Silent Scream

There had been no point trying to close her eyes. Every cell of her being had willed the blackness from the sky so she could get back to the site and finish this case.

She spotted Cerys at the bottom of the field just outside the opening that had been smashed through by the paramedics a few hours earlier.

The sun wasn't up yet but it was on its way.

‘So, you weren't lying when you called me last night. It really is just the two of us?’ Cerys asked.

‘Yep,’ Kim answered. She was about to take action that could very easily cost her dearly. Woody's words rang in her ears. She would not take her team down with her.

‘I saw Dan as I was leaving the hotel. He's sent you a report but he confirmed that the denture you found definitely belonged to Louise Dunston.’

Kim nodded her understanding.

Cerys began pressing buttons on the machine and logging figures into a small notebook.

‘Okay, it’s ready now. Just how sure are you that we're going to find something?’

Kim took a breath, closed her eyes and analysed her gut. ‘More sure than I'd like to be.’

‘You realise that anything we find will never stand up in court?’

Kim nodded. If she was right, it would never get to court.

Kim stepped forward and held out her hands. ‘Give it to me and tell me what to do. I think I've caused you enough trouble this week.’

‘I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself,’ Cerys snapped. ‘And no offence, but this is an expensive piece of equipment that I will not entrust to you.’

Kim sighed with frustration. ‘Cerys, will you just ...’

‘Shut up, Kim. Give me the backpack first.’

Kim reached down, lifted the holdall and held it while Cerys put her arms through the straps.

Cerys fixed the monitor around her waist. Kim reached for the strap and hauled the metal rod onto Cerys’s shoulder.

She stood back. ‘I had you more as a Prada wearer.’

Cerys shook her head. ‘Okay, I’ve had a look around the area and there’s a lot of crap on the ground. It all needs moving.’

‘I’m assuming that’s my job?’

‘See anybody else here?’

‘Okay, where?’

‘I’ll survey the rear of the building first. The front of the building looks right onto the road and houses so if we’re looking for what you think we are, that area would have been too exposed.’

‘Can I help, Detective?’

Kim turned to find that William Payne had walked around the side of the fencing. He looked pale and tired. Kim stepped towards him.

‘How are you feeling?’

He smiled. ‘Sore, but there’s no permanent damage. They sent me home a couple of hours ago.’

‘What about Lucy?’

‘Take a look.’

Kim walked to the edge of the fencing. The curtain had been pulled back and Lucy peered through the window.

Kim waved and then turned her attention back to William. ‘I don’t think you’re in any fit state ...’

‘Detective, I don’t know what you’re doing here today but I know that Lucy and I have somehow become a part of this. I’d really like to help.’

Kim was torn.

‘They were just kids, Detective. Hardened, abandoned, neglected kids. What they did to Lucy was wrong, I know that and so did they. All three of them came back the next day of their own free will and apologised for what they’d done.’

‘And you accepted their apology?’

He shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter. Lucy did.’

Kim shook her head in wonder. ‘You know that your daughter is a true inspiration?’

‘Oh yes,’ he smiled, proudly. ‘She’s what gets me out of bed every morning.’

Kim tipped her head. ‘And you’re not so bad yourself. Last night, if you hadn’t managed to loosen that rope or grab Victor ...’

‘It wasn't brave at all, Detective. I saw you go into the building and just came to see if you needed any help. Then I saw Victor Wilks digging a hole ...’

His words trailed away as he blushed. Kim understood that he was an accidental hero but he'd saved her life all the same.

‘Even so ...’

‘Enough,’ William said, holding up his hands. ‘Now, please tell me what I can do to help.’

Kim smiled to herself. This was a man who wanted no thanks, no praise and no sympathy.

‘Okay, see that bin by the window. We need to fill it with anything on the ground that might interfere with the machine.’

William started on the left and Kim on the right. They worked their way from the fence perimeter into the middle, picking up anything that got in the way.

‘Folks, the machine works much better if there’s less grass,’ Cerys called from the perimeter.

Kim looked around. In some places the weeds were knee high.

She bent to start pulling when suddenly the machine made a sound.

Kim straightened and focused on Cerys.

She walked back ten feet and moved forward slowly. Again, the machine cried out.

Cerys looked towards Kim. ‘Looks like your gut called it right.’

Seventy-Five

Cerys looked from her to William and then back again.

Kim covered the ground between them and took the weeds from his hand. ‘William, I have to ask you to leave the area now.’

He looked pained as his eyes rested on the area of ground that held Cerys’s attention. He nodded.

She took his right hand. ‘William, none of this is your fault, you have to know that. No one died because of you. It was just made to look that way by an evil, devious man with no conscience.’

His gaze met hers. It would take time for him to believe it.

‘I’ll leave you to it, Detective.’

She squeezed his hand. ‘My name is Kim and I want to thank you for everything you’ve done.’

William coloured with embarrassment. She let go of his hand. ‘Now get back to your wonderful daughter.’

He smiled widely. ‘Thank you, Det— Kim. I will.’

Kim waited until he'd gone and stepped over to where Cerys had laid down the machine.

Cerys turned to her. ‘Whatever’s down there is not very deep.’

Kim nodded and swallowed.

Cerys passed her the keys to the van. ‘There are shovels in the back. Go and fetch them while I mark it out.’

Kim sprinted to the van, grabbed two shovels and ran back down the hill. The painkillers she'd taken earlier were starting to wear off. The pain pounded across her lower back.

Cerys had marked out the area. Kim saw immediately that it was smaller than the rest.

Cerys took one more look at the readings regurgitated from the magnetometer and pointed. ‘You work that side but don't go too hard.’

Kim threw the shovel into the ground. A pain speared the width of her back but she ignored it and focused on what she needed to do.

The two of them worked without speaking for the next half an hour.

‘Okay, Kim, stop and get out,’ Cerys said, suddenly.

The pit was approximately five feet long but three feet wide, with a depth of no more than a foot.

Family pets were buried deeper.

Cerys walked around the perimeter of the pit twice before she got in. She used the hand tools to remove small mounds of dirt and place it to the side of the pit.

Kim didn't speak. Her eyes were on Cerys.

Cerys continued digging. The mounds of earth got smaller. She used the edge of the small trowel to scrape along a section in the middle of the pit.

On the third scrape, sections of white began to appear.

Cerys took a soft brush and dragged it along the surface. More white emerged.

Kim’s stomach turned as she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was looking at bone.

‘That, Kim, is most definitely an arm.’

Cerys continued to dig and dust until she revealed what looked to be a shoulder joint. Kim stared as more and more bone was revealed.