Lynda La Plante - Wrongful Death

‘Now place the gun in my hand.’

‘I understand what you’re trying to show me, Jessie, but surely there must be many variables to consider. We don’t know if he died instantly, had a muscle spasm or some other involuntary reaction. Any of which could have resulted in his end position,’ Anna said as Dewar got to her feet and picked up the close-up photograph of Reynolds’ hand holding the gun.

‘Agreed, but there is something else that points towards him not having a gun in his right hand when he was shot. Can you see what’s missing in this photograph?’

‘If I can’t see it how do I know it’s missing?’ Anna asked, frustrated that after three re-enactments, Dewar was still not getting to the point.

‘Look at the back of his right hand – there’s no blood.’

Anna pointed to the picture of Reynolds on the floor. ‘There’s some on his left arm, hand and plenty on the floor.’

Dewar replied that she was not a blood distribution expert but she knew a bit about guns and firearms injuries. She told Anna that the blood distribution and brain debris on his left arm, hand and the sofa would have come from the forward spatter as the bullet exited his head and embedded itself in the woodwork of the sofa.

‘Think of a pebble being dropped into water and the upward splash it causes at the point of impact,’ Dewar said, keen for Anna to understand. ‘A bullet has a similar effect. It enters the head, causing blood to exit back towards the gun. It’s called back spatter. The closer the gun the more back spatter you get,’ she explained, and picked out a photograph from the bundle she had prepared and held it up. ‘Look on this close-up photo. There’s some blood on the floor in line with his right knee. The direction and position is away from the body. Assuming it’s back spatter then there should be blood on the back of his hand.’

Anna recalled the pathologist’s report mentioning powder burns around the entry wound, which indicated the gun was held close to the head of the victim. She realized that Dewar had hit on something that was critical to the scene assessment and wondered if it had been looked into at the time and was yet another thing Paul Simms had omitted to mention in his report.

‘I have to say, Jessie, your scene re-assessment is not only very professional but also very interesting. You’ve raised some thought-provoking questions about how Joshua Reynolds may have died,’ Anna conceded.

‘Thank you, Anna. I know it was a bit long-winded but I tend to envelop myself in my own world trying to figure out every possible scenario.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me your concerns about the scene before now?’

‘Because I needed to come here and get a real feel for the place and put it all together piece by piece.’

Anna understood, she often got a gut feeling herself and never said anything until she could confirm her own suspicions. She wondered if her bias towards the Reynolds case being suicide, coupled with her eagerness to go to Quantico, had clouded her judgement.

‘There are obviously serious issues concerning the blood distribution,’ Anna said, wishing she had taken more time to examine the scene photographs herself.

‘Simms’ report doesn’t even mention a blood distribution expert attending the scene,’ Dewar remarked.

‘Pete Jenkins was the forensic scientist who dealt with the stuff sent to the lab so I assume he also attended the scene. Simms’ report said a Crime Scene Manager and Dr Harrow the pathologist did.’

‘We really need to speak with this guy Jenkins and the pathologist as soon as possible,’ Dewar insisted.

‘Leave it with me and I will arrange a meet with them both.’

However, Anna was apprehensive about Dewar discussing her thoughts and theories with Pete Jenkins. The agent, convinced she was right, was on a real high and Anna knew she would not let go easily. It worried her that no matter what Pete said she would try and force her opinions on him. Anna knew he was one of the best forensic scientists in the lab, as she’d reaped the benefits of his forensic knowledge and expert opinion on a number of murder investigations. If Pete Jenkins disproved Dewar’s scene assessment, Anna thought it would be better coming from her, albeit second hand. That way she could tell Dewar calmly and objectively that she was wrong. She hoped that her breakfast meeting with Paul Simms might help to clear up some of her concerns before she made contact with Pete.

Arriving back at the station, Dewar went to the canteen to get them each a sandwich. As Anna made a beeline for Paul Barolli, her mobile rang.

‘I’m Gloria Lynne, Donna’s mother, and I’m sorry to bother you, Detective Travis, but there’s a bit of a hiccup with this afternoon’s agenda. It’s Donna, you see. Poor darling has got herself into a bit of a tizzy.’

Anna immediately noticed how well spoken Gloria was, with a distinct upper-class voice.

‘About my wanting to speak with her?’ Anna asked.

‘Oh, it’s not that at all, I haven’t even told her you’re a vice-squad detective. I simply instructed her to be here at four as I had someone coming for afternoon tea that I wanted her to meet.’

‘I see,’ Anna said, not exactly sure what the problem was.

‘Donna is still very emotional about the loss of Joshua, so the mention of police, or anything or anyone connected to him is quite distressing for her. So, I thought it best you came along unannounced.’

‘So what’s the hiccup, Mrs Lynne?’

‘Donna forgot that she had a three-o’clock appointment at Michaeljohn.’

Anna had heard of Michaeljohn and knew that it was a very expensive Mayfair salon frequented by royalty, Hollywood actresses and other A-list celebrities.

‘I can come tomorrow,’ Anna offered.

‘Don’t, please. I was merely wondering if it would be possible for you to come to my house a bit later. Say about six. Donna will be home by then.’

Anna said that would be fine and ended the conversation, unsure of what to make of the caller. She wondered how Gloria would react when she found out that Anna was actually reinvestigating her son-in-law’s death as a possible murder. She wondered if it might have been better to tell her the truth from the outset, but at least she could now fall back on the excuse that she hadn’t wanted Donna to become overstressed at the thought of speaking to a murder-squad detective.

Dewar returned with a chicken sandwich and coffee for Anna, apologizing for the delay and saying that she got stuck in the canteen talking to Barbara. Anna remarked that once Barbara got going she was a bit hard to get away from.

‘She rambled on about being single and needing to lose weight if she wanted to “pull a fit bloke”,’ Dewar went on, ‘although I have absolutely no idea what that means.’

Anna told Dewar about the phone call from Gloria Lynne and the rearranged interview time with Donna.

‘It’s going to be a late finish, so to save us both returning to the station, I’ll take my car to Gloria’s house and you can follow me,’ Anna suggested.

‘That’s fine, but I’m wondering, now we’ve got time to kill before seeing Donna, if it might be worth paying a quick visit to the Trojan first?’

‘Why?’

‘To get the feel for the place, like the Reynolds scene. We’d be discreet.’

‘Basically, you want to see how Marcus Williams reacts when we say were reinvestigating his partner Josh’s death. I believe you Americans say “put the squeeze on him”.’

‘You see, Anna, you’re thinking like me already.’ Dewar laughed.

‘No. I know what you’re thinking and I’m not so sure it’s a good idea quite yet.’

‘We don’t mention the interview with Donna. Then we can check Williams’ mobile, see if he calls or texts her after we leave.’