Tony Hill u Carol Jordan 08 - Cross and Burn

on the bush telegraph.’
    She toyed with the notion of refusing to tell him. She didn’t owe him anything. ‘I was walking the dog up on the shoulder of the hill. I know what a crime scene looks like, even at that distance.’
    He sighed in satisfaction, and not at the tea. ‘Mr Nicholas picked the right day to give you the dog.’
    ‘Depends on how you look at it. I’ve got no interest in dead bodies or crime scenes any more.’
    ‘How do you know it was a body?’
    ‘Too much activity for anything less. A body or a serious sexual assault, I thought. But there’s other places on the way up there if you’re after a bit of lay-by sex. So I assumed a body.’
    Franklin drummed the fingers of his left hand on the saw-horse. ‘Here’s the funny thing,’ he said. ‘Well, two funny things. First is, she’s from Bradfield. A misper, but according to DCI Fielding, she’s a match for another body they caught earlier in the week. Looks like the same killer, so I’ve graciously handed it over to her.’
    ‘Very generous of you. I don’t remember you being so open-handed with that murdered teenager a while back. I had to fight you tooth and nail for that one. Or maybe you prefer brunettes. Blokes always seemed to be suckers for Alex Fielding’s charms, as I recall.’
    He shrugged. ‘Never noticed she had any. I was too busy getting into Detective Sergeant McIntyre’s ribs.’
    Sergeant. She hadn’t known that. It was hardly a surprise. Carol would have promoted Paula in a heartbeat if she’d had the budget for another sergeant. ‘Still,’ she said. ‘You handed it over without a fight.’
    ‘This one’s Bradfield through and through. The crime scene we’ve got, that’s a body dump if ever I saw one. There’s no blood to speak of, no weapon, no nothing except her clothes and her bag with her ID. Just as well that was there, because there wasn’t much left of her face. I can’t recall seeing a body so badly battered.’
    ‘Why are you telling me this? It’s got nothing to do with me.’
    He put the mug on the floor and stuffed his hands in his pockets again. ‘See, that’s the other thing. To my mind, it’s got everything to do with you. Because she looks like you.’
    For a moment, it was too bizarre to be frightening. ‘A woman with no face looks like me? Do you have any idea how mad that sounds?’
    ‘Not as mad as you think. She’s got the same hairstyle as you.’ He took a second look and corrected himself. ‘Well, the same hairstyle you had when a proper hairdresser used to cut it. And she’s about the same height and build as you. I tell you, Carol, when I first clapped eyes on her, for a few seconds I thought it was you. The resemblance, plus the fact I knew you were living here, right over the hill? Well, it was an understandable mistake, let me put it that way.’
    ‘Are you trying to scare me, DCI Franklin?’
    He shook his head vigorously. ‘Of course not. I’m trying to warn you there’s a killer out there who likes women who look a lot like you. You live in a building that’s already notorious for murder. A stone-cold killer’s out there, looking for victims who fit his type. One that lives in a place with these associations could be irresistible.’ To her surprise, he looked away, staring up to where the bedroom gallery used to be. ‘One crime scene here was enough, thank you very much.’
    Carol didn’t know what to say to that. She turned and crossed to one of the lancet windows cut into the thick stone walls. She could see all the way up the moor to the trees on the skyline where she’d walked the dog earlier. ‘I’ll be on my guard.’
    ‘That would be good,’ Franklin said. ‘Happen it’s nowt to do with you, this body turning up on your doorstep. But if it’s some evil bastard leaving a calling card, you need to take care.’ He stood up and left his mug on the sawhorse. ‘I’m glad you’ve got the dog.’
    ‘She does appear to be a good guard dog.’
    Franklin walked to the door. ‘Aye. She won’t let anybody creep up on you.’
    Except George Nicholas. Carol squashed the thought as ridiculous and unworthy. ‘Thanks for keeping me in the loop.’
    He gave another harsh bark of laughter. ‘I’m not in the bloody loop myself. DCI Fielding made that crystal clear. But if I hear anything you should know about, I’ll let you know.’ He opened the door and scowled at the sleety rain that had come out of nowhere, as it so often did up on the