STRANGE BODIES (a gripping crime thriller)

by Antonia Marlowe

  ‘Anything you can tell me yet, Dr Norris?’

  ‘Well, Commander, I’ll need to confirm but I’m detecting prints of someone wearing high heeled shoes. A bit hard to see but the scope picked them up. I’ll put this up and you can see the pattern.’

  He flicked the images up on a patch of bare wall and a seemingly jumbled pattern of footprints appeared, superimposed on the white floor tiles of the bathroom.

  ‘This technique assigns different colours to the different sizes and age of prints and I’ve worked out by elimination which ones belong to whom and the timeline. Now on the bottom, the oldest ones, we have high heeled shoes in red; there is also a bare footprint in tan that seems to be on the same timeline. Next we have some identical boot prints, police issue but different sizes, looks like a twelve and a fourteen so men’s. Those are blue. My best guess is they correspond to the sergeant and the officer with him. Over that we have smooth prints—I’d say they belong to the orderlies from the morgue; they wear those disposable overshoes or booties. They’re the green ones.

  ‘Now we go to holo … we separate the layers and look at it all in a three dimensional display. If you look at the bottom layer it doesn’t make much sense as an accident. See, there’s only one bare footprint, but there are a number of the high heeled ones. This is only a wild guess, Commander, but I’d say our high heel wearer is a tall woman, judging from the shoe size. Now the floor was cleaned earlier that day—talk to Jameson about that, he checked the cleaning robot’s memory and there’s a faint residue of the stuff that was used. That’s how we got these prints so clearly.’

  ‘So what are you telling me? Does this confirm the man was murdered?’

  Norris blinked a few times, pushed his glasses back up his nose, and looked at the Commander with a look of surprise. ‘Well, of course. There’s no way that man ended up half in the bath without having taken several steps to get there, not even if he tripped and fell. See the single bare footprint is just inside the door, just the ball of the foot and a toe.’

  ‘Let me guess. Levinsky was subdued, maybe sedated in the bedroom or hallway, stripped then carried into the bathroom by a tall, strong woman wearing high heeled shoes, or maybe a man dressed as a woman. Making sense so far?’

  ‘Yes. And good point, it could be a man. Then I’d say he or she rested him to get a better grip before taking him over to the bath. According to the photos taken at the time, there was no sign of violence on the body just a large bump on the head where you would expect to find it if he had indeed tripped and fallen. Look, I’ve got the copies here. Not the best quality but they weren’t treating it as a murder at that stage.’ He projected the pictures on to the wall.

  Adams looked at the footprints again then walked through the scenario himself. ‘Yes, I can see it now. She straddled him here at the side of the bath and hoisted him up, whacked his head here. He must have been really out of it, no sign of struggle. Drugged? Any sign of that? Then what? Bashed his head on the side of the bath—any trace evidence there?’

  ‘I’ve done some swabs and I’ll have a look at them in the lab. There was some tissue, some blood, but that’ll all be his. Maybe it was a bloke, y’know, a man in drag—have to be a pretty strong woman to carry him and do all this. Mind you he wasn’t exactly a giant.’ Norris squinted at his notes, tilting the screen for a better view. ‘According to Sergeant Mostyn’s estimate he was about 65 centimetres—that’s what he put, but what he meant was 165. So about 165 centimetres, weighing in at seventy-eight kilos.’

  DI Gold came to the door and said, ‘Sir, we’ve finished up here. Nothing in the bedrooms. Clothes still on a chair in the main bedroom, neatly folded. It looks as though someone did a search through the drawers and cupboards, maybe looking for valuables? Nothing in the other two bedrooms, just a bed in one, not even made up. Second smaller bathroom completely bare. The other bedroom was used for storage by the look of it, empty bar a few paintings leaning against the wall … that’s about it.’

  ‘Okay, we’ll pack it in for now. What is it—six-thirty? We’ll get back in the morning. Bathroom sealed, please.’

  He turned to Norris. ‘Can you contact the morgue, see what’s happened to the body? Ask Dr Rainbird for another autopsy, a very thorough one this time. I’ll send an authorisation through.’

