Page 52 of No Safe Place
‘Thank you,’ Field said, meaning it sincerely.
She needed a moment to process the mass of information, and she sought the shade on the far side of the road, for relief from the heat.
The droplets of blood indicated the attacker was injured, to some degree. If they couldn’t retrieve DNA from those, falling over meant there was at least a hope of finding their DNA on Sam’s body.
Forensically, it was a win compared to David’s attack. If –when– the case went to court, there were now more opportunities for irrefutable physical evidence.
But the results would take at least a few days, and their perpetrator was escalating.
For all the uncertainties and unanswered questions, Young’s evidence proved one thing beyond doubt.
Samantha Hughes had fought for her life.
Chapter 30
Thursday | Afternoon
Field
The station was packed. Phones rang constantly, and Field nodded at various people as she weaved through the crammed-in desks and chairs with her mug, towards the privacy of her office, where DS Riley was waiting for her.
Field had left the crime scene tent, and the crime scene itself, feeling her usual level of slightly queasy. Seeing bodies had never become routine for her, not that she’d admit it.
‘Briefing in the conference room,’ she announced to the room at large. ‘Ten minutes.’
She turned a corner and saw Riley leaning against her door, laughing with a young DC who’d recently transferred from somewhere up north.
He touched a finger to his fat lip and winced, and the girl laughed again.
Riley clocked Field and stood up straight. ‘All right, boss?’
Field said nothing. Held the door open for him.
Riley took a seat opposite the desk and Field let the door close.
She stood with her back to him, looking out over the car park through the grimy window. ‘We need to talk about the witness. Callum Mulligan.’
‘Witness?’ Riley scoffed. ‘Prime suspect. He’s a nutter from what I can make out.’
Field turned and slammed a fist into the desk. Riley jumped.
She took a moment to gather herself. ‘DS Riley. Do not use words like “nutter”, in front of me.’
She sat down, heavily, and caught sight of Toby’s school photo, propped against her monitor.
Riley blinked and didn’t speak.
‘You decided Mulligan needed to be removed for questioning, without asking me. Mr Mulligan became extremely distressed. He’d just dealt with the wounds of a woman who’d been brutally stabbed—’
‘He went berserk,’ Riley interrupted.
‘At which point,’ Field said through clenched teeth, ‘Mr Mulligan makes it known to you,again, that he suffers from anxiety and hasn’t left his house for God knows how long, and is in therapy and on benefits and is basically—’ she thumped the desk again ‘—extremely vulnerable.
‘Now,’ she went on. ‘Mulligan was surrounded by officers, he wasn’t a flight risk, and the interior of his home was not, at that time, considered to be involved in the crime scene. Without consulting me, your fucking SIO, what did you decide to do?’
‘I took him outside to put him in the car, boss, but—’
‘You forced him out onto the street, in full view of the whole damn circus.’ Her voice was rising. ‘When he had to be sedated and taken to a psychiatric ward, did you follow him in? Make a phone call to the Maudsley to see how hewas?’ She went on without waiting for his answer. ‘No, you came back to the station and hung around up here, flirting.’
