Tainted Ground Read Online Free PDF

service, as it were.
    â€˜Can you tell us anything yet, Sir Hugh?’ Carrick said quietly.
    â€˜I can tell you more once they’ve been cut down.’
    Carrick consulted the scene-of-crime officer, who confirmed that the preliminary stages had been completed, and preparations were made to lower the murder victims. Deliberately, I had not looked too closely up until now but saw with horror that one of the bodies was that of a woman. Illogical of me, I suppose, to assume that women are not disposed of in such ghastly fashion. The throats had been severed with such force that two of the heads were only attached by the spine and surrounding tissues. Blood still sluggishly dripped.
    â€˜Well?’ said Carrick to me all at once, perhaps wondering if I had now changed my mind. It was as if we were strangers, his manner glacier-bleak.
    I held the look, taking my mobile phone from my pocket. Several seconds ticked by and then I said, ‘It was you who had to make up your mind.’
    â€˜He’s not a man to come running,’ Carrick said roughly.
    â€˜If I ask him to come on your behalf he’ll come. James, Patrick is trying to make a new career for himself. But it won’t be furthered on
your
patch. Can’t you look at it from the point of view of helping him?’
    Whether the DCI suddenly realized that he had been guilty of selfishness I do not know – I was making every excuse for him, bless his gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes, not least that when you have recently been at death’s door it can affect all judgement for a while – but after a few moments of agonizing hesitation he made a gesture of defeat and walked away. I found myself looking into Lynn’s bright, discerning gaze. ‘Good,’ she said quietly. I rang Patrick’s number.
    â€˜According to Elspeth, Hagtop Farm was mentioned in the Domesday Book,’ Patrick said. He had borrowed his father’s car for the short journey. ‘And before that it appears there might have been Viking connections. Vera Stonelake, who’s now in a nursing home in this area, did quite a lot of research into the place some years ago and her findings were published in the parish magazine. The farm has a colourful history, not that it prevented her husband from demolishing some of it in the name of progress.’
    James Carrick, who also has Viking connections as his mother came from Orkney, glanced up at the speaker from the notes he was making on the preliminary observations Rapton had made before he left. ‘Can you get hold of the article?’
    â€˜No problem. My father always keeps the back numbers as a record. It isn’t the first time bodies have been found here either – only that was in the original stone barn that was on the site. Do we yet know who these people were?’
    â€˜No, not yet. There was no identification on them at all.’
    â€˜I didn’t think you could just demolish rural buildings like that,’ I said. ‘They’re usually protected in some way.’
    â€˜You can’t,’ Carrick said. ‘He probably just went ahead and hoped no one would notice.’
    â€˜Neither father nor son are pleasant characters, according to local opinion and my own personal knowledge,’ Patrick went on. ‘It might pay you to speak to Elspeth. Parsons’ wives tend to have all the dark deeds kind of local info.’
    â€˜I’ll do that,’ the DCI promised.
    â€˜She asked me to tell you there’ll be coffee brewing tomorrow morning at ten thirty should you be passing.’
    Carrick looked at his watch. ‘This morning as it happens, it’s a quarter past midnight. I’ll do my best to get there.’ He reflected for a moment. ‘This dreadful incident has to be bigtime crime. But nothing much more can be achieved tonight. I suggest you both get some rest.’
    I took a deep breath. So far everything had gone pretty