Page 47 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

Jessica could feel her heart racing as she switched off the live link.

She sat back in her chair and ran her hands through her hair.

Hearing Palmer’s admission had brought back an intense visual recall of everything that had happened that night.

It was so vivid, it felt as if she was back in her bedroom and he was once again looking at her through the eye holes of his balaclava and licking his lips before he pounced on her.

Jessica doubted Palmer was telling the truth when he said he had no intent to rape her, but although his admission suggested he would plead guilty, there was always a chance he might change his mind, and it would be another harrowing experience giving evidence against him.

Jessica thought about her meetings with him as a probation officer.

She wondered if she had missed any signs of him being obsessed with her, but nothing came to mind.

He found it hard to engage in conversation, was withdrawn, and disliked talking about his family life.

Due to his ADHD, he was hyperactive and impulsive, but as far as she could recall, he was never disruptive or aggressive, unlike some of the young offenders she dealt with.

She wondered if Palmer had suffered from limerence, a very intense desire, infatuation, or obsession with a person, that is often uncontrollable, which people with ADHD were often more prone to.

She was also aware that teenagers with ADHD may have a higher-than-normal sex drive and trouble with impulse control and resisting temptation.

Reflecting on Palmer’s condition made Jessica think of something that she, Anderson and Chapman might have inadvertently failed to consider.

She picked up his criminal record file and flicked through his arrest entries.

She found exactly what she feared might be there when looking at his arrest for the attempted rape by Chapman.

Jessica hurried through to the main office, where Guy, Diane and Taff were huddled together discussing Palmer’s second interview. Jessica wondered if they were talking about her, but that wasn’t her main concern.

‘Looks like Palmer’s up shit creek without a paddle,’ Taff said with a smile.

‘Guy, I’m not very knowledgeable about police custody procedures, but would an adult with ADHD need an appropriate adult present during an interview?’ Jessica asked.

‘Depends on the circumstances. PACE, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, states that anyone who is known or suspected to have a mental disorder or mental vulnerability must be interviewed with an appropriate adult present.’

‘Can a solicitor be the appropriate adult?’ Jessica asked.

‘It’s extremely rare, and only if they are not acting as a solicitor. I take it you are asking because you think Palmer might have ADHD.’

‘I know he has. It’s in his file. When Palmer was arrested as a juvenile for the attempted rape, he had an appropriate adult present during the interview. I think he should have had one for both the interviews with Anderson and Chapman.’

‘I don’t get what the problem is,’ Taff remarked.

‘If the police have breached their statutory duty to provide an appropriate adult, it could have serious ramifications in court. A judge could rule the interviews as inadmissible evidence,’ Guy told him.

‘Oh, shit. That’s not good,’ Taff said.

‘Anderson and Chapman may not be responsible for the error, though,’ Guy continued.

‘The Codes of Practice state that if the custody officer believes the detained person is a vulnerable adult, they must arrange for an appropriate adult to be present during the interview. But if Palmer or his solicitor didn’t mention his ADHD, how were they to know? ’

‘But shouldn’t they have looked at his previous convictions before interviewing him?’ Diane asked.

Guy shook his head. ‘There’s no regulation that says you have to, and you might well only look at the more recent arrests and convictions anyway.

Palmer’s been arrested several times since the attempted rape, both as a juvenile and an adult.

Did he have an appropriate adult present for any of those interviews? ’ he asked Jessica.

‘As far as I can see, only as a juvenile.’

‘Under PACE, when a juvenile is questioned by the police, the presence of an appropriate adult is required by law, so that may be why they were present, and it had nothing to do with his ADHD.’

‘Let’s hope so. Thanks, Guy. You’ve made me feel a bit easier about it,’ Jessica said.

‘Ultimately, any decision about the validity of the interviews would be down to the CPS or the judge trying the case. Watching Palmer in the interview, I would never have thought he had ADHD or any form of learning difficulty. He’s simply lying,’ Guy said.

‘But what if he is telling the truth?’ Jessica said. They looked at each other in surprise.

