Scars of the Past: A Scottish Crime Thriller (DCI McNeill Crime Thriller Book 1) by Jacqueline New

Author:Jacqueline New [New, Jacqueline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

Mac dialled 999 from Evie’s landline. He identified himself as a police officer and requested DI Barland be notified, as well as DCS Reid and a SOCO team. After giving the address, he hung up. Wincing at the pain in his head, he went through kitchen drawers and cupboards, keeping the tea towel between his hands and direct contact with surfaces. Eventually, he found a box of latex gloves in amongst bottles of cleaning products. He put on a pair and went back to the bathroom, taking the added precaution of thrusting his hands into his pockets. Crouching beside the bath, he leaned in and tried to absorb everything he could about the body. Waving tendrils of blood hung thick in the water behind her head, indicating a possible head injury as a cause of death. There was no sign of stab wounds as there had been with McCullough.

No mutilation of the body from what he could see. Her head was above water, arms on the sides of the tub. Her breasts floated and he could see her stomach though the water was murky with blood. Not so murky that he couldn’t make out the tattoo in the shape of a spider. There was something else, occasionally visible through the blood-thick water, then hidden. Something running the length of her thighs. Carefully, he dipped a hand into the water to disturb it and get a clearer look. The word witch had been carved into the flesh of her left thigh. It didn’t take long for the blue lights and sirens to descend from South Bridge. Mac went down the fire escape to meet the first responders, slipping on one of the steps and only just catching himself on the railing. A uniform was coming through the close, lighting the way with a torch.

He saw the slip and hurried forward.

“DCI McNeill?”

Mac didn’t even try and place the officer. He waved the help away, eyes narrowed against the pain, and nodded sharply, wincing at the fresh explosion in his head.

“Get up there and secure the flat. No-one goes in until SOCO arrives. And no-one from the other flats comes down these stairs or through the close. My team is on the way,” Mac ordered.

The man didn’t waste time asking questions, but took the fire escape stairs two at a time. His partner was coming through the close and Mac stopped her with a raised hand.

“I was assaulted in here and managed to land a punch. It’s likely to be the killer. Secure the close from the street. No one in or out.”

He stumbled again, going back through the close. Maybe it was the head injury or maybe it was the nauseating smell in the dank passage, but when he emerged onto South Bridge, his stomach flipped. He had the presence of mind to stumble a few paces away before doubling over and vomiting. His skin was clammy and a freezing sweat stood out on his forehead. The sight of Evie loomed before his eyes and he couldn’t shift it.

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