Page 91 of Dissection of a Murder
“Or someone who isn’t very bright,” he points out, turning to face Jack in the dock at the back of the courtroom. “A poor attempt at manipulating the crime scene, either way.”
I nod my head slowly, turning toward the jury for a moment before continuing.
“As you’ve just highlighted, the kettlebell had Mr. Smythe’s DNAon the rounded side of it. It’s right, isn’t it, that in murder cases, you normally make the connection between victim and killer with the weapon?”
“Of course, yes.”
“And you’ve struck gold when you have the victim’s DNA on one end of the weapon and the alleged killer’s DNA on the other end?”
“Where possible, yes.”
“You don’t have that link here, do you?”
“We don’t have that link in many cases.” He shrugs. “It’s not unusual.”
“Odd circumstances, though, yes? Reinstatement of the kettlebell. No attempt by Mr. Millman to flee the scene. No-comment interview.”
“What exactly is odd about it, Miss Reynolds?” he asks me abruptly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He’s getting agitated.
“For somebody who doesn’t have any DNA on a murder weapon, you appear to be very sure you have your killer. The evidence against Mr. Millman in this case is purely circumstantial, isn’t it?”
“The defendant was arrested under caution. You know the importance of those three sentences, Miss Reynolds. Mr. Millman does, too. He was interviewed under caution. Twice. He gave ‘no comment’ replies to both. He’s had every single opportunity to say he’s innocent of this offense, but not once has he done so. Does that sound like an innocent person to you?”
He directs the last line directly to the jury. This isn’t going well.
“I’m the one asking the questions, DCI Brady, not you,” I say calmly, referring to my blue notebook to see where I’m going next with this. “Did you think anything was odd about Mr. Millman’s appearance that night when you arrested him?”
“Odd? No…”
“May I take you to photo number two. It’s a headshot of Mr. Millman in custody. You’ll see he’s wearing his T-shirt inside out and back to front. Can you see the label there? Just in front of his neck?”
DCI Brady holds the photo up to his face to get a better look.
“Did he put this T-shirt on in your presence?”
“No, he was already wearing it when we arrived.”
“What’s that on the front of his T-shirt?” I ask, pointing to a large section of it which is a dark brown color and looks wet.
“That turned out to be Coca-Cola.”
“And you recall seeing this when you arrived?”
“Yes.”
“Did any of this strike you as peculiar?”
“Within the context of a murder investigation?” He laughs. “Not really.”
“You can’t explain any of these things?”
“That’s for your client to do, Miss Reynolds.”
“You maintain that Mr. Millman was calm at the flat?”
“Yes.”
“Cooperative?”
