Dead or Alive by Ken McCoy Page A

bits of him all over the room. The woman was shot once through the mouth with a handgun as far as I can tell.’
    â€˜Did you find the casing?’
    â€˜Not so far. Despite it being messy it looks like a pro job, so they probably picked up their brass. There’s plenty of double O shot around the room but that stuff leaves no forensics behind.’
    â€˜And Jane Duffield’s in there now is she?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜Rather her than me by the sound of it.’
    â€˜And me, sir.’
    â€˜Has she left anything we can cover our feet with?’
    â€˜There’s a box of stuff in the entrance hall. She’ll want you to cover up completely, sir – and so will you when you see what’s in there.’
    â€˜Great. I only had fish and chips half an hour ago.’
    Ten minutes later the inspector was back outside. His face white under the street lamps. His detective sergeant had gone inside and came straight back out to throw up.
    â€˜Sorry about that, sir. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.’
    â€˜Well, it’s not something you see every day, even in this job. Anyway there’s really nothing in that room that needs my attention right now. It looks like a professional hit so I doubt if they left much behind for us. I should think the four occupants’ll fill us in on what happened once they’ve recovered.’
    â€˜I can’t say I’m surprised that they’re in shock, sir.’
    â€˜No, quite. Hang around here for a while – I need to make a couple of calls from the car.’
    Cope went back to the car and called the station to appraise his DCI of the situation and to ensure the forensic team knew what they were up against. ‘I’ve got four probable witnesses on their way in, all of them in shock. We need to get them checked out by a doctor before I question them.’ When he finished the call he stabbed in another number. It was a brief conversation. A sharp voice, having recognized the caller’s number on his screen said, ‘Yes or no, do I have anything more to worry about?’
    â€˜No.’

EIGHT
5 April

Allerton Police Station, Leeds
    â€˜H ow the hell did Formosa get to know about Dench?’
    â€˜I don’t know for sure, sir, but I assume Dench’s girlfriend knew exactly what he was up to. She told one of the witnesses that she and Dench were planning to leave the country any time soon. A loose tongue like that would soon make its way to Formosa.’
    Cope was standing because Detective Superintendent Ibbotson hadn’t offered him a seat. ‘So the girl opens her mouth and Formosa’s hitman puts a bullet in it. Which means she was either screaming or he pushed the gun into her mouth. We really need to catch this man.’
    â€˜Yes, sir. According to Jane Duffield her teeth were intact, and there were two hitmen.’
    â€˜Descriptions?’
    â€˜They vary from witness to witness, sir. The only constant being that they were both white with local accents.’
    â€˜And the witnesses are all terrified?’
    â€˜Yes they are.’
    â€˜So, we can probably discount those descriptions. Did the assailants actually know Dench was about to give evidence against Formosa?’
    â€˜One them – the woman – mentioned something about Dench being punished for grassing up Vince Formosa.’
    â€˜Would she say that in court?’
    â€˜Doubt it, sir. Not after witnessing Dench’s head being blown off.’
    â€˜Well, her evidence would be tenuous to say the least and I wouldn’t give much for her chances when Formosa’s found not guilty and back on the streets.’
    â€˜We still have our safe house witness, sir.’
    â€˜Not for much longer. His evidence alone won’t be nearly enough. In support of Dench’s evidence we had Formosa bang-to-rights, but he’d be signing his own death warrant if we put him in court. I’ll notify