Bloody Valentine Part 6

Amy looked at Ben again to make sure he was watching the faces of Leila, Michael and Anni. 'I regret to inform you that your sister-in-law, Zee Barnes, and the chef Bruno Gambrini have been murdered.'

'There must be some mistake ...'

'I a.s.sure you there's no mistake, Miss Barnes.'

Anni slumped back in her chair. 'Zee and Bruno ...' She began to cry: large, soft, silent tears.

'Where's Jack?' Michael asked.

'In his office.'

'Is anyone with him?' Leila asked. 'He shouldn't be alone ...'

'He's not alone,' Amy a.s.sured her.

'I suppose that secretary of his-'

'For heaven's sake, Leila, shut up.' Michael looked at Amy. 'How was Zee killed? Did the same person kill her and Bruno ...?'

'I'm not at liberty to divulge any more information, Mr Barnes.'

'Have you caught whoever's responsible?'

'We need to interview everyone who lives in the building. Miss Barnes, could I speak to you first?' Amy opened an inner door, which led on to a corridor.

'There are four offices and four en-suite bedrooms in there,' Michael explained. 'If you want somewhere private, there's an office ahead of you.'

'Thank you.' Amy opened the door that Michael indicated. 'Miss Barnes?'

Leila left her chair reluctantly.

A constable tapped Amy on the shoulder. 'Liam Ansell has reviewed the CCTV images, ma'am. There's something he thinks you should see right away.'

Chapter Fifteen.

Amy and Ben left Michael, Leila and Anni with the constable and entered the conference room, which had been transformed into an incident room.

Half a dozen officers were talking on phones. Others were moving desks, fixing photographs to Perspex screens and inputting information on computers. Sergeant Reece and Liam Ansell were at a desk in a corner. A bank of screens had been installed above it. Liam smiled when he saw Amy. He and Amy had once been close. Although he hadn't wanted their relationship to end, they'd managed to split amicably enough to remain friends.

'I've collated the last images of Zee Barnes, ma'am. Before you see them, there's something else you should look at.' Liam hit a series of b.u.t.tons. Images of the corridors of Barnes Building filled the screen.

Amy noted the time in the corner of the screens. 'Twelve twenty-three. Today?'

'Yes, ma'am. This is the corridor outside Bruno Gambrini's apartment. There it is. It's present for less than two seconds. I'll freeze it.'

'A figure in chefs' whites and hat exiting Bruno Gambrini's door.' Ben said. 'At twelve twenty-three, when Adrian Wills didn't enter the building until twelve fifty.'

'Has that time been verified?' Amy asked.

'By the restaurant Adrian works in, the taxi driver who drove him here, and the porter,' Sergeant Reece confirmed.

'Look up, d.a.m.n it,' Ben ordered.

'Unfortunately, whoever it is doesn't show their face,' Liam answered.

'Can you make that image clearer?' Ben asked.

'That's as clear as it can get, sir.'

Amy studied the blurred figure. 'Given the position of the light switch, I'd say five feet nine inches.'

'Agreed. Medium build, not a shred of hair to be seen beneath that hat. And, as we only have a back view of someone in baggy clothing, holding what looks like a black sack, they could be male or female,' Ben added.

'More sightings?' Amy looked at Liam.

'Not of our mystery figure in chefs' whites, but this was recorded between ten past two and ten past three this morning.'

'The corridors are empty,' Ben said irritably.

'Look closer. Here and here.' Liam moved the mouse arrow over the edges of the screen. 'The light dims. Something or someone has blocked the lamps in the corridor.'

Amy peered closer. 'Shadows?'

'Someone is moving out of camera range,' Liam declared.

'We checked security,' Sergeant Reece said. 'The outside doors are locked day and night. The only way in is with a resident who has a key code or through the porter.'

'A resident would know the location of the cameras,' Amy said.

'See, movement again here.' Liam indicated an area where a shadow flickered.

'Could be someone familiar with the location of the cameras,' Ben mused. 'Possibly the someone in chefs' whites who was too rattled after killing Bruno to be careful?'

