Discovery
Tom drove towards the centre of town; his mind firmly on the information Sian had relayed earlier. A body had been found in the grounds of the local primary school. Ysgol Fford Twynsoges was closed for the summer break but Tom couldn't help but be thankful that no young children had been around when the caretaker had found the corpse.
"Do we have a name?"
"No." Mared sighed as she looked out of the passenger window. "All Sian could say that the body was that of a white male. An adult, she said. I told her to wait for us."
"Is Lloyd with her?"
"I didn't ask."
"Right."
"What? Should I? Lloyd Elis is allowed not to be joined to Sian's hip."
Tom smirked at the image but didn't answer. He knew the baby of the team was as protective of them as he was. Prosser's treachery had affected them all but only now the effects of the case were showing themselves in his junior officers.
"This school. It's the Welsh speaking primary? Yeah?"
"Yes. Elin went there. I did too, way back when. The English school is the other side of Aber."
"So this is the school Lloyd's uncle works at? He said his uncle Paul was a cleaner/caretaker there. Was it him who found the body?" Tom wondered as marked closed her eyes. She had immediately forgotten about Lloyd's family tie to the school. It wasn't like her to be insensitive to such things. She bit her lip, wondering what else she had missed.
?
Sian shoved her hands in her pockets as she headed towards the woman dressed head to foot in forensic protective clothing. The plastic white jumpsuit making the woman look almost alien.
"Boss is on his way."
"DS Owen, this was brutal."
"Isn't murder always?"
The forensic officer shrugged her shoulders. Science was Hilary Smith's forte. The touchy-feeling crap could be left to the coppers.
"Victim is a white male, possibly in his late 40s or early 50s. He's been dead a fair while."
"Right."
"I'll know more when Rhodri and I get him back to the morgue. I'll run all the usual toxicology tests." She turned; leaving Sian as she headed back to the body. The blonde detective sighed heavily. Nothing really made sense. The school was closed for the summer holidays. Children and teachers wouldn't be there for another fortnight. A man was dead; found just outside the female staff toilets. She pinched the bridge of her nose as Lloyd approached.
"ti'n iawn?"
"Yeah." Lloyd smiled slightly. "I spoke to my uncle. He's fine, no idea who the bloke is. Says his mate agreed to check the place for him because he's off with his chest. COPD plays up rotten in the damp weather."
"Nasty illness." Sian agreed. "Poor dab."
Lloyd took his glasses off and wiped the lenses on his shirt before putting them back on.
"Why kill anyone in a school? A junior school? In the holidays?" Lloyd looked over to where the science team were collating evidence and working quietly. The body lay covered in a white plastic sheet as they waiting for the mortuary van to arrive.
Xxxxxx
Mared kept her attention on the road as Tom drove. She felt sick; the thought of a murder in a primary school building made her feel sick.
"Mared?"
"It's a tiny school. They tried to close it when Elin was there. Said not enough pupils."
"But it's still open." Tom smiled slightly. He liked the idea of the underdog beating the big guys. A little Welsh school fighting the world to survive and succeeding impressed him.
"It is."
"Bet you were there. Leading the campaign to keep the place open." He teased. Mared nodded.
"I was. Made a general pain of myself." She sighed as he smiled warmly. "Well, it was important. Elin loved it there."
"I'm not surprised. You are a force to be reckoned with."
She raised an eyebrow at what she assumed was a compliment. Tom carried on driving as the summer sun faded. Parking the car just inside the school gates Tom headed towards the headmistress who had clearly been sent to wait for them.
"Mrs Evans." Mared stated. "This is DCI Mathias."
"Pryhawn da yn." She shook Tom's hand. "Mared Rhys this is a Welsh speaking school." The older woman chastised her. Mared raised an eyebrow as Tom glanced at her.
"Well, currently it's a crime scene." Tom corrected her before stepping past her. The mortuary van arrived to collect the body. Mared sighed heavily, wondering if a place with such happy memories for her and her daughter could ever be the same again.
Cxxxc
a/ translates - Princess Road School
"What's up?"
"good afternoon both."
A/N please review
