‘Sounds like crime is a rare event round here?’
‘Pretty much. Problems only occur when the little buggers from the estate down the road come up here causing trouble. There’s the occasional burglary and criminal damage but that’s about it.’
‘Would you mind manning the scene while SOCO Morgan and I deal with the forensic examinations?’
‘Not at all. If you need a hand I’m more than happy to help out.’
Jane thanked him and walked over to one of the fire brigade officers who, unlike the others, had two black bands on his yellow helmet and was giving orders to his colleagues. She showed him her warrant card.
‘I’m WDS Tennison and this is Senior SOCO Morgan. We’re investigating a bank robbery and believe the burnt-out Cortina might have been used as a getaway car.’
‘I thought the Flying Squad dealt with bank robberies?’
She frowned. ‘We do and that’s why I’m here. Are you the senior brigade officer in attendance?’
‘Yes, I’m the duty crew manager. I’d say the car was deliberately set alight as the smell of petrol was strong when we ripped the garage door off with the winch. It’s fortunate the garages are brick-built with asbestos roofs otherwise the fire could have spread quickly along the whole row.’
‘I’m surprised the petrol tank didn’t explode,’ Jane remarked.
The crew manager grinned. ‘It’s extremely rare for that to happen, other than in the movies. As you can see the petrol cap’s still in place, which suggests your bank robbers wanted time to get away without attracting attention from a petrol tank explosion.’
‘They probably had a changeover car hidden in the garage,’ Dabs added.
The crew manager said the car would need hosing down for a few more minutes, then it should be cool enough for SOCO Morgan to examine. Jane looked inside the garage, but it was now just a wet, sooty shell with nothing in it other than a large pool of black water. The interior of the car was so badly damaged, that just the bare metal frames and springs of the seats were left, and both number plates had been destroyed. Dabs took some photographs of the car and pointed to the back footwell.
‘From the shape of it and small remnants of red paint, I’d say that burnt metal object is a petrol can.’
‘Are you going to get the car towed to the lab for examination?’ Jane asked.
‘I’d like to do it here, if possible, then have the vehicle taken to one of our car pounds for closer examination if it’s needed. They get a bit touchy about burnt-out cars being taken up to the lab as they make such a mess.’ He turned to the crew manager. ‘Could you open the bonnet and boot for us, please?’
The crew manager used the hooked end of his fireman’s axe to force the boot open. Inside they could see the congealed remnants of badly burnt clothing, which they agreed were probably what was left of the outfits the robbers wore.
‘They’ll sort out what’s what and take fiber samples at the lab,’ Dabs said as Jane held open an exhibits bag for him to put the bits of burnt clothing in.
The crew manager was having difficulty prising the bonnet open with his axe and asked one of his colleagues to assist him. As Jane watched them, she suspected the car was probably stolen and knew that identifying the owner would be an important part of the investigation. She recalled her attachment to Traffic Division, near the end of her uniform probation, and learning how a small metal plate riveted to the chassis under the bonnet contained unique details about the car and its origin, which could be used to identify the registration and the owner.
‘You know much about chassis plates, Dabs?’
‘A bit, but don’t ask me what all the numbers and letters on them mean.’
‘We could get a traffic officer to examine it here and now,’ she suggested.
Dabs nodded. ‘Chassis plates are stamped metal and pretty resilient to fire.’
The crew manager and his colleague finally managed to open the bonnet and used the prop to hold it up. The engine compartment was badly burnt, with heat-buckled metal parts, molten plastic and burnt wires. Dabs leaned forward and pointed to the fire-damaged chassis plate, which was barely readable.
‘On second thoughts, it’s probably best I remove the plate and send it to the lab for examination.’
Jane knew that would take even more time for a result.
‘A traffic officer might be able to give us something positive here and now... Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’
Dabs agreed and asked the uniform PC guarding the scene to contact a traffic vehicle examination unit and ask them to attend Edgar House. Jane thought about the scene at Woodville Road.
‘Will the car’s door sills have been damaged by the fire?’ she asked the crew manager.
‘Not if the seal between the sill and the door is tight enough.’
‘Will it be all right to open the car doors now?’
He held up his right hand. ‘I’ve got heavy-duty gloves on, so best I do it in case the handle’s still a bit hot. I’ll retrieve the burnt petrol can for you as well.’
‘Thanks. Could you open the front passenger door first, please?’
‘What’s the interest in the door sills, Sarge?’ Dabs asked as the crew manager opened the passenger door.
‘It’s to do with the blood we found on Woodville Road.’
She stepped forward to get a closer look at the sill, as did Dabs, who now realized what she was hoping to find. Jane smiled as she pointed to two drops of blood on the sill.
‘A young witness called Abby said the man who shot at the police car got out of the front passenger seat and back in it when the car left. I think the blood drops on the sill and in Woodville Road might be from an injury he sustained.’
Dabs was impressed with her thought process.
‘I’ll bet you’re right, Jane — to be honest I hadn’t thought about checking the sill. Sorry, I meant to say Sarge.’
‘It’s OK to call me Jane when we’re in a one-to-one situation, but obviously not in front of the team.’
‘I don’t mean to be rude, but you might have a problem there... No one calls Stanley “Sarge”, and the DI and DCI are both referred to as “Guv”. In fact, DI Kingston doesn’t mind you calling him Stu or Stewart, off duty.’
‘I don’t have a problem with Christian names off duty, but I think you should always show respect for rank at work. I’ve even told DC Gorman I expect to be addressed as Sarge when I’m on duty.’
Dabs winced. ‘And how did the Colonel take that?’
‘He didn’t say anything, but he seemed all right about it.’
Dabs wanted to give Jane some words of advice about how different things were on the Flying Squad compared to a normal CID office, but he decided it was best to let her find out for herself. He changed the subject and said he’d take swabs of the blood on the sill, then get it tested at the lab against the blood at the Woodville Road scene to see if the samples were the same blood group. The crew manager retrieved the burnt can from the back seat, sniffed the inside and said it smelt of petrol, then handed it to Dabs, who put it in a large nylon exhibits bag to prevent the evaporation of any fluid left inside it.
Jane entered the details of the can and burnt clothing in the exhibits book while Dabs photographed the burnt-out garage. She looked up and saw a traffic patrol PC walking towards her.
‘I’m PC Turner from the vehicle examination unit. A DS Tennison from the Flying Squad wants us to examine a car. Is he about?’
Jane sighed as she raised her eyebrows.
‘You’re talking to him,’ she replied tersely.
Turner looked embarrassed. ‘Sorry, I was expecting—’
‘I know — a man. You’re not the first to be surprised by me today.’