Murder Through Disabled Access

By Dr. Nicholas M. Almond

Dr Bruce Noble is an expert Criminal Psychologist and Neuropsychologist but suffers from severe disability. His Personal Assistant, Sophie, is completely loyal and has delayed her own career to support him during his university work and police consultancy. In Bruces private life he is anything but the typical academic; he has a serious drink and drug addiction, but also has one foot on the wrong side of the law with his acquaintances. When a potential serial killer is missed by the police Bruce becomes suspicious about the motives of the killer and feels that there is a vendetta against the police, which they are ignoring. Bruce and Sophie are entangled in a potential witch hunt which could cost them their lives. The question is can Bruce convince the police to ignore his extracurricular activities and find the killer before its too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481780483

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© 2013 by DR. NICHOLAS M. ALMOND. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/28/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-8047-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-8048-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter One The Nurse In The Woods

Chapter Two The Boys

Chapter Three Paolo

Chapter Four The Beginning

Chapter Five The Game Is Afoot

Chapter Six The Potential Modus Operandi

Chapter Seven The Old Friend—Dave

Chapter Eight Justin

Chapter Nine Frustrating Times

Chapter Ten Crossing The Line

Chapter Eleven White Powder

Chapter Twelve Stepping Over The Line

Chapter Thirteen Does Friendship Come First?

Chapter Fourteen The Unsuspecting Suspect

Chapter Fifteen Parting Company

Chapter Sixteen End Game

Chapter Seventeen Understanding

Chapter Eighteen Making Up

Chapter Nineteen Moving On

About The Author

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to say a really big thank you to all my friends and personal assistants who have spent ages typing this book while I dictated. I’m not sure I can name everyone, but a really big thank you must go to Shona, Katie, Ailsa, Rachel, Emily, Ebrah, Brogan, and Lauren. I think we spent more time deleting than actually typing, but luckily everyone had a lot of patience!

Many characters in this book are based on real people I know, for obvious reasons I cannot name, but thanks a lot for the inspiration. I would also like to thank my friends who took the time to read the book and give me some great advice.

Finally, I just want to dedicate this book to my parents Christine and Paul. Mum always said she wanted a book dedicated to her but somehow I don’t think she had this kind of novel in mind!

CHAPTER ONE

The Nurse in the Woods

It is 11:15am and only two people are sitting outside of the university bar which has just opened. Bruce is sitting next to the bench in his wheelchair wearing a rugby shirt and jeans. Even though it is November and the weather is cold, Bruce does not feel it due to the fact that he is sitting in a moulded wheelchair which keeps the cold air off him. Next to him, sitting on the bench, is Sophie who has a heavy duty winter coat on and is holding up a journal article so that Bruce can read it. Sophie has her coat zipped up and her dark hair is tucked in the back, her mouth is barely visible over the high collar and she occasionally blows down her jacket to keep warm. In her other hand she is holding a long joint which is burning away and she leans over to hold the spliff in Bruce’s mouth while he takes a few long drags. On the table there is a beaker, which resembles a large baby cup and is three quarters full of Bacardi and coke and a big mug of coffee which Sophie takes a slurp of while Bruce has the joint in his mouth. The barman pops out of the door leading to the bar but instantly notices Bruce is smoking a joint so stops and nods to signal that he will return in a couple of minutes to distribute the ash trays. It is only just past opening hours and the bar has only just officially opened.

‘So, I guess you are not so interested in this article?’ Sophie said looking at Bruce as his eyes start to lose focus with the journal and he begins to look round. ‘Nah, it’s a pile of bullshit . . . all the author is doing is recanting the original theory of why Shipman started killing people. I don’t see how this has been published when our latest article was rejected for conjecture and lacking evidence,’ Bruce says in his strong Yorkshire accent and in a frustrated way. Sophie laughs, ‘You’re only jealous that he pipped you to the post with this article, perhaps if we didn’t spend so much time sitting here in the cold drinking they would have accepted your paper before his.’ Bruce looked at her in a condescending way but knows that she has a point. Meanwhile Sophie puts the joint back into his mouth to stop him moaning and smiles.

