Wrongful Death (16 page)

‘None recorded or none in his stomach, Doctor?’

‘I’ve got down here “stomach empty”.’

‘His blood-alcohol level was very high so he’d been drinking on an empty stomach.’

‘Yes.’

‘Can you be any more specific on the time of death.’

‘No, too many variables like the empty stomach, intoxication and the central heating was on.’

‘You said Reynolds had been dead between eight to twenty hours.’

‘That’s right.’

‘We believe he made a phone call at seven p.m. on the fifth.’

‘Entirely possible – as I said there were many variables, so I could not be more specific.’

‘Did you voice any opinions about the scene to the Crime Scene Manager, Freeman?’

Dewar glanced at Anna, as Harrow let the smoke belch from his nose. ‘We were both there, discussed it and agreed.’

‘What did you agree?’ Anna was keeping her voice quiet and controlled.

‘That it
could
have been a suicide. We kept an open mind until I completed the post-mortem.’

‘So if it
could
have been a suicide, it could also have been a murder. Did you advise Freeman to call a forensic scientist to the scene?’

Harrow scratched his head. ‘That’s not my responsibility – you’d have to ask him.’

Anna had got the exact measure of Dr Harrow and he knew it. He pursed his lip angrily.

‘Thank you for your time, Dr Harrow. We will see ourselves out,’ Anna said.

Returning to the car, Anna asked Dewar to drop her at the lab so she could collect her own vehicle. Dewar nodded but had a puzzled look on her face as she turned round.

‘Have you got something on him?’ she asked, and Anna nodded.

‘Spill the beans on the big fat toad,’ Dewar said, grinning at her.

Anna took out the newspaper article from her pocket and read it aloud.

‘Why didn’t you tell me that before we went in there?’ Dewar demanded.

‘Because I didn’t want you to attack his ability from the get-go. I’d rather you formed an opinion from meeting him in the flesh.’

‘The article doesn’t do him justice. He’s far worse than that,’ Dewar said, and they both laughed.

Chapter Twelve

Back at the station, Anna found Joan and Barbara sitting together in the canteen when she went to get a coffee, so she went over to join them. Barbara was tucking into a slice of steak and kidney pie that was smothered in brown sauce, with mashed potato and baked beans. Joan had a cheese salad and was much more refined in her eating, taking steady bites and chewing slowly, whilst Barbara appeared be in a race against the clock. Anna asked Barbara how the house-to-house enquiries had gone.

‘I haven’t done them yet,’ Barbara said indignantly.

Anna was about to ask why not when Joan spoke up on her colleague’s behalf.

‘Dewar told her that she urgently wanted timelines for both Josh and Donna Reynolds’ movements covering a thirty-six-hour period before Josh’s body was discovered.’

‘With details of every phone call and text message Donna and Josh made and received,’ Barbara added.

‘Did you tell her I’d asked you to do the house-to-house?’ Anna asked Barbara.

‘I didn’t get a chance because she stormed off, saying she was going to the lab. It’s a lot of work for one bloody person to do. Who is in charge of this case anyway, you or Dewar?’ Barbara wanted to know.

‘I am, Barbara, and as it happens timelines will be very helpful. So if not for Dewar, then kindly do it for me.’

‘What about the house-to-house, who’s going to do that then?’ Barbara moaned.

‘If you could get it completed in the next couple of days that will be fine. Take Joan with you – be a nice change for you to get out from behind your desk, Joan.’

‘Thank you, ma’am, that’s really kind of you,’ Joan said with a beaming smile.

‘So what else has Dewar asked to be done?’ Anna enquired.

Joan told her that she had asked for a copy of Donna’s 999 call when she reported finding the body of her husband and Barolli was going to collect it after getting the banking warrants.

Barbara finished her pie and announced she fancied some sponge pudding and custard for dessert. She got up from the table and joined the short queue at the counter.

‘She’s obviously off her diet again! Oh, the yellow Lotus you asked for an owner’s check on. The keeper is Aisa Lynne, but the vehicle’s registered address is the Lynne Foundation, which is based in Mount Street in Mayfair. The Mini Cooper is Donna’s but still registered to the old flat in Bayswater,’ Joan whispered to Anna.

‘Why are you whispering?’ Anna asked.

‘Because you told me to make “discreet” enquiries and Barbara’s got big ears. She can hear a pin drop fifty feet away.’

