The river was grey and murky. Uninviting with the scum resting on top of the little trapped pools where the rocks had piled up awkwardly. It was not a place to make a teenage love nest, but what did she know? She was in her mid-forties now. Teen love was a thing of the distant past for her.

She wrapped her coat further around her. It felt chilly despite being only in the middle of September. Thomas also exited the car, finished his phone call as he did.

“This is what the spirit told you? Or did you use that contraption of yours?”

“It's not mine, it was paid for with taxpayer's money. And yes, to answer both of your questions.”

“Pretty dismal here, isn't it?”

Edna turned to look at him. “Just how many murder scenes have you visited, Thomas?”

“Too many. I think I've got gallows humour because of it.”

“No kidding,” she murmured, before walking up to the intersection. Cigarettes, beer cans, tab ends of spliffs and the occasional used condom decorated the road like a grisly celebration of teenage rebellion. At least they're using protection, she thought to herself. Thomas stood beside her, his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face.

“Did you ever get up to this sort of business, Edna? Back in your heydays? When was that, the 1940s?”

She didn't answer, instead she attempted to pinpoint Daniel, concentrating on his presence. She had quite a knack now for how he felt now, and she clocked him with little effort. He was sitting on the railings, looking down into the brackish waters. Edna had to stop herself from telling him to be careful, and instead walked over to the forensic van that had just pulled up who were taping off the scene. Scrubbing up was Lilly Pott, the senior forensic analyst and a good friend of Edna's. She grinned from within her white hood and just that made Edna ache that they didn't spend enough time together.

“A fresh murder scene? Been a while since we worked on a case, you're usually stuck on the cold cases.”

“Ah, you know how it is,” said Edna, shrugging, “Too many deaths, not enough clues.”

Edna clapped her gloved hands together. “Right then,now scrub up, time to get on our hands and knees and start combing!”

Edna went down to under the bridge, where a homeless man was being gently ushered away by the local police force. She could sense Daniel just behind her, and his ears went pink when she turned to look at him.

“Don't be embarrassed. I know this is hard. Do you remember anything beyond what I saw?”

He shook his head, and she nodded gently. Sudden deaths tended to rend spirits’ memories just before the moment of death. She noticed a police officer raising his eyebrow at her chatting apparently to herself and tried to ignore it, pressing her hand on the wall where Daniel had his little tryst. “What was his name?” she asked.

“Max Lowell,” came a very faint reply.

“Thomas, call the name Lowell, first name Max through to HQ, would you? Need a background check.” Edna spoke carefully and clearly into the walkie talkie.

“No problem, Boss,” came Thomas’ crackled voice.

“Did you both plan for it, or was it kind of spontaneous?” Edna didn't want to look at Daniel and cause him further embarrassment, and hoped her clinical tone would help him process the questions better.

“Umm. Well….” Daniel began to stutter. “I, I guess it was s,so,sorta spontaneous. Yeah. Spontaneous. I didn't even know he knew...what I like.”

“I see.” Edna clenched her teeth, feeling the heat of their passionate kisses as the residual memory leapt from the wall and into her. It was warm and comforting, very intimate. Crimes of passion left very strong clues behind for Edna to experience vicariously. She would need to tell her therapist about the nightmare she wouldn't stop having about the man that chained his girlfriend into his basement for six months. Easily the worst case she had to watch. At least - for now - these memories were pleasant and, ironically - full of life.

“What can you feel, or see?” Daniel asked. He probably didn't want to know that she now knew what his penis looked like as Max had pulled it from his briefs in their hunger for each other, and shrugged.

“Its, um, kind of unclear. Give me a second.”

The memory cut off, indicating there would be more in other parts around the bridge. Perhaps that was when they had been discovered. Edna examined the wall with her torch and called Lily over, pointing to the crumbling masonry. “Check around here. Possibly hair follicles.”

“Was there a scuffle?” she asked innocently as Edna noted Daniel's face turning beetroot.

“Of sorts,” she replied, trying to sugarcoat it a little for the benefit of Daniel. Edna took a deep breath, now the memories were started to become a little more tangible, and putting them in order a lot easier. She could sense another strong residual somewhere at the top of the bridge and made her way up the mud bank, to where the circle of friends had stood on that night.

Her cell trilled in her pocket, and Harry's name was plastered across the top as she retrieved it. “Hello, darling. What's up?”

“I'll be staying at Bea's tonight, that cool?”

“Of course, hon.”

“Thanks, mom. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Kyle had left on a plane that morning and would be across the country until Friday, meaning just her and Ethan for supper that night. Pizza seemed tempting after a day like today.

Edna steadied herself on a rotting beam, and immediately wished she hadn't touched it, as indiscriminately, taunting, horrific memories lanced through her. Jeers and barbs at the poor boy, dragging him up through the mud by his hair, throwing him to the floor of the bridge and kicking him in his guts and his head until blood was flowing free from his nose and mouth. Max stood by, an impassive expression on his face as he watched. What had happened between passionate kissing and what she had just witnessed? It was most fortunate ghosts didn't end up looking the way they do at the point of death. She looked at Daniel, fresh faced, creamy skin, not like the bloodied mess curled up in a ball on the floor in the black of night. Edna shuddered.

“Edna, are you okay?” Thomas placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump; more at his gentle tone rather than his sudden touch. “You look like you've-” he stopped to snort, “like you've just seen a ghost.”

“The victim was attacked here. Should be traces of blood and maybe fragments. Dunno how much since it rained the other night.”

“Murder?” Thomas asked, his tone more serious.

“No. I don't think so. Not here.”

Edna could feel Daniel standing behind her. She could tell that he remembered, and a deep coldness was emanating from him. She looked at his wan face.

“I'm sorry, Daniel.” He said nothing in return and fixed his gaze firmly on the floor. She continued. “I can sense residuals over into the woods. I'm going there now.”

Only Lilly and Thomas accompanied her. There was still plenty of daylight at least, and plenty of residuals round here.

The river cut right through the woods, and babbled alongside them as they trudged through the wet earth underfoot. Edna was following her nose, with residuals this fresh in the air, she could have found the murder scene in the dark. She usually wasn't enabled such a privilege as cold cases weren't nearly this easy to follow.

“Ms. Jameson?” Daniel's voice quavered alongside her.

“Not much longer,” she whispered, “you can feel we're close, can't you?”

“Yeah…” He didn't add anything else, and fell into silence just behind her. Edna didn't have to have the ability to see the dead to feel the bitter atmosphere that now exuded the closer they got to presumably the murder scene.

Branches and leafy shrubs blocked their way, causing Thomas to mutter and grouse about his suit getting ruined. Lilly was surprisingly light hearted and even jabbing Thomas in his ribs whenever he complained about the water globules that kept hitting him on the head. “Are we close?” Lilly enquired.

“I think so,” said Edna as she turned around.

“I remember,” whispered Daniel from her shoulder, “I remember everything. Oh, oh my God.”

The scene of the crime tended to emit very strong residuals, and it had found its target and cut Daniel's heart clean through. Edna wished she could touch him to divert the pain away, but being on the field didn't afford the luxury of having her handy little machine to sift his unconscious memories without the kind of bother it was currently causing him.

“Take your time,” she murmured.

“Is the spirit with us?” Thomas had taken off his jacket and was in the process of rolling up his shirt sleeves. Edna nodded at his question.

“He's here, yeah. He's having a strong reaction to the residuals, it's somewhere around here.”

“I was bleeding all the way there, Max said he'd get me home when they all left but he led me through there, to that clearing.”

“Lilly, secure this scene. Murder scene is through here.” She didn't have to ask Daniel for confirmation: his expression said it all.