CHAPTER 1
Murder makes monsters of
people. Prosper Snow knows that better than most.
He stared down at the corpse of
the middle aged man and grimaced. The man had been butchered beyond
recognition. Flaps of skin hung off his cheeks like they had been sliced with
razors and rivers of blood pooled in a congealed puddle in the grassy
depression by the corpse’s feet.
Flies buzzed around the body.
One alighted on the clear fluid that had oozed out of a punctured eyeball. Part
of the man’s entrails protruded from slashes in his khaki shirt, most of the
material sodden with blood. He was wearing dark trousers and a pair of sunglasses
sat a few feet away, the lenses broken. The man’s style of dress made Prosper
think it was some sort of uniform.
The air reeked of death.
Prosper wrinkled his nose and tried to hold his breath, but the white mask he
wore as part of his crime scene coverall seemed to retain the smell, making it
linger inside his nostrils.
Prosper folded his arms,
trying to distance himself from the sickening scene. He listened to birdsong
emanating from the elm trees about forty feet away. The sound seemed out of place
at such a brutal site.
As the Senior Investigation
Officer, Prosper was like the conductor of an orchestra, overseeing all parts
of the enquiry and coordinating people from various departments on site. But
there were so many people lingering around that it looked as though every nosey
bugger from within a ten mile radius had descended. Death attracted people like
metal to a magnet. The more grotesque, the stronger the pull.
“Look, everyone who’s not
vital to the case, can you get the hell out of my crime scene before I kick you
out?” he shouted, watching as some of those in attendance slouched away.
Since packing in smoking
almost a year ago, Prosper had resorted to chewing gum, but the gory sight made
the piece in his mouth tasteless and too chewy, like a lump of flesh.
Gagging, he lowered the mask
and turned to spit the gum out when he realised he couldn’t contaminate the
area. So he swallowed it instead and turned back to the corpse, the paper suit
rustling as he moved. The flash from the crime scene photographer’s camera left
a glare on his retina.
“This is just great,”
Detective Sergeant Mike Holmes snapped from behind the police cordon. He shook
his head and ran a hand through his buzz cut as he stared at the body. “What is
it with you and death? No wonder they’ve called it ‘Operation Avalanche’,
because this is going to be a fucking disaster.”
Prosper glared at Mike. He
knew he was referring to last year’s Oracle case in which a multitude of people
were murdered, including a police officer, so the last thing Mike probably
wanted was to be partnered with Prosper on another murder investigation.
Hell, in the circumstances,
even Prosper wouldn’t want to be partnered with himself, but that didn’t make
the snide comment any easier to accept.
After a moment, Prosper
turned away and stared around the area. Grey clouds scudded across the sky,
threatening rain. A cluster of green prefabricated buildings stood in the
distance. Most of them looked like industrial units hundreds of feet in length
and width. One was surrounded by a high barbed wire fence, while a lorry
belching smoke pulled up outside another. The units looked quite new, and were
surrounded by trees and architectural features such as small sculptures
comprised of cubes. In the middle of the complex sat a large artificial pond
with a fountain spraying water into the air.
The spot where the body had
been discovered was a grassy area punctuated with evergreen bushes, one of
which was splattered with blood like gory Christmas decorations. A small stream
flowed near by, the sound of bubbling water counter-pointed by the bird call.
The closest building stood about one hundred feet away.
Prosper turned his attention
back to the body. It had been discovered by a woman walking her dog. The pile
of vomit nearby was an indication of how much the spectacle had affected her
before she was taken away for counselling.
Although he wasn’t immune to
the sight of blood and gore, Prosper had been closely associated enough that he
was less distressed.
At first glance, the victim
looked as though he had been attacked by a wild animal, but of course there
were no wild animals in the UK capable of doing something like this – at least
not unless something like a bear or a large wild cat had escaped from a zoo.
The only domestic creature capable of doing so much damage was something like a
large dog, or perhaps a pack of them, but while a dog attack would look nasty,
the slashes and puncture marks on the man’s body indicated the use of a knife
or a sharp implement. But it was the severity of the cuts that was most
disturbing. It indicated a frenzied attack with no concern for the victim.
A police cordon had been
erected around the corpse, the yellow tape stencilled with CRIME SCENE – DO NOT
CROSS fluttering in the breeze. Prosper saw the flash of a camera, making him
grit his teeth.
“Make sure they stay behind
the barrier,” Prosper shouted to one of the uniformed officers as he saw a
young man lift the tape with the intention of approaching the crime scene for a
closer look. “And where’s that blasted tent to cover the body?”
“They’re bringing it from the
car now,” someone shouted.
Prosper turned towards Mike.
“Any thoughts?”
“Thoughts, I’ll give you my
thoughts. You and murder are the last things I need.”
Prosper bit his tongue.
Although it had been a year since the Oracle debacle, his colleagues would
never let him forget. He just thanked God that they didn’t know the true events
of that case.
“Look, Mike, someone’s dead.
It’s our job to find out the how, why and who, so let’s cut the sarcasm and get
on with the job at hand. If you’re not happy about the situation, I can have
you replaced.”
Mike snorted loudly. “Do you
really think you’d find anyone willing to replace me? If so, then go ahead.”
Prosper rubbed his brow. “I
realise you’re not happy about the situation. Jesus, I’m not over the moon
about it either. But it’s our job, so let’s be professional about it. Now I
want to start canvassing the area to see whether anyone saw anything. Can you
arrange that for me?”
