فصل 03

Otley was the last person to arrive at the meeting. All the police officers in the room were silent. They had admired their boss and now Shefford was dead. Kernan stood up and began to speak. ‘I’ve looked at the Marlow case and I think we can charge him with Della Mornay’s murder.

I’m bringing in another senior officer to take over the case. You all know Chief Detective Tennison.’ There was a shout of protest from the men. Otley stepped forward. ‘I’m sorry sir, but you can’t let her take over. We don’t want her! We’ve worked as a team for five years. Bring in someone we know.’

‘She’s the only officer available,’ Kernan said, ‘and she’s taking over the case. There’s nothing more to discuss.’

He left the room quickly before there were any more protests. Tennison was going to have trouble working with these men.

Otley emptied everything out of John Shefford’s desk. His eyes filled with tears as he looked at the photographs of Shefford’s family. He was still sitting at the desk when Burkin came in.

‘Tennison’s checking through the evidence. Do you want to speak to her?’

‘I don’t even want to be in the same room as her,’ Otley said.

Tennison read all the reports on the Della Mornay case, then she and Detective Jones went to see Mrs Salbanna at the house in Milner Road. The woman couldn’t tell her anything.

‘She didn’t pay her rent,’ she complained. ‘When will you police finish looking at her room? I could rent it to someone else. I need the money.’

‘You saw the body,’ Tennison said. ‘Are you certain it was Della Mornay?’

‘Who else could it be’ Mrs Salbanna asked.

‘How well did you know Della?’

‘I didn’t know her, I rented a room to her. I didn’t see her often, only when I collected the rent. And she was always late paying that.’

Tennison looked around Della’s room. There were still some clothes and shoes in the cupboard. She looked carefully at the shoes.

Next, Tennison went to look at Della Mornay’s body. Someone had cleaned her and combed her hair but the deep cuts on her face were still there. Tennison looked at the marks on Della’s arms.

‘She was tied by the top of her arms and her wrists,’ the doctor said. ‘And there’s a small cut on her hand.’

‘Where?’

The doctor showed her a small cut on the girl’s wrist. ‘It was quite deep, so it must have bled a lot.’

Tennison nodded and turned to Jones.

‘We arrested Della before so we must have a copy of her fingerprints. Check them with the fingerprints from the body.’

‘We’ve already done that,’ Jones said.

‘Well, do it again. Now.’

That night, as Peter watched television, Jane Tennison continued reading her notes on the case. She looked very tired.

‘Come to bed, Jane,’ Peter said.

‘Soon. I want to finish this.’

Peter went to bed. Jane did not come with him. She worked all through the night and fell asleep sitting at her desk.

At nine o’clock when Tennison entered the meeting room, all the officers were silent. They didn’t try to hide how much they disliked her.

‘You know that I am now in charge of this case. I’m sorry about Shefford - I know you are upset and shocked by his death. I hope that you’ll co-operate with me to close the case.’ She looked at their faces. ‘If any of you don’t want to work with me, then you can move to another case.’

None of the men spoke. Otley looked at her with hatred.

‘OK. Now here’s the bad news,’ she continued. ‘This is a photograph of Della Mornay and this is a photograph of the murder victim. Their fingerprints are not the same. Their feet are different sizes. Our victim is not Della Mornay. Somebody made a mistake.’

‘You know Shefford identified her,’ Otley shouted,

‘Then he was wrong. I want to know how Marlow knew her name. At the beginning of his first interview, he said he didn’t know the girl. By the end of the second interview, he was calling her Della! How did he find out her name?’

Otley opened his mouth to interrupt but she did not notice him.

‘We have to start again. We have to find out who the dead girl is and where Della Mornay is. I think Marlow is involved in this case, but if we don’t find more evidence, we can’t charge him. So we need to work quickly.’

Nobody spoke as she walked to the door, but when she left the room, all the men started talking.

‘I hate her,’ Otley said. ‘John Shefford only died yesterday and she’s trying to make him look like a fool.’

When Tennison went to interview Marlow, she was surprised by how handsome he was. Handsome, polite, wearing an expensive suit.

She introduced herself. ‘You know what happened to John Shefford. I’m Chief Detective Tennison. I am now in charge of this case. I need to ask you some more questions.’

Marlow repeated his story. He saw the girl near the station and offered her money to have sex with him.

