Page 42 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

‘Not too long. I can link the phone to my computer right away and let the software run while we’re talking.’

‘Go ahead. That’s good work, well done,’ Jessica said.

‘Palmer will have difficulty explaining the phone away, especially as it was used just after the break-in and after the car was set alight,’ Taff said.

‘Baldwin will probably just advise Palmer to go “no comment” again,’ Diane said.

‘I’m not so sure that’s a good thing, now the evidence is mounting up against him. Hopefully, Palmer will see he’s deep in the proverbial and start talking in the second interview,’ Taff said.

‘If he lies about it, he’ll only be digging a deeper hole for himself,’ Guy added as he plugged the phone into his laptop.

‘Chapman said he intended to hit Palmer with all the incriminating evidence in the second interview and see how he reacts. With that in mind, do you have any other forensic updates besides the phone stuff for me to give him?’ Jessica asked.

Taff nodded. ‘I’ve examined the knife recovered from De Klerk’s back, and there were Sealskinz glove marks on the handle indicating the person holding it used their right hand.

I also examined the two tumblers from the cinema room.

The one with the cheetah had Johan De Klerk’s fingerprints on it, and the one with the water buffalo had someone else’s, but they were not on the database and they weren’t Michelle De Klerk’s.

I didn’t find anything on the Rolex watch: it had been wiped clean like the burner phone. ’

Diane took over. ‘I swabbed the inside of the watch clasp and found a minute trace of DNA, which probably came from sweat. I’m using PCR to amplify it, and hopefully I’ll get a result in another day or two, but it’s obviously most likely De Klerk’s.’

‘What’s PCR?’ Guy asked.

‘Polymerase chain reaction. It involves using short synthetic DNA fragments called primers to select a segment of the genome to be amplified. Multiple rounds of DNA synthesis follow this to amplify that segment, producing millions to billions of copies of a specific segment of DNA, which can then be studied in greater detail.’

‘Bet you wished you never asked,’ Taff smiled.

‘No, I get it . . . I think,’ Guy said.

Diane continued. ‘I’ve completed the DNA work on the items seized from De Klerk’s house but haven’t found any DNA that matches Palmer or anyone on the database. As expected, I’m seeing either Johan or Michelle’s DNA profile.’

‘What about the found cash in Palmer’s flat?’ Jessica asked Taff.

‘For now, and to speed things up, I just examined the top and bottom banknotes in the bundle. I recovered fingerprints from the two notes that matched Johan De Klerk’s using black powder suspension and infrared light.

Other recovered prints were not on the database, so they could be from anyone who handled the cash at any time.

I’m afraid Palmer’s prints were not on them, but I did find marks that matched the Sealskinz gloves and what I believe to be washing-up gloves. ’

‘Palmer had black woollen gloves on him when he was arrested,’ Jessica told them.

‘It’s odd that the Sealskinz weren’t with the clothing in the communal bin,’ Guy remarked.

‘If he wore the Sealskinz to drive the car, he might have thrown them in the fire after he set it alight.’ Diane suggested.

‘But why then dump the other clothing in the bin?’ Guy said. ‘And what about the Adidas trainers? They haven’t been found either.’

‘On that subject, I can confirm that the trainer marks in Palmer’s flat are the same Adidas trainer marks we recovered from the De Klerk house,’ Taff said.

‘He must have disposed of them elsewhere as well,’ Diane said. ‘Having previous convictions for burglary, Palmer will be forensically aware and likely know that gloves and trainers hold a lot of sweat, which is good for raising a DNA profile.’

‘Are there any other forensic results that might help Anderson and Chapman in the next interview?’ Jessica asked.

Taff said he was still working on the black bin bag from the communal bin and the roll of liners recovered from Palmer’s flat and hoped to have some results late afternoon.

‘What about the money Palmer had in his wallet?’ Jessica asked.

‘I’ve applied the black suspension powder and raised fingerprints on some of the bank notes.

I need to enhance them with infrared lighting, and then I can enlarge and check them against Palmer and Johan’s prints.

Be about twenty minutes before I can give you the results.

’ Diane said she’d examined the Adidas clothing recovered from the bin bag.

Small traces of blood were on the bottoms and the hoodie, which she would test for De Klerk’s DNA.

‘Was there any blood on the coir mat we took from Palmer’s flat?’ Jessica asked her.

‘No, and there were no traces of pollens or soil from the De Klerks’ garden.

However, I did find a few tiny grey granules embedded in it.

Mass spectrometry testing revealed they contained traces of magnesium, iron, calcium, sulphur and humic acid .

. . the components of a slow-release compound fertiliser. ’

‘How do you know it’s fertiliser?’ Taff asked.

‘I tested the soil sample you gave me from the De Klerks’ garden, but the compounds weren’t the same. I had a hunch, called Wanstead golf course and spoke to the head greenkeeper, and guess what . . . ?’

‘Their fertiliser contains the same compounds as the pellets you found in the mat,’ Taff said, looking impressed.

Diane nodded. ‘I can’t say positively it’s from their golf course, but the only other golf club in the area is the Ilford Club, about two miles away. I also called them, and they use a different type of fertiliser.’

‘That’s a great piece of work, Di. Palmer will have difficulty explaining how those pellets got on his mat,’ Guy remarked.

‘Not necessarily. He could say he went for a walk on the golf course, or it was an innocent cross-transfer,’ Diane said.

Jessica shook her head. ‘Put together with what we know about the burner phone and CCTV going down, it’s good evidence, so well done. Unless there’s anything else, I better call Mike Chapman and tell him about your results. Guy or I will let you know when Palmer’s interview is about to restart.’

