Wrongful Death

by Lynda La Plante

  ‘I don’t suppose it says make or type of keys?’

  ‘No. I’m sure there’s a photo in the case file of all the property laid out on a white sheet at the mortuary,’ Anna said as she went over to her desk to get the folder containing the photographs.

  ‘I don’t suppose there’s any recorded detail about the receipts? They might be helpful in tracing Reynolds’ last movements,’ Dewar suggested.

  ‘No. Freeman is bloody useless.’

  ‘Have we still got any of the exhibits you just mentioned?’ Jessie enquired.

  ‘Apart from the bloodstained clothing, everything was restored to Donna after the Coroner’s inquest,’ Anna commented as she spread the mortuary and scene photographs on the coffee table.

  Among them was the picture showing the contents of Josh’s trouser pockets, which she handed to Dewar. The agent looked at it closely and then picked up a close-up of the bed. She asked Anna to look at the exhibits list from the scene and see if any keys were recovered from the bed.

  ‘Yes, two keys on a fob,’ Anna said, as Dewar got a jeweller’s loupe from her handbag to scrutinize the closeup of the bed and then the keys recovered at the mortuary.

  ‘Probably Josh’s house keys – he may have thrown them on the bed with the mobile before opening the safe.’

  ‘Or they could be Donna’s. Remember, she went straight to the bedroom and unpacked when she got home,’ Dewar said.

  ‘Good point.’

  ‘The apartment door locks were one Chubb and one Yale and the keys on the fob recovered from his trouser pocket are a Chubb a Yale and what looks like a locker key. The keys on the bed are a different shape from those in Josh’s pocket at the mortuary,’ Dewar remarked.

  ‘They could be the keys for the Trojan,’ Anna suggested.

  ‘If they’re not, then what were they for? Donna’s statement and Paul Simms’ notes never make any mention of the origin of any of the recovered keys. Strange Donna never noticed them when she unpacked the washing.’

  Anna was impressed with Dewar’s powers of observation and told her so, commenting that it would be worth having the pictures of the keys enlarged to show to Williams and Donna. She checked her watch. ‘So, do you reckon we’re ready for the office meeting?’

  Jessie didn’t hesitate but stood up. ‘You bet your sweet ass we are. Let’s go for it.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  As there was still some time to spare before Langton was due to arrive, Anna decided to give the team a quick run-down on Lady Gloria Lynne. She emphasized that here was a powerful woman who got instant attention by merely lifting the phone and dialling the likes of chief constables and the Commissioner, so if the eyes of God were upon them then they needed to make sure that everything was done by the book and totally above board. As much as she didn’t like politics mixing with policing, it was a fact of life.

  As Langton entered the room, DC Ross was adding his contribution, that ‘poli’ in Latin meant ‘many’ and ‘tics’ were ‘bloodsucking creatures’. Anna didn’t object when everyone laughed loudly and Langton, having missed the joke, commented that he was glad to see the team in such good spirits. A few seconds later, the door opened and Mike Lewis walked in. Everyone looked round, not sure if the popular detective superintendent just happened to be accompanying Langton or if he was, in fact, to be his replacement.

  ‘Well, aren’t you going to welcome Mike Lewis, your new superintendent?’ Langton asked. The team, many of whom had worked with Mike Lewis on previous murder investigations, all smiled and gave an approving round of applause. Anna was pleased, but wondered if Langton was aware that Mike had signed off the Reynolds case as suicide, even as Mike gave her a warm smile, saying it was good to see her. Special Agent Dewar stepped forward to be introduced, and Anna watched as Mike smiled and said he looked forward to working with her. Mike then approached Barolli, shaking his hand firmly whilst patting him on the shoulder, and congratulated him on his promotion to DI. The strong bond of friendship between them was obvious to everyone in the room. It had been Mike, as DCI on the Henry Oates case, who had recommended Barolli for the Queen’s Gallantry Medal, and Langton had also approved and countersigned the recommendation, the result of which would not be known until August. Greetings over with, Mike stood with Langton by the large plasma screen and addressed the officers.

  ‘Good morning, it’s nice to see so many familiar faces. Some of you may know I already have a personal interest in the Reynolds case.’

