He turned to his companions as Bryant materialised beside her. ‘This is Darren Brown and Carl Newton. They’re volunteers that were scheduled to assist on my dig. They’ll be operating the equipment.’
Kim felt obliged to come clean with the professor after the trouble he had taken.
‘You know this is a hunch, Professor? There may be nothing down there.’
His eyes were serious and his voice low. ‘But what if there is, Detective? I’ve been trying to excavate this land for two years and someone has done their level best to stop me. I’d like to know why.’
Kim was satisfied that he understood.
A Vauxhall Astra pulled in beside the professor’s car. A portly male in his fifties got out of the car, followed by a tall, red-headed woman Kim guessed to be in her late twenties.
‘David, thank you for coming,’ Kim said.
‘I don’t recall there being a great deal of choice, Detective,’ he said with a half-smile.
‘Professor Milton, please meet Doctor Matthews.’
The two men shook hands.
Kim had met Doctor David Matthews at the University of Glamorgan which, together with Cardiff University and South Wales police, formed a unique organisation in the UK called the Universities Police Science Institute. It was dedicated to research and training in police-related matters.
Doctor Matthews was an advisor for the Glamorgan Centre for Police Sciences and had been instrumental in setting up the Crime Scene Investigation House at the university.
Kim had attended a seminar there two years earlier and had offered a couple of suggestions for improvement to the scenario training based on her own crime scene experience, which had resulted in her staying on for the weekend.
‘May I introduce Cerys Hughes. She is a fully qualified archaeologist and has just completed a degree in forensic science.’
Kim nodded in her direction.
‘Okay, it’s important you both understand that we have no authority here as yet. My boss is working on the red tape so nothing can be disturbed until the paperwork is in order. If you suspect the presence of anything at all, let me know.’
David Matthews stepped forward. ‘You have three hours of our time for these shenanigans and if nothing is detected by then we will be on our way.’
Kim nodded. Three hours of his time for two days of hers. Yep, that seemed fair.
He continued. ‘Cerys and I will cut a small feature at the top of the land to begin analysing the soil.’
Kim nodded towards Cerys. The fiery red hair was cut in a sleek bob that rested just below a square jaw line. Her pale blue eyes were piercing. Not naturally beautiful, she had a face that was intriguing, that drew attention.
The woman acknowledged her without smiling and followed David as he walked towards the top edge of the site.
A white Escort van took the last space on the dirt patch.
A woman opened the rear doors. A steaming urn and foil wrapped packages were inside.
Bryant chuckled. ‘Did my imagination just conjure her up?’
‘No, she’s real. Make sure everyone gets a hot drink and a bacon sandwich before they start.’
Bryant smiled. ‘You know, Guv, at times ...’
Kim didn’t hear the rest of his words as she was already heading down the hill towards the derelict building.
She walked the perimeter of the fence but there was no access point. The front of the building faced onto the road and the houses opposite. Too many prying eyes. She returned to the rear and started looking for an area of vulnerability.
The fencing was not a traditional design of slatted pieces overlaying each other. Each panel was made of strong, thick wood normally used for pallets and lay flush with the one above and below. A tiny sliver of daylight escaped between each nine-inch piece.
She pushed at one of the tall wooden fence posts. It moved back and forth, the bottom of the post rotted in the ground.
‘Don’t even think about it, Guv,’ Bryant said, offering her a hot drink. She took it in her left hand and continued to work her way along the posts. The next two were steady but the fourth rocked to and fro.
‘How’d you get Doctor Matthews here? Did you bully him?’
‘Define bullying,’ she said, pushing at the next post.
‘Probably best I don’t know. Plausible deniability and all that.’
‘It doesn’t hurt to have the presence of a forensic archaeologist on site.’
‘Course not, except that at this point we have no authorisation to instruct anyone to do anything.’
Kim shrugged.
‘What if there’s nothing down there?’
‘Then we all get to go home for tea. But if there is, we have a head start. Doctor Matthews is fully qualified to ...’
‘Oh, I know. He’s just given me his entire education history but Woody said nothing is to be touched until the paperwork is in order.’
‘See, now you’re just being pedantic.’
‘Just trying to protect your ass, Guv.’
‘My ass is fine. You should worry more about your own if you’re planning to eat that second bacon bap in your pocket.’
‘How did you know?’
Kim shook her head. Because he would have brought one down for her, even though he knew she probably wouldn’t touch it.
She stood away from the fence and drained her coffee cup. ‘Now, more importantly, should I go over or through?’
Bryant groaned. ‘How about away from it?’
‘Not one of the options I gave.’
‘We have no authority to enter.’
‘Either help me or leave me to it. Your choice.’
She set the empty cup on the ground as Bryant sighed heavily.
‘If you try to go through you’ll be leaving the area vulnerable for kids.’
