Stonebridge Manor
Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
The following morning, when DI Shaw arrived at work alongside his Sergeant who had picked him up as normal, there was a message waiting for him, in that Dr. McBride wished to see him. They both headed down to her laboratory.
She was seated at her desk at one end of the sterile white room, head down as she studied a report.
“You wanted to see me, Doc?” inquired Chris, as he and the Sergeant sat themselves down on the opposite side of her neat desk.
“Oh, I didn’t see you come in,” she replied looking up from her report. “Yes, we have a little news for you.” Without pausing for pleasantries, she picked up a clear, sealed evidence bag and continued “The bullet we retrieved from the tree, is the bullet that killed Lady Baldwin. It is a 38 as I thought, and if you’re able to find a weapon, hopefully we’ll be able to find a match.” She put the bag back down and picked up the report she’d been reading when they arrived. “In the cottage that one of the keys opened, we found traces of semen and vaginal fluid, several fingerprints, and footprints outside the cottage windows. I’m having them cast as we speak, but they look as if they were made by both a man and a woman.”
“You think these footprints are important?” Chris asked.
“Possibly. Someone was having sex inside there. We think, from the fingerprints we’ve lifted from there and from the house, that it was Lady Baldwin with John Steele, and the boyfriend of the movie star,” she replied, looking at her notes again. “Tristan?” she asked.
“Tristan Squires” said Steve.
“We haven’t matched their DNA yet, but we have got their fingerprint results, and the maid, Cathy Jones, could also have been involved, as her fingerprints are in there as well. It may be her vaginal fluid we found.”
“Why do you think the footprints may be important?” asked Chris.
“Because they’re fairly fresh. Any rain would have washed them away, and although both sets are on different sides of the house,” and she handed over the report so they could see the drawing that had been made, “they both could have seen the spot where we think someone was having sex. Without knowing that someone else was also watching.”
“It also seems feasible,” Chris mentioned, looking at the drawing that had been made, “that they were having sex while watching the TV.”
“Let me look at that again,” said Dr McBride, taking the report back. “Hmm, you know what I think?”
“Let’s hear it, Doc,” answered Steve.
“I think,” she continued, consulting another report, “that it was probably Lady Baldwin who was having sex, and she was watching the videotape and recreating the sex scene that was taped the previous night in the maid’s room. It would certainly explain the finger marks we found on her thighs. It would also explain why she was in possession of the tape.”
“I think you’re right, Doc,” agreed Chris, “will you be able to find out whose footprints they are?”
“It’s not an exact science like fingerprints and DNA but we can match the shoes and give you the weight of the person in them. Even how they walk if we’re lucky.”
“That’d be great. We need whatever you can get, but you look like you need a break,” replied Chris, who’d noticed from the second he came in that the doctor wasn’t looking as good as she normally did.
“Are you telling me I look a mess?” smiled Susan.
“You could never look a mess, but you do look tired.”
“I am, but the Chief wants me to get results to you as soon as possible so the lab is working overtime on this.”
“We appreciate it, just don’t wear yourself out. Okay?” Chris got up to leave, quickly followed by Steve. “Give me a call on my cell if you get any updates. We’re going to Crompton Hall to see this other butler.”
“We are?” asked Steve.
“Yes, we are, right after you get someone to go through all the trash cans at Stonebridge and see if they can find a gun or some gloves.”
“I know they looked through them all for a gun, but why gloves?”
“Because the doc here tested everyone for gunshot residue and they were all clean, so maybe they wore gloves. They can collect all the gloves inside the house as well, like the rubber ones the housekeepers use and the ones the butlers use for handling plates and silver.”
“I already have those, Detective Inspector. We just haven’t been able to process them yet,” interrupted Doctor McBride.
“I thought you would have, but I still want all the trash cans looked through, like in the stables for example just in case we inadvertently missed something. We’ve got the bullet now. It would be real nice to find the weapon it was fired from.”
“I’ll meet you at the car, sir,” replied the Sergeant with an evil grin, “as soon as I get the right copper to rummage in the refuse.”