Hear No Evil: A chilling British detective crime thriller (The Hidden Norfolk Murder Mystery Series Book 5) Read online

  Further along the promenade, above them on the cliffs overlooking Sheringham town, barely a hundred metres from where he stood with Saffy on his shoulders, a bonfire raged, framed beautifully by the inky backdrop of the night sky. Only, as the flames danced, he realised it wasn't a bonfire at all. It was a person lit up inside a ball of flame. The figure thrashed around at the cliff edge, throwing their arms around in wanton abandon in a desperate attempt to free themselves from the all-encompassing fire but to no avail. The moment seemed never ending, the crowd below looking on in abject horror. Several people shrieked in pity and Tom heard a woman nearby cry out as the scene unfolded.

  Realising Saffy was watching this develop, he quickly lifted her from his shoulders and passed her across to her mum. Saffy buried her head into Alice's shoulder, turning her gaze away from the horrifying sight. Alice placed a gentle hand on the back of the little girl's head, issuing soothing sounds into her ear but she, too, couldn't draw her eyes from the cliff top.

  Seconds later, the figure appeared to give up on the futile battle with the flames and staggered forward, only to pitch headlong over the precipice. The fireball plummeted to the shoreline below leaving a dissipating tail of flame behind it as the body fell from view. The frenetic activity of the burning figure now replaced by an orange glow softly illuminating the cliff face immediately above.

  An eerie silence descended over the onlookers. It was as if thousands of people had been frozen in place, having watched the events unfold. The stunned silence of the crowd was punctuated by the occasional murmur or sob. No one knew what to say, never mind what to do. A few in the crowd began to move along the promenade, either seeking to help or investigate through a sense of morbid curiosity. Tom turned to Alice, reading her fearful expression.

  "Go," she said softly.

  He nodded, placed a reassuring hand on Saffy's back and leaned in to kiss Alice. He could read the shock in her eyes, the terror at what she'd just witnessed and knew it would be reflected in his own. It was evident on the faces of everyone around them.

  Without another word, he pressed himself into the throng of people. The promenade was wide enough to handle the influx of tourists at peak season but, right now, the spectators were crammed in like sardines. He needed to make maximum use of his imposing stature in order to force a path through, unsure of what he was set to find waiting for him at the foot of the cliffs.

  Chapter Two

  The flash of a camera bulb broke his concentration. Tom Janssen remained on his haunches as close to the body as he dared get without getting in the way of the scenes of crime officers. Having fought his way through the crowd along with a handful of others, he reached the stricken man only to realise that any hope was lost. Although the body was still on fire when he reached it, it was evident that the victim suffered a severe head injury from the fall. He had removed his coat and began beating down the flames as best he could, joined in his efforts by several others, but it was a futile attempt. Even if they'd managed to put the flames out quickly, which turned out to be very difficult, it was clear that if the victim hadn't succumbed to the flames then the fall would certainly have done for him. He was dead.

  Janssen swiftly slipped into professional mode and pushed back those in attendance. Joined in quick time by uniformed officers and emergency services, all present for the festival, they were able to keep the crowd at a distance and secure the area. Not that many of the public wanted to come closer. The scene was sickeningly gruesome.

  The fire burned with such heat and intensity that any externally exposed hair or skin had suffered extreme degradation. Inspecting the body, Tom could see it was clearly a man although the hair was gone and the exposed skin was blackened and charred to such an extent that a visual identification would be impossible.

  "I imagine an accelerant was in play."

  Tom looked up to meet the eye of Dr Williams, the on-call forensic medical examiner. She read his questioning expression.

  "That's why there is so much damage to the extremities and the skin of the face and head," she said. "And explains why you found it so hard to put him out. The accelerant soaking into the clothing which itself then becomes a magnifier. The fire burns hotter and more intense."

  "That figures with what I saw," he said, exhaling heavily. Dr Williams leaned in towards the body having been given the confirmatory nod of approval by the CSI technician. "You can still get a faint whiff of fuel from the foot of his coat."

