‘What people can’t see, they miss.’
‘Miss what?’ Jane asked.
‘It looks like there’s some blood smeared on the underside of the handle.’ He turned to the SOCO. ‘Can you get a blood test kit, please?’
When the SOCO returned, Lawrence took a small paper swab and gently rubbed it against the inside of the handle. He handed it to the SOCO, who put some chemical drops on it and the paper instantly turned pink. Jane now knew the reaction meant it was blood, but further tests would have to be done at the lab to determine if it was human.
‘Let’s remove the handle, box it up and get a uniform car to take it straight to the lab for further testing and fingerprinting,’ he concluded.
The receptionist at the Harley Street clinic was in shock as Gibbs showed her the warrant and told her they’d come to arrest David Simmonds on suspicion of murder. Through floods of tears, she told them Simmonds was in his surgery room treating a patient. Gibbs had already told his team there could be a lot of wealthy and influential people in the building, so he wanted everything done by the book.
Gibbs knocked once on the surgery door before entering. Simmonds was standing over a patient lying back in the reclined dental chair. A young female dental assistant stood to one side.
‘What on earth do you think you’re doing?’ Simmonds demanded.
‘I am Detective Inspector Gibbs. This is Detective Constable Edwards,’ Gibbs answered, holding up his warrant card.
‘You’re a detective?’ Simmonds asked, recognizing Edwards.
‘Ten out of ten,’ Edwards replied, as he pulled a set of handcuffs out of his pocket. ‘David Simmonds, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murders of Helen Matthews, Sybil Hastings, Eileen Summers and Aiden Lang. You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so, but what you say may be put into writing and given in evidence.’
The dental assistant dropped a tray of instruments she was about to put into the autoclave. Gibbs asked her to wait downstairs and she hurried out of the room.
‘What about my patient? I haven’t finished his treatment.’ Simmonds indicated the man in the dental chair, who sat up and removed his dental bib.
‘I’m sorry, but one of the other dentists will have to deal with you, sir,’ Gibbs said.
The ruddy-faced, white-haired patient seemed more angry than shocked. ‘Just as well I was having a check-up and clean rather than root canal work. My name is Arnold Davidge, and I happen to be a barrister as well as a close friend of Mr. Simmonds.’ He gave Edwards a withering look. ‘Is there really any need for handcuffs? I hardly think David is a risk to you.’
Edwards caught Davidge’s haughty tone. ‘I don’t think the families of the women he murdered would share your view,’ he retorted.
Gibbs was quick to stop things getting overheated. ‘We’re just doing our job, sir.’ He looked at Simmonds. ‘We have a warrant to search the premises.’ He held up the warrant and Davidge asked to see it.
‘It’s all right, Arnold. I’ve done nothing wrong.’ Simmonds seemed completely relaxed, lifting his cuffed hands and pointing to Edwards. ‘That officer came to my Peckham clinic posing as a homeless man needing treatment for a toothache. I also caught a female detective called Tennison searching the surgery without a warrant.’
‘This is outrageous and unacceptable behavior, officers,’ Davidge said.
‘Get Simmonds out of here now,’ Gibbs hissed to Edwards.
Davidge got a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Gibbs. ‘I’ll be representing David. What police station is he being taken to?’
‘Peckham,’ Gibbs informed him.
‘I’ll be there to advise you during the interview, David. For now, don’t say anything. Not a word, you hear me?’
Simmonds nodded as Edwards led him out of the room. Passing his colleagues and other patients who had gathered in the reception area, Simmonds kept his head bowed. The expression on his face was unreadable.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jane and Gibbs were in Moran’s office, discussing the events surrounding Simmonds’ arrest.
‘So if Davidge says anything about you being unlawfully at the Peckham surgery, just stick to the looking for the toilet story,’ Gibbs told Jane. ‘We got Simmonds’ Mercedes taken to the lab for examination. Edwards took Simmonds’ dabs when we got back to the station and is taking them up the yard. They can be checked against any unidentified prints from the hostel, in Hastings’ car, and on the bin bags the body parts were found in.’
Jane told them about the fridge freezer and possible blood and fingerprints on the handle.
Moran was skeptical. ‘I suspect Simmonds is too smart to have left his fingerprints anywhere, but it’s worth a try. Did you find anything else of interest at Brayards Road?’
Jane went over everything she and Lawrence had found at the Peckham surgery and mentioned the importance of the bin liners.
‘We also searched the garden shed. There were no screwdrivers or hacksaws, just gardening equipment. Behind the shed, in a recessed area, we found the remnants of a recent garden fire, which Lawrence examined. He scooped the ashes up and placed them in a bag for a thorough examination back at the lab.’
Moran seemed pleased. ‘Good work. If the bin bags at Brayards Road are from the same batch as the ones the body parts were in, Simmonds has got big problems — not to mention he might have stashed the dismembered body in his bloody deep freeze.’
Jane got out her notebook. ‘I made notes about the possible murder scenarios DS Lawrence suggested. I wondered if you’d like to go over them with me in preparation for the interview, sir?’
‘Thank you, Jane, but you need to understand that with people like Simmonds, it’s best do a cursory interview first. That way we can dictate the pace of things, soften him up and sound him out before we squeeze him by the balls in a proper interrogation.’
Jane didn’t argue. Moran knew what he was doing, and she would be able to observe Simmonds whilst he was being questioned.
Moran’s desk phone rang. He spoke briefly then put the phone down. ‘That was the duty sergeant letting us know Mr. Davidge, the barrister, has arrived and wants a consultation with Simmonds. He didn’t waste any bloody time. Jane, go and book Simmonds out of his cell and take him to the secure interview room so he can speak to him in private.’
Jane made her way to the cell where Simmonds was being held, and waited for the uniform sergeant to open the door. Simmonds was still wearing the immaculate white dental coat he’d had on when he was arrested. He sat on the bed, sipping water from a polystyrene cup. She recalled the flattering photograph of him in the dental journal, and then the first time she’d met him at his practice in Harley Street. She had thought then that he was an attractive man, but now, sitting in a cell, his features somehow looked different. His striking blue eyes seemed vacant, and his thin-lipped mouth appeared frozen in a permanent sneer. As he stood up to face her, he seemed taller and more imposing than she remembered.
‘Good morning, Detective Sergeant Tennison,’ he said with an off-putting smile. ‘Could you inform DI Gibbs that I have patients who rely on me and need important treatment? Mrs. Lewis, who’s eighty-two, needs her new dentures, then there’s Mr. Riley, who has a painful abscess that needs looking at.’
‘I’m not here to talk about your patient list.’
He smiled again. ‘I just wondered when I’m going to be released, that’s all.’
Jane couldn’t believe his arrogance. ‘This is a murder investigation. DCI Moran will decide if and when you’ll be released.’
‘You and your colleagues are wrong about me, Sergeant Tennison. I haven’t done anything wrong.’