‘closed’ sign was propped in the window. Phil pushed the intercom button next to the boom gate.
It took a couple of minutes and several more presses before a voice finally crackled over the speaker. ‘Yes?’
‘DI Steiner and DS Dyson.’
‘You’re late.’
A couple of seconds later the boom swung up and Phil drove in. She headed towards a huddle of buildings off to one side of the main dumpsite.
‘I’m guessing that’s not the welcoming committee,’ she muttered.
They climbed out of the car and walked over to the largest of three buildings. A woman was standing at the door, waiting for them. Her forehead was furrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line.
‘Ms Reyner?’ Phil said.
She nodded once. ‘I was expecting you this morning.’
‘Sorry, I did tell you we’d be here between ten and twelve. It’s only just twelve now,’ Phil said. She had a smile on her face but the set of her shoulders and the jutting of her chin told Ed that the polite façade was paper-thin.
‘My office is through here.’ The woman turned on her heel, leaving them to follow.
Her office would have comfortably housed a family of rabbits but not much more. She lowered herself into a chair behind anugly grey melamine desk and waved towards the two plastic chairs in front of it. Ed and Phil took a seat each.
‘We’d like to ask a few questions about the facility,’ Phil said.
‘I hope you appreciate we can’t keep this place closed indefinitely.’
‘We’ll process the scene as quickly as possible,’ Ed said, smiling and trying to imitate Dave’s charm.
The frown lines between Ms Reyner’s eyebrows deepened. ‘And what does “as quickly as possible” mean? One day, two days, a week? I have a facility to run here. Local councils rely on us to dispose of their waste. Diverting trucks will cost money and will impact on services to the community.’
She leant forwards. Ed studied the intensity on her face. She was probably somewhere in her fifties, with short brown hair. She might have been passably attractive if she could wipe the permanent scowl from her face.
‘I’m sure what you do is very important,’ Ed said, trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice and only partly succeeding, ‘but we’re dealing with a suspicious death here, more than likely a murder. For all we know there are more bodies, so until we know for sure, your clients will just have to make other arrangements.’
She gave him a look that would have frozen lava. ‘Surely you can’t expect to search the whole facility.’
‘We can and we will,’ Phil said. ‘If you need to make arrangements to divert the trucks then you’d better do it. We also need to speak to whoever worked last Friday and Saturday.’
‘But none of them are on duty today.’
‘Can you call them to come in, please? It would be better if we could speak to them here, rather than trying to visit them all at their homes,’ Ed said.
‘But if I call them in I’ll have to pay them for three hours’ work minimum,’ the woman said. ‘Will you compensate us for that?’
‘This is a public facility isn’t it?’ Phil said.
‘Yes, but we run like a business.’
‘I appreciate that, but I’m sure your bosses will understand the need for one government department to support another. We are all part of the same team, after all.’
Her look told Ed that she’d rather eat crushed glass than be part of their team.
It took a long time for the staff to come in, and for Ed and Phil to interview them all. By the end of it, they still had nothing except an overly enthusiastic description from one of the young male workers of at least two individuals he felt had looked suspicious. Going off what he’d told them, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Elephant Man had visited the dump on the same day.
Ms Reyner had also confirmed Steve’s initial assessment that the records were scant. The only reliable evidence of who had been and gone over the two-day
It took a couple of minutes and several more presses before a voice finally crackled over the speaker. ‘Yes?’
‘DI Steiner and DS Dyson.’
‘You’re late.’
A couple of seconds later the boom swung up and Phil drove in. She headed towards a huddle of buildings off to one side of the main dumpsite.
‘I’m guessing that’s not the welcoming committee,’ she muttered.
They climbed out of the car and walked over to the largest of three buildings. A woman was standing at the door, waiting for them. Her forehead was furrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line.
‘Ms Reyner?’ Phil said.
She nodded once. ‘I was expecting you this morning.’
‘Sorry, I did tell you we’d be here between ten and twelve. It’s only just twelve now,’ Phil said. She had a smile on her face but the set of her shoulders and the jutting of her chin told Ed that the polite façade was paper-thin.
‘My office is through here.’ The woman turned on her heel, leaving them to follow.
Her office would have comfortably housed a family of rabbits but not much more. She lowered herself into a chair behind anugly grey melamine desk and waved towards the two plastic chairs in front of it. Ed and Phil took a seat each.
‘We’d like to ask a few questions about the facility,’ Phil said.
‘I hope you appreciate we can’t keep this place closed indefinitely.’
‘We’ll process the scene as quickly as possible,’ Ed said, smiling and trying to imitate Dave’s charm.
The frown lines between Ms Reyner’s eyebrows deepened. ‘And what does “as quickly as possible” mean? One day, two days, a week? I have a facility to run here. Local councils rely on us to dispose of their waste. Diverting trucks will cost money and will impact on services to the community.’
She leant forwards. Ed studied the intensity on her face. She was probably somewhere in her fifties, with short brown hair. She might have been passably attractive if she could wipe the permanent scowl from her face.
‘I’m sure what you do is very important,’ Ed said, trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice and only partly succeeding, ‘but we’re dealing with a suspicious death here, more than likely a murder. For all we know there are more bodies, so until we know for sure, your clients will just have to make other arrangements.’
She gave him a look that would have frozen lava. ‘Surely you can’t expect to search the whole facility.’
‘We can and we will,’ Phil said. ‘If you need to make arrangements to divert the trucks then you’d better do it. We also need to speak to whoever worked last Friday and Saturday.’
‘But none of them are on duty today.’
‘Can you call them to come in, please? It would be better if we could speak to them here, rather than trying to visit them all at their homes,’ Ed said.
‘But if I call them in I’ll have to pay them for three hours’ work minimum,’ the woman said. ‘Will you compensate us for that?’
‘This is a public facility isn’t it?’ Phil said.
‘Yes, but we run like a business.’
‘I appreciate that, but I’m sure your bosses will understand the need for one government department to support another. We are all part of the same team, after all.’
Her look told Ed that she’d rather eat crushed glass than be part of their team.
It took a long time for the staff to come in, and for Ed and Phil to interview them all. By the end of it, they still had nothing except an overly enthusiastic description from one of the young male workers of at least two individuals he felt had looked suspicious. Going off what he’d told them, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Elephant Man had visited the dump on the same day.
Ms Reyner had also confirmed Steve’s initial assessment that the records were scant. The only reliable evidence of who had been and gone over the two-day
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