Anna looked over at Barbara who, although standing with her back to them, was twisting her head to one side in an effort to listen in on their conversation.

‘So what have you got for me?’ Anna asked quietly.

‘I didn’t realize it was Lady Gloria Lynne you went to see yesterday.’

‘Lady Gloria Lynne? Lady! Are you sure?’ Anna asked, surprised by the revelation that Gloria was titled.

‘Yes. Her husband was Lord Henry Lynne, a multi-millionaire businessman, philanthropist and life peer. He died six or seven years ago while they were on holiday in Egypt. Lady Lynne helped him set up a foundation that supports charitable causes around the world.’

‘How did you find all this out so quickly?’

‘Recent magazine article, bit of Internet searching. My mum subscribes to
Tatler
and
Country Life
magazines and I usually read them too. I phoned her up and she’s checking through all the old copies, cutting out articles and pictures for you about Lady Lynne. I told her to be discreet as well.’

‘Good work, Joan. Don’t put your mum to too much trouble though, okay?’

‘It’s no trouble at all, we’ve only got about a hundred and twenty-odd copies and, like me, my mum’s a good speed reader,’ Joan assured Anna.

‘So Lady Lynne has friends in high places. That would explain how she knew I was murder and not vice squad.’

‘She organizes some of London’s biggest charity events. Attends the summer garden parties at Buckingham Palace and is very big in the horticultural world, with exhibitions at Chelsea and other major flower shows.’

‘You’re an asset to the team, Joan, and thorough in your research as well.’

‘Sorry I haven’t got more for you at the moment. Barbara’s coming back so I’ll tell you later,’ Joan whispered as Barbara sat down at the table with her sponge pudding and informed Anna that she had put the surveillance team’s report and overtime sheet on her desk.

‘What are you talking about, Barbara?’ Anna asked.

‘The undercover operation you requested on Donna from her mum’s house last night. They dropped the forms off just before lunch.’

‘I never requested a surveillance team, let alone authorized any overtime.’

‘Well, they said you had, so if you didn’t then that only leaves you-know-who.’

Dewar was reading the surveillance report when a very annoyed Anna walked into their office.

‘You know anything about a surveillance team being put on Donna Reynolds last night?’

‘I do apologize. I totally forgot to mention it this morning,’ Dewar said, holding up the report and handing it over to Anna before continuing: ‘You’ll never guess where Donna went within half an hour of us leaving her mother’s.’

‘I’m more interested in why you saw fit to ask for a surveillance unit without consulting me first. I have to pay for it out of my budget – they’re not a free commodity.’

‘I’ve apologized, what more can I say?’

Anna asked Dewar how she managed to get a surveillance unit out to Weybridge, implying that she had posed as her in some way. Dewar explained that she had used the unmarked car’s police radio and sought advice from the central control room. She had simply stated she was an FBI agent working with DCI Travis and needed assistance to urgently tail a suspect in a murder inquiry.

‘Langton will be bloody livid,’ Anna said, feeling stressed.

‘Jimmy rang a few minutes ago, said he was coming over later this afternoon. I told him everyone was at lunch and about the result of the tail on Donna.’

‘Well, I hope you told him it wasn’t me that requested it?’

‘Of course I said it was me. He seemed very happy, particularly when I told him that she went to the Trojan and was in there for nearly an hour.’

Anna was finding it hard to control her anger. ‘Did you tell him about the eight-hundred-pound overtime bill?’ she asked, looking at the surveillance file.

‘No. Is it an issue?’

‘Langton said there was no overtime budget on this inquiry!’

‘I can’t see it being a problem. Anyway, when Donna left the Trojan, a man matching Marcus Williams’ description walked her to her car. She kissed and hugged him before leaving on her own,’ Dewar remarked excitedly.

‘And that makes her a murder suspect?’

‘Don’t you find it rather strange?’

‘You accused her of being involved in her husband’s murder, which totally shocked her and resulted in floods of tears, so to be honest I don’t find it strange that in a state of distress she would want to talk to Williams.’

‘She knows I’m on to her, they were just crocodile tears for her mother’s benefit,’ Dewar asserted.

‘Well, I’m not so sure.’

‘She then went to Notting Hill, parked her car, and didn’t return for nearly half an hour?’ Dewar sat back smiling.

