The teacup rattled on the saucer that Janine Mullins was holding in her hands. Henley was giving it two minutes before the cream china cup with a scattering of delicate pink roses around it ended up in pieces on the floor in the reverend’s office. It took less than one.
‘I’m sorry, Father. I’m so sorry.’ Janine stared at the broken pieces on the floor.
‘Don’t worry about it, Mrs Mullins. I’ll go and get a dustpan and brush. Perhaps I can find you something a little bit stronger in the kitchen.’ Reverend Undrill gently touched her arm as he walked out.
Janine rubbed at the creased, blue-veined skin on her hands and twisted the gold band on her ring finger.
‘We walk in the churchyard all the time but I’ve never been in the actual church,’ she said as her dog lapped up the brown liquid running along the tiles. ‘Then again, I’m Catholic and this is Church of England. Brian’s mum would have a fit.’
The reverend came back in and quickly swept up the broken cup and saucer and wiped up the spilt tea.
‘Do you go to church?’ Henley asked.
Janine nodded. ‘Our Lady. Up the high street. Do you know it?’
‘I was christened there. Had my first holy communion and my confirmation there.’
‘Really?’
‘It’s a small world.’
The door opened and Ramouter entered holding a fresh cup of tea. ‘The caretaker is here so I’m going to have a word with him. Linh has just pulled up too.’
‘He seems nice,’ Janine said. ‘They make them so young these days. Even you look too young to be an inspector.’
‘Don’t let the face fool you. There are some days where I feel ancient,’ said Henley.
‘I’ve never seen a dead body before.’ Janine clutched her tea tightly. ‘Never. Not even my dad’s when he passed.’
‘It’s OK.’ Henley placed her hand gently on Janine’s’ wrist. ‘Just tell me what you saw.’
‘It’s like I told that other officer out there. There were a couple of vans having a stand-off around the corner. They’re always cutting around the back to avoid the traffic. There was a couple jogging, but they jogged past the church, they didn’t come in. I came in, sat on the bench and I hadn’t even taken a sip of my tea when I started to hear rustling behind me and then I noticed the smell. I turned around and that’s when I saw the… The—’
Janine convulsed with sobs.
A small crowd of parents, dropping their children off at the nursery across the road, had gathered on the corner by the crime scene. Their gossip simmered to a hum when the transit van bearing the words PRIVATE AMBULANCE passed through the church entrance.
The air was heavy with the scent of death. It was almost suffocating. Henley grew irritable and restless.
‘I took a look around and had a good chat with Reverend Undrill,’ Ramouter said as they headed to Henley’s car. ‘They usually close the doors to the church at 8 p.m., but the hall next door doesn’t close until 10. It depends on whether they have events or meetings. The reverend doesn’t live on the premises. Apparently, there isn’t enough money to fund a residence.’
‘Get to the point,’ Henley said impatiently.
‘OK. There’s a caretaker that closes all three gates at 10.30 p.m. and they’re not opened again until 6 a.m. There’s only two sets of keys. The caretaker has one set and the reverend has the other. So, last night the caretaker does the same thing that he does every night. Checks the churchyard, throws out any drunks, and locks up. When he went to open the gates this morning, he discovers that the back gate next to the flats has been forced open.’
‘CCTV?’
Ramouter shook his head. ‘All of the cameras were damaged a couple of days ago. The caretaker thought it was kids, but I’m not so sure.’
‘But Janine found the body. How come the caretaker didn’t see anything?’ Henley spotted Linh talking to Anthony while another forensic investigator took photographs.
‘He says he didn’t see it, and to be fair, sunrise wasn’t until 6.32 a.m. so it would still have been dark.’
Henley sucked her teeth in frustration as they walked towards Linh. ‘Do you realise that in four days we’ve had three dead bodies that have been dumped in public places, but we haven’t got one independent witness.’
‘Whoever it is, they’re clever,’ Ramouter said as he pulled a packet of Polo mints from his pocket. ‘Literally knows how to move like a ghost.’
‘I will never, ever get used to maggots. They make my skin crawl.’ Linh turned her arms over to check that she was insect-free. ‘I’ve been up since 3 a.m. 15-year-old boy hanged himself in his bedroom in Kidbrooke. He’s the third one this week and then when I’m two minutes away from my house I get a call to go to Nunhead and do you know what I find?’
‘Go on, tell me.’
‘A skeleton. A bona fide skeleton. Not a strip of flesh on it. Just sitting in an armchair. Fucking mad. Anyway, back to your guy down there. White male. Mid-thirties to early forties. Like your other two bodies, he’s been dismembered. All six pieces are there. Ligature marks on the wrists and ankles. Stab wound to his right thigh.’
‘How long do you reckon that he’s been dead for?’ asked Ramouter.
‘Well, as you could clearly see, the body is covered with maggots. The blowflies, especially in this weather, will arrive within twenty-four hours of death.’ Linh pulled a face. ‘I’m not an expert, but I do know that flies can lay up to 150 eggs in a batch. Another day for the larvae to hatch, three to five days before they pupate into flies… If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that this guy has been dead at least four days. I’m going to have to send some of those nasty little maggots to an entomologist, but there’s another thing.’ Linh stepped closer to Henley and Ramouter. ‘Left thigh. Three inches above his knee. It looks like a double cross has been cut into his leg.’
‘Are you sure?’ Henley asked.
‘I need to get him on the table before I can be one hundred per cent sure, but there is something else. His ears have been cut off.’
‘Excuse me – his what?’
‘Ears. Both of them. Cut off. I know. I haven’t seen anything like it before. I’m going to go. I’ll give you a bell later.’
‘Let’s make a move,’ Henley said to Ramouter.
‘I think that you may want to take a look at this first.’ Ramouter handed Henley his phone which was opened on the front page of the Evening Standard.
LADYWELL FIELDS: POLICE LAUNCH A SERIAL KILLER INVESTIGATION AFTER A SECOND BODY IS FOUND IN SOUTH-EAST LONDON
Callum O’Brien
Murder detectives from the Serial Crime Unit are investigating after a woman’s body was discovered in a park in south-east London. Police were called to Ladywell Fields shortly before 10 a.m. on Tuesday after members of the public made the gruesome discovery. Three days ago, the remains of Daniel Kennedy, 36, from Camden, north-west London were found on the riverbank in Deptford, south-east London.
Scotland Yard refused to confirm if the woman’s body, found in bushes, had been dismembered, but did confirm that her next of kin had been informed. A Met Police spokesman said: ‘Enquiries are ongoing and we are investigating whether the person responsible for the murder of Daniel Kennedy is also responsible for the tragic death of this young woman.’
‘Shit, shit, shit!’ Henley handed Ramouter his phone as her own began to ring. ‘It’s Pellacia.’
‘Have you seen it?’ Pellacia asked.
‘I’m looking at it now. I thought that we were going to wait a bit before we started talking to the press about any possible links? Who’s the spokesman?’
‘Someone from the Commissioner’s office.’
‘I’m not happy about this.’
‘I’m not exactly jumping up and down about it either.’
‘This is a load of—’
‘Anj, the Chief Superintendent wants to see us now.’
‘What do you mean now? I’m in the middle of a—’
‘I know what you’re in the middle of, but I need you to be at the yard this afternoon at 12 p.m. Anjelica, did you hear me?’
‘I heard you. I’ll see you at 12 p.m.’