  Tom leaned in, the pungent aroma of a burnt cadaver was strong despite the breeze coming at them off the sea. He smelled the telltale aroma.

  "Petrol?"

  She nodded. "I would say so. The lab will confirm it. It's lucky he landed in the sand as he did."

  "I don't think he feels particularly lucky," Tom replied.

  "No, of course," she said glumly. "I meant from a forensic point of view. The fire continued to consume both clothing and organic matter but heat rises and the flames follow that path, hence why you'll get the trace evidence from the back of his coat."

  "Yeah," he said quietly, still examining the body. "Use of an accelerant indicates a murder, unless we find a spent jerry can and a windproof lighter up there." He cast his eyes upwards in the direction of the top of the cliffs. Self-immolation couldn't be ruled out just yet but it would be something he'd never seen before. Dr Williams appeared to read his mind.

  "I doubt he did this to himself."

  He met her eye. She appeared focussed, confident in the opinion.

  "I imagine you're right but why are you so sure?"

  "Look here," she said, taking the tip of her pen and drawing it level with the victim's mouth. "Do you see this gooey residue here."

  He could see what she was indicating but he had no idea what it meant. He encouraged her with a flick of the eyebrows.

  "When a body burns, particularly as extensively as this, there is an automatic response. The body pushes fluids to the affected area as quickly as possible," she said, withdrawing the pen. "Now, our skin usually keeps those fluids, blood for example, within the body but once the skin has been consumed by the fire those fluids ooze out."

  "Is that what this is?" he asked, aware of his lack of knowledge on this subject. She shook her head.

  "No. One might think so but my guess is this is leftover residue around the lower face," she said, returning the pen tip to the area and moving it in a controlled circular motion. "I saw something similar on a case last year. That was an industrial accident in a power station. Someone had bodged a repair with a large amount of gaffer tape…" She waved her hand in the air to dismiss the remainder of the anecdote. "Anyway, that's what I think this is, gaffer tape or something similar. The adhesive doesn't burn as fast as the fabric, or indeed the skin for that matter. The tape is also plastic and designed to operate in extreme conditions. At least, up to a point."

  "You think he was gagged?"

  She looked thoughtful. "You'll have to run some tests to be sure but I wouldn't be surprised. Did you hear him scream when he fell?"

  Tom shook his head. "No, I can't say I did but we were all some distance away."

  "Well, until the heat burns down and destroys the nerve endings, this man would have been in excruciating agony," she said quietly. "Poor soul."

  "Could he still be moving at that point?"

  "Oh, I would say so, yes. The body is a remarkable vessel. He would have been flooded with adrenalin in order to combat the rising pain which would give the impression of an almost superhuman ability to move but following that the body goes into shock and shuts down… on all levels."

  "Probably when he fell."

  "I dare say," she replied.

  "Tom?"

  He looked back over his shoulder towards the police cordon to see DS Cassie Knight approaching. Thanking Dr Williams, he rose and crossed to meet her.

  "There's someone wanting to speak with you," Cassie said, dispensing with a greeting and looking past him at the remains of the deceased. "Blo
ody hell. That looks nasty."

  "Yeah, it is," he said. "Who wants me? If it's the press—"

  "No, not the press. I'd have told them where to go already," she said with a half-smile. Cassie was still new to the team and he loved the level of honesty she brought with her speech. "It's some woman. Got a kid with her. Cute."

  "Who? The woman or the kid?" he asked, looking over and catching a glimpse of Alice among the crowd. He didn't realise she was still here, thinking she would have gone home by now. Then he realised, he had the car keys and had driven them all here. With the amount of people in the town for the festival there was no chance she'd have been able to get a cab.

  Cassie glanced back to where he was looking. "Both. Only in different ways, obviously." She moved towards the body and headed in the opposite direction to the cordon's edge. Alice came to meet him. Saffy was in her arms, head resting on her mother's shoulder. At first he thought she was asleep but then he saw her eyes were open staring at the waves breaking on the shore. Or at least, that's where she was looking but how much attention she was paying them was anyone's guess.