  Members of the team looked at each other, wondering exactly what Mike Lewis meant.

  ‘I signed off DI Simms’ report as suicide. My decision at the time was based on what was put before me, and whether I was right, or wrong, will be borne out by this new investigation. If mistakes were made then we need to rectify them, so all I ask is that you carry out your duties with professionalism and integrity.’

  Anna, as ever, was impressed with Mike Lewis’s frankness and honesty. He had never been one to blame others for his mistakes. It was clear that Langton had fully briefed him on the current state of the investigation and had probably assigned him the case because of his ‘personal interest’.

  Anna asked Barbara to go over the timeline, calls and texts she had drawn up for Josh and Donna Reynolds, whereupon Barbara explained that she had compiled the timelines from statements and phone billing enquiries made during the initial investigation. She had where possible shown not only calls received but also those made. For ease of reference, and where appropriate, she said, she would refer to the two timelines together, starting from the morning of the 5 November 2012.

  Barbara read aloud: ‘November fifth, Donna left the flat in Bayswater at 7 a.m., where Josh was asleep in bed. Donna spent the morning at her mother’s where along with her sister Aisa, they were preparing for the Lynne charity ball at the Savoy. At noon, Donna drove to the Savoy and checked in with Aisa just before 1 p.m. to set up for the ball. Barbara continued, stating that Josh Reynolds usually left his flat between 11 and 11.30 a.m. on working days, which were Monday to Saturday. Two calls to the Trojan’s drinks suppliers were made from Josh’s mobile at 11.40 a.m. and 11.57 a.m. The suppliers confirmed these calls. A call was made from his office phone to food suppliers at 12.10 p.m, so this would fit with his usual arrival time of midday, as given by Marcus Williams.’

  Barbara went on: ‘1.10 p.m., Donna, as confirmed in her statement, rang Josh on his mobile to tell him that she would be staying the night at the Savoy and probably wouldn’t be home before he left for work on the sixth. This was the only call made from Donna’s mobile on the fifth and the next was on the sixth when she dialled 999. Between 3.30 and 4 p.m., Josh left the club and spoke briefly with Williams, stating he had to go out on business. Williams said Josh ‘seemed upset’. At 4.15 p.m., Josh phoned the Savoy Hotel on his mobile. It was not known whom he spoke to on the reception desk but it had been assumed that he rang for Donna. The call lasted thirty seconds. Josh also made another call to the Savoy at 4.30 p.m., lasting just short of a minute.’

  Mike Lewis asked if there were any other calls, texts or messages to Donna from Josh’s mobile. Barbara replied that there weren’t but that Josh also phoned the Savoy at 6.45 p.m., and the call lasted nearly two minutes, though again it was not known whom he spoke to. Jessie asked why the reception desk staff were never asked who the calls were put through to and Barbara said that they were but that incoming calls were not monitored so there was no way of knowing to which room or to whom the calls had been transferred. Anna recalled Donna saying in her original statement that she had her phone on silent when she was at the Savoy preparing in the afternoon and had left it in her room during the ball. Mike remarked that he thought it strange that Josh did not at least try and call Donna on her mobile or leave a voice message or send a text.

  Barbara continued that at 7.10 p.m. Josh phoned Marcus Williams and told him he was not coming back to work as he had a stomach upset and felt sick. From this point on there were no other
calls made from Josh’s mobile.

  Mike asked Anna what the pathologist’s report said about time of death.

  ‘Anywhere between four p.m. on the fifth to four a.m. on the sixth, but Reynolds was clearly alive at 7.10 p.m. as he phoned Williams,’ Anna said.

  ‘So an obvious question and one we need to find the answer to is where Reynolds was from when he was last physically seen alive by Williams to the time he was murdered in his flat,’ Mike observed.

  Barbara raised her hand and Mike nodded to her.

  ‘I considered that when I was doing the timelines. I contacted Josh’s mobile phone company this morning and asked for a cell site analysis on all his calls. It will take a day or two but should help to narrow down his movements through the call locations.’

  ‘Good work, Barbara,’ Mike said, and Joan now raised her hand.

