The Doll's House

To Kate, he was now a murder victim and, like all murder victims, had a history that had led to the stabbing and dumping of his body in the murky waters of the Grand Canal.

She tried O’Connor again. The phone rang once before his sharp, controlled voice answered.

‘Kate.’

‘Detective Inspector.’

‘You took your time.’

‘If you check, O’Connor, you’ll see I’ve already left a message.’

‘Glad to hear you’re bright-eyed and on the ball. The phone’s been a little congested.’

‘Popular today, are we?’

‘Not really, only you and three million other people – just as well they don’t all have my private mobile.’

‘I assume Morrison’s already at the scene?’

‘His Highness arrived over an hour ago. I’m heading back there now. The bloody area is a disaster to cordon off. City traffic is practically at a standstill.’

‘Our killer picked a lively place.’

‘Yeah, and a lovely victim too.’

‘The media will ride this out for all it’s worth, O’Connor. Public figure, public place – not exactly low key.’

‘Indeed.’

‘Any witnesses?’

‘A young mother, Grace Power. She was awake with her new-born baby.’

‘What exactly did she see?’

‘She didn’t witness the drowning. According to the 999 call, she heard a car pull up at speed close to where the body was found. It was the sound of one car door opening and closing then another that caused her to look out the window. She saw two males – the victim and presumably the killer.’

‘Drowning? So the victim was alive on reaching the canal?’

‘So it would seem.’

‘Did the witness recognise either of them?’

‘No. She only saw them from behind. Her initial thought was that the victim was drunk and he was being taken out of the car to get sick. He was stooped over. The other guy had his arm around him, holding him up. Apparently the victim, although weak, was walking.’

‘What else did she see?’

‘At that point she looked away, only returning to the window when she heard the car pull off again. That was when she saw Keith Jenkins’s body floating in the water.’

‘Not a nice memory.’

‘Murder is never pretty, Kate.’

‘So the body was on the same stretch of the canal as the car pulled in at?’

‘That’s right. The canal gates at either end were locked. The body wasn’t going anywhere fast.’

‘What time did the witness ring in?’

‘Log states five a.m.’

‘You say the victim was weak?’

‘Yeah – he’d multiple stab wounds to the chest.’

‘Multiple – how many?’

‘Too many to say. Morrison will give us an estimated minimum when he’s done the autopsy.’

‘Any slash wounds?’

‘Some on the arms, but it looks like the attacker got his victim under control quickly. According to Morrison, he would have been extremely weak by the time he got to the canal.’

‘Which backs up Grace Power’s statement.’

‘Yeah, but even without it, Morrison figured Jenkins was alive going into the water.’

‘Why?’

‘You know what that son of a bitch Morrison is like. He’s only saying so much until the full autopsy gets under way this afternoon. He loves this bloody stage in the proceedings, gets excited on the whole prospect of what he’s about to find out.’

‘But he must have said why he believes Jenkins was still alive.’

‘A frothy cocktail in the mouth and nostrils, made up of water, mucus and air, apparently.’

‘And that’s it?’

‘He’ll know more later. But that’s his reading on it for now.’

‘And the stab wounds, any more details there?’

‘Slash and puncture wounds, as I said. The victim lost a lot of blood. Had it not been for our pal wanting Keith Jenkins to take a swim, most likely he would have bled to death.’

‘Did Grace Power have anything else to say?

‘She said both guys had dark brown hair. The pal’s hair was slightly shorter than the victim’s. She was unsure of the height as one of them was severely stooped over, and the other was leaning down trying to hold him up, but she reckons around the five-ten mark, both similar in build, stocky, but not overly so.’

‘Pity she didn’t stay at the window.’

‘Her baby was crying, but it was only a few minutes later that she heard the car door being opened again and slammed shut. The second time, it was just the once. When she walked back to the window, the car was gone.’

‘She didn’t get a registration plate?’

‘No, but she thinks it was a Volvo, black or navy. It was then she saw the body floating and the blood on the road and footpath. That’s when she called in.’

‘How come she didn’t notice the blood earlier?’

‘She’d only looked out for a split second. She was pretty shook up.’

‘I’d imagine she was.’ Kate looked out of the front window of her own apartment down onto the street below, trying to visualise the events. ‘Were the stab wounds front or back?’

‘Front, just below the ribcage.’

‘Then Keith Jenkins saw his killer.’