Introduction
Steve Sloan stood talking to the two uniformed officers who were perched on the bonnet of their patrol car. One nodded in response to Steve's speech, his cap sitting beside him as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. The second officer's head was hung low and he balanced a cup of coffee on his knee, oblivious to the conversation going on next to him. The scattering of small wooden houses behind Steve were in poor condition, their large yards fenced off with old pallets and bits of barbed wire. Nevertheless a hint of their original style shone through; 50 years ago this would have been a good suburb bustling with young families and professional workers. Now it looked little more than a ghost town.
Steve's attention was drawn to the unmarked car pulling up amongst the patrol vehicles and forensics van. Patting the dejected officer on the shoulder he made his way across the road as the car doors opened and out stepped his father followed by Amanda.
"Thanks for coming over, I know you had a day off" Steve started apologetically.
"It's OK, I always like to explore new areas of town" Amanda smirked, raising her eyebrows and taking in the scene around her.
"Hardly looks like a centre for crime" Mark observed, "does anybody actually still live here?"
"Not whoever I'm her to visit" Amanda quipped "What've you got for me?"
"I think I may have jumped the gun getting you over here" he confessed "This might not really be in your scope of work" he continued. Steve placed a hand on Amanda's shoulder and shot a glance towards the two officers across the street. A concerned expression crept across Amanda's face as she slowly took in the mood of the other people milling around the area.
"How bad?" Mark asked without prompting.
"We were called over by those guys"
Steve pointed to a blue work van a few yards down the road. The double doors were open and sitting in the back were two men, one in his early 40's with dark hair, wearing a scruffy T-shirt and jeans. The second man was much younger, late teens with a shaved head, bare chest and a pair of running sweats cut off into shorts. Steve flipped though his note pad.
"This whole street was due for demolition, nobody's lived here for over 15 years. People were worried about it turning into a problem area but the houses are still structurally sound, some council guy figured they still had potential. 28 properties in all, bought by individuals at cut down prices, they agree to do them up to a certain standard and live in them, strictly no sublet, minimum live-in period. The council doesn't have to go through the expense of demolition and Joe Public gets a nice house or two. The plan is that in a few years the area will be regenerated, you just have to put in the legwork."
He paused and looked back at the blue work van. "Andy Richardson, a builder by trade, and his son Paul" Mark and Amanda turned to look at them, the older man was resting a hand on his son's knee. "Paul's 17" Steve continued, "needs a weekend project and his own place when he start's college in a few months time. His dad agreed to put up the money and help him get started then Paul would finish the place off in his spare time. They've gutted the interior of the house, put in new floors, it's coming along nicely".
Amanda and Mark both knew he was stalling for time, reluctant to approach the reason for their visit.
"What did they find?" she asked and felt Steve's grip on her shoulder tighten.
"These properties were all built with outhouses around back, Andy decided theirs was beyond repair and Paul figured it blocked a good view so this weekends project was to pull it down. Paul was taking up the floorboards, they were rotten through, and he found something bundled up down there."
"A body" Mark jumped in
"After all this time, I don't think that's the right term for what he found"
"Remains, a skeleton you mean?" Amanda observed clinically as she began to move towards the gate.
Steve nodded slowly and walked behind her around the side of the building. A police photographer passed them and two men dressed head to toe in white paper suits stood in conference by the back door. As Amanda reached the tiny outhouse she looked back at Steve in puzzlement. "The remains" Steve started softly placing a hand on her arm "they're the remains of a baby".
