Free DARK CRIMES a gripping detective thriller full of suspense by MICHAEL HAMBLING Page A

detectives either inspecting documents or making telephone calls. Barry Marsh looked up as she came in, and raised a finger. She crossed the room to his desk.
    ‘Morning, Barry. Something useful?’
    ‘Yes, ma’am. The street light on Spring Hill was out because someone had cut some of the internal wiring. I went across this morning with an electrician called by the council.’
    ‘So does that imply someone with electrical knowledge? Isn’t it difficult to get inside those things?’
    ‘No. Apparently it’s fairly simple. All you need is a triangular key to get the cover-plate off, and some insulated wire-cutters to snip the wires inside. Job done.’
    ‘How easy is it to get these keys? Are they common?’
    ‘If you didn’t have one, a small wrench would do the job perfectly. So our man didn’t need any special skill. It would only take a minute or two at the most.’
    ‘Did you check the inside fittings for prints?’
    ‘Nothing came up. He must have been wearing gloves,’ said Barry.
    ‘It was all meticulously planned and carried out. He left nothing to chance. That's just for you and me, by the way.’
    ‘But what about the cigarette butts? Isn’t the DNA match due in later? If they do match, that’ll have been a serious slip-up. Maybe luck will be on our side after all,’ Barry said.
    ‘Maybe. The results should be in any time now. Any luck tracing Donna’s brother?’
    ‘Not yet, but I’m hopeful. There are three of us working through the lists. It would have been near-impossible if we didn’t know his name was David. But there are still an awful lot of David Goodenoughs in the Midlands, or even ones with an initial D.’
    ‘Keep at it. We need to get a family member to identify the bodies. And the knife?’
    ‘Not yet. We’ve got people combing the immediate area. They’ve searched all the obvious places, including the brook, and nothing’s turned up. Maybe we’ll never find it.’
    ‘That wouldn’t surprise me, Barry. It all looks so well planned that I’d expect him to have thought of disposal in advance. I don’t think our guy would just throw it away hurriedly. It’ll be somewhere where we’re unlikely to find it. Either that or he’s still got it as a trophy. That might be more in line with the kind of person he is. And the umbrella puzzles me. Turning up the way it did in Susie’s flat confirms the link between her murder and Donna’s. But why would the killer take it there and then partly hide it behind a jacket? I just don’t get it.’
    ‘As far as we can tell it is the same one. Maria described it in detail. But like you, I can’t see why he would want to take it. The knife I can understand. He wouldn’t want it left at the scene, but an umbrella? Strange.’
    ‘By the way, Barry, I had the strangest feeling last night that I’d seen Susie Pater’s face before. My husband happened to mention something about faces and it suddenly occurred to me. Maybe it was down to my tiredness, but I was convinced there was something familiar about it.’
    ‘Can’t say I spotted anything, ma’am, but I’ll give it some thought.’
    Sophie nodded and crossed to Lydia Pillay’s desk.
    ‘How’s the hospital search going?’
    ‘Good, ma’am. I started here in Swanage at the local cottage hospital, and with the local health centre, but found nothing. Same with Poole, but I struck it lucky in Bournemouth, and got a positive right away. I can go across and see them tomorrow morning. Is that alright?’
    ‘Absolutely. If we’re in luck someone might remember her. Maybe someone discussed the injury with her.’
    ‘It would have been so much easier if she’d been registered with one of the local doctors. They’d have had her records to hand. I wonder why she didn’t?’
    ‘Maybe she just didn’t get around to it. But she must be registered somewhere.’
    Sophie walked to the centre of the room and addressed the whole team.
    ‘Listen, everybody! We’ll have a full meeting