Death In The Woods

By Steve Graham

Another great read from crime thriller writer Steve Graham.
When the body of a young woman is found in the woods, it was to be the first of a chain of events that would have the residents of Helperton afraid for the safety of their loved ones. Inspector Jameson and his assistant Sergeant Jones investigate, but it proved to be one of the most complicated and difficult cases that they had ever had to deal with. How can they solve this case when they don`t know who is committing these crimes, or why.
Steve Graham certainly knows how to construct a plot. There are so many twists and turns that it will keep the reader guessing until the very last page.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Graham
• Release date: Feb 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463653296

Steve Graham

Steve Graham is a retired financial adviser, who now lives in Staffordshire. He is married to Anita and they have four children – Lynne, John, Diana and Gary, and three grandchildren – Logan, Dylan and Sami. Not forgetting their dog Stan, a Springer Spaniel / Border Collie cross, that is loved by them all. Now that he has retired, Steve spends most of his time doing the things that he enjoys most, which includes writing, walking. Carp fishing, and looking after his grandchildren.

Book preview

DEATH

IN THE WOODS

An Inspector Jameson Murder Mystery Novel

Steve Graham

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2019 Steve Graham

All rights reserved

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INDEX

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Other Crime Fiction Books By Steve Graham

To my wife Anita.

Thank you for all of your support and encouragement.

1.

Lynne Price was feeling rather pleased with herself. She`d attended her Weight Watchers class earlier that evening, and she`d lost another two pounds. She`d only started at Weight Watchers in January, and now in mid-April, she had lost just over a stone in total.

‘If I keep this up I`ll reach my target weight by July, in time for our holiday.’ she said to herself, as she jogged along the little track beside the woods. She was going to Barbados on holiday with her husband John, and she wanted to look good as she walked along the beach in her bikini. The two of them always went away on a nice holiday to somewhere warm each year, but Barbados was a special destination for them both. It was where they`d gone on their honeymoon six years before, and they`d both been looking forward to going back. As well as being careful with her diet, Lynne had started taking more exercise, and she went to her local gym three times a week, and had taken up jogging too. Although she had only taken up the jogging as a means of losing weight and getting fit, surprisingly Lynne had found that she really enjoyed it. It gave her time to think as she ran, with no distractions, and she always felt better for it, and more relaxed afterwards.

Back at home, Lynne`s Husband John, was sitting watching the television, while he waited for her to get back from her run. He had to admit that he felt a little bit guilty that he hadn`t been more supportive with Lynne`s fitness regime.

‘Perhaps I could have gone jogging with her, or gone down the gym now and then.’ he said to himself.

To make up for it, he decided to take her out for a nice meal that evening. They`d been to Pinocchio’s, the local Italian restaurant in Helperton, about five or six weeks before, and Lynne had loved it, so perhaps he`d take her there again tonight.

John Price was 39 years old, and six feet one tall with dark hair, and had been happily married to Lynne for six years. He was an accountant, and owned a local accountancy firm in partnership with his friend Peter Dawson. The firm was doing very well, and John didn`t have a worry in the world. As he sat there watching the television, his mobile rang, and when he looked at the screen, he saw that it was Peter.

‘Hi Peter,’ he said, ‘what`s up mate?’

‘I just wondered if Sarah was over your place with Lynne. She wasn`t here when I got home, and I can`t get through to her on her mobile.’

‘No I haven`t seen her Peter, and Lynne`s not here either. She`s gone for a run, and then I`m taking her out for a meal when she gets back.’

‘Not to worry John, I`m sure Sarah will turn up eventually. Enjoy your meal, and I`ll see you in the office on Monday. Goodnight.’

‘Thanks Peter, goodnight.’ he replied.

It was half-past six on Friday evening, and at Helperton Police Station, Detective Inspector David Jameson, and Detective Sergeant Beverley Jones were just about to go home. Dave Jameson was six feet tall, with dark hair and brown eyes, and he`d been Detective Inspector at Helperton for almost ten years. He had been married to his wife Linda for more than eighteen years now, and despite the pressure of the job, they were still very happy, after all that time They had two children, Darren who was sixteen, and Bella, who was fourteen, and both children were a credit to them.

Bev Jones had been promoted to Detective Sergeant just over two years before. She was five feet seven tall, a brunette with brown eyes. She was engaged to her boyfriend John Harper, who was an ambulance driver, and they planned to get married the following year.

Just as they were about to leave, Sergeant Brown approached them. Paul Brown had been Desk Sergeant at Helperton for as long as any-one could remember, and was very popular with everyone there.

‘We`ve just had a rather disturbing phone call Inspector.’ he said.

‘Oh really Paul, you`d better tell me about it.’

‘Well the call has been recorded of course, so you`ll be able to hear it all later, but I can tell you the gist of it. The call was from a man who claimed that he had just killed a woman, and that her body was in Helperton woods, not far from the junction of Thornton Road and Helperton Road.’

‘Right we`ll go down there and have a look. Hopefully it`s just a hoax call, but we`d better not take any chances. Can you arrange for half a dozen others to come and help us search the area please Paul?’

‘Of course Inspector, I`ll get on to it now.’

Just ten minutes after they had started searching, they realised that the call had definitely not been a hoax, when they found the body of a young woman. The cause of death was obvious, because the back of her skull had been caved in, and there was an awful lot of blood. She was dressed for running, and they couldn`t find a handbag or any form of identification, but they did find a mobile phone.

‘We should be able to find out who she is from the phone number guv.’ Bev suggested.

‘Yes I`m sure you`re right Bev.’ Dave replied. ‘Let`s get back to the station. I want to listen to the recording of that call. That was a vicious attack, and I want whoever did it caught, and off the streets, before he can hurt anyone else.’

About an hour later Sergeant Brown came to see Dave, with the news that they`d traced the owner of the mobile phone, which had been found at the scene.

‘It`s registered to a Mrs. Lynne Price, at number six Cavendish Crescent, Helperton, Inspector. I`ve checked the address, and there is also a Mr. John Price listed as living there. He`s aged 39, so I presume that it`s her husband.’

‘Thanks Paul.’ Dave replied. ‘Bev and I will go there straight away. I`ve listened to that recording several times, and I don`t like it one little bit. It`s almost as if the guy is taunting us. He seems to have used some sort of device to alter the sound of his voice so that we can`t recognise it. Perhaps you can get one of our technical chaps onto it. They might be able to make it clearer. Can you get someone to get what he said down on paper for me please? It might help if I can see what he said in black and white, rather than just listening to it.’

‘I`ll arrange for that to be done straight away Inspector.’ Sergeant Brown replied.

‘Right Bev, let`s go and see Mr. Price. The sooner we get this over with, the better.’

They arrived at number six Cavendish Crescent just before half-past eight that evening. It was a large four-bedroomed detached house, with a double garage, on the outskirts of the town. Dave rang the bell, and the door was answered by a tall dark-haired man.

‘I am Detective Inspector David Jameson,’ said Dave, showing him his warrant card, ‘and my colleague is Detective Sergeant Beverley Jones. Are you Mr. John Price?’

‘Yes I am. Is it Lynne? Is she alright?’

‘Perhaps it would be better if we talked inside Sir.’ Dave suggested.

‘Yes of course Inspector, please come in.’

Once they were inside, John