Kraal

Chapter 7: Cole

Another grey morning and another body. Cole dragged his knuckles across the stubble on his chin, as he crouched beside the teenage boy lying face down on the ground. This one was older than Thomas Greig, but still a kid, and his body bore the same lacerations and patchwork of cuts and bruises.

Cole looked around at the green grounds, there were wild flowers growing in the thickets between the tall, oak trees and it was quiet except for the whisper of the wind. This was a popular site for tourists who came to see the flora and fauna and the space was interspersed with small, wooden picnic benches. If it wasn't so early, this place would be teeming with visitors. They would have to cordon off the whole area, make sure it didn't become compromised with even more footprints.

He expected this kind of thing in the city, he saw a body there almost every week, but not here, not in Westwood Falls. This was a quiet town, some of the inhabitants were a bit odd, still believing in the old folklore of the area. Sightings of wildcats, spirits and woolly-men were rife, but violent crime rates were low. It was part of the reason he had moved here with his wife and children, he was an hour's drive from the city, so his work commute was longer, but they would be safe. Or so he thought.

Cole's hands shook as he pulled on a plastic glove and carefully extracted the bullet on the ground using a pair of tweezers. He held it up to the light. It was stained with blood, the tip misshapen.

Brown crouched down beside him. "The bullet went right through?"

"I don't think so," Cole said. "There's no exit wound."

"Then maybe another wound that we're not seeing."

"Maybe," Cole said, rising wearily to his feet. He hadn't been sleeping well lately and it was starting to show. There were shadows under his eyes and his skin looked sallow. He pulled an evidence bag from his pocket and dropped the bullet inside. "I need to run some checks, see if it matches the residue on the bodies."

Brown nodded solemnly and took the bag from him. She held it up to the light. "I haven't seen a bullet like this before."

"Me neither," Cole admitted. "Looks old, maybe an antique." He took a few steps away from the crime scene as officers moved in with a body bag, their eyes cast down. He rested his back against a nearby tree, raising his face to the sky and closing his eyes. He didn't want to see the boy's face when they turned him over.

Brown took a few cautious steps towards him. "You know, if this case is too much for you Cole..."

He opened his eyes, but did not look at her. "I've been doing this job for fifteen years, I'm just tired, that's all." He shuddered as the officers zipped up the body bag. It sent an image flashing through his mind that he didn't want to think about, an image from the night that changed his life.

Brown nodded and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, steeling herself for what she was about to say. "I know what today is."

Cole bowed his head.

"You should've taken the day off." She said, quietly.

Cole sniffed and started to stride back towards his car.

"Cole, please."

He turned back to face her, her cheeks were pink, but the rest of her was pale.

"I'm OK," he said. "I just need to keep busy."

The wind blew her hair across her face and she pushed it hurriedly out of her eyes. "If you ever want to talk, or anything..."

"I know," he said. "C'mon. I want to take that bullet straight to the lab."

"We need to find out who this kid is." Brown said, hurrying to catch up with him.

"I'll call it in on the way to the station." Cole said. He didn't want to think about who this kid was, or who he belonged to. One dead adolescent was one thing, but this... now they were looking for a murderer. It was safer if he focussed on the facts, the evidence, it gave him a kind of thrill that placated the gnawing emptiness that threatened to eat him alive, and if he had to visit another set of parents that didn't know where their kid was, Cole didn't know what he might do.

"The similarities between the two deaths are startling." Brown remarked, matching her stride to Cole's as they made their way back to the roadside.

"Uh-huh."

"You don't agree?"

"Oh I agree," Cole said quietly. "Both victims are male, of a similar age, both found with the torso exposed, similar injuries, both dragged to a site where they were likely to be found... when the press get hold of this, they're going to have a field day."

"The press?" Brown said, incredulously. "We've got a murdered on our hands, in this quiet town, this is huge."

"Hmm." Cole stopped walking and looked around the space. Brown followed his gaze, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular.

"What? What is it?"

Cole held the evidence bag up for her to see. "It's this."

Brown tried to hide her sigh of irritation, letting it out slowly through her teeth. "The bullet?"

Cole nodded.

"What's so interesting about it?"

"You mean aside from the fact that it could lead us to the killer?" Cole couldn't help but smirk a little at the look of mortification that flashed across Brown's face. 

"I mean, obviously, aside from that," She said, two pink spots appearing on her cheeks. "Why are you focussing on that rather than who this kid is and what his connection is with Thomas Greig?"

Cole took her hand and laid the plastic bag across it so that the bullet was nestled in her palm. "Because this bullet is made from silver."