Sinful Crimes

Chapter 2

The first person Hannah saw on arriving to Telecom Stations was a young male, Mr Talbot, who happened to be Bryson's boss. Not long spent in the company, and yet tagged alongside. He was holding onto a clipboard as if it were a soft toy as Hannah approached him to sign in.

"You okay?" she asked.

Talbot nodded,but his eyes betrayed him. He blinked furiously to hide the evidence of distress.

"Did you see the body first?"

He nodded, then cleared his throat.

"I was with the First Responder, PC Olly Richards. There was nothing we could do for the poor lad."

Hannah knew intuitively that it was the first dead body this man had seen and sympathy tugged vigorously at her. She could remember seeing a little sod's body 10 years ago and remembered it like yesterday. One of the many reasons she joined the force and became a family liaison officer anyway.

"Body's a bit scary, isn't it?" She chuckled, reaching out to grab the clipboard.

"The police asked me to describe what I had seen,and what the body looked like," He began, short of much breath. "I'm sorry,".

Hannah watched as Talbot reached into his back pocket, to reach out for an inhaler.

"But my mind went blank. I didn't know what to say. They must think I'm an idiot," He explained, his head bowed low.

So he was a witness, thought Hannah.

"They won't," Hannah reassured him. "Richards understands more than anyone how awful it could be,".

"I've been going over a lot and now I know the right way to arrange my words, but I can't leave this post to tell Richards." Talbot answered anxiously.

"What did you see?"

"One minute Bryson's about walking into the building, another minute, I see a person dressed in black with a sharp ass knife in 'is palm," He said, shaking his head.

Hannah looked up, for proof's sake, knowing  if he had seen it truly, his office window had to be crystal clear. Yet it was. The idea of another person in the compound made Hannah shiver up cold. She had to watch her back. Talbot took the clipboard and pen back and pointed to his left.

"From here you need to make a left turn twice, then go up the ramps. You can't miss it,".

Hannah declined to mention that she already knew her way around the building. Numerous mornings she had dropped by the same spot to give James a morning kiss before he went off. Stung by memories, Hannah nodded at Talbot, and strode purposefully into the building corner, her focus on the scene awaiting her. She was paces away from scene when a very muscular male emerged from the gap in the hoardings dressed in casual clothing demanded by the forensics for a reason Hannah did not know.

"Sometimes I really  hate this job,"

"That bad?"

"His heart took the brunt. Didn't stand a chance."

"Has he been ID'd yet?"

"Yeah, Neville Bryson. Sorry, forgot to be formal. Name's Tim Bryan,"

"Hannah Pullman. No family was there when it all happened, were they?"

"No, thank God. His kids are clueless!"

"Poor sods. How'd the police know then?"

"The usual Chinese whispers. The building barely much time to tell anyone it was shutting down,".

"Has anyone else seen the body?"

"No. His immediate colleagues keep asking but we can't, not in the state it's in," He said, flashing Hannah a knowing look.

"We're sure it's him?"

"Yep. His wedding ring and wallet say it all. It really sold him out."

Hannah hugged her arms to her chest, feeling a chill that didn't make sense on a day so warm. "His poor kids." She repeated. 

"I know, I've been thinking the same: how do you even begin to deal with something like this? Everyone's a suspect in that building," Bryan added hastily, pointing at the building as he stood up.

Hannah swallowed hard. If this man was thirty-five, he might've been in the same post as James.

"What about his wife?"

"Looks like he's a single dad. We haven't confirmed who that was with anyone yet," He cupped his hand over his mouth. "Before the rumours start again," He laughed.

"Who's the SIO?" Hannah asked. "I need to pass on something one of the first responders told me,".

Bryan pulled down his shirt and opened his dungarees, revealing only peripheral vision's worth amount to see tight ab muscles and a v shape going down to his waist. Hannah felt her cheeks glow red.

"As the ranking officer, and your new partner, I am. And before you ask, there isn't anyone else."

"I wasn't going to,"

Hannah had met this man before, but they had terrible cuts and bruises in their friendship the last three years. He was bossy , and didn't really care about other people's objections. But now, now he had changed. A lot. For safety, Hannah didn't call him a friend, just so she could keep him at arms' reach. 

"Good. What did you need to tell me then?"

"The eyewitness only mentioned seeing someone in black stab Bryson in the back on his way to his office on the ground floor."

"That must mean only one thing. He was targeted."

There it was again, Hannah thought to herself rolling her eyes. The bossiness. The 'I don't take shit' behaviour. She didn't even bother trying to tell him he could jump to conclusions. They  both left the area, walking side by side, and anyone could think they were a married couple. She noticed his hair a platinum blonde, and her hair a honey blonde. His eyes were blue and hers were green. They strutted around for a while until Hannah received a call from an unknown number. It was Richards.

"Hello?"

"Pullman, are you there?"

"Yes sir, anything to report?"

"There's been some new information. An abandoned building near the area."

"What does that have to do with us?"

"There is an ID that mentions Gayle Bryson." He paused.

"What is it, are you under an attack?"

"Another ID says James Hepworth."