‘Blues and twos,’ Bill snapped.
Dan followed instructions, opening his window and slapping the light on the roof of the car. The siren issued its double wail.
Communications batted back and forth from the radio.
‘Right,’ Bill said. He was speeding. ‘Let’s get there and see what’s up.’
‘Not far to go.’ Dan knew better than to warn his ex-partner to slow down. ‘This has turned into a hellish night. We need Annie and now, but they’re on it. I can’t work out the whole Mini, Bourton-on-the-Water story. She lied, but I don’t have the faintest why.’
They drove into Folly and took the hill road toward the Dimple.
‘Hugh isn’t coming clean, either,’ Bill said. ‘You could say Alex should have told us about the Mini the moment she saw us, but Hugh was doing all the talking. Not a dicky bird. You don’t think he’s got a thing for the girl, do you?’
Dan braced himself with both hands on the dash and took his time to answer. ‘No, she’s young enough to be his daughter.’
‘When has that stopped some people?’ Bill gave a short laugh. ‘But I agree it seems unlikely. The difficult part of dealing with Hugh is that the man seems so damned honorable – or so I think.’
‘He is or was honorable,’ Dan said. ‘But somehow he’s up to his neck in this.’
‘Lamb here,’ Bill said, interrupting the brief comments over the radio. ‘You think it’s important? What does that mean?’
‘Diver is using lights, sir. Says he can’t get the job done any faster and believe me, we’ve been pushing.’
‘But what does he think he’s got and why can’t he bring it up? He must have a pretty good idea by now.’
This time a female officer answered. ‘There are ledges and places where the chute narrows. He thinks it’s a body caught up. Very deep.’
Bill glanced sideways at Dan. ‘Holy shit,’ he said with feeling. ‘I was expecting Percy’s mobile or something we’d have to pray the magicians could do something with. How in hell can there be another body?’
‘I think we’re both avoiding the obvious,’ Dan said, hanging on while Bill cut the corner at Trap Lane and sped upward, bumping madly over dried-out ruts.
Bill’s grim silence was all he got as a reply.
‘You do think it’s her?’ Dan pressed.
They passed the entrances to Green Friday and Radhika’s house.
‘Yeah,’ Bill finally said. ‘If so, there’s a list of people to pick up and get in for questioning. It’s a mess. A damned mess. What is it I haven’t seen? Is it something so obvious the egg on my face is getting thicker by the second?’
‘I feel your pain,’ Dan said, and he did. ‘I’ve been there too many times but if you’ve missed something, that makes two of us.’
‘If I thought it was possible, I’d wonder if we’re looking at a supposed murder, and a suicide. The Quillam’s boy was worse than wrong but both of them played their parts in that. But Sonia couldn’t have got Percy into that pond – or chute as the officer rightly called it – not on her own.’
‘So,’ Dan said, adding up pieces faster than was wise at this point. ‘Either Percy did Sonia, then his heart gave out and he hit his head, or we’ll be looking at Sonia having a strong helper. If that’s the case, it’s likely to look as if whoever that was turned on her.’
Lights at the scene grew stronger, lit up the sky. Bill reached the end of the drivable lane and parked behind the investigators’ vehicles.
They were out of the car simultaneously and climbing the last distance to the pond, weaving between trees and kicking through scrub toward the spotlights.
Near the pond, Molly Lewis and Werner Berg were an unexpected surprise and one look at Bill told Dan he wasn’t thrilled to see the pair. Either of them would prefer to get a first look at a crime scene when possible.
‘Molly,’ Bill said and nodded at Werner. ‘How did you know to come?’
‘I have my sources,’ Molly said with a small smile. She gave Werner a narrow-eyed stare which clearly didn’t trouble him. ‘I didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Percy Quillam’s body.’
‘Are you intending to dive this evening, Molly,’ Werner asked, straight-faced.
She actually grinned. ‘I’m intending to see this body as it comes out of the water, my friend.’
‘But the diver will have to move it,’ Werner persisted. ‘I thought you wanted a body kept in situ until you’d seen it.’
Molly slipped her arm through Werner’s and they turned back to the pond. Dan didn’t see any unsteadiness in her gait this time.
‘Those two banter like an old married couple – admittedly with offbeat topics for most,’ Bill said. ‘I wonder if they see each other when there are no results of a crime around.’
‘What would they talk about?’ Dan said and they both chuckled.
‘I think he’s coming up,’ an officer called out. He wore a headset with a mic and was in contact with the diver. ‘Yes, he is. With a body.’
Werner went directly to kneel beside the water with other members of his SOCO team. A videographer and photographer stood ready to roll.
The diver’s slick, wet-suited head broke the surface.
The cameras were instantly in action and instructions shouted.
Molly moved close, bent forward. Once more Werner moved to her side.
Without removing his mask, the diver struggled, and used both arms to haul his burden to face level, then lifted a flaccid, dripping body toward team members at the ready.
‘Bloody hell,’ Bill muttered. ‘I want this tosser in custody. Vicious son-of-a-bitch.’
Stretched on the trampled grass there was no doubt they were looking at the corpse of the victim of a terrible beating.
‘Not Sonia,’ Dan said, knowing it was an unnecessary comment.
Activity was immediately intense with Molly at the center. Bill joined her and sat on his haunches, accepting rubber gloves. The scene would be a bear to record and document – especially by the lights that threw the body into sharp focus but tended to flatten shading in the surrounding area.
‘Huh,’ Molly said. ‘I doubt this one’s been in the water more than a few hours. Any guesses on identity?’ She got a chorus of negatives in response.
‘Yeah, I know him, or I believe I do,’ Bill said quietly when Dan joined him. ‘How about you?’
‘It is – or it was – Wells Giglio, poor bastard,’ Dan said.