Page 106 of Dying Truth
‘You think she’s the girl that had an illegal abortion?’ Stacey asked.
‘At the minute, yes. Doctor Cordell was as nervous as a turkey in December and was definitely hiding something. I have a real feeling he’s been doing something he shouldn’t have.’
‘Okay, will do and I have something for you, boss. Traffic have been on. They want you to meet them at the entrance to Hollytree estate.’
‘For what?’ she asked, frowning. Right now, Hollytree seemed a million miles away from their current investigation.
‘The hit-and-run on Joanna Wade, boss. They think they’ve found the car.’
Seventy-Three
It had been a few weeks since Kim had set foot on Hollytree and nothing had changed since. The sprawling estate of maisonette buildings still guarded the three tower blocks at its core.
Kim was reminded of Dante’s nine circles of hell. The circles were concentric, representing a gradual increase in wickedness and culminating at the centre of the earth, where Satan is held in bondage.
Kai Lord had once lived at the very centre of Hollytree; although not Satan he had been close enough.
Her last major investigation had removed the kingpin of the organised crime gang that ruled the estate. But as she had cut off one head another had simply grown in its place.
‘Jesus, is that it?’ Bryant said, pulling onto the car park.
Five uniforms and two detectives huddled around a grey Nissan Micra.
Kim understood his question. For the damage that had been done to Joanna, she too would have expected a bigger vehicle.
‘Inspector Adams,’ Kim acknowledged, heading towards the front of the car.
‘Inspector,’ he nodded in response.
Kim fell silent as she appraised the damage to the car. The dent in the bonnet measured two feet across and ended an inch away from the windscreen wipers. The radiator grille was indented, and the passenger side headlight was smashed.
Kim tried to ignore the image of Joanna being tossed into the air as the car struck her.
‘How’d you find it?’ she asked, tearing her eyes away.
‘Collation of witness reports, CCTV and some observant police officers,’ said Adams. ‘You know, good old-fashioned police work.’
Kim wondered if he knew of her derogatory comments the previous day. If he did, there was egg on her face right now. She doubted her team could have got this result any quicker.
‘Why here?’ she said, looking around. She couldn’t help but feel that no one living on Hollytree was connected to the staff or students at Heathcrest.
Adams pointed to the left-hand tower block. ‘I’d say because the owner lives over there on the ninth floor.’
That information served to convince her this had been an untimely accident and had no connection to the death of Sadie Winters.
‘All right, Inspector, thanks for—’
‘Not so fast,’ he said, raising one eyebrow. ‘You’re missing the most important part,’ he said, moving to stand beside her.
‘Take a closer look at the passenger side front wheel.’
She took a step back. The rubber of the tyre was bulged, and the wheel trim buckled. She got it.
‘He hit and mounted the kerb?’ she asked.
Adams nodded.
This was no accident. The bastard had aimed right for her.
