Chapter 4

Hawk finished the rest of the flask and sucked in the cold air. He was standing outside the building about half an hour later than he should have been. To be honest he could have been on the crime scene an hour ago but he hated being around the forensics guys who all thought they were in CSI Miami and the armed response who thought they were in Heat. Nope far better to wait until the guys had their fun and called in the Dets. He pulled a bounty out of his pocket and skinned it. After devouring the two pieces of chocolate coated coconut in two bites he checked the wrapper and was delighted to find he had won a free bar. 'I love Christmas' Hawk said to himself before looking up to find the two young plain clothes coming out of the glass doors towards him. Like all young DIs they had grown ridiculous moustaches in an attempt to look slightly older to their contemporaries and also carried their gun under their jackets in a way that made it look like they might be carrying a bazooka down there.
'You coming in Detective Hawk?' The shorter black one asked.
'Please just call be John. Or better yet just call me DCI Hawk'
'Bit of a mess in there Guv' the tall, skinny white croaked. 'Total fucking bloodbath if I'm honest. What do you want us doing?'
John Hawk scanned the buildings layout. 'Well for calling me Guv you can go up one level and get me a free Bounty'. He pushed the chocolate wrapper into the DIs shirt leaving a nasty brown stain. 'You,' he clicked his fingers in the direction of the other one. 'You're with me. What's your name son?'
'DI Maxwell sir.'
'Sir, I like that. Right follow me and shut the fuck up. And you? Crockett. Try and fill this up from somewhere as well.' He flung the hip flask at the lanky DI skimming his brow before entering the building.

He saw and smelt the body straight away. It can only have been an hour or so but the place looked well cleaned by CSI London and he managed to get to the victim without having to answer any questions. She was laying down on the floor behind the reception desk. Hawk put on his glasses to get a better look at her. Maxwell gave him a funny look. 'Yes I know it's hilarious. My name is Hawk and I'm short-sighted. Unfortunately my mother didn't pick her surname and they were hardly likely to know I would join the force and end up looking like I'd invented a nickname for myself purely in order to look cool infront of snotty nosed, trigger happy plebs like you.' That shut him up. Hawk went back to examining the body. The face was pretty much blown off but she had a locket round her neck with a picture of herself and a guy in it. She was a pretty picture all right. All blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. What kind of asshole would plug a broad like this Hawk thought to himself.
'Where's the boyfriend?' He asked Maxwell.
'In the next room boss.' They made their way through gingerly and surveyed the scene in the nearby office. One stiff was collapsed on the floor with a tie round his neck and and the other lay slumped over the desk in the executive chair. Hawk went over and picked up the gold nameplate on the desk. ' 'Tobias Simonds' he read out loud before looking through the sizable hole in the mans head. 'Looks like we got ourselves a bit of an execution deal going on here Maxwell.' Has anyone checked the CCTV?'
'Yes Boss. It's pretty open and shut. Some dude who had just been layed off, Graham Inches. He walks into this office with a friend, a er Daryl Hitchens; we have him in custody now. So he walks in here and then leaves five minutes later. Walks straight out of the front door he does before stopping and coming back in to execute that tasty bitch at the desk.'
'Don't call the broad a bitch Maxwell she's dead. We sent SWAT over to his house?'
'On their way now boss.'
'Any other witness?'
'Just one. A traffic warden who was trying to give him a ticket. But he's in hospital at the moment.'
'Why whats the matter with him?'
'He's got a hand axe lodged in his arm.'
'Fair enough. Well it seems pretty open and shut. Let's go round and nick the fucker and we can all go home in time for mincepies and Christmas specials. And Maxwell, you might want to conceal that cannon your walking around with. Just coz you've got a small pecker no need to let the rest of us know. And Crockett, where's my fucking Bounty?'
'Yes boss. Sorry boss. It's here boss'

They left the crime scene and made their way back to the car. Maxwell stopped to take a picture on his camera phone of the three bodies. Hawk didn't try and stop him. He knew how the youngsters liked to wager on Christmas eve and unless another Det encountered a DRK (domestic rape and killing) then Maxwell was sure to win the pot for most gruesome Xmas murder. You couldn't deny the youngster his fun. He munched his bounty and sipped his liquor on the way to the car. He should be home in time for Vicar of Dibley but something was niggling him as he read through the notes on Graham Inches. Sure he had been made redundant and decided to kill his boss and chances are he had been masturbating over the receptionist for years now and decided to take her and her boyf into the next life as well. But why the warden? And why axe his hand rather than simply shoot him. It just seemed odd. They got in the car and Maxwell pulled off. Hawk wound down his window to throw out his Bounty wrapper before pausing and checking the inside.
'Fuck me I've won another free one! It's gonna be a good Christmas Maxwell. Step on it.'