Chapter 7 – The Crime Scene Revisited

Jack, Florence and Nikki were let into the sealed-off art corridor by the army soldier who was acting as a security guard.

'Ah, vous etes medicin legiste!' the soldier looked at Nikki, finally understanding what she had tried to tell him last night.

'Oui, merci' Nikki addressed him. 'I will have to remember my job title in French in case I need it in future!' she said to the others. 'OK so you said your officers processed the scene last night just after the murder was committed' Nikki looked around at the mannequins, one more of which had fallen as the drama had unfolded, a pool of blood on the floor and the corridor chairs that had been turned over in the search for the murder weapon. Jack filled her in on the initial findings and showed her the photos that had been taken of Gavin's body before it had been removed, as well as he could straight from the camera. Nikki looked at the photo for a few seconds;

'You know, I could swear I have seen this man before' she told Jack. 'He looks familiar. It is possible he was either on my plane yesterday or staying at my hotel'

'Well that would tie in with what his fiancee told us. She said they just arrived on the island yesterday too' Florence pointed out.

'I guess that is to be expected on a small island then'

'Yes. You have to note, though, that the victim wasn't found lying in this position' Jack reminded Nikki. 'He was first seen being held by Adam Williams and I helped him to lay the body down before arresting him'

'Yes this is an unusual crime scene' Nikki agreed. She looked around before kneeling down beside the main pool of blood. 'Would it be possible to take a sample of this?'

'Sure' Jack passed her a test tube and Florence took out a cotton bud she had found. The sample was taken and the test tube sealed.

'I don't suppose it would be possible to know whether this trail of blood landed as the body supposedly fell from the mannequin display or as the body was laid on the floor after being held by Mr Williams?'

'Well, I helped Mr Williams to lay out the body' Jack informed Nikki. 'I don't recall that amount of blood discharging from the body as we did that, so I would guess it appeared during the fall, but having said that I had to concentrate on my position to make sure the suspect didn't get away before I could arrest him so it is possible I could have missed something'

'OK but that is helpful' said Nikki appreciatively. 'It tells us that the body must have fallen in this direction' she indicated the trail from the display to the pool on the floor. 'So if someone pushed the body over from the ground they must have been standing over…here' Nikki went to the other side of the display to the point suggested by the evidence. 'You would also expect some spatter over here but I can't see any, unless it was cleaned up?'

'There was no time for that to happen. I was on the scene as soon as the screams from witnesses began and the area was quickly sealed off and guarded' assured Jack.

'This is so strange' Nikki remarked.

'And surely passers-by would have seen someone pushing the body if they were really standing where you are' commented Florence.

'You're right' agreed Jack. 'Is it possible they could have been up on the display and hidden among the mannequins?'

'I'd say that was a good theory since that's also what appears to have happened with the body' Nikki agreed.

'The question is, how on earth did the perpetrator get up there with the body, or lure the victim up there to murder him without being seen?' Jack wracked his brains.

'I think we must be missing something' stated Florence.

'Yes, that is more than likely' he agreed.

A few minutes later Jack, Florence and Nikki had reconvened once again, this time in the art cupboard where Gavin's body had been placed the night before. Nikki turned on a small torch that had been hanging inside the door of the cupboard and used it to light up the body as she examined it.

'Well, it is quite likely the victim had been dead less than three hours before he was laid on his back at the crime scene' she began. 'Otherwise, if he had been left in a different position he would have been frozen in it when rigor mortis set in'.

'OK' said Jack, who had a basic knowledge of forensics. Florence had also had to learn the basics on graduating police college since there were no pathologists or forensic scientists on the island to perform initial examinations of murder victims. However, there were a lot of details neither detective had the knowledge or experience to determine on their own.

'Look at this!' Nikki continued. 'There are marks on the wrists which would suggest he was held or more likely dragged by them. The knees of his trousers have scrape marks on them as well'

'I'm thinking it must have taken a strong person to drag then drop the body, however they did it' suggested Florence.

'Yes I would agree' concurred Jack.

'The post mortem will tell us more, though. Would it be OK for me to proceed with it this afternoon?' asked Nikki.

'The sooner the better' Jack gladly agreed. 'Before you start, will you come with us to interview Mr Williams and swab him?'

