Wrongful Death

Chapter Seven

Anna decided it was her turn to drive as she and Dewar made their way to Reynolds’ old flat at Kingsborough Terrace, Bayswater. During the three-mile journey Dewar was noticeably subdued and didn’t speak. Anna wondered if she was thinking about the words of advice that Langton had given her or just feeling sorry for herself. Either way she just hoped there would be a change for the better in Dewar’s attitude towards her, the team and the investigation.

Anna parked the car at the rear of the block of six flats. As they walked around to the front of the building Anna remarked that the flats looked fairly new and that property in the Bayswater area of London was very expensive. On approaching the entrance on the main road, they saw a man in his mid-forties, neatly dressed in a grey double-breasted pinstripe suit, repeatedly looking at his watch. Dewar asked him if he was Mr Dobbs from the letting agents. He confirmed he was and commented that they were late and he had a strict schedule to adhere to as he had other properties to show prospective tenants around.

‘I’m Special Agent Dewar from the FBI and this is DCI Travis. We are reinvestigating the death of Joshua Reynolds and we want to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the apartment. We will be here for as long as it takes,’ Dewar said, putting Dobbs in his place.

Dobbs got the message and led them through the communal entry door, which was operated by an electronic keypad and intercom system. Flat two was on the ground floor and the front door opened into a short hallway off which there was an en-suite master bedroom on the left, a second small bedroom-come-study on the right and a guest shower room with washbasin and toilet next to it. The door at the end of the hallway led to a large living room with a four-seater sofa, matching armchairs, dining table and six chairs. Double-glazed bi-folding doors opened out onto a railed terrace area. Just beyond the terrace there was a grassed area and the residents’ parking bays. To the right side of the living room, behind large sliding doors, there was a modern fully appointed kitchen with integrated appliances. The property had new hardwood flooring and pristine white walls throughout. It was very modern and obviously well maintained by the letting agents.

‘When and for how much did Mr and Mrs Reynolds purchase the flat?’ Anna asked.

‘October 2011, for five hundred and fifty thousand pounds. The new owner paid five eighty for it four months ago,’ Dobbs answered.

‘So Mrs Reynolds made a profit,’ Dewar remarked.

‘Not really, as the price included all fixtures and fittings and it was sold at the current market value. Mrs Reynolds’ mother dealt with the sale due to her daughter’s distressed state at the sudden loss of her husband.’

‘It doesn’t appear to have changed much,’ Anna said.

‘The bloodstained carpet was replaced with hardwood flooring throughout and other than a new settee and armchairs the premises are in the same condition as when Mrs Reynolds left it,’ Dobbs said and looked at his watch.

Dewar had brought with her the enlarged scene photographs in a long cardboard tube, and now took them out and laid them on the dining table. The top picture was of Joshua Reynolds lying in a pool of blood. Dobbs, visibly shaken, put his hand to his mouth and moved away.

‘Oh, my goodness, that’s awful. It makes me feel sick.’

Apologizing to Dobbs, Dewar turned the photograph face down and suggested to Anna that he could go and deal with his other viewings. They could always lock the door after them and return the keys to the lettings agents’ office when they had finished. Dobbs said that was fine by him and he was out of the door like a shot.

Dewar asked Anna to help her move the sofa and other furniture into the same positions they had been in when Josh’s body was found. Having done this, Dewar said that she had a copy of Donna’s statement and suggested they re-enact her arrival home and her discovery of Josh’s body. Anna agreed it was as good a place as any to start.

They went back into the hallway and stood by the front door. Dewar started to go through the statement.

‘Donna returned home and used the Yale key to gain entry. There’s also a Chubb lock but no mention was made of it in her statement,’ Dewar observed.

‘Could be it was already unlocked therefore she only needed to use the Yale key,’ Anna suggested.

‘If it was unlocked then surely she should have expected Josh to be in – her statement says that whenever they went out their door would be double-locked.’

Dewar had made a good point but Anna was worried that her sole intention was to find fault in Donna’s statement.

‘Do you mind me suggesting alternative propositions as we go along? It will help to prevent cognitive and confirmation bias,’ Anna asked, recalling Dewar’s earlier comments.

‘Not at all.’

