Next chapter done! Thanks to my reviewers Krissie, Georgie, Kara and DarknessDeadly. Thanks! Just a quick note, the storyline from the first chapter is a real method that gangs are using to lure women out of their cars so they can rob them and rape them. So if you do happen to see a baby car seat at the side of the road on a quiet road when it's dark, do not pull over to check if it's a real baby. Keep going and call the police. Ladies, stay safe when driving at night! Enjoy.
Smithy strode into the canteen, looking for some of his officers. He spotted Beth and Nate holed up at the corner table, cups of tea and plates of food in front of them.
"Nice to see you two doing your job policing the streets of Canley to make it a safer place." he said sarcastically as he reached them.
"We wouldn't be able to police it if we were too hungry or thirsty though would we sarge." Nate shot back with a smile. Smithy couldn't help but laugh.
"Ok then, well I hope you're fed and watered, I've got a shout for you two. Woman was found badly beaten at the roadside by a passing motorist about an hour away from here. I want you two to get over to the hospital and find out what's going on." Smithy ordered.
"If she was found so far away from here then why is she at St Hugh's?" Beth asked.
"The hospital nearest to the place she was found didn't have an A&E. St Hugh's was the nearest one they could get her to." Smithy explained.
"Right. Does she have a name?" Beth asked as she dumped all her rubbish in the bin.
"Nope, well, she does, but it wasn't given. That's part of your job though correct? Off you go, have fun." Smithy said with a smile as he left the two officers in the canteen.
"Shotgun driving!" Nate yelled over his shoulder at Beth. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"So immature." she muttered.
"PC Roberts, PC Green, Sun Hill. We're looking for a woman brought in not so long ago, badly beaten...?" Nate questioned the receptionist as soon as they got to the hospitals A&E department.
"Have you got a name for her?" he asked them.
"No, our sergeant just told us that she'd been beaten and we weren't given a name." Beth explained.
"Ah right, well we had one woman brought in about half an hour ago, no name as of yet. The doctors are still working on her now, she's in pretty bad shape if you ask me." he whispered knowingly.
"Right then, could you get us someone who can tell us something about her then?" Nate asked.
"Sure, give me a minute." he said with a smile, walking behind his desk and through the double doors leading to resus. "Sorry, Dr Trueman, there's police officers here about the woman."
"Thanks Noel, tell them I'll be there in a couple of minutes." the doctor said with a nod.
"Right ho." Noel said with a grin, walking back towards Beth and Nate. "Dr Trueman will be with you in a few minutes. Take a seat. Coffee and tea machine is just there." he said kindly.
"Thank you." Beth said with a smile. They sat down in front of the receptionists' desk, twiddling their thumbs until Dr Trueman came out.
"Hi, sorry, I'm Dr Trueman. If you want to come through to my office, I can talk you through everything." the doctor said, leading the two officers up the stairs and into his office. "Take a seat." Nate and Beth sat down, getting out their pads and pens.
"What's the verdict?" Nate asked immediately.
"The extent of her injuries are quite severe. Her whole face is completely swollen, her eyes are black and blue, she has a broken jaw, some loose teeth, multiple lacerations to her face and torso, bruising on her upper arms, some scratches on her back, and various lumps on her head. She was also extremely cold when she was brought in, with the beginnings of hypothermia starting to set in. We had to warm her up." the doctor began.
"Was there any sign of rape?" Beth asked.
"No. But she did sustain three broken ribs and some internal bleeding. She's being taken to surgery now to try and fix it. Our guess is the scratches on her back could be from where she was dragged across the ground, and the scratches on her stomach from where she possibly dragged herself to the roadside. We're not sure though, we're just guessing from her injuries." Adam said.
"Do we have a name for her yet?" Nate questioned. Adam shook his head.
"She had no ID on her, no purse, no phone, nothing. There wasn't a car there either, so we have no idea how she got there in the first place. That's your job I guess." Adam said.
"Yes it is. Can you tell us where she was found please?" Beth asked.
"Sure, the paramedics were called to Tredour Lane, it leads out of the city into the country. It's notorious for crashes, especially young people crashing. No doubt you've heard of it?" Adam asked. The two officers nodded.
"Is there anything else you can tell us about the woman?" Nate asked.
"No sorry. There is something I found quite worrying though." the doctor admitted.
"What would that be?" Beth queried.
"It's very similar to an attack which happened about a week ago. Another young woman was brought in, injuries very similar to our Jane Doe's. Except her attackers had gone a step further and raped her." Adam explained.
