A Dark Shadow Falls Read Online Free Page A

hair.
                  ‘You’d be surprised,’ Dani muttered under her breath. She looked down at the dark, puddled stain on the linoleum.
                  ‘It’s amazing that the guy survived, considering the amount of blood that pumped out of him.’
                  ‘Did you attend the scene?’
                  Tait nodded grimly. ‘It’s the worst I’ve ever witnessed.’
                  ‘And Eric Fisher was the only one still alive when the neighbour found them?’
                  ‘Yes. Peggy had been dead for at least an hour before we arrived. The boy, maybe twenty minutes less.’
                  ‘What about the two little girls?’ Dani watched his face closely, noting the shadow which passed across his features.
                  ‘The pathologist reckoned that the twins were the first to die. He just held their heads under the water until they stopped breathing.’ Tait balled his hands into fists and released them again. ‘We should never have called an ambulance for the bastard. It would have saved the taxpayer a whole load of money for this farce of a trial if we hadn’t.’
                  Dani pretended she didn’t hear his last comment. ‘The times of death don’t match with Eric Fisher’s claims. He says that the girls were alive when he was bundled into the airing cupboard.’
                  Tait raised his eyebrows incredulously, as if she were a fool to even be considering this possibility. ‘We found no forensic traces of Fisher in that cupboard.’
                  ‘Were the tests carried out straight after the murders?’
                  The DI shifted from one foot to the other. ‘No. We sent the white coats in again after Fisher provided his new statement. It was maybe three weeks later.’
                  Dani nodded, making no comment on this. ‘Were the neighbours re-questioned about the possibility of an intruder hanging around the property on the day the murders took place?’
                  Tait puffed himself up, seeming more confident on this topic. ‘Yes, we did a house-to-house on this street and the one which backs onto it at the rear. No one saw a thing, just like when we asked them the first time.’
                  Bevan spent another ten minutes inspecting the house before allowing DI Tait to drive her back to the station.
                  The investigation into the deaths of the Fishers had operated out of the headquarters of the City and Borders Police on Fettes Avenue in Edinburgh. Bevan was introduced to the SIO of the case, DCI Annie Carmichael. Dani’s opposite number was tall, with a bob of ash-blond hair and strikingly green eyes. The woman was well into her forties and had a formidable presence. Bevan took a soft seat in Carmichael’s office, waiting for her to summon the details of the case onto her computer screen.
                  ‘So, Ms Sally Irving-Bryant has been in contact with you?’ Annie directed her piercing gaze at Dani.
                  ‘Aye, she’s an old contact of mine and wanted some advice.’
                  ‘Well, the advice I would give her is to get Eric Fisher to plead guilty and end this circus right now. Peggy Fisher’s family have suffered enough already.’
                  ‘But the main reason I’m here is because DCS Nicholson wants to know we’ve covered our arses.’
                  Annie chuckled.
                  ‘What if there’s actually some element of truth in Eric’s claims?’ Dani braced herself for the woman’s tirade but was surprised to see a careworn smile creep across Annie Carmichael’s face.
                  ‘We took them very seriously, DCI Bevan. The press are crawling all over this case, so we could hardly not do