Missing (The Cass Lehman Series Book 3) by Melanie Casey Read Free Book Online

from the printer.
    ‘Take it away, Steve,’ Phil gave him a wide smile, then turned her attention to Ed.

    ‘I’ve summarised what we know so far,’ Steve said, ‘which isn’t much. I’ve also made a list of all the employees at the dump we need to interview. The preliminary results from pathology combined with the placement of the remains indicate the victim was probably killed sometime in the last week, and the rubbish dumped in the last seventy-two hours.’
    ‘Assuming the vic was killed,’ Ed said.
    ‘Well, yes, I suppose —’
    ‘I mean, he could have died of natural causes and someone just chopped him up to dispose of him,’ Ed said.
    ‘We all know that’s not very bloody likely,’ Phil said. ‘Why would someone bother their arse to chop up someone who’d died of natural causes?’
    ‘It’s possible,’ Ed said. He knew he was being ridiculous but he couldn’t seem to help himself.
    ‘Are you going to argue about everything or can we just get on with this?’ Phil said.
    Ed shrugged.
    ‘Go on, Steve,’ Phil said.
    ‘The crime-scene team is going over the rubbish found with the remains to see if there’s anything they can tell us about where they came from. The dump was closed on Sunday but open Friday and Saturday — mostly for council garbage trucks, but it was open to the public between 10am and 4pm Saturday. I’ve got all the CCTV footage from those forty-eight hours.’
    ‘Do they keep records of who dumped what each day?’ Dave asked.

    ‘Nope. People just pay their fee and off they go. The CCTV is the only real evidence of who visited.’
    ‘How good is it? Can you see licence plates?’ Ed asked.
    ‘I’ve only had a quick look, but it seems OK for the most part.’
    ‘So what have you guys got?’ Phil asked.
    Ed nodded at Dave to take the lead. He didn’t trust himself to keep from saying something snarky.
    ‘We’ve been over the missing persons files this morning. We also spoke to the Adelaide pathologist who’s running tests on the remains now. He managed to give us a narrower age range and description, so we’ve been able to prune the list down to three possible missing persons in the state database. We haven’t extended it interstate yet.’
    ‘No point until we rule out the locals,’ Phil said.
    ‘That’s what we thought. Based on the initial findings the victim is probably aged sixty plus, Caucasian with advanced arthritis in his fingers. Hasn’t had any recent dental work.’
    Dave finished speaking and gave Phil a mega-watt smile. She gave him a completely blank look in return. The exchange was almost enough to reignite Ed’s sense of humour.
    ‘The three missing persons are all men in their fifties or sixties. We’ve got details of next of kin, but haven’t made contact yet,’ Ed said.
    ‘So we’ve got CCTV to review, dump personnel to interview and families of missing persons to visit? Sounds like our dance card’s pretty full,’ Dave said, flashing another perky smile.

    Phil cocked one eyebrow. ‘I don’t dance,’ she said, with no hint of mirth.
    Ed bit his lip. He was beginning to feel a bit sorry for Dave.
    ‘Phil, how about Dave and Steve stay here and go over the CCTV footage? They can jot down the details of any vehicles that disposed of waste in the vicinity and run the plates through the database. You and I can tackle interviews at the dump. The families of the missing persons can wait until tomorrow when we’re back in Adelaide. All of them are in the metro area.’
    She regarded him for a few moments before finally cracking a smile. ‘Sure, why not. I’ve almost missed your grumpy arse around here. It’ll remind me just how lucky I am to have Steve.’

CHAPTER
5
    I’d stopped pretending to be asleep after Ed had snuck out at some ridiculously early hour, and rolled out of bed to make a cup of tea. Jasmine took the opportunity to demand an early breakfast, which she devoured in the time it took the kettle to boil, then both