Great North Road Read Online Free PDF Page A

wound.
    “Please do that.” Sid instructed his e-i to open a one-oh-one level case file. His iris smartcell grid showed the spherical green icon unfolding. Data from the log and the patrol boat began downloading.
    “I want the couple who reported it taken down to the station for a full debrief,” he told Ian.
    “You got it, boss,” Ian said sharply.
    “Okay then.” Sid went over to the bottom of the ladder and waited until the duty examiner had come down. The man suddenly looked very nervous. “I want every procedure carried out in perfect file compliance,” Sid told him.
    As he climbed back up the ladder, he told his e-i to retrieve the chief constable’s transnet access code. The icon appeared, a small red star glowing accusingly in front of him. Only when he got back up on the promenade and was holding the rail to make sure he didn’t slip did he tell his e-i to make the call.
    It took a minute for Royce O’Rouke to answer, which was reasonable enough, given the time. And when the icon did shift to blue it was an audio-only link, again reasonable. Sid could just picture him, half awake on the side of the bed, Mrs. O’Rouke blinking in annoyance at the light switched on.
    “What the fuck is it, Hurst?” Royce O’Rouke demanded. “You’ve only been back for six hours. For Christ’s sake, man, can you not even piss properly without someone holding your—”
    “Sir!” Sid said quickly—he knew only too well the kind of language O’Rouke used at the best of times. “I’ve just coded a case up to one-oh-one status.”
    O’Rouke was silent as he adjusted to the implication: Everything he said was part of the official case record. “Go ahead, Detective.”
    “A body has been found in the river. There’s a nasty puncture wound on the chest. I suspect smartcell extraction, too.”
    “I see.”
    “Sir, our preliminary identification is a North.”
    This time the silence really stretched out as grains of snow kissed Sid’s nose and cheeks.
    “Repeat please.”
    “It’s a North clone, sir. We’re at the Millennium Bridge. The examiner’s clearing the body to be brought ashore now. In addition, I have four agency constables with me on scene, two divers and Captain Foy on the boat. The two civilians who found the body are having their statements taken.”
    “I want a lockdown on the area right away. Everyone on scene is to be taken up to Market Street station immediately. No external communication, understood?”
    “Yes, sir. I’ve ordered Captain Foy to sweep the discovery area again once the body is in the examiner’s van.”
    “That’s good, right.”
    “I’m fairly certain he didn’t simply fall off the bridge. My preliminary theory is he was dumped upriver somewhere. Body looks like it’s been immersed for a while, but I’ll confirm when the examiner gets back to me. I was going to assign Detective Lanagin to accompany the coroner’s van to the city morgue. He can ensure procedure is followed.”
    “All right, that’s a good start. Hurst, we do not want media attention drawn to this yet—we have to have a clear field to operate the investigation in. The chain of evidence must remain clean.”
    “Yes, sir. Uh … Chief?”
    “Yes?”
    “How do you want to handle notifying next-of-kin?”
    Pause again, shorter this time. “I’ll take care of that. You concentrate on securing the scene and starting the investigation properly.”
    “Yes, sir. I’d like permission and authorization to coordinate with the coast guard. I want any ships sailing on the Tyne tonight identified and searched.”
    “Good call. I’ll have the authorization ready for you when you get to Market Street.”
    “Thank you, sir.” Sid watched the icon flick back to purple, then vanish.
    Ian stepped off the top of the ladder, back onto the powdery snow of the promenade.
    “So?” Sid asked.
    “Examiner doesn’t want to commit himself. Naturally,” Ian said. “But best he can do with the water