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Broken Girls: A totally addictive and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Bernadette Noel Book 2)
Broken Girls: A totally addictive and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Bernadette Noel Book 2) Read online
Broken Girls
A totally addictive and unputdownable crime thriller
Joy Kluver
Books by Joy Kluver
Last Seen
Broken Girls
AVAILABLE IN AUDIO
Last Seen (Available in the UK and the US)
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Hear More from Joy
Books by Joy Kluver
A Letter from Joy
Last Seen
Acknowledgements
To my mother, Rosalie
1
Thursday
‘I’d say she’s been out here for about five or six days at least, judging by the state of her. She’s coming out of the bloating stage now,’ said Dr Nick White. ‘But I’m sure your entomologist over at the forensic lab will be able to tell you more when she examines the maggots.’ He held up a clear pot. ‘I’ve got some ready to go to the lab. Would you like a closer look at the body, Detective Inspector Noel?’
DI Bernie Noel turned her head slowly towards the corpse, willing her stomach to settle. This was the part of the job she hated the most. She could cope with skeletonised remains but not decomposing ones. The sickly sweet smell would stay with her now for the rest of the day. She wasn’t looking forward to the post-mortem, especially as the pathologist liked to make her squirm.
She raised her eyes to look at the dead woman a few yards away. Hidden by the red and orange leaves that had fallen around her. Long dark hair. Her face disfigured, especially around the lips, leaving her with a permanent, gruesome grin. Gold hoop earrings clinging to her chewed ears. A short red dress, smudged with dirt and split. Scratches and cuts on her bare, dirty feet. Red stilettos had been recovered further away. A couple of rings were hanging on slender fingers.
‘Any ID on her?’
‘No, nothing that I’ve found so far.’
Bloating, insect activity and other scavengers had disfigured her face so facial identification would be difficult and, more importantly, distressing for the identifier. DNA or dental records would be their best chance for a match to any missing women.
Bernie nodded towards the pot. ‘I think the entomologist will want to come out and collect her own samples. There might be some things she needs in particular.’
White paused. He wasn’t known for admitting when he was out of his depth. ‘Of course.’
Bernie saw, rather than heard, the pathologist huff; his shoulders going up and down. She steeled herself to look more at the body but the billowing feeling in her stomach warned her against it.
‘I’m going to send Matt to take down details. And I’m sure the photographer has taken lots of stills.’
‘Detective Inspector Noel, if you’re going to make DCI one day, you have got to be made of sterner stuff. Now, look at this young woman. You need to get angry on her behalf so that you can find the person responsible for doing this and get justice.’
Bernie narrowed her eyes. ‘So definitely murder then?’
‘Yes. Unless she strangled herself.’ He pointed to her neck. ‘Her hyoid bone is broken. I can feel it.’
Bernie looked one more time and instead of seeing a corpse, she tried to imagine a young, vibrant woman in a red dress, out enjoying herself. There had been no reports of missing women in the last few days yet she had lain here almost a week.
How has no one missed you? The anger Nick White had spoken of was beginning to build. I’ll find who did this to you, I promise.
Vomit burned Bernie’s throat as she retched by her car. That was breakfast gone. She’d managed to hold on until she was away from the scene as she didn’t want any disapproving looks from White. Opening the driver’s door, she pulled out an almost empty bottle of water and took a swig, swirling it around her mouth and then spitting it out. Leaning against the car, Bernie looked up. Clouds skittered across the autumn sky, being chased by a westerly wind. She could smell the dampness in the air – rain was on the way. It would be a relief after the recent but surprising autumnal warmth. The white tent was hastily being erected. For some reason the pathologist preferred to do his initial examination in the open air; maybe he was more sensitive to the smell than he liked to admit.
Bernie closed her eyes but swiftly opened them again. The victim was still there, imprinted on her retinas. She wondered how the young woman had ended up in the woods, close to the railway. She was fairly certain she was young, judging by the dress she wore. Had the murder happened there? Possibly. Soil samples would help with that. If she had been dumped, why had there been no real attempt at burial? Just covered with leaves and some of those had probably fallen directly onto her from the tree canopy above. There was no proper road nearby, only a track that led to a farm. The farmer’s teenage son was still in shock after discovering the body. DC Matt Taylor was interviewing him. With Matt being only twenty-five, she thought the boy would open up to him more. Her right-hand woman, DS Kerry Allen, had contacted the forensic experts and was starting to trawl through Missing Persons’ records. All Bernie needed to know now was who the senior investigating officer would be and whether she would be given free rein to run the case, since Detective Chief Superintendent Hugh Wilson was at home recovering from a hernia operation and would not be back for a couple of weeks.
