‘I can appreciate her difficulty.’ Carmen Pharoah paused. ‘I am afraid you must prepare yourself for bad news.’
‘Bad news? Over and above the death of my daughter?
‘Yes.’
‘What could be worse?’
Carmen Pharoah paused before replying. ‘There will be a press release; it will make the early evening television news and tomorrow’s newspapers.’
Philippa Goodwin sat back in the armchair. ‘Just tell me,’ she spoke softly, ‘just tell me. She was a young woman and as a parent you fear the worst. . and we see rape victims in A and E.’
‘Well. . I can tell you that there is no indication of any such violation. It may have happened but there is no definite indication.’
‘So what then?’ A note of alarm crept into Philippa Goodwin’s voice.
‘The bad news is that your daughter, Veronica, appears to have been one of. . the last of a number of deceased women whose corpses. . whose remains have all been found in the same place.’
‘A serial killer!’
‘So-called, yes.’ Carmen Pharoah remained silent for a few seconds and then added. ‘We know nothing of the existence of this man. . or these people because they left their victims. . or his victims. . in a concealed location rather than leaving them to be found, as is most often the case.’
‘So I have noticed. . as if taunting the police?’
‘Yes, but in this case the victims would probably have remained hidden. . that is to say their remains-’
‘Yes, I know what you mean.’
‘. . remained hidden for many years because they were left on private land.’
‘Where was she found?’
Carmen Pharoah and Thomson Ventnor glanced at each other. Ventnor said, ‘It’ll be in the press release.’
Carmen Pharoah turned to Philippa Goodwin and said, ‘In the grounds of an old house in the Vale. . at the edge of the Wolds.’
‘You mean the house owner. . he collected victims?’
‘No,’ Carmen Pharoah held up her hand, ‘no, no. . he was elderly and housebound. . he died recently. It was when an inventory was being taken of the contents of the house by a solicitor that he, the solicitor, found the remains. They seem to have been taken there and left there in the ignorance of the householder.’
‘I see.’ Philippa Goodwin glanced across her living room to the window and to the cemetery that lay on the opposite side of the road to her house. ‘You know, it never bothered me to live opposite a cemetery, especially one which is full and no longer used. I enjoyed the peace and quiet, especially at night. When Veronica was little we would sit in the upstairs room if there was a thunderstorm at night holding hands and looking for ghosts during the flashes of lightning. . but now. . those stones. . they have a different meaning now. I dare say I’ll soon be choosing a stone for her, but at least I now know what happened. I’ll have her buried. . I will definitely have her buried. I will need a grave to visit and a bit of carved granite to talk to and a little plot of land to attend to. . make sure it’s watered if there is a dry summer.’ Philippa Goodwin turned to Carmen Pharoah, ‘An inventory? A list of things? So Veronica was not buried?’
‘No,’ Carmen Pharoah held eye contact with Philippa Goodwin. ‘No, her remains were exposed.’
‘I always thought of her lying in a shallow grave somewhere but she was lying on the surface of the ground?’
‘Yes. . I am sorry. . partially concealed by undergrowth but yes, lying on the ground.’
‘Does it get worse? Your eyes. . your eyes seem to be saying that there is more to come and I won’t like any of it.’
Carmen Pharoah swallowed and bowed her head slightly, and then looked up at Philippa Goodwin. ‘Yes, it does get worse. . it is in the press release but it is probably better it comes from us. .’
‘Yes. . go on. .’
‘The bodies, they were chained together. . and the other victims were completely skeletal.’
‘Oh,’ Philippa Goodwin put her hand up to her mouth, ‘you mean she was left chained up next to a corpse. .’ tears welled in Philippa Goodwin’s eyes, ‘and clothing. . any sign of clothing?’
‘None, I’m afraid, but please see that as something merciful.’
‘Merciful? How?’
‘There was no injury to Veronica’s body. . none detected. . and if she was left naked in the winter time, being when she was abducted, then death would have come quickly.’
‘Can I see her body?’
‘I am afraid that will not be possible, her remains are in an advanced state of decomposition and it is not the last impression that anyone would want of their loved one, not an image to hold in your head.’
‘And speaking of which, you will have removed the head anyway to send to a facial reconstruction expert.’
Again, Ventnor and Pharoah turned and glanced at each other.
‘I told you, I work in A and E, when there is a large-scale disaster the police remove the hands from victims because it’s easier to take the fingerprints that way than trying to remove fingerprints from a hand which is still attached to the body. I did a stint in the mortuary of the hospital as part of my A and E induction course. It’s very necessary. A and E is not for everyone but I like the crisis management, I like the life saving bit. I wouldn’t be any good on a ward, the long term getting them better and fit for discharge nursing, that’s not for me, but if you cannot handle death and corpses you are no good in A and E, and so a stint in the mortuary is an essential part of A and E induction. So I know what happens. I have assisted when a head had to be sawn from a skeleton to permit facial reconstruction. So you can tell me.’
‘Well, since you know,’ Carmen Pharoah replied softly, ‘yes that has happened. It was before we found the missing person’s report, which so neatly fitted the details obtained from the remains: sex, height, matching date of disappearance, along with the state of decomposition. We probably did jump the gun there but the head and face were badly decomposed. The same will be true of all known victims; all will have their heads removed.’
‘All known? You mean there may be more?’
‘Yes. We have to make a thorough search, the house, the grounds; all will have to be searched. So far we have five known victims and we have to assume that there will be others until we know otherwise.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘We still have to make a definite identification.’
‘It will be her.’
‘We will use dental records or DNA for that.’
‘What do you need?’
‘The name of her dentist and/or a sample of her hair if you have kept her hairbrush. . failing that. . a sample of your DNA.’
‘You can have all three. . our dentist is Mr Pick,’ Philippa Goodwin smiled, ‘appropriate name for a dentist don’t you think? He has a surgery in Gillygate. . and yes, I have kept Veronica’s hairbrush. It has strands of her hair within the bristles.’
‘If we could take the hairbrush with us, that will suffice.’
‘You’ll return it?’
‘Yes, I will personally see that it is returned to you.’
‘I’ll let you have it before you go.’
‘Appreciated. Are you happy for us to proceed on the assumption that the deceased is Veronica?’
‘Yes,’ Philippa Goodwin nodded slowly, ‘I am.’
‘The missing person’s report on Veronica states that she didn’t return from a night out with friends. Can you elaborate on that statement?’
‘Elaborate? Well, I recall the last time I saw her, I remember that day like yesterday. The last time you see someone you love, you never forget it.’
Carmen Pharoah smiled in response. ‘You don’t, do you?’
‘Well. . that day she came home from work. . she was a telephonist. . and she came home from work. . it was a Friday. She looked a picture, even in her frumpy winter clothing she was still radiant. She had little to eat, she didn’t eat enough especially in the winter when we need more food than in the summer, but like all young women she was figure conscious, continually weighing herself, but she was not anorexic, I saw to that. That is something else you see in A and E, young women, girls even, who have collapsed in the street or at work or at school and when you peel off their clothes for the initial examination, you find that they are nothing but a skeleton covered in skin, but Veronica was not even close to that stage. I can be a bit ferocious when I have to be and if she didn’t eat at least one substantial meal and two snacks each twenty-four hours, I would get ferocious with her. . and she knew it. So that day she ate, changed into her finery and went out with her friends.’