Death Marks (The Symbolist) (6 page)

Seeing the Forensics insignia on the brown envelopes on his desk, Redd's eyes lit up. It was now Friday, and despite, finding the Bakers and Delle Woodhouse, they still didn't have a significant lead. Pouring himself a large cup of coffee, he went to the desk, searching for his notepad and pen. It was at times like this, he wished he'd let the cleaner or Michelle tidy things up.

After two hours of studying the reports, Redd groaned, putting his head in his hands. The results were horrific; the vics really suffered. Stabbing the intercom button, he said, 'Michelle, get Cummings and Dove in here pronto. Contact Dr. Patterson - Toxicology, I need to speak to him urgently. '

Michelle came back almost immediately, 'I was just about to ring Dr
. Patterson when the Deputy Chief Constable came on the line Sir.'

'Okay, Michelle, put him through.'

'Dan, it's one hell of case. I see you need the DNA of the Woodhouse girl in a hurry.'

'Yes Sir, we interviewed the mother. One interesting point, the girl must have had the tattoos done after leaving home. Thing is, they are the same as those of the Baker boy. I'm wondering if the unsubs did them - some kind of ritual.'

'The case gets weirder. Good work getting the hair roots. I've already been on to Doctor Patterson. He knows the case has top priority. We need to get those results through in forty-eight hours, even if his team has to sleep at the lab. So send the samples off to him by special courier.'

'Bill, I have to square it with Titmouse. The budget...?

'Leave that to me. Forget Titmouse, he's a pain in the arse.'

'Thanks, that's a relief.'

'We've got to kill this quickly. I can see large-scale panic if we don't; damn bunch of psychopaths. Sounds like the crime of the fucking century.'

Dan felt the pressure of his words. 'Got everyone on it Bill. All overtime cancelled, officers working twelve-hour shifts. The commuters have beds here. The Incident Room is up and running; the teams are working non-stop.'

'Sounds like it could turn serial - your thoughts?'

'I'm concerned. I've contacted other branches, as to similar crimes. DS Williams went back five years on HOLMES, and he's combing it every day. If there is anything comparable, we'll know. Papworth is searching Interpol.'

'Good - let's hope it's contained to the UK.'

'I'll phone Patterson now Sir.'

'Keep at it - anything you need, just let me know. Bye now.'

Putting down the phone, Redd breathed a sigh of relief. At least, he had the DCC on his side; Titmouse was murmuring about Seaton assisting. He didn't need that louse crawling in his hair. The investigating teams were already in full throttle. As Jack was also helping on the case, it made for a good excuse.

Pressing the intercom, he said, 'Michelle, try Doctor Patterson now. 'Will do sir.'

Minutes later, Michelle buzzed. 'Dr
. Patterson for you sir.'

'Great, put him through.' Redd switched the phone to the loudspeaker, leaving him free to write notes. 'Hello Doctor, just been speaking to the DDC; he tells me he's already discussed the case with you.'

Patterson was well beyond retirement, although suffering from bronchial trouble and chronic osteo-arthritis of the spine, making it almost impossible to walk; he scooted around the labs in an electric wheel chair, a pipe stuffed in the pocket of his white overalls. He'd given up smoking, years ago, but now and then, he liked to suck on the pipe, claiming it helped him to think. He refused to retire; his work was his life.

'Hi Redd - yes, the DCC has been onto me. Bloody awful crime. There are some right monsters out there. You want the DNA results on Delle Woodhouse, as of yesterday?'

'Yes, but first, I've just been through the reports on the victims. I see you've lifted a fingerprint from the bark of a tree, that took some doing, so a big thank you. Now, back to the DNA, we managed to find some root hairs from the girl's hairbrush, and a used tube of lipstick. So, I need to connect the DNA on these items to the victim's DNA. This is one bugger of a case; perps are pure evil.'

'Yeah, it's shocking. The DCC is pulling out all the guns. I'll go over to the lab personally. We should get it through in three days tops - Saturday?'

