Design for Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

given.’
    ‘Forensic profile. Geographical locations.’ Sharon consulted her notes, and changed the direction of her questions. ‘Interesting…. Now it is clear from the forensic evidence obtained from the victims that the women in question were not murdered in the locations in which they were found. The first woman, Dorothy Chance, was discovered half-hidden in a ditch close to a country park not far from the canal; the second, Jean Capaldi, in a stream near a disused viaduct. The final corpse was found near a salvage scrapyard, dumped perhaps hurriedly, with no attempt to hide the body.’
    Paula Gray pursed her lips. ‘We think the killer had been disturbed while he was getting rid of his victim. She wasprobably destined for the canal.’
    ‘Though you’ve turned up no witnesses to the dumping of the bodies. And am I right in saying that in spite of the extensive investigations you carried out in the area you never succeeded in identifying the actual location where the murders had been committed?’
    ‘As I’ve explained, the bodies were found in various locations around and near the Midland Canal,’ Paula Gray confirmed, ‘but no, we never managed to locate the actual place where the murders were committed.’ She hesitated briefly. ‘There can be little doubt that the atrocities were carried out over a period of time in a location which would have been isolated, under the control of the accused, not overlooked. No one seems to have seen the initial abductions; no screams have been reported, so we assume that the crimes were carried out in some secure location. The women would seem to have been kept by the killer for several days. He had a safe house. Still as yet unknown to us.’
    ‘Of course,’ Sharon murmured almost casually, ‘if you had found this location, a dungeon, a cellar, a room in a house or apartment under the control of the accused, it would have been of considerable assistance to your investigation. I mean, you would have almost inevitably discovered traces of blood, clothing, artefacts such as the ropes or chains used to restrain the victims, along with, possibly, a considerable array of DNA samples on which your forensic team could have worked. Evidence which would have clearly linked the accused to the crimes.’
    ‘That is correct.’
    ‘But you have not, up to this time, ever found the hidden location …’ Sharon nodded thoughtfully. ‘In fact, am I right in stating that there is no forensic evidence to connect theaccused to the murders of the first two women, and the only piece of evidence, as far as DNA is concerned, which connects Raymond Conroy to the third victim, Irene Dixon, amounts to traces of dried blood on a scalpel, possibly used to carve designs on the breasts of the dead woman?’
    ‘That is so,’ the detective constable agreed, a certain reluctance staining her tone.
    Sharon shuffled the papers in front of her, and glanced across to the dock. Raymond Conroy smiled at her, nodding slightly. Sharon’s eyes returned to the woman in the witness box. ‘So let me get this clear. Your team came to the conclusion that they would be likely to find the killer operating in a deserted factory and dilapidated quayside area near the Midland Canal, and that the person in question would have artistic leanings. On the basis of the careful, artistic Zodiac designs carved on these unfortunate women?’
    Paula Gray’s features stiffened at the mockery in Sharon’s tone. ‘We dealt with what we had. Forensic reports, psychiatric reports, surveys of the location of the killings, the careful tracing of the carvings all played their part. The combination led us to the accused. And finally, to positive DNA evidence.’
    Sharon nodded. ‘Ah, yes. The scalpel …’ She paused, eyeing the witness curiously. ‘Where was the scalpel found?’
    ‘In the flat belonging to and used by Raymond Conroy.’
    ‘Who actually found it?’
    ‘It was located by Detective Sergeant