The Last Girl Read Free Page B

he strolled back towards us. ‘See what she makes of it.’
    ‘I’m not sure that’s fair.’ Godley’s voice was mild.
    ‘What do they call it – a teachable moment? This is a chance to show Kerrigan what she doesn’t know, isn’t it? And Kev and Glen here can show her how important it is that she listens to them rather than jumping to her own conclusions.’
    ‘I may not be very experienced, but I know better than to ignore expert opinion.’ I turned to Godley. ‘Look, I don’t want to waste anyone’s time––’
    ‘I don’t mind.’ Kev was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. Of course he didn’t mind. Hanshaw, on the other hand …
    ‘If you want to test your DC’s analytical skills, feel free.’ The pathologist folded his arms. ‘This should be good.’
    And suddenly, they were all looking at me. I swallowed, fighting panic. I was still dry-mouthed from dehydration and my head throbbed, a tension headache that was only getting worse. I made myself concentrate.
Show no fear
. ‘Okay. I should point out I’ve only just come in, and I haven’t looked at the bodies closely.’
    ‘Understood.’ Godley had an encouraging expression on his face. I didn’t dare look at Derwent.
    ‘Well, what happened in here was quick. Neither of the victims had time to leave the room, and there are two exits so they had their choice of escape routes. That could mean there were two killers, but I’m not sure it’s beyond one person to have done this.’
    ‘Who was first?’ Godley asked.
    ‘Laura. She didn’t have time to get up off the sofa before she was attacked. I think the killer stood behind her to cut her throat.’ I looked over at the sofa, thinking. ‘Vita was standing up behind the other sofa when Laura was attacked.’
    ‘How do you work that out?’ Derwent’s tone was seriously sceptical.
    ‘She ran towards her daughter. That chair is knocked forward – it would have been in her way. If it had been the killer who knocked it over when he was going to attack Vita, it would have been lying on its back.’ I walked forward to stand at Laura’s feet. ‘Vita stood here and fought with the killer. She must have been aware that Laura was beyond help once she got close enough to see the damage that had been done to her. She would have known her life was in danger too. There’s blood here that’s cast off from the knife. That suggests multiple movements with a bloody blade, but it looks to me as if Laura was dealt with in a single cut. And whatever he used, it must have been very sharp.’
    ‘Two slashes, in fact,’ Hanshaw said. ‘But you’re right, the cutting edge was extremely sharp, and both strokes were decisive.’
    ‘Vita ran when she could get away from the killer. She lost one shoe here, the other over by the window. She must have been quite badly injured at this point because she was losing a lot of blood and I’m guessing she held on to the curtains for support.’ I considered it again. ‘Or maybe she was trying to hold them in front of her to block the blade.’
    ‘There are slashes in the material.’ Kev was nodding happily.
    ‘Those doors must be locked or she’d have got through them. I bet Philip Kennford is obsessive about home security – he knows too much about criminals not to be. There’s a keypad for an alarm system in the hall by the door, and the gate at the bottom of the drive is an electric one with an intercom. I’d say the key for those doors is kept somewhere inaccessible, and they’re never left unlocked.’ I turned to Kev. ‘Was there any damage to the front door? Or any other windows or doors?’
    ‘No signs of a break-in. The back door into the kitchen was open, but the other daughter was out in the garden, swimming. She’d have seen anyone who used that door.’
    ‘The other daughter?’ Derwent asked.
    ‘Laura’s twin,’ Godley explained. ‘Her name’s Lydia.’
    ‘What was she doing swimming in the middle of the night?’
    ‘You