One For Sorrow

Chapter Seven

21:45

Riley was the first to arrive. After all, he had the blue lights and sirens, and what better time to use them than when on his way to a dead body? He pulled his car up behind one of the police cruisers and pulled on the brakes. It seemed like a nice area, it was a new area, all newly built townhouses. He got out of the car just as Sally pulled in next to him and stepped out. Cecelia hadn’t arrived yet so they stood and waited.

“Did you speak to her? Is she OK?” Was Sally’s first question. He had known it was coming. He was surprised it took her this long.

“Not so good. I have my suspicions as to what happened, but she needs time, she will tell me when she is good and ready to and not before. I am not going to push it too much or she will run in the other direction, and she will run fast.” Riley explained. He knew how to get Cecelia talking, and he had already passed through the first barrier with her, but he wasn’t going to push the next one just yet or she would flee and that was the last thing he wanted.

“But it will do her no good not talking about it,” Sally interjected.

“Look, you asked me to do this, so let me do it. I already have had her open up a little more than you have, so give me the time, as soon as I know, I will deal with it.” He didn’t say that he had already hit the nail on the head and worked out that it would only cause Sally to continue her harassment of the fact. Sally’s obsessiveness was the last thing that Cecelia needed. They turned as they heard the sound of tyres, Cecelia pulled on the handbrake and got out, walking straight past Riley, a look of thunder on her face. She nodded at Sally and walked into the house after showing her ID to the officer at the door.

“After you, Dr Birch,” Riley said.

“Why thank you, DCI Blackman.” They followed Cecelia through and down a hallway which was decorated in the most hideous greens Riley had ever laid eyes on, it looked like baby poo. He walked through the door they were directed to and Riley, his eyes still focused on the atrocious colour, bumped straight into Sally, who was in mid-exclamation. He looked up to see what had made her swear and the colour drained from his face. Cecelia was pulling on a pair of gloves and standing in front of the sight that made him feel so ill.

From the ceiling of the large room hung the lifeless body of a young boy. There was a hole in his chest where his heart should have been, the bit that got to Riley the most was the fact that the boy had no genitalia left. His purple tongue protruded from his mouth, and his eyes were open and had a last look of pure fear in them. The room stunk of a mix of blood, faeces and urine. The noose around his neck was attached at the other end to the ceiling lamp and it dug deep into the flesh of his neck. Blood dripped from his many wounds into a puddle beneath him. Cecelia looked down and saw an envelope beginning to turn red on the corner of the table, which appeared to have been moved. She pointed to a forensics camera tech to get a photo of the grooves in the carpet. She picked up the letter as she returned her gaze to the body. This killer really was something. She had never seen so many possible causes of death on one body before. She knew what had killed him though, but she would keep that to herself for now. She was pissed at him and she wasn’t going to make his job easy.

“Any idea who he is?” Cecelia asked tersely as she opened the letter carefully. It was addressed to her after all.

“Douglas Charles Chaste, he is an actor, seventeen years of age. Death by removal of heart I’m guessing.” Riley said, unable to remove his eyes from the body.

“Well, I can tell you didn’t do Forensics at School DCI. Cause of death was asphyxiation,” She said as she read through the letter. Sally was at her feet carefully picking up the small shards of bones that were on the floor with forceps and putting them into an evidence bag.

“You can’t be serious,” Riley exclaimed, “His heart has been removed.”

“Very clever DCI, you are very observant indeed, but no, the boy was strangled, his neck breaking before the heart was removed. The genitals, on the other hand, now he was still alive when that happened.” Cecelia said as the colour drained out of the faces of many people.

“You have barely glanced at the body, how can you tell it was strangulation?” She looked up at that point, her eyes ablaze with anger. Sally cringed. Everyone knew not to question the chief’s work.

“The bruising pattern, and the fact that you can see the break under the skin DCI Blackman, would you like to do my job for me? If so, it would be my pleasure. I could stand for an early night for a change.”

She went back to reading the letter, and as she did a wave of nausea spread through her belly. She took a few deep breaths to try and stop her head from swimming. This wasn’t good, she thought to herself.

“What else can you tell me, Doctor?” Riley asked. He was beginning to get annoyed with her disrespect. OK, maybe he deserved it, but he was new to the team, and he could do without it.

