Kate addressed the room. ‘Right, everyone, can I have your attention for a moment, please? Just quickly, where are we with Eleanor’s address?’
DC Rogers passed her a scrap of paper and Kate jotted the address on the board. ‘Olly, how are you doing with finding CCTV footage for the area?’
‘I’ve just started calling local businesses but there’s nothing pointing at the pub yet. I’ll keep searching.’
‘Right, is there anything on the forensics?’
‘Still waiting to hear back,’ DS Santiago offered.
‘Chase them up for me, will you? We need an idea of what they found at the scene and whether there’s anything we can follow up on.’
He nodded and picked up the phone.
‘Okay, you know what we need. I’m not going to repeat myself. We’ll get together again this afternoon and see where we’re at. I’ll be taking DC Trotter to Eleanor’s address, but I’ll be on the mobile if you need me urgently. Have house-to-house enquiries started yet?’
‘Inspector Bentley has two units knocking on doors in the immediate area,’ Vicky replied.
‘Good. Can you follow up with them before our briefing so you can give us a summary?’
‘Will do.’
Kate left the Incident Room, and returned to her desk.
‘Any luck yet, Laura?’
She hung up the phone. ‘As a matter of fact, yes, ma’am. I just finished speaking to Gerry Irwin who is the Head of Chambers where Eleanor practised. He was really charming, actually. I explained that we were following up on an incident involving one of his staff, and that we’d like to meet with him as soon as possible. He said he’d be free from eleven, if that suits?’
Kate checked her watch. ‘Good, that gives us a couple of hours to get to Eleanor’s place and have a look around. We’ll need to check if SSD has finished processing her house keys. Can you head up there now? I need to speak to Underhill about something.’
Kate could see Underhill was deep in conversation with one of his team and she could just imagine how he’d react to her pronouncement that his unidentified victim was in fact a nurse. He’d probably question her credibility to begin with, and then demand to know how she knew. She’d thought about bringing the photograph in and producing a photocopy of it without the message on the back, but there were too many suspicious eyes around this place.
Laura stood. ‘I’ll meet you in the car park. Do you want me to drive again?’
‘What? No, I’ll drive. I’ll see you downstairs in a few minutes.’
Laura locked her workstation and headed out of the door.
Kate lingered, hoping to let Underhill’s team disperse a bit so she could catch him one on one. But it was too late. He’d caught her staring, and now he was striding towards her, grinning from ear to ear. ‘DI Matthews, good morning. How are you on this fine Friday?’
‘What do you want, Underhill?’
‘Just checking how you’re progressing with your case. You are keeping my hundred quid safe, right?’
‘I know who my victim is, which puts me light years ahead of you, so I’d say things are progressing well.’
His smile was replaced with a scowl. ‘Well, that shows what you know. We’re getting closer to finding out who she is. We’ve reached out to the Chinese Association of Southampton and they’ve agreed to work with us to identify her.’
‘Do you want to know what I think?’
‘Please, enlighten me with your wisdom,’ he said sarcastically.
Kate kept her tone light, hoping he wouldn’t see through her lie. ‘I reckon she came to the city to study and then stayed when she secured work. I reckon she probably studied at the main university, maybe in something like nursing, and got a job at the hospital.’
He grunted. ‘Based on what?’
‘Some of us detectives have a little something we call intuition. I read the post-mortem report; they found no dirt beneath her fingernails, so either the perp cleaned her up or she was particularly hygienic; the skin on her feet was rough and her leg muscles strong, suggesting she undertook a profession that required her to be on her feet for long periods; so far, nobody has reported her missing, which leads me to think there isn’t a partner or children wondering where she is, which lends itself to a profession requiring long hours.’
‘Blimey, you really do have an active imagination. It’s deduction like that which allows your chief suspects to walk free from court.’
‘Yeah? Want to bet on it? I’ll wager you a bottle of Moët that your vic is a nurse.’ She thrust out her hand.
He shook it without a second’s thought. ‘Okay, you’re on. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do here.’
She stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I see what’s going on. This is just some tactic to try and delay my investigation, to buy yourself more time to win our other bet. But that’s fine, if you want to throw your money away, who am I to argue? I’ll ask one of my DCs to speak with the administration team at the hospitals, and see what they find. I won’t hold my breath though.’
He winked and headed back down the office.
Kate breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He’d bought it, though she wasn’t sure for how long. If his DC did find the victim in the hospital’s database, Underhill would probably be too caught up in the excitement to think twice about the tip-off. Now she just had to hope she hadn’t made a mistake in playing her stalker’s game.
31
‘Go easy, ma’am,’ Laura gasped, as she gripped the Audi’s roof handle.
Kate continued to lurch between parked cars as she tore up the street. ‘We need to get there before they destroy the bloody scene.’
Laura’s trip up to the Science Services Department had been short-lived. She’d requested the keys to Eleanor Jacobs’s Winchester home, only to be told that an SSD unit had been at the site since seven, searching for forensic evidence.
Kate hadn’t reacted well to the news. ‘Who bloody gave them the order to do that?’
She hadn’t waited for a response, jumping into the Audi and flooring the accelerator, up the A33 and onto the motorway. They were now weaving from one residential street to another, trying to locate the property.
‘I wanted to see how she lived, with everything still in situ,’ she moaned. ‘It should have been my call as SIO to determine whether the place needed a formal search.’
Laura grimaced as Kate nearly clipped the wing of an approaching bus. ‘Let’s just get there in one piece, hey, ma’am?’
Ahead they could see half a dozen police vehicles double-parked, blocking the road.
‘That must be it. Get ready to show them your ID, and I’ll abandon the car as close as I can.’
Yellow diversion signs warned that the road ahead was closed to everyone except residents. Kate spotted a vacant space and pulled up on the kerb. ‘Let’s go.’
They jogged the short distance to the cordon tape and flashed their warrant cards at the PCSO standing guard. He asked them to sign in and then directed them to a small tent for them to change into overalls. Kate was sweating heavily as she peeled off her jacket and pulled on the polythene suit.
‘I’ll see you in there,’ she told Laura, who was still removing her suit from its transparent packet.
Eleanor Jacobs had lived in a Tudor-style three-bedroom semi-detached house. The bay window at the front was double-glazed, and the porch that led to the front door looked like a recent addition, but wasn’t out of character with the neighbouring properties. The house was several metres back from the road, and what had probably once been a front lawn was now paved all the way up to the garage. This was number fifty-one of seventy virtually identical properties on the road. Kate noticed a burglar alarm box affixed near the smaller set of upstairs bedroom windows.
‘It’s not real,’ she heard from over her shoulder.
She turned and saw a dark-haired man in one of the protective suits addressing her. She recognised his fa
ce as one of the SSD analysts, but she couldn’t place his name. ‘Who’s in charge here?’
‘It’ll probably be you now, but DI Riddick is inside if you need a word.’
She thanked him and stepped into the porch. She could see traces of black powder along the frame of the main door, and the hallway was blocked by three SOCOs on all fours. She did her best to climb over and around them, and headed left into the living room. A large corner sofa dominated the room, while two large bookcases took up the main back wall. She glanced at some of the titles but lost interest when she saw they related to jurisprudence, and tort law.
A large flat-screen TV hung between the bookcases opposite the sofa, and the bay window completed the room. There was nothing remarkable about it, but it was neat and tidy, and the carpet looked as though it had been recently hoovered, judging by the striations across the pile. She left the room, and proceeded to the adjacent dining room. It was a fraction smaller than the living room, with an oak table and six chairs at its core. Against the far wall was a sideboard, marked with more traces of black powder; two patio-style doors led out to the garden.
The next room along was the kitchen, with a further PVC door leading out into the garden. Kate stepped through it. There had to be thirty metres of lawn, lined one side by patio stones and the other by a vibrant and colourful flower bed. God knew where people found the time to tend a garden while balancing busy work schedules, Kate thought.