They walked down the hallway and into the master bedroom on the left. Dewar placed the photograph of the room down on the bed and looked at the statement. The furniture was still laid out as it had been at the time of Reynolds’ death. Upon entering, the bed was on the left with the fitted wardrobes and en-suite bathroom to the right. A chest of drawers and vanity table were up against the opposite wall.

‘In the photograph, the left door of the fitted-wardrobe door is open,’ Dewar said and slid open the left wardrobe door, revealing an electronic-key-coded safe, which was bolted to the wall.

‘In this close-up, the clothing on hangers had been pushed to one side, clearly showing the safe. Strange, isn’t it?’

Anna looked at the photograph, ‘I’m not sure what you’re getting at.’

‘Donna walks into the bedroom, unpacks her case, gets the dirty laundry from the basket in the bathroom yet never noticed the wardrobe and safe were open?’

Anna checked the photographs again. ‘The makeup bag, evening gown and other stuff from her case are scattered on the bed so maybe she didn’t go near the wardrobe,’ she suggested.

‘Or she already knew what had happened to Josh and staged her actions to look like she was behaving normally,’ Dewar said, walking out of the bedroom into the living room and turning towards the kitchen on the right. She suddenly stopped then took two steps backwards and stood by the living-room door. Anna, who was following behind and writing notes at the same time, swerved to avoid bumping into her.

‘Question for Donna. Was the living-room door open or closed when she returned home?’

Dewar then went into the kitchen and, glancing at the scene photographs, opened the integrated-washing-machine door and the cupboard under the sink.

‘She puts the dirty clothes in the machine then gets the laundry liquid and softener from under the sink. After starting the machine she walks back towards the bedroom,’ Dewar said, re-enacting Donna’s movements then stopping by the door to the hallway. ‘Only at this point do we get the shock and horror of finding her husband dead in a pool of blood.’

‘Why would she do all that if she already knew he was dead? It seems to me she was acting perfectly normally and wasn’t expecting to find Josh dead,’ Anna remarked, but Dewar said nothing.

Anna watched fascinated as the agent walked around the living room deep in thought and talking to herself. She laid the blown-up photographs of Josh’s body and the blood distribution on the floor and on the sofa. It worried Anna that Dewar still seemed to have it fixed in her mind that Donna was in some way culpable. Anna felt that suggesting Donna left the Savoy, murdered her husband and then returned to the hotel in the early hours was clutching at straws.

‘Simms’ report said that Donna’s alibi checked out. She went to the Savoy charity ball with her mother and sister and stayed there overnight,’ she observed.

‘I think Simms took Donna on face value as the grieving widow. She totally hoodwinked him,’ Dewar said.

Anna turned back through the pages in her notebook, looking for references she had jotted down regarding the forensic pathology. The pathologist had stated Josh had died between eight to twenty hours before midday on the sixth of November. She did a quick calculation in her mind.

‘Dr Harrow, the pathologist who attended the scene, estimated time of death anywhere between four p.m. on the fifth and four a.m. on the sixth of November. Donna was at the Savoy,’ Anna said firmly.

‘Maybe she didn’t kill her husband,’ Dewar replied.

‘But you just insinuated as much,’ Anna said, surprised by Dewar’s ever-changing theories.

‘No. I was insinuating that Simms never regarded her as a suspect because he thought it was a suicide. Although she may not have pulled the trigger I now think she knows who did.’

Anna disagreed. ‘There were no signs of forced entry to the flat and the pathology report said no injuries consistent with a struggle before death. All of which surely points towards suicide?’

‘Or someone Josh knew and let into the flat.’

‘Who unbelievably overpowers him, gets the gun out of the safe-’

Dewar interrupted Anna: ‘How do you actually know that the gun was in the safe or even belonged to Josh Reynolds? His killer could have brought it with him.’

‘Forensics said there were heavy traces of firearms residue in the safe. There were four bullets still in the safe and they matched the single one loaded and fired from the gun.’

‘I know it sounds far-fetched, Anna, but please hear me out.’

‘I’m listening,’ Anna said despairingly.

Dewar then produced a gun from her jacket pocket, explaining that it was a plastic toy. She handed it to Anna then lay down on the floor on her right-hand side in the semi-foetal position that Reynolds was found in. Dewar then eased herself up onto her knees and explained that she was working backwards to try and assume Josh’s posture at the time of the fatal shot. She asked Anna to hand her the gun and held it to her right temple.

