Her Last Move by John Marrs

Author:John Marrs [Marrs, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781503948020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2018-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 34

‘How long had she worked here?’ asked Joe.

DS Odedra consulted his notebook. ‘Seven years,’ he replied, and went on to explain why nurses used the room where Zoe Ellis’s body had been discovered.

‘What happened?’ asked Becca.

‘At 10.30 a.m. exactly, music started blasting from the room. When they couldn’t open the door, maintenance had to break it open, and inside they found her, a portable stereo and a timer plugged into the socket. Again, because of the unusual nature of the kill, we’re working to the theory that this is our suspect’s fifth victim.’

‘Is there a possibility it’s a copycat?’ asked Joe.

‘Everything is a possibility right now.’ Nikhat shrugged.

‘Beccs, if you’re going inside, I’ll take a look around A & E and then check out the CCTV footage,’ said Joe. ‘He’s managed to dodge everything but the ANPR cameras so far. Let’s see if he’s become complacent and made any mistakes.’

Becca made her way towards the doorway of the crime scene. Her eyes shifted around the room and settled on the body of Zoe Ellis, lying on a trolley. Her neck, arms, hands, waist, thighs and ankles were strapped to it with thick rope. She’d been stripped down to her underwear, but according to Nikhat there were no signs of sexual assault. The autopsy would offer confirmation of that, though. Becca’s first thought was that – with so many syringes poking from her exposed flesh – Zoe resembled a kind of macabre modern-art installation. She was streaked in thin, dark-red lines where the blood had left her veins and trickled down her skin, pooling on the rubber mattress. Her eyes were closed.

‘She’s like a human pincushion, isn’t she?’ said Nikhat, and Becca nodded. ‘We’ve counted one hundred of them. When you’re done, can you talk to some of her colleagues and get a better picture of who she was?’

Two hours later, Becca was taking notes in a nurses’ station behind the reception desk. She was part comforting, part interviewing a fourth colleague of Zoe’s. Nurse Taja Khatri stood by an open window taking puffs on a cigarette.

‘I know this is hospital is smoke-free but I don’t care,’ she said defiantly, and Becca had no reason to disbelieve her. Taja brushed her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan, her grief betraying her tough exterior. She explained how she’d been there as the door was broken open. ‘I’ve seen some things in my time but I will never ever forget that,’ she said quietly.

‘Did anybody notice Zoe was missing?’ Becca asked.

‘No. She wasn’t on the rota because she wasn’t supposed to be working. Anna May called in sick and asked her to do her shift for her.’

‘Can you tell me a bit more about Zoe? What type of woman was she?’

‘I don’t know what to say,’ Taja replied, and swept her raven-black hair behind her ears. ‘She’s an ordinary girl, like the rest of us. She works hard, she’s popular with the team and she likes a drink when she’s off-duty.’

‘What about a boyfriend? Is she dating?’

‘There is a guy, but I don’t think any of us have met him.

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