Page 47 of The Scene of the Crime
‘Sadly, no. A local reporter got wind of the break-in, contacted the Met’s press office at the Yard and started asking questions. It was clear the journalist only had snippets of information which they’d obtained from a neighbour. The press office informed me, and I had a meeting late yesterday afternoon with Anderson about it.’
Jessica realised Anderson had not gone home to his wife and hadn’t lied about the meeting with Williams. ‘So, he held back information as an investigative tactic,’ Jessica said.
‘No, that was my decision. Playing the incident down meant it wasn’t big news, and theGazettewasn’t that interested, so they only published a small article. Anderson disagreed. He felt that if there weren’t any good leads by this morning, it would be time to give the press chapter and verse, but I was against it for several reasons. Mr and Mrs De Klerk’s wishes had to be considered before information about them and the crime was released. Mr De Klerk is in a coma, so we don’t know how he would feel about it, and Anderson hadn’t spoken with Michelle. I also considered that this early in the investigation, a full press release might jeopardise it.’
‘In what way?’
‘Sometimes details about active investigations need to remain within the investigating team and not be released to the media. Criminals watch the news to see what’s happening and gather information about the progress of an investigation. Whoever committed the crime doesn’t know what we know. Recovering the Rolex watch and the car is vital to the investigation but finding them in the intruder’s possession is what we want. So, tell me about the crime scene and your analysis.’
Jessica condensed what she’d told Anderson’s team, telling Williams that she was due to meet with Michelle De Klerk to compile a victim profile on Johan, and then explaining why the appointment had been cancelled.
‘I didn’t realise Mrs De Klerk was Michelle Belsham, the barrister, until Anderson told me,’ Williams said.
‘By all accounts, she’s a fearsome operator,’ Jessica remarked.
‘She is. But my heart goes out to her with everything she must be going through. I’ve just met her at social functions and attended a lecture where she spoke about the pitfalls of the poor and inaccurate evidence police officers give in court. She says she likes to “boil the frog” when cross-examining them.’
Jessica looked puzzled.
Williams smiled. ‘If a frog is put into boiling water, it will jump out, but if put in tepid water and brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and be cooked.’
Jessica winced. ‘I see. And that’s what she likes to do to police officers?’
‘Michelle approaches her cross-examination of witnesses by gradually leading them through a series of questions, starting with non-contentious ones before moving on to more critical ones. She lures them into making small admissions without realising the impact of their answers, which ultimately leads to a significant admission or contradiction. It can seem brutal but she’s only doing her job. I’ve always found her very pleasant outside of the courts.’ Williams looked at the clock on the wall. ‘I’d better get going as I’ve got a meeting at the Yard.’
‘With DCI Anderson?’
‘With the Commissioner . . . to tell him MSCAN are doing a wonderful job, and even Anderson was singing your praises!’ Williams said, and with her back turned, she waved her hand as she left the room.
Jessica laughed to herself. Williams, as always, was frank, down-to-earth and humorous. She continued with her report on the laptop.
A little later, Guy informed Jessica he’d finished setting up the HOLMES equipment.
‘Great, thanks. Let’s get you up to speed then.’ She invited him to sit beside her so she could go through the scene, step by step, using the video and photographs she had loaded onto her iPad. Once she had given her analysis, Jessica told Guy about meeting Michelle De Klerk, her visit to the hospital and Johan’s condition. She also told him she would do a victim profile.
He nodded, taking it all in. ‘You’re obviously very busy, so I’m happy to do internet searches about De Klerk and see what I can find about his business and associates.’
‘Thank you, that would be helpful. So far, all I know is that Johan’s a wine importer from Stellenbosch, South Africa. His company is called Springbok Wines. I’m unsure if he has a London office or runs it all from home, though I assume he must have a warehouse somewhere.’ She showed him the internet site she found with a picture of Johan in a vineyard.
Guy looked closely at the picture. ‘Can’t say I’ve come across him before. He might use a registered UK company to distribute his imported wine. Leave it with me, and I’ll do some digging. Have you considered doing victimology on Michelle De Klerk?’
‘Not at present. Why do you ask?’
‘As Michelle Belsham, the barrister, she may have prosecuted or defended people with previous convictions for burglary and assault. Convicted criminals often hold grudges against those who put them in prison or feel their legal counsel failed them.’
Jessica gave an approving nod. ‘That’s a good point and worth following up.’
‘It also raises a few questions. Did the intruder intend to kill her but was unaware she was out of town, or was his intent tocause her grief and suffering by killing her husband? The whole burglary thing may be a deliberate distraction to hide his real intent.’
She nodded. ‘He may even have intended to kill them both, but forcing the safe open, stealing the contents and the signs of a struggle in the living room and kitchen fit with a burglary gone wrong, as Andersons suspects. We need to consider every possibility.’
‘Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable . . .’
‘Must be the truth,’ Jessica said, completing the Sherlock Holmes quote fromThe Sign of Four.
‘I’ll look through her old court cases,’ Guy continued, ‘starting with the most recent, working backwards and compile a list of possible suspects along with their photographs and criminal records. I was going to grab a sandwich and bottle of water from the canteen if that’s OK. Would you like anything?’
‘I’m fine, thanks.’ She went back to her work. A few minutes later, she heard laughter coming from the main office. Realising Taff and Diane were back, she went to join them. She noticed they were both sweating profusely.