‘BANG!’ Dewar shouted loudly, making Anna jump back. She fell slowly forward, rotating her body slightly and moving her right arm so she landed on her right-hand side with her right arm, hand and the gun outstretched above her head. Her left arm was lying across her hip at a right angle.

‘Am I in the same position as Reynolds is in the photograph?’ Dewar asked while still on the floor.

Anna told her that she was and Dewar then asked her to place the close-up photograph of Reynolds’ right hand and the gun underneath her right hand. Anna did as she was asked and Dewar then eased herself up onto her knees again. She held the gun to her right temple and once more shouted, ‘BANG!’ Although Anna was expecting it this time it still made her jump. Dewar started to fall forward again, rotating slightly to her right, but now her right hand and the gun ended up under her right breast.

‘Even allowing for some recoil when a gun is fired this end position or something similar would be more natural. It’s hard to see how his right hand could be outstretched above his head. Unless…’ Dewar remarked before sitting up on her knees again and handing Anna the toy gun. The agent then held her hands in the air and asked Anna to hold the gun against her right temple. Anna was about to ask, jokingly, if Dewar would like her to go bang this time but never got the chance. ‘BANG!’ Dewar shouted and fell forward. As she did so her left arm hit the side of the sofa and ended up across her left hip and her right arm was outstretched above her head.

‘Now place the gun in my hand.’

‘I understand what you’re trying to show me, Jessie, but surely there must be many variables to consider. We don’t know if he died instantly, had a muscle spasm or some other involuntary reaction. Any of which could have resulted in his end position,’ Anna said as Dewar got to her feet and picked up the close-up photograph of Reynolds’ hand holding the gun.

‘Agreed, but there is something else that points towards him not having a gun in his right hand when he was shot. Can you see what’s missing in this photograph?’

‘If I can’t see it how do I know it’s missing?’ Anna asked, frustrated that after three re-enactments, Dewar was still not getting to the point.

‘Look at the back of his right hand – there’s no blood.’

Anna pointed to the picture of Reynolds on the floor. ‘There’s some on his left arm, hand and plenty on the floor.’

Dewar replied that she was not a blood distribution expert but she knew a bit about guns and firearms injuries. She told Anna that the blood distribution and brain debris on his left arm, hand and the sofa would have come from the forward spatter as the bullet exited his head and embedded itself in the woodwork of the sofa.

‘Think of a pebble being dropped into water and the upward splash it causes at the point of impact,’ Dewar said, keen for Anna to understand. ‘A bullet has a similar effect. It enters the head, causing blood to exit back towards the gun. It’s called back spatter. The closer the gun the more back spatter you get,’ she explained, and picked out a photograph from the bundle she had prepared and held it up. ‘Look on this close-up photo. There’s some blood on the floor in line with his right knee. The direction and position is away from the body. Assuming it’s back spatter then there should be blood on the back of his hand.’

Anna recalled the pathologist’s report mentioning powder burns around the entry wound, which indicated the gun was held close to the head of the victim. She realized that Dewar had hit on something that was critical to the scene assessment and wondered if it had been looked into at the time and was yet another thing Paul Simms had omitted to mention in his report.

‘I have to say, Jessie, your scene re-assessment is not only very professional but also very interesting. You’ve raised some thought-provoking questions about how Joshua Reynolds may have died,’ Anna conceded.

‘Thank you, Anna. I know it was a bit long-winded but I tend to envelop myself in my own world trying to figure out every possible scenario.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me your concerns about the scene before now?’

‘Because I needed to come here and get a real feel for the place and put it all together piece by piece.’

Anna understood, she often got a gut feeling herself and never said anything until she could confirm her own suspicions. She wondered if her bias towards the Reynolds case being suicide, coupled with her eagerness to go to Quantico, had clouded her judgement.

‘There are obviously serious issues concerning the blood distribution,’ Anna said, wishing she had taken more time to examine the scene photographs herself.

‘Simms’ report doesn’t even mention a blood distribution expert attending the scene,’ Dewar remarked.

‘Pete Jenkins was the forensic scientist who dealt with the stuff sent to the lab so I assume he also attended the scene. Simms’ report said a Crime Scene Manager and Dr Harrow the pathologist did.’

