For Reasons Unknown Read Free Page B

crime-scene photos, police reports – it was all here: everything she needed to know about the Harkness case. She reached out for one, but her hand stopped short of picking it up. What was this mental block she had all of a sudden?
    There was a box file on the corner of her desk. She leaned forward and quickly flung back the lid. It was practically empty apart from a thick paperback book. Frowning, she lifted it out and studied it. The pages had yellowed with age and it had obviously been well thumbed before being archived. The cover, although faded, was an image of a crime scene: the slumped body of a naked woman lying face down on a crumpled bed surrounded by splashes of blood. Matilda knew straight away what this was:
A Christmas Killing
by Charlie Johnson was the ‘definitive true account of Britain’s most brutal unsolved crime’, according to the blurb.
    She briefly remembered the book being released in the late 1990s but had never read it. She tried to avoid true-crime books wherever possible.
    According to the first page, Charlie Johnson was one of Britain’s leading crime writers, having worked on several national newspapers in a career spanning two decades. Apparently he had covered many of Britain’s shocking crimes for national and international media. Matilda wondered if Charlie Johnson had actually written his biography himself. There was no author photograph, but she pictured him having small piggy eyes and a permanent smug smile that could only be removed by a sharp slap.
    INTRODUCTION
    The British police force is one of the finest, and most respected, in the world boasting an array of dedicated detectives who will stop at nothing until they find their culprit. Unfortunately, there are times when a case can go cold, the killer goes to ground, and justice for the victim is trapped in a state of limbo.
    One crime which shook the nation in the 1990s was the case of the Harkness killings at Christmastime. A hard-working husband and wife were brutally slain while their youngest child was forced to look on in horror. What happened on that fateful night has never been fully revealed…until now.Featuring lengthy interviews with witnesses, family, friends, and neighbours,
A Christmas Killing
will throw a new light on the case and…
    Matilda’s reading was interrupted by her mobile phone ringing. She was thankful of the interruption. The introduction, written like he was a fly on the wall at the time of the killings, was vomit-inducing.
    ‘Good morning DCI Darke. How does it feel to be back in the saddle?’ The cheery caller was Adele Kean, the duty pathologist and Matilda’s best friend.
    Adele’s breezy tone was infectious and Matilda found herself smiling for the first time. ‘I’m not back in the saddle unfortunately. You could say I’m in the side car.’
    ‘What are you talking about?’
    Matilda leaned back carefully in her wooden chair, hoping it wasn’t as brittle as the blind. ‘Apparently I’m not to be trusted. I have to prove myself again before I’m allowed to play with the big boys.’
    ‘Oh Matilda. I’m so sorry. We did wonder whether this would happen didn’t we? I suppose it’s not come as too great a shock.’
    ‘No, I suppose not. I’m not even allowed to sit with the big boys. I’ve been given a grotty little office no bigger than a cupboard under the stairs.’
    ‘Well if it’s anything like the cupboard under my stairs the cat usually puts her finds there. Be on the lookout for dead sparrows.’
    ‘Judging by the smell I think there may be a dead albatross in here somewhere.’
    ‘Is everyone pleased to have you back?’
    ‘I’ve not seen anyone. It’s like they’re keeping out of my way. I don’t know what they think I’m going to do to them. I’ve had a meeting with the ACC. She’s given me a project to keep me out of trouble.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Apparently I have to pass a test before I can move on to the next level. I’ve been given a cold case to