'It's a theory,' Amy acknowledged. 'Is there only one key code for all the apartments?'

'No. I checked with the porter,' Sergeant Reece informed her. 'Each resident has their own code to the front door and a different code for their apartment.'

'And if they tried to enter another apartment?' Ben asked.

'An alarm would trigger and freeze the lock.'

'Is there a master code that overrides the individual codes?' Ben stared at the screen.

'Yes, but only the porters and Jack Barnes have it.'

'Is there a record of when it's used as opposed to the individual codes?'

'Yes, ma'am, and the locks are being checked by a technician. But she warned us not to expect results for a couple of hours.'

'So, we've someone creeping around the building between ten past two and five past three in the morning. But all we can see are shadows.'

'It happened again this morning, ma'am,' Liam added.

'What time and where in the building?'

'The first shadow appears at seven minutes past eleven on the fourth floor.'

Amy referred to her notebook. 'The artists' studio floor?'

Liam called up the screen. 'Yes. The shadow crosses the light above the fire exit, then disappears.'

'Can you see it in any other corridors?' Amy asked.

'There's a flicker four minutes later on the camera above the door to the underground garage.'

Amy looked at Sergeant Reece. 'Wouldn't you need a key code to get out of the building as well as into it?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'Get the codes used on that lock checked as a priority.'

The sergeant signalled to a constable.

'Do you want to see the last images we have of Mrs Barnes, ma'am?' Liam looked enquiringly at Amy.

'Please.' Amy found it harrowing to view CCTV images of any victim going about their daily life before a crime, but murders were the worst. She was dreading seeing a live Zee Barnes walking, smiling; no longer a victim but a living breathing person.

'We're missing something,' Ben said.

'What?' Amy looked at him.

'Anyone coming in here has to get past the porter, right?'

'Right,' Sergeant Reece confirmed.

'The porter has given us a timeline accounting for every resident's movements this morning, but he admits to being away from his desk from roughly eleven thirty to twelve fifteen.'

'Agreed,' Amy answered.

'Everyone is accounted for except this mystery figure in chefs' whites, who is seen leaving Bruno's apartment, carrying a black sack, approximately half an hour before Bruno Gambrini was found murdered.'

'Your point is?' Amy pressed.

'Bruno's murder was messy. If this someone is Bruno's murderer, they could have knifed Bruno, changed into his chefs' whites and carried their own bloodstained clothing away in the sack. In which case, where is it?'

'Sergeant Reece, get the porter,' Amy ordered.

Chapter Sixteen.

Amy and Ben left the search of the rubbish chutes and bins to Sergeant Reece. They returned to the office where they'd left Leila Barnes.

'How was Zee murdered?' Leila asked when they entered.

'We're not at liberty to divulge that, Miss Barnes,' Amy answered.

'I'm her sister-in-law,' Leila protested.

'We'll get through this interview more quickly if you co-operate, Miss Barnes,' Amy warned. 'Where were you this morning?'

'You can't regard me as a suspect ...'

'Please, Miss Barnes, answer our questions.' Ben flashed an insincere smile.

'I left the building at eight thirty to take Mamie, that's my younger sister, to school. I returned at nine o'clock. I wrote some letters on my return and didn't go out again until about a quarter to one when I left for a charity committee meeting.'

'Letters? You worked on a computer?' Amy questioned.

'Some of the time. I also drafted notes by hand for the meeting.'

'Did you see or speak to anyone when you were in your apartment?

'Obviously I didn't see anyone. I made several telephone calls.'

'Time of the calls?'

'I can't remember,' Leila snapped angrily.

Amy watched Ben make a note to check Leila's calls and computer log. 'The name of the charity and place you met?'

'St Anna's Hospice. We use the conference room in the offices.'

'Time?'

'One o'clock. Several committee members work, so we arrange our meetings at lunchtime.'

Amy looked at the timeline Ted had given her. 'Zee left her apartment just after eleven o'clock. She placed cards and roses outside your door.'