Chapter 33 Chapter Thirty-Two

They ate sandwiches in Bannerman's office, and Morrow told Bannerman of his findings at the Pecan Bar.Bannerman didn't listen carefully.Morrow felt it was redundant to tell Sarah's privacy to someone who clearly didn't care, and decided not to say anything about the party.Bannerman had been waiting for Morrow to finish quickly so he could talk about his reasoning.He was excited, and Moreau could tell he had had an epiphany, and he was proud of it.Bannerman didn't want to get bogged down in endless information-gathering work that ended up getting nowhere, and his reasoning was a means of escaping that fate.This seemed impossible to Morrow.

Bannerman speculates that the Murray boys broke into Glenawall through the kitchen window, possibly at their mother's behest.Breaking through the window will make the scene look as if Kay has nothing to do with it, since she has the key.They entered the kitchen without leaving a trace until they climbed the stairs to Sarah Errol's bedroom, and Frank, the younger one, made a trip to the bathroom and found the toilet with his thumb. cover, leaving a full fingerprint.Then they committed a crime and threw away their clothes on the way home.Unable to find any money, they left with nothing but an ashtray and a watch.The silver eggcup is now off the list of thefts as it was tested and found to be not silver but plated and had been sitting on top of a cupboard for years.

Moreau shook his head. "It seems like a bit of a circle to say they broke in to make it look like they didn't have a key. Whoever did it, maybe it was just because they didn't have a key?" "But doing so makes us feel like they don't, when in fact they do." "Isn't that unbelievable for a gangster who lost control and kicked Sarah in the head. Don't you think?" "Then they panicked and took only a watch and a bowl." "And, kind of weird, they put the watch in a sock under mother's bed, but use that bowl as an ashtray."

Bannerman could see that Morrow disagreed with his reasoning. "Kay said the kids never went there," he said, sliding a photo of his fingerprints in front of Morrow, "but we found Frank's fingerprints on the toilet seat." "But not elsewhere?" "No. Gloves?" "If you were wearing gloves, why did you take them off in the bathroom?" Bannerman had the question ready, Morrow could tell from his smug grin.He stretched out one hand, palm down, thumb reversed, imitating the action of lifting the toilet lid, and raised his eyebrows at the same time, "Pee, break into the house, very excited, need to leave quickly..."

"Not peeing," Moreau said vaguely, because she was thinking.Harris would have understood what she meant, but Bannerman hadn't.When burglars and home intruders need to defecate, it's often in odd places, like the living room floor or the kitchen, where the adrenaline kicks things up.Usually, after they've managed to get in, they're so excited that if they need to go to the toilet, they're unlikely to bother looking for it.It wasn't a declaration of disrespect or a challenge, as many victims thought it would be.This is not a manifesto at all, but a biological imperative.It seemed impossible that they would go out of their way to find the bathroom, take the lid off the toilet, flush it away, neat and clean, put on their gloves, and carry on with the murder.Besides, the police found fingerprints on the phone, too, but they weren't Frank's: if they were, Bannerman would have said.

She looked at the photo of the fingerprint, sealed in a white plastic bag, which had been confirmed to be Frank's thumbprint: the fingerprint analysis pinned to the back of the photo had a 60-point similarity, and it was only a cursory check. Bannerman added: "Kay said during her interrogation that her children had never been to the house." Yes, Kay had said, but how could such an important case be based on a single fingerprint. "Shirley McKee," said Morrow flatly.Bannerman looked at her as if mortally threatened. "I'm just saying," Moreau continued, "it's just a fingerprint and we don't want to make the same mistake again."

The Detective Shirley McKee case was a terrible police scandal.The Strathclyde police detective's fingerprints were found at a murder scene she never visited.It didn't matter much, but the forensic evidence against the suspect also consisted of a single fingerprint from the crime scene.The suspect's conviction was overturned, McKee was suspended from the investigation, and the investigation of the case was thrown into a state of disarray: if the police could not prove that she was lying, that she had been there, all fingerprint evidence for the past 40 years would be confiscated. Publicly challenged, a large number of cases will need to be retried.It was a shame, but the upper echelons decided to swallow their own bitterness.Later Shirley McKee hired a lawyer, and eventually won the case anyway.Everyone is waiting for someone else to stumble in the same place.

Bannerman turned a page of his notes, suggesting a change of subject. "Leonard's 'friend'..." He raised his head, "She...?" "What's wrong with her?" Moreau was a little aggressive, as if he had already thought about this question, "Are you friendly?" Bannerman smiled smugly, and put it another way, "It's just that they don't look like they are doing film technology." "What, you mean tickling each other with big, dirty-looking fake nails? What happened to her friend?" Moreau was implying that he had visited pornographic websites.He seemed annoyed, "Called her, she was preparing a report for us, we zoomed in on the photo, it looked like there was a scar on the sole of a shoe. She thought she could break down their movements and figure out who did what .”

