Page 53 of Child's Play

Penn waved it down. He already knew what his colleague was going to say.

He considered the three things that had made this case watertight.

Their eye witness – now shaky.

No alibi – questionable but still in place.

Bloodstained tee shirt – irrefutable.

On the face of it they had the right man. It was the way they’d got there that bothered him.

‘So, hang on a minute,’ Lynne said as lines appeared on her forehead. ‘Are we reviewing this case looking for Gregor Nuryef’s innocence or guilt?’

‘What we’re looking to find’, he answered, ‘is the truth.’

Thirty-Four

‘So, you reckon the hopscotch grid was there before?’ Bryant asked, as they sat outside number 118 Norwood Avenue. ‘And he just happened to fall on it?’

‘You ever seen anyone fall over into that position?’ she asked. ‘And maybe we could find out a bit more if we could get in there,’ she moaned.

It hadn’t been difficult to locate the home of their victim whose driving licence had been in his wallet.

Uniforms had been despatched to break the news to the wife and they were waiting for the signal that she’d calmed enough to speak. Too many strangers in her house immediately would be far too overwhelming.

But they’d now been waiting for over half an hour.

‘Give her chance, guv. She’s just found out her husband has been murdered.’

‘Yeah, and I’d like to find the bastard that did it,’ she snapped.

He turned away and stared out the window.

She did the same and assessed the house. The fact it had been purchased under the right-to-buy scheme was obvious. The window frames in the houses to the left and right had seen better days but the Nixon windows were bright, shiny, new UPVC with flashings and fascias to match.

New fence panels had been fitted with gravel boards and the front garden turned into a drive.

The house looked cared for and fresh against its peers.

‘What the hell does the X mean?’ Kim asked.

‘Not a bloody clue, guv,’ Bryant answered, keeping his eyes on the door.

‘There’s something else bothering me, too,’ Kim said, putting the time to good use.

‘Of course there is.’

‘Why does he put the symbol where he does? He marks them after death so they don’t feel it, but it’s not gratuitous, either in size or display. It doesn’t make sense,’ she said.

‘Hmm…’ Bryant said, distractedly.

‘Don’t throw all your theories at me in one go, will you? Pace yourself, man.’

Bryant said nothing.

‘Jeez, where’d the cat take your tongue cos—’

‘We’re up,’ he said, as a uniformed officer gave them the nod from the doorway.