Title: Burial Of The Dead (Part 1/2)
Author: winterfirestorm
Rating: PG
Spoilers: A tiny mention about the end of 'The Mermaids Singing'
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me but to Val McDermid and the companies which bought the rights to them.
Author's Note: This is my first actual crime story written about WitB (I usually write angst pieces for this fandom which you can check out if you like that stuff) This fic is set after the first two books/episodes (which are more or less the same). The title is taken from part one of T.S Eliot's 'The Wasteland'. I suspect the second part will be up very shortly at the rate I'm writing it.
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As Tony headed towards Carol's office he thought through the message she had left on his machine an hour earlier. Tony, it's Carol. We've found another one. This time one of ours. We could really use your help…I really need your help. This needs to be controlled as soon as possible. I'll be at the station for the next two hours, if you could come in.
He knew what she was talking about almost immediately. The body of a male police officer from the neighbouring precinct had been found in the blue collar streets of Bradfield. It had been rightly treated as a single murder, probably committed as revenge on the police, and probably on the officer in particular, so no need for Tony's expertise. In fact there had been no need for his help for six months. He had last seen Carol four months ago when they had gone out for coffee to catch up. He wondered how awkward it would now be for them to meet again after becoming close but then parting ways for so long. Probably no different, he thought. A case is a case.
He reached the door to her office and reached out for the knob.
"Tony!"
He turned and saw Carol approaching him.
"Thanks for coming. I just got the pictures back from the crime scene. Want to go through them now or do you want background?"
He shook his head. "I read about the first."
She reached around him to her office door, opening it before walking in.
-
Carol sat down at her desk, opposite Tony. She had called him for the case, she knew that, but that didn't stop the feeling of realisation about exactly how much she had missed seeing him. She mentally pinched herself and spread the photos of the crime scene into a line on the desk. She pointed to the first. It showed a woman's body, face up, which Carol had already categorised. Despite working from the same station she had not known her, making it slightly easier to do. Early thirties, brunette, medium height, no connection to the first victim.
"PC Madeleine Heath. Worked patrol and occasionally traffic. She was found in the same position has DC Jack Mackinnon. No known connection."
She moved her hand towards the second picture. "We know it was the same person, or at least a connected person, because of the burn marks on their backs using the same branding tools."
"Pre- or post-mortem?"
"Pre-mortem. If she's like Mackinnon it'll be found that she was kept hostage for at least 24 hours before being routinely burnt and tortured before he finally stabbed them directly into the heart."
"Why these particular people? There's got to be hundreds of police in Bradfield and the surrounding areas, so why them…do you know when they were taken, or where?"
Carol shook her head. "With Mackinnon we know he was taken somewhere between work and home and at about 8pm. PC Heath wasn't working either two days ago or yesterday so we don't know anything about how she was taken."
Tony looked over the rest of the pictures. According to the note attached to one she was found a street over from the first victim. "Any idea what the brands stand for?"
"On the first victim it looked like a B and M but on this one it looks like a B and W. It might mean that they were the only tools available to him or that he was in a rush with one of the victims. Until we know which there's no point searching. It could stand for anything, or nothing."
"It'll stand for something." Tony said, not looking up from the pictures. Even though he dumps them on the street there's care taken. He clothes them and partially hides them. I mean even her hair has been combed. He picked those letters for a reason. It's a matter of finding out why?"
"But an M or a W? Or do you think he meant both?"
"I think he meant to use one but got distracted like you said." Tony finally looked up, his eyes sliding to the clock. "Is that the time?"
Carol checked it and nodded.
"Damn it. I'm supposed to be lecturing in half an hour." He got up and headed for the door.
"Tony." Carol managed to say before the he shut the door. He paused.
"It's good to see you again."
He returned a half smile and closed the door.
-
Carol sat in her living room, boxes of Chinese surrounding her and growing cold. As she was thinking she should probably start eating or put it in the oven to keep it warm Tony burst through her door, saturated through from the rain.
"What happened to you?"
He closed the door behind him and slumped against it. "My car wouldn't start."
Carol smirked. "You say it as if you're surprised. Exactly how old is that car?"
"Old enough that it doesn't reveal its age."
She shook her head. "Well hurry up then, it's getting cold. I'll get you a towel."
When she returned from the cupboard bearing towels Tony had already dished up the food out of the cupboard containers which were ready to leak. More honey chicken for her, more dumplings for him. She was surprised he'd remembered. She handed him the towels and sat opposite him, smiling as she watched him try to get dry.
"Any new leads?" He asked after he had dried himself off as best he could.
She shook her head. "We're still waiting for forensics to come back with the results of the fibres and other blood found at the scene."
"Other blood?"
"Yeah, they found blood on a sheet of metal that was next to the dumpster that she was found near. It's possible that he cut himself on it when he was trying to move the body."
Tony sat in silence for a moment. "Strange though that he would take such care with the body then leave blood at the scene. You'd think he'd clean it up or move the body somewhere else."
"I know, but it's possible that he didn't notice he was cut, especially if he was pumping with adrenaline. We've got to follow it up."
"I know…it's only been a week between the two bodies. It shows extreme escalation. It could explain why he's making mistakes."
"It's like he's in a hurry."
"Exactly. But why would he be in a hurry? There hasn't been any press which might reveal him."
Carol shrugged. "Because he's a nutter? As far as we can see there's no connection between Mackinnon and Heath except that they were both with the force. There's no apparent reason for why the bodies were dumped where they were, or for the brands at this stage. And there's no better way to get police to disregard the law than to kill their own."
"Except for the police connection there's nothing to really tell us anything about him. Well except for the fact that he is a 'him' because DC Mackinnon was not a small man."
They sat in silence as they both finished their food.
"Do you want to take a shower and I'll dry your clothes before you go home?" Carol asked.
"I think that that'd be a good idea, thanks."
Carol took his clothes through a crack in the bathroom door and took them to the dryer. She watched them spin as she thought. She was glad to have Tony around once again, but any time he was she always wondered when the next time they would meet would be, and whether she would feel any differently. She had dated someone during the time she hadn't been working with Tony, but nothing came of it and they broke it off after barely a month, and she found dating while Tony was around more or less pointless, not that dated regularly anyway with her job. It meant she was working on a case which she would have to devote all her time to. That and seeing him again made her feel that she could date all of the men in the world but none of them would intrigue her quite as much as he did. She didn't want to jeopardise their working relationship though, or their friendship. She continued to watch her dryer spin his clothes until they were dry.
He stood under the shower feeling the hot water hit his skin. He could smell her shampoo. He enjoyed working cases with her. Despite the unpleasant circumstances that they almost always met under he knew that they did good work together. The fact that he did good work with a person who he had confused feelings about shouldn't factor into it, but of course it always did. He had dated two women in the time that he had known Carol. He found he dated women who he admired but didn't necessarily feel the beginnings of love for. That way it didn't hurt as much when his body didn't respond the way he wanted it to. If it happened with someone like Carol…he didn't know what he'd do then. You can ignore things until they are right in front of you constantly. He breathed in the smell of her shampoo and let the too hot water hit his skin.