They looked back at Amanda’s body and saw her face was purple and bloated, there was a noose tight around her neck, and her eyes were still open.

 

 

54

 

 

‘Do you think this was suicide?’ asked Erika. A few hours had passed and Isaac Strong was attending the crime scene with Nils Akerman and his team of CSI’s.

‘Death was by asphyxiation. The neck is elongated and you can see the deep groove in the neck,’ said Isaac gently tilting the victims head.

‘My only problem is that we found a glass tumbler on the carpet at the top of the stairs, with a residue of what smells like coca cola. There’s a corresponding splash on the wall,’ said Isaac. ‘We’ll need to check what was in the glass, it could have been that some kind of drug was dissolved in the drink… or that she was taken by surprise.’

Erika and Peterson looked back at Amanda. Isaac went on,

‘There is a bruise in the centre of the lower back which concerns me, and the use of the stairs can mean suicide or foul play. She’s wearing a nightgown, which could mean she got up in the night, there was someone here and in the darkness she walked into the noose. The bruise in the lower back could be where she was shoved off the top step.’

Peterson got up and went to the loft hatch which lay halfway up the stairs, attached to the other end of the rope

‘The rope was tied to the inside of the loft hatch. There’s a metal bar still attached to the other side of this hatch, a bracket for a pull-down ladder,’ he said. ‘And the hatch has one of those pull down latches which can be opened with a pole with a hook on the end.’

Erika looked around at the mess of plaster and dust in the hallway.

‘Any chance of a time of death Isaac?’ asked Erika.

‘I’ll know more when I’ve had a closer look,’ he said. The crime scene photographer moved in and the hallway lit up as he took pictures.

Nils appeared in the living room doorway,

‘I think you’ll want to take a look at this,’ he said.

They followed him through and saw that the living room was much the same as the last time they saw it. Only the laptop had been removed from its stand, the charger still hung over the metal stand and was plugged in.

‘Her mobile phone is missing, and the landline in the hall has been removed,’ said Nils. ‘But her purse is still on the counter in the kitchen beside the kettle. It’s got two hundred pounds still inside and all the credit cards.’

‘So it wasn’t a robbery.’

‘There’s no sign of forced entry,’ added Nils.

‘The kitchen door was still open when we arrived,’ said Peterson.

‘But if the person came through the kitchen, they would have seen the purse there.’

Erika noticed something on the top of the computer stand, and she went over, pulling a pair of latex gloves from her pocket.

‘She wasn’t the thinnest person,’ said Peterson as she picked the small box of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Erika noticed that the chocolate inside was well past its use by date, it had solidified and was oozing out of the orange foil.

‘She hasn’t opened it,’ said Erika. ‘And look, the slogan on the box has been underlined with a permanent marker.’

‘It’s not Terry’s, it’s mine,’ said Nils joining them and reading over Erika’s shoulder. ‘This is very old. I eat at least one chocolate orange a week, I am an addict,’

‘How do you keep so thin?’ asked Erika.

Nils shrugged.

He took it from her and turned the box over. ‘Best before end 11th November 2006,’ he read. ‘Perhaps she was saving it for a rainy day. It certainly pissed down last night.’

‘Why underline the writing on the box?’ asked Erika. Peterson and Nils looked back at her and shrugged.

 

* * *

 

When Erika and Peterson came back out to the car, they sat for a moment, watching as the body was brought from the house in a black body bag on a metal stretcher.

‘I want her Internet history and access to her phones. I want to see what she was looking at, and who she was talking to before she died,’ said Erika.

‘We should check with Isaac if she has any chocolate orange in her stomach too.’

Erika shot him a look, ‘I’m serious,’ he added.

‘It’s not Terry’s, it’s mine…I know it sounds hokey, but there’s something wrong here. Why would she call me to say she’s found something and then she’s found dead?’

 

 

55

 

 

Afternoon turned to evening and nothing came back from forensics, Amanda Baker’s phone company or her Internet provider. Erika was back in the incident room, watching the light fade on yet another day.

The she received a call from Marsh.

‘Erika, I’ve been asked to get some more information on what exactly is going on with your case. The Assistant Commissioner is concerned you have lost control of the investigation. Erika outlined what had happened.

‘Do you think the intruder in your house and the discovery of Amanda baker’s body could be linked? Perhaps you’re getting close to something.’

‘That’s my theory, but forensics is slow, and I’m waiting on phone records. I’m hoping that my sister will be able to provide a likeness with the e-fit artist…’

‘Either way, Erika, you need to pull a rabbit out of the hat very soon. You wanted to bring in Joel Michaels as a suspect and the one day he is in custody and Trevor Marksman is in hospital this happens.’

‘I know, Sir.’

 

* * *

 

Erika arrived back at the hotel in Dulwich just before seven. She had wanted to stay later, but Moss and Peterson insisted she go back to be with her sister and the kids. The hotel was very small, and situated on a smart residential street in Dulwich. When Erika went up to the room where Lenka was staying, she was just finishing up with the e-fit artist and the translator. The kids were asleep on the bed in front of a Disney DVD.

‘This is what we got,’ said the artist. He turned his laptop around to face Erika. She put her bag down and leaned in to the image. It was a man with a thin athletic face, a strong nose and jaw. He had wide set eyes and a smattering of stubble on his face.