Page 27 of Her Hidden Shadow

She was thankful that he’d been found outside as she knew decomposition meant smell and she knew she’d struggle to deal with that right now. ‘Can you tell us anything else about the body or the scene that might help us?’

‘He has what appear to be splinters stuck in his fingertips and nails.’ Bernard nodded as one of his team called him over.

Gina turned to Wyre. ‘I’m thinking Robbie Shields was locked in that cupboard.’ Bernard was heading back. ‘Have we processed the blood and semen samples from the other scene as yet?’

‘I’m sorry but we are doing our best. I have put a fast-track on it at the lab so hopefully it won’t be long now.’

‘Was he killed here?’

‘I’m going with no,’ Bernard replied. ‘There’s no way anyone could have rolled the body up in the rug like that, right here. There are no rug fibres caught in the wooden pallets and there just isn’t the room. I’d say he was killed somewhere else, rolled up in the rug and dumped here from the roadside. There are some rug fibres and drag marks on the grass, leading from the road. Whoever brought him here came to a stop the other side of that shrub.’ Bernard pointed to the bush. ‘They parted the shrubbery and hoisted him through. It would have been a struggle but it is doable. Whoever did this would have been strong. It would have taken some effort to get the body here.’

‘Paula, would you please make a note of the rug description? We need to know if it belonged to Lauren and Robbie. We’re seeing Lauren next so we can ask the question.’ While Wyre scribbled a few words down, she turned to address Bernard. ‘Thank you. I don’t want to keep you any longer. Is there anything missing?’

‘Actually, there is something missing. He is wearing trainers, but he is only wearing one sock.’

She pondered that fact for a moment. ‘Have you found any of his personal belongings or a phone?’ She wondered if Bernard had come across the burner phone that had been used to message Sienna.

‘No to the phone, but yes to a wallet. There is nothing in it but a bank card, a credit card and his driver’s licence. That has already been bagged.’

‘Thank you. You have my number should you find anything that might help us. I know DC O’Connor is attending this afternoon’s post-mortem so hopefully there will be more information later.’

‘I’ll keep you posted.’ Bernard turned back to his colleagues. The best thing Gina could do was get out of his way and let him get on with processing the scene. Once back on the path, she called the incident room. ‘Sir, we need an officer to break the news to Robbie Shields’s next of kin. I have a couple of witnesses to speak to before I can get to them. O’Connor is going to be tied up with the post-mortem and Wyre is with me. With Jacob out we’re a bit thin on the ground.’

‘Of course. I’ll arrange that. PC Ahmed will be able to go.’

‘Thank you.’ She brought him up to date with the approximated time of death.

‘Excuse me, DI Harte.’ One of the crime scene assistants called her back over to the cordon.

Gina hurried towards her. ‘Have you found something?’

‘Yes, in the pocket of his jeans. It’s a pair of women’s underwear, size twelve.’ The woman held up the evidence bag. ‘Obviously the underwear will need to go to the lab but Bernard thought we should share this information with you.’

Gina tried to picture Lauren Cross. She was thinner on the hips compared to Sienna, more like a size eight to ten but Sienna was curvier. ‘Thank you. Please add them to the fast-track pile at the lab.’ She wanted to know if they contained traces of semen and if that semen was Robbie’s.

As they walked back to the car, Wyre stopped before getting in. ‘That’s complicated things. Have we got a murderer who collects trophies or one that likes to plant a trophy on the next victim?’

A rush of blood flooded Gina’s head. ‘Tiffany Crawford. We need the case details asap. If the scarf that was used to strangle her isn’t in evidence, it might mean that the killer kept it. Sienna was strangled with a flower-printed scarf. Without having the lab work done, we worked on the theory that the scarf belonged to Lauren or Sienna. I’m worried for Tiffany, really worried.’

Nineteen

Gina knocked on the cottage door, taking in the sideview of the Malvern Hills behind it. A dog yapped from behind the wood. While waiting next to Wyre as the person on the other side battled with the lock, she glanced at the tiny white building with its black-framed windows, criss-crossed with lead. The garden full of bare branched bushes and mulched up leaves looked like the perfect place for nature to thrive. The insect house stood empty on the fence.

The door was eventually opened, and a red-eyed Lauren answered. ‘Sorry about the wait, I couldn’t seem to get my mum’s key in the lock properly. Everything here is so bloody broken. Have you found him?’

By him, Gina knew Lauren was referring to Robbie. The stiff door creaked as the young woman opened it wide to let them in. The dog barked from behind the living room door and the shower sounded like it was running upstairs. ‘We have some news.’

‘Fifi, shut up. Come through to the kitchen.’

They stepped into the cramped space. Gina took in the shelves full of ancient-looking casserole dishes and a mishmash of different cups and plates that had been haphazardly stacked.

‘Have a seat. Do you want a drink? It will have to be with oat milk and chicory coffee. That’s all my mum has.’

Gina shook her head. ‘No, thank you. Is your mum in?’

‘She’s in the shower.’

‘Would you like to take a seat?’ Gina knew that the news she had to share would be a shock. She felt her eye twitch from tiredness, and she blinked it away.

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