The phone rang insistently until Laura DeVere picked it up and banged on the wall. She yelled "Martin!"
Martin DeVere went down to the hallway phone and heard the clipped tones of Compton. "The wireless car will pick you up in fifteen minutes. Be outside."
He pulled on his clothes and wondered what this early summons could mean. The uniform policeman with the lighted wand waved the wireless car through to where another car was standing at the side of the road.
Bill Bridgeman was swearing loudly as he hauled a portable generator and some lights to where Compton was shining his torch on a body. Martin tried to step carefully towards them but Compton called over his shoulder, "Don’t worry too much. The couple that found her will have trampled around pretty much. Help Bill set up his lights."
The generator started at its first pull and the lights gave a fierce light on the body and the surrounding grass. Martin really had no idea what to do and said so when Compton came to stand beside him.
"Poor lass must have suffered before they finished her off."
"Not just a lover’s quarrel turned deadly then sergeant?"
Compton shook his head, "It almost looks to me like she was tortured and that means that there was more than one...perhaps many more. You can see the burns probably from cigarettes. Bill will put his measures down and take his photos. They will be good ones and when we have a close up of the face and the Divisional Surgeon has been and gone then we can go to work."
Martin still showed that he was lost.
"Just watch...use your eyes and ears and if anything occurs to you tell me quietly. I needn’t tell you that in a case like this...well let’s say any case we are working on you don’t discuss it with anyone but me."
The Divisional Surgeon did not spend much time with the body. He regarded the torn clothing and injuries with some distaste.
"Long time since we have had a murder Daniel. I am not going to do a serious examination because it is obvious the poor girl is dead. The Pathologist might be able to tell you more. Rogers at the Hospital will do that in the morning."
An ambulance was standing by and the attendants pushed a rubber sheet half under the body from one side and then pulled it on the other side with moves that disclosed a good deal of experience. It was then lifted on to a stretcher and carried away.
Bridgeman was packing up his equipment. "I will have the photos for you in an hour or two Daniel."
The wireless car carried them back to the Station and they found what was needed to make tea in the downstairs canteen, which would not open for another hour or two. Looking at Martin over the rim of a steaming cup Compton said, "Now comes the interesting part."
"Do you mean how we can identify her," was Martin’s response.
"No lad, who is going to do the enquiry? Dusty is useless as a detective. He has spent so much time with his head in the paper work and trying to look after the budget and office politics that I think he has forgotten any street work he ever did. I am showing my prejudice now but there are many senior officers who have forgotten what it was like to work the streets and that is not a good thing for good police work by the men and women on the cutting edge."
He coughed apologetically, "Shouldn’t have said that in view of what we saw this morning. When you get a murder or sometimes a very serious crime you set up a Squad that focuses just on that. There are careful records of all the interviews and any exhibits and the man leading the enquiry has to keep his finger on what is going on and send the troops out with different things to do.
Now if you consider our position here. Derris might be put in charge but the Super is most likely to run off panicking to the Watch Committee and ask them to call in the Yard or ask one of the neighbouring forces to send some people in. In a way it is going to give them the need for some pretty fancy footwork because they will have to explain why we are so short staffed."
Martin showed enthusiasm, "That could mean better things for you sergeant. Can we do anything useful in the murder enquiry?"
Compton was pleased to hear an absence of meaning better things for Martin himself and countered, "We will just have to wait and see. As soon as we have a face to show we are going to meet Rosie somewhere and see if she can help us."