"Okay, if you think her evidence analysis is okay, we can accuse the two of them of conspiracy." "She likes to giggle." "Ah." That's bad. "She sounds like she's only 15 years old." "How big is it actually?" "23 years old. I saw a picture of her on the Internet." "She looks young?" "The half-naked photo of her on Facebook was taken on the beach, but she does look young." If she looks young or stupid, they can't use her as an expert witness, the jury won't like her, the case will look stupid, and the news media will happily find an excuse to print a topless photo on the news page , if her evidence becomes material, they will use that photo.

"Isn't there anyone we can use in that lab?" "No, she's developing the technology by herself, but it sounds interesting." "Why," mused Morrow, "are we suspecting the possibility of a john attacking her?" He nodded, thinking seriously, "What's wrong, a young man, maybe, couldn't get an erection, became angry and came back to kill her?" "It's possible, isn't it?" "No, that's stupid, she's never had guests at home, she's long since stopped answering emails. Her murder at home probably means something else, doesn't it?"

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Harris pushed open the office door, so he couldn't even see Bannerman. "Inspector, a reporter called and wanted to talk to the person in charge." The two frowned at him, and the reporter kept calling inappropriately.Harris should keep them safe from the media. "He's calling from Perth." "Why should I talk to him?" "He told us about Sarah Errol's death, saying she died without underwear." Jerram Jones sounds like a middle-aged man, but he is very passionate about his work.He worked for a local tabloid and hadn't reported the case yet, but wanted to pass the information on to the police right away, maybe it would be of value. He was doing a little story about the closing of a community center and usually he wouldn't be there because they're a tabloid with only four staff and everyone's busy, but this time it was near his aunt's and he thought he'd stop by Look at my aunt; so off I go.This community center usually hosts tea dances for retirees but has had to stop because the priest who organized the dance was drunk and the priest bought vodka with his spare cash, which could be a big story. While Moreau was getting impatient, Jerram went on: he went to the priest and found him drunk, reading the newspaper in tears, pointing to the article about the murder of Sarah Errol. Reports say she was sleeping on a bed with no underwear on when they found her.Jerram had checked all the news reports about Sarah, and there was never a single article that mentioned either.Is the priest right?Was Sarah sleeping at the time?Is she really naked from the waist down? Jerram repeated his own question: Is Sarah really naked?Moreau said she could not comment. The priest also insisted that nothing was missing from the house.Moreau began listening and taking notes.The intruder kicked Sarah in the face beyond recognition, and that's how she died.A small part of her ear also fell off, landing on the stairs under her shoulder. Morrow stood up suddenly and hurried across the corridor to the case room, looking at the crime scene photos on the display board.In order to prevent Jerram from hanging up, she asked the priest's name, where did he work, and was it a habitual alcoholism?None of the pictures capture the detail of Sarah's earlobe.She went back to her office and pulled out all the photos, except for one that showed the earlobe, after Sarah Errol's body had been moved.No police officer has ever seen the pictures. "Jeram, what you said doesn't make any sense." She tried to sound flat. "These facts are well known." He's disappointed, but trying to be a gentleman, "Oh yeah?" "I'm afraid so, but thank you very much for calling us." "Aha, I had high hopes for this, I thought I had stumbled upon a story." "Well, never mind, it sounds like that guy has enough trouble." "I am very sure of that." They said goodbye and hung up the phone. Remembering the holy font in Glenawah's foyer, Moreau called the local police to find her an officer of her rank in Perth. Detective Inspector Danny was unfriendly and unwilling to help.He said that he would send the police to talk to the priest, but he must clarify the fact that the priest is an alcoholic. You can't use the words of an alcoholic as a testimony, can you? She hung up the phone and ran to see Bannerman. "Inspector." She stood in the doorway out of breath. Bannerman glanced up. "A priest in Perth described Sarah's injuries in detail..." Bannerman leaned back, raised his eyebrows questioningly, and Morrow knew what he was thinking, "It's not the details that have been reported in the news, absolutely nothing, even if Leonard's friend leaked the case, the details that the priest said It's not in the photo." "Do you think so?" Bannerman's mood seemed to have changed completely since she had left the room four minutes earlier.He was angry, not at her, but at someone. Moreau sighed and leaned wearily against the door. She had no right to challenge him to anything, especially his moodiness, but she shook her head, "I'm going to Perth—" "No, you don't want to go." "I can't continue investigating—" "You can do as I tell you." They stared at each other for a long time.The twins in her belly began to feel restless. "Then tell me what to do?" "We're going to continue to follow the Murray line until we figure out what's going on," he said. Morrow's thoughts were flying, "Inspector, I want to write down the clue of Perth. If it turns out that this clue is crucial, then you are responsible." Bannerman waved at her disdainfully, telling her to go away, "Yes, you can do whatever you like." Morrow shut the door before he had a chance to change his mind.In the corridor, she couldn't help but smile triumphantly.