Page 37 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

Chapman returned to the station feeling apprehensive.

He didn’t regret being blunt with Anderson over the phone or abruptly ending the call but knew his behaviour could be considered insubordination and have serious repercussions.

Anderson, as his senior officer, held the upper hand, and Chapman realised he might have to eat humble pie if he wanted to remain on the investigation.

Talking to Anderson about his behaviour was now simply not on the cards.

Chapman knocked on Anderson’s office door. He was sitting behind his desk, working on a laptop. ‘Pull up a seat, Michael. I was just typing up my report on the discovery of the Rolex watch and the cash.’

‘That was a good find by DS Wood,’ Chapman said carefully.

‘Yes, it was. I spoke to the officers at the hospital with Liam and congratulated them on preventing his escape. He only needs a few butterfly stitches to his head and should be at the station in an hour or so.’ Chapman had certainly changed his tune about the arrest. He also hadn’t mentioned their earlier conversation.

Perhaps he’d taken what Chapman had said on board.

‘When I arrested Liam, I got the impression he’d probably want a solicitor and might well allege he was assaulted,’ Chapman said, wanting to see if Anderson’s thoughts about informing the IOPC had changed.

Anderson shrugged. ‘If he does make a complaint, it can go through the usual channels and be referred to professional standards.’

‘So, the IOPC won’t be involved?’

‘They could be, but only if professional standards request it, which under the circumstances is unlikely.’ Chapman knew Anderson was rightly following standard procedures but was also covering his back if a complaint was made.

Although he was glad to see Anderson’s change of attitude, he was still wary of him.

‘I’ve made a list of questions I’d like to ask Liam in the interview.

I wonder if you’d mind looking over them to see if there’s anything to add. ’ He handed over the list.

Chapman had extensive experience interviewing suspects in major crime investigations and knew how complex and challenging it could be.

Although a list of prepared questions could be useful, the person interviewed might give a totally unexpected answer, often requiring quick thinking and fresh, unscripted questions.

Chapman feared that Anderson, having been a detective for a short time and inexperienced at interviewing suspects, wouldn’t know how to handle Liam, especially if he started giving ‘no comment’ answers. He handed back the question sheet.

‘Seems fine to me. You might want to show him the Rolex and cash during the interview to gauge his reaction.’ Anderson explained that he’d given them to Jessica when he was at the hospital, and she was taking them back to the lab for fingerprint and DNA examination.

Chapman asked if he’d taken photographs of the items, which he could show Liam instead, but he hadn’t.

‘I’ll contact Jessica and ask her to email some over,’ Chapman said. ‘I’d also question Liam about the burnt-out Range Rover and the Zippo lighter. Pictures of them are on HOLMES.’

‘I wasn’t aware of that. Do you know who uploaded them?’

‘Probably DS Guy Jenkinson,’ Chapman said, knowing

Anderson would be curious.

‘Who’s he? He’s not on my team . . . is he?’

‘He’s MSCAN’s HOLMES manager. A former military intelligence officer and a digital forensic expert.’

‘So, he has access to the investigation and everything we have.’

‘I guess so, within limits.’

‘He could be the press leak. Who authorised his posting to MSCAN?’

‘I think it was Commander Williams.’

‘She never told me.’

‘Maybe she didn’t feel the need to, sir. If she posted Jenkinson to MSCAN, she must have a lot of faith in him, so I very much doubt he’s the type of person who would leak things to the press. For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone on her team would leak information.’

‘Do you think it was someone on my team?’

‘I hate to say it, but it could be.’

‘Who do you think it was?’

‘I don’t have a clue. If I did, I’d tell you.’

‘DS Wood clearly doesn’t like me. It could be him.’

‘He might not be your biggest fan, but he wouldn’t do that to you.’

‘Do you think I should speak to Williams about this Jenkinson chap?’ Chapman was surprised Anderson was again asking for his advice.

‘No, she might take it the wrong way. I’d just let professional standards do their job.’

Anderson sighed. ‘It won’t look good if it was someone on the team.’

‘I wouldn’t worry . . . unless it was you,’ Chapman said deadpan, wanting to see his reaction.

He looked stunned. ‘What, no. I would never do such a thing . . .’

Chapman smiled. ‘I was joking, guv.’ Anderson let out a sigh of relief.

‘On the plus side,’ Chapman continued, ‘it resulted in information that led to the recovery of the Rolex, the cash and the arrest of Liam.’

Anderson nodded. ‘I want you to interview Liam with me. I’ve already had a quiet word with the CPS. They feel I’ve enough to charge Liam and if Russell and her team find De Klerk’s blood or other evidence linking Liam to the crime scene, we’ll have him bang to rights.’

