by Ellis, Tim
‘I knew there was a reason I hired you. I might give you a little bonus on top of what I pay you.’
‘You don’t pay me.’
‘You’ll appreciate the bonus I have in mind a lot more then.’
‘Speak to you tomorrow.’
‘They’re letting me go on Friday.’
‘That’s good news, isn’t it?’
‘Is it?’
Chapter Fourteen
‘Ladies and gentlemen . . .’ he began.
The press briefing room was like a train carriage during the rush hour – standing room only please, and would you mind keeping your hands to yourself, Sir.
He cast a curious eye over the eager faces as a semblance of order descended on the room. What was he going to tell them? Richards was right – apart from a second body, they had nothing. He certainly wasn’t going to mention the clues, the cling film or the necrophilia.
A hand holding a pen, which belonged to a woman of indeterminate age and a strange dress sense, went up. ‘Clare Tindle from the Redbridge Camera. Do you know who the second victim is yet, Inspector?’
Maybe that was the answer. Maybe he should simply have a question and answer session, and leave it like that. If you had nothing to say, the best thing was to say nothing. He held up his own hand for quiet as the decibel level began to increase.
‘The body of a young woman was discovered in Hoddesdon Cemetery this afternoon, and no – we have no idea who she might be at the moment.’
‘Mark Horton from the Mission Daily. Do you have pictures of the woman that you can release to the press?’
‘I’m afraid not – she’s been buried for at least two months. If and when we are able to identify the woman a photograph will, of course, be made available.’
‘Steve Bamping from NBC Europe. I don’t suppose I’m the only one Inspector, but I’m slightly confused about what led you to the second victim?’
Maybe letting them ask questions wasn’t such a good idea, after all. Some of these reporters had learned that two and two didn’t necessarily equal four. What had led them to Hoddesdon Cemetery? Should he tell them that the police were participants in a body hunt? What he didn’t want was a copycat killer making an appearance. ‘I’m unable to tell you that Mr Bamping, you’ll have to remain confused. I’m afraid that some details relating to the case cannot be made available to the press just yet.’
‘Raffi Wilson from the Identity Channel. Do you have any suspects yet?’
Obfuscation seemed appropriate. ‘We’re pursuing a number of promising lines of enquiry.’
‘Is that a “yes” or a “no”?’ It wasn’t Raffi Wilson who asked this. He scanned the faces and saw fish eyes grinning up at him like a carp swimming round the bait. Was he a member of the press? Was he a professional heckler?
‘We have no suspects yet.’
‘Gerry Greene from Scene One. What about the car that Jade Williams was found in?’
‘We think it was stolen by the killer. The owner is not a suspect.’
‘Myriam Berger from the Estuary Telegraph. Have you not found any forensic evidence to identify a suspect?’
‘We’re still awaiting the post mortem reports for both Jade Williams and the second victim. Unfortunately, forensic analysis of both a crime scene and a body takes time. Also, particularly with the second body in Hoddesdon Cemetery, the weather conditions over the past month have made it very unlikely that any forensic evidence will be discovered.’
‘A simple “yes” or “no” would suffice, Inspector,’ fish eyes piped up again.
‘No.’
‘Becky McKeever from U>Direct. Do you have a motive yet? Is he doing anything to the women? Is it sexual?’
Did a psychopath need a motive? First, the women were young and attractive – were those important considerations to a necrophiliac? Secondly, if – as Richards had suggested – he was the master of the body hunt, then he needed bodies upon which to carve his clues. Without bodies – nobody would play his game.
‘If I’m not mistaken Ms McKeever, that was three questions you were fraudulently trying to pass off as one. No, we have no motive yet. I decline to answer the other two questions.’
‘One question at a time please,’ fish eyes called out. He seemed to be moving about the room, popping up in different locations. Maybe he was a schizophrenic who had stopped taking his medication.
Another hand – belonging to an attractive young woman with freckles and glasses perched on the end of her nose. ‘Suzanne Carey from the Hoddesdon Sentinel. Are you sure that the second victim was killed by the same person who killed Jade Williams?’
‘Yes.’
‘That means he’s done something similar to both women, doesn’t it?’
He’d fallen into her trap. ‘Yes, Ms Carey. The throats of both women have been cut in a similar manner.’ Phew, that was a close call. He’d forgotten about the throats being cut. He thought for a moment that he might have to reveal something else.
He stood up. ‘Thank you all for coming along. It’s early days yet, but I might have more information to give you tomorrow afternoon.’
They were still throwing questions at him like barbed spears as he left the room and made his way along the corridor towards the stairs.
Richards wasn’t in the squad room. He looked in the incident room, but she wasn’t there either.
There was a strange ethereal mumbling slithering along the corridor. He followed the sound, which grew louder as he approached the Chief’s office.
Carrie shrugged and shook her head when he entered her office.
