Page 92 of The Scene of the Crime

‘I can meet you there if you like,’ Jessica said, eager to speak to him face-to-face.

‘It’s a bit of a dive, you know, the sort of place frequented by criminals. I could meet you at The Bull in Chislehurst around eight if that’s not too late.’

‘No, that’s fine. I fancy doing a bit of detective work.’

‘OK, do you want to come here first and we’ll go in my car?’

‘Sounds like a plan. I’ve got a report to finish, so I’ll be with you about six.’

* * *

Jessica had just finished her report and printed copies for Chapman and Anderson when Taff rang. ‘You were right about the cistern lid. Prints from the Sealskinz gloves and Palmer’s areon it. Luckily, whoever changed the lock left the old one in the kitchen. I’ll examine the interior components at the lab under a microscope and look for any fresh scratches or tool marks. If someone did fit Palmer up, they could have picked the lock to get in there.’

‘Good thinking, Taff. There’s no need to come back here. You can do it first thing in the morning.’

‘I’d rather get it done right away. I’ll head back now and let you know the result later.’

‘Thanks. I’m off to Barking to see Chapman and update him on our findings, so I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘I doubt he or Anderson will be very pleased.’

‘Well, all we can do is present them with the forensic evidence as we find it. What they do with it is up to them.’

When she arrived at Barking, Jessica called Chapman and said she was in the yard. She locked the car, then untied her hair and fluffed it out. ‘That suits you,’ he said when he saw her.

She smiled. ‘If you have curly red hair as a kid, you get teased a lot and learn to keep it tucked away. I feel more myself like this.’

‘So, what’s the latest on the forensic evidence?’ he asked as they got in his car and he pulled out of the yard.

She took her report from her briefcase. ‘I don’t think you’ll like it, but . . .’

‘You’re going to tell me anyway,’ he smiled. Jessica read from the report, covering everything she had discussed with her team earlier. She also told him about the prints on the toilet cistern and lock that Taff was going to examine.

Chapman frowned. ‘Anderson’s not going to like it. He’s convinced Palmer’s our man.’

‘Do you honestly think he could scale the De Klerks’ garden wall with his bad leg?’

‘He managed to run away with no problem when we went to arrest him.’

‘Going down a few flights of stairs is not the same as climbing over a twelve-foot wall.’

Chapman sighed. ‘All right, if it makes you feel better, I suppose he could have been stitched up.’

‘It’s not about making me feel better. It’s about finding out the truth!’ she said sharply.

‘Believe it or not, that’s what we were trying to do in the bloody interview!’ he replied.

‘If you’re worried about telling Anderson, I’m happy to do it,’ she said.

‘I’ll tell him tomorrow,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘But no doubt he’ll want to speak to you about it.’

‘Then let’s just do it together.’

‘He’ll want to know why you’re defending Palmer.’

‘I’m not defending him. I’m just doing my job, as are the rest of my team.’

‘But you do agree that Palmer is involved in some way?’ he said.