Framed! 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

In the living room, surrounded by Vince’s drawings, Luke asked, “Is there any sawdust, wax, magnesite or white paint flakes, especially on that pile of clothes in the bedroom?”

“Not on the clothes,” Malc replied. “There is a fine deposit of sawdust on the carpet by the entrance. That is all.”

“Show me.”

“It is too small to be visible to your eyes.”

Luke said, “All right. What shape is it?”

“The sawdust lies in a rough curve of 2.1 centimetres.”

“So it could have fallen off a shoe?”

“That is a possibility. It cannot be linked to the intruder for certain.”

“True,” Luke agreed, “but is there any sawdust on Vince’s shoes?”

“No,” Malc answered.

“Interesting.” Luke thought for a moment before saying, “You know, it’s strange there’s no sign of Vince’s blood anywhere apart from the bathroom. The killer must have got splashed with it so there should be trail across the floor. A drop or two at least.”

“What is your conclusion?”

“Well, whoever did it could’ve put on a waterproof overall – something like plastic or nylon – while Vince was in the shower. After the stabbing, Demon Archer could have washed it down in the shower and flushed all the blood away. Or wrapped it up, taken it somewhere and destroyed it. He – or she, I suppose – could’ve just brought a spare set of clothes.” Again, Luke paused. “Of course, no one would take any particular notice of a caretaker or technician wandering around in overalls or carrying a bin bag.”

“Do you have such an overall?”

“Me? No,” Luke answered with frustration in his voice. “Let’s keep to the point. Would I be right in thinking you’d need to be pretty strong to stab someone that thoroughly with a glass cutter? It’s nowhere near as sharp as a knife.”

“I cannot measure the force used without the results from a post-mortem but the attack would require considerable power.”

“Like a man or an athletic woman. Like the strength needed to make the shot that got Crispy.”

“That is probable.”

“Tell me about fingerprints.”

“Fingerprints are the unique patterns left behind...”

“No,” said Luke. “I mean, tell me what you’ve found here.”

“Over ninety-five per cent of the fingerprints are those of the victim. I have not yet assigned the others to individuals with the exception of...”

“Yes, yes,” Luke interrupted. “Apart from mine.”

“Correct. However, yours may be the result of this visit.”

“Nice of you to say so.”

“It is unlikely that fingerprint evidence will be helpful because only yours and the victim’s appear on the bathroom door. If another person opened the door, he or she must have been wearing gloves.”

“Okay, Malc,” Luke said. “Let’s wrap it up here.”

“Explain.”

“Finish off. Call in the pathologist’s team and then seal the apartment. I’ve got to go to Jade and tell her what’s happened. Then it’s on with the case. Glenfield and Cadman.”

****

Amazingly, after three days, Jade was still blonde. She hadn’t yet got bored with her appearance and changed it once more. “Hiya,” she said brightly. But when she saw Luke’s expression, she began to frown. “What’s happened?”

“It’s Vince.

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