Page 2 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

Williams smiled. ‘That’s pretty much what I told the Commissioner. That said, he decided MSCAN would be evaluated after a year. If it isn’t cost-effective and producing results, it could be disbanded. How would you feel about that?’

‘I’d like to think that won’t happen, ma’am. If selected for the team leader role, I know I can run a unit that will get results and prove its worth.’

Williams and Morgan nodded. The expressionless Anderson twirled his pen between his fingers, then pointed it at Jessica. ‘What makes you think you’d be a good team leader?’ he asked bluntly.

Jessica took a deep breath. ‘I have good communication skills, a strong work ethic and the ability to empathise with others. Good leadership is about supporting the people around you, trusting them, and allowing them to contribute their expertise so the team can be successful.’

‘Yes, I’m sure I read that definition in a manual somewhere,’ Anderson glibly replied.

He then flicked through a couple of pages on his clipboard before continuing.

‘You are only thirty-four, and according to your CV, have been a crime scene manager for two years, which isn’t a lot of experience in managing people. ’

Jessica wondered if he was just trying to unsettle her or was totally against her leading the MSCAN team.

Either way, she was determined he wouldn’t get to her.

‘The director of forensic services in Kent was the referee for my MSCAN application. He recommended me for the position and commended my crime scene management and forensic investigation skills,’ Jessica replied calmly.

Anderson was about to continue, but Williams raised her hand to stop him. ‘Tell us about your academic qualifications, Jessica.’

‘I have a joint first-class honours degree in Psychology and Criminology and a master’s degree in Investigative Psychology.’

‘Was criminal profiling part of your degrees?’ Williams asked.

‘Yes, ma’am, for my master’s, but it was called Behavioural Investigative Analysis.’

‘We haven’t selected a behavioural psychologist for the team yet. How do you think they will assist murder and major crime investigations?’ Morgan asked.

‘Essentially, behavioural analysis studies an offender’s motivation and method by examining their verbal and nonverbal actions during and after the commission of the crime.

Identifying these behavioural clues at a crime scene is fundamental to developing an accurate profile of an unknown offender.

It’s a valuable investigative tool that detectives can use to narrow down a list of suspects. ’

‘Some say it’s nothing more than guesswork,’ Anderson said.

‘A behavioural adviser should only base their conclusions on the information and documented evidence they receive from investigators,’ Jessica replied calmly, not taking the bait.

Morgan nodded and made a tick mark on his clipboard.

‘Do you find your behavioural knowledge helps as a crime scene manager?’ Williams asked.

‘Undoubtedly. I try to get inside the offender’s head, to think and act like them in order to identify the correct forensic approach.’

‘You have impressive qualifications, but my question is this. Have you ever actually given behavioural advice on live or cold case investigations?’ Anderson asked.

‘No, sir, but I have been involved in a case where a behavioural adviser was called in and . . .’

Anderson shook his head, ‘The National Crime Agency has an approved list of highly qualified behavioural investigative advisers that senior investigators can contact for advice on major investigations. Is your name on that list?’

‘No, sir.’

Anderson frowned. ‘Then you have no recognised expertise in using or giving detectives behavioural advice.’

Jessica noticed Williams’s expression tensing. Anderson was about to continue, but again Williams stopped him. ‘That’s not necessarily correct, DCI Anderson. Tell me, Jess, the case where the profiler was involved, was it the murder of a young woman in Maidstone?’

‘Yes, ma’am, she was strangled to death in her own house with a pair of tights. I was the crime scene manager.’

‘As I recall, the senior investigating officer went with the profiler’s theory, which was .

. .’ Williams deliberately paused. ‘The husband had snuck home during a night shift, murdered his wife for the life insurance, then staged the scene to look like someone had broken into the premises and killed her. You told the senior investigating officer you disagreed with the profiler and thought someone else might be responsible, but he ignored you.’

‘In fairness, he listened to what I had to say but disagreed and charged the husband.’

‘But you were right, and he was wrong. Tell us why,’ Williams asked.

