Mersey Murder Mysteries Collection

Chapter 7

Clarissa Drake stood looking down, maybe thirty feet or so, towards the bottom of the old, dried up dock. Turning to the young man beside her, she spoke quietly, as she shivered in the early morning mist that drifted across the landscape from the nearby River Mersey.

“You know, Derek, if I didn"t know better, I"d say he looks pleased to see us.”

Before the young man could reply, a deep voice from behind them made them both jump slightly.

“Now then, Izzie, how many times have I told you about that sense of humour of yours?

Turning to face the man behind the voice, Detective Sergeant Clarissa, (Izzie) Drake, found herself staring into the eyes of her boss, Detective Inspector Andy Ross. Detective Constable Derek McLennan stood beside her, trying to make himself look small and insignificant in an effort to avoid the wrath of his boss. D.I. Ross in fact, despite his words, had an almost imperceptible grin on his face as he looked sternly at his sergeant.

“I"m sorry sir, but you know how it always affects me, seeing something like this. I"m just trying to lighten the moment a bit if you know what I mean.”

The tall, swarthy-skinned Inspector took a step forward and looked down at the sight that had brought them here in the first place, the grinning rictus of the skull certainly looking to all intents and purposes appearing, as Izzie intimated, pleased to be revealed from its long incarceration in the clinging mud that had only now decided to reveal its macabre secret. Ross knew it had to have been there a long time, as the small wharf and dockside had been abandoned for many years and only now, in the course of urban renovation and improvement, had the collective mass of mud and detritus of years of neglect been slowly cleared away until the discovery of the remains brought all work to a halt. He turned to face the sergeant and the young detective constable who remained rooted to the spot beside her.

“Right then, let"s get on with it. Izzie, try not to assign or assume gender until the doc has examined the remains, as well, OK?”

Izzie nodded her understanding.

“And Constable?” Ross looked into the eyes of the young detective.

“Sir?”

“I"m not going to chew your head off for standing next to the sergeant while she makes frivolous comments, so no need to look like you"re about to be sent back to uniform, or fed to the Chief Superintendent for supper, okay?”

“Yes, sir, okay sir, I mean thank you, sir.”

“How long you been in the detective division, lad?”

“Six months, sir.”

“Lots to learn my boy, lots to learn. Now, let"s get on with the job.”

“Right sir, McLennan replied, following Izzie as she began the descent of the iron-runged ladder that led down to the muddy and rank smelling river bed below.

Ross quickly followed the two until all three officers stood quietly looking at the recently revealed skeletal remains that lay half in and half out of the mostly hard-packed surface of the ground that would once have been the bed of a busy and thriving riverside wharf.

The detectives took care not to approach too close to the remains, not wanting to disturb the scene before the medical examiner had had the opportunity to inspect the scene.

“Anyone know who the duty M.E. is?” Ross asked of no-one in particular.

Izzie Blake provided him with the answer.

“One of the paramedics up there said it"s Fat Willy, sir.”

Ross groaned. The nickname Blake used referred to Doctor William Nugent, a brilliant but terribly overweight police surgeon, an expert in forensic pathology, whose unfortunate weight problems had provided the members of Merseyside Constabulary with the excuse to make jokes at his expense, always behind his back of course. A rather dour Scot, the doctor"s accent contrasted with the predominantly local Liverpool accent possessed by most of the local constabulary, some of whom found it difficult to keep up with the doctor"s words at times, though he seemed to have no difficulty with the Liverpudlian accent, having lived in the city for as many years as anyone could remember. Nugent was also something of a stickler for the rules and Ross knew he"d better be on his toes and not cause any disturbance to the scene before him, lest he incur the wrath of the good doctor. Ross held both arms out to his sides, as though indicating an invisible barrier.

“Right, people, no-one gets any closer than this until the doctor arrives. Now, tell me what you see. You first, Sergeant.”

Izzie Drake peered down at the skeletal remains and paused, as she gathered her thoughts. The skull and upper body were for the most part, fully exposed with the abdominal area still covered by a thick layer of mud and silt, and the lower legs and feet also exposed to the chill morning air.

“Well, sir looks to me as though the body has laid there for some time. If you look at the wall of the dock above us, we can see that the mud and silt must have reached up at least ten feet before the workmen started on the reclamation job.”

