‘This is Gong Bo Hyoo,’ said Eastwood. ‘Murdered in September 2019. Her throat had been cut, and she was found in an alleyway in Sheffield.’
‘Sheffield?’ repeated Ramouter. ‘First Manchester, now Sheffield. What have we got? A travelling salesman of a killer?’
‘Not quite,’ said Eastwood. ‘Two weeks before her murder, Gong Bo Hyoo had been acquitted of attempted murder and fraud.’
‘Who did she attempt to kill?’ asked Stanford.
‘According to the CRIS reports, a friend, Cynthia Onslo who was seventy-five years old and lived in Ancoats in Manchester.’
‘Ah, Manchester. Maybe not a travelling killer. So how did she try to kill her?’ asked Ramouter.
‘Pushed her down the stairs and the fraud was faking her will so that she would inherit her house. Hyoo denied both charges and had a trial. Technically she had two trials, both at Manchester Crown Court.’
‘The same court as Mantell,’ pointed out Stanford.
‘Hyoo had moved back to Sheffield because she’d been evicted from her flat in Ancoats,’ Eastwood said as she flicked through the crime scene photographs. ‘The jury couldn’t reach a verdict in the first trial in May 2019 or the retrial. The prosecution decided that the third time wouldn’t be the charm after two hung juries and threw in the towel. Two weeks later, Hyoo is dead. In addition to the cut throat, she also has a large wound on her scalp.’
Henley sat on the desk nearby as the photograph of Hyoo’s upper back filled the screen. Her skin was discoloured and covered with raised scars. The wound on her scalp was raw and vicious.
‘So many similarities and yet no one on the murder teams saw a link?’ Henley was angry. ‘How in this day and age and the fact that we have HOLMES, is that possible?’
‘It shouldn’t be possible,’ said Eastwood. ‘But someone wasn’t paying attention. I only found them because I was paying attention.’
‘None of this is a coincidence.’
The door opened and Pellacia walked in with DC Copeland by his side. Henley paused and watched the pair as Pellacia directed Copeland to sit at an empty desk. Henley picked up a marker and walked to the whiteboard. She added Douglas Mantell and Gong Bo Hyoo’s names and the dates they went missing to the board. ‘Both walked free, both scalped. Just like Fox-Carnell.’ she tapped Sian’s name on the board. ‘Tabitha Ashcroft the same but the only reason why her name isn’t in red is because her husband intervened.’
‘And now we have Nathan Hall,’ added Ramouter.
‘Is that confirmed?’ asked Pellacia as Copeland picked up an unused notepad from the desk and began to make notes.
‘His DNA and prints were already on the database because of his recent arrests and charges of rape. Anthony confirmed an hourago that there was a match. We’ve sent officers round to inform his next of kin.’
‘Where are we on cause of death?’ Copeland asked.
‘And who are you exactly?’ asked Stanford.
‘I was going to wait until Henley had finished,’ said Pellacia. ‘But this is DC Xania Copeland from Lewisham CID.’
‘You’re the one who palmed the case onto us,’ Stanford stated.
‘DC Copeland is joining the SCU on secondment to help with this case,’ Pellacia explained.
‘I’m looking forward to being part of the team,’ said Copeland.
‘Ramouter, carry on,’ Pellacia instructed.
‘We won’t have an answer about cause of death until earliest later this evening or first thing tomorrow morning,’ said Ramouter. ‘But Dr Choi—’
‘Based at Greenwich mortuary,’ Copeland interrupted as she nodded to herself. ‘I’ve met her before.’
‘Right,’ said Ramouter, catching the look of disapproval in Henley’s eyes, knowing she wasn’t impressed with interruptions. ‘Dr Choi has given a time of death of between 10.30 p.m. last night and midnight, but we think that it’s closer to 10.30 p.m.. There was a kebab takeaway – well, the leftovers after the foxes got their way with it – all over the driveway. The restaurant’s logo was on the bag. They received the order at 10.02 p.m., it was picked up at 10.13 p.m. by Uber Eats and delivery was confirmed at 10.31 p.m.. We spoke to the courier, who said that he met the owner outside the gate, and handed over the order.’
‘Just like that,’ said Copeland. ‘Don’t you usually have to give a code before you get your order?’
‘Not always and, in this instance, the courier didn’t ask for one,’ Henley said bluntly. ‘CSI also found Nathan Hall’s mobile phone in the hallway. We’ll get it to Ezra once they’re done with it. Hopefully he’ll be able to retrieve security footage.’
‘Sorry to jump around but I’ve got a question about TabithaAshcroft,’ said Stanford. ‘You can call me a pessimist, but I’d be surprised if whoever attacked her wasn’t determined to finish the job. I’m just thinking of Fox-Carnell.’
