Busted

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Busted

Six pints. Should be OK. It’s only a bus – and it’s not like there’s anyone on it. I’ll just take the back roads.

“For gods sake – you idiot! – nearly had me off the road”

*

‘Dam,’ thought Gary as the boiling hot latte spilled across his hand from the half-opened lid of his Starbucks Grande. With his Metro under his arm and his other hand frantically trying to retrieve his screaming mobile from his inside pocket, the pain from heat was instant.

He wasn’t even at work yet and someone was calling him. ’For goodness sake, it’s raining, I’m two minutes from the office – I’m running late, and now this!’ To his right was a small, waist-height wall in front of a thick hedge – he put the rapidly collapsing latte onto the wall and shook his painfully burning hand. His left hand finally made contact with the mobile in the depths of the pocket and he angrily pulled it to his ear.
“What?” he blurted, as the letters spelling ‘Mum’ he’d seen on the Nokia screen on its way to his ear, just started to compute.
“Well, that’s no way to speak to speak to me first thing in the morning – I was only….”The words trailed away. He suddenly didn’t hear them as his eyes lighted on the hand. Not his hand – which was still burning painfully - but someone else’s hand; resting casually on the wall next to the leaking latte – it seemed to be coming out of the hedge. It was a small upturned hand; clean, unblemished and with small gold ring on the little finger. It was white – too white.

“Sorry Mum – but I’ve got to go – can I call you later?” Not waiting for a response he shoved the mobile back from he’d just grabbed it and stared at the hand. Bending down, Gary peered into the bush – he didn’t know what he was expecting to see but for some reason felt compelled to look. There was nothing to see. Pushing some leaves apart he did see something, something which made him recoil - instantly. Deep down near the foot of the bush behind the wall he could make out the rest of the body – most of it was indistinct through the foliage – except, that is, for the stake that protruded from between the two naked breasts.

A police car appeared within minutes of Gary’s frantic call. They took his name and address – and mobile number, said they’ be in contact and sent him off to work. Now he was really late.

“Skip, ‘looks like a jumper – or she was pushed” reported PC Mark Patel whilst looking up at the 22 storey building above the neatly trimmed hedge - Palace Street opposite the junction with Wlifred Street - with the slight disturbance on the top and the beautiful secret beneath. “There are probably eighteen or so balconies that overlook the drop zone – guess we’ll need some more bodies here to do some door to door.”

The immediate area was sealed off from the sight of the public and the scenes-of-crime chaps started their work. It was difficult because of the thickness of the hedge and the fact that the body was impaled almost to ground level on a four foot stake – originally put there to assist the growth of the hedge.

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