The Swan Lake Murder

By Greg Brewer

The body of a girl is found in a nice park near Swan Lake. The girl's identity is soon discovered, but the question is who killed her in such a cruel way and why. The case falls to Chris Cole, who has a difficult task to find out which suspect committed the murder. But the inspector is haunted by the demons of his past, which have left him depressed and addicted to drugs. But as the investigation continues, he realises that the drug is making him more creative and he is able to see the answers in the details - and finding them will not be easy as more and more contradictions turn up in the case. How can he outsmart his colleagues? How much can he trust himself? Can he find the real killer?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greg Brewer
• Release date: Dec 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005984670

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Milton Common is a popular grassland with lakes in Portsmouth which was reclaimed from the Langstone Harbour mud providing a haven for fishing boats and for commercial fishermen. Recreational activities such as yachting, dinghy sailing, motor cruising, wind-surfing, water skiing, jet skiing and canoeing are all well established. It is a perfect place for those who want to recharge their batteries and want to relax.

It is also a popular place for dating couples, for those who just want to take a mindless walk or dog lovers, having a pleasant stroll with their pets. Julie White was one of them. Her oversized and clever labrador was running and playing around in the grass and bushes, enjoying freedom.

However, it wasn't only Teddy who was delightful that day: Julie also had her reason. The pregnancy test was finally positive after three years of trying with her husband, Brian. She had hardly ever been happier than that day, and she couldn't wait for sharing the great news with her husband in person when he got home from work. Some children were playing around nearby. A mother and her daughter were flying a kite. An old couple were walking slowly and peacefully. It was the perfect environment as if nothing could do any harm.

'Teddy, don't go too far!' Julia shouted. The dog, however, didn't seem to care what her owner had just told her. She was running towards the lake, one of three lakes in the park while barking and moving her tails wildly.

'Please give up chasing seagulls. You can never catch them!'

Julia tried to catch up with Teddy. It was a sunny day. A pleasant breeze was coming from the direction of the sea. 

'Teddy, stop!' she shouted, but the dog did not respond.

After a few seconds, Julia managed to catch up with the dog. The brown labrador was barking towards the sea as if just arguing with someone.

'Teddy, I already told you to ignore seagulls; they fly away before you even reach them.'

However, Julia had a strange feeling. Something wasn't right there. They weren't the seagulls that Teddy barked at. It was something else. She noticed something floating in the sea but couldn't see what exactly it was. Then she took off her shoes and started walking into the shallow water. As she was approaching the unknown object, her heart started pounding because she realised what it was. A white, decomposed body of a young girl was floating on the surface of the water. Her scream sent chills down the spine of the people in the area.

A week earlier

Detective Inspector Chris Cole was sitting above a pile of paper. He would have preferred to crumple up the papers and sweep everything off his desk or throw all the paperwork straight in the bin. Fortunately, however, trained detective inspectors like him were supposed to go outside, finding suspects, interviewing witnesses, examining crime scenes, looking for evidence and so on. But more importantly, his main task of comparing crime cases with old and solved murder cases was an everyday task. DCI Brown believed that the work of the Department of Comparative Crime Analysis would be promising and he did not make a mistake when he founded the department: DI Chris Cole had not had unsolved cases on his desk yet. Comparative Crime Analysis was based on the assumption that the human mind was predictable, so every crime must have had a corresponding counterpart that had already happened at in the past and there were multiple correlations between the two – even though the locations and the people were different. As a result, the outcome of that particular crime of the past should lead to solving the actual crime – or at least should give useable clues which would have key importance.

At that moment, there was a lot of paperwork in the office. The inspector looked at his watch. He still had half an hour to finish the report on a closed case which was about a friendly family gathering turning into domestic violence; fortunately, however, nobody got seriously injured but the man could expect a serious fine, probably community work.

Chief Detective Inspector Robert Brown was a man of punctuality and precision. If he said he would be somewhere in ten minutes, he would be there, not a minute later or sooner. He was also very sensitive to the deadlines for reporting. He didn't tolerate anybody being late with a report. For Cole, this was a problem because he was meticulous and detailed in every task, sometimes spending days on end agonising over the minutiae of a case in progress. He was reluctant to deliver a report without getting results. He would not leave his desk until he had solved the mysteries of the various cases.