Ross looked up, nodding his agreement with his sergeant, also taking time to notice the faded lettering on the side of the disused brick built warehouse, which read "Cole and Sons, Importers," many of the letters now indistinct and barely readable. He made a mental note to check how long the warehouse had lain empty and whether Cole and Sons had been the last company to have used the facility. Izzie continued.

“Whoever the victim is, or was, must have lain buried beneath the mud and silt for years, to have ended up so deep.”

“Agreed,” said Ross. “Go on, what else?”

“I"d lay odds on the fact this is a suspicious death. I just don"t see anyone dying of natural causes and not being reported missing or nobody having the faintest clue where he or she was last seen, that kind of thing.”

McLennan butted in.

“Unless the victim had a heart attack, or slipped and fell in the water all those years ago, no witnesses, and was just never found.”

“Well done, Constable McLennan,” said Ross. “That"s good thinking. We may have to do a massive trawl of the missing person records once the doc gives us an idea of how long the remains have been down here. Anything else, Izzie?”

“Not yet, sir. I think we need to get the doctor"s opinion before we begin formulating our own theories.”

As if on cue, first of all a wide shadow, and then a large figure appeared on the dockside above, followed by the booming voice of Doctor Nugent.

“Well now, Inspector Ross. I see you"ve got something interesting for me this morning?” The Scottish accent was easily discernible to those around the pathologist.

“Morning, Doctor. Yes. Been here a while, I"d say, but I"d appreciate your professional opinion before we jump to conclusions.”

“Aye, well, it"s good to hear you"re learning a thing or two. I take it no-one"s disturbed the remains?”

“No, we"ve stayed well back to give you an undisturbed area around the victim.”

“Aye well, I"d better be comin" doon then, eh? Francis, come on man, and bring your camera.”

As if by magic the diminutive figure of Francis Lees, the pathologist"s assistant appeared at his side, looking down at the death scene.

“What the hell are you waiting for man? Get doon the ladder there and wait for me at the bottom. And make sure to catch me if I slip on those old rusty rungs.”

The detectives looked at each other and smiled. The thought of Nugent"s bulk falling from the ladder on to the hapless Lees gave them a moment of humour in the midst of their other wise grim task. The thought that Nugent"s weight would probably force poor Lees"s body into the mud and silt, suffocating the poor man, made him think they may end up with two bodies to remove from the dock before the day was out.

Lees quickly made his way down the ladder and dutifully stood almost to attention, his camera slung over his shoulder, as Nugent ponderously made his way down the rusting ladder, thankfully arriving safely at the bottom less than a minute after his assistant. Ross couldn"t help but admire the way the pathologist, despite his bulk, managed to make his way down the ladder almost gracefully, and without any apparent difficulty.

“Now, let"s see what we"ve got, eh?” said Nugent as he and Lees began their own examination of the scene. Lees"s camera flashed incessantly as he photographed the partially revealed skeletal remains from every possible angle. Nugent knelt in the mud beside the skeleton and began a close examination. Ross, knowing the doctor"s routine all too well, couldn"t resist a quick question.

“See anything yet that might help us, Doctor?”

“Sshhh,” Nugent urged.

“Does he think the corpse is going to talk to him?” McLennan whispered quietly to Izzie.

“Ah heard that, young man,” Nugent snapped at the young detective. “Ah like tae work in peace if you don"t have any objections.”

“Of course, Doctor, sorry,” said McLennan, blushing visibly.

“Aye, well, anyway, in response to your question, Inspector Ross, I do believe I have something for you.”

“Already, Doctor?”

“Aye, already, but it doesn"t take a genius in this case to ascertain that, in my humble opinion, you"ll be looking for a murderer I think.”

Ross and Izzie Drake looked at each other, exchanging knowing glances. Both knew instinctively this was going to be a potentially long and difficult case to c***k.

“How can you be sure so quickly?” he asked the pathologist.

“Aye, well, I dinna think this hole in the skull got here by accident.”

Nugent beckoned the inspector closer and pointed to the rear of the skull, which he"d raised carefully just clear of the mud. There, the two men looked closely at the gaping hole in the back of the skull, larger than would have been left by a bullet but still conversant with some form of blunt force trauma.

“Couldn"t that have been caused by an accident, Doc?”

“Under certain circumstances, it may have been, Inspector Ross, but not in this case, I think.”

“Why so certain?” asked the policeman.

Nugent pointed to a point about twelve inches to the right of the skull. Ross could see that the doctor, in the course of his close examination had uncovered the unmistakable form of a hammer.

