Mike Lewis went over to the large low-tech whiteboard that he had asked Joan to get for the office. He picked up a black marker, then wrote down the salient points as he addressed the team.
‘Two days before his death, Josh Reynolds took home fifty grand to put in his safe, so where did it go?’
Joan said that she had looked through Reynolds’ personal bank statements and there were no deposits or withdrawals that tallied with this amount. Mike was about to continue when DC Ross came into the room and apologized, claiming he had been so engrossed in viewing the CCTV footage he hadn’t realized the time. The team gave him a slow handclap, whereupon he held up a DVD and told them they would be really applauding him after they watched it. Mike said he’d have to wait his turn but the team knew that when Dan Ross was being serious it had to be something good. Mike gestured to the whiteboard.
‘This is a team effort and I’m not here to do it all for you, so come on, speak up,’ Mike encouraged them. Anna could see how much Mike had learned from Langton, yet his approach and style of delivery were completely different, unassuming yet a natural motivator and leader. Joan held up her hand.
‘Yes, Joan,’ Mike said.
‘Well, we now know his mother Esme’s home address. I’ve checked it out and it’s not been sold or leased so we might find something there,’ Joan suggested, and Mike gave her a nod of approval as he wrote down SEARCH ESME’S. ‘Next point.’ He turned back to face the room before continuing.
‘Unknown black male/decorator at Josh and Esme’s flats.’
‘The decorator needs to be traced and interviewed. He could have known about the money in the safe and therefore had a motive,’ Mike pointed out.
‘I think your quite right, sir, and the decorator was Curtis Bowman, the Trojan’s handyman,’ Dewar said
Mike was about to ask Dewar why but Anna interjected.
‘It wasn’t and I’d go as far as to say that Bowman is as clean as a whistle. The decorator was most likely Josh’s Uncle Samuel who came over from Jamaica for his sister Esme’s funeral and returned there.’
‘Do you know for certain he returned?’ Dewar asked
‘No, but he didn’t go to Josh’s funeral,’ Anna replied and Joan said she would make enquiries with the UK Border Agency.
Mike Lewis said they couldn’t just assume it was Samuel who did the decorating, but he wanted it resolved quickly. Anna briefly added Samuel might have a sister Marisha who lived in Brixton, but enquiries were still ongoing.
Dewar mentioned that there was a set of keys recovered from Josh’s body at the mortuary and maybe they were for Esme’s flat.
‘Anyone know where these keys are now?’ Mike asked.
Anna said that they had been restored to Donna. There was an air of restlessness around the room as everyone recognized the significance of the information and Mike wrote down ESME’S KEYS + DONNA? on the board.
Barolli speculated that if Josh was having an affair then he could have been using his mother’s flat as a love nest, which meant a jealous husband or boyfriend could be involved.
No one spoke, as if mulling over this new possibility, and eventually Langton said that if that was the case, making the scene look like a suicide didn’t really fit with a crime of passion.
Dewar looked over to him. ‘I disagree because it would fit with a jealous wife who wanted it to look like something other than a crime of passion.’
Mike wrote quickly on the board, trying to keep up, and asked for just one point at a time before inviting Dewar to continue.
‘The surveillance unit lost Donna near Esme’s block of flats and she may well have Josh’s keys for the premises. Donna also suspected Josh of having an affair. These are all things that she never told DI Simms or us, for that matter.’
Anna turned to Dewar.
‘Hang on a second. To be fair, Donna was never asked about Esme’s flat when we spoke to her, or if she thought Josh was having an affair.’
Dewar, thinking Anna was challenging her opinion, folded her arms. ‘So you don’t think she was in any way suspicious or jealous of Josh?’
Anna sighed and everyone could feel the undercurrent between the two women.
‘I’m not saying you are wrong, I’m simply suggesting that Donna could have a reasonable explanation for-’
Dewar interrupted her. ‘It’s clear Josh was having an affair and Donna suspected that to be the case. Whatever way you look at it, jealousy is motive,’ Dewar said, plainly suggesting that Anna’s own comments stemmed from pure envy.
‘There is nothing on his mobile, laptop or e-mails to suggest he was having an affair,’ Anna said curtly, refusing to back down.
Mike could see that Langton was annoyed at their squabbling. He was about to interject when the DCS spoke up.
‘Let’s move on, shall we. DC Ross, surprise us all with your CCTV revelations,’ Langton said gruffly, making it clear he was yet again unimpressed with Dewar and Travis’s behaviour.
Ross walked over to the DVD player and put a disc into it, bringing up the CCTV footage on the large screen. He pressed Pause.
‘As you are all aware, I was given the enviable task of viewing a shedload of CCTV footage from the Savoy, where the Lynne Charity Ball was held. I have of course produced and edited this DVD on my own and I hope that you enjoy the-’
‘Get on with it, Ross!’ Langton barked.
‘This is the entry and exit barrier at the hotel’s underground car park and as you can see the time clock shows 10.05 p.m. on the fifth of November.’ Ross pressed play on the DVD.
The guard in the security kiosk could be seen watching TV, then, without looking, he raised his hand and pressed a button. The barrier moved upwards and a brown Mini Cooper appeared in the CCTV as it left the car park.
Ross paused the tape. ‘As you can see, the registration is DON4L and that plate is registered to Donna Lynne.’
Ross then played a further section of CCTV footage that showed the Mini returning to the car park at 11.50 p.m.
There was complete silence in the room as everyone took in the importance of what they’d just seen. Anna looked over at Dewar, who, she thought from the smile on her face, was revelling in the moment.
‘Aisa said that Donna drove her in the Mini to the hotel,’ Dewar said, raising her eyebrows at Anna.
Fearing the two of them were going to argue the point, Langton stood up. ‘Good work, Ross.’ He smiled and then nodded at Dewar. ‘It would seem that your suspicions about Donna Reynolds were right, Jessie.’
‘Thank you, sir, but I believe I was wrong about someone being hired to kill Josh. Donna’s clearly an accomplished liar who planned everything down to a tee and used the charity function as a cover to go and kill her husband.’
Members of the team nodded or voiced their agreement, although Anna felt Dewar was being self-righteous and milking the moment and wanted to comment on the fact that due to the reflection of light on the vehicle’s windscreen it was not exactly clear who was driving. But she held back, fearing any remark would just be seen as sour grapes.
Pete Jenkins came in and sat down, shifting uneasily as he noticed that everyone was looking at him.
‘Have I done something wrong?’ he asked.
‘Not at all,’ said Mike. ‘In fact, you are right on cue. We have evidence that Donna Reynolds lied. She left the hotel between ten and twelve the night of the fifth. So your crime scene report and blood distribution is now critical to the investigation. Do you want to share your findings with us?’
Pete stepped forward and said that he believed there was evidence to support the theory that Josh Reynolds was murdered and the scene staged to look like a suicide. The room filled with an air of anticipation, everyone eager to hear what the forensic scientist had to say.
Pete played a short animated video of what happens when someone is shot in the head, giving them all a running commentary.