Series 23, Episode 53/54/55: A Model Murder: Trail of Blood/Uncovered/Caught by the Killer
Date: Monday 25th/Tuesday 26th/Wednesday 27th August 2008
Investigating Officers: DI Neil Manson, DS Stuart Turner, DC Joanne Masters, DC Grace Desari
Jo was on tenterhooks as she set up the camera with the tape they had discovered down by the river, hoping beyond hope that it would prove useful and, as an added bonus, get the DI off her back. She stood back, hands on hips, waiting for it to start.
"So, according to Larry, he started filming this just after he heard glass breaking at around eleven fifteen." She explained as the grainy, shaky image appeared on the screen.
"That's her… that's Cindy…" Grace pointed out unnecessarily as the woman came into view.
"I can't believe he filmed this…" Stuart muttered, shaking his head. "She's still alive…"
They continued watching, varying expressions of disgust on their faces until the image stabilised and Jo frowned. "He's putting the camera down."
"Yeah, but not off." Neil agreed.
They all felt slightly ill as the spectacle continued until Larry switched the camera off. In silence they returned to the CID office, congregating around Jo and Stuart's desks. Rachel and Lorna joined them, asking about the tape and hearing that it hadn't been pleasant viewing.
"Tell us, is Larry off the hook?" Lorna asked.
Neil shook his head. "Not as far as I can see."
"She was clearly already dying when he found her." Jo pointed out.
"Or, he hit her then went back to get his camera to film a little souvenir." Stuart suggested with a shrug. "You can't bludgeon someone to death when you've got a camera in one hand."
"What d'you think, Grace?" The DI asked.
"Well… if he didn't do it, why not tell us about the tape?"
Jo shrugged. "Because he feels guilty about letting her die. Besides, it doesn't prove he didn't kill her, does it?"
"Well I guess the good news is that Larry doesn't know that we've seen that tape, so we keep pressing him. If he carries on denying it, we'll let him know we've found it." Neil suggested. "We need to download some images and see how he reacts to them."
"Larry doesn't react well to surprises, Guv." Jo said slowly. "He's likely to clam up. Besides, if he knows we've got the tape he's gonna guess it was his sister who led us to it and she's the only one he trusts."
"Grace, you can take the interview with me."
Jo frowned, standing up quickly as Neil turned to walk away on that bombshell, completely dismissing her concerns. "Guv, Larry knows me… I know him."
"I understand that, Jo, but I don't think we can rely on anything he says anymore. He changes his story from one minute to the next… he's already lied about making the tape. This isn't about connecting with him, it's about getting the truth."
"Yeah, but Guv, Jo's got a point." Stuart told him, meeting his colleague's eyes.
Neil shrugged. "Yeah, well I've made my mind up on this, Stuart, OK? Grace has read his file. I want to try a different interview approach, right?"
"Guv…" Jo muttered, far from happy with the decision.
She dropped heavily into her chair as the DI walked away to speak to Mickey and Kezia about their case. When Neil motioned Grace over to join him, she shook her head, letting out a long, frustrated growl.
"Don't take it to heart." Stuart advised her. "It's not personal."
"You know what, Stuart, it feels personal." Jo retorted irritably.
"Let's go and watch; see how Grace gets on."
"Nah…"
He grinned. "You know you want to. You're dying to be able to tell the DI you were right and he was wrong."
Meeting his eyes, the brunette smirked and sighed. "Fine."
They made their way down to the viewing room because the interview room where they had taken Larry. Jo pushed her hands into her pockets as she watched the DI start the interview. She shook her head in disbelief as Neil went in hard, telling Larry that they'd found the tape almost straight away.
"This isn't the way to play it…" She muttered, shaking her head. When Larry answered with a no comment, Jo sighed. "He's losing him."
As Neil showed Larry stills from the video and the man began to fall apart in front of her eyes, Jo felt anger and frustration take over. When she heard him asking for her, the woman let out a long breath between her teeth, feeling as though all her hard work was being undone in front of her eyes. If they caused Larry to lose his trust in her, Jo felt that she might never get to the bottom of this case and find out the truth.
Furiously, she wrenched open the door as soon as the interview was suspended, but Neil spoke before she could. "Before you say anything, he's just shown us he's prepared to lie. He's a fantasist, we all know that. He changes his story from one day to the next. If he's innocent, why's he not talking to us?"
