‘You’re not as sorry as we are. Stupid, selfish girl was grounded for arguing with her sister and she snuck out to go and get herself killed. It’s a good job that lad is already dead because if he wasn’t I’d have strangled him with my bare hands for taking her out in that weather last night.’
‘Don’t, Johnny.’
The guy looked at his wife and stopped talking; instead he took up pacing the small room, making it even more claustrophobic than it already was. After what seemed like forever Declan walked in.
‘Mr and Mrs Peters, I’m the forensic pathologist dealing with your daughter. I’m sorry for what you’re going through. When you’re ready, my colleague will open the curtain for you to take a look at the body on the other side. Please take your time, there is no rush.’
Mr Peters glared at Declan. ‘Take my time? How long do you think is appropriate for me to look at my dead daughter’s body?’
Ben moved in front of Mr Peters. ‘I understand how upset and angry you are, but please remember that we’re here to help you all, and Scarlett. We’re not here to make things worse for you.’
Mr Peters growled under his breath, ‘Do it.’
His wife was staring through the viewing window, and she fixed her gaze on the gurney bearing the body on the other side. She stepped forward, her nose touching the glass as she stared.Her husband did the same, then he stepped back and looked at his wife, confusion etched across his face.
‘Who the fuck is that?’
Morgan felt her heart drop. She looked across at Declan. By the worried look on his face he was trying to gauge the situation.
‘Can you confirm this is your daughter, Scarlett Peters?’
‘Are you having a laugh? That is not my daughter.’
‘She’s been in the water for quite a few hours. It can cause facial changes and disfiguration.’
‘She’d have to have been in there forever to cause those changes. Our daughter isn’t Asian.’
Whoever assumed it was Scarlett hadn’t actually paid much attention to her missing person’s report, and Morgan would not be surprised if it had been Marc or Amber.
Morgan turned to look closely at the body and realised in horror that he was right.
Mrs Peters sank to her knees and let out a soft wailing sound, while her husband looked at her then turned to Declan.
‘You have done this. Do you see what you’ve done to her? Bringing her, us, all here, thinking our daughter was dead and then you show us someone who isn’t even the same ethnic minority as us. How stupid are you all?’
Out of nowhere, he swung back his arm and threw a punch that landed in the middle of Declan’s face. Morgan heard the cartilage in his nose crack. Ben launched himself at Mr Peters, who was now swinging his fists as if he was in the ring with Tyson Fury.
Morgan tugged her radio out of her pocket and pressed the red emergency button, at the same time yelling, ‘Scotty, where are you? We need urgent assistance.’
Ben had taken a fist to the side of his jaw so hard he’d lost his balance and fell backwards on the floor, landing with a loud thump. Morgan stepped in front of the distraught dad.Not wanting to but having no choice, she thrust both hands at Mr Peters’s chest, so hard it winded him and knocked him off balance. He stumbled backwards. His two teenagers seemed to be enjoying this; the girl had her phone in her hand filming the entire debacle; his wife was screaming full force. He ran at Morgan both fists balled and ready to knock the living shit out of her, when Scotty ran in with his taser drawn.
‘Stop or I’m going to have to taser you.’
Mr Peters didn’t stop, and the words, ‘Taser, taser, taser,’ filled the small room as Scotty aimed and discharged the yellow taser gun he was holding with a loud pop, just seconds before Mr Peters smacked her in the face.
The barbs landed dead centre in the middle of the guy’s back and he dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, twitching.
Morgan ushered his wife and kids out of the room, snatching the phone off the girl who was recording and pocketing it.
‘Hey, give me my phone back. You can’t take that off me.’
She turned to her. ‘I’ll give it back in a minute. Recording what is not your dad’s finest moments isn’t going to help matters. Look after your mum, please.’
Susie took one look at the carnage inside the viewing room and began ushering the family minus their dad into Declan’s office.
‘Susie, the curtains, please.’ Declan’s voice sounded thick as if he was full of the cold.
Susie nodded at him, handing him a wad of tissues from her pocket. He held them to his nose.