  ‘Yes, good idea, Commander. He works fast so there might be some more results for you by tomorrow afternoon.’

  Adams had a quick look in the other rooms on that floor, made sure all the windows were locked then made his way down. The men had been joined by Fraser and DeLuca and had assembled in the hallway, ready to leave.

  ‘All secured?’

  A chorus of yesses, then Fraser said, ‘Should we keep the barriers up, sir.’

  ‘No, they can go now. I want two uniformed officers here at all times, one on the front door overnight. The other one can patrol front and back. Full floodlights on the back and front gardens, all internal alarms activated. Anything in the least suspicious I want to hear about it.

  ‘Thank you all for your excellent work this afternoon. Sergeant Fraser, set up a meeting in our conference room for ten, please, everyone there. I’ll be back here first thing in the morning and I’ll ring in if I need anything. Otherwise, we’ll meet at ten.’

  Chapter 27

  Adams knocked on the front door of the professor’s house and a few seconds later Oscar let him in.

  ‘Verity and I were looking at an old movie from the twenties, that’s the nineteen twenties. It’s not very good quality unfortunately, but she said she can enhance it for me.’

  They went into the untidy study where Verity was curled up in an old armchair. She looked at them both and smiled. ‘So, all finished next door? Can you tell us anything yet?’

  ‘I can tell you, Professor, your instincts were correct. We’ve established beyond a doubt that Solomon Levinsky, whatever his identity, is a murder victim. Killed by someone, a woman probably, wearing high heeled shoes.’

  Oscar sat down abruptly then gestured for Nicholas to take the other armchair.

  ‘You mean that prostitute killed him? Oscar told me he’s been seeing them for a year at least. So why would one of them kill him now?’ Verity asked.

  ‘I doubt she did, the real one, I mean. There was another death … a young woman was found in an alley the day after Levinsky died. She had no ID and she’d been beaten badly. I think she may have been the one who was supposed to visit Levinsky, probably ambushed on her way there and someone else took her place. I suspected something like this and I asked Greene to get someone to check for any young woman killed around that time.’

  ‘Was it really a woman, do you think? Or a man dressed up?’ asked Verity.

  ‘Well, the glimpse I had definitely looked like a tallish woman. I only saw her for a couple of seconds but she had a very womanly shape,’ said the professor. ‘I heard her speak and it did sound like a woman’s voice.’

  Nicholas said, a little wearily, ‘I’ve set the wheels in motion. I checked out that angel name you mentioned, Professor. There is a private club called Blue Angels that arranges outcalls to its members—Mr Levinsky was a member. DI Jacobsen knows the place and had a word with the owner who was surprisingly co-operative, he said. One of their young ladies, Sienna Starr she called herself, a dancer and occasional, er, escort, hasn’t been seen since last Wednesday, the night she was due to visit our late friend. This corresponds with the ID of the unfortunate woman in the morgue. We’ve asked for the ME, Dr Rainbird, to do the post-mortem.’

  At Verity’s questioning look, he said, ‘He also did the Richardsons.’

  The professor looked unhappy. ‘I can’t believe this all happened next door. I’m not stupid enough to think I could have done anything to prevent it.’

  ‘I know. One does wonder—it’s only human. In my job I always wonder if there is anything we can do to make a difference, or are we just holding back the tide.’

  And now, Verity, time to go ho
me,’ he continued, ‘we can get your car if you like … the hordes have gone. Or I can bring you back here in the morning for you to pick it up as I’ll be heading here anyway. I think that might be best.’

  On an impulse Verity hugged the old man. ‘Thanks for the old movie, Oscar … I see what you mean about Louise Brooks now. I’ve transferred it to my comp and I’ll see what I can do with it. Goodnight.’

  ‘Goodnight, Professor Morgenstein,’ said Adams, shaking hands. ‘You’ve done your friend a great service by insisting he was murdered. He may get some sort of justice when we catch the killer.’

  Chapter 28

  As Nicholas pulled up outside Verity’s house he said. ‘I think we need to talk about a few things. Will you invite me in, Verity?’

  ‘Yes, of course. And I’m starving. I’ll see what I’ve got in the fridge.’