Knowing it usually took weeks to get the DNA test through, Redd grinned. 'Brilliant. My thanks, now I'm going to go through the reports with Jack and Dove. Hope to hear from you soon.'

As he put down the phone, Dove entered with Jack following.

'Come in - I've been through the toxicology reports, and I think there is a glimmering of a lead, but the whole case is very strange. Sit yourselves down - we're in for a long haul.'

Taking a chair,
Dove took out her notepad, whilst Jack dragged the recliner forward. 'Might as well make myself comfortable. So what gives?'

'Forensics managed to lift a fingerprint from the bark of one of the yew trees on the site.'

Jack murmured, 'Christ - didn't think it was possible.'

'Yeah clever buggers aren't they. Only thing is, they can't match it. But, at least it's on record. Papworth ran it through HOLMES, and there is no match. All we have to do now is find the hand.'

Dove grimaced. 'Let's hope it's still attached to the body.'

Jack said, '
Maybe they'll start dissecting each other.'

I've phoned Edward Patterson, and he's promised to do DNA testing on Delle's hair roots and lipstick together with the DNA from the body in the morgue. We'll have the results Saturday hopefully. If the DNA of both of them marries up, then you can get the mother to identify Delle's body.

Now - blood types - David Baker's is type '0', and the female is type 'AB'. Both were in good health judging from the organs. The stomach contents revealed they ingested salmon, potatoes and a salad of, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and so on. There is more, but I'll come back to it. Now this is something that happens rarely.

'Here's where it gets strange. There may be a possible lead. It says that both victims ingested an herb, known as Salvia Divinorum - it's referred to as Diviner's or Seer's Sage. It is a hallucinatory drug - a psychoactive plant. It's a potent k-opoid and D2 receptor agonist with low toxicity, and low addictive potential.

Dove raised her pen. 'Just one point - I didn't know sage was a drug.'

'This is a cousin of the herb - can grow to a metre in height. From the information I've gathered, its native habitat is the cloud forest, in a very isolated region of the Sierra Mazateca of Oxaca, in Mexico. Now here's the twist, the unsubs have added a cocktail of agents making it highly toxic and addictive. Therefore, it's a bloody dangerous mix and can produce powerful visions and hallucinations.'

Jack frowned. 'What the hell is a cloud forest?'

'The canopy of a forest, covered in fog, lots of moisture, home of rare trees and plants.'

Typing the information, Dove said, 'Mexico? Anywhere else?'

'Yes, I thought about that, on researching it, I found it's now available worldwide.'

Jack asked, 'And it was in the victims' stomachs?'

'Yes. It seemed they chewed the leaves, and swallowed them. I read on the net; they are not supposed to do that. To get the maximum effect, the leaves are held in the mouth. It's called a Quid drug, where you spit it out afterwards. It's said to be more powerful than LSD.'

'So, how did they take the other agents?'

'They were mixed into the herbs.'

Dove felt her stomach churn. 'Christ. I wonder if they took it willingly or were forced.'

Scratching his head, Jack said, '
It produces hallucinations - but why give it to the victims? I would have thought the perps would be more likely to take it. The crimes seem to fit the drug. Hallucinations, delusions. Strange.'

'I'm not sure; the Mazatec shamans believe the plant is an incarnation of the Virgin Mary and has great healing properties besides bringing visions. But of course, they take the natural form of the drug.'

'But why the Mazateca? Why a Mexican drug?'

Dove said, '
Maybe because it's easier to get hold of. But, they must have an expert chemist to be able to do the mix.'

Jack muttered, '
So far, we have a surgeon and a chemist.'

Redd raised his eyebrows. 'Could be your local pharmacist.'

Dove read over her notes so far. 'Can anyone grow this? Is it like cannabis?'

'It reproduces vegatively, meaning it will root where it bends over and meets the ground - same as the yew trees. Easy then to get cuttings and grow it. It rarely produces seeds.'