‘We really need to speak with this guy Jenkins and the pathologist as soon as possible,’ Dewar insisted.

‘Leave it with me and I will arrange a meet with them both.’

However, Anna was apprehensive about Dewar discussing her thoughts and theories with Pete Jenkins. The agent, convinced she was right, was on a real high and Anna knew she would not let go easily. It worried her that no matter what Pete said she would try and force her opinions on him. Anna knew he was one of the best forensic scientists in the lab, as she’d reaped the benefits of his forensic knowledge and expert opinion on a number of murder investigations. If Pete Jenkins disproved Dewar’s scene assessment, Anna thought it would be better coming from her, albeit second hand. That way she could tell Dewar calmly and objectively that she was wrong. She hoped that her breakfast meeting with Paul Simms might help to clear up some of her concerns before she made contact with Pete.

Arriving back at the station, Dewar went to the canteen to get them each a sandwich. As Anna made a beeline for Paul Barolli, her mobile rang.

‘I’m Gloria Lynne, Donna’s mother, and I’m sorry to bother you, Detective Travis, but there’s a bit of a hiccup with this afternoon’s agenda. It’s Donna, you see. Poor darling has got herself into a bit of a tizzy.’

Anna immediately noticed how well spoken Gloria was, with a distinct upper-class voice.

‘About my wanting to speak with her?’ Anna asked.

‘Oh, it’s not that at all, I haven’t even told her you’re a vice-squad detective. I simply instructed her to be here at four as I had someone coming for afternoon tea that I wanted her to meet.’

‘I see,’ Anna said, not exactly sure what the problem was.

‘Donna is still very emotional about the loss of Joshua, so the mention of police, or anything or anyone connected to him is quite distressing for her. So, I thought it best you came along unannounced.’

‘So what’s the hiccup, Mrs Lynne?’

‘Donna forgot that she had a three-o’clock appointment at Michaeljohn.’

Anna had heard of Michaeljohn and knew that it was a very expensive Mayfair salon frequented by royalty, Hollywood actresses and other A-list celebrities.

‘I can come tomorrow,’ Anna offered.

‘Don’t, please. I was merely wondering if it would be possible for you to come to my house a bit later. Say about six. Donna will be home by then.’

Anna said that would be fine and ended the conversation, unsure of what to make of the caller. She wondered how Gloria would react when she found out that Anna was actually reinvestigating her son-in-law’s death as a possible murder. She wondered if it might have been better to tell her the truth from the outset, but at least she could now fall back on the excuse that she hadn’t wanted Donna to become overstressed at the thought of speaking to a murder-squad detective.

Dewar returned with a chicken sandwich and coffee for Anna, apologizing for the delay and saying that she got stuck in the canteen talking to Barbara. Anna remarked that once Barbara got going she was a bit hard to get away from.

‘She rambled on about being single and needing to lose weight if she wanted to “pull a fit bloke”,’ Dewar went on, ‘although I have absolutely no idea what that means.’

Anna told Dewar about the phone call from Gloria Lynne and the rearranged interview time with Donna.

‘It’s going to be a late finish, so to save us both returning to the station, I’ll take my car to Gloria’s house and you can follow me,’ Anna suggested.

‘That’s fine, but I’m wondering, now we’ve got time to kill before seeing Donna, if it might be worth paying a quick visit to the Trojan first?’

‘Why?’

‘To get the feel for the place, like the Reynolds scene. We’d be discreet.’

‘Basically, you want to see how Marcus Williams reacts when we say were reinvestigating his partner Josh’s death. I believe you Americans say “put the squeeze on him”.’

‘You see, Anna, you’re thinking like me already.’ Dewar laughed.

‘No. I know what you’re thinking and I’m not so sure it’s a good idea quite yet.’

‘We don’t mention the interview with Donna. Then we can check Williams’ mobile, see if he calls or texts her after we leave.’

‘I’m becoming a soft touch,’ Anna said.

Dewar wagged her finger. ‘No. You like the thrill of the chase.’

Anna put her notebook in her bag. ‘I’m still not convinced Reynolds was murdered.’

‘You will be. Trust me.’

‘As long as you promise to hold back on Donna Reynolds, treat her as a witness, not a suspect, until we have hard evidence to prove otherwise,’ Anna replied, although she knew that this was unlikely to happen.