  "I'm sorry. I should have thought," he said, grimacing to accentuate the apology.

  "It's okay," Alice said and he was relieved at her sincerity. "We went into the town and I got Saffy a little bottle of coke."

  "A proper glass one?" he asked with a smile, leaning around so that the seven-year-old could see him. Her eyes flitted to his and she nodded slowly but didn't speak. It was after nine o'clock. She would usually be sound asleep by now. "Would you be all right driving yourself home?" he asked, turning to Alice and glancing back over his shoulder to see Cassie kneeling beside the body. "It's just I don't think I'll be done here for a while yet."

  "Of course," she said. He rooted around in his coat pocket for the key fob, producing it and placing it in her palm. She met his eye and smiled weakly. "Quite an eventful day."

  "Not quite what we planned," he said. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

  "Yes, don't worry. Will you come over to ours when you're through?"

  He looked between her and the crime scene. "I've no idea when that will be."

  "I don't mind. I want to see you," Alice said, her fingers curling around his and squeezing his hand. He nodded. "Wake me when you come in if I'm asleep, okay?"

  "Okay."

  She squeezed his hand once more and took the fob from him, accompanied by a smile. He ran a gentle hand through Saffy's hair and she smiled in response as her mother turned and walked away. Saffy raised a hand and offered him a little wave. He returned the gesture with one of his own. As they mingled with the crowd of onlookers and disappeared from view, he made to turn and join Cassie. DC Eric Collet appeared at his side. He wasn't surprised to see him despite the constable having the weekend off. Tom had spoken with him and his girlfriend, Becca, earlier in the day. Like much of north Norfolk, they had also turned out for the first festival of the year.

  "Is Becca all right?" he asked.

  Eric nodded. "Yes. We missed the…" He struggled to find the words and gave up after hesitating for a few moments. "The thing, you know. We were round past the lifeboat museum and only heard about it on the grapevine. Sounds bad."

  Tom nodded, indicating with his head for them to join Cassie. If Eric was thrown by the image of the deceased, he didn't show it. Cassie stood up as they approached, holding up a transparent evidence bag for them to see. It contained a wallet.

  "Survived the cremation," Cassie said triumphantly. She must have read the disapproval in his expression because she corrected herself. "Sorry. I mean, his wallet didn't get a chance to be destroyed."

  Tom donned a set of nitrile gloves and Cassie took the wallet out, carefully searching through the contents for some photographic identification. Eric focussed on the body, recoiling as he got too close for comfort. He'd seen death before but this was different.

  "Here we are," Cassie said, producing a driving licence and flipping it between her fingers for Tom to see.

  "Who is he?" Tom asked.

  "Fred Alexander Mayes," she said, reading aloud.

  "Freddie Mayes?" Eric asked. Both of them turned to look at the DC. He was kneeling beside the body but his expression was expectant as he flicked between it and them.

  "You know him?" Tom asked.

  "Yeah, can't be too many Freddie Mayes around." He looked back at the deceased. The features were unrecognisable but Eric's eye swept the length of the body, clearly weighing up height and build. "I reckon it could be, you know. What is he, in his forties?"

  Cassie glanced at the date of birth on the licence, doing a quick mental calculation. She nodded. "Yeah, forty-five it says here."

  "That'll be Freddie all right," Eric said, eliciting no joy from the confirmation.

  "You know him?" Tom asked.

  Eric shook his head. "Not really. He's a local builder. He put up my uncle's extension a couple of years back. Did a decent job of it too. Bloody shame."

  "What else do we know about him?" Cassie asked.

  Eric's expression went blank and he shrugged. Tom looked between them.

  "Right, Eric, get up on that cliff above and make sure uniform have secured the area properly. Come first light, I want a fingertip search of the ground to see if there's anything useful that's been left behind." Eric nodded and Tom turned to Cassie. "In the meantime, I want you to find out everything you can on Freddie Mayes."

