The Escape (Detective Jane Sparrow Book 2) (24 page)

              “Ok the Superintendent’s boss came down to inform us that he and his wife both made it into protective custody ok. He also wanted to let us know that they had interrogated Andrew more and he still provided no useful information on the location of Thaddeus. The new victim Lucy Wilson’s family provided us with the details of how she went missing. She went shopping at Sainsbury’s and never came home. I have spoken to the store manager and he is working on the CCTV tapes from the car park for that whole day. So that will be ready for collection shortly. I have also spoken to the finger print analysis department that the bomb disposal unit sent the bigger fragments to. They got a match on the print, one Micky Hampston, like you thought. The coroners report is also ready for us whenever we are available and Eric is nearly done sorting through the rest of the photos. So what do you want to deal with first?”

“Ok first things first Eric if the rest of the team were to leave the station will you be ok here? Or I’ll work it a different way I don’t mind.”

              “There are plenty of other officers and staff in the station today boss. I’ll be fine you work it how you need to.”

“Ok that’s great Eric if you stay here and finish working up all them photos. Me and Amy are going to go collect the report from the Coroner. Ian and Perry I have got quite a big job for you. If you can swing by Sainsbury’s first and pick up the CCTV footage then I want you to take a team including some people from the bomb disposal unit and go pick up Micky Hampston. Bomb disposal needs to be there in case he has any devices in his house. I want to take him out of reach from Thaddeus so we have no more bombs. Is that ok?”

              “More than ok with me. I’ll be more than happy to take the little rat away from Thaddeus.”

“Glad to see you can find excitement in it Perry. What about you Ian it does mean your going to be heading a team in this investigation?”

              “Yeah I worked that. It’s good don’t worry we got this. Were put an end to Thaddeus ability to get his hands on bombs today.”

“Good everybody be safe especially you two keep your eyes on the prize. Let’s get to work.”

The team split all setting to their tasks at hand. Jane was glad to see that after the mishaps of yesterday with losing another colleague and the disappointment of their superintendent helping Thaddeus that the team was still capable of keeping their minds in the game. They all seemed to be keeping their spirits up. They all had a sense of working with more rigour and hope and determination. The team were all adamant that Thaddeus wasn’t going to break them. They wanted to catch him more now than ever. Jane just wished she had the same amount of confidence in that fact that the rest of the team did. Jane’s stomach ached in the pit with apprehension and nerves. She was beginning to feel sick with doubt. She wanted to catch him but whether she could, whether she was up to the task, whether she was smart enough like Thaddeus said. Jane could not help but doubt.

Chapter 18

Jane and Amy arrived at the coroner’s office both of them having lost their eagerness at starting the day. The smell of burnt flesh and charred bone still hung in their nostrils from seeing the remains at the crime scene, and that was in an open field, so the thought of being in an enclosed room with that aroma was a very unpleasant thought. Needless to say like always the coroner Dave Berry was hunched up over his ill lit desk filling in paper work. The office still had the same distinct smell of cleaning fluid and decaying flesh. Jane had hoped that after so many visits that she would get used to the smell and that it wouldn’t seem so pungent. But as of yet it was still like taking a direct kick to the gag reflex making her want to puke. Jane felt even more sorry for Amy who happened to be suffering from an even more sensitive gag reflex than normal since falling pregnant.

“Amy if you would rather wait outside I’d understand? I can hear the Doctors report by myself it’s not an issue.”

              “Thanks Boss but I’m fine I will sit down over in the corner though if that’s ok. I’ve got to keep doing my job the best I can.”

“Yeah go on take the weight of your feet anything strikes your interest just ask like normal but otherwise as you wish.”

Jane and Amy followed Dave through into his autopsy examination room. Still displayed lying on the autopsy examination table was the remains of their
second victim, Lucy Wilson. The remains were even more badly damaged from the fire than what Jane remembered. Being able to see them even more up close than at the scene was more disturbing than what Jane was prepared for.

“Ok what have you learned Dave?”

              “Ok well her identity has been confirmed as Lucy Wilson as I have already let you know. An accelerant was used; trace will be in contact with more information on that. It was used to make the fire burn hotter, which is why the remains were burned down to the bone in places. On closer inspection I have learned that the accelerant was only poured on certain places as it has left a distinct pattern on the bones themselves. Plus those are the areas that have been more badly damaged by the fire. The feet and legs, the arms and the upper chest, neck and face area were the worst affected. Most of the vital organs survived rather well considering. There was some damage to the inside of the cheek area but otherwise the inside of the mouth was intact to a degree.”

“Yeah intact to a degree is one way of putting it. We confirmed at the scene that Thaddeus had given us previous photographic evidence regarding the removal of the tongue and eyelids. Is there anything particular about their removal that you can tell us?”

              “Well there was scoring marks left on the bone around the orbital cavity. It’s caused when a blade is cut close to the bones. I believe it was small bladed weapon perhaps even a surgical scalpel. I have swabbed the wound track along the bones to see if trace can analyse any particulates left. It may help identify what kind of weapon and perhaps trace a purchase back to Thaddeus. The mouth also gave us some juicy answers. This young woman fought back in what ever capacity she could. Whatever Thaddeus had put in her mouth to hold her tongue with for removal she struggled against it. It caused chipping and damage to her teeth. There were particles of oxidised metal and other particulate scrapings left. I have sent them off for analysis so who knows what that will tell you.”

