‘It looks as though the intruder tore the gag from that,’ I conjectured.
‘Or Sharon Gregory did,’ said Dave.
‘Moving on to the pillows,’ continued Linda, ‘there were traces of saliva and mucus on the pillow that we found on the floor beside the bed, and, of course, blood; the DNA on both pillows matches that of Clifford Gregory. It’s scientifically certain, therefore, that it was that pillow that was used to suffocate the victim, as Doctor Mortlock suggested. The bloodstains on the pillow that was beneath the victim’s head were also those of Clifford Gregory, but that was to be expected. His bloodstains were also on the sash weight I found in the garage, despite the fact that attempts had been made to wash them off.’
‘That doesn’t get me very far,’ I said. ‘We know that he was suffocated, rather than killed with the window sash weight. I suppose there was nothing else anywhere in the house that might indicate who the murderer was?’ I knew instinctively that that was a vain hope. Not that it mattered. Now that we had the evidence that Sharon Gregory had purchased the sash weight and the clothes line, I was as certain as could be that she had killed her husband.
‘Nothing that points directly to the killer, I’m afraid, but we made some interesting discoveries. We found traces of the victim’s blood in the shower, although an attempt had been made to wash it away. If I can make a guess, I’d say that the murderer was naked and then showered. Furthermore, although the sash weight had been washed, we were still able to find traces of the victim’s blood in the P-trap under the kitchen sink.’
‘That fits with my theory that Sharon was the killer,’ I said. ‘And, of course, she was naked when Miller found her.’
‘We also examined all the cupboards and drawers,’ said Linda, ‘and none of them was fitted with a lock. And, as you saw for yourself, there was no indication that the front door had been forced. No jemmy marks, no broken glass.’
‘So,’ I said thoughtfully, ‘we now have traces of blood in the shower, the sink and on the sash weight, and Sharon appears to have been lying to us about the gag. Also, Doctor Mortlock found traces of Rohypnol in the victim’s hair. All of which will give me something to question her further about. When we find her. What about fingerprints?’
‘Early days yet, Mr Brock, although I can tell you that we couldn’t find any identifiable prints on the jewellery. As you can imagine, there were a lot of dabs around the house and it’ll take some time to sort them out and eliminate those of Clifford and Sharon Gregory. But I can tell you that although there were fingerprints on the whisky bottle we found in the dining room, they were not Clifford Gregory’s. And there wasn’t a dirty glass anywhere. It’s made more difficult in that we don’t yet know the identity of any friends who may have been frequent callers at the house. Or even Clifford Gregory’s clients.’
‘You could start by taking elimination prints from Sidney Miller, the neighbour who found her,’ I suggested.
‘I’ve got him on my list of things to do.’ Linda looked up with a frown that implied that I shouldn’t try to tell her how to do her job.
‘Whoops! Sorry,’ I said.
‘However, there is one thing I’d like to say, Mr Brock. I’ve examined hundreds of crime scenes over the years and I’ve never come across a break-in where the burglar has created as much mess as is the case with this one.’
‘Nor have I, Linda.’
‘Now, about the two mobile phones in the house. They were as I suspected: the one in the kitchen was Sharon’s and the other one belonged to her husband.’
‘Give Linda the list you took from the mobile that was in Sharon’s locker at the airport, Dave.’ I gave Linda time to study the numbers, and then asked, ‘Were any of those numbers on Sharon’s house mobile, Linda?’
‘Not one.’ Having compared the list with her own notes, Linda handed it back. ‘And no calls were made to any of those numbers from the mobile found at the house.’
‘That confirms my original thought,’ I said. ‘That’s a list of her fancy men. Will you let me know as soon as you have something on the prints?’
‘Of course.’ Linda closed her file, gave me a copy of her initial report and was about to leave when she paused. ‘Incidentally, the rope with which Sharon Gregory was tied up was a mechanical fit to the clothes line we found in the garage.’ And with that latest confirmation of our suspicions about the burglary and murder, she left to make her way back to Walworth.