Viper - Michael Morley [73]
Great, a surprise dose of public humiliation. Get used to it, girl, you’re going to hear that a lot. ‘And that’s why you’re here?’
He managed a sympathetic look. ‘No. Not at all. We’re investigating the shooting of a young courting couple, not far from here – teenagers…’
‘Wait a second,’ Sylvia cut him off. She picked up the overnight area crime report from her in-tray. ‘This must be really fresh. I’ve no cross-force intel.’
‘We’re still at the scene. The ME isn’t even there yet. My boss sent me because he remembered a confidential you’d circulated, asking to be alerted if anyone came across a homicide in which a woman was killed by fire.’
Sylvia frowned. ‘But you said two shootings, didn’t you?’
‘I did,’ he smiled. Perfect teeth and puppy-dog eyes. ‘But I hadn’t finished telling you the full story. Two teenagers were killed in the car belonging to one of their parents. A third body was also discovered, a woman’s, and this one was burned as well as shot.’
‘How? Where?’
‘In a pit near where the kids were killed. It’s some kind of garbage dump for a campsite. Maybe local rubbish is torched there as well.’
‘You said burned – how was she burned? Completely burned, partly burned? I mean, forensically is there anything left of her?’
‘There’s almost nothing left. Well, there didn’t seem much to me. Like I said, the scene is still active. You want to come and see for yourself?’
‘Mister, the last thing I want to do is go and see another burned body, but I think I’d better.’ She grabbed her lighter and cigarettes and slugged back the now cold coffee, knowing it might be her last for a while. ‘Give me a second to update my team. If this incident is connected, I want jurisdiction, understood? No disrespect, but I think we’re better equipped to deal with this incident. Agreed?’
‘Agreed. I’ll have to double-check with my boss but we’ve got so much on, I reckon he’ll be glad to dump the paperwork on your desk.’ Dal Santo glanced down at the mess. ‘Providing you promise not to lose it in there.’
57
Crime scene 1, Campeggio Castellani, Pompeii
A carabinieri driver sped Jack to the new crime scene. From what Sylvia had told him on the phone, the fresh killings might provide a breakthrough. The scene was rich in forensic evidence that hadn’t been corrupted by five years of burial, and – Jack guessed – probably just as rich in psychological evidence as well. The new deaths were only a few kilometres from where the graves of Francesca Di Lauro and the second victim had just been found. Given the burning of the bodies, it seemed probable they were connected. This might – just might – be the scene where both women had been killed.
The driver flicked on an indicator. ‘We’re here. I just have to turn in about a hundred metres,’ said the driver, looking at a satnav screen. The car veered right into the campsite. There was so much crime-scene tape fluttering in the wind that it looked as though the area had been marked off for marathon runners. Soldiers swarmed around the vehicle and chatted to the driver in Italian. Then they waved them on; down the driveway, past static caravans, a run-down children’s play area, some decrepit wooden chalets that needed refurbishing, a shabby shower block, a screen that hid overflowing waste bins and then more static vans. They stopped alongside a parking area on soft ground. As he got out, Jack recognized the big shape of Lieutenant Pietro Raimondi.
‘Ciao, Jack. Sylvia, she is down at the other scene.’ They shook hands and Pietro motioned them forwards. ‘Sorry we have to walk, but the forensic teams they are still examining the grass for vehicle marks.’
‘No problem, I need the exercise. Sylvia said the polizia were first on the scene. Is there a jurisdiction problem?’
‘No. The parents of the teenagers they called the polizia, but we cooperate very well and they say we can run the case.’
They trudged briskly into a gathering wind and were slightly breathless by the time they reached the crime scene.
The pit itself resembled a crater that had been