Page 29 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

‘Give him positive feedback when he gets something right or makes a good decision. If you disagree with him, tell him, but point out the pros and cons. Try to help him connect with others on the team.’

‘You sound like a shrink,’ he laughed.

‘Well, I did study psychology at university.’

‘I’ll try my best, Doctor Freud, but Anderson’s a tough nut to crack.’

‘I’m sure he’ll appreciate it in the long run. Right, we need to start working on the car.’

‘Sorry, I can’t stay. Anderson rang me on the way here. He’s called an office meeting for one o’clock, so I’d better get going.

‘We’ve got Johan De Klerk’s laptop and PC at the lab. It might be useful to examine them to help with a victim profile. Could you raise it with Anderson and ask if he’d approve a warrant application?’

‘I’ll try, but I don’t think he’ll prioritise it, and I doubt a judge would issue a warrant at present anyway. Still, with my new-found psychological techniques, I’ll give it a go,’ he said with a wink.

*?*?*

Jessica, Diane and Guy put on protective clothing and face masks before entering the vehicle examination bay.

The acrid smell of smoke and burnt rubber filled the air, leaving an unpleasant taste in their mouths and making their eyes sting.

The exterior of the Range Rover was badly burnt, and the two rear tyres had almost melted.

As they approached the car, the smell of petrol hit them.

‘Is it still a fire risk?’ Diane asked nervously.

‘The fire brigade signed it off as safe for transport, so we should be OK,’ Jessica reassured her.

‘You know much about photography?’ Jessica asked Guy.

‘A bit. I took some pictures during covert military operations.’

‘I’ll bet they were interesting,’ Diane said. Guy smiled, but didn’t respond.

Jessica removed a digital camera from a bag. ‘A scene of crime officer took some exterior shots at the scene of the fire, but I need some close-ups as well . . . if you’re happy to take them?’ she said, wanting Guy to feel more involved.

He took the camera from her. ‘Sure. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll snap away.’

Jessica peered into the vehicle. The leather seats were totally destroyed, leaving only the springs and metal frames behind.

She tried to force open the boot using a crowbar, but it was stuck fast, and she needed Guy’s help to finally do it.

Once opened, they could see that most of the carpet was burnt, leaving only bare metal.

She let Guy pry open the bonnet, to find a lot of the engine parts were melted due to the intensity of the fire.

Jessica tried to open the fuel cap, but it was firmly locked.

She stepped back, closed her eyes, and moved her head from side to side as she pondered the extent of the fire damage to the car.

‘What’s she doing?’ Guy whispered to Diane.

‘I’ll explain later . . . but don’t worry, it’s how she works things out.’

Jessica opened her eyes. ‘Clearly, from the pungent smell, the accelerant used was petrol. I’d say, from the burn damage pattern, it was poured all over the inside of the car, the boot and on the rear and front exteriors then ignited with a match, cigarette lighter or piece of burning cloth.

We’ll need to remove all the debris inside the car and sift through it for any remnants of a lighter and petrol container. ’

‘With all that fire damage, it’s unlikely we’ll get any hard forensic evidence to help identify the perpetrator,’ Diane remarked.

Jessica was more optimistic. ‘The source of the petrol used to start the fire could help us identify the person responsible.’

‘How?’ Guy asked, looking puzzled.

Jessica looked at a photograph of the registration document for the Range Rover.

‘It’s a diesel car, so petrol can’t have been syphoned from the tank, and De Klerk wouldn’t have kept a petrol can in the boot.

’ She opened Google Earth on her iPad and entered Wanstead golf course.

Jessica turned her iPad towards them. ‘DC Bingham said the Range Rover travelled along the A12 East Cross Route and likely came off at the Green Man roundabout, just short of a mile from the golf course where the car was found.’

Diane and Taff stood on either side of Jessica as she zoomed in on the golf course and roundabout.

‘Which means the intruder might live locally and hid the car in a garage or lockup nearby for twenty-four hours before setting fire to it. He could have had a can of petrol at home . . . or, more likely, he went out and purchased one. There’s a twenty-four-hour Jet petrol station just off the Green Man roundabout in Hollybush Hill, which is also the nearest one to the golf course. ’

‘You’re thinking he might be on CCTV if he went to that garage,’ Guy said.

Jessica nodded. ‘But he could have gone to any garage in the area. All the local garages should be checked, but the one by the roundabout is at the top of the list. We know the timeline from the break-in to the car being found, so that’s a big help.

There’ll be a till record and maybe credit card details if he bought a petrol can and filled it up. ’

‘He could have an accomplice who got the petrol or set the car alight,’ Guy added.

Diane picked up on his thoughts. ‘The intruder could have gone to the De Klerks’ house with an accomplice.’

Jessica disagreed. ‘If that were the case, it’s odd the accomplice didn’t enter the house or wait outside in a vehicle before leaving the scene together.’

Guy had a thought. ‘If there were other people involved, they would need to make contact, either in person or by phone. If whoever stole the car used a mobile phone after leaving the scene, the cell masts would pick up the phone signal along the route.’

‘But we don’t know his mobile number,’ Diane pointed out.

‘We don’t need to. We can ask the four leading network providers for details of all the mobile phone numbers picked up by the masts from Hackney Wick and along the A12 to the roundabout.

