HUBRIS by Brassett Pete

Author:Brassett, Pete
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: THE BOOK FOLKS best-selling crime fiction publisher
Published: 2020-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

As a direct result of her parents’ relentless pursuit of a vegetarian lifestyle, West – having survived her formative years on a diet of Puy lentils and carrot cake – soon developed the sensory perception of a broody barn owl, a talent which in later years enabled her to pluck a brace of steak bakes from the bottom of a bag of groceries in total darkness. However, trying to locate Balcreuchan Burn on an unlit A77 with nothing but shadowy grassland to the left and the murky waters of the Firth of Clyde to the right, was proving something of a nightmare.

Slowing to a crawl, she pulled her phone from her hip, switched it to speaker, and stabbed recall.

‘Inspector,’ said PC Villiers. ‘Are you on the way?’

‘I’m approaching Lendalfoot,’ said West. ‘Just how far up this bleeding road are you?’

‘Aim for Ballantrae, miss. You’re looking for Balcreuchan Burn, the road runs over it.’

‘Okay, cheers. Shouldn’t be too hard to spot a river, I suppose.’

‘Oh, it’s not a river,’ said Villiers, ‘it’s a tiny, wee stream.’

‘What? Well, how the hell am I supposed to find that? It’s pitch black out here!’

‘Just look for the floodlights and the roadblock, Inspector. You’ll not miss it.’

* * *

Without a SOCO to document the scene and a pressing urgency to recover the cadaver as soon as possible, Dr Andy McLeod, working by the glare of an arc light, set about photographing the victim who, despite the weather, was wearing nothing more than a pair of jeans, scuffed trainers, and a crew neck sweater.

Squatting beside the body, he returned the camera to his pocket and gave the voice recorder a running commentary of his observations.

‘IC1, female,’ he said, ‘approximately thirty to thirty-five years of age, lying prostrate in an easterly direction towards the flow of the burn with the left side of her head just above the water level. The victim’s sustained a trauma between the temple and the left ear. Injury consists of superficial grazing and a wee cut roughly two centimetres in length. There is evidence of some blood loss but nothing major. There are subcutaneous contusions present on the back of the neck which I am now examining…’

McLeod cradled the head in both hands and gently rotated it, first from side to side, then back and forth, before carefully laying her down again.

‘Okay,’ he said, matter-of-factly, ‘suspected fracture to the C2 which, despite the victim’s proximity to the road, is not commensurate with a fall. Note to self: MRI as soon as. The deceased is also exhibiting some discolouration to the cheeks, lips, and extremities indicative of a lack of oxygen, probably the result of asphyxiation caused by the abnormal presence of fluid in the lungs–’

‘Is this a private party?’ said West. ‘Or can anyone join in?’

‘Charlie, it’s yourself! We can’t go on meeting like this.’

‘You should’ve brought a hip flask, we could’ve made a night of it.’

‘Is that an invitation?’

‘Maybe,’ said West. ‘So, how long have you been here?’

‘Long enough. Forty, forty-five minutes, or thereabouts.

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