Jessica called Chapman, who asked her how she felt when she saw William Palmer.

‘At first, I was nervous, and like you, I wouldn’t have recognised him. But to be honest, it didn’t bother me. I was more interested in what he had to say and his behaviour.’

‘What did you think?’

‘Hard to say as he didn’t really answer any questions. But body language wise, I think he’s hiding something and may have committed the crime or at least been an accomplice.’

‘Accomplice? What makes you say that?’ Jessica told him about the burner phone and the other forensic results.

‘That’s great work. Anderson will be happy.

Also, DS Wood went back to the Jet garage and they didn’t have any sales receipts for petrol cans on Monday and Tuesday.

But interestingly, they did a stock check a week ago and had five on the shelves, but there were only four today.

It looks like someone either shoplifted a can or Palmer took it. ’

‘How long has he been working at the garage?’ Jessica asked.

‘Five months.’

‘What does the manager think of him as an employee?’

‘Very good, always on time and a hard worker.’

‘When do you think you’ll be starting the second interview?’

‘Palmer’s solicitor is still talking to him, but hopefully soon. I’ll text you.’

Jessica was about to end the call when Guy walked in, holding an A4 printout and looking pleased. ‘I’ve cracked the WhatsApp messages. Palmer broke into the De Klerks’ and then contacted someone else who must be involved. There’s a bloody tracker on the burner phone as well.’

‘Did you hear that?’ Jessica asked Chapman.

‘A bit of it. Turn on your speakerphone.’

Jessica did so and nodded to Guy to carry on.

‘The burner phone from Palmer’s flat had been used to make contact via WhatsApp messages, apart from one call.

The messages are to one other number, which is also registered to a burner phone.

The communications are short, to the point and started on Friday afternoon at 4. 08 p.m.’

‘Go slowly so I can write them down,’ Chapman replied.

‘On Friday afternoon, Palmer got a message saying, “he’s going away Saturday morning, back Monday.” Palmer replied, “will do job early hours Monday.” He got a thumbs-up emoji reply. Then, on Monday at four a.m., Palmer sent a message saying, “job done, call later”. This was followed . . .’

Chapman interrupted. ‘Slow down, I’m trying to catch up.’

‘Guy will send you a printout of everything,’ Jessica said.

‘That would be helpful for the interview but carry on anyway.’

‘Palmer then received several repeated messages saying, “Contact me now” and “Where the fuck are you?” Whoever sent the messages started calling Palmer’s number, but he didn’t answer. At 3.10 p.m. Monday, Palmer called the other burner number, and the conversation lasted a few minutes.’

‘Is this still all on WhatsApp?’ Chapman asked.

‘Yes, every contact was made using it. The next one was on Tuesday at 3.48 a.m. Palmer sent a message saying, “car torched”, clearly referring to the fact the Range Rover had been set alight, which we know happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning. There was no further contact between either phone. Palmer’s was switched off at eight p.m. last night and recovered at his flat this morning. I hope that all made sense.’

‘Yes, thanks. What about cell mast locations and the owner of the other phone?’

‘Before it went dead, Palmer’s burner phone was last picked up by the cell mast in Montague Road.

The other phone is also a burner with the same service provider.

It went live at the same time as Palmer’s, and the first cell tower to pick them up was in Leather Lane, Holborn at six p.m. last Wednesday. ’

‘Do we know the other phone’s current location?’

‘No, it’s gone dead, but it was last live near a mast in Caroline Street, Birmingham, on Tuesday morning.

I’ve asked the service provider to send me a detailed cell site analysis log for all the calls and messages sent and received, but that could take a day or two.

It’s also more difficult because WhatsApp calls are encrypted and made online. ’

‘Can we trace an IP address?’ Jessica asked.

‘No, both phones were using a free VPN,’ Guy replied, referring to a virtual private network used to hide an IP address.

‘You mentioned something about a tracker at the beginning,’ Jessica said.

‘Palmer’s burner phone has a hidden tracker app on it. It doesn’t record where he’s been on his phone, but it sends information about location, calls and texts to someone else, who can view it through a web portal.’

‘Looks like whoever gave Palmer the phone doesn’t trust him,’ Jessica remarked.

‘Certainly does. The Leather Lane connection is interesting. There’s a street market there with lots of different stalls. Could be Palmer’s selling jewellery from his burglaries to a dodgy trader,’ Chapman remarked.

‘The PlayStation, laptop and Xbox in his flat were proceeds of a burglary where two hundred thousand pounds’ worth of jewellery was stolen,’ Jessica said.

‘I’ll get one of the team to speak to the property owner and request photos of the stolen jewellery if they have any. Great work, all of you.’

As Chapman was about to end the call, Taff came in with a big smile and holding his thumbs up.

‘I found Johan De Klerk and Palmer’s fingerprints on some of the cash from Palmer’s wallet.

There were also a couple of marks from the Sealskinz gloves.

All three were on one of the notes. The odds of that happening by chance are a million to one.

The money must have been stolen from De Klerk. ’

‘This just gets better and better,’ Chapman said.

‘There’s more,’ Taff said. ‘I spoke with the scene of crime officer who dealt with the burglary in Chigwell where the property found in Palmer’s flat was stolen from.

He sent me copies of the footprints they recovered.

They were Adidas Ultraboost with the same tread as the ones in Palmer’s flat and De Klerk’s house. ’

‘The second interview with Palmer will be interesting and full of surprises . . . mostly for him,’ a delighted Chapman said.