DCI William Connor comes out of the door wearing a suit and long overcoat holding a police file heading straight for Bruce and Sophie. Connor is wearing a shirt and plain blue tie under his overcoat, he is tall and thin and has his hair combed in a side-parting even though he is in his mid-thirties. Sophie looks at Bruce as if she was asking whether to chuck the joint but Bruce purposefully takes a big drag and waits until Connor gets close before blowing it in his direction. Sophie takes a sly look at Bruce as to suggest that she knows that he is purposely trying to wind Connor up but respects Bruce’s choice to continue smoking. Connor chooses to ignore this petulant behaviour and puts his Blackberry on the table which has a picture of a woman who has clearly been sexually abused and strangled. Bruce takes another drag and nonchalantly says, ‘So, you guys have got another killing which you can’t solve!’ Connor is very placid and explains that he could do with Bruce’s help because the woman is well-liked in the local community and before news of her death gets out he wants to solve the case. Bruce laughs, ‘You mean you want to make a good impression in the hope that the press will stop talking about how a few of your guys got a bit too handy with that young Asian guy last month?’ Connor doesn’t reply but smiles to appease Bruce.

Bruce takes a quick look at the photo and is not really interested and has a big drink and asks Connor what it is worth. Connor says that he will up his normal fee to 300 quid per day if they get a breakthrough. After a couple of seconds of Bruce looking around in a bit of an arrogant way, ‘It’s not interesting; it’s just another girl who has died in some woods. I don’t really think you need me to help you with this one, after all I’ve not heard from you for about a year.’ Connor replies threatening that he will search his bag on the back of his chair and take him in for possession of illegal drugs. Bruce laughs, ‘Yeah whatever, but let me finish my drink first and I will call Tommy to come and pick us up. Can you email us all the crime scene photos so far, so that we can have a look at them as we are driving over? I guess it is in Cookridge?’ Connor looks surprised, ‘How do you know that?’ Bruce smiles, ‘I recognise the footpath from when I was younger . . . me and the boys used to go down that area and get high because we knew the police couldn’t be arsed patrolling it.’ Connor agrees and gives him the exact location of the crime scene.

Tommy is a Geordie who is Bruce’s mother’s partner but also acts as Bruce’s primary carer and unofficial minder. He moved to Leeds about twenty years ago to work for a garage as he was a mechanic, but he moonlighted as a bouncer in nightclubs in Leeds. He is fairly tall and stocky and has a skinhead. He has several scars on his face and a few broken teeth, which shows he has been in numerous scraps, but he tries to cover these up with stubble. He has no diplomatic skills at all and if he does not agree with someone he is more likely to punch them rather than try to talk to them and excuse himself. The most noticeable feature of Tommy apart from his accent, is his nose which has obviously been broken on a few occasions.

Sophie sits in the back of his adaptive car, which Tommy is driving, with Bruce looking at the crime scene photos which have been sent to his laptop. The car is a large black Mercedes-Benz which has alloy wheels and resembles the A-Team van, which Bruce idolised when he was growing up in the 80’s. They also read the background information on the victim who is a nurse and finished her shift at a nearby hospital at six. Her home was accessible through the woods between her house and the hospital, however Bruce comments that because it is late November it would be very dark at 6am so why would she walk through the woods when she could have walked on well-lit streets and the trip would only have taken an extra fifteen minutes. Sophie comments, ‘Yeah you’re right, there would be no chance I would be walking through there on my own, which means she was either stupid or with someone.’ Bruce agrees but continues, ‘Yeah with someone who she trusted.’ When arriving at the street near the crime scene Tommy asks Sophie if she wants a hand pushing Bruce in the wheelchair up the footpath which is fairly muddy and wet, but Sophie is happy to do so and is wearing suitable clothing; tight jeans which show her well toned bum and legs, and heavy duty walking boots due to the fact that she had walked to work in the morning and left her car at her boyfriends at the other side of the park.

