9

"Perhaps you can answer one for me, Detective Chief Inspector?"

"Of course!" She replied. "Ask me whatever you wish."

"We haven't seen the body of Tina Davis, and I doubt whether we will," I continued, "so we cannot know exactly how progressive the state of putrefaction was when the police found the body."

"No, Quintus," she replied, "all we have is the description provided by the team investigating the crime."

"But we know something about the holdall," I said, "and we know Tina Davis was alive seven or eight days before they found her in it. Do you think the body could have reached an advanced state of decomposition genuinely? Or do you think someone would have required some unnatural assistance? "

"It is tough for me to guess without knowing the actual cause of death," she replied. "We still don't even know whether she was dead when she was put into the bag, or ..."

Her voice trailed away, but I sat in silence.

"Some toxins and certain infections," she continued after a short pause, "kill by destroying human tissue. If they did kill her by one of these techniques, I would expect the body to reach an advanced state of decomposition quite fast, with or without the bag. With the bag, which is practically airtight, her body might have remained undiscovered for some length of time. Without it, the intense smell of rotting flesh would have become overwhelming, and the body likely found sooner than in eight days."

"Would it be conceivable to kill a woman with a poison or virus," I asked, "without the SOCOs discovering the cause of death?"

"Of course," she replied. " Scientific examination on a corpse which has broken down rapidly would be complicated indeed. And, even without the problem of progressive foetidness, it would be impractical to test for all contaminants and diseases."

"What if Scotland Yard is more interested in sheltering the offence than unravelling it, then resolving the reason behind her death would be even more puzzling."

"However, if she were still alive when someone put her into the bag and suffocated there, or died from a heart attack, then one would expect the body to decay slowly. Even in the heat of August, it would never reach an enhanced state of decay in less than seven days."

"Do you think someone poisoned Tina Davis?" I pressed

"I think it seems more like an infection," she replied, "but I am not certain."

"Yes," I said, "and there is permanently the prospect that fresh proof may pop up which alters our minds. But with what we know now, no other description makes any sense."

"I suppose it may be possible," Sandra suggested, "that some substance biological, or perhaps genetic, could have been put in the bag with Tina's body to accelerate putrefaction."

"Can you think of anything?" I asked.

"No, sorry," Sandra answered. "But I take it you wish to contemplate all the potentials, and it is undoubtedly conceivable that the motive and the cause of speedy decomposition are different."

"I may have been pandering in a bit of ambitious assessment, presuming we identified something we didn't to abridge the evaluation. But self- misbelief under no circumstances helps, so it's a good job you've brought me up short."

Sandra nodded while I said, "If we knew the reason why this killing happened, I would know we were getting close."

"All is not lost," I continued with a hint of a grin, "for we are certainly growing nearer to Chester. So we'll change trains there, and we will be in Wales. I did promise you some scenery, Sandra."

"You did," she replied and leant across from her seat and kissed me full on the lips.

"And I do hope you'll enjoy it," I said, a little embarrassed.

With that, I straightened myself in my seat, threw my head back, and proceeded to hum a tune from one of my favourite musicals Les Misérables.

We arrived in Chester, changed trains and headed west, leaving the ancient walled city and crossing the River Dee. About ten minutes later, we were in Wales.

"We're on the North Wales Coast Railway," |I said, "one of the most beautiful rides you will ever enjoy."

"I'm sure I will," Sandra replied, her voice still a bit shaky from the tête-à-tête of the preceding few hours, not to refer to the proceedings of the preceding few days.

The River Dee widened and flattened as we passed it.

"We can't do anything until we get to Haliheved," I said, "and I don't want to arrive there too early. So, I would suggest we try to relax and enjoy this glorious weather and the beautiful Welsh landscape."

"Can I sit with you?" Sandra asked, and I nodded straightaway. She sat next to me and snuggled up closer as if I were her safety blanket.

I could sense her fear, and it felt nice to have somebody need you as Sandra needed me at this moment. I was different. I had the marvellous capability to turn off the active part of my psyche. This trick allowed me to enjoy the more extraordinary things in my life, even while immersed in the most frightening missions.

The Dee met the Irish Sea when we started running out of the river, and it became an estuary, and shortly after that, we caught our first sight of the Irish Sea. We followed the bank of the Dee along the estuary, near where the river meets the sea. After that, the line curved west and followed the coastline, and we passed through the seaside towns of Prestatyn and Rhyl.

I remembered Rhyl beach from when I was about ten years old.

"Could I interest you in some classical architecture, Sandra?" I asked. "There's a place just a few minutes down the line that I think you'd like."

"Since, as you say, we are no longer in a hurry, Quintus," she said, "I suppose we should take the opportunity."

"I don't think you'd want to miss it," I replied.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I couldn't feasibly depict it and do it justice", I answered. "You'll have to see for yourself."