Urban Myth Read Online Free PDF

perpetrator is. But Temple wasn’t convinced that this was going to be one of those cases that would be easily solved.
    He had a bad feeling about it. He called it detective’s intuition, based on years of experience. And he was rarely wrong about such things. That was why he was so highly regarded by the Hampshire Constabulary’s top brass. He got results and he never complained about pay and pension and the lack of promotion. There were those on the force who thought he should have made chief superintendent by now, but whenever they raised the issue with him he would tell them the truth – he was content with his job and did not want to become a pen pusher.
    Temple walked back to the road, which was now a noisy car park: the crackle of police radios, raised voices, doors slamming. It was busy but not chaotic. TV crews and press photographers had gathered on the other side of the cordon. Normally at this point in a case Temple would have ignored them, but he was anxious on this occasion to stage an impromptu press conference. He wanted that name out there as soon as possible.
    When he was standing before the media scrum he straightened his tie, buttoned his suit jacket and palmed back his receding brown hair.
    ‘I’m only prepared to make a brief statement,’ he said when everyone was ready. ‘I’m not in a position to answer questions at this time. As you can appreciate we’re at an extremely early stage in the investigation.’
    He paused, swallowed hard, and began to wish that he had stood with his back to the sun so that he didn’t have to squint.
    ‘This morning just after eight o’clock a man walking his dog on Cranes Moor stumbled upon the body of a young woman,’ he said. ‘She’d been wrapped in bin liners and buried in a shallow grave that had been partially uncovered. The cause of death would appear to be two stab wounds to the back so we’re treating this as a murder case and it will be investigated by Hampshire’s Major Crime Departmentbased in Southampton. We believe the girl’s body had been here for three days or more. And it’s likely she was brought here in a car or van that was parked on the nearby road.
    ‘We don’t yet know the victim’s identity, but the name Genna is tattooed on her right ankle. So I’m appealing to anyone who believes they might know who she is to come forward without delay. Time is of the essence.’
    He held up his hand to indicate that the press conference was over. He ignored the questions that were fired at him and walked smartly away.

8
    W e walked and we talked and we tried to forget about the snake in the bedroom. And we succeeded to some degree because the landscape all around us was so beautiful. We all relished the different scents of the trees and plants. We drew each other’s attention to the ponies and wild flowers and the raucous sounds of the insects in the bracken.
    It was still a bright day but some benign clouds had started to gather to the east. Tina remained subdued, which was understandable, but she made an effort to join in the conversation. I almost welcomed the fact that she wasn’t being her usual precocious self. Normally she became detached and disinterested whenever we went out together as a family.
    Michael, on the other hand, was embracing the moment. To him the experience with the snake was tremendously exciting and he couldn’t see why the rest of us had made such a fuss. I could tell that Nicole had been unnerved by what had happened. During the walk she was quiet and pensive with a furrowed brow that didn’t suit her. But by the time we got back to the house after about an hour, she was more upbeat and animated.
    She took the key from me and unlocked the front door, telling us that she would make some tea before embarking on the task of unpacking our cases. But as soon as she stepped into the house her back stiffened and her face dropped.
    ‘My God, what’s that smell?’ she yelped.
    Tina and Michael responded with