The Red Dahlia

Langton checked his watch irritably. Ken liked the sound of his own voice. Langton asked him to get a move on.

'Yeah, yeah; but I wanted you to know how many hours we've been holed up here; after the Dennis Neilson epic — you know they found a thumb in his drainpipe? — so we have to be diligent.'

'How did Justine Wickenham react to you being here?'

'Well, Miss Hoity-Toity made an appearance, said a few foul words, and then left. She kept on saying that it was all a fucking waste of time, as she was in Milan when the girl was murdered; she said that a couple of times. Anyway, she eventually left, slamming the door so hard it almost came off its hinges! Okay, the bathroom: now, we had to do a considerable amount in here, removing floorboards, etcetera. We tried to ease the bath out, but it broke a few tiles.'

Langton sighed; this was all to cover themselves for the damage claim that would no doubt be coming in.

Ken stood in the doorway. The bathroom was actually larger than Langton had expected. The toilet was on one side, the washbasin beside it. The cracked white tiles were dirty and the room had a mouldy smell. 'Water has leaked at some time beneath the bathtub and from the toilet, so it's pretty dank in here.'

Langton looked to the small red arrow stickers on the far side of the bath.

'Between six tiles, we found very, and I mean very, tiny droplets of blood, no seeping; it's like a fine spray hit the back rest. It had, as you can see, been washed down; these tiles were a lot cleaner than any of the others. Tiny spots were on each tile and some of the cement in between also had a faint smear. We have them being tested.'

Langton frowned. Louise Pennel's body had been drained of blood; it seemed to him very unlikely that this was where it could have happened.

'You know the victim's blood had been drained,' he said to Ken.

'Yes, I know; to be honest, I doubt if she could have been cut up here: I mean, that's pints of blood. We'd have found traces in the drains. This was more like a spray, the tiny drops were only the size of a pinhead, and they were at an upward slant.'

Langton was disappointed, but thanked Ken for his diligence, and he and Barolli decided to go over to the nearest pub for a pint and a sandwich.

Anna was parked on Portobello Road opposite Emily Wickenham's flat, trying to call her. The answerphone came on again. Anna looked up at the window. The curtains were drawn and the lights were on.

Anna locked her car and crossed the road. She was about to ring Emily's doorbell when the front door opened and a young girl with her hair in dreadlocks came out.

'Hi, is Emily in?' Anna asked, smiling.

'Dunno; she's the flat above mine, straight up the stairs.'

'Thank you.' Anna smiled again as the girl walked off down the road in thick heavy boots, her red skirt swirling.

Anna headed up the stairs to Emily's flat. She was about to knock when she noticed the door was off the latch; she heard raised voices.

'I am telling you what is happening; they are at my flat, Em, the police. Now, you have said something? Because why else would they be there?'

'I didn't! I swear, I didn't tell them anything!'

'Yeah, well, you can't remember one thing from the next! You must have said something. I can't go to my own flat, for Chrissakes!'

'I didn't say anything!'

'I hope to Christ you didn't, because you know what he'll do: he'll stop my fucking allowance. He won't listen to me. He won't believe that I never said a fucking word and he'll take it out on me! So tell me the truth, what did you tell them?'

Emily's voice screeched. 'I keep on telling you, I didn't say anything; they kept asking me but I never told them! I didn't, I swear I didn't!'

'Well, why are they at my flat then? I mean, why are they searching my flat? They all had white paper suits on: they were forensic cops, they were taking up my fucking carpet, Em!'

'But they won't find anything; you cleaned it all up!'

'I know, but the fact they are there freaks me out. If he cuts off my allowance, he'll do worse to you: he'll make you go back home.'

'I won't go, I won't go!'

Anna was literally the other side of the door; she could hear every word clearly. She was now in a quandary as to how to approach the girls. Should she walk straight in? She decided to go back down the stairs and call up: that way, they could never accuse her of breaking in.

As Anna got to the bottom of the stairs, she heard Justine becoming even more angry, then a door slam. Anna took this as her cue to call out.

'Hello! Hello!'

Justine stood at the top of the stairs with a furious look on her face.

'Hi, I am DI Travis; I was about to ring the bell when your friend from the flat below let me in. Your front door was open.'

Justine moved slowly down the stairs. 'Then you can just turn around and get the hell out of here. This is private property, so fuck off!'

'I just want to talk to Emily.'

'She doesn't want to see you, and you have no right to break in here! Get out!'

'If I could just see your sister for a moment?'

'You can't; I just told you. She is not seeing anyone, so turn around and get the fuck out of her flat!'

Justine was wearing jodhpurs and riding boots, and brandishing her riding crop. 'Don't make me use this, because I will. I also know the law; you have no right to come in without a warrant. This is private property, so I am giving you warning. Get out!'

Emily's frightened face now appeared at the top of the stairs. 'What's going on?'

'Go back into the flat, Emily, and shut the door; this woman wants to talk to you and she can't.'

'Why not let me just speak to her? It will only take a few moments,' said Anna calmly.

'No. If she talks to you, she wants a solicitor with her.'

'Why don't you stay with her?'

'Because I don't want to! I don't want you here. I am going to make a formal complaint. Now go away.' She lifted the riding crop.

Anna hesitated; she looked past Justine to the frightened Emily, and shrugged. 'Okay, you can contact your solicitor, and he can accompany you to the station. I was just hoping that this could be less formal.'

'Why do you want to see me?' Emily asked in a high-pitched voice.

'I am not prepared to discuss this on the stairs,' Anna said firmly.

'I don't want to go to the police station!'

Justine turned towards her sister. 'Go back and shut the door. Just do what I tell you to do; you will not be taken to any police station.'

'Well, she very likely will be, if she doesn't talk to me now.'

Justine turned her fury back to Anna. 'Piss off! You can't frighten me! She has done nothing wrong and you should just leave her alone.'

'I only want to ask a few questions.'

Anna was caught off guard as Justine suddenly launched an attack. The riding crop in her left hand, she jumped down the stairs, and with her right hand she gripped Anna's shirt front, pushing her backwards and hitting her head against the wall. Justine hauled Anna back to her feet and was about to bring down the crop on her face.

'Stop it, stop it!' Emily ran down the stairs and tried to get between them but Justine turned and grabbed her sister's hair, hauling her away, giving Anna a chance to back off. The doorbell rang; whoever it was kept their hand on the bell so it was a persistent high-pitched wail. Emily ran back up the stairs and into her flat.

'Don't answer it!' Justine shouted, as Anna made her escape. She ran to the front door and opened it.

Langton stood there. 'What the hell is going on? I could hear screams.'

Before Anna could explain, Justine appeared.

'Get out. Do you hear me? Get out!'

Langton stepped between them; he gripped Justine by the throat and pushed her hard against the wall. 'Calm down, you hear me? Calm down or you'll be arrested.'