‘You can’t seriously think Chapman planted everything in Palmer’s flat,’ Taff said.

‘Of course not,’ Jessica said. ‘But some things about this investigation don’t make sense. We need to dig a bit deeper. Our priority now is to identify who has the other burner phone. I also want to review all the evidence from the De Klerks’ house and Palmer’s flat.’

‘Someone might have given the bin bag to Liam to dispose of,’ Guy suggested.

‘Palmer’s fingerprints weren’t on it, but there were also marks from the Sealskinz gloves,’ Taff added.

‘I’ll take swabs from the waistband of the trackie bottoms and the collar of the hoodie to test for the wearer’s DNA. If it isn’t Palmer’s, then it’s unlikely he dumped the clothing,’ Diane said.

‘Check if there’s any hairs in the hoodie. If there are, they can’t be Palmer’s, for obvious reasons. Taff, did you fingerprint the cistern cover?’

‘No. I didn’t think finding Palmer’s prints on it would prove anything.’

‘I’m interested to know if any marks from the Sealskinz gloves are on it.’

Taff sighed. ‘Sorry, Jess, I should have done that.’

‘Don’t be silly. None of us thought of it at the time.’ Jessica pulled a set of keys from her pocket and handed them to Taff. ‘DS Wood sent these over. They’re for the new locks on Palmer’s flat.’

‘I’ll go look at the cistern lid after this meeting,’ Taff said, putting the keys in his pocket.

‘Will he need a warrant?’ Diane asked.

‘Not if the one issued covers multiple entry. There will be a copy of it on HOLMES. I’ll have a quick look now,’ Guy said and went to his desk.

‘Palmer might have been holding the phone and other stuff for someone,’ Diane suggested.

‘It’s possible, but from his reaction in the interview, I don’t think so. And the clothing in the bin could have been put there to make us think Palmer disposed of it,’ Jessica said.

‘Well done for asking for the bins to be searched,’ Diane said. ‘This unknown suspect appears to be very forensically aware.’

Jessica nodded. ‘I agree. Whereas Palmer doesn’t strike me as being that bright. If he committed the crime, it’s more likely we would have found the Ultraboost trainers and Sealskinz gloves at his flat or in the bin.’

Taff nodded. ‘We didn’t find a hydraulic door breacher or any crowbars at Palmer’s either. There was no tool kit or anything to suggest he was an active burglar. So maybe the unknown suspect still has the items we’re missing.’

Jessica agreed. ‘Palmer doesn’t appear to be a smoker either. There were no ashtrays or cigarette butts in his flat, and he had no cigarettes on him when arrested, nor was he ever in the Paras. All of which suggests he may not be the owner of the Zippo lighter.’

‘It’s a multiple entry warrant, so another search is fine,’ Guy said, returning from his desk. ‘What do you make of the money in his wallet with De Klerk’s and the glove prints on it?’ he asked Jessica.

‘It’s a bit odd, and he did seem very nervous when asked about it. For me, he either removed some money from the stash under the sink or someone gave it to him, possibly as a form of payment for doing something, which could be why he’s lying about where he got it from.’

‘The other person could be a hardened criminal, and Palmer’s scared of him,’ Guy suggested.

‘That’s a possibility. Can you identify Palmer’s IP address and see if he was online playing games during the relevant times?’ Jessica asked, referring to the Internet Protocol address, a unique numerical label assigned to any device connected to a computer network.

Guy nodded. ‘I can check his phone, laptop and the game boxes. They record the date, time and location of his internet connections, websites visited and online services accessed. I’ll need to ask the internet provider for a more detailed record, which will require a warrant.’

‘See what you can get from the items you mentioned first,’ Jessica told him.

‘Is there any way you can trace who sent the anonymous information to Crimestoppers?’ Diane asked Guy.

‘No. Their system is designed to protect your identity and cannot physically trace your IP address. When you fill out an online form, your device’s IP address is overwritten, masking it.

However, if we can find the device we think might have been used, the browsing history, cookies and cache might confirm if he visited the Crimestoppers site.

