Guided by Josh Marriott, PC Giash Chakrabati crossed the big shed and cautiously entered the small office. Tim had always liked Giash, but he’d never been as pleased to see him as he was now. PC Verity Tandy followed close behind. Seeing Juliet kneeling on the floor, obviously wounded, Verity hurried to crouch down beside her. Juliet’s hand was still clamped to her face. She met Verity’s eyes. Verity saw they were stricken with pain. She wanted to hug Juliet but was afraid of hurting her more. She patted Juliet’s free arm.
‘Don’t worry, you’re going to be okay,’ she said. The words sounded thin and facile. It was the type of thing police officers always said to victims of accidents or violent crime. Juliet might be contemptuous of the inadequate sentiment and find it hollow, but Verity fervently hoped that she would know it was genuine.
‘The ambulance is almost here,’ she said, and, turning to Tim, ‘The armed response team had already asked for it.’
‘Armed response team?’ said Tim.
‘DS Armstrong called for them. They’ll be here any minute. We were sent separately as backup by Superintendent Thornton,’ said Giash. ‘Would you like me to cut those ties, sir?’
‘Can you make sure she’s secured first?’ said Tim, indicating Susie Fovargue with a toss of his head. Nathan Buckland had fastened Susie’s hands together using the same type of cable ties she had herself used on Tim. Susie seemed utterly deflated, almost demented. She hadn’t resisted when Nathan pushed her on to the chair behind the desk while he fixed the ties. Now she remained slumped there, vaguely looking down at the floor, not attempting to communicate with anyone.
‘I don’t think she’ll get out of those in a hurry,’ said Giash, inspecting her wrists. Approaching Tim, he took out a penknife and deftly cut through the ties that tethered him to the desk.
‘Thanks,’ said Tim, wincing as he stood up. ‘Can you go back outside to meet the armed response team? There’s no point in having them bursting in here now. When they come we’ll ask them to escort Mrs Fovargue to the station.’
He turned to where Juliet and Verity were huddled.
‘Do you want to show me the wound?’
Juliet shook her head slightly.
‘Probably wise. You’re right to hold it together. Just hang in there, for God’s sake. You’ll be safe in hospital soon.’
Tim turned his back, the lump in his throat threatening to choke him.
Nathan Buckland had gone to stand next to Josh Marriott.
‘What do you want us to do now?’ Josh asked gruffly. ‘Carry on with us work? Or go home?’
‘I’m afraid neither is possible. This shed – in fact the whole farm – is now certainly a crime scene. We want you to touch as little as possible from this point and not move or use anything. We’ll be asking you each for a statement as soon as we can organise it.’
‘You still haven’t found the lass, have you?’
‘No,’ said Tim. ‘We still haven’t found her, but unfortunately we think we know what’s happened to her.’
He looked across at Susie Fovargue. She gave no indication of having heard his words. She remained sitting, motionless, in the office chair, her eyes wandering dully across the floor.