  ‘I hope I’m not being rude, and I may be wrong, but there is something that appears to have been overlooked,’ she began nervously, as everyone turned to her as if to say, ‘This had better be good.’

  ‘Speak up, Joan, your input is always valued,’ Langton said reassuringly.

  ‘Cell site helps with movement and location but can also assist as to whether someone was on foot or in a car. I just wondered if we know whether or not Josh Reynolds owned a car?’

  Everyone looked at each other, realizing that it was something they had all overlooked.

  ‘That, Joan, is an excellent observation. Anyone have an answer?’ Mike asked, looking round the room.

  ‘There were no car keys recovered from his flat or personal possessions at the mortuary, however there was an Oyster travel card in his wallet,’ Anna said.

  ‘I’ll check with London Transport for an Oyster usage history,’ Joan offered.

  ‘We can also ask Marcus Williams, and there’s Curtis Bowman, the odd-job man at the Trojan. He said something about washing cars at the back of the club,’ Anna said.

  Mike moved on to ask about any CCTV and Barolli said that there was none found as of yet. Nothing at the Bayswater flat itself or the street outside, and nothing from the surrounding streets either.

  Barolli sucked at the end of his Biro. ‘We’re now so many months on since last November that most of the hard drive storage systems have been reused, so we’re not having much luck. We know the Savoy Hotel CCTV was seized and a copy taken by Tech Support but as yet it hasn’t been examined as Donna had a confirmed alibi from her mother and sister for her movements that night.’

  ‘But we don’t know if Josh went there on the fifth, do we?’ Langton said flatly and swallowed a yawn.

  ‘I will get on to it and make sure a twenty-four-hour period is fully viewed. I know a team joker who will be just the man for the job,’ Barolli said and Detective Dan Ross slid down his chair in mocking submission.

  There was a slight pause before Mike moved on to the intelligence files on Josh and Donna. Barolli told him that there wasn’t anything that stood out as such and that what little information they had obtained came from either Donna or Marcus Williams.

  ‘Any family on Josh’s side we can speak to?’ Mike asked.

  ‘His father John died in 2011 and his mother Esme in August 2012, and according to Donna’s original statement there is no other family in the UK but possibly some in Jamaica,’ Barolli replied.

  ‘So when his father died I assume that what he had was left to the wife Esme, and in turn when she died it all went to Josh then passed to Donna when he died. Any info on what Esme’s estate was worth?’

  ‘I don’t think that’s ever been looked into,’ Barolli said, somewhat embarrassed that he hadn’t considered it before.

  ‘I know you have all been very busy but let’s make it a priority,’ Mike suggested tactfully.

  ‘Might have to tread carefully there – Lady Lynne’s solicitors dealt with Josh’s last will and testament,’ Dewar informed Mike. He glanced towards her, as she had so far remained silent.

  ‘Yes, DCS Langton mentioned she has friends in high places and that’s the main reason I want this reinvestigation to be watertight.’

  ‘Joan has been doing some background work on Lady Lynne and her daughters for me, which I’m sure will be of interest to us all,’ Anna chimed in, and Mike asked Joan to tell everyone what she had discovered so far.

  Joan, always nervous when the ‘spotlight’ was turned on her, flushed and clasped her notebook as she said that there was very little about Lady Lynne’s personal life on the Internet and even less concerning her daughters Donna and Aisa. She added that it would seem Lady Lynne did not talk about her daughters in public, other than to say that they helped her in the running of the Lynne Foundation. Anna added that Gloria was clearly protective of her daughters and kept them out of the public eye due to her vast wealth and fear for their safety.

  Joan nodded her head in agreement and continued that she had found an old Country Life magazine in which Gloria had been interviewed, five years ago, after winning a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show for her Caribbean tropical garden. The article, Joan explained, gave an insight into Gloria’s background and her love of horticulture, her main interest being cultivating and improving the quality of her plants, along with their resistance to insects and diseases. Barbara, impatient as ever, whispered to Joan to get to the nitty-gritty. Joan paused, causing Anna to give Barbara a disapproving frown.

