indicate our guy to be the primary suspect,’ he said.
Summers nodded, commending his brevity, but asked why The Phantom would be here in this car park for the killing. Was it not random this time?
‘ Let's hope forensics pull a rabbit out of the hat,’ she said.
‘ Or a hair?’ joked Kite.
A small smile from Summers let him know that he got away with a bad joke in a sad moment, as two journalists walked around the corner but were blocked by some uniformed officers. Summers saw them and indicated to Kite that it was time to go, so they climbed into his car, reversed to the far end of the car park, and pulled out of the exit.
‘ How were you getting on with the census details?’ Summers asked.
‘ In fact,’ he replied, ‘the ONS were more helpful than I thought they would be. They’ve got a pretty organised system up there. With any luck, we should have a list of names and address' when we get back to the station.’
Summer s gave a small sigh of relief. Even when all you've got is a long shot, it's better than nothing, and for once they’d a few things to go on. The list from the ONS should have a number of names that fit the profile of the killer, and live in the right part of town.
Also, the employees of the recently deceased Charlie Peacock meant a new line of enquiries had arisen, and if this was The Phantom, something had changed, he was working out of his comfort zone, this meant he was more likely to mess up.
And the n there was the hair that ‘looked out of place,’ what did that mean? She kicked herself for not pushing for an explanation at the time, but trusted forensics to pass along any valuable information as and when it arrived.
They headed ba ck to the station to set out a plan of action.
33
Ben and Natalie sat on the sofa.
The sofa had been the first thing that they'd bought together, a joint decision they'd made within days of her moving into his home, in an effort to make the place more suitable for both of them, instead of the bachelor pad that it was before she arrived.
Slowly, over the years, she had put her distinct feminine touch on most of the rooms of the house, using Ben's money of course, but he didn't mind. It kept her happy and occupied, which was easier than living with a woman who was unhappy and bored.
Ben held the pregnancy test in his hands, twiddling it round, not knowing that this piece of equipment had, months ago, been placed in the path of another woman's urine, none other than the wife of his disloyal friend, David.
He couldn't believe how complicated his life had become in less than forty-eight hours. What was he to do now? Just this afternoon, he had resigned himself to the fact that he was born to be a murderer, to follow in the footsteps of his father. But now there was a further complication, a baby.
He had always wanted
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