A Painted Doom by Kate Ellis Page B

helpfully. ‘I reckon it’s completely grey.’
    ‘We all have our little vanities,’ said Wesley, thinking she was being a little hard on the dead man.
    ‘And he wasn’t a healthy specimen. He was definitely a smoker. His heart and lungs were in a bit of a state.’
    ‘Too much sex, drugs and rock and roll,’ said Heffernan cheerfully.
    ‘I shouldn’t be at all surprised,’ said Laura, smiling at the chief inspector for the first time. ‘But they weren’t what killed
     him.’
    ‘Is there anything else we ought to know?’ asked Wesley as Laura began to sew the body back up with neat precision.
    ‘The body was definitely moved some time after death, possibly not long before it was found; that’s probably why you haven’t
     found the bullet. I examined the clothing. Apart from traces of grass, mud and pollen where he’d come into contact with the
     ground, there are fibres adhering to the trousers which look like red wool. Probably from a carpet, but that’s just a guess.
     We’ll have to see what forensics come up with, but I think he was lying on a carpet for some time before he was moved. Interesting.’
    Wesley and Heffernan exchanged looks. ‘Very interesting,’ said Wesley. ‘So if we can find this carpet …’
    ‘You’ll have found the scene of the murder. There were some fibres of other colours too, which means the carpet was probably
     patterned but predominantly red. And it was a pure wool rug or carpet, good quality I should think.’
    Gerry Heffernan looked at the young woman, obviously impressed. ‘You’ve done a good job there, love.’ Credit where credit
     was due.
    Laura looked up from her stitching. ‘Thanks, Gerry,’ she said with a grin.
    Neil Watson pulled up outside the Petersons’ modern detached house above Tradmouth and checked his hand-brake. The road was
     steep, as were most of the roads in the town, and he wondered whether he could trust the little yellow Mini to stay put. He
     saw Pam’s VW Golf in the driveway and decided to take the risk.
    She looked harassed as she opened the front door, as if she were expecting an unwanted call from a doorstep salesman. Her
     expression softened a little when she recognised Neil, and she stood aside to let him in.
    ‘Wes not about?’
    She led the way into the kitchen and glanced up at the clock on the wall. ‘You’ll be lucky. There’s been a murder out at Derenham
     and I’m not expecting him back till late. In fact I’m not usually back this soon, but we got back early from a school trip
     and I didn’t feel too well so I camehome.’ She looked at a mountain of files on the kitchen table. ‘But I’ve still got an evening’s work ahead of me. And I’ve
     got to pick Michael up in an hour from his child-minder, so I can’t be long.’ She rubbed her eyes.
    ‘You don’t look too good,’ was Neil’s only comment.
    ‘Thanks a lot,’ Pam replied, sinking into a chair. ‘I’ll be okay. But I’ve got to keep an eye on the time.’
    Neil, oblivious to the urgencies of the Petersons’ family life, sat down at the table and made himself comfortable. ‘I saw
     Wes flashing past in a cop car yesterday. Don’t know if he saw me. I left a message for him with that Rachel this morning.’
    Pam nodded. She’d met the cool, blonde Rachel a few times, briefly, and hadn’t quite made up her mind whether she approved
     of her or not. Wesley spoke well, even fondly, of her. This was enough to make Pam reserve her judgement.
    ‘I’ve not seen my husband since he went out this morning.’
    ‘Well, that’s the price you pay for being a copper’s wife.’ Neil grinned mischievously and Pam avoided his eyes.
    ‘Maybe,’ she muttered. ‘What did you want to see him about?’
    Neil looked at her sheepishly. ‘Actually it was you I really wanted to see. We’re doing a dig down at Derenham. Some workmen
     were digging the foundations for a new village hall in a field near the church and they found the remains of an old