Page 36 of The Scene of the Crime
‘I swear, I’m not. I was on night shift, so I had to hand the case over to DS Michael Blake in the morning and had no further involvement.’
Jessica remembered Blake. ‘He was very understanding. Very kind.’
‘He wanted to charge the boy with attempted rape, but the CPS decided there wasn’t enough evidence, forensic or otherwise, to provide a “realistic prospect of conviction”.’
‘That was because his mother gave him a false alibi, saying he’d been in all night.’
‘I know, I spoke to her when I arrested him. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the balaclava which he probably threw away.’
‘If you must know, as silly as it sounds, in some ways I was relieved. It meant I didn’t have to go through the ordeal again in court.’
Chapman typed something into his desktop computer and turned the screen towards her. ‘That’s his criminal record. As you can see, it’s as long as my arm.’ He scrolled back. ‘There’s his arrest for the attempted rape. As the victim of a sexual assault, your name is redacted, and as you can see, I’m shown as the arresting officer.’
Jessica sat down. ‘All right, I believe you. But why did you wait until now to tell me?’
He looked sad. ‘I was the investigating officer on a horrendous rape case about ten years ago. Recounting the details in court was traumatic for the victim, but we got a conviction. The thing is, once a trial like that is over, the victim tries to move on, and you have no further contact with them. Four years later, I bumped into her in the street. On seeing me, she had a flashback to the rape and suffered a severe panic attack. It was so bad I had to call an ambulance. I blamed myself and wanted to go to the hospital to see how she was, but I was advised not to as it could further distress her if she saw me again.’
‘And you thought the same would happen to me if I recognised you?’ She sounded affronted.
He nodded. ‘I realise now that I should have kept my mouth shut.’
She sat up straight and gave a nonchalant shrug, trying her hardest to maintain control of her emotions, determined not to show him the effect of what he had just told her. ‘If you must know, even if I had recognised you, it wouldn’t have upset me. Admittedly, after the little bastard tried to rape me, I suffered from post-traumatic stress and left my job as a probation officer. At the time, I didn’t know how to handle it. But on my doctor’s advice, I started seeing a rape counsellor, who suggested I also take up meditation and yoga.’
‘Meditation sounds like something I should try,’ Chapman said, trying to lighten the situation.
‘It wasn’t an overnight cure, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ she said. ‘Initially, I moved back home to live with my mother and brother. I was off sick from my probation work for a long time and dreaded returning. When I was able to deal with my emotions again, I decided to seek a different career path. I thought long and hard about joining the police, but at the time, I worried front-line work – interviewing victims and arresting suspects – would be too stressful after what happened to me. My mother suggested I become a scene of crime officer. The rest, as they say, is history.’
He smiled. ‘I’m glad you conquered your demons, and you should be proud of all you’ve achieved.’ He had his over-serious expression on his face, and it made her smile.
‘Thank you for that and I am proud of getting over it. I only wish my mother was still alive to share my success. Sadly, she died a few years ago from cancer.’
‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ Chapman looked at his watch. ‘It’s nearly time for the meeting, but I can postpone it until tomorrow morning if that would be better for you.’
‘For goodness’ sake, I can assure you I’m fine.’
‘I’m sorry if I brought back some bad memories. That wasn’t my intention.’
‘I realise that now, and thank you for being open and honest with me.’
‘It would have been better if I’d said nothing,’ Chapman sighed.
‘What’s done is done, and it’s time to move on. It’s over, finished with, so let’s keep it that way.’
CHAPTER TEN
Returning to the homicide team office, DI Chapman asked the assembled detectives and civilian staff members to introduce themselves by rank and name and briefly describe their team roles. After DC Dawn Owens introduced herself as the family liaison officer, Chapman told her that Jessica had met Michelle De Klerk, so it would be good for them to have a private discussion afterwards. Jessica was surprised at how young Dawn looked, probably in her mid-twenties.
There was a large TV screen on the wall, and Jessica asked Chapman if she could plug her iPad into it to show the crime scene videos and photographs. He helped her set it up and switched the TV on. She used Google Earth to show the exact location and streets surrounding the De Klerks’ address. ‘Although they only moved in recently, Michelle De Klerk had been pestering her husband to get security cameras and a video doorbell. We found estimates from security companies and it was obviously something De Klerk intended following up on but unfortunately, he never did. The house is at the end of the terrace, and there’s no CCTV on Homer Road overlooking their wall or where they park their cars. Mrs De Klerk’s car keys were in the hallway, so I assume that is where her husband kept the Range Rover keys and the intruder grabbed them on his way out. The lack of security at the house could be why it was targeted for a burglary, but I’ll get to that later.’
‘Have the house-to-house enquiries turned up anything?’ a DC asked, and Chapman answered.
‘So far, there’s nothing useful regarding CCTV or suspect sightings. The nearest council cameras are down at Hackney Wick by the A12. DC Bingham is checking it out to see if De Klerk’s Range Rover was picked up.’
The team watched the video intently as it moved from the entrance of 389 Victoria Park Road, down the hallway and into the various rooms, with Jessica describing the different locations in the house. When the video finished, Jessica said she would discuss the intruder’s movements in the house using photographs they had taken to illustrate her analysis.
‘Taff Jones, our footwear and fingerprint expert, concluded that shoe marks in the garden flower bed, kitchen, living room, basement study and hallway came from the same trainers, which he believes to be Adidas size ten. He didn’t find matching foot-marks in the main bedroom or other first-floor rooms, so it seems unlikely the intruder went upstairs. There were also visible blood-stained footprints in the kitchen and a couple on the living room carpet leading towards the hallway from the same trainers. We did luminol tests in the hallway, revealing the same bloodstained footprints.’ She brought up the photographs. ‘As you can see, the tread marks are quite clear and lead to the front door, which was the intruder’s escape route.’
‘Looks like a blue glow stick,’ one detective observed.
