face clearly.'
'She described his signet ring.' Langton said.
'I know, but so many men of his class wear them.' She shrugged.
The meeting broke up, and Professor Marshe went into Langton's office. The team were fazed by her speech. She obviously believed Charles Wickenham was their killer; any doubts they may have had were not even mentioned. It yet again gave the team an added energy, as the hunt that had taken so long to get under way was now closing in on the man they all now suspected was their killer.
A car was sent for the landlady to be at the station for two p.m. At the same time, Wickenham himself was called and he agreed to be present. A car was also sent to collect him, even though he offered to drive himself. He did not ask for a solicitor to be present. He had been asked to wear a long dark coat; he was told that if he did not possess one, then one would be provided.
At one forty-five, Langton, accompanied by Anna and Lewis, drove to the purpose-built identity suite, with its two-way glass for officers to watch the interaction and the one-way window for witnesses to walk alongside as they viewed the nine men. An officer unconnected to the case would brief the landlady on what she should do. Langton and his team would not be allowed to discuss anything with her.
When Wickenham arrived, he was relaxed, and appeared to be as helpful as possible. He had brought in a long, dark navy, cashmere draped coat and asked if it was suitable. He was asked to draw the collar up, as were all the other men. He chose position number five. Anna and Langton watched the way he smiled at the other men. He was told to hold the numbered card up with both hands.
Mrs Jenkins was very nervous. She kept on saying that it had been a long time ago, and that she doubted she would be able to pick anyone out. She was calmed down and given a cup of tea by the officer who explained that she should take her time; if she wanted, she could ask him to ask the men to turn right or left or look full face towards her. He repeated numerous times that the lineup of men could not see her through the one-way glass.
Langton and Anna waited patiently as the viewing began. Mrs Jenkins did take her time; she walked back and forth and then paused in the centre exactly opposite Wickenham. She asked if they could all turn to their left, then right. She asked if they could place their left hand up across the lower part of their faces. This they did, and she walked the length of the window again. She paused for a second time opposite Wickenham.
'Do you recognise the man that called at your house on the ninth of January this year?' asked the officer.
Mrs Jenkins licked her lips. Langton took a deep breath.
'He is not wearing the signet ring,' Anna said, quietly.
'I know; hang on.'
Langton turned up the sound. She had now asked if the men could say something. When asked what she wanted them to say, she said something like, 'I'm sorry to disturb you.'
The men repeated the line one after another; again, she stood in front of Wickenham.
'Come on, come on,' Langton hissed, under his breath.
They both watched as Mrs Jenkins hesitated and then turned to the officer.
'I think it's number five, but he had a ring on his little finger when I saw him; he sounds like him, I just can't be one hundred per cent sure.'
Langton looked at Anna. 'Shit; not good enough.'
'Close though. She picked him out.'
'Yeah I know, but it's not one hundred per cent. I'm going to let him go.'
Anna nodded and they went out into the interview room allocated for suspects. Wickenham was staring out of the window, his back to them, as they entered.
'Thank you very much for your time, Mr Wickenham. We really appreciate you coming in to see us. The car will drive you back to your home.'
Wickenham slowly turned to face them. 'I knew it would be a waste of time. I do apologise for not getting back to you with all the contact numbers for you to check out, but I no longer have a secretary. Will later this afternoon be acceptable?'
'Yes sir, thank you very much.'
Langton forced himself to be cordial through gritted teeth as Wickenham shook his hand and then gave Anna a smile. 'Nice to see you again. It was really rather inconvenient, but I suppose you have to do what you have to do.'
'Yes,' she said, pasting on a smile like Langton.
Langton then asked if Wickenham could provide contact addresses for his ex-wife and children as they needed to interview them. Anna was looking directly at Wickenham and saw his eyes narrow and his jaw tighten.
'My family? What on earth for?'
'Just procedure, sir. If you would like to accompany us to the Incident Room, we can make it as fast and as convenient for you as possible.'
Wickenham gave a sigh and sat down, taking from his jacket pocket an electronic personal organiser. 'I'll do it now, so as not to waste any more of my time.'
'Thank you very much.'
Anna copied down the addresses and phone numbers of his son, his daughters and his ex-wife. She didn't react when it transpired that one of his daughters lived in Richmond.
'Dominique is in Milan, but she does come back and forth to London to see the girls. They spend most of their holidays with her. Emily is a student and Justine runs a stables. My son, as you know, lives on the estate with his partner, Gail Harrington.'
Throughout he was affable and helpful, even joking that they might find it difficult to interview his ex-wife as she was constantly travelling.
'Or shopping! Milan is the Mecca for shoes.' He laughed.
It was coming up to five o'clock when Langton returned to the Incident Room to update the team. The surveillance guys were already up and running. They would check out Wickenham's alibis and begin the interviews the following morning. Of the family contacts to follow up, earmarked first was Justine Wickenham as she lived in Richmond, not far from where Louise Pennel's body had been discovered. They now had a direct link to the murder site.
'He might not have been a one hundred per cent ID, but it's good enough for me, and we've done as Professor Marshe suggested: given him a lot of rope! So good work today; let's keep it up. We go at eight tomorrow morning.'
By now all the relatives had been contacted and agreed to meet the detectives. They were told simply that they needed to be questioned regarding an ongoing enquiry. Dominique Wickenham was in Paris, due to return to Milan the following day. Langton would be going over there to conduct the interview; by the time they broke up for the evening, everyone was still wondering who would be accompanying him.
Chapter Thirteen
Anna didn't realise until she got home how much the tension of the day had exhausted her. She had a shower and a quick snack before she went to bed and crashed out. The next day, she and Barolli were to interview the younger daughter, Emily Wickenham, a student at the London School of Economics, living in a small flat close to Portobello Road. Langton and Lewis were to meet with Justine Wickenham; they would reconvene at the station and then go to interview Edward Wickenham at the Hall. The only person they had been unable to contact was Gail Harrington: they were told she was still away at a health farm. The alibi given by Wickenham for 9 January was still being verified, but so far those contacted had agreed that he had been with them as he had stated.
