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phone so that she could get Jesse to run a search on him. Mal shook his head.
    “Don’t bother,” he said. “Matthew Peters is a High Court Judge.” He sighed heavily. “As if the press wasn’t going to be all over this anyway.” While he considered his options, the two SOCO’s approached and brief introductions were made.
    “Anders, this is Helen, she’s our lead forensics manager and this is Ben. He looks twelve but he’s smarter than all of us put together.” Ben gave a lopsided grin and made a brief stammering sound. Helen patted him on the back affectionately.
    “And he’s useless around pretty women. Now, what have we here? Barry, Duncan, be a pair of dears and get the tent set up will you, keep prying eyes away from this poor chap.” She had an infectious energy and a genuine warmth that made her easy to like. Her Yorkshire accent made her seem even friendlier, but Anders saw a no nonsense approach to Helen and enjoyed how quickly Duncan and Barry set to their task. Mal watched them struggle with the tent before assigning duties.
    “Lucy, coordinate the CID officers and make sure the cordon is secure. Once you’ve done that, I want a house to house of the whole area. Duncan, you can join them after you’ve set up the tent. Barry, organise the sweep; I want all evidence found and bagged. Get your mic’s out, I want constant communication with Jesse.” He tapped his own earpiece as Anders put hers in and she heard Jesse’s deep voice through the set.
    “Reading you loud and clear folks, Abi is with me as well so she can start making a profile. Any tidbits you can pass to me now would be great. I can put it into HOLMES and cross reference any evidence with previous entries, see if we get a match.”
    “Doubt it,” muttered Lucy. “Ain’t ever heard of a crucifixion on these lands in a while.” Mal shook his head wearily. There were relatively few murders in Britain and he’d dealt with a great many cases, but this was far beyond what any of them had thought they would encounter. The only one who’d had any real experience with this type of elaborate killing was Anders. He’d only just met her, but could already see that she was someone exceptional. A little distanced maybe, but that was to be expected after what she had gone through and the fact that, three hours into her new job, she was standing on a golf course looking at a scene from the Roman era. He could see the tension between her and Lucy, Duncan as well, but almost pitied them. If Anders’ reputation was anything to go by, they’d better watch out. She looked small and diminutive, but she packed a punch. Deciding to keep them apart for now, he spoke to Anders.
    “Help Helen and Ben here. The sooner we can process the evidence, the better. I’ll go and see Matthew Peters’ family and break the news.” He checked his watch and made a quick calculation in his head. “Briefing in Scotland Yard at eighteen hundred hours.” With that, he strode back to the van, removing his coverall as he approached the edge of the Common. Helen turned to Anders with a welcoming smile, instantly putting her at ease. 
    “Right then, let’s get to work. I must say, I’m very excited to be working with you. I’ve been reading up on all of your cases! Ben has too.” She turned to Ben, who blushed crimson. Helen winked mischievously at Anders who smiled back. She liked her already.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 4
    They worked tirelessly, gathering as much evidence from the scene as possible. Anders kept a running commentary with Jesse who entered the information into HOLMES. It was a database designed to collate evidence from around the country, find matches, make links and offer suggestions as to what avenues to follow. Its first iteration had been difficult to use, but the updated HOLMES2 had proven invaluable.   
    Leaving Ben at the Common to coordinate a sweep of the entire area, Anders and Helen transported the body back to the