Richards was kneeling on the floor talking through the tiny gap at the bottom of the Chief’s door.
‘Please, Sir. Just let me in. I might be able to help. I’ve read up on the Red Spider murders and I have a few ideas . . .’
‘Richards!’ he barked.
She jumped up.
‘What are you doing grubbing about on the floor?’
‘I dropped something.’
‘Really? And what might that be? Maybe I can help you to look for it.’ He turned to Carrie. ’Do you know what Constable Richards dropped outside the Chief’s door, Carrie?’
‘I’m sure I have no idea.’
He turned back to Richards. ‘Well, what did you drop besides your self-respect?’
‘I was just . . .’
‘I know what you were just . . . And the Chief has made it quite clear that he doesn’t want your help with his Red Spider case.’
‘He had a box . . .’
‘Which is not your box.’
She licked her lips. ‘If I could just . . .’
He took her by the elbow. ‘The Chief has had to lock himself in his office because of you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You can’t be involved in, or solve every case that comes into the station. We have our own case to solve, which needs our one hundred percent undivided attention. Now, come along with me to the incident room, and let’s see if we can’t shed some light on what little evidence we have left.’
‘Okay.’ Her voice was barely audible.
‘Say sorry to the Chief.’
‘Sorry, Chief.’
‘Say sorry to Carrie.’
‘Do I have to?’
‘You know the answer to that.’
‘Sorry, Carrie.’
They went to the incident room, but they didn’t stay there very long. Under the “Suspects” heading, Richards removed Jade Williams’ family, her boyfriend, the car-owner Michael Fishlock and Brent Poelman the pervert, which left them with an empty space that Richards filled with a question mark. Under the heading “Clues”, she put a line through the first clue – the postcode – because it was no longer of any use, and added the second clue “NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK”, which was also useless because they didn’t know what it meant. Under the “Victims” heading they had Jade Williams’ details, and Richards added JANE DOE . . .’
‘Jane Doe?’ Parish asked. ‘Isn’t she American?
‘I think it’s better than AN OTHER.’
‘So, you’ve made a unilateral decision based on your vast experience of watching the Crime Channel?’
‘Consultation seemed unnecessarily complicated.’
‘I see. Carry on then.’
She wrote that the woman was aged between sixteen and twenty and had mousy brown/black hair.
With a Y-shaped line she brought the two victims together under the heading of “Similarities”, and wrote down cling film wrapping, throat cut, carved messages on the abdomen.
‘We have nothing do we, Sir?’
‘Nothing is such an empty word, Richards.’
‘It might give me some ideas if I could just . . .’
‘No.’
***
‘Anything important?’ he asked Carrie as he passed her desk carrying the box that had once belonged to Tom Elder.
‘Nothing that can’t wait. There’s a couple of things on your desk that need a signature, but I’m exceeding my pay level by dealing with some of the easy stuff, and don’t sack me if I get it wrong.’
‘I won’t sack you, but a pay rise might be within reach.’
‘My daughter and I would be very grateful.’
‘I’m incommunicado for the rest of the afternoon,’ he said, walking into his office. ‘And that includes Parish and Richards.’ He locked the door, made himself a coffee and sat down at his desk.
What information did Tom Elder have that the police didn’t? Did he have anything that would connect the disparate pieces of the jigsaw together? More than anything else he wanted to dive into the box in his search for answers to those and other questions, but he restrained himself because there were other things he needed to do first.
He logged onto the system and checked his emails. The two he was waiting for were there. He opened Sandy Paine’s email first:
Hi Kowalski,
Thanks for the Indian takeaway – very nice. We must do it again sometime.
As for the PM reports of the six women from the Red Spider case, you’ll understand that real bodies would have been preferable to pieces of paper.
However, as it turns out, there was something wrong with the reports themselves. I apologise if I’m teaching you how to suck eggs, but let me describe what each pages contains – the reason for this will become clear during my final analysis at the end of my email:
The first page of a Post Mortem report provides details of the post mortem such as the report and reference numbers, date/time of the start/finish of the PM.
Page 2 details general observations about the body such as: name; address; height; weight; physique; post mortem changes: (extent of rigor mortis, post mortem lividity and putrefaction signs, stained blood vessels, greenish discolouration, odour, softening of the eyeballs, exudation from nose or mouth, ova or flies, moving maggots, blebs over body, peeling of cuticle, loosening of hair, thorax and abdomen burst, separation of sutures of skull, eye changes, adipocere – the change of body fat into a wax-like substance – and mummification); external appearance (condition of limbs, eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, anus, vagina and urethra); and any injuries.
