DS Mel Hanrahan watched as the eyes of her constable, Gabi Papadakis, flew across the screen, reading the interim report Mel had just sent up the line to the Big Boss.
… Forensic analysis of the incident scene establishes that the original impact site of the branch upon becoming detached from the tree and falling to the ground, was 2 metres northwest of where the deceased lay when the fatal blunt force trauma was received.
We can therefore rule out the possibility that the deceased was killed accidentally by the branch falling from the tree.
Our hypothesis is that the perpetrator picked up the branch (there were no drag marks) and threw it down on the prone deceased, crushing his skull. The branch weighs 125 kg so considerable upper body strength would have been required. The deceased had likely been incapacitated by a previous blow, up to 5 minutes before the fatal blow.
This previous blow is believed to have been dealt with another weapon, possibly the wooden handle of a gardening implement such as a pickaxe or mattock.
We conjecture that the perpetrator intended to cover their tracks and make the death of the deceased appear to be an accident.
This secondary weapon has not so far been recovered, despite a thorough search of the area. However a weapon matching this description was sighted in the hands of an unidentified person on video footage of an adjacent site, in the 30 minutes prior to the incident.
The autopsy report is undecided on the number of blunt force impacts, because of the poor condition of the deceased’s skull and the fact that the body was disturbed soon after death by members of the public and paramedics attempting to render assistance …
Gabi sat back. ‘Thanks, Sarge.’
‘How did the interview with Mrs MacColl and Mr Conti go?’
‘Well, once they had time to calm down. Considering the personal nature of the events. They were in the habit of meeting once a week or so for sex, preferably in al fresco locations.’
‘We’ve had nice weather for it.’
‘Yes, Sarge. They had sex at the community gardens on one previous occasion, the week before the incident.’
‘As recorded for posterity on Ray Hughes’ trailcam. How did they get access? The gardens are locked at night. Difficult to imagine her scaling that fence in her nurse’s uniform …’
‘Mr Conti has a key for the main gate of the gardens. Used to be a member there, didn’t return it.’
‘Ah.’
‘On the evening of the incident, Mrs MacColl had arranged to meet Mr Conti at the gardens, under the Big Tree, using their usual communication method, WhatsApp. However, she cancelled the meeting during the afternoon, because of a sudden work commitment.’
‘This is where it gets interesting, I believe?’
‘Yes, Sarge. There’s a discrepancy between the time proposed by Mr Conti and agreed by Mrs MacColl, and the time that was subsequently negotiated with Mr Conti by someone using Mrs MacColl’s WhatsApp account.’
‘And this came to light … ?’
‘When Mr Conti and Mrs MacColl compared recollections later. He’d taken a screen shot of the exchange and she didn’t recognise some of the messages he’d received from her phone. Unfortunately the original thread has been auto-erased …’
‘But there’s this screenshot. Which you’ve secured as evidence?’
‘Yes, Sarge. Mrs MacColl believes that her husband, Neil MacColl, obtained access to her phone and negotiated the changed time with Mr Conti, then locally erased the thread back to the original message.’
‘Crafty bastard!’
‘It looks as if he intended to lure Mr Conti to the Big Tree early and assault him. His plan only failed because of the last-minute cancellation, which he wasn’t privy to.’
‘So MacColl turns up at the appointed time, sees Dmitry Kapanadze, takes him for Conti and kills him?’
‘That’s my interpretation, too, Sarge.’
‘And after the incident? How did the suspect behave subsequently?’
‘Mrs MacColl reports that his behaviour was non-confrontational, non-violent but … odd. Out of character. He was secretive, showed an uncharacteristic interest in her phone. She became concerned for her safety and was in the process of vacating their shared home this morning.’
‘What prompted her to come in to the station?’
‘The discovery of an electronic tag in her handbag. One that she had no prior knowledge of. She believes her husband was using it to follow her, intending to have another attempt at catching her and Mr Conti together.’
‘Lucky she found it – before he found them.’
‘The tag was of a type that sounds an audible alarm after being separated from its parent device for longer than twenty-four hours. The suspect may have been unaware of this. It’s a safety feature, designed to prevent the use of this type of tag by stalkers.’
‘Ha! Where’s the suspect now?’
‘After being sighted by Mrs MacColl and Mr Conti a few blocks from the station, he took off. Highway patrol have just pulled him over for speeding, ten kays this side of Wodonga, heading for the border.’
‘Excellent. I’m looking forward to a chat with Mr MacColl. The name sounds familiar …’
‘Ex-international cricketer, Sarge. After that, he was an IPL coach, before a physical altercation with a player cost him his job.’
‘Right, of course! Thanks for all that, Constable Papadakis. Good work. And of course, you’ll be joining me to interview Mr MacColl when he gets here.’
‘Yes, Sarge!’
Next week in The Plot:
Chapter 21: In Memoriam
The final chapter!
Disclaimer: The people, organisations and events described in this story are entirely the product of the author’s imagination; they bear no intentional resemblance to real-life people, organisations and events. Some locations are based on real places, however the City of Corymbia and its localities are inventions of the author.
A former pro athlete commits a crime. That sounds familiar...