That was the extent of the encounter. Marcus was certain that no way could Simon Boatly have had any interaction with Amy that either he or Lena were not privy to. He was determined that his name would not be tarnished by Lena as he was a very valued friend.
The forensic scientists were still working hard in the lab as Reid walked along the trestle table with the young assistant, surveying the items removed from Marcus Fulford’s flat. The table was covered in white sterile paper sheets, on top of which were at least ten pairs of ladies’ underwear of different styles and colours. There were also separate bagged sheets and pillowcases from Marcus’s and Amy’s bedrooms. The assistant carried a clipboard, pointing out and checking off the tagged items they had been working on.
The assistant suddenly laughed out loud. ‘The end of that thing reminds me of an ice-cream whip,’ he said, pointing to a skin-coloured vibrator in the shape of a very large penis.
Reid did not find it amusing, just distasteful. ‘Who’s in charge so I can discuss your results so far?’
The assistant moved off to a side room and a man in a white lab coat came out and introduced himself. He was in his mid-thirties, dark-haired, slim and had a warm welcoming smile.
‘I’m Pete Jenkins, the lead scientist on this case. Thanks for coming in, DI Reid. I’ll deal with the bad news first: unfortunately we haven’t been able to raise a DNA profile for Amy from the toothbrushes you recovered.’
‘What, none of them?’ Reid asked, rather surprised.
‘It’s not uncommon as it looks like Amy gives her toothbrush a good clean after she uses it.’
‘What about blood from the used sanitary towel?’
‘Too old, decay and bacteria have destroyed any chance of DNA. However, we are trying to raise a profile from hairs removed from the hairbrush found in the bedroom at her father’s flat, but this process takes more time. We need a full profile for Amy to compare against the various female profiles recovered and obtained from vaginal secretions on some of the underwear found in her Mayfair bedroom.’
Reid was intrigued. ‘Various female profiles?’
‘Yes, we have managed to raise profiles on some of the underwear and they must have been worn by different women.’
‘What, like they were sharing them?’
Jenkins laughed. ‘No, there were no mixed female profiles on any underwear. The DNA indicates each individual pair has been worn by one woman, but there’s so far no match to any known profiles on the criminal DNA database.’
Reid didn’t quite know what to make of this, but felt slightly relieved when told there were no semen stains on Amy’s bed linen, although there were urine stains and unpleasant patches of faeces, and the blood on the mattress was menstrual.
Pete Jenkins continued. ‘Marcus Fulford’s bed linen was covered in semen and vaginal stains, as well as pubic hairs which are also yet to be tested for a profile.’
Reid smiled. ‘That doesn’t surprise me as it appears Mr Fulford is quite a womanizer.’
‘Well it’s reasonable to assume the semen stains are from Mr Fulford, but we urgently need a DNA sample from him for comparison. We also found a number of strands of hair on his bed that didn’t match in colour the hairs taken from Amy’s hairbrush.’
‘They may belong to Fulford’s girlfriend Justine.’
Jenkins frowned. ‘Or one of the unknown women whose underwear we have. We urgently need a DNA sample from every woman Marcus Fulford recently had sex with.’
Reid felt embarrassed at his lack of forethought. ‘It’s possible Amy had borrowed underwear from school friends, or they accidently left them behind after a sleepover at her father’s flat.
Jenkins’ frown deepened. ‘Big question then is why, and how, did they come to be in Amy’s room?’
‘Only Amy can answer that,’ Reid said but wondered to himself if Amy was keeping them as evidence against her father or to show her mother as proof of her father’s sexual exploits.
Jenkins continued. ‘The DNA from the semen stains on Mr Fulford’s bed linen matched semen stains recovered from some of the underwear in Amy’s room. The semen on the underwear probably got there as a result of seepage after sex. Assuming the semen on the bed linen is Mr Fulford’s then it’s reasonable to assume he had sex with the wearers of the ladies’ panties.’
Reid was stunned, and although finding it hard to follow the forensic data, he understood the implication. ‘So his semen is on Amy’s panties?’
‘I can’t obviously say a hundred per cent yes as I need to raise Amy’s DNA profile. If it is her profile and his semen then it’s reasonable to assume he was abusing his daughter.’
Reid looked sad. ‘To be honest, I already had my suspicions, but I doubted myself. Hearing what you just said puts a whole new perspective on the investigation and one that will cause Mrs Fulford unbelievable distress.’
‘I deal with fact and draw conclusions from the forensic evidence for the police and courts. I don’t envy your job in having to tell victims my findings.’
‘Will you call me as soon as you have anything further?’
‘Certainly, but above all I need DNA samples from suspects and witnesses for comparison and to confirm, or refute, my suspicions.’
Pete Jenkins went over to a large cabinet, opened it and removed a bag full of DNA sample kits, which he handed to Reid.
‘If you need more ring me or get some from your station supplies,’ Jenkins said, paused and then smiled at Reid, who looked despondent. ‘With the amount of seminal fluid we found I can say you’re looking for a suspect who ejaculates enough to fill a whole sperm bank at an IVF clinic!’
Chapter 17
By four o’clock Reid was back at the Richmond house and found a patrol car with a female officer in it waiting as he drove up. Asking her to stay put as he would be back with Marcus Fulford’s DNA in a few minutes, he rang the doorbell, and Agnes led him into the kitchen. Burrows looked tired, still sitting beside the phone, and had compiled an even longer list of names. Agnes reported that Mrs Fulford was in her office upstairs and Mr Fulford in the sitting room.
Reid went straight to the sitting room, where Marcus was lying on the sofa fast asleep. He woke with a start when Reid closed the door and, rather disorientated, sat up, ruffling his hair.
‘Sorry, I’ve had hardly any sleep since Amy’s been gone.’
‘I need to take a DNA swab from you, Mr Fulford.’
Marcus stood up, shocked. ‘Dear God, have you found her?’
‘Not as yet, but the forensic scientists need it for elimination purposes.’
‘I don’t understand – eliminating me from what exactly?’
‘As you are aware, we have taken numerous items from your flat in Green Street, and it is necessary to identify samples that have been recovered, specifically from female underwear and from bed linen.’
Having just woken, Marcus stretched his arms and shoulders, and didn’t at first grasp Reid’s obvious implication, but it dawned on him after a few seconds.
‘Jesus Christ, are you seriously suggesting I was having some kind of sexual relationship with my daughter?’
‘A DNA sample is the only way we can eliminate you from DNA found in Amy’s bedroom and possibly find who may have been having a sexual relationship with her. She may even have run away with that person.’
Marcus eventually complied and allowed Reid to take a DNA swab from his mouth; Reid then took it out to the waiting officer to take it to the lab.