Beneath the Ashes Read online

  As soon as the incident room was established, police computers had identified a link with the case of a woman found in the River Nene in rural Northamptonshire, two months earlier. Twenty-two-year-old Katie Sharp’s neck bore similar ligature marks, her body no sign of sexual intervention. Just like Ellen. She’d also been immersed in water for some time before a dog walker had stumbled across her.

  Jackman massaged his temples. Despite there being separate incident rooms in two counties, less than an hour’s drive from each other, neither were close to finding a motive, let alone a suspect. Forensics worked hard on the clothing, the bodies, the surrounding area, and yet any clues were likely flushed away.

  The investigation had been code-named Operation Sky and now it felt like the clouds were rolling in, blocking out any gaps of possible light as the lines of enquiry began to dry and shrivel. The irony was not lost on him.

  Jackman picked up a stone, skimmed it across the water and watched it plop twice and disappear, before turning on his heels back to the car.

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