‘You think that’s what it is—negligence?’ asked Longbright, taking her gin from the tray. ‘Giles reckons it’s murder.’
‘Even though he can’t issue a death certificate, he’s going to give us the nod tonight,’ said Renfield. ‘It’s going to be Unlawful Killing, wait and see.’ In the case of an infanticide verdict, the sergeant knew that the inquest would have to be adjourned until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings. He’d heard that the Kramers had hired a solicitor and sent him to the opening of the inquest, but they had stayed away. Mrs Kramer was apparently in a bad way.
‘It’ll be an open verdict,’ said Longbright. ‘Not enough evidence.’
‘It’s premeditated, though. Prints wiped clean, window opened. Opportunity is everything.’
‘You reckon someone knew the only way they’d get into the house would be by invitation?’
‘Like a vampire,’ said Colin.
‘Well, I don’t buy it,’ said Meera, stirring her drink.
‘You don’t buy anything. You’re the most cynical person I’ve ever met.’ Colin had a new plan. He figured if he argued with Meera often enough, then suddenly withdrew his attention, she would realise she missed him and finally fall in love with him. He argued with her a lot. She had been raised in the urban war zone of an Elephant & Castle council estate, where open spaces were navigated in cautious silence and family combat took place at a high decibel level.
‘Dan checked the CCTV in Northumberland Avenue this afternoon,’ said Colin.
‘Where is he?’ Longbright asked.
‘At his nipper’s school play, Murder in the Cathedral.’
‘Did he find anything?’
‘There’s a camera mounted on the wall of the opposite building, an insurance company, but its screen height is cut off just below the window ledge because the Kramers’ property is a private residence. Invasion of privacy policy. But Dan reckons it shows nobody could have left the building that way. There was also CCTV coverage of the area either side of the front door to the apartment building, so we’re able to corroborate the doorman’s timings on when the guests arrived and left.’
‘I think the answer’s obvious,’ Meera began. ‘Robert Kramer killed his own son.’
The drinkers fell back in surprised protest. ‘Come off it, why would he do that?’ asked Colin.
‘Maybe he didn’t want to be tied down with a kid. Someone should ask Judith Kramer when she wakes up if it was a planned pregnancy.’
‘Great, that’ll be your job, then, Meera.’
‘Look at it logically: He had the opportunity. He waited until the house was full of people, nipped upstairs for a moment—’
‘Hang on, love.’ Renfield raised his hand. ‘How’d he get in and out of the bedroom?’
‘Don’t call me “love,” Jack, okay? Has Dan really checked every inch of the room? Kramer’s a theatrical type—he could have built in some kind of mechanism to remove the door hinges or something.’
‘Dan’s had the door to pieces,’ Longbright pointed out. ‘It’s an ordinary Yale lock and key with a regular handle and mortice and ordinary over-the-counter door hinges, no funny stuff. That just leaves the window, and we know he couldn’t have climbed outside after because the rain had soaked the rug and there were no prints. So unless he drilled a hole in the ceiling, dropped down into the room, killed his own son and then hoisted himself up, replastering as he went, it looks to me like some kind of a simple timing trick.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Maybe we’ve been led to believe that the kid was chucked out of the window and he wasn’t at all, did you think of that? He could have been taken from the nursery earlier and had his brains dashed out in the basement, then the room was prepared to look like he’d been attacked in his cot.’
‘How do you prepare a room without setting foot inside it, Janice?’ Renfield asked.
‘I don’t know. Theatrics.’ She fell silent and sat back.
‘And why the hell would you?’ said Meera. ‘I don’t see who gains from any of this.’
Colin thought for a moment. ‘Someone who wants to hurt the mother very badly by destroying the thing she loves most of all.’
‘If that’s the case, Mrs Kramer could be in danger. We need to put a watch on her, or at least make sure she’s not left alone.’
‘Her husband’s looking after her,’ Colin pointed out.
‘What if he’s Mr Punch?’
‘What are you talking about? Please don’t start calling him the Mr Punch Killer.’