Page 118 of The Scene of the Crime
‘It would seem Wheeler was a professional burglar,’ Anderson remarked.
‘I’m willing to bet when I do striation mark tests, we’ll find these tools were used at De Klerk’s house and the lock pick tool to gain entry to Palmer’s flat.’
‘Good work, Taff. How’d you get on, Diane?’ Jessica asked.
She got out her iPhone. ‘I’ve done a lot of DNA swabs. I can test them back at the lab, but I also searched the bedroom. There’s a photo album with pictures of Wheeler as a paratrooper. There’s one where he’s lighting a cigarette with a Zippo lighter. I photographed and enlarged it. If you look closely, you can just make out the paratrooper crest.’ Diane handed her phone to Taff to show them while she nipped into the flat, quickly returning holding a clear exhibit bag.
‘I also found this neck support travel pillow,’ she said, holding it up.
Anderson didn’t look impressed. ‘He was about to fly to Dubai, so . . . ?’
‘It’s got a zip opening. You can put small items of clothing or other stuff in it too . . .’
‘My wife has one, so I know how it works, thank you,’ Anderson said dismissively. ‘If that’s all, I’d like to see the body now.’
Diane pretended she hadn’t heard him. ‘Curiosity got the better of me, and I thought I’d see what he’d stuffed it with.’ She took her phone from Taff and showed them a picture. ‘It was full of socks stuffed with cash. I only counted the amount in one sock. It was forty thousand pounds. There were six socks, so I’ll let you do the math.’ Anderson looked embarrassed. ‘I’ll fingerprint the cash at the lab. A lockbox on the living roomfloor had been cut open with a small angle grinder we found on the coffee table. I did a swab test for drugs and got a positive for cocaine on the outside of the lockbox and on the coffee table where there were also some visible white powder remnants.’
‘Maybe whoever killed Wheeler forced the lockbox open and took the contents but missed the cash because they didn’t think to look inside the travel pillow,’ Chapman suggested. Jessica asked Taff to examine the inside of the lockbox for fingerprints and Diane to check for DNA.
‘How long will it take to get a result?’ Anderson asked.
‘I can do rapid DNA testing on it and hopefully have a result by tomorrow morning, but it’s expensive,’ Diane said. Jessica looked at Anderson enquiringly.
‘We’re up against the clock,’ he said. ‘Whoever’s involved with Wheeler might flee the country as well. I need answers, and quickly, so go ahead.’
‘I think Wheeler may have a girlfriend or paid for a prostitute to visit him,’ Diane said.
‘What makes you think that?’ Anderson asked with a puzzled look.
‘I found five empty Durex sachets in his bedroom bin. There were no used sheathes, so he probably flushed them down the toilet.’
‘I’ll take a DNA swab from his penis while I’m here. Vaginal fluid might help you to identify who she is,’ Nicki remarked. ‘Can I look at the body now?’ Jessica led her to Wheeler’s body, followed by Anderson and Chapman. Taff and Diane waited outside.
‘Your jaw nearly hit the floor when you met Nicki,’ Diane remarked.
‘Well, she is quite attractive . . . for a pathologist.’
‘She’s probably a lot older than she looks,’ Diane retorted.
‘Meow! A bit like you then,’ Taff replied.
Diane punched his arm. ‘Just remember it’s rude to stare.’
Inside the flat, Chapman noted that the smell of decomposition was worse than when they’d first arrived. Nicki suggested it might be because the central heating had come on. Anderson removed a Vicks nasal stick from his pocket and took a deep sniff in each nostril.
‘That doesn’t actually help, you know,’ Nicki told him.
‘Well, I can’t smell the body now,’ Anderson replied.
‘You will, and a lot better in a minute or so. Vicks clears your nasal passages, allowing you to smell things better,’ she smiled. Nicki photographed Wheeler’s body before using an infrared ear thermometer to check his body temperature. She then looked closely at the bruises on his face. ‘I’d say from the colouring, some of these injuries are a day or two old and some maybe three. The most recent one is to his nose, which looks broken and probably occurred at or around the time of death. Considering the early stages of decomposition and the rigor and livor mortis, I’d estimate he died two days ago between six p.m. and midnight.’
‘He must have booked the flight on Tuesday. If we can find out what time he did that, it will help narrow down his time of death,’ Anderson said.
‘Guy is already working on Wheeler’s phone and laptop, so that might give us some answers,’ Jessica said.
‘Have we made any enquiries with his neighbours?’ Anderson asked Chapman.
‘Not yet, but I’ve asked Andy Bingham to organise it.’
