Joyce arrived early at the station and told the desk sergeant the debrief would be at nine.

Inspector Jackson gathered the team from the previous night together. The room was packed when Joyce entered the room at nine.

She nodded to Jackson. I know it's early, and last night was brutal. The priority is to discover who fired the fatal shot. "She held up her right hand. "What I do not want to hear is the bastard deserved it. We have a murder to solve despite what we think will be completed properly. Inspector Jackson will take the lead'. He and his team will thoroughly search the empty houses opposite the crime scene. Whoever fired the shot was there. How do I know this? The angle of the shot. Inspector, have the roofs checked, especially the gutters."

"Every inch will be checked, Guv."

"For those interested, Police Officer Julie Oddman is out of danger."

"Over to you, Inspector. I'll be in my office if you need me."

"No problem, guv." He pointed to six officers. "Come we me."

She watched as his team rose and hurried off.

On her way back to the office, she stopped in reception. Sergeant, were there any major traffic problems last night?"

He flipped open the incident log. "None that I can see, guv. You know minor hold-ups are rarely reported unless there is a total snarl-up. I'll ask traffic and let you know."

"Brilliant," said Joyce as she strolled away and strolled to the lift. As The mirrored box climbed, she breathed deeply. There was no way she would allow the meeting with Julian to rile her.

Sara Julian's secretary pointed to his office door. "He's waiting."

She knocked and waited.

"Enter."

"Morning, guv. I'm sure you know about last night's disturbance caused by the late Inspector Talbot."

He shrugged. "Who shot him?"

"I haven't a clue. It was none of my team. All weapons were checked by Inspector Jackson, along with myself and my husband. Furthermore, every officer still had his ammunition allowance intact. Inspect Jackson and his team are scouring the area, but I doubt they will find anything.

"Why do you think that."

"Talbot was shot by a marksman who knew precisely what they were doing. My premise is someone did not want the force's dirty washing hung out to dry in court. This way, Talbot's behaviour, his rape of numerous women will go away. The system will bury it."

"Never took you for a conspiracy theorist. The case is closed as the alleged offender is dead."

"Fine, sir, I won't waste my time on it. As you would say, I've more important things to do."

"Your priority is to find another job; the sooner, the better."

"I agree, sir. You don't happen to know of any?"

"You may leave, Parsons."

Joyce, with a colossal grin, turned and left.

Sara waited for her in the corridor. "He has an appointment with the Chief Constable later this morning. Rumour has it he is in line for a move."

"How on earth do you know such information."

"I'm friends with the Chief Constables secretary."

"Interesting, but I'll bide my time before I count my chickens. Must dash. Things to do."

***

"Good morning, Rupert Parsons, Record Officer."

"Millicent Brady. Thought you might like to know. I've found no trace of drugs, but then, after the time in the ground, I doubted I would. I will state at the coroner's enquiry and write in the post-mortem examination report the six female victims we exhumed died from a severe blow to the head."

"Any idea what was used?"

"From how the weapon sliced into the top of the skull, I would suggest a spade. I believe the damage caused would have resulted in the death of the victims."

"It appears my thoughts on the killer might be wrong. I won't hold you to this, but could a frail woman have wielded the spade and caused the damage?"

"Strange, but I checked the post-modem report of the housekeeper, Mary Wilson. She was, as you say, a frail old woman. I'd never rule her out, but I would suggest a far younger and maybe slightly taller person. I know my assumption will not help, but it's the best I can do."

"It matters in that my prime suspect possibly had an accomplice. Ironically, my team have resolved the missing person cases and opened an unsolvable murder enquiry. Thanks, Millicent, you'll be glad to go home."

"I will. See you at the coroner's enquiry." The call ended.

Rupert gathered the paperwork for the six missing cases and shoved it into a folder. He pushed open his office door and saw Linda and Wendy chatting.

They smiled as he approached. "Can I help?" said Wendy.

Rupert handed her the folder. "Can you file this for me, please?"

"Sir, can I ask a question?"

"Of course. If it's about Julie, Be assured she is recovering and will hopefully return in a week or two. Maggie is on leave until further notice. She's staying in my house until her place is deep cleaned."

"Can we visit Julie," asked Linda.

"I can see no reason why not. I'm sure she will be pleased to see you. Don't take flowers. It appears the Health and Safety people have vetoed them."

Wendy grabbed the folder and walked away.

"Is Maggie okay?" asked Linda.

"She needs time to recover from her ordeal."

A tear ran across Linda's cheek. "At least the bastard will never hurt a woman again."

"Things to do," said Rupert as he returned to his office.

***

Reading reports from her officer, Joyce rubbed her eyes. A knock on the door made her sit up. "Come in."

Inspector Jackson entered. "I'm not up to scrambling over rooftops. Next time, I'll ask for a cherry picker. "

"You're still in one piece. Any news?"

"We checked everywhere, guv. From the top of the tiles down to the gutter on both sides of the empty houses. To make sure, I swapped the teams over, and we did it all again. Nothing, zilch."

Joyce leant on her desk. "Inspector, to be fair, I did not expect you to find anything. We and others witnessed a professional hit. I can't prove a thing. This will be murder, which will remain unsolved forever. I have my thoughts, but sharing them would be stupid. Answer me a question. Could you have taken the shot?"

For a moment, Jackson pondered his answer. "Honestly, I don't know, but then I didn't have to."

"You and me both. Before you start something else, you may tell the residents they can return to their homes. Thank them for their help and understanding. Out of interest, are we any further in discovering who is stealing high-value cars?"

"No one local, but I have the port authorities randomly checking every expensive car and large containers. It won't stop the thieving, but it might slow them down. An old-fashioned steering lock would prevent the disappearance of many."

Joyce smiled. "The days of opening a car with a coat hanger are over. Keep me up to date."

"Will do, guv."

He turned and left as her desk phone rang. "Chief Inspector Parsons."

"Hi Joyce, Samantha. I heard Hugh Talbot died while holding Maggie Bell hostage."

"I can't say much as the case is under investigation."

"I understand. I have an idea about the woman who endured Talbot's attacks. I intend to send all the details of each case to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner for him to act on. I haven't a clue about what the outcome will be. As they say, watch this space."

"At least you're trying to right a wrong. Keep your fingers crossed it lands on his desk on a good day."

Oh, I forgot to mention. I also forwarded a copy to the Home Secretary."

The line went quiet for a while. "Hope it works. Those women deserve compensation for what Talbot did to them."

"If I hear anything positive, I'll let you know. Got to go. Bye."

Joyce replaced the receiver and glanced at the time. "Time to go home."