              “Other scrapings. So you don’t think they were metal fillings that she could of bitten off?”

“I didn’t think so to me it looked like paint of some kind but you will have to wait for trace analysis for definitive answers on that one Amy.”

“Ok well least that will give us another angle to work from. We need all the information we can get to find him. I take it you haven’t got any toxicology results or stomach content analysis back yet?”

              “Not yet but I will let you know as soon as they come in.”

“Ok thanks Dave speak to you soon.”

Jane and Amy stepped out of the coroner’s office both heading for the outside. They were both grateful for the much needed fresh air. After taking in a few deep breaths and clearing their heads of the awful stench of burnt flesh they headed back to the station. Hoping that Perry and Ian would have returned from collecting the newest tape of CCTV footage. Jane knew that they were no longer going to be at the station as she had given them the other task of going and bringing in Micky Hampston. Eric though should have finished sorting through the rest of the surveillance photographs from the house. That just left them with the mammoth task of interpreting the final image wall into a message that would hopefully help in the apprehension of Thaddeus. They would also be able to use the new trace analysis results from the evidence that the coroner found to help find a location. Jane also knew that one of their best bets would be to look into the property ownerships of the buildings surrounding Proctor and Gamble. They knew that Thaddeus was coming from somewhere near the factory because of the burn off residue that was being transferred from scene to scene and victim-to-victim. Jane just wanted to find him now the station and the police force was becoming a laughing stock. Their ability to do their job was being brought in to question as they were failing to apprehend a wanted criminal, and a wanted criminal that wasn’t doing his best to stay out of the limelight either. The press had already attributed the deaths of the two women, Jack and the explosion at the station to Thaddeus. Correct as they were it wasn’t helping the station look in the best light. Jane just hoped that they didn’t get wind of the Superintendent’s involvement with Thaddeus.

Jane tried to push them thoughts to the side as herself and Amy walked back into the station. They were confronted with the sight of Eric standing in the middle of the room twisting and turning his head in different directions while staring at the wall of photos he had made.

“Everything ok Eric?”

             
“Yeah I just think I am going mad from staring at these photos for too long. I can see that Thaddeus has put a mark on some of the photo’s I have been trying to see the pattern in it. But I have no idea why and I am starting to see the marks everywhere. Do you see what I mean?”

“Let’s have a look.”

Jane tried not to roll her eyes at Eric as if to say he probably has gone mad from all the stress. But as soon as Jane herself looked at the completed photo wall she could see the marks that Eric had spoken about. On several of the photos spread around the wall were red dots. And each of these dots featured on a photo where Jane appeared by herself. Like Eric Jane stood there and stared at the photo wall, twisting and turning her head from side to side, but still no pattern emerged from the jumble of dots. Frustratingly it was an obvious clue from Thaddeus but once
again Jane could not interpret its meaning. Jane was really beginning to believe that Thaddeus had over estimated how clever she was. Jane decided the marks might become clearer if she marked them down on a separate piece of paper where the dots were in comparison to each other. Eric and Amy had drifted off by this point to go get coffee and to have a look at the CCTV footage that Ian and Perry had dropped back. Jane heard Amy place a cup of coffee down by the desk where Jane was standing but she could not pull her focus away from the dots on the photos. Jane knew there was a meaning in there; Thaddeus was trying to tell her something she just had to learn to read it. Jane completed tracing the dots onto a piece of paper and all Jane was reminded of was the dot to dots she used to do as a child. But these ones didn’t have numbers for an order to connect them. Or did they. Jane looked back at the photo wall and numbered the dots in correspondence to the order in which they appeared on the photos. Once Jane had her numbers she connected the dots in the order that presented itself. Jane was relieved to see that with the lines she drew the picture had actually begun to make sense. Jane found herself looking at what she believed to be a star constellation. And Jane had a funny feeling Thaddeus had already given her the name of it. The Andromeda. Jane went to her computer and used a search engine for Andromeda to see if she could confirm her theory with an image. What Jane was hoping not to have to see was all the translations of what the constellation Andromeda meant. But she could not help herself but read the story that led to the name. It was in reference to part of Greek mythology. Andromeda was the daughter of Cassiopeia who bragged of her daughters divine beauty. Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter’s beauty out weighed that of even Poseidon’s Nereids, sea nymphs. Poseidon who was enraged by such a boast, and influenced by that of Hades, sent a sea monster Cetus to seek revenge. Andromeda was stripped and chained to a rock as a sacrifice to Cetus. But she prevailed as Perseus saved her from death. Jane hoped that this was not a hint as to what Thaddeus had planned for her. As much as she believed and hoped that Perry would be her Perseus she did not want to test the theory. Finally Jane came across what she had been looking for in the first place. An image of the star constellation itself. Jane matched up the points from which she had drawn to the ones that were showing on her computer screen. Her first theory on the constellation had been confirmed. The image that she had drawn and the one now showing on her computer screen were one and the same thing. Thaddeus had given her the star constellation Andromeda once again.

“Hey guys I have worked out what the red dots on the photos mean.”

              “Really what were they?”

“Pointers to a star constellation. Andromeda.”

             
“Wait wasn’t that the name of the constellation that Thaddeus called you. His Andromeda of the stars?”

“Yeah it was I know what the dots mean but not what Thaddeus is trying to tell me with the star constellation. On that note I am stumped I have no idea.”