The pair arrive at the police cordon where there is a PC who does not recognise Bruce and tries to stop him passing. As the head of the serious crime division for West Yorkshire Police, Connor shouts out to the PC that they have been cleared and should be allowed through. Bruce receives a cold reception from Sergeant Ford who does not welcome the input, ‘Why the fuck is Ironside here?’ Bruce quickly replies with a sarcastic comment putting Ford down, ‘Because you can’t solve a simple manslaughter!’ Both Connor and Madison pick up on the word manslaughter and choose to ignore the bickering between Ford and Bruce. Ford rubs his face in a frustrated way because he knows that Bruce will immediately produce a theory as to why the murder occurred. Bruce cannot resist smiling at Ford to wind him up.

Detective Inspector George Madison is an Afro-Caribbean who has defied the racial negativity in the police force and could be in a higher position than what he is. He is dressed in a turtleneck jumper and jeans and has short hair. He is well-set and respects Bruce for his input into any case. The two have a mutual understanding as they have both grown up in rough suburbs of Leeds and managed to make a good career and escape the ghetto culture. On the contrary Sergeant Cliff Ford is arrogant and insists on wearing an out of date suit and police issued shoes. He is going thin on top but chooses to grow his hair and comb it over and has a moustache which suits the fact that he joined the force in the early eighties. He is an old style police officer who feels that if you cannot get a confession out of a so-called suspect then you should be allowed to have time alone with him where the CCTV cameras are not operating to make his job easier.

The group are on a walking path which is directly next to a tall fence which separates the wooded area from a relatively new housing estate. In summer the footpath and woods will have been populated by dog walkers but due to the time of year and cold morning, Bruce is more than aware that it will have been an isolated area when the nurse was attacked. Sophie pushes Bruce up to the body which is covered with a police forensic tent and Bruce sits quietly for a few moments surveying the area.

Underneath the tent there is a 25 year old woman who has had her winter coat ripped open and dragged off her shoulders to reveal a green NHS nurses top which has been ripped open down the middle. Under this she has a black lace bra which has been pulled down to reveal one bust. Her head is turned to the right to reveal a wound on the left side of her head at the top which has been oozing blood which has congealed with her blonde hair which is also matted with mud. Her neck has got bruising on the left side with five clear finger marks and one thumb mark on the right carotid artery. Her jeans have been ripped open and pulled down to below her hips and the button is about 2 feet away on the left of the body. Her black lace knickers are pulled down to reveal her pubic area but there is only semen on her knickers and jeans, and no indication of penetration. The scene is reminiscent of something which Bruce has seen earlier but he does not comment on it straight away.

Although Bruce is imagining the attack he is really interested in the new young inspector and casually asks Connor, ‘Who’s Boy Wonder?’ Connor explains that Inspector Brooks has been fast-tracked to the serious crime division because he has qualified with a first class degree from the University of the West of England (UWE) and that they have high hopes for him. DI Daniel Brooks is a young looking PC dressed in a relatively smart suit and has office shoes on which he is clearly unhappy about wearing in the muddy area. He has mousy brown hair which is combed forward with a peak at the front. He does not really look like a typical police officer but more like an insurance salesman. He is quietly spoken but has a weak Leeds accent which Bruce picks up on straight away.

Boy Wonder does not quite understand what Bruce asked about him, and looks a bit puzzled. However he obviously knows that Bruce has asked a question about him because Connor is explaining who he is. At first he was a bit taken aback that Bruce was in a wheelchair and had a lot of involuntary movements, especially since Connor had just said that a criminal psychologist was coming along to help out. Boy Wonder felt a bit guilty assuming that the psychologist would not be disabled but he quickly tried to focus on what Bruce is saying in the hope that it will educate him in criminology. Madison explains, ‘Don’t worry if you can’t understand him, it will take you a bit to pick up what he says but it’s a