Henley had been lying in bed staring at the dead spider in the corner of the ceiling for almost an hour while the sounds of London stirred outside. The clock read 7.42 a.m. Rob’s side of the bed was empty. He was pissed at her for arriving late to the party. He had gone out again, ten minutes after they’d arrived home. Henley had spent the rest of the evening with a bottle of red wine while Emma slept. Through the open window she heard a helicopter, a gate being slammed, and a car engine starting. A million thoughts had been running through her head. The box of sleeping pills sat unopened on her nightstand. She hadn’t seen the point of taking any once she had heard the birds singing at 4 a.m.
Henley sighed and finally got out of bed. As she checked on Emma, who was still asleep, her mind wandered to the victims’ families, their grief. The only common denominator was that they had all been murdered and that their bodies had been dumped locally. Local to Henley.
She turned on the kettle and then went to the fridge. Maybe it was time that she did something nice for once. Acted more like a wife. She had tried on Friday night and she knew that she should carry on trying. She wasn’t entirely convinced that making Rob a full English breakfast would put their relationship back on the road to redemption, but it was a start.
‘Witnesses at the scene have said that the body found in the churchyard of St Nicholas in Deptford had been dismembered. The identity of the man has not been disclosed but it is believed that the murder may have links to the murder of Uzomamaka Darego, a 26-year-old nurse from Stratford whose body…’
‘What the actual—’ Henley exclaimed, turning up the volume on the radio. She listened to the newsreader who continued to give information that hadn’t been released to the press. The last time that anyone from the SCU had spoken to the press was when Pellacia released a statement confirming the identity of Daniel Kennedy.
There was a loud knock on the door and Henley jumped, spilling hot tea onto her bare legs. It was almost eight and Emma had shuffled down the stairs.
‘Morning, sweetie.’ Henley picked up her daughter. ‘Ooh, you’re getting heavy.’
She peered through the front door’s frosted-glass panel, but couldn’t see anyone. She brought Emma into the front room, placed her on the sofa and turned on the television. Someone had definitely knocked. Henley went back and opened the door. No one was there, but she spotted a cardboard box on the doorstep, her name written neatly on the top in black ink. No address labels.
Henley walked up the gravel path and placed her hands on the black iron gate. No cars. No people. Not even a stray cat or a wayward squirrel.
‘Luna, come here.’ Luna was sniffing the box and Henley dragged her back inside. She knelt down and lifted the box’s flaps, pushing aside shredded newspaper.
Her body froze as her fingers became entangled in matted hair. Her fingers were stained with blood. She raced up the stairs and grabbed her mobile phone which was charging in the bedroom. She left two sticky red thumbprints on the screen as she called Pellacia. She rushed back down the stairs, where Emma was still watching TV, completely unaware.
‘Come on. Pick up,’ said Henley. The phone went to voicemail. Henley pressed call for the second time, not waiting to leave a message.
She heard the screeching sound of the rusty gate being pushed open.
‘Don’t move,’ Henley shouted to Rob. His hair was damp with sweat. He had taken off his running vest and tied it around his waist.
‘What?’ Rob shouted as he removed his wireless headphones and placed them around his neck.
‘Don’t move. Just stay there.’
‘What do you mean, don’t move?’ Rob began to walk up the gravel path. ‘What’s going on with you?’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ Henley said as her phone began to vibrate. She pressed accept smearing blood across the screen. She didn’t take her eyes off Rob.
‘What’s this?’ Rob said. He stopped at the box and bent down.
‘Don’t touch it!’ Henley shouted, taking an urgent step towards him.
‘Anj,’ said Pellacia on the other end of the phone. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Stephen, I need you to—’ The sound of Emma shouting for her mummy distracted Henley and she turned her back for just a second, but it was enough time for Rob to pick up the box. There was a loud scream and a heavy thud. Gravel scattered across the drive as he staggered back, tripped and fell.
‘Anjelica,’ Pellacia said.
‘I need you to dispatch a unit and Forensics to my house.’
‘What the hell for?’
Henley instinctively reached out her hand to grab Emma, who had appeared at her feet. Emma took a step towards her, stopped and began to cry. Henley looked down and saw her blood-stained hand. ‘It’s OK, baby. Mummy’s OK,’ said Henley. She kneeled and carefully put her arm around Emma, making sure that she didn’t stain her daughter.
‘Are you still there?’ said Pellacia.
‘Now, Stephen. Send a unit now.’