Dark Tide by J.S. Cook

Dark Tide by J.S. Cook

Author:J.S. Cook [Cook, J.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery/suspense
ISBN: 978-1-64108-272-3
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2021-11-30T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter Fifteen

Thursday, June 25, 2:00 p.m.

BY TWO that afternoon, the Heffernan residence had been cordoned off and the entire area surrounding the house sealed with a perimeter of yellow police tape.

“Sir?” Kevin Carbage appeared at his elbow. “I’ve questioned Mr. Heffernan. He claims to know nothing about it.”

Danny turned to look at him. “Of course he does.”

“And he’s asked for a lawyer.”

“Mm.” This wasn’t surprising. “She was dumped in face down.” He gestured at the confines of the hole. “And dirt and rocks shoveled in on top of her. Nothing ritualistic about it, nothing organised.” The body had since been removed to a white tent just behind them, where Bobbi Lambert and Regan Lampe were poring over it. Danny had phoned Regan himself and was surprised when she offered to do a preliminary of the body in situ.

“Maybe someone was getting rid of an inconvenience,” Kevin offered.

“That was my thought as well.” Danny stepped away from the hole. “Has Dr. Lampe found a cause of death yet?”

“That’s also what I came to tell you. She’d like to see you.”

“Good. Take Dougie Hughes and arrest David Heffernan,” Danny instructed. “He can have his lawyer as soon as we get him to the station. Don’t let that bugger out of your sight.”

“Hughes isn’t on duty today,” Kevin told him. “Marilyn said you told him to take a few sick days.”

“Oh, that’s right.” He glanced around. “Where’s Riley?”

“Gone back to the station with two of the forensics techs, making sure the evidence follows procedure for chain of custody,” Kevin said.

“Well, take one of the others.”

“Will do.”

Regan and Bobbi were on opposite sides of the corpse when Danny shouldered his way into the tent. The woman’s body had been laid on a tarp, and Bobbi was busy taking photographs while Regan examined the face, hands, and feet. She glanced up when she saw Danny. “She’s been dead about a week,” she said. “Rigor has come and gone. As you know, she was buried face down, and the queer thing is, he put a big, flat rock on her back. I kept it for you. It’s over there.”

Danny went to a corner of the tent, where a flat stone the size of a serving tray had been laid on the ground. He crouched down to look at it, his knees protesting painfully. It was roughly sixty centimeters long, forty-six centimeters wide, and six centimeters thick, local slate. It had to weigh about a hundred kilos, give or take. “Did you get anything off this?”

“I’ve swabbed it for DNA,” Bobbi said. “We might only get hers. Depends if he was wearing gloves or not—”

“Look at this,” Regan said, cutting her off. She had opened the woman’s mouth and was now extracting something from it with a long pair of tweezers. It looked like a tangled mass of roots or string. Danny moved closer, curious. “This ties in with the dirt we found on her face and in her hair,” she said. At Danny’s inquisitive look, she added, “Tree roots and a quantity of soil.



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