Page 70 of The Scene of the Crime

‘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 tothe 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.

‘You won’t mind searching the bathroom then, Taff,’ Jessica said, smiling. ‘It shouldn’t take long, then you can help me in the main bedroom while Diane searches the smaller one.’

‘I don’t want you anywhere near me after you finish in that sewer,’ Diane grimaced.

Jessica went to the main bedroom and started her search with the wardrobe. There were three pairs of worn, tatty trainers in it and a pair on the bedroom floor, none of which were Adidas. Using an ultraviolet crime scene torch, she started checking all the dark clothing for any signs of blood.