  Both of them set off and Tom turned his attention back to the body. The nature of the man's death indicated this was a case very different to anything he'd worked before. If Dr Williams was right, then a dark sadistic mind was at work and that left him with a deeply unsettled feeling.

  It was a little after two in the morning when Tom reached Alice's house, Cassie dropping him off on her way home. His car was parked in the driveway and a light had been left on for him above the porch. He made his way upstairs, poked his head in on Saffy and found her sleeping soundly, one arm draped across a stuffed polar bear that was once the equal of her in size but now seemed to have shrunk. Coming to stand beside her bed, he leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead. She stirred, murmuring something unintelligible before rolling onto her back and for a second he worried he'd woken her but her breathing remained settled. He smiled. She was growing up fast.

  Backing out of the room, he made his way across the landing to the bedroom he frequently shared with Alice. She was also sound asleep and he got undressed as quietly as he could. Alice said to wake her but there was nothing to say now that couldn't be said in the morning. Lifting the duvet, he slid into the bed. Gently placing an arm across her. Instinctively, she backed into him and he kissed her shoulder before laying his head on the pillow. It had been a long day and he was dog-tired but sleep wouldn't come. The image of a flaming man, arms flailing as he fell to his death, remained at the forefront of his mind.

  First thing tomorrow, he and Cassie planned to visit the home of Freddie Mayes armed with as many identifying features as they could establish. The body was so damaged that they were hopeful of finding some revealing marks, scars or tattoos that would aid identification. None of this was available to them until the body reached the pathologist and could be stripped of clothing in the hope that beneath them the damage was not as severe.

  Alice stirred.

  "Tom. Are you okay?" she mumbled.

  "I'm fine. Go back to sleep." He was unsure of whether she heard him but she drifted off quickly. For him, the sanctuary of sleep didn't follow.

  Chapter Three

  Cassie was waiting for him at the end of the drive as Tom Janssen stepped out of the house, kissing Alice goodbye before closing the door behind him. She was rostered off and they'd planned another day out but that wasn't happening. He was grateful for her understanding. She never once complained about the odd hours he was often forced to work. He wasn't sure many others would be as forgiving. He glanced back towards the house as he reached the car, catching sight of Saffy at the front window, stil
l in her pyjamas, and waving him off with the same hand holding half a slice of jam on toast. He prayed that she had a strong hold on the toast seeing as it would most likely stick to the carpet as well as it had stuck to the corners of her mouth.

  He returned the wave before getting into the car alongside Cassie. She passed him a takeaway cup of coffee which he gratefully accepted.

  "It should be cool enough to drink by now," she said, flicking her eyes towards his car parked in front of the house. "I thought you'd use your own car today."

  "No, Alice's car is in the garage," he said, sipping at the lip of his cup. It was black, bitter but just as he liked it. He placed the cup down and drew his seatbelt across his chest. "What did you turn up on Freddie Mayes?"

  "Interesting," Cassie said, reaching behind them into the rear and producing a manilla folder which she passed to him once he was ready. She engaged first gear and pulled away. "Eric was right. He runs a local building firm. It's been trading for the last ten years and seems to have a decent reputation from what I can tell. The firm is accredited with various trade associations and I checked their registers and it's all legit."

  "It would be a bit of an overreaction for a bit of shoddy brickwork to lead to what we saw last night."

  "Right enough," Cassie said, looking in both directions before pulling out onto the main road and away from Alice's housing estate. "What's really interesting though is Freddie Mayes was reported missing."

  Tom glanced up from the folder in his lap. "When?"

  "Three days ago. His wife called it in the day after he failed to return home from a night out."

  "That's not unusual, why raise the alarm so early."

  "Apparently, it is unusual for him," she said, not taking her eyes from the road.

  "I wonder where he could have been for the better part of three days?"

  "His wife was quite agitated by all accounts. She reckoned it might be related to an incident from a little while back. Seemingly, Mayes was involved in an altercation which saw him arrested along with one other in the town one afternoon."