Red Ribbons by Louise Phillips Read Free Book Online Page B

images, but they have a perforated edge running along the side, a kind of herringbone pattern.’
    ‘What else was picked up at the scene?’
    ‘Despite Hanley’s best efforts, apart from the victim herself, there’s a partial boot print from the side of the ditch, that’s all. Of course, the heavy rain could well have put paid to any skid or drag marks left by the killer getting the body down there.’
    ‘So not much really?’
    ‘No, not yet. But you and I both know you can’t exclude evidence just because it isn’t there.’
    Kate looked down at the images again. There were also some black-and-whites photographs and they reminded her of another murder she’d been involved with during her placement with Henry Bloom. That had also been of a young female victim, a teenager named Rachel Mellows. Rachel had been viciously attacked in a laneway on her way home no more than a hundred yards away from where she lived. On that occasion, they’d arrested the killer, a psychopath called Paul Whitney. When Whitney was asked why he had chosen Rachel, he told the investigation officers that on the night he killed her, he had picked her out for no other reason than he’d been attracted to her white scarf. Whitney said it had reminded him of a sail blowing in the wind. It taught Kate one indisputable lesson: whatever brings a murderer to a location, the choice of victim could be determined by the smallest of details.
    ‘So, Kate, now that I have finished my lunch, what do you think we have here?’
    ‘The killer was careful, O’Connor. Notwithstanding the storm and possible erosion of evidence, whoever killed Caroline Devine buried her in challenging terrain, but he took his time and was calm. It all looks too organised for any other interpretation.’
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘The crime scene – the secondary crime scene if Hanley is right – is far too neat. Typically, organised crime scenes are planned, but we have to remember this is probably a secondary scene. It may mean the killer simply put extra thought into the burial, but, in so doing, it shows him – or her – to be very particular and specific. Look at the way the child is positioned, everything seems very exact, almost like a picture. It is not unusual when a murder has been committed for the perpetrator to hide the body, but this is different. This body wasn’t just dumped and hidden. Everything about the site says there is a high level of intimacy here.’
    ‘Intimacy?’
    ‘Look at the girl, her hands, the way they are joined, the plaiting, how each ribbon is resting neatly on her shoulders.’
    ‘I’m listening.’
    ‘The killer was careful. It must have taken him some time to dig out that grave, yet if Morrison is correct, he made a point of preparing the corpse, positioning the girl in a very specific way. Did Morrison say whether the hair was plaited before or after the head injuries?’
    ‘After, he thinks, but the postmortem will firm that up.’
    ‘Perhaps the killer was familiar with the area. It’s not an easy area to get around.’
    ‘Or perhaps, Kate, our
pal
likes to take his time burying innocent young girls?’
    ‘Guilt makes people sloppy. This guy was anything but.’
    ‘Great, a neat killer, exactly what I wanted to hear.’
    ‘You asked for it.’
    ‘Anything else?’
    ‘The blows to the head, they look severe.’
    ‘They were. Morrison says both blows came from behind. Although the injuries to the head were deep, they’re not the likely cause of death. We should know more later on, but according to him, the most likely cause was asphyxiation.’
    ‘I can see the marks and bruising on the neck.’
    ‘Yeah and the spotting around the eyes, another tell-tale sign.’
    ‘What was used?’
    ‘Hands probably.’
    ‘The two indentations at the front?’
    ‘Pressure thumb marks most likely.’
    ‘Was she conscious?’
    ‘Too early to tell, but Morrison thinks the blows may have knocked her out.’
    ‘A small