‘Do you think we should try to find out who Calvin was friends with in prison? Maybe see if any of those are either out now or know anything about him his parole officer doesn’t?’ Scott suggested.
‘Worth a try, I suppose. I don’t think it will be difficult to find something the parole officer doesn’t know,’ Sian said. ‘According to Ranjeet, she was absolutely clueless.’
‘Do you ever get the feeling that the whole justice system in this country is completely arse about face?’ Scott asked.
‘You’re not getting disillusioned about your job are you, Scott?’ Rory asked.
Sian’s mobile rang. She picked it up and stepped away from her desk before answering.
‘No, of course not. It’s just … well, the papers are full of stories about light sentences, criminals re-offending and not going back to prison, people flouting the law and our hands being tied because we’re short of money and officers, or some smarmy solicitor finding a loophole. It just pisses me off sometimes.’
‘I’m afraid you were wrong, Rory,’ Sian said, disconnecting her call.
‘Sorry?’
‘That was Christian. I think we’re a long way from the final act and Calvin Page has just turned up.’
‘Really? Where?’
‘The ski village.’
‘The ski village? But that burnt down ages ago. What was he doing, hiding out?’
‘No. Well, someone was hiding him. He’s had his head caved in.’
Chapter 35
The Sheffield Ski Village was opened in Parkwood Springs in 1988. The first slope proved to be so popular that within two years a further seven slopes were added making it one of the largest artificial ski villages in Europe. Ski lodges, bars and shops were added, and some slopes redesigned to enable a variety of skiing activities.
In April 2012, the main building was destroyed by fire and the site was closed to the public. The fire was ruled to have been started accidentally. There were further fires, and by August 2016, the site had suffered from approximately fifty arson attacks.
Since 2012, the ski village had stood derelict and been blighted by significant fly tipping, used as a gypsy traveller site, been subject to theft, vandalism, and further arson attacks.
Matilda pulled up as close as she could to the entrance in her Range Rover. It was getting dark but she could see where she had to go by the artificial lights that had been erected around where the body had been found.
Parkwood Springs was high up and gave wonderful panoramic views of Sheffield. Matilda shivered as a gust of cool autumnal wind blew around her.
‘Good evening boss,’ Rory smiled. ‘Did you ever use the ski slopes?’ he asked with a smile.
‘I can’t say I did, no. You?’
‘No.’
‘Isn’t it supposed to be getting developed?’ She asked, looking around at the ruined site as they made their way to the crime scene.
‘Apparently so. I was looking online in the car on the way over. Some extreme-sports company is wanting to build on it. They’ll have their work cut out judging by the state of the place.’
‘Tell me about the body.’ Matilda stumbled over uneven ground and Rory caught her just in time before she fell. ‘Cheers.’
‘From what we can tell, it’s Calvin Page. We may need dental records though to formally identify him.’
‘What happened?’
‘According to Dr Kean he’s been repeatedly hit over the head with a blunt object.’
‘So, if we need dental records to identify him, how do we know it’s Calvin Page?’
‘He has a tattoo which reads “Calvin Page. Pure Sheffield Steel” on the inside of his left arm.’
‘Oh. That’s very considerate of him. Maybe more people should have it done in case they get brutally murdered,’ she said with a hint of a smile in her voice.
‘Who found him?’
‘Sian called them a courting couple,’ Rory smiled. ‘I don’t think they were doing much courting.’
Against a backdrop of a stiff breeze and the uneven terrain, Matilda struggled into the white paper forensic suit. She pulled open the entrance to the tent and stepped in, squinting at the harshness of the lights.
‘What can you tell me, Adele?’
Adele looked up and smiled. ‘Well, Lucy was just telling us all a delightful story about an ex-boyfriend who brought her up here for a romantic evening of outdoor sex a few years back.’
‘Adele! That was private,’ Lucy said. Behind the face mask, Matilda could see she was blushing.
‘We’re in a tent made out of paper and you’re not the quietest person in the world, Lucy. I bet the majority of the forensic team heard you.’
‘I heard you,’ Rory said.
‘Oh my God,’ Lucy turned away, embarrassed.
‘I thought it was hot, actually,’ he said. ‘You, Adrian Pritchard, a bottle of prosecco and a Fiat Punto I think you said.’
There was a ripple of laughter from around the tent.
‘Oh, bloody hell. I knew I should have phoned in sick today,’ Lucy said.
‘One of these days, Lucy, I’ll buy you a drink and tell you some bizarre and eye-opening stories about Adele,’ Matilda said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.
‘You do and I’ll tell your team about why you and James had to cut your honeymoon short.’
Matilda thought for a brief second. ‘Sorry Lucy, you’re on your own.’
‘I’d love to know why you had to cut your honeymoon short,’ Rory grinned.
‘Well—’
‘One more word out of you, Adele, and you’ll be joining Calvin Page here in the mortuary,’ Matilda interrupted.
‘I think we should move on, don’t you?’ Adele said.
‘Good idea. Back to my original question: what can you tell me, Adele?’
Adele squatted next to the battered and broken body. ‘As you can see, he was savagely beaten about the head. If you look here,’ she pointed to the base of the skull. ‘You can see an indentation of a circular object, small in size. I think you’re looking for something like a hammer, maybe. The blows are random. A couple from the front to take him down, then the killer couldn’t stop. The back of the head is completely caved in.’
‘Jesus,’ Matilda uttered. ‘Was he killed here?’
‘No. If he had we’d be looking at blood spatter all over the place. This was a violent attack. The killer showed no mercy. The first couple of blows would have been enough to kill him, but this was relentless. I’ll do the PM tomorrow morning about ten o’clock.’
‘Thank you.’
Matilda turned to leave the tent. As she reached the exit, she stopped, turned to Lucy and said, ‘By the way, Adele was once thrown off a ride in Blackpool for having too much fun with her … what shall we call him? … companion.’
Lucy laughed as Adele gasped.
‘Matilda! I told you that in strictest confidence.’
‘Oh sod off, it made the local paper.’
‘That’s so funny,’ Lucy said.
Matilda left the tent with the sound of laughter in the background. It might seem insensitive laughing and joking at a crime scene, especially over the body of a murder victim, but Matilda, Adele, and their teams saw the worst of human behaviour on a daily basis. They came into contact with evil and depravity as regularly as the sun rose. If they took everything to heart, allowed it to weigh them down, and took the death, murder, rape, and assault home with them, they’d be raging alcoholics queuing outside a therapist’s office.