I can then look for numbers that move quickly from cell to cell, indicating the caller was travelling in a car.

If I find a number linked to cell sites along the route, we can ask the service provider for the owner’s details, and any calls and texts they made .

. . and its current cell site location.’

Diane looked confused. ‘But surely there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of phone numbers to look at?’

‘You’re right, but using a computer program to search for and identify a recurring number makes the task much easier.’

‘What if they made an internet call on WhatsApp or FaceTime?’ Jessica asked.

‘It’s a bit more complicated, as WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, but it uses the same connection to your phone’s network to send messages and make calls, even though it’s over the internet. A microchip modulates a radio wave that travels to a nearby cell tower which . . .’

‘We’ll take your word for it,’ Jessica grinned.

‘Wow, I’m so glad you’re on the team,’ Diane said. ‘We know very little about phones and computer forensics and all the jargon that goes with it.’

‘All I need is a detective inspector’s authority for the service providers to give us the information,’ Guy told Jessica.

‘I’ll ring DI Chapman from my office,’ Jessica said, unzipping her protective crime scene suit.

‘You can call him if you want,’ she added, looking at Diane.

Diane blushed. ‘No, it’s fine, thanks. I’ll leave it to you.’

Jessica phoned Chapman and told him about the possibility the intruder lived locally and used the Jet garage to buy the petrol used to torch the Range Rover. She also told him about Guy’s idea of cell site analysis to try and identify and locate a phone that the intruder might have used.

‘Great,’ he answered. ‘I’ll get some of my team onto the garages, and I’ll email you the authorisation to get the information from the mobile service providers.’

As promised, Chapman quickly emailed Jessica a signed authorisation form shortly after their call ended. She’d just put it on Guy’s desk when he and Diane walked in looking pleased.

‘Look what we found among the debris.’ Diane held up a clear plastic exhibit bag containing something small and metallic looking.

‘A cigarette lighter?’

Diane nodded, handing it to her. ‘It’s badly burnt and a bit melted, but there’s some sort of design on it and what looks like writing, which could be someone’s name. I’ll ask Taff if he can clean it up so we can see the engraving better.’

‘Clean up what?’ Taff asked as he entered the room holding a folder.

Jessica handed him the exhibit bag.

‘Ah, a lighter,’ he remarked.

Diane turned to Guy. ‘As you can see, Taff’s powers of observation are comparable to that of the great detective . . .’

‘Sherlock Holmes,’ he interrupted.

‘Actually, I was going to say Inspector Clouseau,’ she said with a grin.

‘Can you clean this up enough to see what’s engraved on it?’ Jessica asked.

He squinted at it. ‘It’s a bit of a mess, but I’ll have a go.

Also, I’ve got some results for you. I ran the suspect footmarks through the database.

The best match is to an Adidas size ten Ultraboost.’ He opened the folder and removed some pictures of the trainers and soles he’d printed off.

‘I’ve just emailed these to DI Chapman.’

‘Quite distinctive,’ Jessica remarked.

Taff nodded, ‘From the amount of detail in some of the footmarks at the scene, I’d say the trainers are reasonably new.

’ He removed De Klerk’s mobile phone from the folder.

‘I got a finger and ear print off this and swabbed it for Diane to do DNA testing. There’s no trace in criminal records for a match to the fingerprint. ’

Guy said he could download the phone data and compile a list of all the calls and messages, starting with the most recent. Taff handed him the phone. ‘All yours.’

‘Anything else, Taff?’ Jessica asked.

‘Yes, I think a portable battery-operated hydraulic door breacher was used to open the safe.’

‘So, De Klerk had a pretty useless safe,’ Diane commented.

‘No safe is entirely burglar-proof,’ Taff said.

‘Given the right tools, skills and time, any safe can be breached.’ He produced another picture from the folder, then held it up.

‘They’re lightweight and can easily fit in a rucksack or holdall.

The one in the picture is an E-FORCE3, but it may not be the same as the one used on the safe.

Firefighters use them on crashed cars. Metal doors and safes with multiple locks are no problem for this baby.

You put the tip between the door and the frame, then turn it on.

The tips spread apart, with an incredible amount of pressure, forcing the door open. ’

‘That’s good work. Like the trainers, it will give a search team a good idea of what to look for.’

‘I also sent details and a picture of the door breacher to Chapman, but I forgot to mention that I need De Klerk’s finger and ear prints for elimination purposes.’

‘I hope to speak to Mrs De Klerk at the hospital tomorrow morning with the FLO, Dawn Owens. I’ll take a handheld fingerprint scanner and get Mrs De Klerk’s prints as well,’ Jessica said.

‘Didn’t Anderson get upset about you speaking to her yesterday?’ Diane asked.

‘Only because I’m not a trained FLO. If Anderson calls, say I’m out of the office, and you’ll get me to call him back on my return.’

Taff tapped his nose. ‘Mum’s the word, but it’ll cost you a round.’

‘That’s a deal I’m very happy to accept after work today. Are there any decent pubs around here?’

‘The Rose on Albert Embankment is a short walk away. It’s a lovely Victorian pub with views of the Houses of Parliament,’ Guy told them.

‘The Rose it is, then,’ Jessica agreed. ‘We’ll finish at five and can head off together. Thanks, all of you, for your hard work. I feel we’re getting closer to identifying the person responsible for all this.’