The sound of ice white Nike trainers hitting the hard concrete ground. The heart pounding against the ribcage as the constant sound of the trainers take a stride forward. The sound getting quicker and more rapid. The morning sun was beginning to creep up above the ocean horizon. The waves were crashing against the wooden pier that crept into the sea. David Byers wasn't a typical runner. No, David Byers liked to run without the white apple headphones and liked to run with his thoughts. He always ran the same route, from his house down to the coast and to the wooden pier. From here he ran along the pier and turned around and ran back. It was about 3 mile and Byers did this every day. He was heading back from the pier and was admiring the view of the orange lit sky as it reflected of the rough blue sea. David Byers was quite an athletic man aged in his early fifties. He was around six foot tall with short brown chestnut hair. His skin was a golden-brown colour due to a holiday a few weeks ago. He continued his run home and as the cold wind chill from the coast hit him.
David Byers made a left turn and was on a modern housing estate. The houses looked as if they were asleep. The dark windows hiding many different stories. David crossed the road and began to slow down before coming to a stop. He was now on a gravel driveway cwith a patch of grass which was, recently cut, on the David's right. He looked at his watch and read the time. 05.32. He then walked towards the house with light red bricks shaped like a square. There was a small garage located on the right hand-side of the small house. There were three windows on the front of the house, all the rooms hidden behind black curtains. He walked across to a solid walnut coloured door. David pressed down on the cold golden door handle and pushed the door. He entered the toasty house and moved into the hallway where there was a table with a set of flowers adding a fresh aroma to the fully furnished house. The hallway was painted a dark burgundy which contrasted the light brown floorboards. As he entered the hallway there was a living room on the right where there was a cream carpet and two white sofas with red cushions placed neatly on them. There was a TV placed on the wall with a selection of DVD's. On the right of David was a kitchen fully equipped with a brand-new gas oven placed in between white work-surfaces which contained cupboards containing all sorts of food. David Byers headed upstairs to the landing where there were three brown doors leading into two bedroom and the bathroom. David walked into one of the bedrooms where his wife of twenty-five years was currently sleeping in a queen size bed with a cream and red duvet. On the side of the bed were two bedside table with a small lamp situated on top. Byers headed back out of the bedroom and entered one of the other brown doors which led to the bathroom to get showered and ready for the day ahead. He began to get undressed and dumped his clothes onto the brown stone floor and entered the shower and turned on the hot water.
After five minutes David Byers stepped out of the shower and wrapped a cotton white towel around his waist and headed to the bedroom. He opened the mirrored sliding built in wardrobe and pulled out a top of the range charcoal suit with a long-sleeved white shirt. After he had put on the suit he knelt to a set of blue and grey drawers and pulled out a charcoal tie. Byers then put up his collar and secured the tie. David Byers then went over to the side of the bed in which his wife was still sleeping on. He bent over and give her a kiss on the forehead. He then got back up and headed downstairs to the kitchen where he made himself a milky coffee. He sat down at a black tainted table to take a drink and then his white iPhone six phone burst into life and on the screen was the name Holland. Byers swiped the green glowing answer button and spoke.
“Good morning, Holland” Spoke Byers in a silvery voice. As he took a sip of his coffee from his coffee mug which was shaped like a military green grenade.
“Good morning, David, I hope didn't wake you” Spoke a female voice on the other end of the mobile call. The voice was very crisp and was very southern.
“No, come on Louise, you know me wake up, go for run, head to the station the same thing every day. What's up?” Asked David who took another mouthful of his milky coffee.
“Yeah boss, Sadly I do know you,” Laughed Louise who was David's partner and very good friend, “And we need you, down at the seafront near Brooklands pleasure epark on Brighton Road. There's been a female body tfound. I'm heading there now to begin the investigation.” Spoke Louise in a hurried tone as her car could be heard in the distance of the call.
“Thank you, Holland, see you in ten” Answered David in a confident and authoritarian tone.
“See you shortly.” As Louise spoke as the call went silent and the phone screen went back to showing a picture of David and his wife who would still be asleep for a couple more hours. David took the final mouthful of his coffee and put the mug into the cold metal sink. He picked up his keys and headed to the garage where a granite grey Vauxhall Astra was parked. David started the engine and left the property.
As the Dark grey Vauxhall pulled up to the small, worn away car park where there were a few Ford fiesta police patrol cars. David pulled into one of the tight gaps between the two patrol cars which would have been first to the scene and set up a cordon around the scene and stop it from been contaminated. David seen Louise Holland's teal Fiat 500 parked on the other side of one of the patrol cars. David then progressed to the crime scene which was cordoned off by police tape which was tied around two lamp posts and guarded by a few police constables. David walked off the hard concrete parking lot and onto golden grainy sand every step he took leaving a footprint behind. He continued walking across to the blue and white police tape which spoke 'POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS'. David passed a few men with camera strapped around their necks. They were also walking to the crime scene. However, there was one difference David was allowed on the other side, they were not.
