Random Targets Read Free

is she?
    He was about to call her mobile when his phone rang. He checked the ID, hoping to see her name. Instead he saw that the caller was his boss, Chief Superintendent Mike Beresford.
    ‘Where are you, Jeff?’ Beresford said without preamble whenTemple answered.
    ‘The Red Lion, sir. What’s up?’
    ‘I assume you’re aware of this crash on the M27.’
    ‘Of course. We’re watching it on the TV. Looks really bad.’
    ‘It is. And you need to get out there right away.’
    ‘What for?’ Temple said, confused.
    ‘I’ve just had a call from the scene,’ Beresford said. ‘A paramedic has made a rather startling discovery and you need to check it out.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    Beresford took a breath and said, ‘At least five people have been found dead in the wreckage so far. One of them has apparently been shot.’
    ‘Shot! Are you serious?’
    ‘That was my reaction too,’ Beresford said. ‘I insisted on speaking to the paramedic in question. He’s adamant that a male driver has a bullet wound to the head.’
    ‘Jesus.’
    ‘I’ve notified the pathologist and the scene of crime officers. They’re on their way. I’ve also briefed the Chief Constable who wants a full report as soon as possible. So you need to get moving. And take a couple of the team with you. It’ll be chaos out there.’

CHAPTER 2
    T HE C HIEF S UPER said he’d arranged for three squad cars to pick them up from the pub. While they waited for them to arrive, Temple briefed the others on what he’d been told and said he wanted them to go with him.
    Ten minutes later they were racing towards the motorway in three fast-response BMWs with sirens blaring and lights flashing. But the roads were clogged and it was slow going. They eventually reached junction five where a police patrolmandirected them on to the motorway via the slip road. The three cars then travelled the wrong way along the westbound carriageway towards the scene of the crash.
    Temple knew that what he was about to encounter would be ugly and upsetting. He also knew that if a driver had indeed been shot then the investigation would be anything but straightforward. He was still half expecting to discover that the paramedic had made a mistake and had wrongly identified a bullet wound. After all, it seemed inconceivable that a motorist would be shot in the head whilst driving along a busy motorway in the rush hour.
    But what if the paramedic was right and someone had been shot at the wheel of his car? How might it have happened? Temple could come up with only three possible scenarios.
    The man had shot himself.
    He was shot by a passenger.
    He was shot from a distance by a person firing indiscriminately at the traffic.
    The last scenario was the scariest. It suggested a random killing with no link between the shooter and the victim. It also suggested that the shooter was unconcerned about collateral damage. He or she wouldn’t care if other people were killed or injured in the ensuing crash. This prospect filled Temple with dread. Random murders were the most difficult to solve, especially those committed out in the open where any evidence would most likely have been contaminated instantly.
    As the BMW sped along the motorway Temple’s stomach twisted with grim apprehension. He could feel his muscles getting tight. And when they finally reached the crash scene and he saw how bad it was, the air locked in his lungs and it felt as though the blood had stopped moving through his veins.
     
    Temple wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted him. He got a shock as the BMW screeched to a halt between an ambulance and a fire tender.
    What he saw astounded him. Ahead of them was a wall of charred and twisted metal. Dozens of vehicles had piled intoeach other. Some had rolled on to the hard shoulder. Others had crashed into the central barrier.
    He saw a tipper lorry on its side, a pile of gravel on the tarmac beside it. Then he spotted the mangled mess of a white transit van.