Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
The Dog and Duck pub was located on the Amblecote and Wordsley border, an interruption between the factories and the car dealerships that stretched for a good half mile. A car park sat behind the pub, the cars lined up beneath large trees that separated the space from a foundry behind.
The pub had changed identities many times over the years in an effort to stay afloat. Its latest attempt was reasonably priced light lunches with a varied vegetarian and vegan menu designed to appeal to office workers within walking distance.
Bryant managed to park behind the ambulance on the busy road.
Vehicles, like pedestrians, were slowing down to see what the commotion was about as officers began the process of closing the road and erecting a cordon.
More officers were heading off in both directions to begin turning the cars around.
She could only imagine the level of abuse they were going to suffer.
They got out of the car and headed for the rear of the pub as a light drizzle began to fall. Keats moved aside to reveal the inert form of their victim. The first thing that struck Kim about the woman was her clothing.
‘Just wanted a nice lunch, eh?’ Keats said as she stood beside him.
But she wasn’t wearing casual attire, Kim noted as she appraised the body from head to toe.
She guessed the woman to be early twenties; she had long blonde hair that looked recently styled. Her make-up accentuated her attractive face, a face that would definitely have garnered attention upon entering the bar.
She wore a pink silk blouse that plunged to her breastbone, revealing a white lacy bra now stained with blood.
‘One wound?’ Kim asked before continuing her appraisal.
‘Appears so, but perfectly placed, just like the last one.’
The victim’s lower half was clad in jeans that appeared to have been shrunk onto her body. Her shoes were stiletto heels that would have lifted her a good four inches.
Definitely not work wear, but not out on the town wear either, Kim surmised. It said look at me, but it didn’t scream availability.
Kim continued looking and saw the reason Keats had been so sure she’d been in the pub.
In her right hand was an electronic car key.
‘Citroen,’ Keats said, nodding towards a C4 parked next to a Subaru, the only other car close by.
Kim instantly did a visual sweep of the building. There was no CCTV at the rear of the premises.
‘Great,’ she muttered under her breath.
‘You think it’s the same guy?’ Bryant asked.
Kim shrugged. ‘Not sure this woman had a lot in common with Ashley Reynolds, but who knows?’
She walked to the foot of the body and frowned.
‘Keats, you moved anything yet?’
‘Not a thing, still waiting for—’
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Mitch said, appearing from around the corner. His protective equipment was already in his hand.
Kim crouched down to take a better look while Mitch got dressed.
Bryant crouched down beside her. ‘What’s up?’
‘See that on the edge of her bra?’
‘I see white lace and blood, guv.’
‘There’s something there,’ she said, standing.
Bryant looked closer but shook his head to indicate that he saw nothing.
‘Mitch, can you undo her blouse?’ Kim asked once the forensic techie was suited up.
‘Okay,’ he said, stepping forward.
He carefully opened the top button which revealed nothing more, but when he unfastened the second button it was clear.
There was a thin wire travelling the diagonal line of her bra into her cleavage.
Mitch pushed the shirt aside and revealed a tiny microphone attached to the metal part of her bra strap.
‘She was recording someone?’ Keats asked.
‘Looks that way,’ Kim said, suspecting there was some kind of device on her person. ‘Need that as soon as possible,’ she finished before heading back towards the front of the pub, where she’d seen a constable standing with a man she assumed to be the landlord.
She turned to Bryant. ‘Hang on for the ID. I want to speak to the owner.’
A man in his late fifties, with long white hair and an open-neck shirt, was sitting down near the bar. He lit a cigarette as she approached.
A female police officer stood silently beside him.
‘You the landlord?’ Kim asked.
He nodded. His weathered face was pale and drawn. ‘Mick Hill,’ he said, offering his hand.
‘You found her?’ she asked, briefly returning the handshake.
He nodded again and took a long draw of his smoke.
‘She definitely dead?’ he asked, as though if he asked a different person, he’d get a different answer.
‘I’m afraid so,’ Kim said. ‘She’d been in this lunchtime?’
Again, he nodded.
‘Is she a regular?’
He shook his head. ‘Never seen her before.’
‘Did you notice her when she came in?’ Kim asked as Bryant appeared with a clear evidence bag containing her driving licence.
‘Who wouldn’t?’ he answered honestly. ‘She’s a definite ten. Well, was, I mean… shit, I’m sorry.’
‘It’s okay. You say you noticed the woman enter the pub. Was she alone?’
‘Yeah. She ordered a Diet Coke.’
‘And you didn’t see anyone join her?’
‘No. I mean, I was kinda busy. It was peak trading and I had a pump go down.’
‘Any other people in that you didn’t recognise?’ Kim asked.
He went to shake his head but then frowned. ‘Actually, there was this one guy. Sat over by the fruit machine cleaning his camera. One drink and a packet of crisps and gone.’
Kim was unsure why the behaviour would have caught his attention, but she guessed there was nothing to be gained by further conversation with him. He knew the woman had entered, but he hadn’t seen who she’d come to meet.
‘Do those cameras work?’ she asked, nodding towards the two she’d already spotted.
He shook his head, and Kim groaned internally.
She moved away as Bryant approached.
‘Nadine Cowley,’ he said, passing her the driving licence. ‘Twenty-one years old and lives in Wombourne.’
Kim took a look at the photo, which she guessed was a couple of years old. The girl’s hair was a mousy brown, and her skin was blotchy and rough. The intervening years had definitely taught Nadine Cowley how to make the most of herself.
‘Can’t see any obvious links between the two women,’ Bryant said.
‘Maybe there isn’t,’ she said. Maybe this was the first coincidence she was actually going to believe.
Two women both killed by a single stab wound within two days of each other.
A married woman with a family and a baby on the way, and a young woman with her whole life ahead of her.
No, she wasn’t going to buy the coincidence theory.
Their killer’s second victim destroyed all they’d learned so far.
Until this moment, they had only considered Ashley’s murder to be a personal, isolated attack from someone she knew.
Never had they thought it was the beginning of something else.
That alone put their investigation back at square one, unless they could find a link between Ashley and the woman on the ground.
Who had Nadine Cowley been meeting in a pub? Someone she didn’t know well. And why had she felt the need to record the conversation?
She hoped that someone at the address she had in her hand would be able to answer those questions.
‘Is that it?’ the landlord shouted as they headed out.
‘For now,’ Kim called back.
‘Can I let them out then?’
Kim walked back towards him. ‘Let who out?’
‘Customers. Some of them were here when she was.’
Kim held back her smile. ‘You kidnapped the witnesses?’
‘Well, gave ’em all a free drink and a mince pie to stay. I watch them cop shows, you know.’
The smile broke free. She’d assumed the man hadn’t discovered the body until the pub was empty. She was impressed that even after he had discovered a horrific crime scene, he’d had the wherewithal to corral any potential witnesses.
‘Nice work, Mick. Give them all another drink and someone will be along shortly.’
As she once again headed back to the car, she reflected that the world sure did need more folks like Mick Hill.