Q&A WITH DETECTIVE HEDLEY SHARPE

What were your first thoughts as you arrived at the first murder scene?

On arrival at the murder scene several questions ran through my mind — who was he and why had he ended up in the disused cellar? But most of all: what were we looking at here, a homeless man who’d frozen to death, or was this murder? That question was soon answered when the pathologist found a hole in the back of his skull from a bullet. He also reckoned the body had been here at least a year. That meant anything useful that might identify him like fingertips had been eaten away. Whoever this was, the body was not a pretty sight.

What do you get out of being a detective?

Being a detective is all I’ve ever done. I worked my way up from uniform to CID earning promotions over the years. I’m good at the job and my superiors know it. I take pride in a job well done and do my level best to bring murderers, gangsters and thieves to book.

How long have you been working at Manchester’s Major Crime Division?

I’ve worked for the Major Crime Division ever since I became a detective. Prior to that I pounded the beat from a local station before moving on. It’s a long time since I started here, so long that when I look around the incident room there’s no one who has been here longer than me

.Have you ever tried investigating your wife's murder?

Emily’s murder was the worst thing that ever happened to me. What made it even more hard to take is that I’m sure it was a deliberate act of intimidation. An act intended to act as a warning to me. I have always suspected Emily’s murder was carried out or ordered by a local gangster called Dean Rawlins. The problem is I’ve never been able to find any evidence to back this up. If I did decide to investigate, he would be the first place I’d start.