“I"ll wager a month"s salary that yon hammer is your murder weapon, Inspector,” said Nugent. “There"s some staining on the hammer head that may be blood, and the shape and size of the hammer head would appear to match the shape of the wound in this poor unfortunate soul"s head. I"ll be able to confirm it when we get the remains back to the lab, but for now, I"m satisfied you have a murder on your hands. No chance of fingerprints after so long I"m afraid which leads me to the bad news that I believe the remains have possibly lain here for a long time, years in fact.”

“Any idea of gender?” asked Izzie Drake.

“Not yet, Sergeant, but looking at the size of the feet, I"d hazard a guess at male,” Nugent replied. “Inspector, I dinna want to disturb the remains too much where they lie at present. Can you arrange for a team to dig out the entire area surrounding the skeleton and transport the lot back to my lab? I can carry out a thorough examination there and give you as much information as the deceased is willing to reveal to me.”

Ross groaned inwardly. It would be a massive task to remove the remains from their resting place, mud and all, without disturbing or destroying the skeleton, but at least once it was out of the way he and his team could carry out an intensive search of the surrounding area for clues to the identity of the victim or to the full nature of the crime. At least the possibility that this was indeed the murder site might make his task a little simpler, no need to go searching the length of the river bank for miles in both directions.

“I"ll make the arrangements, Doc. Please, once you get the remains to your lab…”

“I know, Inspector. You"d like my findings as soon as possible.”

“Thanks, yes, Doc. I know it"s not as if I can see a quick solution to this one, but anything we can do to find out who this was, and when the murder occurred, might just help us bring a killer to justice.”

“I wish you luck, Inspector, I really do,” Nugent said as he rose from his position and beckoned Lees to follow him, and the pair began the ascent up the ladder back up to the dockside.

“Anything to add, Constable?” Ross directed the question at McLennan.

“Just a question really, sir.”

“OK, ask away.”

“Well sir, this dock or wharf or whatever the correct term is, was once connected to the Mersey by that channel, right?” McLennan pointed along the narrow channel along which the ships would have approached the dock from the river, unloaded at the dockside and then turned round in the basin they now stood in before heading back out to the Mersey.

“Right,” said Ross, “so what"s the question?”

“It"s just that I don"t see how they could block off the whole River Mersey so they could drain the dock and the channel, sir. How the heck did they manage it?”

“Good question, McLennan and I"m glad to see you"re thinking about this. I"m no engineer but I think you"ll find they drive large metal pilings into the river bed, erect some sort of temporary dam, then use massive pumps of some sort to drain the water from this side. When it"s dry, they can then build the new reinforced river bank you now see at the end of the channel, thus re-directing the flow of the Mersey. They must have done this many times during all the redevelopment of the dock area, because I know there are a hell of a lot of these old inlets and channels that had to be closed off to the river before the developers could start work on their so-called urban redevelopment and improvement of the old dock area.”

“Right, sir, I see. I was just trying to work out if the clearing of the channel might have any bearing on the timing of the death of the victim.”

“Good thought, Constable, but of course, it could have happened any time when the dock was still operational or after closure as far as my thinking goes. But listen, you keep thinking lad, okay? That"s what a good detective does, all the time, lots of thinking, mainly small points but then one day you just might hit on something important. The other thing we need to consider is whether the body was carried here by the tide and simply washed up here. The actual murder site and original dump site could be almost anywhere.”

McLennan smiled, pleased the inspector had listened to his points and didn"t think he was wasting his time, but wished he"d thought of the inspector"s last point.

Ross next took out his mobile phone, and spent the next few minutes making arrangements for a specialist recovery team to attend the scene and remove the remains and the surrounding mud and silt in one large excavation, for transportation to the forensic lab, in order for Doctor Nugent to carry out what Ross knew would be a painstaking examination. There wasn"t much they could do for the present, not until the remains had been removed and they had the opportunity to carry out a detailed examination of the surrounding area. Ross knew he"d have to call in a few uniformed officers as well as the members of his own team of detectives, and his own boss, Detective Chief Inspector Harry Porteous wouldn"t be best pleased at the overtime bill that would probably ensue from a case that on the surface, at least, appeared to offer little hope of a quick and easy solution.

“Well,” said Izzie as she and Ross stood staring at the remains, McLennan having been dispatched by Ross to begin the arrangements to have the remains carefully removed and taken to the lab.

“Well indeed, Sergeant,” Ross replied, thoughtfully. “Well, indeed.”