Lynda La Plante - Wrongful Death

‘What you said has given me food for thought but as the SIO on this case I need to keep an open mind,’ Anna reminded her.

‘Well, if your DI Simms had kept an open mind last November, you’d have started a murder investigation then and there.’

‘Paul Simms is a good detective and, as you said, confirmation bias is not necessarily intentional.’

‘What’s with you guys? It’s all shock, horror because I show someone fucked up and then you get defensive!’ Dewar barked, waving her hands as if frightened.

Anna shook her head in disbelief at Dewar’s theatrics.

‘It’s how you said it. The team took it as an attack on a colleague and thereby on the Met as a whole. You instigated the barrier, not them.’

Dewar paused, looking at Anna, and sighed before continuing.

‘That wasn’t my intention. Sometimes my passion for a case leads to frustration, which makes me angry and then people misunderstand what I say.’

‘It would have helped if you had discussed your thoughts with me before the briefing.’

‘You only had to ask and I would have. If the suicide note is fake then the most likely person to have killed Reynolds is his wife.’

‘She was at the Savoy Hotel all night at a big charity do. DI Simms confirmed it,’ Anna observed.

‘She could have hired someone to do her dirty work.’

‘There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry.’

‘If I knocked on your door then stuck a gun in your face, you would do exactly what I told you. I shoot you in the side of the head, stick the gun in your hand and type up a fake suicide note.’

‘There was firearms residue and bullets for the gun in the wardrobe safe. Only Reynolds knew the code, so how did your killer get the gun out?’ Anna demanded, beginning to get bored with the conversation.

‘How do you know he was the only person who knew the code?’

‘Donna said so in her statement.’

‘Of course she would if she took the gun out and gave it to the killer or told him the code.’

‘This is all very interesting, but a lot of what you’re saying is conjecture.’

‘I like to think of it as an alternative proposition. It helps to work out the balance of probabilities.’

‘Any other alternative propositions?’

‘Not for the moment.’

Anna couldn’t help but think that Dewar was rather self-opinionated, with an answer for everything, and in many ways wanted the pieces of the puzzle to fit together her way. The manner in which she presented her theory made it seem possible but Anna knew a story could be twisted. She felt that Dewar was biased towards Donna Reynolds being responsible for the murder, although there was not a shred of evidence to show that she was involved, and Dewar’s inflexible attitude worried her.

Anna looked at her watch.

‘We’re running late. Grab your stuff, we need to get a move on,’ she said, picking up her briefcase and bag while Dewar did the same.

‘One other thing, if it was a suicide and the neighbours were in, how come no one heard a loud bang that night? The killer must have used a silencer of some sort.’

‘It was November fifth. No one would have noticed.’

‘What?’

‘Guy Fawkes Night.’

‘What’s he got to do with it?’

‘I’m so glad you didn’t raise this in front of the rest of the office or they would still be laughing now.’

‘Why?’

‘English tradition. Bonfires and fireworks. Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder.’

‘Shit, I know nothing about your history,’ Dewar said, and laughed loudly as they both left the office.

Dewar had insisted on driving and Anna was beginning to regret letting her as it was very nerve-wracking. She was constantly over the speed limit, and on a few occasions verging onto the wrong side of the road. Dewar was very tense, her lips pursed as she muttered about the ridiculous road signs being outdated and dangerous. When Dewar ignored a red light and turned right into the path of oncoming traffic Anna had no alternative but to remind her that it was illegal to do that in the UK. Dewar grimly replied it was force of habit as it was allowed in the States.

However, she seemed to relax as the journey continued and Anna gradually felt more at ease with her driving.

‘Have you known DCS Langton long?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, a while, he was over in Los Angeles on a case about an actor, be a few years back now, and we met up again recently at a homicide conference in Paris.’

‘LA, yes, I remember he went there once.’

Anna had accompanied Langton to Los Angeles on that inquiry but she was certain that she had not met Dewar before, and that he had never mentioned her name until two days ago when he referred to them meeting at the homicide conference.

‘In case you are fishin’ for information, my relationship with him is purely business. I know he has quite a reputation. Is he married?’

‘Yes, to Laura. His first wife died of a brain tumour, so it’s his second marriage. He adopted Laura’s daughter Kitty from a previous relationship, and they have a young son Tommy. He likes to keep his private life close to his chest.’

‘Well that was very concise. What about you, married or single?’

Anna hesitated. She didn’t want to talk with someone she didn’t really know about the tragic death of her fiancé Ken or her past relationship with Langton.

‘Me? Footloose and fancy-free, apart from work, that is.’

Dewar nodded and laughed. ‘Same with me. It’s hard in this job being surrounded by men, but I’ve never mixed work with sex. There are so many divorces and separations due to the pressures, not to mention the shagging around, but I live in hope.’

‘I’m really looking forward to the FBI course,’ Anna said, deliberately changing the subject.

‘Good. You’ll really enjoy it. No walk in the park though. It’s rare but some people do fail it and there’s no going back for a second chance.’ Dewar’s tone made Anna feel she was implying that was what she expected to happen to her.

‘I was on the Met’s accelerated promotion course so I know what hard graft is,’ Anna countered.

‘Jimmy said you were a degree entrant like me. I joined the FBI at twenty-three after completing my master’s degree in Forensic Psychology. After three years’ fieldwork I became the youngest agent ever to be asked to join the Behavioural Science Unit.’

‘You have done well.’

‘Within seven years I was promoted to supervising level. As well as profiling on live cases I now head up the behavioural profiling input on all the courses at Quantico. So you will be studying some of my cases,’ Dewar said in a rather pompous manner.

‘What else is on the course syllabus?’ Anna asked, tired of hearing about Dewar’s achievements. She thought that three years in the field was not a lot of ground experience and wondered if, as a profiler, Dewar actually visited crime scenes or based her opinions on photographs and statements like the UK profilers did.

‘I’ll give you some advice: keep your mouth shut unless you have something of value to add. They jump on anyone who likes to think they know it all.’

Anna thought this was rich coming from her.

‘There’s a wealth of knowledge and experience at Quantico. Especially on the behavioural module I designed. Don Blane is standing in for me while I’m away so I’ll give him a ring and tell him you’re on the course. See if you can accompany him on a live case over a free weekend. Watching Don working is a masterclass in itself. His interview technique is so good he can make a virgin open up.’

‘Thank you,’ Anna said, not appreciating the analogy and hoping that Dewar would forget her offer to ring Don. If he was anything like Dewar, she didn’t fancy getting stuck with him, especially not over a free weekend.