“Good morning detective” Spoke the young police constable who was standing wearing the black trousers and a reflective jacket. However, underneath that would be a stab vest and a duty belt which contained the essentials such as a set of handcuffs, a baton and even PAVA spray. The constable lifted the police tape and allowed David through. The men with the cameras arrived at the tape and started to flash their camera's as if there was a celebrity in the area. Another officer very similar to the one protecting the cordon handed David and pair of gloves and overshoes to help protect the scene. David continued walking to a white tent where two officers stood guard as if it was Downing Street. Before David entered the tent, he observed the SOCO -Scenes of crime officers - walking in a circular motion around the area of the tent trying to find any evidence possible. The white figures walked as if they were looking for some loose change they had just dropped. In the distance David seen another crime officer with a Camera taking pictures to use in the report. Byers looked along the coast and could see the pier in the far distance where he had just been running a couple of hours ago. Byers opened the tent door and entered. Lying on the golden grains of Worthing beach was a young woman lying face up with her eyes open. She was wearing a light pink O-neck top with a picture of a kitten. She was also wearing a light blue pair of jeans with pink converse. Her face was pale as if she had seen a ghost, but now she was a ghost. Her green eyes were open as if she was trying to catch an early morning sunbathe, her hair was as long as Rapunzel but as black as snow white. The young woman must have been about twenty from the way she was dressed and her overall size. Byers seen Holland talking to the medical examiner.
Morning guys.” Spoke David as he approached the two who were standing above the body which was in the centre of the tent. Louise Holland was about forty years old and looked like one of those mums who would be picking up their children at the school gates however Louise also had that office look about her. She was around five foot five. She had Light brown hair in the style of long bob haircut and shiny blue eyes. She was wearing a black suit jacket and trousers with a white shirt tucked in. She stood facing Cory Goldberg who was around the same height and slightly bigger build as Louise. He was bald apart from the few patches of hair around the side of his head. He also stubble facial hair. He was holding a notepad and pen which probably contained a list of symptoms of the young women. David walked to the other side of the body and was now standing next to Louise.
“So, Cory, what can you tell me about the victim?” Asked Byers in a tremulous tone. As he looked at the young woman who looked as if she was staring right at you and watching everything like an eagle before it attacks its prey. She had hazel eyes and rouge lipstick that was of the similar shade as the French flag. The young woman was also quite small compared to most young woman.
“Well Detectives, the young women is early twenties and we are waiting for an ID, should get it in a couple of hours, In terms of death, if you look at the young woman's lips you can see that they are cracked. This usually happens when a person is thirsty or can happen during the winter due to the cold or the summer due to frequent sun exposure. Now if you also look at the nose there are signs of a nosebleed, as you can see from the dried-up blood within the nostril. These signs indicate that the victim could have been hit but there are no signs of broken bones in the nose, however sometimes nosebleeds can happen due to the body not getting enough water. So, my best guess is dehydration is a key factor in the death of the victim. Now dehydration takes roughly ten days however this can vary by a few days and be different for each person along with the temperature. So, the chances are this is suspicious circumstances, but you would have known by the way the body is positioned,” David looked at the sand around the body and it looked as if it hadn't been touched. There were no footsteps. The body looked as if it had just fallen here from out of space.
“Now on a beach it is possible to leave no trace by walking in a zone called the lowest impact zone. This is when the tide washes away footprints instantly. Now if you look at the victims’ wrists you can see that she has rope burns which suggests that she has been tied up recently. The burns look new quite possibly four days to a week at the most. Now I've taken blood and other DNA from the victim and a post-mortem will confirm if it is dehydration or not, but it is very difficult to die from dehydration due to the body going into shock and frequent fainting. Any questions detectives?” Asked Cory as he was now knelt down by the side of the young women. Byers and Holland were looking at the body very closely as if they had dropped something on the floor and they were trying to find it.
“Are there any signs of a struggle such as bruises?” Queried Louise in a confused tone.
“Nothing which I have seen however again post-mortem will reveal more” Responded Cory. He began to get back up from the kneeling position and back up to side of Byers and Holland who were both looking at the body as they were trying to paint a picture of the young woman and trying to work out why somebody would ever want her dead.
“Are there any physical signs of sexual assault at all?” Asked David as he made eye contact with Cory.
“Not that I can see, however post-mortem should answer that question. But a pretty woman like her, It's a potential motive.” Clarified Cory who was also looking down at the woman.
“But why dress her up again. Why not dump her the way she was when she died. And a week to die from dehydration. Why kill her in that sort of manner. And her family, she must be in her early twenties. Her mum and Dad must have issued a missing person’s report at least.” Spoke Louise who had brought out a small black notepad and was jotting down some notes about the body.
“Holland, I want you to have a look at missing person reports in the area for the last month at least. And the victim looks sort of familiar somehow, but I can’t work out why” Spoke David Byers in a croaky tone.
“I'll look into it right away sir. We'll catch the suspect sir.” Spoke Louise as she took a look at Byers who now had his arms crossed.
David and Louise headed out of the tent and back into the now semi-lit beachfront as the sun was now more or less up for the day ahead. David looked at the motorway which ran adjacent to the beach front. The motorway was starting to get busier as people were making their way into the city for the working day ahead.
“Can we get CCTV from the motorway for the last couple of hours” Asked Byers as he looked at Louise Holland for an answer.
“I'll try and get someone to look through them.”
Cory came out the tent and on his mobile phone and stated it was the front desk of the police station. He then looked at David and handed him the mobile phone.
“Hello, this is Detective Byers.”
“Hi, sir, We've just received the image of the woman who was found. I know who she is sir.” Spoke a man with a very broad northern accent. He sounded fairly young. David Byers remained on the phone for a few more minutes before thanking the man and handing the phone back to Cory.
“Holland with me.” Spoke Byers in a slightly worried tone. The two crossed the beach and headed back towards the car park.
