The Murder House. Michael Wood

this morning because she left a shoe behind yesterday.’

      ‘Did she say how many guests were at the wedding reception?’

      ‘She thinks about one hundred and fifty, maybe more. She didn’t know a lot of them, but she’s going to work on a list of the ones she did know. I’ve said I’ll pop round tomorrow morning to see how she’s getting on.’

      ‘That’s great, Sian. So, we’ve got Clive Mercer, his wife Serena, and their son Jeremy killed, and his daughter, Rachel, left alive for some reason. Scott, how’s she doing?’

      Scott looked up from where he had been doodling on his pad. He hadn’t touched the coffee Rory had brought him or the Twix Sian had placed in front of him. He looked drained. ‘She’s in shock. She’s not responsive to anyone. It’s like she’s in some form of trance. However, she hasn’t been injured in any way and there is no sign of sexual interference.’

      ‘One saving grace,’ Sian muttered.

      ‘Unfortunately, we don’t know what she’s seen,’ Scott continued. ‘There’s probably a reason why she’s not talking. There’s a uniformed officer sitting guard outside her room all night. If there’s any change he’ll ring and let me know.’

      ‘What do we know about the Mercer family?’ Matilda asked. She looked at Scott out of the corner of her eye. It had only been a few months since he had been attacked by Steve Harrison. His physical injuries had healed quickly but who knew what was going on inside his head. Scott had always been the quiet one of the group. She didn’t want him suffering in silence.

      DS Aaron Connolly approached the white board. He’d begun to stick photographs up. ‘Clive Mercer, aged sixty, was an anaesthetist and Serena, fifty-seven, a neurologist. Both worked at the Northern General. Jeremy, aged twenty-eight, was a junior doctor in Liverpool. We’re looking into their backgrounds, any known enemies, money problems, et cetera, but, so far, all the neighbours are saying they’re a lovely family. Clive and Serena raise money for local charities and the hospital. They’re regular churchgoers and both children are following in their parents’ footsteps. The perfect family.’

      ‘The ACC mentioned something about Serena being arrested last year while protesting about the trees being cut down,’ Matilda said.

      ‘Yes. Officially, Serena Mercer does have a record. In November while protesting in Ecclesall, she got a bit carried away and physically assaulted a bloke from the council.’

      ‘How?’ Sian asked. There was a glint in her eye.

      ‘She gave him a backhander across the face. According to the report, he went down like a sack of spuds. The whole thing was caught on camera and has over a million views on YouTube.’

      ‘Good for her. Bloody council,’ Sian said.

      ‘OK. I very much doubt this is some disgruntled council worker getting his own back after being embarrassed online, but, stranger things have happened. Pay the bloke a visit, Aaron, find out his alibi for last night.’

      ‘Will do.’

      ‘Have we managed to track down Leah yet?’ Matilda asked.

      ‘We’ve got a mobile number,’ Rory said.

      ‘Rose says she knows the name of the hotel they’re staying in in Paris but can’t remember it. She’s still a bit fuddled. She’s going to have think,’ Sian said.

      Matilda took a deep breath. ‘What about forensics?’

      ‘Still at the scene. According to Sebastian Flowers, it will be at least another day before they’re through,’ Sian said.

      ‘Point of entry?’

      ‘Rose said the door from the marquee leading into the kitchen was open. The killer could have got over the fence at the back of the garden,’ Aaron said.

      ‘Anything missing?’

      ‘Nothing we can find so far. Maybe when Leah gets back from Paris she’ll be able to give us more information on that,’ Sian replied.

      ‘What about the clothing found at the scene?’

      ‘Nothing yet. It’s going to take time.’

      ‘Did any of the neighbours see anything suspicious?’ Matilda’s questions came faster. It was early days in the investigation. Unfortunately, the first hours were the most important. It was frustrating the crime scene was so intense they were unable to get into the house and have a good look around and try to understand the victims more.

      ‘The majority of the neighbours were at the reception. Apparently, the drink was flowing quite freely and most of them didn’t surface until they noticed flashing blue lights out of their windows,’ Rory said.

      ‘Which tells us times of death was sometime after the reception on Sunday night or the early hours of Monday morning. We need to find out what time the last person left.’

      ‘Rose said it was just after midnight when she left,’ Sian said. ‘There were still a few others milling around.’

      ‘And she was up and ready to go to work by ten o’clock?’ Rory asked.

      ‘She said alcohol’s never affected her badly. It doesn’t matter how much she drinks she’s always fine the next morning.’

      ‘Lucky cow,’ Rory said to a ripple of laughter from around the room.

      ‘CCTV?’

      ‘Some of the properties have cameras up. We’re working on it,’ Aaron said.

      ‘The digital cameras?’

      Matilda had managed to snag a uniformed officer and recruit him as a trainee DC for the length of this case. Finn Cotton was in his early-twenties but looked to be in his late teens. He had the young fresh face of a children’s television presenter. He had strawberry blond hair and wore designer frameless glasses. The ravages of working through the night on a difficult murder hunt, surviving on a few hours’ sleep, missing meals and the stress of a dedicated homicide unit had not been felt by this man. Yet.

      He looked up and cleared his throat. ‘I’ve uploaded all the photos and put them on an iPad. There’s over three hundred of them.’ His voice was soft with nerves at being the newbie in the group. ‘I’ve been able to tag names to those I know, but that’s only the victims and the main players like the bride and groom. I’ll need to go through them with one of the guests who’ll be able to identify them.’

      ‘I’ll have a word with Rose,’ Sian began. ‘As soon as she feels able enough, we’ll bring her in.’

      ‘Thanks,’ he said.

      ‘Good work, Finn,’ Matilda said.

      Finn smiled. His eyes lit up. He seemed pleased he was doing something right and hadn’t screwed up on his first day.

      Matilda looked at the ashen faces of her team. ‘OK, I think we should call it a night. I want you all to go home, try and have a good night’s sleep and we’ll look at this afresh tomorrow. Again, if any of you need to talk, please do so. Do not let this eat away at you. Off you go.’

      Matilda watched while the team slowly packed up and headed for the door. There were some sights you could never unsee, and the bloodbath they had all witnessed today would stay with them all for the rest of their lives. They would all see this through to the end, of that Matilda had no doubt; but how many would ask for a transfer, or resign when it was over? Aaron and Sian would stay, Christian too, but Scott and Rory were young. Would they think a career in the police force wasn’t for them? They had both been viciously attack in the past year or so. How would the hunt for a depraved madman change them? Valerie wanted this case solved at any cost. That was not going to happen. Matilda’s primary concern was for her colleagues. If they needed to finish early for their sanity, then so be it.

      Matilda waited until everyone had left before going into her small office. She closed