The Victim

‘Forensics called. They’d like you to get back to them for an initial report on the dead woman’s flat.’

Ed picked up her phone and dialled. ‘Hi, it’s DI Ogborne, you have a prelim on the flat in Dover.’ Then was a pause as she waited for someone else to come to the phone. ‘Hi, it’s Ed.’ After a few minutes listening, Ed spoke again. ‘And you’re sure there was no mobile phone in the flat?’ Following a brief silence, Ed added, ‘Okay, thanks,’ before cutting the call and redialling.

‘Mike, when you’re with the parents, ask Pat, the mother, for details of Kayleigh’s mobile. It may be in the daughter’s name, but the mother pays the bills. Tell her we need the information in order to access the phone records; explain they could assist our investigation of her daughter’s death.’

Ed ended the call and got to her feet. ‘Okay, Nat, we’re on our way to Dover. I’ll bring you up to speed as you drive.’

When they arrived at Maxton House, Ed recognized the constable at the entrance as the one who, last night, had been inside the building at the door of the second-floor flat.

‘Feeling better out here?’

‘Yes, thank you, Ma’am. Before you go up, the Sarge would like a word.’ She pointed to a uniformed figure crossing the road towards them.

‘Sergeant Burstford, Ma’am. I’m just winding up the door-to-door.’

‘DI Ogborne and this is DC Borrowdale, Canterbury CID. What have you got for us?’

‘Not a lot, I’m afraid. Kayleigh Robson lived here alone. The block’s due for a major refurbishment and Kayleigh was the last remaining tenant. She worked at the convenience store down the road. Some of the locals knew her by sight, but she appears not to have had particular friends in the area. At least, nobody remembers seeing her with anybody. Those who admitted knowing her said she kept herself to herself and barely spoke to people except briefly when they were shopping.’

‘Did you check the shop out?’

‘The owner confirmed Kayleigh worked there, but said she hadn’t been in for over a week. Apparently, he found a note pushed through the door saying she needed a break and was taking a fortnight off.’

‘When did he find the note?’

‘First thing on Friday of last week, the 14th. Said it must have been pushed under the door during the night. He’d scribbled the date on it and kept it in a drawer. So we know she was alive on the Thursday, maybe early on the Friday.’

‘Mmm …’ Ed hesitated a moment before replying. ‘Probably, unless somebody else delivered the note. What about CCTV?’

‘Maxton House, where her flat is, doesn’t have any security cameras. Nor is this road covered, but there are cameras up there.’ Sergeant Burstford pointed up to the main road. ‘On the Folkestone Road, there are multiple cameras between here and the centre of town.’

‘And the shop where Kayleigh worked?’ asked Ed.

‘They have security cameras inside. We’ll check the tapes for last Thursday and Friday – should pick up Kayleigh’s movements and maybe someone with her.’

‘Good. We might be able to point you to some additional cameras.’

‘Ma’am?’ Burstford’s response was tinged with annoyance. Clearly, Dover was his patch and he didn’t take kindly to outsiders telling him his job.

‘Relevant intel, Sergeant. Kayleigh had a mobile, but forensics didn’t find one in her flat. Two of my colleagues are with the parents in Strood. They’ll be asking the mother, who paid the phone bills, for details so that we can access the mobile records. With luck, we’ll get intel about contacts and meetings around the time of her death.’

Burstford smiled. ‘If you can identify meeting places, we can target relevant CCTV.’

‘It’ll be good working with you, Sergeant. Let’s hope our collaboration leads to a swift result.’ Ed turned to enter the building, then added, ‘Two weeks without notice – that must have pissed him off.’

‘Her boss at the corner shop is from an extended family. Easy for him to get someone to cover. I got the impression he wasn’t sorry to see Kayleigh gone. Said she was an adult and it was her life.’

It had been her life, thought Ed, and it hadn’t been a long one.

‘Thanks. If anything else comes up, let me know. We’re going to take another look upstairs.’

‘Okay, Nat, what’s your first impression?’

‘From what I can see, it’s like you said in the car: everything looks to have been thoroughly cleaned.’

‘The whole flat was pristine. Of course, the sheet and pillowcase were stained where they’d been in direct contact with her body, as were the clothes she was wearing, but everything else had been recently washed.’

‘Scrupulously clean flat,’ said Nat to himself. Then to Ed, ‘What were her hands like?’

‘She’d been dead six to ten days.’

‘Right. I was thinking she might have been a compulsive cleaner.’

