My Night To Remember

Chapter 2

TWO

Detective Inspector Alex Warren is the senior investigating officer. He oversees the identified crime scene being secured with the standard blue and white tape declaring, ‘Police Line–Do Not Cross.’ Initially, the only people permitted within the cordon are the Medical Examiner and specialist technicians, suited up in coveralls to enable them to examine the area with meticulous precision.

He assigns two uniformed constables to patrol the area to ensure the public keeps a safe distance away, and a further four delegated to take statements from anyone who saw anything unusual or suspicious.

Alex assembles the remaining officers. He barks instructions for them to scour the surrounding area looking for any items which may be of interest. He tells them to check litter bins, pathways, grasslands, woodland and recreation areas. In particular, he wants them to seek the missing clothing of both the victim and Fraser McCourt together with any of their belongings: phones, watches, jewellery or the like. He also tells them to be on the lookout for condoms.

“Oh, for f**k's sake! This isn’t what I signed up for,” he overhears one constable’s complaint.

“I heard that,” Alex replies. “First, given the circumstances, ‘for f**k’s sake’ aptly describes what you are looking for and why. And two, if you think this isn’t what you signed up for, then I suggest maybe you should start looking for different employment.”

“Sorry, Sir,” came a subdued reply.

A short while later, one of the scene-of-crime technicians approaches Alex. “Mr Connor would like a word.”

Alex walks across and stands at the edge of the cordon ready to meet his colleague. Seeing Connor approach, Alex extends his hand in greeting, but quickly withdraws it, realising Connor is all suited up.

Connor lowers his mask to enable easier conversation. “Morning Alex, how are you?”

“I started off fine until I was called out here. This should have been my weekend off. I’d planned to take Helen and the boys for a swim at Eastwood baths,” Alex replies.

“Yeah, know what you mean. My golf match had to be cancelled. I should have been playing in the club medal.”

“I didn’t know you played. What’s your handicap?”

“You mean besides my job and the weather?” Connor replies with a smirk. “Actually, I play off six.”

“Six! that’s serious play.”

“I’ve been as low as four, but I’m on the decline now. What about you? Are you a golfer?”

“Ancient history. I still love the game, but I don’t get a chance now. I was a member at Haggs Castle for years; let it lapse a while back. Usual story, between work and family, I hardly had time to play. Anyhow, enough of the small talk. What have you got to tell me?”

“It’s early days. We’ll be quite a while yet before you can get in, and a lot longer before we have any test results. All I can do now is give you some first impressions. Then, I’d suggest you go ahead with anything else you can do for the next hour.”

Alex nods.

“My initial observations: young lassie, aged eighteen to twenty, I reckon. Dead a few hours, found lying in a supine position, completely n***d, and no sign of any of her belongings around her. That might give you a problem with identification.”

“r**e, or interfered with, do you think?” Alex asks.

“Too soon to say. Duffie’s checking her over just now and we’ll have the body moved to the mortuary pretty soon. P.M. will be late on this afternoon. From what I could see, there was probably s****l activity. Someone has interfered with the body, but there’s nothing yet to say it wasn’t consensual.”

“Marks or bruises?” Alex asks.

“Certainly was, but we’ve yet to determine the cause. Damage to chest and it looks to have been inflicted post-mortem, which is consistent with what we heard about the young lad attempting CPR. There’s bruising to the throat, wrists and shoulders, which is a bit more suspicious. Looks as if she may have been held in a stranglehold, but, as you know, that proves nothing in itself.”

“Any signs of defence wounds?” Alex continues.

“Nothing obvious. I didn’t see any abrasions on her fingers, forearms, feet, or legs. Of course, we’ll take under nail scrapings for analysis. It will be a while ‘til we know much more.”

“Anything else?”

“Maybe. Her body was found over there, just behind that ridge.” Connor says, pointing to a spot through the bushes. “You can’t see from here, but you’d get a better view from further along this path, a few steps further across, on lower ground, there’s a larger flat area. It looks to have seen a lot of recent activity; there are a lot of foot and body impressions in the ground and my guess is something happened over there and then she was moved after death and positioned where the boy found her.”

“Very interesting. What makes you say that?”

“The ground is quite soft; it’s still damp from all the rain last week. When we looked at the way the leaves were distributed and taken together with trails on the ground, it seemed odd. Her body may have caused it, being dragged in this direction with her heels leaving the marks. The strange thing is there’s isn’t dirt or staining on her feet to corroborate the theory.”

Alex rubs his chin while contemplating the possibilities.

“As I say, it’s early days, and the team is working flat out to gather information,” Connor says.

“Well, I’d best leave you to it. Call me as soon as you can give clearance for me to have a walk about.”

Alex turns away and walks to where one of his assistants is standing.

“Okay, Donny, any progress?”

Detective Constable Donny McAvoy is a seasoned officer having spent over twenty years of his police service in CID. Although a capable detective, he has sometimes found it difficult to adjust to the more inclusive values favoured in modern day policing. Aged mid-fifties, he has heavy set features, a stocky build and an almost bald head.

“Bits and pieces, Boss,” Donny replies. “There’s been no trace of any missing clothes yet. And nobody’s seen any of last night’s shenanigans going on in the bushes. I have a couple of interesting witnesses, though.”

“Tell me more.”

“One elderly lady I’ve spoken to…” Donny pauses, looking at his notebook. “A Mrs Fordyce, she saw our Mr McCourt go running down the slope here, totally starkers, gave her quite a shock. She said that she nearly had a stroke, only she couldn’t get close enough.”

