Perfect Sins by Jo Bannister Read Free Book Online Page B

well.
    â€œMaybe, in that situation, you could imagine keeping quiet. Telling the neighbors your son had gone to stay with his grandparents, and later telling them he was doing so well there he was going to stay. Telling his school the same story. It might be challenged, but the odds are it wouldn’t be. In these days of pick-and-mix families, children are a bit of a movable feast.” There was a wistfulness in his tone that, of those present, only Hazel understood.
    â€œOr, of course,” said David Sperrin, a man who may have had finer feelings but didn’t give them much exercise, “some perv may have grabbed him, had his bit of fun, and buried him there when he was finished. Byrfield isn’t exactly Area Fifty-One—it’s not difficult to get in and out unobserved.”
    Pete Byrfield regarded him with disapproval bordering on dislike. “Thanks for that, David. I was just about coming to terms with the idea of a family tragedy. Now, every time I see someone crossing the estate I’m going to wonder what unspeakable mischief they’ve been up to.”
    Sperrin shrugged, untroubled.
    Hazel shook her head with conviction. “This wasn’t the work of a pedophile. The murder, if it was murder, might have been, but not the burial. By the time a pedophile gets around to burying his victim, he isn’t concerned with making him comfortable, only with disposing of the evidence. No way would he build a DIY mausoleum out of paving slabs. He might have wrapped the body in a blanket, he’d have brought a spade to get it underground, and the minute that was done he’d have been away.
    â€œPedophiles might think—some of them—that they love their victims, but they don’t really. They’re playing at it, like playing with dolls. And what do you do with a broken doll? You throw it away. A man like that wouldn’t have risked discovery to create what we saw.”
    Byrfield nodded, a little comforted. But not much. “But doesn’t that mean it was someone local? You don’t drive a hundred miles with a dead body and a dozen paving slabs in your car! It must have been someone with an excuse to be down there with a Land Rover or a tractor or something.”
    Hazel thought about it and nodded. She’d have liked to tell him no, that it was probably a stranger, but the situation was upsetting enough without confusing one another with lies. “A hole in the ground and a blanket, that could be anybody. The slabs make it look like someone who knows the estate. And is probably therefore known on the estate.”
    â€œOr was known here, years ago,” said Sperrin. “That’s not a recent grave. Forensics will get closer, but it has to be twenty years old and could be a lot older. Whoever was responsible is probably long gone, and quite possibly dead by now anyway.”
    â€œI hope so,” murmured Byrfield.
    â€œYou might as well think so,” said Sperrin cheerfully. “We’re never likely to learn the truth now.”

 
    CHAPTER 7
    W HEN A SH TOOK Patience for a walk, Hazel went after them, jogging to catch up. She fell into step beside her friend.
    â€œAre you all right?”
    The same question that had tasked his therapist. “Yes, of course.”
    â€œDon’t say it if it isn’t true. This has been a difficult day for everybody. For you, it must have been awful.”
    He made a gesture with one hand. “No different for me.”
    â€œOf course it’s different for you,” Hazel said sharply. “This isn’t personal for us the way it is for you. We can imagine what it’s like to lose a child. You know.”
    â€œYes,” Ash said softly.
    â€œIf you want to leave here, we can go now.”
    â€œI think Pete wants you to stay.”
    â€œYes?” She considered that, then shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. He might think he needs his hand held, but he