‘Unlikely. The flat had been methodically cleaned yet there were almost no cleaning items in the cupboards. Every hard surface had been wiped down with bleach, but forensics found no bleach in the flat, not even empty containers. The bins in the bathroom and kitchen were empty, and fitted with new liners.’

‘Someone carefully covering their tracks, taking their rubbish and cleaning things with them,’ suggested Nat.

‘And someone took her mobile,’ added Ed. ‘Almost certainly the person who cleaned the flat and moved her body.’

‘And the cleaning left no fingerprints?’

‘Only hers on items at the back of cupboards, but we’ve struck lucky. There was a partial print in the bathroom, which appears not to be Kayleigh’s, and a smudged palm print on the outside of the front door, origin debatable.’

‘How come there was a stray print in the bathroom if every exposed area had been wiped?’

‘Chance. The loo has a split-button flush and one half was set a couple of millimetres lower than the other. Whoever cleaned the place hadn’t poked their cloth completely in and the print was left on the lower button. It was incomplete, so a fingerprint match is unlikely to be conclusive, but forensics will be able to retrieve DNA. With luck, whoever left it will be on the National Database and we’ll get a match.’

‘What about the smudge on the door?’ asked Nat.

‘Forensics will run the DNA.’

‘And CCTV?’

‘You heard the Sergeant.’ Ed eyed Nat disapprovingly. ‘It’s a street of old buildings. There’s no camera covering the road, let alone the entrance to Maxton House.’

As Ed spoke her mobile rang. ‘DI Ogborne.’

‘Dorling. I’ve just started the post-mortem and there’s a couple of things I thought you should know immediately.’

Ed switched her phone to speaker, so that Nat could listen in.

‘When we washed the body, we found ligature marks at the wrists and ankles.’

‘Why weren’t they picked up at the scene?’

‘She’d been dead at least a week. Body discolouration alone shouldn’t have masked them, but concealer had been applied to cover the marks. Like make-up, it came off when we washed the body.’

‘Right, and your second point?’

‘Well, the stress associated with being restrained, and whatever else happened to the poor girl before she died, probably triggered cardiac arrest. I’ll confirm that in my report, but I’ve already seen enough from the livor mortis pattern to be certain the body was moved after death. She died lying on her back with limbs spread-eagled from her body by the ligatures.’

‘What about sexual assault, traces of semen?’

‘There were no signs of forced penetration, but she wasn’t a virgin. However, there was no semen and no trace of lubricant.’

‘Okay. Thanks for letting us know so quickly. Can you be more precise with time of death?’

‘Sorry. Putrefaction was too advanced for a vitreous potassium measurement.’

Ed sighed. ‘So … we’re stuck with six to ten days?’

‘That’s what my report will say, but from the temperature in the flat and the extent of decomposition, I’d bet on eight or nine.’

‘There’s a possibility she was alive last Thursday.’

‘That would fit my best guess of eight or nine days.’

‘Thanks, I’ll not quote you.’

Ed switched off her phone and turned to Nat. ‘What do you make of the pathologist’s findings?’

‘Kinky sex gone wrong? That would fit with the guy putting concealer over the ligature marks and cleaning the place so thoroughly.’

‘I agree, but remember there was no semen.’

‘He could have worn a condom,’ said Nat.

‘Unlikely, there were no traces of lubricant.’ Ed paused. ‘Of course, sadomasochistic sex might not have involved penetrative intercourse and …’ Ed paused. ‘Nor does it preclude the possibility Kayleigh’s partner was a woman. Let’s check the bed to see if the ligatures have left cord marks.’

Both Ed and Nat were certain there were marks in the white paint, which were more prominent at the foot of the bed.

‘That’s consistent with her exerting more force with her legs than her arms,’ said Ed. ‘Legs are stronger and the cords were probably more painful at the wrists than the ankles.’

‘The fact that there are marks suggests it wasn’t passive restraint, which Kayleigh accepted; she fought against it.’

‘Good point, Nat, and fighting her bonds could have sparked the stress that triggered the cardiac arrest.’

‘Right …’

‘Even so, I don’t think that confirms she was held against her will. Maybe yes, maybe no. For people into S&M, struggling against the bonds can be a turn-on.’

‘One thing’s puzzling me,’ said Nat. ‘The pathologist mentioned make-up. What were her clothes like? You said they were clean.’

‘I also checked her other clothes,’ said Ed. ‘The ones she was wearing were the best from her small choice.’

