passed felt like another second of failure. The look on Whitehead’s face was one of contempt at the way the investigation was going. He had a look about him that suggested he could step in at any time, if he wanted, and solve the whole thing in a blink of an eye, delivering Carmella home safe and sound to her worried parents.
Reed stopped in an empty corridor and took the time to call Kate. After a few rings she picked up.
“Hi, it’s me. I forgot to put the bin out.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll just have to take it to the dump if they don’t take it.”
“Yeah, I will do. I’m sorry I snapped at you this morning.”
“Don’t worry about it, honestly it’s OK.”
“It’s not OK, I’m sorry.”
“Look, try to have a nice day and we’ll talk later. I’ve got to go. Bye.” Kate said cheerily before hanging up.
Reed felt a little better after apologising to her. Perhaps he would have a nice day.
He made his way back down the corridor acknowledging to himself that as he was so annoyed at Whitehead’s obvious show of disapproval, he was going to interview Lee Gulliver himself. He would take DC Plumridge with him, who had conducted the initial interview. The only interesting fact to come from that was that Gulliver hadn’t come forward to the police of his own accord. David Jones, another reveller who had been at the Splitz nightclub on the evening Carmella had gone missing, had called the police to tell them that she had left with Gulliver. Gulliver had explained that it was no secret and he was waiting for the police to contact him, not wanting to seem too desperate to clear his name. Reed wondered what it was that Gulliver might need to clear his name from. Up until now all they were investigating was a missing person.
Reed’s phone started ringing in his pocket just before he reached the investigation room doors. When he retrieved it from his pocket the caller ID revealed it was Whitehead. Reed looked through one of the small windows set into the door and spotted his superior stood near to the whiteboard, facing away from him with a phone pressed to his ear. Deciding to avoid a face to face conversation he stepped away from the window and answered the call.
When the news was delivered, Reed was relieved to be alone. His legs went weak and he used the corner he was hiding in to support himself. A body had been found. It was the phone call any leading officer dreaded. The call any officer dreaded. In fact, it was the call any normal human being dreaded.
Chapter 3
The body was reported as being a young female. As soon as the words had hit Reed’s ears, an instant sense of failure had struck him in the pit of his stomach. To Whitehead’s credit, he wasn’t condescending, if anything he was sympathetic. Reed was now on his way to where the body had been found and was glad that Plumridge was doing the driving. He found himself tensing his whole body, gripping the hand rest on the car door with one hand and his knee with the other. When his knee began to hurt, it acted as a reminder to release his grip. It was a slow-building tension, slowly saturating his body in waves. It reminded him of being in a dentist’s chair or when he was flying and he slowly became aware that his whole body was as stiff as a board and he had to make a conscious effort to relax it, once he had, the tension would slowly begin to creep in again without him knowing and the whole cycle just repeated itself.
The body had been discovered on Thetford Common. The common itself was split in two by a road that ran through it; on one side it contained large grass areas that were kept tidy by the council with singular trees growing in random places. There were two football pitches and a gravel car park in the corner nearest the town. On the other side there was an unofficial car park entrance that was situated about one mile from the last house on the edge of the town as you drove towards Bury St Edmunds. It was a popular area
Reed stopped in an empty corridor and took the time to call Kate. After a few rings she picked up.
“Hi, it’s me. I forgot to put the bin out.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll just have to take it to the dump if they don’t take it.”
“Yeah, I will do. I’m sorry I snapped at you this morning.”
“Don’t worry about it, honestly it’s OK.”
“It’s not OK, I’m sorry.”
“Look, try to have a nice day and we’ll talk later. I’ve got to go. Bye.” Kate said cheerily before hanging up.
Reed felt a little better after apologising to her. Perhaps he would have a nice day.
He made his way back down the corridor acknowledging to himself that as he was so annoyed at Whitehead’s obvious show of disapproval, he was going to interview Lee Gulliver himself. He would take DC Plumridge with him, who had conducted the initial interview. The only interesting fact to come from that was that Gulliver hadn’t come forward to the police of his own accord. David Jones, another reveller who had been at the Splitz nightclub on the evening Carmella had gone missing, had called the police to tell them that she had left with Gulliver. Gulliver had explained that it was no secret and he was waiting for the police to contact him, not wanting to seem too desperate to clear his name. Reed wondered what it was that Gulliver might need to clear his name from. Up until now all they were investigating was a missing person.
Reed’s phone started ringing in his pocket just before he reached the investigation room doors. When he retrieved it from his pocket the caller ID revealed it was Whitehead. Reed looked through one of the small windows set into the door and spotted his superior stood near to the whiteboard, facing away from him with a phone pressed to his ear. Deciding to avoid a face to face conversation he stepped away from the window and answered the call.
When the news was delivered, Reed was relieved to be alone. His legs went weak and he used the corner he was hiding in to support himself. A body had been found. It was the phone call any leading officer dreaded. The call any officer dreaded. In fact, it was the call any normal human being dreaded.
Chapter 3
The body was reported as being a young female. As soon as the words had hit Reed’s ears, an instant sense of failure had struck him in the pit of his stomach. To Whitehead’s credit, he wasn’t condescending, if anything he was sympathetic. Reed was now on his way to where the body had been found and was glad that Plumridge was doing the driving. He found himself tensing his whole body, gripping the hand rest on the car door with one hand and his knee with the other. When his knee began to hurt, it acted as a reminder to release his grip. It was a slow-building tension, slowly saturating his body in waves. It reminded him of being in a dentist’s chair or when he was flying and he slowly became aware that his whole body was as stiff as a board and he had to make a conscious effort to relax it, once he had, the tension would slowly begin to creep in again without him knowing and the whole cycle just repeated itself.
The body had been discovered on Thetford Common. The common itself was split in two by a road that ran through it; on one side it contained large grass areas that were kept tidy by the council with singular trees growing in random places. There were two football pitches and a gravel car park in the corner nearest the town. On the other side there was an unofficial car park entrance that was situated about one mile from the last house on the edge of the town as you drove towards Bury St Edmunds. It was a popular area
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