"Yeah, Guv, you weren't asking him the right questions." Jo told him, refusing to stand back and take what the DI was saying. "If you let me–"
"It's over, Jo." He snapped. "Unless I see some hard evidence that someone else killed Cindy Statham, Larry Franks is still our man. Nothing's changed."
He stalked away, leaving the brunette staring furiously after him. Regaining her composure, she strode forward, determined to argue her case with the DI, but Stuart pulled her back, shaking his head.
"Hey, leave it, Jo." He cautioned.
"No! I'm gonna get that tape cleaned up." She told him firmly. "I've got a mate at Denmark Hill owes me a favour because you know what? It's not over."
Storming away, Jo got straight on the phone to Gerry, calling in the favour he owed her. He promised he'd do his best, although he wasn't sure whether it would get to her by the next day or not. After a trip to the canteen to grab a strong coffee, Jo headed back up to CID to share the news with Stuart who sent her a sympathetic smile.
"I just feel like I've wasted people's time." She sighed, nodding her head towards Lorna and Rachel who were still working in the corner.
"No, no. We're right behind you." Stuart assured her with a smile. "Anyway, that's a sign of good leadership, isn't it?" He smirked. "I don't think Rachel minded."
Jo arched an eyebrow at him. "Rachel?"
"What? Haven't you noticed? He chuckled at her surprise. "She's been looking at you all day!"
"Oh, right. So, because she knocked you back, she must be gay." She teased him, poking out her tongue.
"Jo?" The woman in question called across the office. "So, listen, d'you fancy a drink later?"
"There's no point waiting, you two get off." She suggested, smiling at them.
Lorna shrugged. "I haven't got a babysitter."
"Look, come for a drink." Rachel pressed. "I don't mind waiting."
Jo smiled as she headed out of the office, sending Stuart a look when Rachel bent down to get something out of the printer. In the corridor, she pulled out her mobile and dialled Hannah's number. It only rang once before her girlfriend answered.
"Hey…"
"Hi." Jo smiled at the sound of the red-head's voice. "You alright?"
"Mmmhmm…" Her girlfriend agreed. "Are you coming home soon?"
"Miss me?"
"Maybe."
"I hope I won't be too long." Jo agreed. "Just got a few things to tie up."
"How did the case reopening go? Did you manage to find the evidence that you wanted?"
"Not exactly. I'm still convinced he's innocent, though." Lowering her voice, she glanced around to make sure she wasn't going to be overheard. "Neil's been completely undermining me and pushing Grace forward. He even took her in to interview Larry over me. It completely sent Larry into a panic. He clammed up and they got nothing."
"Yeah?" Hannah yawned. "Sorry… I'm just…"
Jo sighed. "Tired, I know." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Look, I'll give you a ring when I'm on my way, OK?"
"Sure." There was a pause and then a long sigh. "You're gonna be ages, aren't you? You're not going to let this go until you've solved it, are you?"
"Babe, I just–"
"It's fine." Hannah told her, in a tone that clearly said it wasn't fine. "Just sleep on the sofa so you don't wake me up."
Agreeing to the demand, Jo hung up and pushed her mobile into her pocket. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. Seeing Stuart approaching her, she painted a smile on her face.
"You sure about that drink 'cos you look like you need one." He asked.
"No, you're fine. I, umm… I wanna go through every piece of evidence again. I'll stay here all night if I have to."
Stuart raised an eyebrow. "What does Hannah think about that?"
"She told me to sleep on the sofa."
"Ahh…"
"Yep." Jo chuckled. "I'll buy her some Nutella and salt and vinegar crisps and she'll forgive me."
"Good luck."
Watching him walk away, she sighed before heading back up to CID to start reviewing the evidence, yet again. She was just pulling up the witness statements to comb through, when Rachel appeared with an envelope, which she handed over. Slightly uncomfortable with the proximity of the Crime Scene Photographer, Jo ripped the package open eagerly.
"Thanks for spending the say on this." She said, hoping to get rid of the other woman. "I'm sorry if it turned out to be a waste of your time. The others are down the pub if you wanna join them." Seeing what was in the envelope, Jo smiled to herself. "Oh, this is from my mate at Denmark Hill. He's cleaned up Larry's video for me. I'm gonna be a while here if you wanna get on."
"No, I'd like to see this infamous home movie."
"Trust me, you don't."
