The Cedar Face: DI Jewell book 3 (DI Elizabeth Jewell) by Carole Pitt Page B
Authors: Carole Pitt
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killed him for it.'
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Elizabeth typed up Kilmartin's statement, asked her to sign it and decided to deliver it to Yeats personally. Any qualms over Morven 's possible guilt were beginning to fade. Elizabeth had always tried to maintain an impartial viewpoint, a person was innocent until proved guilty but the circumstantial evidence was stacking up against the Canadian. Yeats was walking down the corridor looking smug.
'I think you should read this immediately,' she told him.
'Bring it in,' he said and marched ahead of her into his office. She wondered if he had any more post mortem or forensic details to share. Unless they found the mask and confirmed it was hugely valuable they couldn't use it as a motive for murder.
Elizabeth had thought through the possibilities. Wilson had intimated his life was about to change, which in her mind nearly always had something to do with money. If so, Wilson probably couldn't believe his luck when he heard about Morven coming. Here was a chance to ask an expert's advice on its provenance and value. What didn't make sense was why Wilson hadn't already let other experts see it. Cheltenham had a branch of Sotheby's, although all auctions were still held in London.
Yeats looked up and smiled. 'Sit down Liz, is it okay to call you Liz, or do you prefer Elizabeth?'
The smile and the words shocked her, she'd seen halfhearted ones on a few occasions but this was genuine. The man was a chameleon. 'Everyone else calls me Liz so I don 't see why not. Does that mean I can drop the Sir, and use Liam?'
She expected his smile to fade but it didn't. 'Of course you can.' He held out his hand. 'Let's have a look at this statement.'
She sat quietly while he read, suspicious of this sudden change towards her.
Yeats placed the document on his desk. 'No one found a mask matching that description . The only masks there belonged to the students, part of their Native American project.'
'Do you believe the rest of it?'
'I always keep an open mind regarding witness statements . We all know how time distorts reality. Most of it makes sense, except for the missing mask.'
Elizabeth pushed her alternative theory. 'Kilmartin also had a strong motive. Wilson obviously hated her for beating him to the job and everyone knew he did. They argued a lot and you said it yourself, rows can escalate rapidly into violence.'
'No trace evidence to link her to the scene, as yet,' Yeats stated.
'Considering she worked in the damn place, I find that hard to believe.'
'Liz, think about what you're saying. Dr Oakley is an excellent pathologist. I wouldn't accuse a scientist of her calibre of shoddy work practices . That's a conspiracy theory too far. From Grayson's records, I doubt he's as thorough. I've heard him described as slap-dash.'
'Who said that?'
'You know I can't reveal sources, it's confidential.'
He'd spouted the usual crap to cover himself. Elizabeth realised she was wasting her time. His overtures at friendship weren't genuine. Yeats got his kicks from mind games and she 'd let down her guard. It wouldn't happen again . 'I've no issues with Dr Oakley. As for Grayson being incompetent, if I was you I wouldn't repeat that statement.'
Again, he ignored her and changed the subject . 'I'm not happy with the statements from the two cleaners. They were both upset at the time and weren 't thinking straight. Go and talk to them. The older woman was very reticent. Considering she has worked at Grasmere for a long time and probably watches what goes on , I got the impression she was keepings things back. Where 's Patterson?'
Elizabeth stood up. 'He's still interviewing. You told me to recruit, so I did. How conclusive are the forensics?' she asked feeling suddenly defeated.
'Morven has to account for the results. His fingerprints are on the murder weapon and Wilson's DNA is a perfect match to bloodstains found on his t-shirt. The lab used the latest techniques for lifting DNA from
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Elizabeth typed up Kilmartin's statement, asked her to sign it and decided to deliver it to Yeats personally. Any qualms over Morven 's possible guilt were beginning to fade. Elizabeth had always tried to maintain an impartial viewpoint, a person was innocent until proved guilty but the circumstantial evidence was stacking up against the Canadian. Yeats was walking down the corridor looking smug.
'I think you should read this immediately,' she told him.
'Bring it in,' he said and marched ahead of her into his office. She wondered if he had any more post mortem or forensic details to share. Unless they found the mask and confirmed it was hugely valuable they couldn't use it as a motive for murder.
Elizabeth had thought through the possibilities. Wilson had intimated his life was about to change, which in her mind nearly always had something to do with money. If so, Wilson probably couldn't believe his luck when he heard about Morven coming. Here was a chance to ask an expert's advice on its provenance and value. What didn't make sense was why Wilson hadn't already let other experts see it. Cheltenham had a branch of Sotheby's, although all auctions were still held in London.
Yeats looked up and smiled. 'Sit down Liz, is it okay to call you Liz, or do you prefer Elizabeth?'
The smile and the words shocked her, she'd seen halfhearted ones on a few occasions but this was genuine. The man was a chameleon. 'Everyone else calls me Liz so I don 't see why not. Does that mean I can drop the Sir, and use Liam?'
She expected his smile to fade but it didn't. 'Of course you can.' He held out his hand. 'Let's have a look at this statement.'
She sat quietly while he read, suspicious of this sudden change towards her.
Yeats placed the document on his desk. 'No one found a mask matching that description . The only masks there belonged to the students, part of their Native American project.'
'Do you believe the rest of it?'
'I always keep an open mind regarding witness statements . We all know how time distorts reality. Most of it makes sense, except for the missing mask.'
Elizabeth pushed her alternative theory. 'Kilmartin also had a strong motive. Wilson obviously hated her for beating him to the job and everyone knew he did. They argued a lot and you said it yourself, rows can escalate rapidly into violence.'
'No trace evidence to link her to the scene, as yet,' Yeats stated.
'Considering she worked in the damn place, I find that hard to believe.'
'Liz, think about what you're saying. Dr Oakley is an excellent pathologist. I wouldn't accuse a scientist of her calibre of shoddy work practices . That's a conspiracy theory too far. From Grayson's records, I doubt he's as thorough. I've heard him described as slap-dash.'
'Who said that?'
'You know I can't reveal sources, it's confidential.'
He'd spouted the usual crap to cover himself. Elizabeth realised she was wasting her time. His overtures at friendship weren't genuine. Yeats got his kicks from mind games and she 'd let down her guard. It wouldn't happen again . 'I've no issues with Dr Oakley. As for Grayson being incompetent, if I was you I wouldn't repeat that statement.'
Again, he ignored her and changed the subject . 'I'm not happy with the statements from the two cleaners. They were both upset at the time and weren 't thinking straight. Go and talk to them. The older woman was very reticent. Considering she has worked at Grasmere for a long time and probably watches what goes on , I got the impression she was keepings things back. Where 's Patterson?'
Elizabeth stood up. 'He's still interviewing. You told me to recruit, so I did. How conclusive are the forensics?' she asked feeling suddenly defeated.
'Morven has to account for the results. His fingerprints are on the murder weapon and Wilson's DNA is a perfect match to bloodstains found on his t-shirt. The lab used the latest techniques for lifting DNA from
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