Redd nodded. 'It's all over the web - plants, seeds, joint rolls - very cheap too.'

'Surely it's against the law if it's psychoactive drug?'

Redd said, 'It seems there were some moves towards legislation of the drug. In 2005 in an Early Day Motion, an MP moved to ban Salvia Divinorum. However, it only received eleven signatures. A second motion was raised in October 2008. That had 18 signatures. It seems an MP also wrote to the Home Secretary at the time. Subsequently, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs was asked to look into the matter. It seems the drug is in line with other k-opoid agonists and has not only therapeutic potential, but also can aid in cocaine addiction.'

Dove raised her head from her writing. 'So it's controversial then. I would have thought with it being non-addictive, it would not ring the alarm bells.'

Redd nodded. 'I got this information from HOLMES; one director of a national health screening programme said it could be useful in a whole range of diseases, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, depression, AIDS and HIV.'

Leaning back in the recliner, Jack said, '
Makes you wonder what the perps were up to. Why drug them? Fuck it - doesn't make sense.'

Redd shook his head. 'We've got to comb the websites, get lists of customers - addresses.'

Dove frowned. 'Boss, there'll be hundreds - thousands.'

'Exactly, get the teams on it. Get DS Williams and Papworth, they're the computer bugs. Get DS Price to oversee it, he's the team's Office Manager.'

Jack said, 'Now - the bones. I can't even begin to understand why they're included in the crime scene. They are definitely over two hundred years possibly older - male and female.'

Dove wrinkled her forehead. 'I'll get Bessie Owen and Mack O'Connell on that. I think it would be best to concentrate on the older churches in the district.'

Jack said. 'Some of them date back to the twelfth century. It would be easier if we had an approximate age to work on, but at least we can cut out the last two hundred years. I can't understand why they've bleached them. Leaving an old rough parchment scroll points to a cult, or they are a bunch of fanatics wanting to tell the world.'

Redd nodded. 'Generally, killers don't leave specific notes.'

Jack said, 'Only when they're escalating, getting out of control - then they do.'

Dove frowned. 'So these are out of the norm. They've only just started. Let's hope it was a one-off.'

Jack grimaced, 'Changing the subject, have you assigned a profiler yet?'

'Dr. Timmins was supposed to take it on, but he's undergoing tests at the hospital, possible spleen trouble. I tried the one at Worthing, but she's completely booked up. Debbie did recommend a profiler who's breaking new ground, an American hails from Alabama. She's been away for a couple of days, but she should be back now. Seems she's got a new approach to profiling - helped out on a couple of cases with the FBI.'

'And that is?'

'Not sure. Something about a symbolic perspective, but I'll have to talk with her about it.'

Jack rose from the recliner. 'I'll be off then. Let me know how it goes Dan. We need something - whole thing stinks.'

Reaching for the intercom, Redd buzzed Michelle. 'Get me Dr
. Davies please.' As he waited, he realized he was gritting his teeth. The case was a mess; he just hoped the profiler could make sense of it. He sighed with relief, as he heard her voice, the soft drawl soothing. 'Hi there, Dr. Davies's speaking.'

'Ah yes, Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Redd here, Brighton Police Headquarters, our
Counsellor Ms. Debbie Stamp recommended you.'

'Ah yes, I've just returned from Warwick. She phoned me. How can I help you?'

'Better if I explain in person - it's complicated. Could we meet up?'

'Yes of course, when's convenient for you?'

'How about tomorrow morning? I'm sorry to push it, but we're really up against it. This is a vicious crime. We have every reason to believe the perps may strike again.'

Her voice was warm, 'In that case, I could see you at ten-thirty AM.'

'That would be great thanks. Now all I need is your address.'

'I don't live far from the Station. It's a little way into the Downs, Tatbourne, Hyde Cottage, Meads Way. You can't miss it; it's the only cottage down the lane - fields either side.'

'I'll find it with the GPS.'