Mike licked his lips, glanced
at the corpse and then nodded.
“Good. Then hopefully we can
catch the bastard who did this and put it to bed.”
He watched Mike walk away,
and then turned back to the crime scene. Less than twenty minutes ago, he had
been looking forwards to his lunch of ham sandwiches, but the sight of the dead
man quenched any hunger pangs.
The crime scene photographer
was packing his stuff away and a forensic pathologist kitted out in a white
paper suit crouched down to examine the body. Prosper walked across to see what
he could find out.
“So how’s it going?”
The pathologist looked up and
shook her head. “You see the way the victim’s gripping that branch? Well it’s
probably a result of instant rigor mortis, what’s called a cadaveric spasm.
This happens when the person is exerting themselves at the time of death, such
as running hard or when a struggle takes place.”
Prosper nodded. Although the
mask hid much of her face, he could tell by the sound of her voice and how
quickly she spoke that she was excited, that she liked her job.
“Also, the grass around the
body was flattened; indicating lots of movement, and judging by the severity of
the attack, much of the assault was probably undertaken after the victim was
already dead as he wouldn’t have survived for long judging by the wounds.”
“So how long has he been
dead?”
“Help me roll him over and
I’ll try to find out.”
Prosper knew she was going to
push a thermometer up the corpse’s rectum to see how much his temperature had
dropped, and although he wasn’t comfortable with it, he stepped forwards to
assist when he heard the roar of engines and he turned to see two black,
nondescript four by four vehicles slide to a stop behind the group of
spectators.
The passenger door of the
lead vehicle swung open and a man jumped down and approached the police cordon,
talking into a mobile phone. He pulled out a wallet and said something to the
officer guarding the perimeter, and then slipped underneath the tape.
Smartly dressed in a dark
suit, he stood about 5 feet 10. Of average build, he had a pockmarked face;
medium length wavy brown hair, bushy eyebrows and a condescending look that
made Prosper want to slap him.
“Prosper Snow,” the man said,
lowering the phone from his ear. He withdrew a wallet and flashed a card that
showed he worked for a branch of MI5, the domestic intelligence agency. Prosper
didn’t have time to study it closely before the man snapped the wallet closed
and slipped it back into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Surprised the man knew his
name, Prosper nodded. “And you are?”
“Pick a name.”
The man’s arrogant, confident
tone matched his look and got Prosper’s back up straight away. He bit his lower
lip; took a deep breath and then regretted it when he got a lungful of the dead
man’s aroma. “So what are you doing here?”
“I’m taking over the
investigation.” He raised his hand and pointed to indicate Prosper should
leave.
Prosper felt as though he had
been blindsided. How did the man know who he was? He cleared his throat. “This
is my case.” He knew it sounded petulant, but he couldn’t help it.
“Not any more.”
Before Prosper could respond,
the man passed him his mobile phone. He glared at the man for a moment before
accepting it. “Hello?”
“Prosper, this is Chief
Superintendent Hargreaves. The case you’re on, drop it, now.”
“Drop it, but sir—”
“No buts, that’s an order.
The man in front of you is taking over.”
Prosper heard a sense of
urgency in his superiors voice. He stared at the man opposite. “Who is he?”
“That’s none of your concern.
Now just do as I say and leave.”
Prosper disconnected the call
and handed the phone back. It didn’t escape his notice that although the body
had only been reported less than an hour ago, wheels had been set in motion
that took him out of the loop.
But why? What was so special
about this victim?
“Now, if you don’t mind, I
have a job to do.” The man walked past Prosper and stood staring down at the
corpse.
Realising there was nothing
he could do about it, Prosper turned to walk away when the man said, “Although
there is one way you can still be involved in the case, Snow.”
Prosper halted in his tracks
and looked back. The man still had his back to him, staring down at the corpse.
“And what does that mean?”
“I want someone like you on
my team.”
Prosper frowned. “Your team?
You mean MI5?”
“We’re a branch of that
agency. But let’s just say we take the jobs no one else can crack.”
“And what do you mean someone
like me?”
“I know all about you, Snow.”
He turned and fixed Prosper with an unwavering stare. “The Oracle case. There
were certain, how shall I say, discrepancies with your statement.”
Prosper felt the colour drain
from his cheeks and his heart did a little flutter. “There were no
discrepancies in my statement.”
The flicker of a grin crossed
the man’s lips. “Cards on the table, you and I both know that’s not true.
You’re loyal. I like that in my operatives.”
Prosper licked his lips.
“Look, I don’t know who the hell you are, or what you think you know, and
frankly, I’m not interested. As you said, you’ve got a job to do, so I’d suggest
you concentrate on doing that.” Without another word, Prosper spun around and
started walking away.
“Well, think it over,” the
man shouted after him. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
As he reached the cordon,
Prosper tore his mask off and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to clear
the stench of death from his nostrils. He turned and looked back at the man as
he inspected the crime scene. Did he really know damning details about the
Oracle case? Prosper shuddered.
“What’s happening? Who are
they?” Mike asked as he jogged over.
“Someone higher up the
ladder, that’s who they are. And they’re taking over the case.”
“Really? Well anyone would
think you were disappointed by the look on your face.”
Prosper took another stick of
gum out of his pocket and stuffed it in his mouth. Disappointed? He was
far from disappointed. He was terrified.
The Oracle case was supposed
to be dead and buried just like the person Prosper had helped murder.
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