MISSING PIECES: A Kings Lake Investigation by Grainger Peter

Author:Grainger, Peter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

On the following Tuesday, some minor consternation originated on the top floor of the main building at Kings Lake Central police station. Having originally agreed to the 25th, the exact twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the young woman’s body, the local television company who were to make and broadcast the appeal announced that the date was impossible – it would clash with the national coverage of Wimbledon. No one at the station ever understood why this might be a problem but scheduling, it seemed, was more of a dark art than a science. Detective Chief Superintendent Allen was given a choice – to make the appeal before or after the anniversary date. He chose the former, and Freeman and Greene had agreed with that but now there was even less time to put the material together.

On the 10th of June, Allen attended the team’s nine am briefing and things were a little tense. He congratulated them on just how thoroughly they had re-examined the original investigations – with just a touch too much emphasis on the ‘thoroughly’ – but surely they had something new to offer? He could hardly make this appeal worthwhile unless there was some fresh information, could he? Allen talked a little about airtime and slots, and Waters was impressed by how quickly Lake’s most senior detective had, as Smith might have put it, picked up the lingo. But he was right, of course; the appeal needed either new evidence or a new angle on the old.

The meeting continued after Allen’s departure. What did they have? Chasing forensics is futile – begging the pardon of the ladies present, John Murray said it was like pursuing a young woman; the harder you try, the more they seem to enjoy making you wait. Clive Betts was of the opinion that although he had no personal experience in the matter, for obvious reasons, he thought Murray’s take on that matter might be a little out of date. For once Serena did not take up the challenge – Freeman’s look was a serious one and Allen had asked for another progress report in person by the end of the day.

Greene had various files open in front of him. Was there information from the earlier investigations which had not been made public? That would count as ‘new’ in the circumstances and just conceivably might produce a response. Freeman asked what he had in mind.

He said, ‘We could give details of the murder weapon – the piece of cord, ma’am. It’s unusual enough to jog someone’s memory, especially if we mention the repairs or replacement of windows. We could show the photos, just as we would if it were a knife.’

Freeman said, ‘Agreed. Let’s look at including that. What else?’

She looked around the table, and Denise Sterling, still with the old habit of raising a finger, said, ‘I agree with what John says about forensics. But what about the computer modelling from the skull? Does anyone know how long that takes?’

The answer was no.

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