‘There’s more. The really good news is that we’ve found someone locally who had direct contact with Miss Shepherd.’
‘Hallelujah.’
‘It’s a chap by the name of Eric Grice, who seems to be some kind of handyman. He doesn’t live in Foxlow, but apparently he did occasional work at Bain House. So he’s actually spoken to the victim.’
‘Perhaps he can tell us why she hardly ever left the house.’
‘One suggestion is that she might have been suffering from agoraphobia. An irrational fear of open spaces.’
‘But she went into Matlock Bath, didn’t she?’ said Cooper.
‘Yes, and nobody reported her in any distress at being outdoors. We’ve spoken to her GP’s surgery, and she only ever consulted her doctor for insomnia. She seemed to be in good health otherwise, but she hadn’t been on his list for very long. Also, the surgery don’t have access to her previous medical records. Miss Shepherd told them she’d been living abroad …’ Hitchens paused. ‘Besides, whatever Rose Shepherd was afraid of, it wasn’t an irrational fear. The bullets that killed her were real enough.’
‘Do we have an update on the bullets?’ asked Kessen.
‘Well, they’ve gone to the lab,’ said Wayne Abbott. ‘The one removed from the wall of the bedroom was too badly damaged to be any use, but the two the pathologist recovered have their surface marks intact. The firearms examiner should be able to give us the make, model and calibre of the weapon, with a bit of luck. And if we manage to locate the weapon, we can match it up to the bullets with a fair degree of certainty.’
‘Can’t we run the bullets through the ballistics database?’
‘You mean IBIS? Well, we could — but what result would you be hoping for?’
‘A match that would help us identify the weapon, of course,’ said Kessen.
Abbott shook his head. ‘I think there might be a misunderstanding of what the database can do. You can only get an identification of a firearm if it’s been found somewhere and test fired in the lab. But this weapon is still out there, being used. It won’t be recorded in the database.’
‘But if the same firearm was used in an earlier incident where the bullets were found, could we establish a link?’
‘Perhaps. Provided details from the previous incident have been entered into the database.’
‘Ask them to try, then,’ said Kessen.
‘If you say so.’
‘What about the PM report, Paul?’
‘Pretty much what we expected. One bullet entered near the victim’s left eye and ricocheted around the brain for a bit before lodging behind the right ear. The other penetrated her left lung and was removed from a site close to her spine. A high-powered rifle can do a lot of damage to a human body.’
Hitchens pinned more photographs on the board. From the location of the bullet near the spine, ripples had spread out like a stone dropped in a pond, tearing flesh and crushing soft tissue. The body was almost all water, after all — and the energy of a bullet’s impact was converted into hydrostatic force, equivalent to the devastation of a tsunami.
‘So far, we can’t put anyone else at the scene,’ said the DI. ‘In fact, we don’t even have anyone to perform an official identification until her GP returns. According to the post-mortem report, the victim was medically incapable of conceiving, so there are no children in the picture. Right now, the nearest thing to a next of kin is her part-time handyman.’
After the briefing, Fry went with Hitchens to the DCI’s office to report her progress on the Darwin Street fire enquiry.
‘When he’s well enough, I want to take the husband back to the scene,’ she said, after she’d finished bringing her senior officers up to speed. ‘Today, if possible. As soon as he’s discharged from hospital.’
‘Why?’
‘For a start, I want to see how he reacts. His response to the deaths of his wife and children has been a bit difficult to judge so far, but that could be the sedatives they’re giving him at the hospital. Also, I haven’t told him any details of how the fire started. I’d like to see if he’s drawn to the seat of the fire, or if he lets slip something that he shouldn’t know. Alternatively, if he’s innocent, he might be able to point us to some item that doesn’t belong in the house, which might indicate an intruder or a visitor that we don’t know about.’
‘So you fancy the husband for this one, Diane?’
‘Yes, sir. The neighbours say there had been problems in the marriage. Mr Mullen even moved out for a while, though it’s not known where he went. And his alibi for the time the fire started is a bit suspect — it relies entirely on his best friend, a man by the name of Jed Skinner. I think I might be able to break that alibi down without too much trouble. But I need to do it before Mr Mullen is discharged from hospital, so they can’t get together and tighten up their story.’
Kessen looked at her report. ‘If Mr Mullen
‘Admittedly, we haven’t traced the driver yet. But even if we do, there was plenty of time for Mr Mullen to start the fire, get clear of the area and catch a taxi back again, arriving when the blaze had taken hold. Then he could draw conspicuous attention to his arrival by doing his tragic hero act in full view of the neighbours. Not to mention the police and firefighters, who were bound to hold him back, so he wouldn’t have to be too much of a hero.’
‘What if he’d timed it wrong, and arrived before the fire crews?’
‘It was a small gamble. Perhaps he had trust in the emergency services. Or perhaps he had more faith in his neighbour spotting the smoke.’
‘OK, it’s possible.’
‘I’ve also taken possession of the clothes Mr Mullen was wearing on the night in question. With your permission, I’d like to get them to the lab.’
‘You’re hoping to find traces of accelerant on his clothing?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘What about motive?’
‘If the marriage was in trouble, I’m thinking it might have come to a head recently. For example, if Mrs Mullen had told him he had to move out, or she was filing for divorce, he might have been upset about her taking the children away. It’s happened before.’
Kessen nodded. ‘The dog in the manger mentality: “If I can’t have the children, you’re not having them either.”’
‘Yes, sir. There’s one interesting fact from the FSS fire investigator, Quinton Downie. He says the fire wasn’t started in any of the logical places for a random arson attack. Rather, it began where the children’s toys were stored in the sitting room. Apparently, accelerant was poured over them, as well as on the carpet. That might prove to be significant. It makes the attack seem very personal.’
‘And it was carried out by someone who was able to get access to the house.’
‘Yes. I’m not convinced by the side window being forced. There are no signs of entry inside the room. It’s a kitchen window, and I’d expect to find marks on the window ledge or the work surfaces, but nothing’s been disturbed. The kitchen looks positively pristine.’
‘Footwear impressions outside?’
Fry shook her head. ‘Not after the firefighters had done their bit.’
The DCI looked thoughtful for a moment. But he wasn’t a man to take long over a decision.
‘OK. It sounds as though you’ve done all the right things, Diane. We’ll review the enquiry again as soon as you’ve got some forensic reports. I’ll be your SIO for now, so make sure you keep me up to date with any developments.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
‘Are you certain the scene was closed down tight from the start, and every bit of potential evidence was preserved? I know you’ve had the FSS in. That was a good move.’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Fry. ‘Everything by the book.’
‘Let’s hope your feeling about the husband is correct, then. If we have to eliminate him, it opens up a whole different ball game. A triple murder with no suspects is the last thing we need right now, Diane.’
