The Last Throw: A Black Beacons Murder Mystery by Rhys Dylan

Author:Rhys Dylan [Dylan, Rhys]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Published: 2024-07-16T00:00:00+00:00

Rhys returned to HQ to find a sombre Incident Room. Jess was the only other team member there, her face etched with concern as she hunched over a desk, poring over documents.

‘What did I miss?’ Rhys asked as he approached the DI.

She didn’t waste a moment and filled him in on the latest developments concerning Lane and Hunt. Rhys listened intently, his expression hardening with every detail of this harrowing information.

‘Hunt? That doesn’t sound good.’

‘Gil’s headed down to Angle,’ Jess continued, her gaze locking on the young DC’s troubled face. ‘I sent Craig home, though he didn’t want to go. DCI Warlow is meeting with the bigwigs. He’ll be back any minute. How did your interviews go?’

Rhys let out a sigh and leaned against a nearby desk. ‘Okay-ish, ma’am. There’s still some discrepancy between what the shop assistant believes she saw and Kaylee Francis, the shopper who was next to the thief, says she saw. Both provide a similar description of the clothing, but Kaylee is certain the suspect was older. Meanwhile, Libby, the store employee, puts him at roughly my age.’

Jess scrutinised Rhys with a thoughtful expression. ‘Do you think that’s significant?’

Rhys hesitated, his mind working to make some sense of the conflicting accounts he still had not worked out. ‘I need to review that CCTV footage again. Maybe I can get a better look, but something just doesn’t sit right. I can’t quite put my finger on it yet.’

‘I’ll take another look, too, if you’d like.’

Rhys nodded, appreciating the support. ‘Thing is, they’re both absolutely certain, which is the odd part.’

Jess leaned back in her chair. ‘Well, witnesses can be tricky, Rhys. Ask Molly. She’s been studying this stuff for her Psychology A-level, and since I’m her main sounding board, I’ve had a bit of a refresher.’

Rhys couldn’t help but grin at the thought of Jess assisting her daughter with her studies. ‘My mother used to help me with English, too, ma’am. Handy that it was her specialist subject.’

Jess smiled briefly, but got back to business an instant later. ‘Eyewitness testimony is often considered compelling in court, but we know it’s highly unreliable and has led to wrongful convictions. I can’t recall the exact stats, but something like seventy-five percent of DNA exoneration cases have been attributed to mistaken eyewitness accounts.’

Rhys’s eyes widened in shock. ‘That’s a big number.’

‘It is. That’s why we need to treat it carefully. Memory can be easily manipulated, especially when exposed to post-event information. It’s called the misinformation effect. Molly had me quizzing her on this topic. Vital details of a perpetrator’s appearance or even non-existent objects, like cars or buildings that weren’t there, can all corrupt a memory, like a damaged file in a computer.’

‘I can’t work it out. I’ve seen the CCTV, and he was standing next to Kaylee and in front of the shop assistant, Libby. It’s weird.’

Jess nodded. ‘It’s good that you’re being thorough, though. It’s appreciated. Keep running with it. Something will surface, I’m sure.’

‘Thanks, ma’am.’

‘And if you want a change, take a dive into Hunt’s past.

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