Page 27 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

Diane and Taff shook hands and introduced themselves. Jessica invited Guy to tell them about his background, and he repeated what he had told her earlier, again leaving out the details of his military career.

‘None of us knows much about the HOLMES computer, other than that the police use it on major enquiries,’ Taff remarked.

‘Actually, Taff’s a bit like a computer keyboard . . . information has to be punched into him,’ Diane joked.

‘I’ll try and avoid doing that,’ Guy said, with a deadpan expression.

‘Detailing all its functions would take some time, but basically, it’s a cloud computer database.

Information is recorded in different formats, and the system provides modules for managing documents, exhibits, actions, disclosure and case preparation.

HOLMES processes the mass of inputted information and helps to ensure no vital clues are overlooked. ’

‘Bloody hell, who needs detectives,’ Taff responded.

Guy smiled. ‘It is not a magic bullet, as it’s only as good as the data fed into it. If incomplete or imprecise information is entered into the database, important lines of enquiry may be missed, or the investigation led down the wrong path. Does that all make sense?’

‘To me, yes,’ Diane said, nodding towards Taff.

Taff shook his head ruefully. ‘Will we be able to look at data on the HOLMES computer? I’m only asking in case you were out of the office.’

‘Unfortunately, no. But I am qualified to give you all a view-only course, which would take three or four hours. This would only allow you to look at forensic data, exhibits and witness statements. However, I have full access and, within limits, can let you have other appropriate data that may assist you as forensic investigators, and notably Jessica as the behavioural adviser, especially regarding suspect interviews. Things like DCI Anderson’s policy file, decision logs and confidential information are strictly out of bounds .

. . and more than my job is worth to reveal. ’

‘I think we all understand your position and appreciate your openness,’ Jessica said.

‘I think we’d all like to do the view-only course.

’ She looked at Taff and Diane and they nodded enthusiastically.

‘But it will have to wait as we all have a lot of work to do on the items recovered from the scene. Once we have some downtime, perhaps we could all do it together.’

‘Any time which suits you is OK for me,’ Guy said.

Jessica asked if they found anything else at the scene of forensic significance or that might help the investigation. Diane and Taff both said no. They felt they had thoroughly examined the scene, and there was nothing more they could do for now.

‘Can the uniform guarding the scene be released?’ Taff asked.

‘It’s up to DCI Anderson, but I will suggest he keeps the scene secure in case our forensic examination of the exhibits turns up anything we need to follow up on in the house.’

‘After we’ve examined De Klerk’s phone for prints and DNA, we’ll need a digital expert to download the data,’ Diane said.

Jessica looked at Guy. ‘Sounds like a job for our qualified expert.’

‘You do digital stuff as well?’ Diane asked, clearly impressed.

‘I did in the Army, and here and there in the police. I try to keep myself up to date with the latest digital technology.’

‘You certainly are a man of many talents,’ Taff remarked.

Guy gave another mini salute. ‘What about examining De Klerk’s PC and laptop?’ Jessica explained that they had already seized the laptop, but they didn’t yet have permission to examine it. ‘We could get a court warrant,’ Guy said.

‘That’s up to Anderson, but I’ll speak to him about it,’ Jessica replied.

‘I called Mike Chapman about the PC. He said it was OK to take it, so I did. It’s in the exhibits storeroom,’ Diane said.

‘Oh, I see, it’s “Mike” now, is it? You got a soft spot for him then, Di?’ Taff said, raising his eyebrows.

Diane rolled her eyes. ‘No, he said it was fine to call him by his first name . . . and it’s better being less formal.’

‘On that basis, will you be calling DCI Anderson John, then?’

Diane frowned. ‘I can think of a lot better names for him . . .’ She noticed Jessica frown. ‘But I’ll keep them to myself.’

Jessica handed Guy a printed copy of her report. ‘Could you put this on the HOLMES for me, please. It’s quite detailed, so it might take some time to type it all in.’

‘I can scan it, then use OCR to convert it to a Word document, which will only take a minute or two, then I can start researching the De Klerks, if you want me to,’ Guy said.

‘The research would be good. We can do it together.’

‘I’ll examine De Klerk’s mobile phone and the crystal animal glasses for prints, then Di can swab them for DNA and Guy can do his digital magic on the phone. I’ve also got foot and glove marks to examine and run through the database . . . and the striation marks on that effin’ safe,’ Taff said.

‘I’ll work on the blood swabs and crystal glasses for saliva DNA. Hopefully I’ll raise a profile that isn’t Johan’s,’ Diane added.

Jessica nodded appreciatively. ‘OK, I think we all know what we are doing, so let’s get to work. We’ll regroup in a couple of hours and discuss our findings.’

Taff nudged Diane and stood to attention; she followed suit. They both saluted and said, ‘Yes, ma’am’ in unison.

Jessica laughed. ‘I see Captain Jenkinson’s influence is already rubbing off on you.’

Guy shook his head. ‘A salute with a straight arm and palm flat to the face, as you just did, is a police salute. A military salute is done with the right arm raised, palm facing forwards and fingers almost touching the cap or beret. Like this.’ He demonstrated the perfect salute.

‘Why are the salutes different?’ Diane asked Guy.

‘There are different theories as to how the Met salute came about. One is that the standard issue cape, worn from Victorian times to the nineteen eighties, made a traditional longest-way-up-shortest-way-down salute difficult, so the arm was swung inwards instead. Another theory is that officers often stood in blue police Tardis boxes, making the traditional military salute impossible . . .’

‘Are you taking the piss by any chance?’ Diane asked suspiciously.

‘An officer and a gentleman would never do that,’ he replied with a sly smile.