‘For what?’
‘It’s complicated. Basically, before the 1970s, industrial waste materials were used as hard-core infill under concrete floors. But it became apparent that these materials could cause damage to the concrete floors and brickwork below the DPC level of the property due to sulphate present in these materials—’
‘What’s DPC?’ Kate interrupted.
‘Damp-proof course. So, for structures of this age, we are required to test for such damage by taking a sample of the infill to determine whether there is any cracking or movement to the floors or walls below the DPC.’
‘And this test was performed inside the building?’
‘No, all done from outside.’
‘Did you go into the sports hall when you were there on Thursday?’
‘No, there was no need.’
‘You’re certain none of your team went inside?’
‘No, the two men were with me and Mrs Kilpatrick the whole time.’
‘What time was this, Mr Phillips?’
‘I think I got to the school just after seven, and was gone before ten, as I had another appointment to attend.’
‘You didn’t see or hear anything strange at the sports hall, did you?’
‘Like what?’
‘Strange noises? Evidence that somebody had recently been inside? Anything like that?’
‘No, I’m sorry.’
‘And you didn’t return to the school on Friday to follow up on anything?’
‘No.’
Kate observed his body language. He seemed to be perspiring now, but then again the room was warm. She would know soon enough whether his vehicle had returned to the school. ‘One final question, Mr Phillips: did you or any of your team replace the padlock on the sports hall?’
He frowned. ‘Why would we?’
‘I don’t know, Mr Phillips, but it seems somebody changed it. You’re certain nobody in your team would have replaced it?’
‘No, but I will ask around for you. Tell me, detective, is this incident likely to delay our start date? We have a lot invested in this project, and any delays to the start date could seriously impact us delivering on time.’
Kate nodded for Laura to rise so they could be on their way.
‘We’ll keep you posted. Are you going anywhere nice?’
He fired her a puzzled look.
‘Your trip to the airport later?’
His eyes widened as he suddenly looked at his watch, before he calmed again. ‘Just to Edinburgh, on business.’
‘Will you be away long?’
‘No, it’s a golfing weekend with a potential client. I’ll be back on Monday.’
Kate forced a smile. ‘Well, I’ll probably speak to you then. If you remember anything from your last school visit, please let me know.’ She didn’t wait for him to offer to show them out, hurrying back towards the lifts. ‘I want you to find out everything you can about TUTD Surveyors and Mr Phillips,’ she instructed Laura.
‘You think he’s involved?’
‘Too early to say, but he had access to the sports hall, and he seemed mightily jumpy when I mentioned the murder. Also, see if you can find out who the other shareholders are. I want to make sure we don’t miss anything vital. Let’s get back to the office and see if SSD have the DNA results.’
Laura paused. ‘Do you think it could be Daisy’s?’
Kate fixed her with a genuine look of concern. ‘I just don’t know.’
12
The technician handed Kate the report. ‘It’s definitely not a match with the follicles we removed from the hairbrush DC Trotter gave us.’
Kate let out a guttural groan, unsure if it was relief or disappointment. ‘Daisy isn’t our victim.’
The technician shook his head in agreement.
‘What about the National DNA Database? Still no matches?’
He shook his head mournfully again. ‘No hits on the UK version. We’re trying to reach out to our neighbours in the US, but it’ll take a few days until we have something back.’
Kate pocketed the piece of paper and thanked him for his support, before heading back to the incident room to update the team. If Daisy wasn’t their victim at the school then it meant she was still out there. But it also meant they now had a new victim to identify. And there was only one person who might be able to shed light on who that victim was.
* * *
Kate was relieved to spot Ben’s car in the staff car park behind the entrance to the mortuary, in the basement of the hospital. Given how late they were out last night before they’d gone their separate ways, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d decided to come to work later. He was stretching his arms above his head as they walked into the laboratory.
He poked his head out from behind the computer monitor. ‘To what do I owe this pleasure?’ he asked, as a yawn escaped.
Kate raised the cardboard tray of coffee cups into the air. ‘Thought you might be in need of refreshment.’
He smiled at the gesture, before moving out from behind the desk. ‘How are you? How’s the investigation going?’
‘I’m okay,’ Kate answered. ‘Daisy Emerson isn’t our school victim. I’m hoping you can give me some clue about to whom the foot may have belonged. Have you had a chance to look at it yet today?’
‘I went to bed late but I couldn’t stop thinking about it,’ he admitted. ‘In the end, I gave up trying and came in. I haven’t stopped since.’
‘And?’ Kate couldn’t prevent her naturally impatient nature.
‘And I kept thinking about ways in which we identify victims. Where possible, we opt for one of the primary identification methods: DNA, fingerprints and dental comparison. And then we might use secondary identification features, such as scars, birthmarks and tattoos. Finally, we’d cross-reference this to the victim’s personal effects, such as clothing and jewellery. But we can’t do any of that with just a foot. And then it hit me: forensic anthropology.’ He turned the monitor so she could see. ‘Kate Matthews, I’d like you to meet Dr Xander Garcia. Xander, this is the brilliant detective I was telling you about.’
Kate leaned closer to the screen, seeing an olive-skinned man with a jowly face and wearing thick lens glasses. His image blurred slightly as he waved at the screen. Kate nodded at him, and he nervously returned the gesture.
‘Xander is a forensic anthropologist,’ Ben continued. ‘He provided support with a study I completed while at medical school, and we’ve been great friends ever since.’
‘Friends who only speak on the phone or video calls,’ Xander interjected, a Hispanic tone to his American accent. ‘When are you going to come and visit me over here, Ben? My wife thinks you’re a figment of my imagination.’
Ben smiled into the camera. ‘You know I’d be over in a flash if I didn’t have so much work to do.’
Kate watched the two men exchanging light-hearted banter, surprised that Ben had never mentioned him before, and wondering if there was another reason he hadn’t crossed the pond to visit him.
Kate cleared her throat. ‘Sorry, can one of you tell me what forensic anthropology is?’
‘Do you want to take this one?’ Ben asked the camera.
Xander nodded. ‘Forensic anthropology is the study of skeletal remains to determine who they belong to and how they ended up in the condition in which they were discovered. I’m trained in anthropology, archaeology, human osteology, and chain-of-evidence procedures. I often support the local PD here in New York with cases of identifying victims. The biological profile derived from skeletal examination has the potential to reveal a victim’s personal history. For example, if we discovered an orthopaedic implant in a victim’s knee, we might be able to determine that they were an athlete or—’
‘So, you might be able to build a picture of the owner of the foot?’ Kate concluded, hopefully.
‘Hopefully,’ Ben replied. ‘Xander is an expert in this field, which is why I reached out to him this morning. I hope you don’t mind?’