Chapter 4: Their Missing Son

So today, Tom decided, he would concentrate on clearing all the shrubs and brambles off the surface of the whole garden. By the four o’clock coffee break, he had every bush and bramble in a big heap on the house side of the middle of the garden.

He decided to work on until six as it was a nice day. So, he moved the digger down to the bottom of the garden. He started digging the soil up to a depth of a foot, feeling sure any grave would be deeper than that.

He moved all the soil up close to the heap of greenery. By six o’clock he had the top foot off the whole of the bottom quarter heaped up in a ridge across the garden with just enough space at the end to get the digger through.

He thanked Jean and Joe for their hospitality and set off home. Now he had all the greenery in a heap he could see he would need two large skips to get rid of it, so he rang and ordered one for morning.

The next day he started as usual with a coffee with Jean and Joe. ‘I’ll have to go slowly and carefully now,’ he said, ‘So you won’t see the same progress.’ Just as he was heading for the digger a skip was delivered and placed in the drive.

Tom filled that first. Squashing it down with the bucket of the digger he got a lot of the rubbish in. Then as soon as it was full, he rang and asked for an empty and return.

Going down the garden, he started by the bottom fence and used the prongs on the digger bucket to scrape three inches of soil off the surface. He worked his way back to his quarter way up marker then he got out and walked up and down looking at all the loose soil.

After seeing nothing, he drove over the area once more, this time with the bulldozer blade pushing all the soil he had loosened out of the area. Then he used the bucket to add it to the heap. The bottom quarter of the garden was now dug out to a depth of fifteen inches.

After a nice lunch and a chat with Jean and Joe, Tom used the prongs again, walked up and down, then moved the loose soil. Now the ground was eighteen inches deep. By afternoon coffee he had added a further three inches to the depth. He worked on again planning on doing another three inches.

He had just finished his walk over the loose soil after using the prongs when the skip firm arrived. They had brought an empty skip, so they unloaded it on the road outside. Then they picked up the full one and dropped it inside the empty one. Next, they lifted them both together, backed into the drive, dropped them both onto the drive, lifted the full one out of the empty one and took it away, leaving the empty one behind.

As the empty skip was now there, Tom left the loose soil where it was and filled the skip. He got everything into it and rang to say it was ready before going home.

When he returned the next morning, after his first coffee he bulldozed yesterday’s loose soil out of the way. He was now twenty-four inches deep.

After going over the area with the prongs once more, he was just about to walk over it and check when Joe called him in for coffee. The skip had been collected just before Tom had arrived, so Jean and Joe were delighted how tidy everywhere looked (Apart from a growing mountain of soil.)

After his break, Tom walked back and fore over the loose soil. He saw nothing so he bulldozed it over to the heap. He was now twenty-seven inches deep. So far, every inch had been soil with no stone other than small bits. As he drove back intending to do another three inches with the prongs his eye caught a patch of white over to one side.

He pulled up and got out to have a look. Reaching it, he discovered it was a piece of bone. It looked like it could be an arm bone, but the bit showing was too small for him to be sure. He was reluctant to call it in and find it was an animal. On the other hand, he knew it was important not to disturb the area.

He went online and called up a picture on an arm bone. From the picture he found, it looked like the wrist end of a radius, the thinner of the two forearm bones. From that he worked out where the top of the head would be if the boy had been six feet tall.

He fetched a small trowel he had brought with him and carefully dug a hole just past where he thought a skull might be. He dug it six inches deep and two feet wide. Then he extended the side of the hole nearest the exposed bone half an inch at a time. It was painstaking work, and it took him a while before he had gone twelve half inch sections.

As he started on the next half inch, he uncovered something white. Enlarging the area slightly, he found what appeared to be an area of bone big enough to be part of a skull.

He was convinced enough now that it was really a human body, so he carefully backed away. Then he rang the Super to tell him what he had found and what he had done.’

‘Ok Tom,’ I’ll let the locals know. Stop everything and keep guard until they arrive. Tom went over to the house and called Joe to the door. I think I’ve found a body he told him. I’ve got to keep an eye on it until forensics arrive. Do you want to break the news to Jean. Bearing in mind I could be wrong.’ ‘If you’ve called forensics, you must be pretty sure,’ Joe said. ‘I’ll go and tell her.’

Tom went and sat in the digger. From there he could sit in comfort and watch the site. Ten minutes later a police car arrived. Tom got out and went over to them. He introduced himself and showed his warrant card.

‘I used to drive a digger for a living,’ he told them. ‘I’ve been clearing the garden for my friend Joe, who is a retired bobby. But I seem to have discovered a body.’

One of them went carefully over to check. He kept well back and returned to Tom. ‘I think you’re right,’ he said, ‘We’ll have to wait for forensics, they’re on their way.’

‘Do you think the occupants had anything to do with it?’ he asked. ‘No,’ Tom said. ‘They’ve only lived here eighteen months and were happy for me to dig up the garden. The body, if it definitely is one, doesn’t seem to have any flesh left on it, so it must have been in the ground for a while. I would think possibly the previous owners.’

‘I don’t suppose you know their name?’ he asked. ‘I believe it was Thomas.’ Tom told him. He walked away and started talking on his radio. He returned ten minutes later. ‘Apparently, the son of the previous owner is wanted for questioning over two missing teenagers,’ he told them, ‘But he himself has since gone missing. But I’ve been told not to do anything, just to keep guard and be guided by you.’ he looked at Tom suspiciously.

‘Why are you digging so deep?’ he asked looking around. ‘They want to grass the whole area,’ Tom said, ‘So I’m aerating the soil. I was about to start filling in and levelling out when I spotted a bone sticking out.’ ‘Really.’ the bobby said, not looking at all convinced.

The two of them wandered off and sat on a garden seat that gave them a clear view of the area. Another twenty minutes passed then two unmarked transit vans arrived. A man came in and spoke to the two policemen who pointed to Tom.

He came over and introduced himself as the pathologist. Tom pointed out where the bit of arm was showing then explained what he had done to find what he suspected was the skull. The pathologist looked around at the excavations. ‘What were you doing?’ he asked.

‘The occupant is a retired bobby friend,’ Tom told him, ‘I used to work with a digger so I’m clearing the garden for him so he can grass it. Two skips full of bushes and brambles were taken away a few days ago.’

‘And the depth of the excavation?’ he asked. ‘Aerating the soil.’ Tom said. The pathologist looked sceptical. ‘My hobby is gardening,’ he said raising his eyebrows at Tom. ‘Ok,’ Tom said looking around first, ‘I was looking for a body, but I don’t want that generally known yet. My Superintendent knows all about it.’ ‘Who do you suspect it is?’ he asked. ‘A fifteen-year-old boy called Graham Roberts,’ Tom told him. ‘He went missing two years ago.’