A car rumbled along the bumpy farm track. She looked up. The Forensics vans and four-by-four vehicles had coped fine but the sleek, shiny cars of MCIT had struggled. It was the latter now heading towards her. She groaned inwardly as she glimpsed the man in the passenger seat – DCI Patrick Worth, or DCI Worthless, as he was more commonly known amongst the rank and file. Pedantic and pernickety were the two words that came to mind when Berni
e thought about him. Even if he let her run the case, she would be bound by his rules. Was it worth the effort? But it was too late now. Bernie had seen the body and Dr Nick White was right – she had to get justice.
2
‘Ah, Detective Inspector Noel. First on the scene. Shall we walk and talk?’
Bernie nodded. Her stomach was churning and the last place she wanted to go was back to the body. But there was no choice.
‘So what do we have?’ asked DCI Worth.
Bernie gave him a sideways glance as they walked across the field. She looked at his weasel-like face, with a thin pencil moustache that was probably quite dapper in the 1950s but looked ludicrous in the twenty-first century. His views on women came from the fifties as well. He was close to retirement but was showing no sign of slowing down. She had to make a good impression if she was going to keep the case.
‘Body is of a female, possibly young. She’s decomposed quite quickly so facial recognition will be difficult. In fact, finding any distinguishing marks isn’t going to be easy. But there is some jewellery – earrings and rings. Soil samples and entomology are going to be crucial with determining whether she was killed here or not and when.’
Despite being shorter than her, Worth’s stride was long. Bernie made sure she matched it.
‘I’m sure Nick White has already dealt with that.’
Bernie swallowed. ‘It’s better if they take their own samples. DS Allen’s already rung them.’
DCI Worth suddenly stopped and gave Bernie a sharp stare. ‘This is a murder scene, not a freak sideshow where anyone is invited. Detective Chief Superintendent Wilson may be foolhardy enough to let you loose on a murder case but I’m the senior investigating officer here and if you want to be my deputy, then you play by my rules. Understood?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Bernie attempted to keep her voice as normal as possible while she seethed inside. ‘Why don’t we see the victim, sir, and then you can make the decision?’
Worth smiled, showing nicotine-stained teeth. ‘Good, that’s better. We’ll make a fine officer of you yet. Now, are we nearly there?’
‘Yes, sir, the outer perimeter cordon is just past those trees. We can suit up there.’
Bernie allowed the DCI to go ahead of her. She was tempted to say, ‘I’m already a damn fine officer, thank you very much’ but held back. She’d already riled Worth. She wasn’t about to push her luck.
Bernie had been right about the enclosed tent intensifying the smell of the corpse. The stench was overpowering as she lifted the flap to let DCI Worth through.
‘Nick, good to see you. What have we got here then?’ asked Worth.
‘Good to see you too, Patrick. I would shake hands but, you know.’ Dr White lifted a stained, gloved hand. ‘Victim is female, I would say young but I’ll need to confirm that. My first thought is strangulation as her hyoid bone is broken. I can feel it but will confirm once I’ve opened her up.’
Bernie was glad White had made her look at the body earlier. Her stomach wasn’t somersaulting as much the second time around.
‘We’re past the time frame for normal indicators for time of death such as rigor mortis so we’ll need the story from these little fellas.’ The pathologist pointed at the maggots. ‘What time is your entomologist turning up, DI Noel?’
‘Do you think that’s strictly necessary, Nick?’ Worth asked.
White’s eyes flickered towards Bernie. Was it sympathy she saw in them?
‘To be fair, Patrick, the entomological evidence is going to be crucial here. Not just for time of death but also to determine if she was killed here. Same with soil samples. Much better to have experts in court that came out to the scene.’
‘Hmm. Well, you must have what you need, Nick. In the meantime, we have to think about how this poor woman got herself into this predicament.’
Bernie could feel her blood boiling. This poor woman hasn’t done anything to get herself like this.
‘Underwear?’ Worth added.
‘Intact, at first look. But I will check for sexual assault when I get her back to the morgue.’
