Faithful Unto Death by Caroline Graham

Author:Caroline Graham [Graham, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Suspense
ISBN: 9780312972950
Google: AoIJm5FsjOsC
Amazon: 0312972954
Goodreads: 670761
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 1996-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

It was a member of the NCP staff who first spotted the woman. She was lying, almost completely concealed, behind a large Buick. He could see that she was unconscious and badly injured and immediately notified Heathrow police station to which each of the car parks had a direct line.

The duty officer arrived, closely followed by a doctor from the Medical Centre of the terminal, who pronounced life extinct. They were followed by a police unit from the station proper and an ambulance. It having quickly been decided that the death could be suspicious, the body was covered, the coroner’s office contacted and the whole floor sealed off. At this point no one had any idea of the corpse’s identity.

The numbers of every car on that level were checked on the Police National Computer and attempts were begun to trace the owners. Quite a few of them turned up unsolicited within the first couple of hours of the investigation and were not best pleased at finding themselves unable simply to climb into their vehicles and drive away.

The Forensic Laboratory Liaison Sergeant came out and examined the body in queasily precise detail after which, some five hours after it had first been discovered, it was transported to the mortuary at Hillingdon Hospital. There its fingerprints were taken and all of its clothing bagged and sent to the nearest forensic department should analysis eventually prove necessary. Scenes of Crime then began an analytical assessment of the area.

By nine o’clock the following evening the police at Heathrow believed they had possibly discovered the identity of the dead woman. The owner of every vehicle but one on the level where she was killed had been traced and interviewed either in person or by telephone. The exception was the possessor of a dark brown Mini. This was registered under the name of Brenda Brockley at an address within the jurisdiction of Causton police who were duly contacted. It was this notification which led to the call that had so rudely interrupted Tom Barnaby’s sweet dalliance with his wife.

Heathrow police station is situated in a web of arterial roads about a mile from the airport proper and surrounded by an unlovely mass of hotels, petrol stations and factory buildings. In the office of Inspector Fennimore, DCI Barnaby and DS Troy were given the background to the discovery of the body. They in their turn gave what information they had on Brenda’s disappearance.

The postmortem was due to be carried out at eleven the following morning by a Home Office pathologist. Until then the precise cause of death would not officially be known but the doctor who had first examined the body was of the opinion that a savage blow to the head was to blame.

“There were other injuries,” explained Inspector Fennimore, “consistent with the girl being struck by a car. I think it’s likely this flung her to the wall against which she was found rather than her being put there after death.”

“You mean we’re talking about a hit and run?”

“It’s the most likely conclusion.

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