When the Dead Come Calling by Helen Sedgwick

Author:Helen Sedgwick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oneworld Publications

WASTED TIME

DS Frazer slams his fist into the steering wheel to give another, sustained blast on the horn. The sheep don’t even startle, that’s the thing. Don’t even move. They just stand there, chewing. Is someone doing this on purpose? He could have sworn the woman who runs the B & B was laughing at his suit, though quite what was funny about it he has no idea. And she kept trying to get him to talk about the case. Had to give her a stern talking-to in the end. Unbelievable. And now he’s late. Very late. It looks unprofessional – well, the whole place seems to be unprofessional, but he’s not, that’s the important thing. His suit looks good. And he hates the idea of being late. He counts five, four, three, two, one, like his wife used to. Head, shoulders … whatever. What is the use? He doesn’t like this place. Especially not this morning. It’s falling apart around their shoulders – that police station, clinging on to life by a thread, the council flats, the vandalised bus stops and empty shops and that hideous old nuclear site – and good riddance to it.

Still, plenty to think about while he sits here, there’s the silver lining. He’d called into Crackenbridge to see Cal first thing, before getting stuck in this nightmare, and he’s glad he did – got two important new pieces of information to take over to Burrowhead with him. First, there’s the knife.

No prints, but lots of blood. Messy, like the crime scene itself. And the blood – which everyone here had assumed all belonged to the victim – is now on its way to the main forensics lab in the city, where they can do a decent professional analysis. It could have slipped during the stabbing, that’s his thinking, especially during such an erratic crime; slipped back and the blade caught the killer where they held it clenched in their hand. He’s seen it before. In amongst the victim’s blood there could just be a speck of blood from the assailant too. Now wouldn’t that make his trip worth the price of the petrol out here.

He read up about Burrowhead last night, after he got home. He’s got this feeling he needs to understand something more than the crimes themselves, though he’s not found out what that is yet. The station used to be where the local policeman lived, family and all – feels like a world away now, if only a generation or two. Most of the old country stations worked that way, once, before they all got consolidated. He didn’t know any of them had survived till he got sent out here. Doesn’t know why this one has. If it had been his call he’d have had the whole enquiry taken over. She’s got a reputation though, DI Strachan, could have had quite the career if she’d been prepared to leave. But she was adamant she wanted to stay, according to the chief super, and with her being here, the station just seems to keep standing.

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