Page 76 of The Scene of the Crime

‘Force of habit,’ he said, giving her a mock salute. He turned to Jessica. ‘A detective on DCI Anderson’s team called to say a fingerprint scan confirmed that the arrested man was William Palmer, also known as Liam. I gave Taff and Diane all the details to compare Palmer’s fingerprints and DNA against thoserecovered from items seized at the De Klerks’ house and the flat. Also, five hundred pounds was found in Palmer’s wallet, which is now with Taff for fingerprinting.’

‘OK, thanks, Guy,’ she said.

‘I can tell you that Palmer’s lengthy criminal record started when he was thirteen with petty theft and progressed to burglary and handling stolen goods. He was . . .’

‘Thanks, Guy,’ Jessica interrupted, ‘but DI Chapman has already told me about Palmer’s criminal record.’ She noticed how Williams looked at her as Guy spoke about Palmer.

Guy held up a phone. ‘This is De Klerk’s mobile. Unfortunately, the only prints and DNA on it were his own. Would you like me to download and examine the data for recent calls, texts and messages?’

Jessica looked at Williams. ‘I raised examining the phone with DI Chapman before Palmer’s arrest. He authorised it on the grounds the data may assist the investigation and lead to reasonable lines of enquiry . . .’

‘But you’re worried, now that Palmer’s been arrested, the legality of doing that has changed,’ Williams said.

Jessica nodded. ‘I’m not very au fait with the legal side of digital examinations.’

‘I think I have a solution,’ Williams said. ‘Palmer’s due to be interviewed this afternoon, so I would advise waiting until that’s done. If he denies everything or goes “no comment”, I’d say there are reasonable grounds to examine the phone for any possible connection between them.’

Jessica realised Williams must have spoken to Chapman or Anderson about Palmer’s arrest. She removed an exhibit bag containing the phone from her handbag, handed it to Guy and told him it was in Palmer’s possession when he was arrested. She asked him to check who the registered owner was and access the data on it, working backwards from midday to two days beforethe crime occurred. Guy said Taff had told him about the phone found in the cistern at Palmer’s flat, and if he’d finished with it, he’d start working on that as well and compile a list of the same numbers that had been called or sent messages on both phones.

‘That would be great. Thank you, Guy.’ Jessica walked towards her office with Williams.

‘Sorry. One other thing,’ Guy said. She stopped and turned. ‘I looked up Springbok Wines Limited on Companies House. The company was in credit, with assets of just over one point five million pounds in the last financial year, which suggests there could have been a large amount of cash in the safe. That’s it. I’ll go and see Taff and Diane in the lab.’

‘How are you coping since Palmer’s arrest?’ Williams asked as they entered Jessica’s office.

Jessica sighed, ‘Chapman told you, didn’t he?

‘Yes, but not right away . . .’

‘He knew full well I wanted to tell you. He’s betrayed my trust,’ Jessica interrupted, deeply upset.

‘It was Anderson that called me first.’

‘Chapman said he’d tell him after Palmer was interviewed. How could he do this to me!’

‘Please, just sit down and listen to me, Jess,’ Williams said softly but firmly, then sat on the sofa and tapped the cushion for Jessica to sit next to her before continuing. ‘Anderson was aware of Palmer’s criminal record and noted his arrest by Mike Chapman ten years ago for an attempted rape while he was on probation. He was understandably curious and looked up the original crime report. The victim’s name was redacted, but her profession wasn’t. He remembered what you said in your MSCAN interview about being sexually assaulted and contacted me.’

‘He was worried I’d screw up his investigation, was he?’ Jessica said.

‘No, he was worried about your welfare and how knowing about Palmer’s identity might affect you. He saw your car in the yard at Barking and guessed you were with Mike Chapman, but he didn’t want to stick his nose in for fear of upsetting you. He called me because he thought it might be better if I spoke to you, woman to woman, so to speak.’

‘Does Anderson want me off the investigation?’

‘He never raised it as an issue, but Chapman told me you did.’

‘What else did he tell you?’

‘That you saw a conflict of interest because of your connection to Palmer and thought you should step away from the investigation.’

‘I don’t have much choice.’

‘Chapman, like Anderson, is concerned for your well-being, but neither of them wants you off the investigation. However, we all realise that you may not wish to continue under such stressful circumstances. But the choice is yours.’

‘I won’t deny Palmer’s arrest came as a shock, but none of you need worry as I know I can cope.’

‘Are you sure? Because his arrest has clearly upset you.’

‘Honestly, ma’am. I’ll be fine.’