Page 54 of The Scene of the Crime
He squinted at it. ‘It’s a bit of a mess, but I’ll have a go. Also, I’ve got some results for you. I ran the suspect footmarks through the database. The best match is to an Adidas size ten Ultraboost.’ He opened the folder and removed some pictures of the trainers and soles he’d printed off. ‘I’ve just emailed these to DI Chapman.’
‘Quite distinctive,’ Jessica remarked.
Taff nodded, ‘From the amount of detail in some of the footmarks at the scene, I’d say the trainers are reasonably new.’ He removed De Klerk’s mobile phone from the folder. ‘I got a finger and ear print off this and swabbed it for Diane to do DNA testing. There’s no trace in criminal records for a match to the fingerprint.’
Guy said he could download the phone data and compile a list of all the calls and messages, starting with the most recent. Taff handed him the phone. ‘All yours.’
‘Anything else, Taff?’ Jessica asked.
‘Yes, I think a portable battery-operated hydraulic door breacher was used to open the safe.’
‘So, De Klerk had a pretty useless safe,’ Diane commented.
‘No safe is entirely burglar-proof,’ Taff said. ‘Given the right tools, skills and time, any safe can be breached.’ He produced another picture from the folder, then held it up. ‘They’re lightweight and can easily fit in a rucksack or holdall. The one in the picture is an E-FORCE3, but it may not be the same as the one used on the safe. Firefighters use them on crashed cars. Metal doors and safes with multiple locks are no problem for this baby. You put the tip between the door and the frame, then turn it on. The tips spread apart, with an incredible amount of pressure, forcing the door open.’
‘That’s good work. Like the trainers, it will give a search team a good idea of what to look for.’
‘I also sent details and a picture of the door breacher to Chapman, but I forgot to mention that I need De Klerk’s finger and ear prints for elimination purposes.’
‘I hope to speak to Mrs De Klerk at the hospital tomorrow morning with the FLO, Dawn Owens. I’ll take a handheld fingerprint scanner and get Mrs De Klerk’s prints as well,’ Jessica said.
‘Didn’t Anderson get upset about you speaking to her yesterday?’ Diane asked.
‘Only because I’m not a trained FLO. If Anderson calls, say I’m out of the office, and you’ll get me to call him back on my return.’
Taff tapped his nose. ‘Mum’s the word, but it’ll cost you a round.’
‘That’s a deal I’m very happy to accept after work today. Are there any decent pubs around here?’
‘The Rose on Albert Embankment is a short walk away. It’s a lovely Victorian pub with views of the Houses of Parliament,’ Guy told them.
‘The Rose it is, then,’ Jessica agreed. ‘We’ll finish at five and can head off together. Thanks, all of you, for your hard work. I feel we’re getting closer to identifying the person responsible for all this.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Wheeler disposed of the car under cover of darkness a few hours before sunrise, but what should have been a half-hour walk home across the golf course, through woods and a playing field to avoid houses from which he might be seen, took him an hour. The excruciating pain from his broken ribs meant that he had to walk slowly and kept stopping to catch his breath. When Wheeler got home, he took some painkillers and more cocaine, then eventually fell asleep, remaining in bed until 5 p.m., by which time the pain had subsided slightly.
He had a hot bath, which made him feel a little better, though getting in and out was agonising. Feeling hungry, he ordered some food, then turned on the TV to watch the six o’clock news. To his surprise, there was still no mention of Johan De Klerk’s murder in the headlines.
The doorbell rang, Wheeler went to the door, picking up a knife from the kitchen along the way. Looking through the spy hole, he saw a man wearing a black coat and a crash helmet. Thinking the man might be about to kick the door in, Wheeler gripped the knife more tightly and took several steps backwards. After a few seconds, the doorbell rang again and Wheeler looked through the spy hole. Now he could see the ‘China Moon’ label on the carrier bag the man was holding and breathed a sigh of relief. Wheeler opened the door, handed the man a twenty-pound note, grabbed the carrier bag, told him to keep the change and quickly closed the door.
He turned up the volume on the TV so he could hear it in the kitchen and scooped the spareribs, sweet and sour pork and egg fried rice onto a plate. He sat on the sofa, gnawing on a spare rib, and continued watching the news. When it got to the weather with no mention of De Klerk’s murder, he thought maybe it just wasn’t a big enough story for the national news. As the London regional news began, the presenter started talking about a burglary in Hackney, during which the male occupant of the premises had been stabbed. They showed a house with a police constable standing by the door, and a reporter speaking to camera.
‘Between one and two a.m. on Monday, the house behind me was broken into. The owner, Johan De Klerk, was severely beaten and stabbed multiple times. He was found in the kitchen by police and taken to Hackney Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. Currently, he is in intensive care, and his condition is described as serious but stable. His wife, Michelle Belsham KC, was not at the house when the assault occurred but has been informed. Police suspect that a distinctive Rolex watch may have been stolen and are asking the public for any information . . .’
Wheeler nearly choked on the pork ball he had just stuffed in his mouth. De Klerk was still alive. Which meant not only a greater likelihood he could end up in prison again, but his own life was now in serious danger. And that meant a change of plan was necessary. He picked up the mini angle grinder and switched it on, almost blinding himself with the sparks. Easing the box open, he took out a black velvet pouch, pulled the drawstrings and tipped out the contents. He didn’t at first realise what he was looking at, but it slowly dawned on him that he’d hit the jackpot again.
Wheeler looked at his watch, picked up his personal phone and used it to book a one-way, 9 a.m. business class flight with Emirates Airways to Dubai on Wednesday morning, costing two thousand eight hundred pounds. He used his credit card to pay, but didn’t care about the cost as he had no intention of paying the bill. Next, he ordered an Uber to pick him up at midnight and take him to Heathrow. Although he’d have to wait eight hours for the flight, he’d feel safer there and, once through check-in, could relax in the business class lounge before the flight.
Having packed his bags, he poured himself a whisky and sat down on the sofa. He had been so focused on making plans that he hadn’t noticed the pain in his ribs, but now he did. He thought about taking some more cocaine but chose painkillers instead, as he needed a clear head to execute the next part of his escape plan. He looked at his watch. It was 8 p.m. Wearing gloves, Wheeler used a cloth to wipe any fingerprints off the Rolex watch, lockbox and burner phone he’d been given. He then placed the watch and two thousand pounds cash in a small zip bag and put them in the front pocket of his rucksack, along with the lockbox and his zipper case of lock picks. Next, he went to the kitchen, removed a black bin bag containing clothing from under his sink and stuffed it in the rucksack.
He was all set.
* * *
The choice of pub had proved to be a good one, and Jessica was pleased with the way the new team seemed to be gelling, but after such an intensive day, she was glad when she finally got home. Looking at her phone, she saw a text message from Dawn Owens saying Michelle was happy to give her statement tomorrow and that Dawn had arranged for them to meet her atthe hospital between 9.30 and 10 a.m. Jessica texted back that she would be there.
David, as usual, was in his bedroom, but she didn’t disturb him. Changing into a T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, she went to the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to see David had left her a bowl of chicken curry and rice he had cooked earlier. She checked the dishwasher; as expected, he hadn’t rinsed anything or filled it correctly. She wondered if he sometimes did it deliberately to annoy her as she removed the offending items, rinsed and replaced them in the dishwasher. She put the curry in the microwave and two small garlic naan breads in the toaster.
