SHADOW OVER THE FENS a gripping crime thriller full of suspense by JOY ELLIS Page B

I just couldn’t resist having a little dig myself. Frankly, I’m pig sick that I missed seeing her. Quite a looker, I hear.’
    Joseph groaned and sank down into a chair. ‘I’m beginning to wish I’d given last night a miss.’
    ‘No, you’re not, and you know it,’ she leant forward. ‘What’s she like, Joseph?’
    A small smile spread across his face. ‘She’s gorgeous.’
    ‘More. I need details.’
    ‘Well, her name is Bryony Barton, she’s thirty, and she works for the Public Analyst, here in Greenborough. Funnily enough, she saw me first when I was in the hospital. Her brother was in the same ward.’
    ‘And she has a good sense of humour, likes the theatre, dogs, and walking barefoot in the sand at sunset?’
    Joseph tried to look aggrieved, but it was so rare that DI Galena openly enjoyed something so much, he didn’t have the heart to stop her.
    ‘Well, we did talk, and we seem to have quite a lot in common, but . . .’ Joseph stopped as Cat Cullen appeared in the doorway.
    ‘Ma’am. Sorry to interrupt, but . . .’
    Joseph had expected Cat to take the mickey out of him more than anyone, but to his surprise, her expression was serious and her tone unusually grave.
    ‘. . . some kids have found a body.’
    The boss sighed. ‘Great. As if I hadn’t got enough on my plate with Martin’s death. What do we know, Cat?’
    ‘A male, guv. Found in some wasteland off Beale Street. Throat cut.’ She threw a sideways glance to Joseph, and he didn’t like the look on her face. ‘Thing is, and obviously I haven’t seen him yet, but he fits the description of the man that Sergeant Easter is looking for.’
    Joseph felt a spasm grip his gut. Sweet? Dead?
    He closed his eyes. When he’d left the army, he’d spent a lot of time trying to make his life right again. Trying to understand things on a deeper level. And he’d succeeded. Not through religion, although a lot of his fellow officers thought that was the case, but with a more spiritual approach to life.
    He opened his eyes again. So why did he feel such delight in hoping that another human being was dead? It went against everything he believed in.
    ‘Joseph?’ The DI was staring at him. ‘I said, I think you need to see this.’
    ‘Yes, of course, ma’am.’ He stood up. The answer to his own question was clear. Billy Sweet wasn’t a human being. To be classed as that, you needed belong or relate to the nature of mankind, and there was nothing kind about Sweet. He took a deep breath. ‘Let’s go.’
    * * *
    The body was still in situ, although an awning had been hastily erected around it to protect the scene and block it from view.
    Joseph, the DI, and Cat carefully picked their way over stones and rubbish to the covered area.
    ‘Ah, the good detective inspector! And my old Fenchester friend, Joseph! How are you, dear boy?’ Without waiting for an answer, the tall, beanpole of a man pushed his wire-rimmed glasses further up onto the bridge of his hawk nose, and beamed benignly at Cat. ‘And we must not forget you, lovely lady, although we haven’t yet been introduced.’ He peered at the DI.
    ‘Cat Cullen meet Professor Rory Wilkinson. Home Office pathologist. Forensic science wizard, and the possessor of the darkest sense of humour imaginable. And another ex-pat from Fenchester.’ She gave him a grim smile.
    ‘You forgot your usual slanderous comment about allegedly being a raging queen,’ he added, sounding slightly put out at the omission.
    ‘Sorry, and that. So what have you got for us?’
    ‘An interesting one to be sure. But not pleasant.’
    ‘Murder can be pleasant?’
    ‘Murder can be many things, Inspector,’ said the pathologist enigmatically. ‘But this is not some crime of passion, or a fight that got out of hand. This is an execution. Now, if you’d all like to follow me?’
    Joseph didn’t want to follow him anywhere. Joseph wanted to turn his back and walk away. The word execution had sent a ripple of