The Tunnel Rats Read Online Free PDF Page A

boots, and from somewhere he'd produced a battered tweed hat. He looked like a farmer setting out to market.
    As they walked around the bend they saw a young uniformed policeman in a fluorescent yellow waterproof jacket standing at the entrance to a tunnel. The tunnel entrance was of weathered stone crisscrossed with veins of moss and overgrown with ivy and brambles. The policeman tensed as the two men approached.
    'British Transport Police,' said Reid, taking out his warrant card and showing it to the constable. 'Tommy Reid. This is Nick Wright.'
    'Reid and Wright?' The constable rubbed his hands together. 'Sounds like a comedy act.'
    'Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've heard all the jokes,' said Reid wearily.
    'Our guys are already inside,' said the constable.
    'Then they're wasting their time, it's a BTP case,' said Wright.
    'There hasn't been a train along here for ten years,' said the constable.
    Wright shrugged. 'Makes no odds. It's Railtrack property, so it's ours.' He put his head on one side and listened to a rumbling noise from inside the tunnel. 'What's that?' he asked.
    'Generator,' said the constable. 'The SOCO boys brought it with them to run the lights.'
    Reid stepped into the tunnel. Wright stayed where he was. 'Nick?' said Reid.
    Wright swallowed. 'Yeah, coming.' He followed Reid into the tunnel mouth. He shivered involuntarily. Ahead of them they could see white, ghostly figures moving around, and beyond them, a bright wall of light. Wright stopped. He could feel his heart pounding.
    'Nick, are you okay?'
    Wright took a deep breath. 'Yeah.' He shook his head and started walking briskly down the line, towards the lights. As they got closer, they saw that the ghostly figures were Scene of Crime Officers in white overalls and boots, gathering evidence. Two dark silhouettes carrying flashlights walked towards Reid and Wright, tall men with their hands in the pockets of their raincoats. Wright recognised them immediately and his heart sank. The slightly shorter of the two, Inspector Gerry Hunter of the Metropolitan Police CID, was a good-looking man in his mid-thirties with black curly hair and tanned skin. His sidekick was Detective Sergeant Clive Edmunds, slightly older with receding hair and a thickening waistline.
    'What brings you on to our turf, lads?' asked Reid goodnaturedly.
    'A uniform found the body and called it in,' said Hunter. He nodded at Wright. 'Thought we'd have a look-see.'
    'What was the uniform doing down here?' asked Wright. 'Having a kip?'
    Hunter smiled coldly and ignored Wright's sarcasm. 'A downandout name of Annie Lees was sheltering from the rain a couple of days back.'
    Edmunds lit a cigarette. 'She's a bit crazy. She kept talking about finding Jesus.' He offered the pack of cigarettes to Reid and Wright but both men shook their heads.
    'Jesus?' repeated Reid.
    'You'll understand when you've seen the body,' said Hunter. 'No one took her seriously at first.'
    'Where is she now?' asked Reid.
    'We've got her back at the factory. We'll keep her for you.'
    Reid nodded. 'Cause of death?'
    Edmunds chuckled. 'Well, it,wasn't suicide.'
    'The doctor's there now,' said Hunter, 'but I think it's safe to say we've got a murder enquiry.'
    'We?' said Wright quickly. 'This is our case.'
    'Yeah, handled many murders, have you?' asked Edmunds.
    Wright felt Reid's hand on his shoulder. He realised he was glaring at Hunter and he forced himself to relax.
    Hunter started to walk away and he motioned with his chin for Edmunds to follow him.
    'Don't forget your gloves, lads,' said Edmunds.
    Wright was about to reply when Reid squeezed his shoulder. 'Don't let them get to you, Nick. They're just taking the piss.'
    They continued along the tracks towards the lights. There was a flash, then, a second later, another. 'What's that?' asked Wright.
    'Photographer,' said Reid. They walked by a small generator. A white cable snaked away towards two large fluorescent lights mounted on tripods.
    A woman came down the tracks