The Burning

The Burning Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: The Burning Read Online Free PDF
Author: Jane Casey
Tags: Police, UK
ignoring the tension that was crackling through the stifling little room. ‘You can take Rob with you when you speak to her. I want to know what happened up to the point where she stabbed him. I want to know how he picked her up and how he got her into the car. What he did that made her panic. I’m working on the assumption that he did or said something that made her sure she was sitting in the car with our murderer, but I don’t know what it was, and I don’t want to talk to him without having her side of the story.’
    ‘Right.’ It wasn’t rocket science. It should be straightforward.
    Should be.
    ‘This is an important witness,’ Godley said. ‘I don’t want anyone putting her back up. Treat her with respect.’
    I was fairly sure this last comment wasn’t directed at me. I didn’t need to be told that and I hoped Godley knew it. Judd was a different story.
    ‘When can we see her?’
    ‘Straightaway. She’s keen to leave. She’s agreed to give us a statement, but my guess is she’s halfway out the door. Don’t hang about.’
    I turned to go, but stopped when Rob spoke. ‘Any news on the car, sir? Did they find anything?’
    Judd answered, his lips thin. ‘Not so far.’
    ‘What?’ I was genuinely confused.
    ‘The car is clean. No evidence of any of the things we might have expected. No knife or weapon of any kind. No accelerant.’
    ‘Could he have dumped it? Done a Sutcliffe and hid the evidence when he knew he was going to be arrested? He was there for a while before they found him.’ It wasn’t the first time the Yorkshire Ripper had been invoked in connection with our killer, but I was surprised at Rob for mentioning him. If there was one thing that annoyed Godley more than anything else, it was the comparisons between his investigation and the unwieldy, disorganised and ultimately futile hunt for Peter Sutcliffe, who was caught more or less by chance. And here was another parallel. It wasn’t police work that had brought us Vic Blackstaff, and the media would be all over it. Godley’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t speak, letting Judd do the talking.
    ‘We’ve been searching the alley and surrounding areas. But the doctors don’t think he would have been able to move easily. He was unconscious when the paramedics arrived.’
    ‘So …’ I said slowly.
    ‘So you need to find out what really happened,’ Judd finished for me. ‘Because at the moment, we don’t have the first idea.’
    It was the pretty nurse who showed us to Kelly Staples’ room, or rather showed Rob, who was flirting pretty much non-stop. I followed along behind, mind whirling. This was a big moment for me. Ask the right questions. Get the right answers. Don’t irritate her. Gain her trust. Don’t assume you know what she’s going to tell you. Listen. And listen to the things she doesn’t say too.
    Easy.
    I pulled Rob to one side when the nurse had brought us to the door of the hospital room and wiggled off. ‘You’re taking notes, OK? No hijacking. I want to do the talking.’
    ‘She’s all yours, love. Like Judd said, I’m sure you’ll have a lot in common.’
    ‘That’s not what he said.’ I couldn’t help sounding defensive. Not you too, Rob …
    ‘What’s he got against you?’
    ‘He’s a racist, misogynist pig – didn’t you realise? He’s always making snide remarks about me.’
    ‘Seems like a good bloke to me.’
    I thumped him, then took a second to shake my head, as if that would clear my mind, rearrange the thoughts that were swirling in my mind into some sort of coherent pattern. ‘Got your notebook?’
    ‘Always,’ he said, holding it up. ‘And a pen. And a spare pen, in case that one runs out.’
    ‘That’s my little boy scout.’ Time to go. I rearranged my face into what I hoped was a calm and non-threatening expression, then pushed open the door.
    The first thing I noticed about Kelly Staples was that she had been crying, the second that she was very young. She was
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