‘Which girl?’

‘Della Mornay.’

‘You knew her then, did you?’

‘No, I didn’t know her name. I’d never seen her before. Mr Shefford told me her name.’

‘OK. Then what happened?’

‘We had sex, in the back seat of my car. When she climbed out of the car, she cut her hand on the edge of the radio. I gave her my handkerchief to wrap around her hand because there was blood on her fingers. Then I took her back to the station. She got out of my car and went to another car - a red one. I suppose she found another customer.’

‘And you’re sure you’d never seen her before?’

‘No, and I wish I hadn’t seen her then. I was so stupid.’

Otley knocked on the door and Tennison went outside to speak to him.

‘We’ve found some blood on his coat. It’s the same type as the victim’s. We’ve got him!’

‘No we haven’t,’ Tennison replied. ‘He says that the girl cut her hand in his car - that explains the blood. And Shefford told him Della’s name. We haven’t enough evidence to prove that he did the murder. If we went to court with this case they would find him not guilty immediately.’

Tennison interviewed Marlow for another hour. Finally she collected her papers together.

‘Just one more question, Mr Marlow. You drove home. Is that right?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have a garage?’

‘No, I left the car outside the house. The police say they can’t find it. Do you think it’s been stolen?’

Tennison did not reply. She was walking to the door when Marlow stopped her.

‘Excuse me, can I go home now?’

‘No. I’m sorry Mr Marlow but you can’t.’

Otley was sitting in the mitting room talking to Burkin when Tennison walked in with a big dark haired man.

‘This is detective Tony Modymon. He starts work with us tomorrow. I’ve told him something about the case but you can tell him the details.’

Modymon Knew some of the officers and they greeted. Otley was not sure about him. He did not want any friends of Tennison’s working on the team. Tennison picked up a piece of paper Otley’s desk.

‘Are these names of girls who’ve been reported missing?’

“Yeah, it says missing persons report on the top of it.’

‘Cut it out, Otley’ Tennison said sharply.

She looked at the list. One in Brighton, one in Sorry, one here in London. I’ll visit them. She reached for the telephone as it rang. It was Peter. She turned away from the man in the room as she talked to him.

‘I’m sorry, I can’t talk now. Is it important?’

Burkin came into the room looking for her.

‘We’re ready to search Marlow’s house again’, he said.

Tennison promised to call Peter back later. She put the telephone down and went to join Burkin.

‘We’re looking for a handkerchief’, she said. ‘One with blood on it.’

Tennison and Burkin knocked on the door of Marlow’s house. They waited a long time before the door was pulled open. Moyra Henson stood there. Tennison looked carefully at her. It was the first time she had seen Marlow’s wife.

She knew Moyra was thirty-eight but she looked older. She wore expensive clothes and a lot of make-up.

‘Yes’ she asked.

‘I’m Chief Detective Tennison.’

‘So what?’

Tennison noted the good jewellery which Moyra wore, expensive bracelets, lots of rings– her nails were long and red.

‘We want to search this house. We have the necessary papers. I’d like to ask you a few questions while Detective Burkin looks around.’

‘I don’t have much choice, do I’ Moyra said as she let them in.

The house was tidy and well decorated.

‘This is very nice,’ Tennison said.

‘What did you expect? George works hard, he earns plenty of money. Have you found his car yet? It’s your fault it’s gone. Somebody will have seen you take him away and stolen the car.’

‘I can’t give you any information about the car. I just want to have a chat with you. I’ve taken over the investigation. The other inspector died suddenly.’

‘Good! The fewer police, the better!’

‘How do you feel about your husband picking up a prostitute, Moyra’ Tennison asked.

‘Wonderful! How do you think I feel?’

‘What about the girl he attacked before he went to prison?’

‘He didn’t do anything. That woman was crazy. Maybe George had too much to drink, but he didn’t attack her.’

‘Was he drunk when he came home on Saturday night?’

‘No, he was not!’

‘And what time did he arrive home?’

‘Half past ten. We watched television and we went to bed.’

Tennison took a photograph from her bag and showed it to Moyra. ‘This is the girl he admits he had sex with. Look at her.’

‘So what? I’m sorry the girl’s dead but what do expect me to do about it? Plenty of men have sex with other women.’