Chapman had a nasty feeling Anderson was getting overconfident. ‘That’s a big “if”,’ he said.

*?*?*

Arriving at John Walsh Tower, Jessica saw Diane and Taff’s crime scene vans parked in the street.

She read a text message from Chapman about the cash and Rolex needed for Liam’s interview.

He said photographs would do if they were going to examine them at the lab later in the day.

Jessica didn’t want to remove them from the evidence bags outside the lab, so she photographed them through the transparent bags and sent them to Chapman.

After putting on a crime scene suit, Jessica got in the lift and went to the fourteenth floor. When the lift door opened, she was surprised to see her colleagues sitting on their crime scene cases, eating cake with squirty cream.

‘You’ve got to try this, it’s delicious,’ Taff said.

‘Have you started on the crime scene yet?’ Jessica asked curtly.

Diane put her plate down. ‘We knew you were coming from the hospital, so we thought we’d wait until you arrived. Iris, the neighbour, offered us some homemade cake.’

‘And we thought it would be rude to refuse,’ Taff added.

‘Time is of the essence . . . eating cake isn’t,’ Jessica said. ‘Where’s DS Wood?’

‘With Iris. He said he’d brief us on what was done on the first search when you got here,’ Diane told her.

‘Thank you. I’ll go and speak with him.’ She went inside Iris’s flat.

‘Jess is in one of her tetchy moods,’ Taff remarked.

‘Remember, this is her first investigation in the Met, so she’s going to be a bit more on edge.’

‘Fair enough,’ Taff said. ‘Next time, we’ll keep the cake until after the job’s done.’

Jessica and DS Wood walked into the hallway as Diane and Taff were putting on their crime scene suits. Wood gave them details of the first search and informed them the cash and Rolex had been found under the sink in a zip-lock bag at the back of the unit.

‘I finished my work on the glove marks recovered from the De Klerk house. I’m confident from the markings they are Sealskinz Ultra Grips,’ Taff said.

‘Isn’t that illegal?’ Diane said, looking shocked. ‘Aren’t seals a protected species or something?’

Taff laughed. ‘It’s a brand name. The outer layer is nylon with a waterproof membrane, and the inner lining is Merino Wool.

The palms and fingers have a silicone grip pattern, and the thumb and index fingers are touchscreen compatible.

’ He removed a printed photograph from his pocket and showed it to Jessica and Diane.

‘The fibres I found on the front door latch at the De Klerks were black Nylon,’ Diane added.

‘If those gloves are in the flat or were on Liam when he was arrested, it’s nearly as good as his actual fingerprints,’ Taff said.

‘Good work, the pair of you. Do you have any details about the suspect?’

‘From what I’ve picked up, only that he’s young, has alopecia and his Christian name is Liam,’ Taff said.

‘OK.’ Jessica turned to DS Wood and handed him the picture of the gloves. ‘Did you see any sign of the Adidas trainers or gloves like these?’

‘He wasn’t wearing Adidas trainers when he was arrested, but I’ll let Chapman know about the gloves in case Liam has them on him. Do you mind if I head off to the Jet garage? I need to pick up their CCTV. I won’t be gone long.’

‘Go ahead. Were the bins and washing machine searched?’

‘Yes, and nothing connected to the crime was found.’

‘What about the communal and recycling bins?’

Wood shrugged. ‘Not as far as I know. Anderson organised the search, so you’d have to ask him.’

‘Let’s hope they haven’t been emptied since Monday. Could you ask Anderson to organise a PolSA unit to search the bins? I’ll brief them when they get here,’ she asked, using the acronym for the specialist police search team.

‘You’ll be busy up here, so I’ll call them, then brief them when I return from the garage. I forgot to mention that a laptop, PlayStation and Xbox are on the premises. We left them in situ and checked the serial numbers. They’re the proceeds of a recent local burglary.’

‘We’ll take them to the lab for fingerprinting. Thanks for organising the PolSA team,’ Jessica said.

After Taff had videoed and photographed the flat, they started looking around it.

It was filthy, with a strong smell of sweat and dirty clothes strewn around the main bedroom.

The bathroom toilet pan was covered in bits of excrement, adding to the stink.

The bath had a ring of soap scum around it, as did the washbasin.

Diane walked in, started to retch and turned away.

‘You wuss. It’s no worse than a decomposing body,’ Taff said.

‘They don’t bother me. The only thing that turns my stomach in this job is human and dog shit,’ Diane replied.