‘And the attacker? Any ideas?’
‘Judging by the break of the bone, I’d say this was a man. The hyoid has literally snapped. That takes a lot of strength through the hands and arms. Not impossible for a woman, though, if she’s using a ligature.’
‘Hmm, I see. Well then, DI Noel, I think we’d better get back to the station and rally the troops. I’m sure we can leave Dr White and the crime scene investigators to do their jobs. No doubt your entomologist…’
‘Dr Phyl Bridger,’ said Bernie.
‘Oh, is he good?’
‘She is, sir.’
‘Really? When I was a lad, girls used to run away from anything creepy-crawly.’
‘Dr Bridger has her degree and doctorate from Cambridge and now teaches at Bristol University. She’s one of the best in her field and this young woman deserves the best, don’t you think, sir?’
DCI Worth tensed. Bernie knew she was walking a tightrope.
‘DI Noel is right,’ said Dr White. ‘A standard forensic post-mortem isn’t going to be enough here, Patrick. We need these experts to unlock this woman’s story. I can’t do it alone.’
Worth nodded. ‘All right. Let’s go back to the station and rustle up some manpower… oh, and womanpower too, of course.’
Bernie resisted the temptation to roll her eyes.
They were almost back to the cars when DCI Worth said the words Bernie had been waiting to hear.
‘Well, DI Noel, I would like you in future to run major decisions past me first, particularly ones with a financial implication, but I would like you to be my deputy for this investigation. Am I right in thinking you have only one detective sergeant and one detective constable in your team?’
‘Yes, at present. The plan is to recruit some more when DCS Wilson returns to work.’
‘Then we must get in some other officers. A couple more DCs, perhaps, and you’ll be needing a family liaison officer for the relatives – when we find out who she is. I have a chap in mind; he’s very good. In fact, I think you’ve worked with him before. DS Anderson.’
Bernie’s stomach dropped. Oh God, no.
3
Bernie was aware of the door to the Major Crime Investigation Team briefing room opening and closing. She looked at Kerry who gave a slight nod. Two, maybe three steps and he’d be breathing on her neck. They’d managed to avoid each other the last few months with DS Anderson being seconded to Avon and Somerset Police to help with the large gambling case they’d uncovered in May. She still felt bad about standing him up for lunch and going instead to view her cottage. There had been a moment when she’d been tempted to take things further and break her rule of not dating a colleague but she couldn’t get past what Louise Anderson had said about her ex-husband in a phone call – charming but manipulative. She may have to work with him but she wasn’t going to let him into her personal life.
‘Ma’am.’
His Glaswegian accent had softened slightly since she had last seen him. She turned round, fixing a smile on her face.
‘DS Anderson. It’s good to have you back.’
‘Is it?’ He raised one eyebrow.
‘As part of the team, yes.’ She worked hard to keep her face as neutral as possible. ‘DCI Worth is just about to start the briefing. Please take a seat.’
The chairs were arranged in orderly rows as opposed to their normal haphazard arrangement. The DCI stamping his authority on furniture as well as the team.
Worth cleared his throat before speaking. ‘Right, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get started. Firstly, a few introductions. My name is DCI Patrick Worth. I’m sure you’ve heard of me before. I have a reputation for running a tight ship.’
Oh dear God. A man who believes his own hype. Bernie heard a laugh being stifled by a cough. It was her sergeant, Kerry Allen, but she didn’t dare look in case she started laughing too.
&nbs
p; Worth paused before continuing. ‘I’ve drafted in a few others to help. DC Alice Hart and DC Mick Parris have worked with me before and you already know DS Dougal Anderson, our family liaison officer, who’ll be working on the main investigation until we find the victim’s relatives and he transfers to them.
‘And so to our victim. Female, white, not sure of age yet but believed to be in the fifteen to twenty-nine age range. Red dress. Underwear intact. Red shoes a short distance away from the body. Earrings and a couple of rings. But no bag, no ID. And unfortunately, no clear face left to identify.’
Without warning, Worth tapped a key on a laptop and a photograph of the decomposed woman’s head appeared on screen. Bernie heard a sharp intake of breath. She looked at DC Alice Hart, with her mousy hair and delicate features. She had turned pale and had her hand over her mouth.
‘Might be best to move on to the next image, sir.’ Bernie jerked her head in Hart’s direction.