The Tunnel Rats by Stephen Leather Read Free Book Online

allowed a lunch hour.'
    Wright could see that it was pointless to argue and sighed in resignation. 'Lager shandy,' he said, then went over to an empty table and sat down. He read through the pathologist's report until THE TUNNEL RATS 35 Reid came over with their drinks. Wright looked at Reid's double vodka and tonic and shook his head admonishingly.
    Reid pretended not to notice. 'Wasn't sure if you wanted ice or lemon. Or a cherry.' He sat down, took a deep pull at his drink and smacked his lips as if deliberately trying to antagonise Wright. Wright looked down at the report again. 'So what does the delightful Dr Littman say?' Reid asked.
    'Sixty-three cuts, a dozen of which could have been the fatal one. Three different blades used.'
    'Three?' repeated Reid incredulously.
    'He was dead when his dick was cut off.'
    'That's a relief, then.'
    'And his vocal cords had been cut. Presumably so he couldn't scream.' Wright dropped the report down on top of the envelope. 'Who the hell would torture a man in that way, Tommy?'
    Reid shrugged and drained his glass. 'Whoever it was, they went to a lot of trouble. Three knives. The nails. Something to bang them in with. Something to put the clothes in. And the playing card. Another?'
    Wright looked up sharply. 'What?'
    'Another drink?' said Reid, tapping his empty glass. He stood up, grunting from the effort.
    Wright refused the offer. He rested his head against the back of his seat while Reid ambled across the carpet to the bar.
    Superintendent Richard Newton pushed the photographs with his index finger and grimaced. He'd seen more than his share of mutilated bodies during his twenty-year career, usually suicides who'd decided to end it all by throwing themselves in front of a train, but the injuries of the man in the tunnel were all the more horrific because of the way they'd been inflicted. This was no sudden death: the wounds had been inflicted one at a time, methodically, over a period of time. He shuddered.
    The door to his office opened and his secretary showed in Tommy Reid and Nick Wright. Reid's cheeks were red and the 36 STEPHEN LEATHER superintendent could smell his minty breath from across his desk as the two men sat down. 'Well?' said Newton. 'What's the state of play?'
    'White male, mid to late forties, multiple stab wounds and mutilations,' said Reid. 'That's all we know.'
    'No identification on the body?' asked Newton.
    'No, nothing,' said Reid. 'No clothes, no wallet, no jewellery.'
    Newton slid one of the ten-by-twelves across the desk to Reid. 'Is that what I think it is in his mouth?' he asked disdainfully.
    Reid nodded.
    'A warning?' .
    'Maybe.' ^
    'And the playing card?'
    Reid shrugged.
    Newton nodded thoughtfully. 'It's a messy one,' he said.
    'I think it's a serial killer,' said Wright;. It was the first time he'd spoken since entering the office.
    Newton settled back in his chair and tapped his fingertips together as he studied Wright. Wright shifted uncomfortably under the superintendent's gaze. 'Why do you say that, Nick?'
    Wright pointed at the glossy photographs. 'It's too . . .' he struggled to fiftd the right word '. . . formal.' He frowned and ran a hand through his fringe.
    'Formal?' said Newton. He raised his eyebrows archly.
    'Organised,' said Wright hurriedly. 'It's too organised to be a gangland or a drugs killing. The way the body was nailed to the wall, it was as if someone was creating an image.' Wright's voice tailed off as he struggled to express himself.
    'But I've not heard of any similar killings,' said the superintendent. 'And that would be a prerequisite for a serial killer, wouldn't it?'
    The sarcasm didn't appear to register with Wright. 'It could be the start,' he said.
    'It could,' said Newton* unconvinced. 'But at present we have a single killing. I think the time to start speculating about a mass murderer would be if and when there's a second victim. Until then I suggest you treat it as a straightforward murder investigation.' Newton