She went over to Paul and gave him a big hug. ‘Whatever happens I will always be on your side, Paul.’
As if on cue, Stuart returned to the kitchen. ‘If I didn’t know you better, Paul Lawrence, I’d be jealous.’
Jane let go of Paul and gave Stuart a hug. ‘I’m pleased for both of you. You’re clearly meant for each other.’
During dinner, Paul asked Jane how her side of the investigation was going. She told him about her visit to social services, the result of their interview with Simon Matthews and her suspicions about David Simmonds.
‘It’s clear Simmonds didn’t sexually assault Simon, but there’s things about him that just don’t add up. He’s not very forthcoming, for some reason. He never told me he knew Sybil Hastings, or that she was a patient of his, or about his dental practice in Peckham. I think Helen Matthews was his cleaner there as well.’
‘Have you told Moran all this?’ Paul asked.
‘No — or the result of the social services interview. He’s already given me a dressing-down about jumping to conclusions without supportive evidence. There’s still some questions I’d like to ask Simmonds, but Moran would probably tell me to back off.’
‘If I were you I’d sit down and go over everything you’ve got with a fine-tooth comb, and then see what you can find out about his past.’
‘I’ve brought a dental journal with an article about him. I was going to leave it for you to read.’
‘I’ll have a look now — while you and Stuart do the washing up.’ He smiled.
‘Very crafty!’ Jane grinned.
Jane did the washing whilst Stuart dried.
‘Paul and I have such a good relationship, but his erratic working hours mean we don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like.’ Stuart sighed.
Jane nodded sympathetically. ‘Paul’s highly respected for his forensic work. He’s always in demand to attend murder crime scenes, often in preference to his fellow lab liaison sergeants.’
‘I appreciate he has a difficult job and unsociable working hours — I’m just grateful he puts our relationship first whenever he can.’
Paul came into the kitchen brandishing the magazine. ‘Very informative. However, it does leave me wondering if Simmonds is hiding something from you.’
‘The few lines about him being in the army are interesting. It was a long time ago now, though,’ Jane added.
‘I worked with the Army SIB on a murder at the Royal Artillery base in Woolwich a year ago.’
‘What’s SIB?’ Stuart asked.
‘Specialist Investigation Branch,’ Paul explained. ‘I still have a few contacts at SIB, Jane. I could make some discreet enquiries about Simmonds’ army career if you wanted?’
‘Oh, that would be fantastic, thank you. I’ve brought my notebook with me. I was wondering if—’
Paul’s red Trimphone rang before Jane could ask him if he would look over her notes of the investigation to see if he felt there was anything she’d missed or should follow up.
‘That better not be work,’ Paul said with a frown as he got up to answer it.
After a moment, she heard Paul telling the caller politely but firmly that he was not the on-call lab liaison sergeant. But instead of putting the phone down, he continued to listen, his expression changing from annoyance to concentration.
‘Bloody hell! Are there any other parts nearby? Give me the location.’ Paul grabbed a pen and paper and started writing. ‘I’ll be with you shortly. Make sure the area is totally sealed off. Tennison’s here with me. I’ll let her know and we’ll meet you there.’
He put the phone down and turned to Jane. ‘That was Edwards. Someone walking his dog in Peckham Rye Park found a human forearm by the piles of rubbish.’
‘Oh my God. Please don’t let it be connected to our cases.’
Lawrence was already shrugging on his overcoat. ‘It could be a coincidence, but Peckham is becoming a favorite place to dump dead bodies.’
Chapter Twenty-One
Jane had never driven at such high speed as she followed behind Lawrence, who had a police siren and blue lights on his car. There was a three-quarter moon and no clouds, so visibility when they arrived at Peckham Rye Park was not bad, but it was bitterly cold. The area was crawling with police officers, who were tying blue crime scene tape from tree to tree to stop public access.
‘It’s like an eerie mist,’ said Jane, looking out across the park.
‘As the food decays, the bin bags produce bacteria and molds, which in turn produce heat, which creates steam, and this is the mist effect,’ explained Lawrence, picking his way across the grass.
Edwards was blowing on his hands to keep them warm when he spotted them. He nodded and started to lead them over to the center of activity. A putrid smell emanated from the steaming pile of rubbish at least six feet high that ran along the edge of the park.
As they walked across the park, Edwards sidled up to Jane. ‘Sorry if I interrupted your evening in with Lawrence, Sarge. I must say you’re looking well dolled up. Anything I should know about going on between you two? Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more,’ he concluded, imitating a popular Monty Python sketch.
Jane thought she’d have some fun and hopefully shut Edwards up at the same time. ‘Well, you did...’ She paused deliberately as Edwards’ mouth gaped open. Jane leant closer. ‘Unfortunately you spoilt the moment with your phone call,’ she said with a straight face.
Lost for words, Edwards scuttled ahead. Lawrence, having heard every word, caught her eye, and they grinned mischievously at each other. Ahead of them they could see Moran and Gibbs standing next to the night duty uniform inspector, who was shining a large torch onto a pale shape on the grass.
Moran turned when he saw them. ‘Thanks for getting here so quickly.’ He looked stressed.
Lawrence said nothing as he put on some latex gloves. It was as if his brain had switched into another mode, now that he was in his domain: a major crime scene. Lawrence knelt, picked up the ten-inch forearm and held it under the inspector’s torch to get a closer look.
‘From the serration on the wrist, the hand’s obviously been cut off using a saw. Same with the elbow end,’ Lawrence remarked, pointing to the saw marks.
‘Is it male or female?’ Moran asked.
Lawrence shrugged his shoulders. ‘I can’t say.’
‘Should I get Professor Martin here?’
‘I don’t think it’s worth it for one body part, and in any case, it’s fairly certain the murder and dismemberment took place elsewhere,’ Lawrence replied.
‘Are those bite marks in the middle?’ Jane asked.
Lawrence nodded. ‘Not human, though. Could be a dog, but more likely to be a fox.’
‘The man who found the forearm said there was a fox nearby,’ Edwards put in.
‘Foxes are scavengers. They’ll rip rubbish bags open to get to food. The piles of rubbish dumped in the park are like a banquet to them.’ Lawrence pointed to a couple of rubbish bags that had been ripped open.
‘There could be other body parts in amongst all these rubbish bags,’ Jane said.
‘Some bits may even have been taken by foxes. They like to bury food to consume later, so this whole park will need searching,’ Lawrence added.
‘Shit! Right, I want the whole area searched,’ Moran told the uniform inspector standing beside him.
‘It’s over a hundred acres,’ the inspector replied hesitantly.
Moran glared at him. ‘I don’t care how fucking big it is, it has to be done sooner rather than later. Firstly, get every available officer from the surrounding divisions and the SPG down to the scene to start going through the rubbish bags. Tell the traffic police to attend with every available arc light they have — and I want every detective on the team called in to assist in the search.’