  He looked at her in amazement. ‘So am I actually. Do you cook?’

  ‘Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? What do you do about meals?’

  ‘I have some at work and sometimes I get a take-away on the way home or there’s an excellent restaurant in the foyer of my apartment building. And I’ve got a lot of stuff in my freezer I can zap.’

  She shook her head. ‘That’s awful. Didn’t you ever cook in England?’

  ‘No, very few people did as there wasn’t much to cook, food and power usage being strictly rationed. So mostly we just had the pre-packed meals sold by local councils that took about two minutes to heat up. No red meat, some chicken, a lot of synthesized food, stuff you didn’t ask about. No cattle, sheep, pigs or goats left in Britain since the first major food riots. Fruit once a week, twice for children. And everyone had vitamin shots along with the usual anti-everything else shots.’

  At her horrified expression, he shrugged and said, ‘You get used to it. Actually it was one of the more powerful incentives to come here. I had no trouble finding officers willing to come with me. One of my team said he dreamed of real eggs for weeks before he came here. He’d had them once in the USA when he went over for a seminar.’

  ‘Well, if you are coming in you might as well park in my garage … it’s in the next street. Better let me drive … it’s tricky.’

  They got out of the car and changed places.

  ‘I’ll have to authorise you.’ He input a few commands then asked her for her ID number. ‘Right, now you can drive this car. As this is an official police vehicle civilians aren’t usually allowed access but I’ve input an emergency code which overrides that, so it’s all yours.’

  She gave him an amused look. ‘Do you think this is an emergency? I mean, we’re only hungry, not starving to death!’

  Before they moved Verity sent a command to the house security system and they watched as the lights of the house and garden blazed into life. They drove around the corner and Verity used her remote again, this time to open the heavy metal garage door.

  ‘Stay there for a minute,’ she said as she got out and crossed to a panel on the wall and tapped it with her remote wand to open it. She was in front of the panel now and so he couldn’t see what she was doing, but he heard a faint rumbling which seemed to come from under the garage. She got back into the car and placed a small flat black disc on the console between the two front seats. ‘My security system will recognise your car now. Don’t leave the disc here though … you’ll have to find a place to conceal it. Under a carpet will do.’

  She pressed a button on her remote and the floor slowly lowered. ‘I’m going to park in the underground garage. My car is still at the office so there’s room.’

  Nicholas was astonished. ‘You are full of surprises today. I never imagined there was space under your courtyard.’

  The platform stopped and they got out, Nicholas still looking around in wonder. He could see one side of the lap pool over to his right, several other vehicles to the left under what, he calculated, would be Adelaide’s courtyard, and some complicated looking pipes, probably part of the complex recycling system. There were other things that he couldn’t make out in the gloom at the sides as only a passage directly in front of them was brightly lit. He took a bag from the car and said, ‘What else is down here?’

  ‘Oh, a lot of odds and ends, the obsolete electronic stuff I keep.’ She pointed to the left. ‘Marcus leaves a couple of vehicles down there, the big ATVs that he uses on longer trips. There’s a small shooting gallery with holo simulations, storage lockers, old furniture, I’m not sure exactly what’s here.’ At his questioning look, she said, ‘All the weapons in the gallery are registered and locked up tight. Do you still shoot?’

  ‘You mean, since the Peacekeepers incident … this?’ pointing to his forehead. ‘All young men know they’ll live forever so it didn’t really bother me at the time. Yes, police are required to keep their weapons skills up to date, and that includes me, of course. We go to the forces range down at Botany Bay once a fortnight. I usually carry a needle gun rather than the pistol or laser gun. Non-lethal but the treated needles stop them cold. Do you …?’

  ‘Yes, I used to shoot in competitions in the States, but not here. I use the range here occasionally and I have a couple of hand guns in the house and a permit to carry. Come on, we’ll use the secret passage ... that’s what Lucy calls it. This lift comes up at the side of the living room.’

  Seconds later a panel slid aside and they stepped out into a space behind the L-shaped couch. ‘Have a seat while I check a few things.’

  Then her head came up like a tiger scenting prey. ‘Someone’s been here. No, not in the house. Outside.’ She walked to a panel on the wall and placed her hand on it. ‘Time to wake up, Jeannie. I’m home.’

