There were eight members of the press and two cameramen waiting in the foyer. Boon was disappointed not to see Becky amongst them as he handed out the press passes.
‘Please follow me,’ he said, opening the door.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Becky said loudly as she rushed into the foyer.
Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at her.
‘I didn’t know Newsround covered murders,’ a journalist said sarcastically, and a few of the others laughed. Boon handed Becky a pass.
‘Well, that was a good start,’ he whispered.
‘Sorry, it took me ages to find somewhere to park. My editor’s well chuffed I’m attending this. I’ve got a list of questions to ask,’ she said waving a sheet of paper at him.
‘Please, Becky, just let the seasoned journalists ask the questions,’ he cautioned.
‘Shall we make our own way upstairs officer?’ an impatient journalist asked.
Boon was beginning to regret inviting Becky.
Barnes welcomed everyone and waited for the cameramen to set up before starting. The detectives on the squad stood at the side of the room. Jane noticed Lloyd Johnson walk in and waved to him. He waved back, then went and stood at the back of the room.
Barnes opened by introducing himself and Stanley, then addressed the journalists. ‘I’m sure most of you are aware of the article in the Bromley News Shopper.’
Members of the press nodded, while Becky looked at Boon with a satisfied grin.
Barnes continued. ‘I’ve called this conference today because we need the help of the mainstream media, press and the public to solve the murder of our unknown victim. Whilst the News Shopper is correct about some aspects of the nun’s death, there are also many inaccuracies. Most notably about the bodies of children being buried on the grounds of the former Sisters of Mercy convent. Sensationalist journalism doesn’t help our investigation. At present there is no evidence to support the claim that any children were murdered. Our primary focus is to identify the nun, which I’m confident will lead us to whoever killed her.’
Boon noticed Becky’s grin change to an indignant frown.
‘At this point, I’d like to hand over to Detective Sergeant Jane Tennison, who initiated the investigation. She will take you through the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body and the post-mortem. Jane, if you please.’ Barnes beckoned her over.
Jane was taken aback at being put on the spot. Barnes hadn’t given her any warning she was going to address the press.
‘Knock ’em dead, sarge,’ Boon whispered.
Jane walked over to the maps on the wall, then used the most recent one to show where the coffin had been found and described how it had been uncovered by the workmen. She then moved over to the wall with the photographs on it. She touched the photograph of the nun in the coffin with her index finger.
‘It was fortunate the body was mummified. This helped to preserve evidence of injuries on the body that might not have been found if advanced decomposition had occurred. Dr Samantha Pullen, the forensic pathologist, concluded the victim had been initially strangled to unconsciousness then put in the coffin. Scratch marks and broken fingernails on the inside indicate she regained consciousness and tried to get out. At or about this time, she was then stabbed in the back of the neck. The knife severed her spinal cord, which would have caused total paralysis. She may have died instantly or lost the ability to breathe properly and suffered a slow death by asphyxiation.’
The room fell silent as everyone took in the disturbing details of the murder.
‘How old do you think she was?’ a journalist asked.
‘Expert opinion from a forensic dentist and anthropologist suggests between eighteen and thirty.’ Jane pointed to Richard Eaves’ drawings. ‘These artist’s impressions of her face were done by the anthropologist. We can’t say they are an exact likeness of our victim but we’re hoping they may help to identify her. We have copies for you to take with you.’
Jane pointed to the photographs of the cross. ‘We recovered this cross she was wearing around her neck. As you can see from the enlarged photograph, it’s engraved with the initials MB and the date 20.02.58. Clearly this date is significant as the convent closed in 1963. It could relate to the date she became a novice or took her final vows, which would generally be five years later. We believe the nun—’
‘Could it be her date of birth?’ Becky interrupted without thinking, eliciting some mocking laughter around the room.
Jane was polite in her reply. ‘We excluded that possibility as it would mean the nun would only have been five when the convent closed.’
Becky blushed and looked at Boon apologetically.
Jane continued. ‘We believe the nun lived and worked at the convent. It’s reasonable to surmise she was murdered between 1958 and 1963.’
‘Do you think someone else at the convent was involved?’ a journalist asked.
Jane knew his question required a guarded answer. Before she could reply, Barnes stepped forward.
‘On the evidence so far, yes, I do. But that’s not to say it is the only line of inquiry we are looking at.’
‘Do you have any suspects?’ the same journalist asked.
‘Yes, but for obvious reasons I can’t disclose who they are at this stage.’
‘Is the diocese helping you with your inquiries?’ a female journalist asked.
‘We have spoken with Bishop Robert Meade. He informed us all documentation relating to the nuns and children was destroyed by a fire at the convent in 1962, shortly before it closed.’
‘What... everything?’ she asked, looking surprised.
‘So it would seem. As you can imagine, it has made our task of tracing the nuns and children who lived at the convent a difficult one. I would appeal to anyone who lived or worked at the convent to call the incident room at Orpington police station. With your assistance, I am confident we can put a name to our victim and solve this monstrous crime,’ Barnes concluded.
Becky raised her hand. Boon looked at her and shook his head, but she ignored him.
‘Just a couple of questions if I may, sir.’
‘Yes, go ahead, young lady,’ Barnes said.
‘Do you think the nun’s death could be linked to the convent land being developed into flats?’
‘Are you asking if I think the developers were in some way involved?’ he said.
Becky nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘We have considered that possibility,’ he said, ‘but we have excluded it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we now know all the buildings and land were deconsecrated before purchase. Secondly, it would make no sense to bury a body on land that you are going to dig up.’
There was another ripple of laughter at Becky’s expense.
A couple of journalists raised their hands. Barnes pointed to one of them, but Becky hadn’t finished.
‘DS Tennison mentioned a forensic dentist examined the victim’s teeth. Does that infer she’d had some dental work done?’
Barnes shook his head in disbelief and looked at Jane to answer.
‘That’s correct,’ she said. ‘We’re checking missing persons with dental records on their files against the victim’s teeth. Obviously, we haven’t had a match yet.’
‘If the nun was never reported missing, you won’t get a match, will you?’ Becky said.
‘It would be negligent of us not to check missing persons’ dental records,’ Barnes said tersely. He pointed to another journalist, but Becky still wasn’t done.
‘Did the nuns at the convent drive cars?’
‘I don’t know!’ Barnes said, unable to disguise his exasperation.
‘Nuns don’t generally drive cars,’ a seasoned-looking journalist in a grey pinstripe suit remarked. ‘They take a vow of poverty. You might occasionally see one on a bike though,’ he said wittily.