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A BABBLE OF ANIMATED chatter filled Bliss Bay’s police station at the evening briefing.
“Right, settle down, please, you lot. I've got the results of the post-mortem here,” said Sam, waiting until the room fell silent. “Gordon Campbell was killed between three-thirty and four-thirty on Tuesday morning. He suffered a crushed trachea caused by a single blow with a blunt object.”
“So we’re looking for someone strong?” said Paul.
Sam shook his head. “Possibly, but not necessarily. It's quite a fragile part of the body, so not as difficult to damage as you might think.”
“Did the report give any idea as to what kind of weapon we might be looking for?” asked Harvey.
“Well, yes and no,” said Sam. “There was no conclusive proof as such, but miniscule traces of iron oxide were found in the wound. Now, thanks to a member of the pathology team who was watching Value My Treasure last Sunday, and remembered the presenter saying that the glaze on the dish contained iron oxide, we have to explore the possibility that it’s likely to have been the implement used to kill Mr Campbell.
“We can’t be absolutely sure until it’s found and a comparison is made between the wound and the dish, but it looks likely that the attacker used it to strike the blow before making off with it.”
“As it was so thin, I assume the wound must have been caused by the rim of the dish?” said Harvey. “And I’m guessing it was only three inches long because, as the rim is curved, only a small part of it would have made contact with the skin?”
Sam nodded. “Unfortunately, there’s a chance that the dish is a long way from Bliss Bay by now, so we’ve got our work cut out to find it so that the necessary forensic work can be carried out. However, I’m doing a TV appeal later to alert people to the fact that it’s gone missing. I’m hoping that the fact it was on Value My Treasure will heighten interest in it, which will raise the likelihood of people getting in touch if it crosses their path. Knowing that it might have been used to kill someone may make it less appealing to anyone who’s approached to buy it, or put it up for auction.”
“Was any DNA found on Mr Campbell’s body?” asked Paul.
“Only Des and Sylvie Harper’s that we can identify at the moment. The other traces could be from anyone he encountered between the time he left Aberdeen and the time he arrived in Bliss Bay, so it’ll be a while before we know whether or not they’re going to help with our enquiries. There was no unexplained DNA under Mr Campbell’s finger nails, or any defensive wounds on his hands or arms, which leads me to believe that he was taken by surprise, or he knew the killer. Or both. Also, there was a fresh cut on his ankle, also made with a blunt object, or possibly a kick.” Sam scratched the back of his neck, threw back his head, and yawned. “Right, moving on, how are the house to house enquires going?”
“Not great,” said Trudy. “No one we’ve spoken to so far saw or heard a thing, so unless someone remembers something they failed to tell us when we first spoke to them, I’d say we’re getting nowhere fast at the moment. But we still have people to speak to, so you never know what might crop up.”
Sam nodded. “And what’s the news on the CCTV at The Duck, Paul?”
“Not good, either, boss. The cameras have been out of order since the bath in the upstairs flat overflowed and affected some of the electrics, which included the circuit the cameras are on. Kevin’s been waiting for someone from the insurance company to call round, but the long and short of it is that the inside cameras were out of order last Monday night.”
“Typical. Okay, well now that it’s looking likely that the dish is the weapon that was used on Gordon Campbell, finding it has just moved up our list of priorities,” said Sam, taking his jacket from the back of the chair. “I’ll see you after the appeal.”
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“Good evening. I’m Detective Inspector Sam Cambridge, and I’m the Senior Investigating Officer in the case of the suspicious death of Gordon Campbell in the village of Bliss Bay. Mr Campbell, who was seventy years old, lived in Aberdeen, and had arrived in Bliss Bay just a little under eighteen hours before he was killed in the early hours of Tuesday morning, between three-thirty and four-thirty.
“At the moment, we are still looking for the perpetrator of the crime, and we believe the motive may have been the theft of a valuable dish Mr Campbell had in his possession. You can see it here,” said Sam, holding up a photo, “although you may recognise it from the TV show, Value My Treasure on which it appeared last Sunday. We believe the dish may have been used during the attack on Mr Campbell, so I cannot stress enough the urgency with which we need to trace it.
“If anyone has any information regarding the identity of Mr Campbell’s attacker, or the whereabouts of the dish, please call the number running across the bottom of your screen, where detectives are waiting to take your call in the strictest confidence. You may, of course, contact us anonymously if you prefer, or call in to Bliss Bay police station in person. Even the smallest details can give us our biggest breakthroughs, so if you have any information at all you think may help our investigation, please get in touch. Thank you.”
