Dead of Winter Tr by Lee Weeks Read Free Book Online Page A

his coffee and cake and Tina placed it neatly on his tray.
    They went to sit on the far side of the canteen. Carter shook his head in disbelief as he watched Ebony tuck into the plate of food.
    ‘Christ, where do you put it all? You must have hollow legs.’
    Ebony reached over for more ketchup while Carter took out the Carmichael file he’d got from Robbo.
    ‘We have a lead on this case but it’s not the easiest. Have you heard of Callum Carmichael?’
    She froze, mid-mouthful. ‘The policeman whose wife and child were murdered in a holiday cottage?’
    ‘That’s the one. Trevor Bishop found a print in the master bedroom at Blackdown Barn that matches one at Rose Cottage where the Carmichael murders happened.’
    ‘I only vaguely remember the case; I was a teenager at the time. I was surprised to see it still on the board when I started here.’
    ‘It will stay on the board until it’s solved.’
    ‘I looked it up after I saw it there. The press coverage was mixed. There was talk of there being a cover-up. There was very little to go on.’
    ‘The handprint was it. That was the sum total of evidence. I’ve been talking to Robbo. He was serving at the time. He says it was a mess-up. Just now, in his office, Davidson glossed
over certain facts but it’s well known that there was cross-contamination of forensic samples: some DNA samples were lost, others corrupted. They didn’t have the dedicated equipment we
have now. Things weren’t as slick.’
    ‘What’s going to happen now, Sarge?’
    ‘For whatever reason, Davidson’s not prepared to reopen the case at the moment. He wants us to do some groundwork first. He’s asked me to find out everything I can about
Carmichael. He wants an update on Carmichael’s life. He wants to know what he’s been doing for thirteen years and he wants to know if there’s any dirt that people didn’t
feel they should dish up at the time but will now.’ Ebony stopped eating, her eyes widened. ‘Yeah . . . I know,’ said Carter. He pushed the file across to her. She began looking
at the handwritten notes of the first officer to respond to Carmichael’s call:
    17 May 1998
    Arrived at Rose Cottage 11.35 a.m., responding to call from Inspector Callum Carmichael. Inspector Carmichael is present at scene. He appears to be in a confused state
     and is saying very little. He is showing signs of having handled the bodies. He has blood on his clothing. Three bodies: two women and a female child. There is a male infant alive upstairs, who
     appears to be sedated.
    The first body is that of Christine Newton. She has been cut open down the length of her torso.
    Ebony looked at the photos: Chrissie Newton’s naked body was on the floor in the lounge. She was lying on her back, her arms loose at her sides. Her head turned to one side. The whole of
her torso was opened up like a butchered pig.
    Carter reached over and closed the file as someone walked past their table.
    ‘Read it later. Davidson wants us to go to Yorkshire and talk to Carmichael. We’ll catch a train up there tomorrow and get a car left for us at the station. He lives in the middle of
the Yorkshire Dales; it will take us too long to drive the whole way. In the meantime talk to everyone you can about him.’
    ‘Did Davidson say how he thinks Carmichael could have carried it out, Sarge?’
    ‘It was a toss-up between money he stood to gain and PTSD. Carmichael had served in the SBS. He had seen action in Iraq. He had been part of Special Forces. Davidson says he was diagnosed
with mood swings. He said he could have gone into military mode and gone berserk.’
    ‘PTSD isn’t a bad mood.’
    ‘Exactly – it’s a mental disorder where people can kill and not remember. Or they choose to see it another way. This is all according to Davidson and Harding, who was the
pathologist at that time. Basically, this is the last thing Davidson wants six months away from retirement. He wants us to go and see Carmichael,