‘It’s looking like she got herself ready to meet someone for kinky sex. You said there were no signs of forced entry.’

‘Right. Jenny and I checked and forensics confirmed.’

‘In that case, whoever was with her was probably someone she knew?’

‘Most likely,’ Ed agreed. ‘She lived alone and there’s nobody else in the rest of the building. I can’t see her letting a stranger into her flat.’

‘What about social media?’

‘She doesn’t appear to have a computer and, as you know, her mobile’s missing.’

‘Just like the clean-up,’ said Nat. ‘The missing mobile suggests someone covering their tracks. What about phone records?’

‘Come on, Nat!’ Ed gave the young DC another disapproving look. ‘Remember? We’re onto it. Mike and Jenny are with the parents in Strood. They’ll get Kayleigh’s number and details of the mobile contract from her mother.’

In the car back to Canterbury, Ed drafted a press release specifying a heart attack and death by natural causes. She would press the Super to hold back other details. Whoever was with Kayleigh when she died, Ed needed them to be kept in the dark. The last thing she wanted at this stage was to release a tip-off that the police were treating the death as suspicious.

23

It was late morning when Gina woke aching from her enforced position on the bed. She tried moving and cried out from the stiffness in her muscles.

‘Hey! Are you there? These cords are biting into my wrists. I’m stiff. In pain. Come and loosen them. Please.’

‘Good morning. I hope you slept well.’

Apart from a different shirt he looked the same as yesterday. His blond fringe seemed to be permanently fixed at an angle across his forehead.

‘I’m aching all over. I can’t move with these cords and I’m sore where they’re tight around my wrists and ankles.’

‘That’s because you struggled.’

‘The cords are hurting me, please loosen them.’

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Gina was uncomfortable with the idea of him coming closer to her, close enough to loosen the cords. She felt sickened by the thought that he might touch her. She forced the revulsion from her mind, determined to suppress those feelings in exchange for immediate comfort and the possibility of escape.

Colin stood at the foot of the bed, apparently unaware of what she’d said or might be thinking.

‘You must be hungry. I’ll get us some breakfast – orange juice and toast.’

He left the bedroom without waiting for a reply. Gina heard him busy in the kitchen and then he returned with a tray, which he placed well away from the bed.

‘First a little exercise and then we’ll have breakfast. I’m going to untie one cord at a time so that you can move your arms and legs in turn. I’ll hold on to the end of the cord and, if you try any tricks, I’ll tie you down and leave you alone until this evening. Do you understand?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you promise not to try anything stupid?’

‘Yes.’

They began with her left leg and, after a few minutes, moved on to her right leg and then her left arm. Before releasing her right arm, he moved the breakfast tray closer so that he could reach it while still holding the cord attached to her wrist.

‘What can I pass you first, orange juice or toast?’

‘Thank you. I’d like juice first and then the toast.’

As they ate, Gina steeled herself and began her campaign.

‘How did you arrange all of this? You seem to know so much about me.’

‘Planning and research.’

‘But how? Why me?’

‘Chance.’

‘Because I employed your firm to decorate this room?’

‘I have no firm. At least, the firm you thought you employed was fictitious. I employed a real firm myself once you had given me the keys to your apartment.’

‘But I responded to a circular that came in the post. It was the same for my holiday in Italy, and that was real because I checked with the tour company. They had my name in their records and on the passenger list. They sent me the itinerary and the airline tickets.’

‘Of course. Like the decorators, the tour company and the holiday were real but I made the bookings.’

‘But the holiday in Italy was a prize. I won it in a competition.’

‘I organized the competition. The prize was chosen with you in mind. I found your dream holiday and booked it.’

‘But how did you know I would win?’

‘There were no other entries. Only you received the mailshot about the singles club competition.’

‘Okay … but how did you know I would enter?’

‘I didn’t, but I thought there was a good chance and you didn’t let me down. Through me, you employed the decorators, you entered the competition and you accepted the prize holiday. That’s why I’m here.’

‘But how did you know Siena was my dream holiday? How did you find out so much about me?’

‘Simple. You told me.’

Although it wasn’t cold in her bedroom Gina felt a chill between her shoulder blades at his words.

‘But I don’t even know you. We’ve hardly met. How could you possibly …?’

‘From time to time we’ve been much closer than you realize. Once I’d determined how to find out about you the rest was easy.’

‘That’s what I’d like to know. How did you find out so much about me?’

‘All in good time.’

Colin retied Gina’s right arm to the bed and took the tray to the kitchen.

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