Deadly Diplomacy Read Online Free PDF Page B

head.
    “Mobile?”
    “’fraid not.”
    “Any sign of sexual assault?” Sangster asked.
    “Nope. Her underwear has been disturbed, but that could have happened during the struggle or from spending the night in the water.”
    Sangster looked thoughtful. “Has the killer left anything behind?”
    Anderson started peeling off his latex gloves. “We’ve got some prints from that seat over there.” He pointed to the one on the jetty. “But they could belong to anyone. And we’ve got some hair from the jetty boards, but that looks like the victim’s. Of course, there’s the blood spatter. That could be his, or some of it at least.”
    “Looks like a pretty frenzied attack to me,” Dalton piped up. The colour had returned to his cheeks now and he was finally able to look at the body. “Someone was either real mad or off his head on somethin’.”
    “So we’ve noticed, Dave,” Sangster said, quietly.
    “Right, I’m done.” Anderson secured the samples in his bag and closed it. Then he turned to Sangster. “Okay if we take her away now?”
    Sangster nodded. “I’ll need the autopsy report straightaway because…”
    “The PM’s office are interested. ” Anderson finished for him.
    Sangster gave him a curt nod and walked round onto the jetty to look out to sea. On such a calm morning, it was hard to believe what had happened here. He turned and looked down at the corpse on the sand. He took the top off his pencil and started sketching her in his pad. It didn’t take him long to get the details down. He laboured over her eyes. He couldn’t forget that look in them. He noticed Anderson pulling a comical face at Dalton, who wisely didn’t respond. Sangster knew he was the butt of jokes back at the station, but he didn’t care. Once he’d drawn someone, it was like every detail was etched into his brain.
    In only a few minutes, he’d finished. He beckoned to Dalton to follow him back to the hotel. Striding along, his mind leapt ahead with everything that had to be done. “Get the team in here, Dave, and lock this place down. We’ll need a list of all the hotel guests last night, and staff, and any contractors who may have been working here yesterday. Line them up for interview and run checks on them.”
    “That’ll take a while,” Dalton puffed. “The hotel was packed out last night with people attending a charity do.”
    “Which charity?”
    “Kids with Cancer.”
    “Best get started, then.” Sangster flashed him a look. “So what else do we know about our victim?”
    “According to hotel registration, she’s British… aged 39… and a regular guest. Checked in alone. Always came alone.” Dalton was breathing hard now from walking and talking. “The next of kin is her sister, Susan Chambers. She lives in Brisbane, and works on the Brisbane Echo .”
    “A journo?” Sangster spun round. “That’s all we need.”
    Dalton frowned. “Why?”
    “The DC just rang to say the Federal guys in Canberra have a red flag file on our victim.”
    Dalton raised his eyebrows. “What’s she been up to, then?”
    “He wouldn’t say on the phone. Too sensitive. But she’s been on their radar a while.”
    “ Has she now?”
    “Yes. That’s why the DC sent us in over the local guys. So you’d better help Anderson get her out of here before the media arrive.”
    Dalton nodded and turned back towards the jetty.
    Sangster strode on alone. He didn’t want to get caught by the media either, at least not until he had more to go on. Western Energy was an influential resources company, which meant this murder was bound to get some heat, especially with that Chinese gas deal going on. It would get a high profile in the UK too because the victim had been British. That angle would need careful handling. And that red flag file in Canberra could be nothing but bad news. He had to find out quickly what that was all about, because it had to be the reason the PM’s office were interested in her. Still,