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Once on shore, they laid the body on the grass at the feet of Dr. Burns, the police surgeon. Dr. Glende
Well, A
A
“Any chance he drowned?”
The doctor examined Luke’s mouth for signs of foam and his eyes for the telltale petechial hemorrhages associated with asphyxia, of which drowning is a form. He shook his head and turned back to A
Diatoms, A
Dr. Burns turned the body over and pointed to the back of Luke’s head. A
“Hard blow to the cerebellum?” said Dr. Burns. “Certainly.” He began to examine the body in more detail. “He’s cold,” he said, “and there’s no rigor.”
“What does that tell you?”
“Usually a body is cold after eight to ten hours in the water. I’ll have to take his temperature to substantiate this, of course, and we’ll need to know the temperature of the water, too. As for the rigor, given the obvious effects of water on his skin, it must have come and gone.”
“How long does that take?”
“In water? Anything from two to four days.”
“Not sooner?”
“Not usually, no. Again, though, I’ll have to make some temperature checks. It might be summer but we’ve hardly been enjoying seasonal temperatures of late.”
Two days, A
The sound of an approaching van interrupted A
Banks arrived half an hour early for his meeting with Michelle, parked in the short stay round the back of the town hall and cut through the arcade to Bridge Street, where he nipped into Waterstone’s and bought a book called The Profession of Violence, the story of the Kray twins. As he walked up the busy street toward the square, he marveled at how much the city center had changed since his day. For a start, it was all pedestrian precinct now, not busy roads the way it had been when he lived there. And it seemed cleaner, the buildings less shabby and grime-coated. It was a su
He found Starbucks on the corner by the cathedral entrance and sipped a grande latte while he flipped through the book.
Michelle arrived five minutes late, cool and collected, wearing black slacks and a slate-gray jacket over a cream blouse. She went to the counter for a cappuccino, then sat down opposite Banks.
“Bit of a shock for you, wasn’t it, this morning?” she said.
“I suppose so,” Banks said. “After all these years… I don’t know, I suppose I’d allowed myself to believe there had to be a co
“We all do, one way or another.”
“You’re too young to be so cynical.”
“And you should be old and wise enough to realize that flattery will get you nowhere. You’ve got a bit of froth on your lip.”
Before Banks could wipe it away, Michelle reached out her finger and did it for him, her fingertip brushing his lip.
“Thanks,” he said.
Michelle blushed, turned her head away and let out a little giggle. “I don’t know why I did that,” she said. “My mother used to do it when I drank milk shakes.”
“Haven’t had a milk shake in years,” said Banks.
“Me, neither. What next?”
“Home. And you?”
“Du
Banks thought for a moment. He hadn’t told Shaw about the possible Kray co
“I’ve heard rumors that Graham Marshall’s dad was co
“Co
“Strong-arm man. Enforcer. I don’t know how true it is – you know how these things can be exaggerated – but it might be worth a bit of delving into.”
“How do you know this?”
Banks touched the side of his nose. “I’ve got my sources.”
“And how long have you known?”
“Just found out before I came here.”
“Yeah, and the Pope’s Jewish.”
“The point is, what are you going to do about it?”
Michelle moved the froth in her cup around with a spoon. “I don’t suppose it’d do any harm to set a few inquiries in motion. Might even get a trip to London out of it. You sure I won’t come out looking like a complete moron?”
“I can’t guarantee that. It’s always a risk. Better than being the moron who missed the vital clue, though.”
“Thanks. That’s really encouraging. I don’t know very much about the Krays – before my time. I haven’t even seen the film. I do remember the big funeral they gave one of them in the East End not so long ago, though.”
“That’d be Reggie. Couple of years ago. The whole East End came out for him. It was the same when Ro