Jessica nodded. ‘For me, the crime had none of the hallmarks of a staged scene. I considered that it might have been a burglary gone wrong. A rear window was broken using a lump of wood, which we recovered nearby. I had the window pieced together, found an ear print on it, and the scientist recovered black woollen fibres on the wood, which made me wonder if someone wearing black gloves had been listening for any movement inside the premises, as aburglar might do. The husband went to work at seven p.m. He said his wife told him she was tired and would have an early night. It was possible the wife had gone to bed and turned all the lights off, leaving the premises in darkness and I . . .’

‘How could you know she was in bed at the time?’ Anderson scoffed.

‘I didn’t, and I could still be wrong. However, I noticed the duvet on the left side of the bed was thrown back, and one of the bedroom curtains had been pulled open.

Her bedside cabinet had been knocked sideways, and a glass of water was spilled on the floor.

I considered the possibility the victim had heard the window break, woke up startled, jumped out of bed and looked out the front bedroom window, thinking the sound had come from the outside.

The suspect heard her moving about and entered the bedroom.

A brief struggle ensued beside the bed, knocking the cabinet out of position.

He then took her into the living room and strangled her with a pair of tights. ’

‘The person who killed her could have pulled the curtain open,’ Anderson suggested.

‘I agree that was possible. However, I considered it unlikely that someone who had just committed a murder would pull a curtain open so wide to look outside. If this were the case, I would have expected the curtain to have been pulled back just a few inches.’

‘That makes perfect sense to me. Was any property stolen?’ Morgan asked, while Anderson huffed.

‘The jewellery she was wearing and her mobile phone, which was on a charger in the living room.’

Morgan nodded slowly. ‘And what was the evidence that led you to her killer?’

‘Although we didn’t find any DNA evidence to link another suspect to the crime scene, his mistake was leaving the tights around the victim’s neck.

I considered they might not be hers and had the crotch area tested for DNA.

The vaginal fluid didn’t match the victim, but it did match a local woman who had a criminal caution for a minor assault.

Her boyfriend, who had a record for burglary and assault, was arrested, and his right ear matched the print on the broken glass.

We also found black woollen gloves at his flat, matching the fibres on the wood used to break the window. ’

‘Did the girlfriend assist the investigation?’ Morgan asked.

‘Thankfully, yes. She said he had come home drunk on the night of the murder and had a scratch on his face. He said he’d walked into a low-hanging tree branch and became physically aggressive when she questioned him further.

She also said he had sexual fetishes and liked to put a pair of tights around her neck and tighten them during sex.

On one occasion, she found a pair of her tights in his jacket pocket .

. . his excuse was that it made him feel she was always close to him. ’

‘Did he admit the murder?’ Anderson enquired.

‘No, he tried to blame the victim’s husband but was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.’

‘Why do you think he killed her?’ Morgan asked.

‘He was a heavy drinker with a short temper and sadomasochistic tendencies. It’s possible she may have seen his face and recognised him. He then panicked and strangled her, which may also have given him some sexual gratification.’

‘Was the victim sexually assaulted?’ Morgan asked.

‘I think she may have been, but there was no forensic evidence to support that conclusion.’

‘Then I guess we’ll never know if your profile was correct,’ Anderson said smugly, leaning back in his chair.

Jessica had finally had enough of his demeaning remarks. ‘The jury convicted him on the evidence presented to them . . . not my theory alone.’

‘How did you feel when he was convicted?’ Morgan asked.

‘I felt proud that our scene of crime and forensic teamwork had saved the husband from possibly going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.’

Williams nodded in agreement. ‘Did you receive any recognition for your work on the case?’

‘Yes, the trial judge commended my crime scene investigation, and I was also awarded a Chief Constable’s Commendation.’

Morgan flicked through the papers on his clipboard, then looked at Jessica. ‘Are you a modest person?’

She was confused by his question. ‘Well, I’m not a bragger.’

Morgan continued. ‘You never mentioned the commendations or the case involving the profiler on your CV. Why was that?’

‘To be honest, I thought it might reflect badly on me as I disagreed with a senior officer and I . . .’

‘It was exceptional work, and disagreeing with a senior officer is never easy, regardless of rank,’ Morgan remarked.

Commander Williams continued. ‘We will also be recruiing two forensic experts for MSCAN. If you were selected for the team leader role, is there anyone in particular you would like to work with?’