‘Over it is then,’ Kim said, heading for the middle section of slats between the two stable fence posts. She aimed a kick at one of the panels level with her thigh. It splintered. She kicked it again and the panel cracked in half. She pushed the broken slats inwards so that the stable piece below could be used as a step.
In one fluid movement she put the toe of her left boot on top of the slat and used Bryant’s shoulder to push herself up. She grabbed the stable post to her left, threw her right leg over the top of the fence and into the gap on the other side. As she straddled the top of the fence she took a second to steady her balance before bringing her left leg over the top and into the gap. She jumped down backwards, bending her knees to absorb the impact.
The grass around the building was tall and full of nettles. Kim navigated her way to the only cracked window she could see on the ground floor. The height of the fencing had protected the lower windows but all the glass on the upper level had been smashed through.
She spied a grey tin rubbish bin. She removed the lid and smashed it against the damaged window pane.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Bryant called.
She ignored him and knocked out another couple of pieces of glass, then took the bin, turned it upside down and stood on it. She carefully folded herself in through the broken window onto a formica unit top that ran the entire length of the wall, pausing only for a double sink.
She looked inside and saw the fire-damaged walls of the kitchen. Kim read that the fire had originated in there. The walls were blackest near the door that led into the corridor. Cobweb curtains adorned every corner of the room.
From somewhere in the building she could hear the sound of water dripping. The water supply would have been turned off at the stop tap. She guessed it was residual rainwater from a roof damaged by fire and time now exposed to the elements.
As she stood in the doorway she saw that the corridor ran the length of the building, splitting it in half. When she looked to her right the walls were painted an off-white. A film of dust was visible in places but was untouched by the fire.
To her left, the wooden beams supporting the floor above were expose
d and blackened. The door frames were charred and only a few patches of paint remained on the walls at low level. Wires and cables hung exposed from between the beams.
Debris and fallen ceiling tiles littered the corridor floor. The damage appeared to worsen as it travelled further towards the edge of the building.
Kim stepped back into the kitchen and surveyed the damage again. The wall units closest to the door were mottled with the marble effect of scorched wood. The doors of the fridge and freezer had buckled and were hanging off but the area closest to the six ring cooker sat beneath a light covering of soot.
She opened the door of the wall unit closest to the cooker. Rodent droppings fell onto the hob. A piece of A4 paper was tacked on the inside of the door. The print was still visible. It listed the names of girls on the left hand side and a grid indicating the allocated chore for the week.
Kim paused for a moment. Her hand reached up and touched the first few names. She had been one of these girls, not here and not then but subconsciously she knew every single girl on the list. She knew their loneliness, their pain, their anger.
Kim was suddenly struck by a memory from foster family number five. In the small box room at the back of the house she would hear gentle coo-cooing all through the night from the house next door.
Each time the racing pigeons were released she would watch them, willing them to fly away, escape their captivity and be free. But they never did.
Places like Crestwood were the same. Occasionally the birds would be set free but they always seemed to fly back.
Like prison, release from a children's home came with farewells that held hope and good wishes but never finality.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a siren in the distance. She clambered onto the work surface and bent herself through the window onto the top of the bin and down on to the ground.
She dragged the bin to the fence just as the siren and the car engine died.
‘Morning, Kelvin, why the blues?’ Bryant shouted.
Kim rolled her eyes and stood against the fence.
‘Had a report that someone was seen inside this building.’
Great, the police were here for her.
Bryant chuckled. ‘Nah, it’s just me snooping around. Caught a shit job today babysitting this bloody digging crew and I was just curious about what was behind here.’
‘But you’ve not been in the building?’ the constable asked doubtfully.
‘No, mate, how stupid do you think I am?’
‘Fair enough, Detective. I’ll leave you to it.’
The constable began to walk away but then turned and took a couple of steps back. ‘Shit job from your boss, Detective?’ he asked.
‘Who else?’
‘Gotta tell you, Sir, you have the condolences of most of the station having to work with that ballbreaker.’
Bryant chuckled. ‘You know, if she could hear you, she’d probably agree.’
‘She is a bit cold, though, eh?’
Kim nodded from behind the fence. Yeah, she was happy with that.
‘Nah, she’s not as bad as you think.’
Kim almost growled. Yes, she really was.
‘In fact, she was only saying the other day that it would be nice if you guys struck up conversation with her now and again.’
She’d bloody kill Bryant. Slowly.
‘No problem, Sir. I’ll bear that in mind.’
As the constable walked away he transmitted back to the control room that the premises were all in order.
‘Bastard,’ Kim spat through the fence.
‘Oops, sorry, Guv. Didn’t realise you were there ... listening.’
Kim stood on the bin, and exited the area the same way she’d entered.
She landed on her feet but fell into Bryant and knocked him sideways.
‘Oh, sorry,’ she said.
‘On the scale of genuine apologies, I’d rate that at minus seven.’
‘Detectives,’ the professor said, appearing beside them. ‘We’re ready to begin.’
Bryant caught her gaze and held it as the professor turned and walked away.