Six-feet fences separated the neighbouring gardens, which were just as long, and bordered by gardens of properties in the next road over.
Returning to the house, Kate found Laura in the kitchen. ‘Shall we go upstairs?’
Laura followed behind till they found Riddick in the main bedroom at the front of the property.
He was pointing an ultraviolet light at the bed sheets. ‘Semen,’ he declared when he saw them observing him. ‘You can see the discolouration there.’
Kate bent forward. ‘Recent?’
‘Well, we’re talking days rather than weeks.’ He planted a marker next to the stain so that it could be photographed before a sample was taken for analysis. ‘What can I do for you, ladies?’
‘I’d like to know who ordered you to come and declare this a secondary crime scene.’
His usual granite-coloured bushy beard was hidden behind a face mask. ‘Ah, didn’t you see my email?’
‘I wouldn’t be asking if I had.’
‘Yes, I see, well, when we were examining Ms Jacobs’s handbag, we found a set of car keys along with the house keys.’
‘And?’
‘And we have yet to find her car. It wasn’t at the primary crime scene, and it wasn’t parked on the street where she leaves it while at work. It’s missing.’
‘What car did she drive?’
‘A black Mercedes 4x4 according to the DVLA.’
Laura tentatively raised her hand. ‘Sorry, but why’s that so significant?’
Riddick rolled his eyes. ‘Do you want to tell her?’
Kate didn’t appreciate his manner, but faced Laura. ‘We’re trying to determine how she ended up at the pub, right? Well, we were working on the assumption that the killer brought her to the site, before killing her, but where did he collect her from? If he snatched her from work, her car would be in its usual space, but it isn’t. So—’
‘DI Riddick assumed it was at her home, which would suggest she was taken from here, creating a secondary site to check,’ Laura concluded. ‘I get it now.’
‘But the car isn’t here,’ Kate confirmed, turning back to Riddick, ‘which raises the question why you decided to come in and perform your checks anyway.’
‘Well…’ he began, ‘we were here with all our gear, so…’
‘You took a punt. I’m not angry that you’re here. I’m angry that I wasn’t consulted before you came barging in.’ She sighed. ‘There’s no point crying over spilt milk. Apart from the semen, have you found anything that might help find our killer or the missing car?’
He wiped his brow. ‘Not really. We found a personal laptop, which we’ll take in and check. There’s no sign of a work laptop, so it would be good to visit her offices.’
‘We’re due there next. I’ll ask them for it.’
‘Be sure to use gloves and bag it up properly,’ he added with a wink.
‘I know the procedure, thank you,’ she sighed, turning to leave.
‘Oh, there was one other thing we found. Probably not significant. I’ll show you.’ He left the room, and turned right, heading towards a smaller room at the rear of the property. He stood to one side, and ushered them in. ‘It’s just there on the desk.’
Kate pushed past him. The room was stacked with boxes, blocking out the window into the garden, but on a desk she saw various newspaper cuttings, spread haphazardly on the surface. She tilted her head to read one. ‘What are these?’
‘Best guess? She was planning to compile a scrapbook of her successes. I’ve only read three or four of the articles, but they all seem to relate to cases she worked on. At least, she or her firm are mentioned in each one.’
‘And this is how you found them? Left scattered like this?’
‘That’s right.’
Kate selected the article she’d been reading and lifted it into the air, running the tip of a gloved finger along the edge. ‘They were torn out, carelessly. Are they all different cases?’
‘Well, the couple I looked at were, but I can’t say for sure without checking them all. We’ll take them back and let you know.’
‘Will you be checking them for prints or DNA?’
‘Do you really think that’s necessary?’
Kate didn’t, but couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something not quite right about them. ‘I’d appreciate it if you did.’
‘Yes, very well, I’ll make a note of it. Is there anything else I can help you with? It would be nice to be out of here by the evening. I’ll share the results of the semen DNA as soon as we have them.’
‘Thanks.’ Kate nodded towards the door and Laura followed her out. ‘What’s wrong with this picture?’ she asked when they were back outside.
