One of the civilian staff called him to the phone. ‘DI Leaman would like a word, sir. He’s at the theatre.’
He picked it up. ‘John?’
‘Guv, we’ve started the search here.’
‘Any joy?’
‘I’m in wardrobe, with Kate.’
‘Lucky man.’
‘You asked us to look for carrier bags. The thing is, Kate has to do shopping for costumes and materials. She has a stack of bags. So far I’ve counted forty-seven.’
19
Patience was a virtue Diamond didn’t have in abundance, but over the years he’d cultivated a little of it. Experience had taught him that you can’t rush the people who work in forensic labs. The blood test results from the post-mortem on Denise Pearsall would be revealed only when the scientists were ready. The men in white coats were well used to dealing with calls from policemen wanting swifter action. However, the same constraints didn’t apply to document examiners. They were used less often, so fair game for some badgering, in Diamond’s opinion. The suicide note supposedly written by Denise and recovered from the fake stove on stage at the theatre had been sent to an expert in Bristol called Lincroft. He hadn’t reported back yet.
‘Fearfully sorry, but I can’t help you much,’ Lincroft said when Diamond phoned him. ‘There isn’t much to go on.’
‘A signature.’
‘Half actually. She signed with her first name only.’
‘We sent you her real signature to compare it with.’
‘Well, I couldn’t do much without. If the suicide note is a forgery, it’s a good one. Often you can tell under the microscope, for example when there’s some shakiness to the writing from the effort to make an exact copy. There is slight evidence of a tremor here, but one has to make allowance for the writer’s state of mind.’
‘I don’t know how you ever reach a conclusion,’ Diamond said, hearing himself apeing the laid-back voice.
‘Usually there’s more to work with. And I don’t confine my researches to suicide notes. You’d be surprised what gets referred to me apart from the usual cheques and wills. Degrees, diplomas, even sick notes. Sometimes the deception is obvious, when, say, they trace over a signature in pencil and ink it in after. This certainly didn’t happen to the note in question.’
‘If this is a forgery – and there’s reason to think it is – how do they make it look right?’
‘By working from a genuine signature and practising. In that way they avoid the giveaway signs of uneven speed and pressure.’
‘But I can’t look to you for a firm opinion?’
‘I did say it was quite well done if it isn’t the real thing. I’ve spent considerable time, effort and taxpayers’ money examining this document. The fact that it’s merely a forename makes my task even more demanding. Even if I work on it for another week I’m unlikely to say what you want to hear.’
‘Oh, brilliant.’
At this point, Lincroft must have been moved by the disappointment in Diamond’s voice. ‘If I were you, I’d come at this from another direction.’
‘Oh?’
‘The letter was computer-generated. Did this lady possess her own computer and printer?’
‘Yes, but you can’t tell anything from printed stuff. It’s all done by laser, isn’t it? The days are long gone when we all used typewriters with chipped keys.’
‘Some modern printers still give information. I noticed some specks down the right edge, very small, deposited by the toner.’
Diamond picked up the photocopy he had of the note. He’d already seen some tiny dots randomly spread and hadn’t thought anything of them.
‘Cleaning the drum removes them,’ Lincroft went on, ‘but people tend to wait until the marks get worse and become obvious. There must be enough here to identify the printer that was used. I suggest you run some paper through the lady’s printer and then compare it.’
He was impressed. ‘Sounds like good advice.’
‘Glad to be of service. I’ll return the letter with my invoice. Goodbye.’
The phone went dead. There were times when Diamond wished he, too, was self-employed and issuing invoices.
He checked with the store downstairs where evidence was kept. They had what they called Denise’s motherboard, but not her printer. ‘Why not, for crying out loud?’ he said, and then aired his new expertise. ‘Some printers leave marks, you know. Vital information.’
They said it wasn’t their fault, but they would send someone to Dolemeads to fetch it.
‘Pronto.’
‘If that’s what you want, sir.’
‘What I really want is for someone to run a dozen sheets of blank paper through the thing and have them on my desk within the hour.’
