cameras on any of the roads near the three dumpsites and we struck out on the mobile speed cams as well. They obviously stuck to the limit. But Path say that all the victims were discovered soon after death so they can’t have driven far––”
Liam cut in triumphantly, directing his point at Craig. “I said they could have come from nearby! They could have used a back road, dumped them and gone back to work. We need to canvas houses and offices.”
His smugness was amusing but Craig wasn’t about to let it last for long. “They might have, but there’s another possibility. I grant that it’s unlikely but they could have carried the bodies cross country on foot.”
Liam shook his head vehemently. “No man could have carried…” His voice tailed off as he thought of their victims; none of them had weighed over nine stone. A decent sized man could have carried them easily. He added a question to his outrage. “You think the Vics were chosen for their size?”
Craig shook his head again. “I don’t think anything yet. Young people tend to be lighter anyway and for all we know this might just be one of the killers’ dumping grounds; the one where they leave the smaller bodies. We’re still in the speculation phase.”
Davy picked up the reins. “They couldn’t have been carried far, Chief; even nine stone gets heavy pretty quick. And it would have taken two men to spread the load ’cos one man carrying that w…weight would have left shoe impressions and none were found. But it gives me something else to search for; overland access paths and nature trails.”
“OK, good. Get going with that.”
He tapped the PC screen that Craig had been looking at earlier and transferred the tattoos’ words onto Nicky’s LED screen. “This was tattooed on each victim after death. On the inner arms of the males and the lady’s––”
Craig saved his embarrassment.
“Do you know which language is it yet?”
“An ancient Latin dialect. It took s…some identifying. I had to email some historians.”
“They understood it?”
“Nope. Just recognised it. Even they didn’t understand what it meant.”
Craig was puzzled. “Does it have a name?”
“Vulgar Latin.”
“Never heard of it.”
Davy leaned forward so eagerly that he almost fell off his chair. “You wouldn’t have. The version taught in schools is Classical Latin. This version was purely conversational. It was the way the masses, or the vulgus, spoke.”
“When?”
“It began when Augustus ruled; from 27 BC to 14 AD, and s…spread as the Roman Empire did. Vulgar also means that it was the common word; colloquial.” He paused for questions but was greeted by blank looks. “Anyway, eventually it became the basis for most of the romance languages.” He nodded at Craig. “Like Italian.”
“Not the modern version.”
Craig frowned in thought. Their killer was using the dialect to send some sort of message and his gut said that it was in more than the words themselves. Did the killings have some historical motive? A voice in his head said that it was more than that – Vulgar Latin was the Latin that the first Christians would have heard. Religion again. He wasn’t ready to voice his suspicions so instead he asked a question that Davy answered with a shake of his head.
“Nope. There are only limited w…written records of it, where someone wrote down what people said. Vulgar Latin was a bit like street slang is today.” He searched for an example. “OK, what if I said swag money or swerve to you, would you know what I meant?”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “I’ll bite. What do you mean?”
Davy grinned. “They both mean awesome, but in different ways and contexts, and––”
Craig finished the thought.
“And we couldn’t translate them unless we had access to someone living, like you, who spoke street slang. Anyone know any ancient Romans––”
He was interrupted by a loud ‘oh crap’ and everyone turned towards its
Liam cut in triumphantly, directing his point at Craig. “I said they could have come from nearby! They could have used a back road, dumped them and gone back to work. We need to canvas houses and offices.”
His smugness was amusing but Craig wasn’t about to let it last for long. “They might have, but there’s another possibility. I grant that it’s unlikely but they could have carried the bodies cross country on foot.”
Liam shook his head vehemently. “No man could have carried…” His voice tailed off as he thought of their victims; none of them had weighed over nine stone. A decent sized man could have carried them easily. He added a question to his outrage. “You think the Vics were chosen for their size?”
Craig shook his head again. “I don’t think anything yet. Young people tend to be lighter anyway and for all we know this might just be one of the killers’ dumping grounds; the one where they leave the smaller bodies. We’re still in the speculation phase.”
Davy picked up the reins. “They couldn’t have been carried far, Chief; even nine stone gets heavy pretty quick. And it would have taken two men to spread the load ’cos one man carrying that w…weight would have left shoe impressions and none were found. But it gives me something else to search for; overland access paths and nature trails.”
“OK, good. Get going with that.”
He tapped the PC screen that Craig had been looking at earlier and transferred the tattoos’ words onto Nicky’s LED screen. “This was tattooed on each victim after death. On the inner arms of the males and the lady’s––”
Craig saved his embarrassment.
“Do you know which language is it yet?”
“An ancient Latin dialect. It took s…some identifying. I had to email some historians.”
“They understood it?”
“Nope. Just recognised it. Even they didn’t understand what it meant.”
Craig was puzzled. “Does it have a name?”
“Vulgar Latin.”
“Never heard of it.”
Davy leaned forward so eagerly that he almost fell off his chair. “You wouldn’t have. The version taught in schools is Classical Latin. This version was purely conversational. It was the way the masses, or the vulgus, spoke.”
“When?”
“It began when Augustus ruled; from 27 BC to 14 AD, and s…spread as the Roman Empire did. Vulgar also means that it was the common word; colloquial.” He paused for questions but was greeted by blank looks. “Anyway, eventually it became the basis for most of the romance languages.” He nodded at Craig. “Like Italian.”
“Not the modern version.”
Craig frowned in thought. Their killer was using the dialect to send some sort of message and his gut said that it was in more than the words themselves. Did the killings have some historical motive? A voice in his head said that it was more than that – Vulgar Latin was the Latin that the first Christians would have heard. Religion again. He wasn’t ready to voice his suspicions so instead he asked a question that Davy answered with a shake of his head.
“Nope. There are only limited w…written records of it, where someone wrote down what people said. Vulgar Latin was a bit like street slang is today.” He searched for an example. “OK, what if I said swag money or swerve to you, would you know what I meant?”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “I’ll bite. What do you mean?”
Davy grinned. “They both mean awesome, but in different ways and contexts, and––”
Craig finished the thought.
“And we couldn’t translate them unless we had access to someone living, like you, who spoke street slang. Anyone know any ancient Romans––”
He was interrupted by a loud ‘oh crap’ and everyone turned towards its
Similar Books
