Secretly, Jack Culverhouse had always liked doing press conferences. Although they were a pain in the arse, they usually threw up some good leads. Of course, there were the usual cranks and time-wasters, but overall it was a good exercise and it showed the public that the police were doing something.
Generally speaking, opening parts of enquiries up to the public didn’t tend to be all that useful. In fact, the number of crank calls and false leads could often hamper an investigation, which was why press conferences were ever only organised when there was a significant public interest in the case or, as in this instance, when the police were completely and utterly stuck. Of course, that wasn’t the line which tended to be fed to the Great British public.
The Mildenheath Police insignia was emblazoned on the wall behind Culverhouse as he gingerly stepped towards his seat and sat down. Taking a cursory sip of water from the glass in front of him, he shuffled his papers and tapped the microphone in front of him before beginning to speak. He knew what he was doing — he’d done it many times before — but looking concerned yet assured was a requisite skill as far as police public relations were concerned. Culverhouse was certainly not one to care for PR, but having fewer pissed off members of the public certainly made his life a lot easier.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, I am Detective Chief Inspector Jack Culverhouse of Mildenheath CID. To my left is Chief Constable Charles Hawes, and to my right is Detective Sergeant Luke Baxter. I am here today to launch an appeal for information on the death of one Robert Arthurs, known as Bob, of Vicarage Road, Mildenheath. Mr Arthurs was a businessman, a partner in a local stationery firm. Mr Arthurs’ body was found early on Wednesday morning by his business partner at the warehouse unit where they worked. We have reason to believe that Mr Arthurs’ death was suspicious and are appealing for any information that may help catch his killer. Any questions?’
As Wendy sat in the incident room watching the action unfold on the news channel, she grinned at Culverhouse's short and succinct address. That smirking git Baxter was doing him no favours, though.
A hand rose from the crowd and a voice spoke. ‘DCI Culverhouse, Adam Reynolds, Mildenheath Gazette. You mentioned that Bob Arthurs’ business partner, Donald Radley, found his body on Wednesday morning. Is Mr Radley a suspect in the investigation?’
‘No. We are satisfied that Donald Radley had no motive for killing Bob Arthurs and that we have established his whereabouts during the time that Mr Arthurs is believed to have died. That is not an avenue we are pursuing.’
‘Sam Rigby, Blaze Radio. You mentioned that you have reason to believe that Bob Arthurs' death was suspicious. What are the circumstances that lead you to believe this?’
Culverhouse sighed. This was a dilemma which had been discussed in full in the incident room prior to the press conference. It was usual practice to withhold some details of serious crime cases in order to be able to weed out crank callers later in the investigation. Due to the distinct lack of evidence in the Bob Arthurs murder case, it had been decided that the grisly details would be withheld only unless specifically asked for. Even then, they’d have to be carefully managed. It wasn’t easy to only leak a couple of details when you didn’t have many in the first place. It hadn't taken Sam Rigby long to blow that plan out of the water.
‘Bob Arthurs' body had been badly beaten. We believe he had been initially attacked with a baseball bat. His body was then subjected to a hydrochloric acid attack.’
‘At what point during the attack did Mr Arthurs die, Inspector?’ Adam Reynolds from the Mildenheath Gazette had poked his head above the parapet once again. Culverhouse knew from past experience that Reynolds was like a dog with a bone once he got going.
‘We're not totally sure at the moment. The pathologist also saw evidence of strangulation but there were no signs of a struggle. This may have been due to Mr Arthurs being unconscious at the time due to the earlier head trauma.’
‘What information are you looking for at this time?’ Adam Reynolds asked, beginning to dominate the press conference.
‘We're looking for anyone who may have known Bob Arthurs and can provide us with some more insight into his life. He seems to have been a very secretive man, but someone clearly had a grudge against him. We would also like people locally to be vigilant and let us know if they spot any odd behaviour in close friends or relatives which may be linked to the events of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Please do call the incident room if you think you may have some information, no matter how insignificant. Even the smallest details can help enormously.’