‘So, did you learn anything on your illegal fact-finding mission?’
. ‘Contrary to the written report, that fire did not start in the kitchen.’
Eighteen
Kim caught up with the professor as he neared Bill and Ben, as she had nicknamed his volunteers.
‘Doctor Matthews has done an initial survey of the soil to find there is a large clay content.’
Not much of a surprise in the Black Country.
‘Such conditions affect the performance of ground penetrating radar so we’re going to start with a magnetometer.’
‘Gesundheit,’ Bryant offered.
The professor ignored her colleague and carried on speaking to her as though she had a clue. Kim rarely questioned the expertise of others. She trusted people to do their jobs effectively and she expected the same in return.
‘The magnetometer uses sensors to measure the gradient of the magnetic field. Different materials can cause disturbances and this particular tool can detect anomalies caused by disturbed soils or decayed organic materials.’
Bill started walking towards them with Ben behind. To Kim, he looked like something from The Terminator. Over his shoulder rested a black strap fixed to a metal rod approximately six feet in length that he held horizontally at waist height. On the front tip of the pole was a second rod fixed so he carried a giant letter T. Attached to each end of the smaller rod were sensors. Black cables travelled to the reader strapped around his waist and a black canvas holdall was fixed to his back.
‘We’ll start down there at the bottom edge and work in straight lines. A bit like how you’d mow the lawn.’
Kim nodded and the three of them moved away.
Doctor Matthews and his assistant had retreated to the warmth of the car.
‘You gonna be okay with this, Guv?’ Bryant asked.
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ she snapped.
‘Well, you know ...’
‘No, I don’t know and if you feel the need to question my capability, take it to my boss.’
‘Guv, I would never do that. It was a question asked out of concern.’
‘I’m fine, now leave it alone.’
She never talked about her past but Bryant knew she’d spent time in the care system. He didn’t know the things that had happened to her there. He knew she had a mother who was a paranoid schizophrenic. But he didn't know the repercussions of that. He knew she’d once had a twin brother but he didn’t know how he’d died. Only one person knew all the events of her past and she was damn sure it was going to stay that way.
The phone in her pocket rang. It was Woody.
‘Sir?’ she answered, expectantly.
‘Still waiting, Stone. I’m just checking that you remember what we talked about.’
‘Of course, Sir.’
‘Because if you act against my instructions ...’
‘Sir, please, you can trust me.’
Bryant shook his head.
‘If I don’t have the authorisation in the next couple of hours stand Professor Milton down and thank him for his time.’
‘Yes, Sir,’ she said. Thank God he didn’t know about Doctor Matthews.
‘I know it’s frustrating standing around doing nothing but processes have to be followed.’
‘I understand, Sir. I have Bryant here who would like to express his concern about something to do with the handling of the case.’
She held out the phone. Bryant shot her daggers before walking away.
‘Oh no, I appear to be mistaken.’
Woody tutted and ended the call. She keyed in Dawson’s number. He answered on the second ring.
‘What’ve you got?’
‘Not much at the moment, Guv.’
‘Got the names of other staff members?’
‘Not yet. The local authority isn’t quite as accommodating as Courtn
ey. We’re trawling through any news reports where Crestwood is mentioned to see if we can come up with anything. The best we’ve got so far is a Pastor Wilks who did a sponsored walk of the Three Peaks to raise money for a day trip for the girls.’
‘Okay, Kev, pass me to Stacey.’
‘Morning, Guv.’
‘Stace, I need you to start putting together a list of the kids that were here when the place burned down.’
Even if there was nothing found, they would still need to speak to ex-residents of the facility to find a link between Teresa Wyatt and Tom Curtis.
Stacey said she would get right on it and ended the call.
Kim glanced towards the boys. They had progressed about forty feet with the magnetometer but were now standing still, checking the equipment.
Her wandering gaze found Bryant at the edge of the site, his back to her. Uncharacteristically, she felt bad for snapping at him. She knew his question was born out of concern for her wellbeing but she didn’t react to kindness all that well.
‘Hey, you still got that bacon bap?’ she asked, nudging him in the arm.
‘Yeah, you want it?’
‘No, go throw it in that bin. Your cholesterol level can’t take it.’
As soon as the words were out of her mouth she realised that it worked both ways.
‘You been talking to my missus?’
Kim smiled. She’d received a text message two days earlier.
Kim heard movement and looked behind.
The professor was approaching at speed. His face was reddened, his features animated.
‘Detective, the machine is showing readings of interest. I think we might have something.’
Bryant caught her eye. ‘Guv, we don’t have any authority.’
She looked at him for a long minute. If there was a body buried in this ground it was not going to stay there a minute longer than necessary.
She nodded to the professor. ‘Start digging.’
Nineteen
‘Guv, with all due respect, are you out of your bloody mind?’
‘Something bugging you, Bryant?’
‘Just the fact that you could lose your job for this.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s mine to lose.’