  ‘The article said Gloria’s father David Rediker was a Cambridge graduate in Botany, who in 1975 with his wife Mavis and ten-year-old daughter Gloria, went to work for the Jamaican Natural History Museum in Kingston. Both Gloria’s parents died of cancer before she was twenty and she then married Xavier Alleyne, a banana-plantation owner. Hurricane Gilbert destroyed the plantation in 1988, and Xavier died of a heart attack brought on by the collapse of his business. They had two children, Donna and Aisa. In 1992, Gloria returned to the UK with her daughters and, in her own words, faced adversity head-on and forged a life for herself and her daughters, by setting up a florist shop in Weybridge. In 1997, she met Lord Henry Lynne when he went to her shop to buy flowers and a year later they were married. Together they set up the Lynne Foundation, a charitable organization that is one of the biggest in the country with a total financial endowment in excess of a billion pounds. Lord Lynne, who was suffering from bowel cancer, died aged eighty-six while on holiday in Egypt with Lady Lynne.’

  ‘When was that, Joan?’ Anna asked.

  ‘2006.’

  ‘So Gloria must have been about thirty-three and Henry seventy-eight when they married,’ Anna remarked.

  ‘How gross,’ Barbara commented.

  ‘Each to their own, Barbara, we’re both getting on in life and still single,’ Joan replied.

  ‘Yes, but not everyone who gets close to me pops their clogs, do they!’

  Mike gave Barbara a cold look to shut her up. ‘There’s not much you can do once cancer has a strong hold. My wife and I were blessed that her chemotherapy treatment worked,’ he said, bringing to an end any further remarks about Gloria or Henry Lynne’s age. ‘Anything more you can tell us about Donna?’

  Joan shook her head and Mike asked Anna to go over the scene reconstruction and forensics.

  Anna took them through Dewar’s observations about the scene, then added that Pete Jenkins was working on the blood distribution and that the Enfield revolver might be a family heirloom. Mike pointed out that this was another reason to try to trace other remaining members of Josh’s family and that Marcus Williams should be asked about the gun.

  There was another pause, before Mike decided that he wanted Barolli and Agent Dewar to do the house-to-house in the morning and Anna to re-interview Williams at the Trojan and put some pressure on him. Joan looked dejected at this, and Barbara spoke up to say that DCI Travis had asked her and Joan to do the house-to-house. Mike was quick to point out that their overall knowledge of the case, from uploading the computer with everyone’s notes and information and the timelines, was very important and
he needed her and Joan in the office. He then asked DCS Langton if there was anything he’d like to add.

  Langton pulled at his loose tie knot, then straightened and tightened it before standing up to address the team.

  ‘If Josh Reynolds was murdered, then the Met as a whole has failed him and his family and serious questions will rightly be asked by the press and public. The top brass will be looking for scapegoats. Mistakes may have been made, however your job is not to cover up but to rectify any mistakes through a competent investigation, compiling the evidence and presenting it to the Crown Prosecution Service.’

  Langton then said that on that note he wished them all the best but now had to return to Scotland Yard for an urgent meeting on other matters. Anna could not rid herself of a growing suspicion that he was hiding something, and wondered if there was more behind his trip to the States than working at Quantico.

  An hour later, Mike Lewis, Barolli, Jessie and Anna gathered in Anna’s office. Mike told them that although it was clear Donna Reynolds had to be re-interviewed, they would have to choose the time and the place wisely.

  ‘Inviting Donna to attend the station to make a further statement would be the most formal route,’ Anna suggested.

  ‘Why not just arrest Donna on her way to work or at the Lynne Foundation office?’ Dewar asked.

  ‘Lady Lynne would arrange a top-notch solicitor who would request disclosure of the evidence against Donna. On what we have so far, he would probably laugh and advise Donna that she’s not obliged to make a further statement or answer any questions,’ Mike pointed out.

  ‘At the moment, Pete Jenkins’ results on the blood distribution are crucial to the investigation. If he concurs with Dewar that the scene was staged to look like suicide then we have evidence that Josh Reynolds was murdered,’ Anna said.

  ‘And Donna is the prime suspect,’ Dewar added.

  ‘That may be so,’ Mike said, ‘but the case against her is still weak. Clearly, her being at the Savoy all night means that if she was involved, she either hired or colluded with someone to kill Josh.’