"What happened to her?" Nate asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
"She died from internal injuries. Her appendix ruptured before we could get her to surgery. But if I remember rightly, the paramedics who brought her in picked her up from Tredour Lane as well." Adam offered.
"Would it be possible to talk to them?" Beth asked.
"Sure. I'll get them for you. Hold on a minute." Adam said with a smile. Once he had gone, the two officers turned to face each other.
"We'll have to find out exactly who that woman was; see if we have a serial attacker here. If it was our station who investigated it, we need to find out who the investigating officers were; they'll be able to help us." Beth said.
Dr Trueman returned a few minutes later with two paramedics, both middle aged.
"This is Jeff and Dixie, they were the ones to find both women."
"Hi, PC Roberts, PC Green, Sun Hill. Could you tell us where you found the first victim? And what her name was?" Nate asked.
"We found both the women on that Tredour Lane. We get called there quite a lot for crashes, mainly youngsters, but we don't get many assaults down there. They were both found after the same curve in the road as well, it can be a bit of a blind spot when it's dark." Jeff said with a nod.
"Yeah, both attacked during the night, similar injuries, although the first time, Polly Dwyer I think her name was, she was raped whereas this second woman wasn't. There's not much more we can tell you." Dixie said apologetically.
"That's alright, you've told us a lot already. One last thing though, could you tell us who the other two officers were who took statements off you about Polly Dwyer?" Beth asked.
"Can't remember their names, but they were both blonde. One was pregnant. That's all I can tell you, sorry." Jeff said.
"Thanks, I know who they are." Nate said to them. To Beth he said, "It must have been Sal and Jess. Is Jess in today?"
"I think so, only in the morning though, she goes home about one-ish." Beth replied.
"Right, let's get back to the nick and find her then. Thanks a lot, could you give us a call when Jane Doe wakes up please?" Nate asked, handing the doctor his card.
"Sure. I hope you get them before they do this to any more women." Adam said seriously.
"We'll do everything we can." Beth promised.
"Jess!" Nate yelled down the corridor after spying Jess coming out of the Sergeants office. "Have you got a minute?"
"Sure, what's up?" she asked, lowering herself into a chair in front of the vending machines.
"It's about a case you and Sal were assigned to about a week ago, Polly Dwyer?" Beth asked, sitting next to Jess.
"Oh yeah, she died from a ruptured appendix. She was attacked and raped behind some hedges on a country road. One of the most vicious assaults I've ever seen." Jess said sadly, her hands folded on the peak of her bump.
"Right, well another woman was beaten up, similar circumstances, except she wasn't raped. She was found on the same road, the same stretch of the road and in the same sort of timeframe." Nate informed her. Jess frowned.
"Well we didn't find Polly's attackers. They left no trace of themselves at the crime scene. The only thing Eddie found was a tooth which was from Polly. There was nothing on her clothes either." Jess said.
"Can you remember exactly where it was Polly was found?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, one of the paramedics, Jeff I think his name was, gave us a map with the place marked on it. I should still have it somewhere in the case file. Give me a minute and I'll get it for you." she said, heaving herself to her feet and hurrying as fast as her distended abdomen would allow. She returned a few minutes later with the map in her hand. She laid it flat on the table in front of Nate and Beth. "She was found here, behind the hedgerow by a motorist who stopped because he saw her abandoned car."
"Hmm, they didn't mention anything about a car with our victim. The woman had dragged herself to the roadside, but there wasn't a car." Beth said with a frown.
"From what you've said, it sounds like the two attacks are connected. Does your victim have a name? She could be connected to Polly maybe?" Jess suggested.
"No, our woman didn't have any ID on her, or a phone or purse. She's a Jane Doe. But I agree what you said about them being connected. Maybe a gang is targeting young woman and stealing from them?" Nate wondered.
"Yeah, but if they wanted to steal from them surely they wouldn't beat them up as viciously or rape them?" Beth asked.
"It doesn't make sense. Maybe you should take it to Smithy or Callum, tell them about the apparent connections between the cases. I can go get all the stuff from the file me and Sal put together on Polly Dwyer if you want?" Jess offered.
"Yeah please, that'd be brilliant. Cheers Jess. I'll give Sal a ring later as well." Nate said.
"Don't disturb her Nate, she's having a rare weekend off, she doesn't need you ringing asking her about work!" Beth said with a laugh. Nate nodded begrudgingly.
"True. Ok, let's go find Smithy or Callum." Nate said, leading the way to the sergeant's office.