Page 3 begins a more detailed examination of the body and starts at the head and neck: (skull, brain, meninges, cerebral vessels; orbital, nasal and oral cavities; mouth and tongue; neck, larynx, thyroid and other neck structures); chest/thorax: (ribs and chest wall, diaphragm, oesophagus, trachea and bronchi, pleural cavities, heart and pericardial sac, and large blood vessels); abdomen (abdominal wall, peritoneal cavity, stomach and content, small intestine, large intestine – vermiform appendix, mesentery and pancreas – liver, gall bladder, biliary passages, spleen; kidney, renal pelvis, ureters, pelvic wall; urinary bladder and urethra; and genital organs.
Page 4 describes any examination of the spinal column and cord if it is required; any additional remarks; any specimens collected for toxicological analysis (stomach with contents, small intestine and contents, sample of liver, kidneys, spleen, blood, or any other viscera); and any items handed over to the police (PM report, inquest papers, clothes and other articles).
The last page details the time since death, the cause of death, and the pathologist’s signature.
What’s wrong with each report is that Page 4 is not the original page – the writing is a close facsimile in each case, but not the same as the writing on the other pages. Someone has spent a long time copying the original Page 4 of each report, and has either added something or missed something out.
Here’s my analysis of what that might be: First, the spinal column/cord was not examined in any of the post mortems. Therefore, whatever the reason for the pages being replaced must be to do with the additional remarks, the specimens that were taken for toxicological analysis, or the items that were handed over to the police.
If there were additional remarks I have no idea what they could have been, so I’ll deal with the specimens that were taken for toxicological analysis first:
I was surprised that no specimen was taken of the stomach and its contents, but due to the circumstances under which the women died it doesn’t overly concern me.
A specimen of liver tissue was collected from the right lobe to reduce contamination from bile and redistribution artefacts from the stomach contents.
Blood was taken from the femoral vessels to minimise the effects of post mortem redistribution An additional sample of blood was put into a separate tube containing 2 percent of sodium fluoride, which was to inhibit bacterial production of analytes such as alcohol, GHB and cyanide, and to prevent degradation of labile drugs.
A sample of un-preserved urine and another preserved in two percent sodium fluoride was collected to confirm the blood results, and also to test for drugs and their metabolites, which are usually present in urine in much higher concentrations than in blood and are detectable for much longer periods following ingestion.
No specimens were taken from the brain, vitreous humour, adipose tissue, lung, kidneys, spleen, or large intestine.
You didn’t provide me with the results from the toxicological analysis of the specimens taken at each post mortem, so I suggest you cross-reference those results with the specimens taken to make sure they match. However, I find it hard to believe that this section of the report would have been altered, because it would have necessitated the removal of the results pertaining to whatever was added or deleted. It would also have required a high level of medical knowledge (see below).
Which only leaves the section relating to the clothes and articles handed to the police, which are listed at the end of each report. Again, I suggest you cross-reference each list with its matching crime scene report to ensure they match, but it seems likely that this is where a discrepancy – if there is one – might lie.
Lastly, due to the fact that the post mortems were completed at three different hospitals, and by four different pathologists, it would be nearly impossible for the Page 4’s to be forged by one member of the medical staff before the reports were handed to the police. Therefore, I can only surmise that it was someone connected to the police, which falls outside my remit.
I hope this helps.
Sandra Paine
BSc, MD (Bath), DipRCPath (Forensic), MBAFM, MFSS, MPS
Jesus! Is that the answer? Was the Red Spider a cop? A member of the task force? That would be a kick in the teeth for everyone. In fact, he’d have to bury it. Bloody hell!
He emailed Sandra back:
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for looking at the PM reports for me and your detailed analysis – I think!
I don’t need to remind you, but I will due to the sensitive nature of what you’re suggesting, that everything you’ve read and told me is confidential. Please don’t take offence.
I’ll call in and collect the reports tonight on the way up to see my wife.
Yours,
Ray Kowalski
There was a knock at the door.
‘Sir, it’s Constable Richards.�
�
‘Go away, Richards.’
‘Please let me in.’
‘What do you want?’
‘I’d just like to have a few words with you.’
‘About what?’
‘You know, this and that.’
‘Where’s Parish?’
‘He’s at the press briefing.’
‘Why aren’t you there?’
‘He didn’t need me. I thought I’d . . .’
‘What? You just want to get your hands on my Red Spider case.’
‘No . . . No, that was the last thing on my mind. Please, Sir.’
‘I’m not listening, Richards. Go away, I’m very busy.’
He knew exactly what she was after, and decided to ignore her. She would give up sooner or later.
The second email was from Di Heffernan, but all it said was for him to come up to forensics to see her. Well, he couldn’t do that with Richards outside his door just waiting for the opportunity to get inside his office and get her hands on his Red Spider.
He phoned Di.
‘Are you coming up, Sir?’
‘I can’t at the moment. Is there nothing you can tell me on the phone?’
‘And then when you eventually do come up here, I’ll have to repeat myself. It’s late now anyway, what about first thing in the morning – eight-thirty?’