If he’s deleted them, the service provider might be able to help us.

If he used a virtual private network, though, the data becomes unreadable to the service provider and network administrators. ’

‘The DNA you found on the Rolex watch – can you have a result by tomorrow morning, Di?’

‘I’ll do my best.’

‘I’m not saying Palmer wasn’t involved in the crime in some way, but as you can see, a lot of things don’t add up or fit with his personality.

Is there anything else you think we should be looking at to prove or disprove Palmer’s involvement or identify our unknown suspect?

’ They looked at each other, but no one answered.

‘Are you going to tell Anderson about what we’ve just discussed?’ Diane asked.

‘I’ll have to, but first I want to know what results Guy gets from his digital examinations.

I then need to draw up a report detailing all the evidence that shows Palmer is or isn’t involved in the crime.

It will no doubt upset Anderson and some members of his team, but no matter what anyone thinks of Liam Palmer, it would be wrong to let an innocent man go to prison for something he didn’t do.

’ They all nodded their agreement, then Jessica got up and headed to her office.

Diane watched her go, then turned to Taff.

‘She never ceases to amaze me. I mean, I was emotionally distressed listening to that piece of shit. I can only imagine what it was like for her.’

Taff nodded. ‘She keeps a lot hidden, that one.’

‘Maybe that’s not such a good thing,’ Diane said, getting up.

Jessica had just started typing her report when there was a knock at the door, and Diane entered. ‘I just thought I’d ask how you were feeling after the interview.’

Jessica smiled ruefully. ‘I thought you’d guess it was me Palmer was talking about.’

‘I haven’t said anything to the others, and I don’t intend to.’

‘Thanks, I appreciate that.’

‘Do Anderson and Chapman know?’

‘Yes, and I have to say Anderson was actually very understanding. He spoke with Commander Williams, and that’s why she was here earlier. Thankfully, they both agreed there was no conflict of interest and decided I should remain on the investigation.’

‘That’s good. Anderson must realise how much he needs you. Anyway, I’ll let you get on with your report.’ She turned to leave.

‘You don’t need to worry about me, Di. Watching the interview hasn’t made me an emotional wreck or anything.’

Diane gave her a sympathetic look. ‘It must have been terrifying for you. I was close to tears when Palmer was talking about it. I know he confessed, but to accuse you of coming on to him was sick beyond belief.’

Jessica shrugged. ‘He felt trapped and thought making false allegations against me and Chapman was his way out.’

‘So, you don’t think he was going to assault you before he ran off?’

‘I did at the time, and it was a terrifying experience, but I’ve learned to cope with it.’

‘Through your yoga and meditation?’

‘That’s helped, but I had a lot of counselling before I started meditating. You might find this hard to believe, but hearing Palmer confess has made me feel better, maybe given me some kind of closure. And strange as it may sound, I now have some sympathy for him.’

‘How can you feel sympathy after what he did to you?’

Jessica told her about the terrible childhood Palmer had endured, living with an alcoholic mother and a violent, drugaddicted father. Diane winced as Jessica described how Palmer’s father smashed his head against a wall when he was eight, which probably caused his ADHD.

‘That’s tragic, and I understand why you feel some sympathy for him, but it doesn’t excuse what he did to you. If it was me, I’d still like to punch the living daylights out of him.’

‘I’m not saying it does excuse what he did to me. But from the way he reacted, I believe he feels genuine remorse.’

Diane looked sceptical. ‘Well, just hear me out – do you not think he might have confessed because he thought it would help him wriggle his way out of the other things he’s accused of?’

‘Yes, but probably just through desperation, if he’s being accused of an attempted murder he didn’t commit.’

‘Well, he’s lying about something, so he’s only himself to blame,’ Diane said.

‘It’s not in my nature to see someone suffer for something they might not have done.’

‘I know. And that makes you a good person,’ Diane said. ‘But you have to think of yourself as well. You know I’m a good listener if you ever need to talk.’.

Jessica got up and embraced her. ‘I know,’ she said as they hugged each other tightly.