The hand lay nestled in the long grass, palm upwards. It was a lined palm, the outline of letter ‘M’ very prominent.

What would a palm reader make of that I wondered.

Who did this hand belong to?

The nails were manicured, so clearly a lady who took care of her hands. Not a kitchen worker or a cleaner, no this hand looks too soft for that type of work. No, this hand belonged to someone who possibly didn’t work at all. Perhaps married to a wealth gentleman, so there was no need for her to have a job. Perhaps she was a lady who lunched. Who might she have lunched with today? Could her lunch companion be her killer?

There were no other clues in the grass. All that was to be seen was this severed hand, parted from its forearm with a sharp, clean cut. But then this was just the initial view of the scene. The forensic team was still to arrive. They would scour the area for clues. They would find something, they always did and when they did, it would be our turn to follow up on the findings and trace the doer of this gruesome deed.