“It would appear that someone has it out for me.” She said in a quiet tone, all of the fire had gone from her, and she suddenly looked small and helpless as she stood there.

“Pardon.” Both Sally and Riley said together, looking at her. She held the letter up for him to read, which he did out loud.

“Dr Montage, I am just writing to let you know, this is your fault. This is a test, a test I am certain you will fail. If you fail, there will be more like this, and if I know you as well as I have come to, it will mean there will be many more to come. They never should have hired you, you are not management material, and this will prove to the board that they made a terrible mistake appointing you. You will never catch me and I will continue to kill until you either leave, or they fire you for your total incompetence. The decision is entirely down to you. Signed the Scientist.”

“Crap,” Riley exclaimed as Brian Collier, one of the forensics officers, held an evidence bag open for Cecelia to put it in. “Do you have a time of death?”

“Does it look like I have a time of death?” She backfired, the anger returning to her as swiftly as it had left. He glared back at her as she returned to the body. “I need a ladder.”

Riley disappeared, shortly followed by Sally who went to get fresh film for her camera. When they had both left, Cecelia suddenly felt an unwanted presence behind her, a familiar smell filled her nostrils making her want to gag. She froze, instantly knowing who it was. Her eyes glanced nervously around the room. No one else was in the room at present. This was all she needed right now. If Riley walked back in he would know what had happened instantly. This day was going from bad to worse.

“It’s such a pleasure to see you again, Dr Montage, you smell quite delightful this evening, or is that fear I can smell on you?” Came the voice in a whisper right next to her ear. She felt her heart quicken in consternation as his warm breath hit her neck. Goose bumps spread across her neck and down her arms, as she felt and heard him take in a deep breath smelling her. She was paralyzed to the spot. She prayed someone would enter the room. Anyone but Riley.

“P...please, leave me alone.” She finally managed to mumble.

“Now, why would I want to do that?” He asked her in that same whisper he had used on that dreadful night. She felt his hand on her bottom, making her freeze and stop breathing.

“Cecelia?” Came Sally’s voice as she returned with the fresh roll of film. There was a hint of confusion in her voice. They both turned to look at Sally.

“DI Johnson was just asking me to catch him up on the case.” She said quickly as she managed to find her feet again. She moved away from him and took the ladder from Riley, who had walked in moments after Sally. She positioned it next to the body. She was still unsteady on her feet, but it didn’t stop her from climbing a couple of steps up the ladder, shaking as she did so. She had a look at the body closely and after some time she turned to look at Riley. As she did so, the ladder wobbled and she suddenly felt herself falling. Riley pitched forward and caught her delicate frame in his arms. He set her down on her feet with a smile.

“Careful now, Doctor, don’t want any more damage done to you now. do we?” He smiled at her as she turned and caught a glimpse of the angry look in Johnson’s eyes. She shot back up the ladder. It was like she had the devil and an angel in the room with her. After a little longer, she climbed down. “I have done all I can do here. The time of death is estimated as early to late evening, I will know better once I have performed the autopsy.”

Cecelia walked outside with a long, quick stride, pulling her gloves off as she did so. Riley followed her, as did Sally and the DI. Cecelia made her way to two men who were standing by a black van. She was safe now, too many people taking notice of her for him to try anything again. And she knew he wouldn’t whilst she was visibly and directly talking to someone.

James Cardew was a tall, skinny man with a balding head. He had long spindly fingers which he offered to Cecelia as she approached. She took his hand and shook it. James was the owner of Cardew and Sons funeral directors, which the labs used for transporting cadavers. Cecelia’s father, Martin, had been good friends with Mr Cardew for as long as she could remember. The other man who stood with him was his middle son John. Cecelia recollected that James had three sons. The eldest, James Junior, was presently specialising in Oncology, a subject he had taken a great deal of interest in when their mother had died of ovarian cancer a decade ago. John, his middle son, worked for him and was the most likely one to take over the family firm. The youngest son, Jacob, was working as a trainee forensic investigator in her department. James also had a daughter called Maia, who Cecelia had grown up with and gone through school with. She was John’s twin sister. She was now an accountant and also worked for her father.

Cecelia went on to shake John’s hand, it was much podgier than his father's, and he had a much firmer grip, which made her wince slightly. He grinned at Cecelia in a friendly manner. “Fall down the stairs again Cecelia?”