'Absolutely, that's what I or one of my colleagues would normally do'

'Great. Why don't we have a quick lunch break then get going with this?'

'Good afternoon Jack, Florence' smiled Catherine. 'And…'

'Ah, Catherine, this is Nikki, a pathologist from London who is helping us out with the murder investigation' said Jack. 'Nikki, this is Catherine Bordey, our local Mayor and bar owner'

'It's an honour to meet you' said Nikki, shaking Catherine's hand.

'Good to meet you too. Are you working on the island or were you hoping for a holiday?'

'It was meant to be a holiday. But I'm always happy to help with investigations'

'Well, I hope the storm passes quickly and you are able to have some time to relax and enjoy the island. It is beautiful at all other times I can promise you!'

'I hope so too'

'So what's on offer for lunch?' Florence asked.

'I'm afraid it's soup again. It is the best thing we can put together to feed everyone'

'OK I guess we'll all have some soup then' Catherine ladelled some into three polystyrene cups and the three of them took a table.

Nikki sat down and took a mouthful of her soup. She noticed Catherine still looking over at them and tried to hide the expression that threatened to appear on her face when she realised how unpleasant the taste was. She persevered since she was very hungry and swallowed another spoonful quickly before noticing the taste. Jack and Florence tried very hard to suppress their giggles but let them out when Catherine became distracted by another group of refugees at the counter.

'It's terrible, isn't it?' smiled Florence in a hushed tone.

'It certainly is' Nikki smiled 'but it's better than nothing' Her expression once again betrayed her true opinion of the spoonful she had just swallowed.

'Catherine is such a good soul nobody could bear to tell her how bad it is…except for a particularly cantankerous gentleman who was in here last night' Jack informed her.

'Is that the man Tiffany spoke about?' Florence asked him discreetly.

'Yes, so I'm afraid it may be necessary to speak to him at some point…unless the post-mortem and forensic testing proves beyond doubt that Mr Williams is the guilty one'

'Tiffany? That name sounds familiar…yes, I was sitting next to a girl called Tiffany on the plane. Oh goodness, I hope it's not her fiancee…I think it is come to think of it. I knew I had seen the victim…they got together again after we landed. Poor, poor girl!'

'Gosh, it is a small world on this island' agreed Jack. 'Did you speak to Tiffany much?'

'Just a little. She seemed like a friendly and amicable person and she was looking forward to her holiday and her wedding'

'That's the impression we got too' said Florence. 'I hate the fact we cannot rule her out as a suspect without evidence'

'It's a tough job, isn't it?' sympathised Nikki. 'Oh, and another thing. You mentioned a cantankerous gentleman. There was a man like that on our plane as well. Extremely rude to the cabin staff. I wouldn't be surprised if he is the one you were referring to'

'Again, Tiffany also said he was on your plane' confirmed Jack.

'Well that will have been the one then. I will look out for him and let you know if I see him'

'Excellent, thank you. I'm just glad you are here, Nikki, and I am hoping the post-mortem will shed some light on things' said Jack.

'Yes, about that' Nikki got back to the subject she wished to consult the detectives about. 'Would you like to be present during the post-mortem?' Florence looked utterly taken aback. 'Did I say something wrong?' Nikki looked puzzled.

'The thing is, Nikki' Jack explained 'As you know there are no pathologists on the island so none of the officers who have worked here for their entire career have ever attended a post mortem'

'Oh I see' The reaction then made sense to Nikki.

'So, in England do the police always attend post-mortems?' Florence was intrigued.

'Usually just the Senior Investigative Officer and not every time but they do attend often' advised Nikki.

'I've attended a dozen or so in my time at the Met in cases where there was no DCI involvement' Jack informed them. 'I remember the first one I attended, I was sure I was going to faint!'

'I think I would be the same!' said Florence.

'You do get used to it!' Jack assured her.

'So, will you attend this one?'

'If the Commissioner is agreeable I am happy to do so. Let's see what our prime suspect has to say first'

'Sure. I'll get my lunch finished' They all made a concerted effort with their soup since they did not know when they would next have the chance to eat or indeed how severely rationed the food supplies would become.