“Old joke, Donny, just keep to the facts.” Despite himself, Alex couldn’t help chuckle.

“Sorry, Sir. In reality, she saw him running down the path and then rummage about in the bin. He then sat down behind it and fashioned a kind of suit out of a newspaper before casually walking away.”

“It fits with what McCourt said he did.”

“We’ve had a lot more people tell us they saw him walking along dressed the way he was. I’ve got their contact information, but I reckon they didn’t tell us anything else of value.”

“Put it all in your report,” Alex instructs.

“Yes, Sir. Something else. A Mr Bartosz, he saw nothing today or last night, but he was quite forthcoming. He told me that there’s often been incidents of kids partying and having s*x on Friday nights in the park, most Fridays whenever it’s dry, apparently.”

“Has he seen anything himself, or is this all hearsay?”

“Both, he says he’s been told about things, and he claims to have personally witnessed various parties, orgies more or less, from what he described. They’ve taken place in different parts of the park, sometimes out in the open, other times he’s heard them in the bushes.”

“I thought the park was closed at night,” Alex says.

“Officially, it is, but it’s not too difficult for anyone to get in if they want. He admitted coming through at night himself,” Donny replied.

“Alone?”

“Yes, Boss. He’s not a dog walker either.”

“And just by coincidence, Bartosz happens to be there at the right time? Rather odd, don’t you think?”

“I’m guessing there’s a bit more to it. Bartosz was possibly into a bit of voyeurism. He knew what might be going on and he’s gone for a look. It would be an easy way for him to get some cheap thrills.”

“And he volunteered this information?”

“Yes, Boss. There’s a whole crowd of busybodies assembled near the fountain, sharing gossip and speculating on what’s going on. Apparently, he was standing amongst them, then came forward to approach one of the uniforms, saying he might have useful information. I was called over and I’ve taken a preliminary statement, but I thought you might want to talk to him yourself.”

“Quite right, Donny. Is he still there?”

“I’m afraid not. He had to leave because he had a doctor’s appointment. He said he’d be available the rest of the day if we wanted him. I’ve got all his contact details.”

“Does he live close by?”

“Yes, Sir. He rents a flat in Partick, White Street.”

“It’s not too far away, but this isn’t the most obvious place to come for a night-time stroll unless he had a reason. I think you may be right with your suspicions.

“Okay, is the old lady still about.”

Donny leads Alex across to find her sitting on a bench.

“Good morning, Mrs Fordyce. My name’s Alex and I’m in charge of this investigation. I gather you’ve had a bit of a surprise this morning.”

“I certainly did, young man. I come through this park every day to get my exercise and have done for the last thirty years. But, I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Mrs Fordyce looks to be aged in her eighties. She is small and thin, almost waiflike, but her eyes are bright, and her mind is sharp.

“Please tell me exactly what you saw,” Alex asks.

“I’ve already told the other young man.”

“Yes, I know. I’d like to hear for myself what you have to say.”

Mrs Fordyce shrugs. “Well, like I said before, I was walking along this path toward the Kelvin Hall when I first saw him. It was a young man, standing on the edge of that area of woodland up there. He looked to be young, probably one of them students from the university. I could see he had nothing on.”

Alex looked in the direction she was pointing. “You could tell right away, from this distance?”

“I certainly could, Son. There’s nothing wrong with my vision, not since I got these new glasses. It may be a long time since I’ve seen a n***d man, not since my Frankie passed away, but I can still recognise what I was looking at.”

Alex smiled and asked her to continue.

“I could see he appeared unsure of himself. He was looking around him, maybe checking to make sure no one could see him. I was just coming past this oak tree, which I think is why he didn’t see me.”

“Anyway, I stepped back so he wouldn’t catch sight of me because I wanted to see what he was up to.”

Maybe not all you wanted to see, Alex thought.

“Well, he came scampering down the hill and stopped at the bin and then started going through it, pulling out all sorts of rubbish. I saw he found a newspaper and then for a few minutes I couldn’t see anything as he was hidden from me, behind the bin.

“I wondered where he’d gone, but all of a sudden, I see him come striding out. He’d covered himself up in the newspaper and he was walking in my direction. Next thing, yon policeman goes up and stops him.”

“Let’s go back to the start. Did you see anything unusual before you first saw the lad standing at the edge of the woodland?”

“No, like I said, I was walking in this direction, so he was the first thing I saw. I’d no way of knowing how long he’d been there.”

“You said that you come walking in the park every day. Was there anything else you noticed that was different today? Anything at all, it doesn’t matter how minor, anywhere else in the park?”

Mrs Fordyce takes a few moments to think. “No, nothing at all. Wasn’t that enough?”

Alex smiles at her again. “Thank you for your assistance. If anything else comes to mind, then please call me.” He hands over his business card.

Walking away, Donny turns to Alex. “She’s a lively old bird, sharp as a tack. I only wish my mother was more like her. We’re gradually losing her to dementia,” the words catch in his throat.

Alex reaches his hand out to clasp his colleague’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture. Previously, Donny hadn’t ever opened up to him in this way and Alex wanted to be supportive, but could think of no words to help.

Reverting to the comfort of talking business, Alex says, “There’s nothing more we can do here just now. Let the lads get on with the search and we can go down to the station and see what McCourt has to say for himself.”