“You know me, John.” She grinned. “How are you both? Well, I hope. I hope Maia is OK, and James is getting on OK?”

“Well enough,” James Snr. said in his usual gruff tone. “Maia is a busy girl and I hear little from James, he is so wrapped up in curing everyone.”

They both followed her through to where the body was now lying in an orange bag on the floor. The men lifted it onto a gurney and wheeled it out to their van. After loading it up and shutting the doors, they nod to Cecelia and leave. Cecelia walks over to her car and unlocks it as Riley and Sally approach her.

“Shall I meet you, girls, at the labs?” Riley asked.

“Cecelia, what did DI Johnson say to you?” Sally asked, ignoring Riley’s question completely. Cecelia froze on the spot.

“DI Johnson?” Riley asked, a look of confusion on his face. He knew who the man was, but couldn’t work out what was going on here.

“Nothing, come on, we have an autopsy to do.” She mumbled.

“Not until you start talking to Cecelia Jayne,” Sally said. She had seen something that all her senses told her wasn’t right. She was going to find out what the hell it was if it was the last thing she did.

“Just leave it, Sally!” Cecelia said as panic began to set in. She really didn’t want to have to do this here. If she had to do it, she would rather do it in either her home or her office. Away from onlookers and certainly away from Johnson. The last thing she needed was for him to think she had told someone what had happened. It wasn’t her fault they had put two and two together and, for once, actually got four. She looked over to the house, she could see Johnson talking to his partner, DS Salzburg, but he had his eyes on her.

“Leave what?” Riley asked as he looked between the girls, a dumbstruck look on his face. He hadn’t quite managed to get to four yet, he was only on about three, but he was slowly getting there.

“When I walked in, you looked like a deer caught in headlights and he was standing way too close to you to be talking about the case, so talk, what did he say?” Sally pushed, she was beginning to get agitated, and it was becoming evident in her tone of voice. “And I am sure his hand was on your backside.”

Cecelia looked between Riley and Sally, her eyes filled with fear, the blue spark had completely died. She turned to get into her car, ignoring them both. Suddenly, Riley found four. His jaw dropped as the cogs in his head started to move the gears to the correct places.

“It was him, wasn’t it?” Riley asked in a near whisper. His neck began to redden as his anger began to rise at an incredible speed. He didn’t even need her confirmation, just the fact that she looked to the floor when he spoke told him the truth of it. His eyes filled with fury, this man was working for him now, and he would not stand for what the man had done to Cecelia. He would string him up by the balls himself if he had to, but he would pay for what he had done.

“I will kill him, I will f*****g kill him.” He said, turning back towards the house. Cecelia was out of the car and on him.

“No! Please, leave it. I will tell you everything if you just leave it. I can’t tell you here, let’s go back to the office. Please.” He looked down at her. She looked petrified.

“I can’t have a man like that working for me,” Riley said, the anger in his eyes highly evident.

“If either of you ever wants to see me again, then please just listen to me. I promise, the moment we get into my office and the door is shut, I will explain to you everything that happened to me.” It was the only way she could think of to get away from this predicament. She was going to regret it but she had to do it.

“You promise?” Sally asked.

“I promise.”

“That still doesn’t help the fact that the tosser is working for me.” Riley seethed.

“And for now that is how it will stay, Riley,” Cecelia said, her eyes pleading with him.

“Fine.” He said grudgingly. He didn’t like it one bit.

“Now, I will see you in my office.” She said, climbing into her car and shutting the door. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, started the car and drove off.

“What the HELL is going on,” Sally said, watching as her boss left.

“Come on, I don’t want her on her own too long. Christ, not even been here a day and it’s like we were never apart, I forgot how difficult she could damned well be.” Riley said, ignoring Sally’s question.

“I don’t know what to do with her. I have never had to deal with her in this way before, you don’t think he…you know?” Sally asked, looking at Riley. His expression was deeply pained as he nodded. He knew he had known the minute he had seen her that someone had forced her to do things against her will. There was nothing he could legally do about it until she told him for certain who it was and what had happened. The moment he got the full story and got it written down, he would be down on the man like a ton of bricks. He wouldn’t know what hit him.