some point in his life, Colin?’
Colin peered at the bones. ‘Some years before death, I’d say.’ He looked up at Wesley. ‘A fight maybe. Or an accident?’
‘Or battle?’
‘It’s a possibility.
‘You mean he could have been an old soldier?’ said Gerry. ‘The question is, which war?
Wesley ignored the question and turned his attention to the woman’s bones. They were smaller, more delicate and the teeth
were less worn.
‘She was much younger,’ Colin said. ‘And, as I said, the Harris lines indicate that she didn’t receive adequate nourishment
while she was growing up.’
‘So how old?’ Gerry asked.
‘Well, from the teeth, I’d say late teens, early twenties.Her wisdom teeth are just coming through and I don’t think she’d ever given birth. No sign of trauma to this one but … have
a close look, Wesley. Tell me if you notice anything odd,’ Colin said as he handed over a magnifying glass he’d taken from
a nearby shelf.
Wesley glanced at Gerry who was watching expectantly, full of curiosity. Then he bent over the bones and began to examine
them carefully. After a minute of so he straightened up, a puzzled frown on his face.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Colin asked.
‘What is it?’ Gerry asked impatiently.
Colin took a deep breath. ‘Well, I don’t know if Wesley agrees with me but I think there are faint cut marks on some of the
bones. I noticed similar ones on the male. It’s as if …’
‘You mean they’ve been butchered?’ Gerry sounded quite alarmed. ‘You mean we’re talking about cannibalism, here in Devon?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘I can just see the headlines.’
Wesley caught Colin’s eye and they exchanged a smile. ‘There’s no sign of butchery, Gerry. Besides, the skeletons are complete.
It’s something else.’
‘What?’
It was Colin who delivered the final verdict. ‘I can’t be sure, of course. There could be a number of explanations but … well,
it’s possible that these corpses were dissected after death.’
One look at Gerry’s expression told Wesley that this didn’t seem to make things any better.
When Wesley arrived back at the incident room he rang Pam, just to remind her that he was still alive. He feltguilty about leaving her to entertain the children on her own on what should be a day of rest. But then guilt went with the
territory. If they could harness guilt as a power source, he thought, all the country’s energy problems might be solved.
He had just sat down to read through a batch of witness statements when DC Nick Tarnaby shuffled up to his desk wearing his
usual morose expression. Tarnaby had only been with CID for five months, brought in to replace Steve Carstairs who had died
in the course of his duty attempting to rescue a murder suspect from the sea, an act which had earned him the status of hero
in death. Wesley hadn’t liked the swaggering racist Steve and he wasn’t sure that he particularly liked Tarnaby either.
He looked up and forced himself to smile. ‘What can I do for you, Nick?’
‘We’ve had no luck with that Adam Tey, sir. Nobody at the address we were given.’
This wasn’t good news. They needed to speak to Tey and his partner. But it was the weekend so perhaps they were away. Or lying
low.
He saw that Tarnaby was consulting a sheet of paper in his hand. ‘Anything else?’
‘Yeah. I was asked to check out some names and one looks promising.’ He put the paper down on Wesley’s desk. ‘Harry Parker’s
got a record. Robbery, burglary and threatening behaviour.’
Wesley picked up the sheet and read it. ‘Thanks, Nick,’ he said to Tarnaby’s disappearing back. It looked as if Rosalind Dalcott’s
new partner was no angel. But did that necessarily mean he’d want James Dalcott dead?
CHAPTER 3
Transcript of recording made by Mrs Mabel Cleary (née Fallon) – Home Counties Library Service Living History Project: Reminiscences
of a
Colin peered at the bones. ‘Some years before death, I’d say.’ He looked up at Wesley. ‘A fight maybe. Or an accident?’
‘Or battle?’
‘It’s a possibility.
‘You mean he could have been an old soldier?’ said Gerry. ‘The question is, which war?
Wesley ignored the question and turned his attention to the woman’s bones. They were smaller, more delicate and the teeth
were less worn.
‘She was much younger,’ Colin said. ‘And, as I said, the Harris lines indicate that she didn’t receive adequate nourishment
while she was growing up.’
‘So how old?’ Gerry asked.
‘Well, from the teeth, I’d say late teens, early twenties.Her wisdom teeth are just coming through and I don’t think she’d ever given birth. No sign of trauma to this one but … have
a close look, Wesley. Tell me if you notice anything odd,’ Colin said as he handed over a magnifying glass he’d taken from
a nearby shelf.
Wesley glanced at Gerry who was watching expectantly, full of curiosity. Then he bent over the bones and began to examine
them carefully. After a minute of so he straightened up, a puzzled frown on his face.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Colin asked.
‘What is it?’ Gerry asked impatiently.
Colin took a deep breath. ‘Well, I don’t know if Wesley agrees with me but I think there are faint cut marks on some of the
bones. I noticed similar ones on the male. It’s as if …’
‘You mean they’ve been butchered?’ Gerry sounded quite alarmed. ‘You mean we’re talking about cannibalism, here in Devon?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘I can just see the headlines.’
Wesley caught Colin’s eye and they exchanged a smile. ‘There’s no sign of butchery, Gerry. Besides, the skeletons are complete.
It’s something else.’
‘What?’
It was Colin who delivered the final verdict. ‘I can’t be sure, of course. There could be a number of explanations but … well,
it’s possible that these corpses were dissected after death.’
One look at Gerry’s expression told Wesley that this didn’t seem to make things any better.
When Wesley arrived back at the incident room he rang Pam, just to remind her that he was still alive. He feltguilty about leaving her to entertain the children on her own on what should be a day of rest. But then guilt went with the
territory. If they could harness guilt as a power source, he thought, all the country’s energy problems might be solved.
He had just sat down to read through a batch of witness statements when DC Nick Tarnaby shuffled up to his desk wearing his
usual morose expression. Tarnaby had only been with CID for five months, brought in to replace Steve Carstairs who had died
in the course of his duty attempting to rescue a murder suspect from the sea, an act which had earned him the status of hero
in death. Wesley hadn’t liked the swaggering racist Steve and he wasn’t sure that he particularly liked Tarnaby either.
He looked up and forced himself to smile. ‘What can I do for you, Nick?’
‘We’ve had no luck with that Adam Tey, sir. Nobody at the address we were given.’
This wasn’t good news. They needed to speak to Tey and his partner. But it was the weekend so perhaps they were away. Or lying
low.
He saw that Tarnaby was consulting a sheet of paper in his hand. ‘Anything else?’
‘Yeah. I was asked to check out some names and one looks promising.’ He put the paper down on Wesley’s desk. ‘Harry Parker’s
got a record. Robbery, burglary and threatening behaviour.’
Wesley picked up the sheet and read it. ‘Thanks, Nick,’ he said to Tarnaby’s disappearing back. It looked as if Rosalind Dalcott’s
new partner was no angel. But did that necessarily mean he’d want James Dalcott dead?
CHAPTER 3
Transcript of recording made by Mrs Mabel Cleary (née Fallon) – Home Counties Library Service Living History Project: Reminiscences
of a
Similar Books
