Wrongful Death (18 page)

‘Having heard you tell Gloria Lynne how much you loved art, I thought you’d feel right at home here,’ Anna had said, causing them both to laugh loudly and Jessie to ask, ‘Is that what you Brits mean by “taking the piss”?’

Anna had been keen to know more about the forthcoming course, and Jessie immediately stressed that the name of the game was to make friends and contacts. Everyone would be referred to by their first names, rank was immaterial and all participants would be treated as equals. The course classes were made up of about two hundred US law-enforcement officers and fifty from foreign police organizations. The physical fitness programme on the course was very intense and reflected J. Edgar Hoover’s belief that physical fitness could be the difference between success and failure, even life and death.

‘Best I remember my running shoes,’ Anna remarked.

Jessie laughed. ‘I’d take two pairs as they wear out quickly, especially on the Yellow Brick Road.

‘What’s the Yellow Brick Road?’

‘I can’t tell you as it would spoil the surprise,’ Jessie said, with a wag of her finger.

The best thing about the dinner was that during the whole evening was they hardly discussed the investigation.

As Anna drove to work, she reflected that by the end of the evening she had got to know Jessie a lot better and respect her more. Not once had she boasted about herself; on the contrary, she had admitted that she was ‘occasionally’ wrong, overzealous and in her own words ‘a pain in the ass’. She had been polite, funny and enjoyable company and her knowledge of serial killers and their psychological behaviour was both fascinating and informative. Anna wondered if Jessie’s argumentative, bull-in-a-china-shop manner was some sort of front to prove that she could stand up to anyone, particularly men. Anna recalled her saying in jest that she never mixed work with sex, but lived in hope of finding Mr Right. It struck Anna that Jessie, like her, might be very much alone outside her professional world. She didn’t know if Jessie had family, friends or work colleagues that she was close to or confided in. After Ken’s death, Anna had discovered what it was like to be lonely, trapped in a world where you felt empty inside, where nobody listened to you or showed you compassion. Anna was also very aware that you didn’t have to lose a loved one to feel like that and hoped, having seen the other side of Jessie Dewar, that loneliness was not something she suffered from.

The first thing Anna did on arrival at the station was to go straight to Barolli’s office and apologize to him for her and Jessie’s behaviour.

‘Did you take her for a lobotomy on Friday?’ Barolli asked.

‘What’s happened now?’

‘Nothing – Dewar’s full of the joys of spring, singing your praises and being pleasant to everyone.’

‘Well that’s good news.’

‘But will it last?’ Barolli raised his eyebrows.

‘I hope so, especially as you will be working closely with her in a few days’ time.’

‘Paul Simms is in your office with Dewar. He brought over a load of paperwork and stuff to do with the Reynolds case.’

‘Oh, shit!’ Anna exclaimed and raced off, regretting she had not said anything to Jessie at dinner about meeting Paul for breakfast. She feared another argument as she entered her office and saw the two of them talking.

‘I’m really sorry, Jessie. I was going to tell you at dinner but I didn’t want to spoil the evening,’ Anna said.

‘Tell me what?’

Anna looked at Paul Simms, whose alarmed expression told her that she was about to drop them both right in it.

‘I, um, well . . .’ Anna was racking her brains to come out with something plausible to cover the delicate situation.

‘Do you know what Anna wants to tell me, Paul?’ Dewar asked inquisitively. Paul shrugged his shoulders.

‘Please don’t tell me you two have already met in secret and discussed the case?’ Dewar asked in mock surprise.

‘You knew?’ Anna asked, somewhat taken aback. Paul’s head fell forward and he half raised his hands in the air in surrender.

‘Your micro-expressions and inflections gave you away when I asked you if you’d spoken with him. Same when I asked you about Pete Jenkins.’

‘You knew I’d spoken with him as well?’

‘Not for certain but I do now.’ Dewar grinned.

‘Why didn’t you say anything?’

‘I understand in both instances why you didn’t tell me. I was quick to blame DI Simms for all the errors in the initial investigation and had we met before today I’d probably have given him a mouthful.’

‘And Pete?’ Anna enquired.

‘I wasn’t certain, so it wasn’t worth arguing about.’

‘I’m sorry, Jessie. I promise from now on you’ll be in the loop on everything.’

‘Slate’s clean as far as I’m concerned. I’ve been going over DI Simms’ investigation and he was clearly badly advised by Freeman and Harrow.’

Anna told Jessie and Simms about her meeting with Pete Jenkins when they had discussed the scene and items that were submitted to him for forensic examination. She said that Pete was still working on the blood-distribution analysis from the photographs and would take his time, but sadly any opinion he might have would not be definitive, as he was never asked by Freeman to attend the scene.

Paul Simms was shocked that Freeman had failed to pass on any of Pete Jenkins’ comments to him and had been so dismissive when Pete offered to attend the scene, and he grew more and more subdued as Anna spoke. Dewar told him about their meeting with Dr Harrow and his recent four-month suspension.

‘Neither Freeman or Harrow ever said anything to me about the scene being anything other than a suicide. I can’t believe I was taken in like that.’

‘You weren’t, Paul, you relied on their experience, and they let you down,’ Dewar said reassuringly. ‘Together, they formed a conclusion of suicide at the scene. They should have taken a step back, challenged their thoughts and considered competing theories.’

‘Freeman was lazy and failed to carry out a proper scene examination and Harrow was gung ho,’ Anna added.

‘Yes, but ultimately, I’m responsible for not treating Reynolds’ death as suspicious,’ Paul said.

‘I can’t say you shouldn’t have done more at the time, but we all make mistakes and in turn learn from them,’ Anna remarked.

Paul was close to tears. ‘I’ll be disciplined and demoted, won’t I?’

‘We don’t know what the outcome of our reinvestigation will be, but whatever happens, Agent Dewar and I are on your side. Aren’t we?’

‘It goes without saying,’ Dewar replied firmly.

Paul looked so dejected that Anna felt it was not the time to begin examining the documents he’d brought over, and so told him that she and Jessie would look through everything and get back to him if they needed to. Paul thanked them for being so understanding and hurriedly left, clearly embarrassed and hurt.

‘Thanks for going easy on Paul Simms,’ Anna said.

‘He’s a nice guy. Will he have to face discipline proceedings?’

‘I hope not, but the final decision may well be out of my hands.’

Anna and Jessie were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Joan, come to tell them that Langton wanted everyone gathered in the main office for a half eleven meeting as he was on his way with the detective superintendent who would be taking over the Reynolds case. Anna looked at her watch and saw that they had just over an hour to get things prepared. She asked Joan if Langton had said who it was; typically, he hadn’t.

Anna suggested to Jessie that it would be a good idea if they had a look through the documents that Paul Simms had brought over in case there was anything that needed urgent attention or would be useful to bring up at the meeting.

They sat by the coffee table in their office and opened the box.

‘What first?’ Dewar asked.

‘Forensics and post-mortem exhibits would be a good place to start,’ Anna replied as she took out the exhibits list from the box, which was written and signed by Freeman. Jessie had her notebook and pen to hand.

‘Items from deceased: bloodstained white shirt, black trousers, socks, leather shoes and underwear, Rolex watch and one St Christopher pendant – nothing exciting there then,’ Anna remarked.

‘No wallet?’

‘Yeah, from his right pocket – it contained credit cards, Oyster travel card, cash and some receipts. In the left trouser pocket were three keys on a fob and some loose change.’

‘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.’