Free Body Harvest by Malcolm Rose

horribly wrong and she got an outer’s heart. Then this underground organization tried to cover it up by burying the evidence, knowing she was a loner. They reckoned no one would come looking for her.’
    Lexi nodded. ‘Can’t fault the logic. And it reminds me of Dmitri Backhouse arranging things through a chat room.’
    ‘I’d like to meet Samaritan 999 and Charon Angel. One trawls for lonely people that no one will miss and the other stalks possible suicides online. Maybe they’re the same person.’
    ‘Huh. Don’t forget Charon Angel – that’s Sharon Angie – came across as perfectly innocent in her last message.’
    Troy hesitated before replying. ‘Don’t you forget Sergio Treize could have told her a detective’s prowling around. Maybe that’s why she changed.’
    ‘But if you live in Switzerland, you can’t murder people in Shepford. And that’s that.’
    Lexi’s life-logger vibrated with news from Olga Wylie’s house. The forensic examination was continuing but the team had found evidence of theintruder. A single faint impression in the flower bed at the side of the house matched Unknown Shoeprint 1 left by the burial site in the wood. Size 12, trainer-type, with Adibok’s logo incorporated into the design of the tread. She looked up at Troy and asked, ‘How many women – outer or major – do you know who wear size twelve shoes? That’s 29.6 cm from toe to heel.’
    Troy shrugged. ‘Probably none.’
    ‘Okay. It’s almost certainly a man. He’s been near where the bodies were buried and now he’s been poking around Olga Wylie’s house.’ She paused before adding, ‘Time I went back to the wood.’

SCENE 17
    Thursday 10th April, Late afternoon
    The log cabin in the wood seemed to be deserted. ‘Huw!’ Lexi shouted loudly. ‘Hello?’
    No reply. Just the sound of birds calling.
    ‘Not here,’ Troy said. ‘Which doesn’t mean a lot on its own, but …’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Everything’s exactly the same as it was on Tuesday,’ Troy observed.
    The large axe and fishing rod were still propped against the cabin wall and most of Huw’s woodworking tools were still laid out on the table.
    Lexi glanced around. ‘Now you mention it …’
    ‘That’s a spanner thrown in the works. If he’s gone, is he another victim or a suspect we’ve scared off?’
    ‘He’s a suspect if he’s got size twelve feet. A very strong one. That’s why I’m here. To find out.’ Staring at the ground, Lexi took a deep breath. ‘No, I don’t think so.’ She pointed her life-logger at a clear impression of a left boot outside the cabin door and then said, ‘Small feet. Size eight. And a match with Unknown Shoeprint 2. The one with a bit of rubber chipped off.’ She sighed. ‘All that proves is he wanders around the wood. But he could be an accomplice. He helped out here with the bodies but didn’t go to Olga’s.’
    ‘Possible,’ Troy replied. ‘But I saw him as a loner, a free spirit, not partnering anyone.’
    ‘More likely a victim, then.’
    ‘For his sake, I hope he’s neither. Maybe he just didn’t like the intrusion. You and me asking questions and a forensic team trampling over what he’d see as his territory. Maybe he’s just upped and off. I don’t suppose it takes him long to plan a move. Not a lot to pack.’ Troy took his life-logger in his hand and said, ‘I’ll still get a team to go through the wood, looking for fresh digging.’
    ‘Talking of people on the move, I’ll get someone to find out if Olga bought any travel tickets just before 25th March. No doubt we’d be interested in where she went.’
    Walking back towards the car parked in the narrow lane, Troy said, ‘It’s sad, isn’t it? We – the people – shouldn’t need laws at all. We shouldn’t have to be told it’s bad to be nasty to each other. It should be pretty obvious.’
    ‘I suppose.’
    ‘You’d think us humans would know what’s right and what’s wrong. Especially majors.’
    ‘Why