Page 25 of Dissection of a Murder
“Can you make inquiries, Davina? It’s a bit of a reach, I know. But if anyone can do it, you can.”
Picking up her pen, she writes frantically in her notebook.
“Whatever happened that night, he appears to have intended to cause serious harm,” she observes. “I can’t imagine that being classed as reasonable force for self-defense. If you look at the arresting officer’s statement, PC Walker confirms Jack displayed superficial injuries on his face and neck when the police arrived at the scene. Look at the photos.”
We shuffle through the papers and find the photos taken at the police station following Jack’s arrest. As per the statement, redness has formed around Jack’s right eye and the middle of his neck. His hair is wild, unstyled. He’s wearing a white T-shirt, although it’s inside out and back to front. The label sticks out from the collar, visible below his chin. There’s also a large, wet, brown stain down the front.
“Yes,” I tell her, “but, as you say, even if there was a scuffle for whatever reason, it doesn’t justify Jack picking up a heavy weight and cracking Anton over the head with it. It’s disproportionate.”
“Having said that, Anton’s prints have been found on a small kitchen knife,” Davina points out. “It was on the kitchen floor. Might give us a run at self-defense?”
“Given Anton’s dead, the Crown will say it was him who picked up the knife in self-defense. Jack didn’t have any injuries from it. Not a scratch. Besides, we need to be careful running that in front of a jury—you’ve seen Jack. Would they seriously believe he’d fear an out-of-shape near-pensioner holding a small knife? Jack is built like the lead in aMagic Mikeshow, for god’s sake.”
It’s hard, shooting every point down, but we need to be realistic. I’ve seen how jurors react to these kinds of defenses. We need to be smarter than this.
“What about other forensics?” she asks. “What have they found?”
“A lot,” I answer, nodding my head. “Fibers from the clothes Anton was wearing were found on Jack’s T-shirt and jeans, suggesting astruggle. But they also went through the room with a fine-tooth comb and found some other stuff, too.”
“Like what?”
“Jack’s fresh semen on the sofa.”
The room goes quiet for a few moments. The question is clear on Davina’s face—is this relevant in any way? It’s difficult when you’re examining crime scenes because something that appears normal could either be totally irrelevant or essential information. It’s often only experience that allows you to determine between the two.
“I’m not sure where to place this piece of information yet. But there are also seven different strands of hair,” I go on. “Ranging in lengths but likely female, they were found in the living room where Anton’s body was. There were also six different sets of prints on various items in the same room: five glasses from the club and a lighter. The police can’t find a match to any of them.”
“Good for us, though?” she says optimistically. “Shows the apartment wasn’t only used by Jack? That there could have been other people there?”
“It depends on what his defense is.”
“What about CCTV at the club?” she asks.
“None.”
“I thought so.” Davina nods. She wouldn’t be surprised by this. She’s the kind of lawyer who advises people to get rid of CCTV for this exact reason. “What about the bar downstairs?”
Temptation is located on the first and second floors of a Grade II listed building. It is linked by one door to the ground floor—a bar called Innocence, which is owned by Eddie Sorrington, too. Members also have their own secret entrance to Temptation from the outside. It’s not advertised.
“Same. No CCTV anywhere. It’s a place people go to not be seen.They know there’s no CCTV there or leading up to Jack’s apartment upstairs. That’s why they go. To become invisible.”
“I’m concerned what the jury will make of his phone, Leila,” Davina says, changing lanes, looking at me. “Or, lack of it.”
“Me too,” I agree with her. “A phone that goes missing the day you’re accused of murder isn’t a great start, is it? We’ll have to see what the phone company records bring back, but the prosecution will have a field day with that side of things. It looks bad.”
“Drugs?”
“Maybe,” I reply, mulling over her suggestion. “But I don’t think it’s as simple as that.”
“Why?”
“Just a feeling.”
Davina smiles but doesn’t respond.
“I’m really not happy about him jumping into the witness box at trial to lay out his version of events without telling us what he’s going to say first, Leila. It makes me edgy. This isn’t how I do things.”
“I know, but it’s how he wants to run it, and we can’t force him to talk. Then again, how are we supposed to prepare a defense out of thin air?”