‘So who did she go to see?’

‘I don’t know – the surveillance team lost her when she walked off on foot. They waited for her to come back to the car and then followed her back to Weybridge.’

‘She could have been visiting a friend for all we know.’

‘Or realized she was being followed. If she was distressed like you suggest then why didn’t she just stay in with her precious mother?’

‘Her precious mother is in fact Lady Gloria Lynne, whose deceased husband Henry was a life peer and member of the House of Lords,’ Anna said grimly.

‘Well, well, I suppose that explains her airs and graces then.’

‘And it also explains why she complained to the local Chief Constable about our visit. He in turn called the Met Commissioner and it ended up with Deputy Commissioner Walters giving Langton an earful.’ It was Anna’s turn to sit back with a tight smile.

‘He’s not in trouble, is he?’ Dewar asked anxiously.

‘I nearly got pulled off the FBI course, so your attachment must have been in jeopardy as well. Langton managed to diffuse the situation but be prepared for some words of advice from him.’

‘That aside, Donna needs to be interviewed about her movements last night,’ Dewar persisted.

‘I agree, but we need to tread carefully where Lady Lynne is concerned. Everything needs to be above board, with every action and result recorded in detail on the computer. If she complains again the top brass will be all over us like a rash. Before we do anything else we need to write up the interviews we’ve done so far.’

Anna proceeded to inform Dewar that DCS Langton had agreed that while she was on the FBI course, Paul Barolli would oversee the case as acting DCI. Dewar was unimpressed and pointed out that Barolli had only just been promoted to Inspector.

‘Paul Barolli has years of experience, especially when it comes to investigating murders. I’ve worked alongside him at every rank and I trust him implicitly. He’d lay his life on the line for you, as he did for Langton and other members of this team.’

‘How do you mean?’ Dewar demanded.

‘He tried to stop an armed suspect who was shooting at us but ended up getting shot himself. He’s been recommended for the Queen’s Gallantry Medal, the highest award a police officer can get.’

‘No shit.’ Dewar shook her head. ‘He took one for the job. I’d never have guessed.’

‘That’s because Paul is a modest person and doesn’t pretend to be something he’s not,’ Anna said, hoping that Dewar would pick up on the underlying implication. ‘Anyway, I’m going to see if he’s in his office now to check how he got on with obtaining the bank warrants.’

Anna’s luck was in, as Barolli had just sat down at his desk, so she took the opportunity to bring him up to speed. In return, he told her that the warrants had been issued and served on the banks. He added that there was unrest in the main office as Dewar tried to stamp her authority on the team in a less than polite manner. Anna admitted to Paul that Barbara and Joan had also complained about Dewar, and that she’d dropped enough hints and even been direct with Dewar on a number of occasions but it was as if the agent didn’t care and enjoyed being argumentative and upsetting people.

‘I’m sorry to be leaving you in the lurch, Paul, but I have confidence that you’ll do a good job overseeing the case while I’m in the States.’

‘Thanks, Anna. I’ll keep you updated by phone while you’re away and if the shit really hits the fan I might run away and join you.’ He grinned and Anna smiled. ‘Meanwhile, I’ve got hold of the copy of Donna Reynolds’ 999 call that Dewar requested.’

‘Might as well have a listen to it before she does, then,’ Anna suggested cheerfully as Barolli reached across to place the CD in his computer and turned on the speakers.

The recording opened with an operator announcing that the caller was through to the emergency services. A clearly distressed Donna asked for the police and was forwarded to their call centre. She was asked to give her name, address and the number she was calling from. The panic in her voice was clear, and she was crying profusely, gasping for air and just about audible.

‘It’s my husband Josh . . . he’s been shot . . . there’s a gun and blood everywhere . . . oh, God, please help him . . . I think he’s dead.’

‘Where has he been shot?’

‘In our flat. He’s not moving.’

‘Where in the body has he been shot?’

‘The head . . . please help him, please.’

‘Are you with him now, Donna?’

‘I’ve just come home . . . I don’t know what to do.’

‘The police and an ambulance are on their way, Donna. Please stay on the phone while a paramedic speaks to you.’ The police operator then transferred the call, giving the paramedic details of the incident. Donna now seemed to be in a state of hyperventilation, causing her speech to become slightly slurred. She sounded as if she was about to faint.