According to DCI Brown, Cole’s behaviour was sometimes frustrating. The cunning questions he would ask, the days of pondering and puzzling over them, tested not only the patience of his colleagues but even that of his supervisor. And Cole was a nightmare for the suspects during the interrogations: he would ask them a lot of questions, speculate, guess and keep them talking until they had the answers. Cole liked to think out loud in the interrogation room, which elicited certain reactions from the suspects: they either laughed at him, admired him if he was right, or tried to put on a poker face. He was almost done when a constable knocked on his door.

'Inspector Cole, there is a woman who would like to talk to you.’

'All right, send her in.'

A woman walked into the office. She wore a black designer outfit, with a red blouse, black skirt, and black heels. Her hair was a bit messy, and just a little too long. She was terrified and shaken. Cole told the woman to have a seat, and she started talking in a trembling voice.

'My daughter Amy Norman is missing. Before you think I'm being hysterical, let me tell you that she hasn't contacted me for days and it's very unusual for her to be like that! We have also contacted her friends, but none of them has seen or heard of Amy in the past days,' the woman said and took out a tissue paper from her pocket to clean her eyes from the tears.

The inspector didn't like what he had just heard. Not just because he knew that a mother's feelings were usually reasonable but because he had already experienced the same horrible things years ago. Besides, he could not explain why but mothers were capable of sensing bad things about their daughters.

'You know, we have a closely-knit family, and we all talk to each other a lot. But her being missing and not being available for days is getting worrying for me. For God’s sake, where is she?' she said and cleaned her tears again. 

'I heard of Amy not more than every three days. She often contacted me by text message. So I know that something is wrong,' she went on.

'Okay, now please, just try to calm down a bit, I know it's not easy, but I need to ask a few questions. Where was she last seen?'

'Well, she was dropped off at a club by the brother of her boyfriend three nights ago. Nobody has seen or heard of her ever since. '

To Cole, the mother was highly concerned about her daughter, which was understandable. The inspector wondered what might have happened to this girl that she suddenly stopped contacting the family all of a sudden. The same old feelings started to emerge: unanswered questions, uncertainty, and emptiness still haunted Cole. But he tried to remove these thoughts from his mind because he needed to focus on what was happening. The mother's insistence was so strong that the inspector could not ignore the matter, and he decided to look deeper into this case. 

‘Mrs Norman, we will find her, I promise. But could you tell me more about the details? Let’s start with Amy. What kind of girl is she? And what happened that night?’ the inspector asked.

‘My little angel is a typical teenager. She likes going out, parties, having fun, but the fact that she is close to us and doesn’t turn up at all, is more than odd!’ she said and blew her nose.

‘So, Amy was hanging out at her boyfriend's, Carl’s flat, with her friend and boyfriend. They were having a chat and some drinks, but Amy wanted to go out to dance at a club called Club Aurora, a dance bar not far away from the flat. For God’s sake, I have always told her to be careful with those places. But anyway…there was a problem. Nobody else wanted to go out except for her. Carl had to work the following day, her friends Henry also had to work, and Alice was tired. Since her boyfriend didn't want to go with her, she made a scene, yelling at Carl, threatening him that if he didn't go with her, they would break up, but Carl didn't care and shouted back at her. For God’s sake, she is so stubborn, I have always told her. Finally, Henry offered a lift to Amy and told her that he would drop her off at the club. So despite the argument, Amy went out anyway. According to Amy's friend Alice – she is a very nice girl by the way, - that was the last time she saw her friend alive. Amy hasn't called her either. Oh, what is more, her flat is empty, and there haven’t been signs of her return.’

The more the inspector learned about the case, the more he didn't know, making him more curious. ‘What happened to Amy?’ he asked himself.

