Page 49 of The Scene of the Crime

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.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Jessica went on De Klerk’s Springbok Wines website to learn more about him and his business. His father Pieter ran a winery in Wellington, just outside Cape Town, which the family had owned for over a hundred years. The winery was in a picturesque valley at the foot of Groenberg Mountain, with the Kromme River flowing along its doorstep. From the photographs, the land, vineyards and cellars looked very impressive. They produced award-winning white and red wines, notably Chenin and Sauvignon Blancs, Chardonnays, Merlots and Pinot Noirs. Johan’s brother, Duante, and his sister, Mariette, were still in South Africa, helping to run the business.

Jessica then read a recent gossip piece about Johan and Michelle. They had first met in a hospitality suite at Twickenham in 2015 when Johan was visiting the UK for the Rugby World Cup. Johan described it as love at first sight, and before returning to South Africa, he and Michelle went on a couple of dates. They kept in touch regularly by phone, and over the next two years, Michelle visited him in South Africa, and Johan came to London to spend time with her. Johan had wanted Michelle to move to South Africa. At the time, she had just been invited to join a prestigious chamber in London and had aspirations to become one of the youngest women to make silk and become Queen’s Council, which she eventually did. Johan was desperate to be with Michelle and approached his father about openingan import and internet wine business in London, to which he agreed. Johan moved to London to be with Michelle and set up a business supplying wine to top restaurants in London and the home counties. He described London as one of the harshest cities in the world in which to survive, both personally and professionally, but with Michelle by his side to support and encourage him, he knew he would succeed in his new business venture. The article said they married at the family vineyard five years later, with Michelle’s family and friends flying in for the wedding.

Jessica made a PDF copy of the article, printed it and gave it to Guy to read. ‘Found anything interesting?’ she asked him as he scan-read the article.

‘Just a few interviews with him about his love of South African wines . . . and Michelle. He’s clearly besotted with her. From what I’ve read, it looks like his business is thriving. Your report stated that Michelle thought he kept cash from business deals in his safe. It might be worth looking at his business bank accounts to give us an idea of his cash flow and how much might have been stolen,’ Guy suggested.

‘We’d need Anderson’s approval and a court order to examine his accounts. I think we best hold on that for now.’

‘There might be another way to get his business accounts and cash flow details,’ Guy said. ‘Under the Overseas Companies Regulations 2009, any overseas company with a place of business in the UK must register with Companies House. De Klerk would also need a licence to sell alcohol and would have to pay import duties.’

‘You’re certainly a fount of knowledge,’ Jessica smiled.

‘Companies House stores details of statutory and annual accounts‚ confirmation statements and change of address notifications, and it’s all in the public domain, which means anyone can look at it.’

‘How do you know all this?’

‘I did a lot of work on the Counter Terrorism Command looking at fake companies set up by terrorists to launder money and fund their activities.’

‘Well, I’ll leave you to it,’ Jessica said as her phone rang. She recognised DI Chapman’s number.

‘You busy?’ Chapman asked.

‘We’re always busy. What can I do for you?’