‘One more question, Moyra. Did you know Della Mornay?’

‘I’ve never heard of her.’

‘Never?’

‘No.’

‘And you’re certain George didn’t know her?’

Moyra folded her arms across her chest. ‘I’ve never heard of her.’

Tennison put the photograph back in her bag. Thank you for your time,’ she said.

As they left the house, Burkin told her that he had not found any handkerchief with blood on it.

Otley and Jones searched through a list of all the girls who had been reported missing in London during the last month, then they began visiting their homes. One of them could be the murder victim. The first apartment they visited was in a good neighbourhood but the apartment itself was untidy and dirty.

A tall blonde haired girl opened the door.

‘My friend, Karen, has been missing for about two weeks. Nobody has seen her. I thought she was staying with her boyfriend, but she isn’t.’

‘Do you have a photograph of her’ Otley asked.

When he looked at the photograph of the pretty young girl he knew immediately he had found the name of the murder victim.

Tennison and Burkin visited two other families who had reported missing daughters. Neither of them was anything like the murdered girl.

‘Otley has done this on purpose. He knew these couldn’t be the girls. He’s trying to make me look stupid,’ she thought.

As they drove back to London, Tennison asked Burkin, ‘What do you think of Marlow?’

Burkin answered slowly. ‘I think he did it. There’s something about him. I don’t know what, but I think he’s our man.’

Tennison stared out of the car window, talking more to herself than to Burkin. ‘You know, being a woman in my position isn’t easy. I have feelings about people, but they’re probably different to yours. As a man, you feel that Marlow did it. Why? Why do you think it’s him?’

‘He had sex with her. We know that,’

‘That doesn’t make him the murderer. We have to find the links, the connections. His wife supports him. He’s been in trouble before, but she still supports him.’

‘I still think it’s him,’ Burkin said.

‘You can’t charge a man because you think he’s guilty. You have to have evidence.’

At that moment, a message came over the radio. The officers had searched every inch of Della’s flat. There was no evidence to show that Marlow had ever been there, not a single hair.

Tennison leaned back in her seat. ‘How did he get in there and walk away without leaving anything behind?’

The third house they visited belonged to a rich family. The door was opened by a man.

‘Major Howard? I’m Chief Detective Tennison and this is Detective Burkin. We want to ask you some questions about your daughter.’

He let them into the house. ‘Of course. Do come in.’

He led them into a large room with big windows which looked out onto the garden.

The elderly man turned to them. ‘Please sit down. What can I do for you? Is something wrong?’

‘We’re looking for your daughter. Nobody has seen her for two weeks.’

‘What? Is this a joke?’ The man looked upset, but Tennison kept on questioning him.

‘Do you have a photograph of your daughter?’

When the Major showed her a photograph, Tennison knew immediately who it was.

‘I’m sorry, sir,’ she said. ‘I have to tell you that I think your daughter is dead.’

Otley and Jones spent the rest of the afternoon interviewing prostitutes. None of them could remember when they last saw Della.

‘These women make me angry,’ Otley said. ‘We should get rid of them all. They’ll do anything for money.’

Jones did not reply.

‘My wife,’ Otley went on, ‘was a good woman. She never hurt anybody and she died. Why did she have to die? Why not one of these women?’

Tennison led Major Howard into the room where the body was lying.

‘Are you ready’ she asked him.

He nodded.

She pulled back the blanket which covered the body.

‘Major Howard, is this your daughter, Karen Julia Howard?’

He stared at the dead girl. Tennison waited. After a long time, he nodded. ‘Yes, this is my daughter.’

There were many questions which Tennison wanted to ask him, but he spoke first.

‘How did she die? How long has she been here? Why wasn’t I told before? Who is in charge of this investigation?’

Tennison interrupted. ‘I’m in charge.’

‘You? Let me speak to Commander Trayner. He’s a friend of mine. I will not have a woman in charge! Let me see the Commander.’

Tennison opened her mouth to reply but Burkin stopped her.

‘Leave him alone,’ he said. ‘He’s upset.’

‘I have many friends,’ the Major shouted. ‘I know many people who could lead this investigation -‘

Then he began to cry like a small child.

Tennison was ashamed of herself for wanting to question him. She left the Major and Burkin together. The young police officer put his arm across the older man’s shoulders as he kept on crying.