Standing outside the property, the stench was unbearable. Maggie looked across at PC Everett, who had gone deathly pale. A small window was cracked open, releasing the stench into the air.
‘Holy shit, Maggie! How the hell did the residents put up with this for so long?’
Maggie had to cover her mouth so Kat couldn’t see her laugh.
Everett tried unsuccessfully to mask the smell by pulling her shirt up over her nose and mouth.
Maggie handed her a tissue. ‘Here, use this, it’s mentholated. I have no idea how the residents stood the smell for so long, Kat. There are some strange folk. We might want to contact the council and see if any complaints were made about the smell and when. It might help us form a timeline.’
Everett noted down Maggie’s instructions in her log book.
‘Who is the SIO? My guess is your previous team will be taking over the case soon?’ Kat asked.
Maggie nodded. The area had been cordoned off, but residents and neighbours were milling about trying to find out what was happening. Maggie looked in the crowd and saw a group of officers but she couldn’t spot her old boss, DI Abbie Rutherford, who would run the investigation, unless it could be linked to the domestic abuse team’s nominals. She scanned the area a second time, to see if she could spot Rutherford before she spotted Maggie. She felt a tap on her left shoulder.
‘You looking for me, Jamieson?’ Maggie turned slowly to come face to face with the DI.
‘Hello, ma’am. Yes, I was. Figured you’d be here and wondered what you could tell us?’
‘Why would I be telling you anything?’
‘Well, ma’am. Robert Millard, the dead man – though I realize a formal identification is yet to be made – is one of our nominals in the DAHU.’
‘I get it. So how did you get called in then?’
‘Robert Millard failed to attend his probation appointments. Not exactly unusual for him, but he generally makes contact a few days after a failure. It has been well over a week, so we were asked to come out and check on him. It’s part of the process. Then we heard that someone reported an unusual smell emanating from his bedsit, two PCs from our office were dispatched, and we were on our way to meet them. When we arrived, the area had already been cordoned off with officers at the scene and we heard about the body.’
‘Well, stick around for a bit. Or better yet, until we get a formal ID; can you take a look and let us know if this is your man?’
Jamieson couldn’t hide her pleasure. The murder team was where she really wanted to be. Despite only being out for a short time, she was eager to be involved.
‘Yes, ma’am! I’ll suit up and be there in two secs.’ Maggie went to the boot of her car and put on the protective clothing she had stored in her kit bag, before heading towards Robert’s flat. Despite the police cordons, she had to push herself through crowds of people milling about outside. Squeezing into Robert’s tiny bedsit with two or three people trying not to contaminate the scene was a task in itself.
‘Excuse me, I’m DC Jamieson, and was asked by DI Rutherford to see if I could informally ID the body.’
A scrawny, pimpled faced Forensic Investigation Officer looked up at Maggie and smiled a toothy grin. ‘Be my guest.’
The body was battered and bruised. His throat slit along the windpipe and, despite the bloated features and severe bruising to his face, DC Jamieson was in no doubt that this was Robert Millard. She nodded to the scrawny officer and he carried on. Maggie spotted Fiona Blake, the forensic pathologist, and gave a wave of acknowledgement.
‘Any idea of time or cause of death?’
‘Seriously, Maggie? I can barely scratch my ass in here, let alone have a good look at this guy. Once Charlie finishes collecting what he can, we’ll get the body to the morgue and carry out a more detailed examination. I thought you left the murder investigation team?’
Maggie nodded. ‘I did. This guy was one of our nominals, so whether Rutherford likes it or not, I suspect we’ll be involved in the case.’
Maggie left the room and made her way back to PC Everett. Kat still looked like she was struggling with the smell and Maggie laughed to herself. Gotta love a newbie.
‘You OK, Everett? I think we have all we’re going to get from here. Let me confirm with Rutherford that the body is indeed Robert Millard’s and then we’ll head back to the station and plan our next move. You OK to drive?’
PC Everett shook her head.
‘All right then, give me the keys. Just promise me you won’t puke in the car.’