Page 14 of Maybe Tomorrow

The two PCs walked through the woods. Bishop struggled over the sodden ground in his sensible shoes and had to hold onto nearby trees to stop himself from falling. Ahead, the two uniformed officers stopped to allow him to catch up.

‘Go on, for fuck’s sake,’ Bishop instructed. He didn’t want them seeing him slipping and making him the laughing-stock of the station.

‘She was found here, sir.’

Bishop joined them and looked around. They were deep into the woods but could still hear the sound of traffic from the nearby road.

‘Exactly here?’ He pointed.

‘Yes. She was lying on her front, head pointing in that direction.’

‘I’m assuming this was the branch covering her?’ Bishop pointed to a thick, heavy branch at the base of a mighty oak tree.

‘Yes. It took three of us to lift it off her. I was called in to help.’

Bishop looked up and the two officers followed his gaze.

‘It doesn’t look like it’s come from this tree,’ Bishop said.

‘No. And there’s evidence of it being dragged, if you look closely.’

‘You are?’

‘PC Atkin, sir.’

‘Did you notice this before?’

‘No. I was on the cordon.’

‘You?’ Bishop looked to the other.

‘PC Bellamy. I didn’t notice. I helped lift the branch then went back to the side of the road, sir.’

‘I think the branch might have come from this tree, sir,’ Atkin said. He’d moved away from them and pointed up to a tall tree, roughly ten feet from where they were standing.

Bishop looked up at the tree, down at the ground where Alice’s body was found, then at the forest floor. There was faint evidence of something being dragged along the ground as leaves and twigs had been pushed out of the way, though the storm had covered up most of the tracks.

He walked along the makeshift path, kicking at the piles of leaves and debris as he went. He paused. Something had caught his eye. He turned back, pushed aside a few more leaves with his foot and bent down for a closer look. If he wasn’t mistaken, he was looking at a pair of torn knickers.

‘She was murdered, and it was made to look like an accident. And we fucking fell for it,’ Bishop said, more to himself than the uniformed officers.

‘Is there anything you need us to do, sir?’ Atkin asked Bishop as he strode past them back to his car.

‘Yes. Keep your fucking mouths shut about all this,’ he shouted over his shoulder.

ChapterSix

WPC Freya Sloan parked in front of Geoff and Judith Patterson’s house on John Street and turned off the engine. She’d been told to dress out of uniform so had gone for a pair of navy trousers, a cream-coloured jumper and her padded winter coat over the top.

Geoff and Judith had been allowed to view their daughter through a screen. They’d both cried and Judith had to be helped to a chair before she collapsed. Freya stayed with them until they were ready to go home. She drove them back to John Street, made them both a cup of tea and stayed for another hour until she felt she was able to leave them alone. They both thanked her for her kindness.

When she arrived back at the station, she felt drained and was ready for a gin and tonic and something home-cooked by her mum, but it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. She heard rumour that DI Bishop had been charging through the station, asking where that bitch who’d spent the night with the Pattersons was. She thought she should find him before he found her.

She tapped on his office door. He looked up and glared at her through his piggy eyes.

‘About time. Where have you been?’

She remained in the doorway. ‘I’ve been with the Pattersons, sir. They’re very distressed. I thought they could…’