Final Lap by Malcolm Rose

Author:Malcolm Rose [Rose, Malcolm]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Malcolm Rose
Published: 2013-03-12T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

When Luke and Malc arrived at William Underwood’s quarters in Ealing, the nurse was preparing her patient’s medicine. She looked at Luke’s torn face, hesitated, but decided not to remark on it. Perhaps she was too polite, nervous or distracted. “I’ve got to... er...” She pointed to an internal door and said, “The poor old thing needs his medication.”

“No problem,” Luke replied. “Carry on.” He followed her into the kitchen where she had just mixed his drugs with the required volume of water.

Lifting up and examining a hypodermic syringe, she said, “Now I’ve got this far, I’ve got to carry on.” She bent down and filled the barrel with the solution.

Luke looked down at her shoes. They were perfectly clean.

Venetia held the syringe upright, tapped the barrel to dislodge any air, and then squirted a little of the liquid out into the air like a mini-fountain until she had the right dose. “I’ll just go and...” She nodded towards the bedroom.

While she was out of the kitchen, Malc spoke to Luke using his quietest setting. “I recorded a used barrel from a hypodermic syringe beside Hounslow cab terminus on Saturday afternoon. However, it is not admissible evidence because its origin, ownership and timescale are unknown.”

“Was it the same type she’s just used?”

“Yes.”

“If we go back,” Luke whispered, “could you analyse the inside to find out what was in it?”

“It is highly unlikely that any of its liquid content remains. Sunlight and physical weathering will have degraded it and recent rainfall will have washed it away. In addition, chemical analysis would also be inadmissible for the same reason.”

“How about fingerprints on it? That would go a long way to solving the ownership problem.”

Malc went silent for a few seconds and then replied, “My scan did not reveal fingerprints on the visible parts.”

Venetia came back into the kitchen with an empty syringe and disposed of it.

“I’m sorry about this,” Luke said to her, “but, when I saw you on Saturday, I forgot to ask you where were you between seven thirty and eight last Monday morning.”

“In a cab, on my way here. To see my Ealing patients.”

“How about Friday night?”

“Friday night?” Venetia muttered, apparently to give herself time to think.

“That’s right.”

“I... er... stayed in. Nothing exciting, I’m afraid.” She tried to smile and shrug casually but she didn’t quite succeed. She just looked uneasy.

“That’s strange, because I’ve got a witness who saw you up near Hounslow Residential.”

Venetia frowned. “Really? Are you sure...?”

“After this, I’m going to your home. Now you’re linked to my investigation through an eyewitness, I’ve got the authority to go into your apartment and scan all your shoes. Is that true, Malc?”

“Correct.”

“Even if you’ve cleaned the pair you were wearing on Friday,” Luke continued, “Malc only needs a speck of mud to match with the soil outside the accommodation block. No one’s that good at cleaning undersoles. On top of that, no matter how clean or dirty they are, Malc will match their size and tread with the shoeprints he found at the scene.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.