"I'm a big girl, Jo. I was one of the first at the scene when they discovered her." Rachel reminded the other woman, folding her arms determinedly. "Besides, a fresh pair of eyes might come in handy. There might be something you missed."
"Well, if you're sure." Jo agreed unenthusiastically.
"Really." She pulled up a chair. "Shall I get popcorn?"
The video started and there was an obvious improvement. "Well, the quality's a lot better."
"Did you see anything you missed?"
Jo shook her head. "No, it's the same sick show with better sound."
"Yeah, well, at least they didn't go all Hollywood and give it a happy ending."
"Well this is pointless anyway because Neil's told us to leave it anyway." Jo sighed bitterly. "You should go."
"And what are you gonna do? Stay here all night watching it and driving yourself round the bend?"
"Well, I just wanna be on my own, really. Besides, it beats sleeping on my sofa."
Rachel nodded. "I don't mind hanging around."
"Rachel, I don't wanna be rude–" Jo broke off, spotting something on the screen.
"What?"
"There's something there on the piano stool… what is that?" Zooming in, Jo frowned. "It looks like some kind of bag. I need to get a print of that from PRU."
She headed away hastily, determined to collect the image and show it to Larry Franks to see whether he recognised it, sure that she'd found a concrete lead. After checking with Rachel whether it was in any of the crime scene photos, she headed down to the custody suite. Leaning in the doorway to his cell she held out the photo and let him look closely at it.
"Look at the bag, Larry. Do you remember seeing it at Cindy's place?" When he didn't answer, Jo sighed. "Talk to me, Larry."
"I trusted you. You weren't there for me."
"I'm there for you now. I am your only chance of getting out of jail, now look at the bag, Larry." Jo pressed him. "Is it Cindy's? Did you ever see Cindy use it?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't remember it."
"Think, Larry! You've been watching her for months! Have you ever seen Cindy with this bag?" There was a long pause and then he shook his head again. "But it was there the night she died?"
"On the piano stool." Larry confirmed.
"OK, now listen to me, this is really important. I really believe that you didn't kill Cindy. I think you just found her there."
"She needed me. I tried to help."
"I think you were wrong not to call an ambulance, but I think you were too panicked and too scared and no one will blame you for that. I've seen the video, I know how frightening it must have been for you. I have to know… you have to tell me the truth, now, if you want me to help you. Did you take this bag from Cindy's house on the night she was killed?"
"No." He sobbed. "I swear."
"I believe you, Larry. I really do." She promised. "I'm gonna do my best to help you… but just try and keep it together."
Turning on her heels, she strode out of the custody suite and back up to CID, suddenly filled with a lot more confidence than she had been all day. Glancing at her watch, Jo decided it was early enough that she could watch the video a couple more times before heading home and still being able to convince Hannah to let her into their bed.
It was about the fourth re-watch she'd done when she heard something she'd missed before then. Turning up the volume, she replied the video, frowning as she realised there was an unidentified mobile ringing in the clip. Picking up her phone, she made a call.
"Hiya, it's Jo. Can you please send up a couple of items from the Cindy Statham murder case file?" She requested. "Yep, I'm after the phone records for Larry Franks and Cindy Statham. No, that's great. As long as they're on my desk by tomorrow morning. Thanks, bye."
With a grin, she cleared her desk and grabbed her things, heading home with a lighter conscience than she'd been carrying around all day. Rounding a corner, she spotted an unfamiliar car, with someone standing beside, it, clearly watching her. Realising it was Rachel, she frowned.
"What're you doing here?" She asked, hoping she didn't sound too rude.
"I thought we could go for a drink?"
"Honestly, Rachel, I've had a lousy day." Jo told her. "I just wanna get home to my family."
"It's fine, I can give you a lift." The woman pressed.
Sighing, Jo held up her hands in submission and got into the car. She was just settling herself in the passenger's seat, when a sound caught her attention. It was definitely the same ringtone as she'd just been listening to on Larry's video.
She didn't have time to do anything, before Rachel's fist was flying towards her face and everything went black.
A/N: You may be wondering about the frequent updates lately? I usually have more time at the weekend to update, because I'm not in work, and I feel bad about keeping you hanging on. That meant that I kinda went a bit overboard and updated three times this weekend!
That won't be the case every weekend, I'm afraid, but I am doing my best to write and update when I can!
Thanks for reading and following/favouriting! I hope you're enjoying it - leave a review and let me know? :)
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