Animal Instinct by James R. Vance

garage as a different forecourt attendant had been on duty on the Thursday morning prior to Easter.
    Later in the day, Massey met up once again with John Nuttall in forensics.
    “I have some other information which may be of interest,” said Nuttall. “Your team isn't terribly observant.”
    Massey said nothing.
    “One of my guys at the landfill site made a comment which may resolve the issue of how the body could have been dumped. If you think back to one of our earlier discussions, we concluded that it must have been taken there by a refuse truck as the perimeter fencing and the gates were too high to heave a corpse over without mechanical means.”
    Massey nodded.
    “There is another access, a section not enclosed by the mesh fencing. At the far side, the site is enclosed by a dense line of fir trees with no fencing.”
    “I thought the river formed a natural barrier on the far side?” said Massey.
    “Yes, but between the river and the line of fir trees, there's a privately owned mill which has undergone a lengthy renovation.”
    “Not long completed, I believe. Any idea who owns it?”
    “Some wealthy businessman. Who he is or what he's involved in, I haven't a clue.”
    “Thanks,” said Massey. “We'll check it out.”
    *****
    The enquiry was reaching an impasse. Massey asked Turner to join him for a drink in the Barleycorn. A few beers at the end of the day would relieve his stress before heading home, despite the fact that arriving late would only antagonise his wife, causing further stress to his problematic marriage.
    “Anything from the house to house team yet?” asked Turner, as they settled into a quieter corner of the main lounge area.
    “Nothing so far,” replied Massey, disconsolately. “She obviously left the bus at the square and walked past the George and Dragon, where she was spotted by the licensee, Charlie Meadows. To catch the next bus to Northwich, she would have to pass here towards the junction with the by-pass, but he said that she appeared to be heading towards the town centre. That means that, after passing the Barleycorn, she must have turned left down the High Street as opposed to the direction of the bridge over the river.”
    “We're assuming that Charlie was correct. If he only saw her walking towards the main road, she could have turned in either direction, carried straight on or even turned onto the towpath by the river.”
    Massey looked across at the bar. Sean was serving one of the local scallywags. “If our man here was expecting a delivery, it's strange that he didn't clock her passing the pub, unless he had already received his delivery.”
    “He said that he'd never seen her when I showed him her photo.”
    “Check with the brewery. Find out if they have a record of the exact time when they made their deliveries to the three pubs in this vicinity.”
    Turner nodded in agreement. “We're stuffed until we have that info and confirmation from the bus company that she not only boarded at Moulton but also caught a connection to Northwich. Until we can pinpoint where she actually disappeared from the map, it limits our chance of discovering a potential crime scene and a likely suspect.”
    “At this moment in time, everyone in this area's a possible suspect,” said Massey. “Maybe the reconstruction will be more profitable. You're right, the bus company's key to our enquiries. If we can pin down the time when she got off the bus…that's if she caught the bus in the first place… passed the George and Dragon and the Barleycorn and finally in which direction she walked, we can then focus our efforts on a specific area within a precise time-frame.”
    “Another beer?”
    “No, let's start digging again, but no forks this time. Let's tidy up the loose ends…the brewery, the bus company and the forecourt attendant who was on duty over the road. I've a feeling in my water that the recon may not be necessary.”
    Before returning home, Massey called in at the police