‘I don’t follow, ma’am.’
‘Look around. Based on what we’ve just seen, how would you describe Eleanor Jacobs?’
‘Rich?’
‘No. Think laterally. I tell you what, forget you know the victim lived here. Okay? Imagine we’re playing Through the Keyhole. Tell me what sort of person you’d expect to live here.’
Laura gave her a puzzled look. ‘Okay, let me see. It’s a decent size, in a pretty street in Winchester, so I’d say the owner is fairly well-off, or has a decent salary to pay the mortgage. In fact, a very decent salary if she is paying the mortgage alone.’
‘Good,’ Kate encouraged. ‘Keep going.’
‘Um, I’m picturing an independent woman in her early to mid-thirties. Someone who drives a fancy car, has a professional career.’
‘Think about how the house looked inside.’
‘Um, it was neat and tidy, I guess. The garden was well-maintained, so the owner obviously takes pride in where and how they live.’
‘Did you poke around the kitchen?’
‘Yeah, the fridge was pretty full. There were plastic containers with food all chopped up and prepared.’
‘What does that tell you?’
‘She was on a diet.’
‘How can you be so certain?’
‘There was a recipe book on the countertop. She’s doing that Lean in 15 diet. You know, with that YouTube guy. He encourages you to prepare all your food at the weekend and package it up to save time during the week.’
‘So, a professional woman in control of her life, right?’
‘For sure, ma’am. I’d say she had a firm control of her life.’
‘Exactly! She’s organised, neat and in control. But those cuttings in her spare room were too haphazard. They’d been ripped rather than cut. Someone like her would have had
them in a book already, or in a folder. They weren’t in any kind of chronological order, just scattered.’
‘Maybe she’s only just started compiling them.’
‘Mm… maybe, but I don’t think so.’
‘What are you thinking? That the killer broke in without leaving a trace and left them there? No offence, ma’am, but that’s a massive leap.’
Kate thought about the image she’d found in her own flat. ‘I know it is, but there’s something not right with this.’
‘What do you want to do next, ma’am?’
‘We need to put out a description of the victim’s Mercedes, including plate. We need to find that car if we’re to work out where she was when he took her. Call the office and update the team. Then we’re going to meet her boss. Everything we know about her is so picture perfect. We’ve all got skeletons in our closet. Let’s see if her boss can help us find hers.’
32
Gerry Irwin ran a wrinkled hand over the bushy white beard clinging to his chin. ‘I don’t know what to tell you, Detective Inspector, but Eleanor Jacobs was a lovely girl.’
Kate considered the man across the desk from her who had offered them tea, but had made no effort to arrange for any to be brought in. ‘That’s all very well, Mr Irwin, but clearly someone had it in for her, and it’s my job to identify who.’
She’d told him that Eleanor’s body had been found and that foul play was suspected, but she hadn’t elaborated. He’d find out soon enough when an official statement was made to the press.
It wasn’t that she doubted what he was saying, he clearly had a soft spot for Eleanor, but even your closest friends suspect the secrets you try to keep hidden from public knowledge.
‘How long had Eleanor worked for you?’
His voice when he spoke was rich and warm, delivered at an easy-going pace. The voice of a perfect late-night radio DJ, which had undoubtedly helped him win over more than one jury in his time. ‘You misunderstand, detective. Eleanor didn’t work for me.’
‘But you are Head of Chambers, are you not?’
‘I am. I helped found this place some…’ He sucked the air in through his teeth. ‘Twenty-five years ago. But a Chambers isn’t a company like you might think. We’re more of a society of like-minded and skilled professional barristers who share premises and legal reference books. The firm receives most of its work from solicitor referrals, and the clerks dispatch each case to the most qualified or readily available barrister in the group who can defend or prosecute as is required. There isn’t a boss-worker hierarchy in place. I’m one of the more senior and experienced barristers in the group, but I didn’t have any control over Eleanor’s workload.’
Dead to Me: A serial killer thriller (Detective Kate Matthews Crime Thriller Series Book 1) Page 13