Turning off the recorder, she stared at the images on the laptop, considering the orchestration of the murder scene and the old adage that actions speak louder than words. Was it possible that whoever had killed Rick Shevlin had known he was alone, and had watched the prostitute leave? There had been no signs of forced entry. If the victim had known the killer, how close were they? What means did the killer use to gain access? Ian Morrison hadn’t mentioned any needle points during his preliminaries. If a form of sedation had been used, it was taken orally, either under duress or with victim compliance. Was there a level of trust – a previous relationship?
The more she flicked through the images, the less sure she was of what she was looking for. Having segregated the photographs across categories, she examined close-up, distant and wide-angle shots of the room. Remembering what Morrison had said about the entry level of the knife attack, she re-examined the penetration points on the body. None of it was giving her anything new. She knew the method of killing was important, but so too was how the murderer had dealt with the body after death. There were no signs of panic or struggle. The whole process had taken time to orchestrate and follow through on – time the killer was prepared to invest. They had been careful in covering their tracks, coupled with the attention to detail, and the positioning of Rick Shevlin’s body. How long had the killer remained in the room afterwards? Anger had played a part – no doubt about that. No one uses a knife in such a frenzied manner without a highly charged impetus. If the Hangman card was a signature, it had any number of meanings, but indecision, often associated with the card, wasn’t one of them.
Flicking through the images again, she thought about being in the hotel room the previous morning. The sights and smells were still with her. She began noting as many sensory details as she could remember in the case file, imagining the killing happening during the hours of darkness. Then, the sights, sounds and smells would have been different from when she had stood in the room. Kate had leaned over the body in the way the killer might have done when giving the victim his last kiss. She might even have stood in the same spot. The connection, speculative though it was, made her feel as though she was grasping the threads of a spider’s web long after the spider had left. Lost in thought, she jumped when her phone rang, but picked it up immediately. ‘Mark, what do you have?’
‘Morrison is still keeping his options open on cause of death, but he’s confirmed substantial traces of toxins in the blood. Samples have been sent for analysis to get an exact breakdown. As suspected, the victim was tied up after death, the whip marks were made prior, and the slash and puncture wounds were definitely post-mortem.’
‘Did he mention finding any needle points on the body?’
‘No, why do you ask?’
‘If Rick Shevlin was given drugs to knock him out, or reduce his defences, they must have been taken orally, opening up the possibility that he swallowed them willingly, and the existence of a previous relationship with the killer.’
‘That would fit with the lack of forced entry.’
‘And the killer being a woman.’
‘You’re still convinced we’re looking for a female?’
‘Yes, I am.’
‘Well, Kate, Rick Shevlin may have been married, but he certainly wasn’t monogamous. We have enough ex-girlfriends to keep us busy for a while.’
‘Anything else come out of this morning’s meeting?’
‘It looks like the non-functioning of the CCTV cameras wasn’t the only laidback thing about the hotel’s security arrangements.’
‘How so?’
‘They operated on a key rather than a card system, keys attached to chunky gold rings with the room numbers engraved on them.’
‘I guess it fits with the hotel’s step-back-in-time image. Anything more on Rick Shevlin?’
‘He moved in pretty elite circles, dealing in paintings, modern art for the most part, abstract.’
‘Makes sense. Art dealers usually choose a specific form or period that works best for them.’
‘That may be true, but Rick wasn’t averse to the odd dabble in other types of deals.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Apart from his small, profitable art gallery, rumour has it that it wasn’t his main money spinner. Although the margins he took on the sale prices were high, compared to other galleries, every now and then he would make a big hit at auction.’
‘I’m guessing it wasn’t because he had a knack for spotting a bargain.’
‘No. He liked to call in the help of a few stooges to rig things.’
‘He put plants at the auction rooms to inflate prices?’
‘Yeah, but it didn’t end there. He had a long list of regular clients, but one of his ex-girlfriends told me he also sourced paintings for people on the lookout for something irregular.’
‘Stolen?’ Kate didn’t attempt to hide her shock.
‘Not stolen but, according to the ex-girlfriend, he gave the nod to fake work being original.’
‘Wouldn’t that have been noticed at the auction, or later?’
‘He had his private sales too.’
‘Can you prove any of this?’
‘Not yet, but allegiances will start crumbling now that he’s a dead Rick Shevlin.’
‘That tells us a lot about him. It takes a certain type of person to extort large sums of money from people. His reputation would have given him credibility, but if he was prepared to commit serious fraud, it denotes a particular moral base.’