  ‘Well, it’s about time. I was starting to get worried. It’s a good ten minutes since all the lights went on,’ said a throaty female voice.

  ‘Okay, Jeannie, I’m here now so settle down. I want you to meet a friend of mine.’ She beckoned Nicholas to come over to where she was standing and gestured for him to place his hand on the panel where hers had been. ‘This is Commander Nicholas Adams. He is going to be here for a while. Level two clearance, please.’

  ‘Well, hello, handsome. I think we’ve met before. Why, yes, you were here with Jet. I had a bit of fun with him’. A tinkling laugh issued.

  Nicholas raised his eyebrows. ‘I am only guessing here,’ he said to Verity, ‘but would I be correct in saying this …’ his gesture seemed to take in the whole house, ‘that this is the result of the AI project you mentioned. And where did you get that voice!’

  She blushed a little. ‘It’s actually my own voice. I just Voca-shopped it. Now, I need to check a few things. Jeannie, has anyone been here today, any unauthorised person?’

  ‘No one has been inside the house, Verity. You need to speak to Toby, he mentioned something.’ The voice trailed off.

  ‘Don’t play games with me, Jeannie, or I’ll put you back in your lamp for a week. Now, I’ll want steak for two and the usual trimmings, salad, rolls. Please arrange that. Hand over to Toby, since he seems to be the one who knows what’s what here.’

  A pleasant male voice said formally, ‘I apologise for my colleague. Her sense of humour can sometimes border on the ridiculous. You asked about an intruder, Dr Burne. A person attempted to break in at the back by coming over the wall. I gave him a jolt, but he was very determined and proceeded to carry out his mission, which will become obvious. I assume you will want to see the vid—screen two, north-east wall.’

  One of the large abstracts cleared and an image of the courtyard appeared. Nothing happened for a few seconds then a leg appeared at the top of the wall, then the rest of the figure. It seemed to be a male though it was hard to tell—it was overdressed for the hot weather with gloves, a light hooded jacket and a scarf pulled up over the nose, mouth and chin. It must have been hellish inside that lot. He suddenly jerked and they heard a cry as he fell off the wall, unfortunately into the garden, not into the narrow lane.

  ‘A small error. I should hav
e jolted him before he got to the top.’

  The intruder sat on the ground for a few minutes recovering then stood up, swung a pack from his back and opened it. He seemed to be taking great care with a small metal cylinder.

  ‘That’s a bomb,’ said Toby. ‘I had already ascertained what he was carrying and neutralised it. He also had an e-jammer in the bag—I took care of that too. Please keep watching.’

  The man walked over to the glass wall of the greenhouse holding his bomb carefully.

  Verity joined a speechless Nicholas on the couch. She smiled happily. ‘I’m starting to enjoy this.’ She wriggled back and curled up, getting more comfortable against the cushions.

  The intruder placed the bomb hard up against the door of the greenhouse, peered closely at something on the top of it, appeared to turn a dial, then stood up to leave. Before he could take two steps there was a loud bang and he was showered with grey sticky stuff. He yelped and tried to scrape it off, looking back fearfully at the bomb. His head was still partly obscured by the hood but the mask had slipped revealing a gape of amazement and horror. The bomb was gone—in its place was a small puddle of grey goo and a few fragments of metal. It took him about two seconds to get back over the wall, leaving behind the back pack.

  Both Verity and Nick smiled at the obvious discomfiture of the intruder.

  ‘I requested the robots to preserve the residue of the bomb and the pack left by our uninvited guest. They removed them to your storage area.’

  Verity said, ‘Thank you, Toby, an excellent job, as always. Please tell Jeannie we will eat in about five minutes. Goodnight, Toby.’ She sensed Nicholas was looking hard at her, so she turned to him, looking a little defiant.

  ‘Storage area?’

  ‘I’m still starving … let’s go and see what Jeannie has dug up for us.’ He noted her cheeks had become pink again. As he had now begun to realise, she blushed when embarrassed or prevaricating.

  ‘Storage area, Verity? Where are the remnants? I need to get them to our lab.’