Cole wasn't surprised that the family started to get scared, and he didn't even want to waste any time; he needed to search for clues. Cole had two theories: one was that she had run off on her own. Maybe she had family problems, or maybe it was a problem with her mother, who in this case was a pretty good actor. But it could also be that she left because of someone else. Maybe she was threatened or needed money and became a prostitute. Yes, it was an assumption that not many parents liked to hear, but it was not a possibility that could be ruled out. The other theory was that she was murdered. In that case, it could have been her friends or acquaintances, but she could have met a lot of strangers that night, any one of whom could have taken her anywhere. Unfortunately, there were more questions than answers.

Cole's mind then started racing and thinking about previous cases which could be a good resemblance of the present one.

'Let me see,' he thought, and he remembered a quite actual case that happened in September 2015. The victim was an Irish student called Abby Sinclair and her body was found on a farm a few days after she disappeared near Manchaster. He was killed by a man called Nicholas Ingram who met her outside a nightclub. He hoped Amy would not have the same fate.

Nonetheless, the fact that the woman contacted Chris Cole was not a coincidence. According to Chief Detective Inspector Robert Brown, DI Cole was the best inspector of the homicide unit. CDI Brown was sure that Cole’s expertise was critical in solving the case. 

CHAPTER 2

Cole put on his coat and was about to leave when there was another knock on the door. This time it was DCI Robert Brown. The appearance of the big, muscular, bald man inspired both horror and awe in many. His well-groomed, clean-shaven beard and white teeth would have been perfect for a perfume commercial. Brown was the kind of man people didn't like to complain about. If they did, they did so carefully. And they certainly didn't dare refuse his orders, because he didn't think twice about giving someone notice. Unless, of course, they were an excellent detective like Cole.

'I hope I'm not disturbing you but even if I am, there's someone I'd like you to meet,' Brown said, and then a young man with short, curly hair and glasses walked through the door.

'This is Mark Ross, your new partner. He will be helping you with your cases in the future. Because here is the thing. You are alone in this department and you can't just do your job alone. You need someone else who could help you. I have already talked him about this department, what we are doing and I am telling you that this kid is a real nerd, a real fan of crime history. You won't regret that you will have him. Oh, and you will also have to help him settle in and learn as much as possible about police work.'

'I don't mean to be rude, Chief Inspector, but I'm perfectly fine on my own,' Cole countered.

'My decision is final and I'm not going to change my mind. I want this matter resolved as soon as possible before the newspapers start spouting about how incompetent the Portsmouth Police are. You might be able to handle it on your own, but it's more efficient if you don't work alone from now on. Plus, I don't have the manpower, I had to hire someone else. Have a nice meeting, and if I hear back that I'm not getting a good reception, I'll be grumpy, which you don't want. Have a nice day gentleman,' Brown said and closed the door.

'Sorry if I sound rude, but I've been working alone for a long time. In fact, it might be a good idea from the boss, but I'm still getting used to having a partner.'

‘I'll do my best to help you with that, sir,’ he said and opened a pack of chewing gum, offering one for Cole.

'Thank you kid, it’s not a bad start, but let’s cut the crap! If you want to work with me, there's no room for formalities. Just be who you are. What's your experience, kid?'

'I did a degree in criminology at the University of Chichester. In the beginning, I worked as a crime journalist, but I didn’t like t that much. There were many times when I had a pile of articles to be written with little time to finish them. But I wrote full articles of famous cases like Adam Walsh, Charles Manson, Amanda Knox, Drew Peterson, Christian Longo, the Golden State Killer, Andrea Yates, Jodi Arias, and so on.'

'Yeah, the popular ones. I have to disappoint you but every crime fan teenage girl knows the smallest details about them. Whose nickname was the suitcase body before her death?' Cole asked. Ross was just staring in front of him.

'Jenny Gamez from Oregon. How many fake ID's had Roberto Ramirez?'

Ross could not answer.

'14. How was Niki Reed identified? By faciel reconstruction or by skeletal DNA?'

'DNA, I guess?' he said and adjusted his glasses.

'Neither. By a dentis't extensive reconstruction of her teeth, Cole said

'Is this some kind of interview?'

'You can think about it like that, yeah. So, how come you have ended up here?'

'Well, I ran the crime column for different newspapers, which was fine by me. But later I decided to do something more exciting and did the Detective Academy,' he said and adjusted