Letters To My Daughter's Killer - [41]

‘At which time Mr Tennyson claims he was on his way to the gym?’ says Mr Cromer.

‘That’s right, but we believe he sent the messages before leaving the house, in an attempt to construct an alibi.’

I feel sick. Lizzie’s last text, the one I’ve saved, treasured, is a sham, a trick.

‘Did you examine Mrs Tennyson’s phone?’

‘We did. But we found no fingerprints on it,’ says DI Ferguson.

‘Is that unusual?’ says Mr Cromer.

‘Extremely.’

‘How would you account for the lack of fingerprints?’

‘The phone had been wiped clean,’ she says. DI Ferguson’s energy, her vitality and her self-assurance shine through. Surely this, her complete belief in the case, her detailed knowledge of how it all fits together, will persuade the jury.

‘Were there any other suspicious factors that reinforced your view of Mr Tennyson as a suspect?’ says Mr Cromer.

‘Yes, the fact that there had been no forced entry. The fact that there were no witness accounts of anyone apart from Mr Tennyson either approaching or leaving the house that evening. And no forensic evidence of another person present.’

‘Though you did recover some unidentified fingerprints?’ says Mr Cromer.

‘Yes.’

‘Could these have belonged to a prowler who was apprehended in the area and who the Tennysons had described to the police just two days before the murder?’

‘No, we traced and eliminated that individual,’ she says.

‘And Broderick Litton, a man who had previously harassed Mrs Tennyson and made threats, did you find any evidence of him at the scene?’

‘None whatsoever,’ she says.

‘Have you traced and eliminated him?’

‘No,’ DI Ferguson says, ‘but I can say confidently that by the time we arrested Mr Tennyson, we no longer regarded Broderick Litton as a credible suspect. There was no evidence at all to link him to the murder.’ She lays to rest all speculation about the stalker being the real killer.

‘Did Mr Tennyson change his account at any point during the interviews?’ says Mr Cromer.

‘No.’

‘Not at all?’

‘No,’ says DI Ferguson.

‘What percentage of people are killed by strangers?’ says Mr Cromer.

‘A small minority; the latest figures show that only two per cent of women are killed by strangers.’

‘And of those, how many would be killed by strangers in their own home?’

‘I don’t have figures for that, but it would be a very small number.’

‘Thank you.’ He gives a little bow.

* * *

Miss Dixon comes forward as Mr Cromer sits down. She will have her work cut out.

‘If Mr Tennyson had been to the gym and returned as he said and found his wife, is it not possible that his clothes would be clean?’

‘Not if he touched her; extremely unlikely.’

‘But possible?’

‘I’ve never seen-’

‘Please answer the question, Inspector. It would be possible that he did not acquire any microscopic droplets of blood from his wife on his clothes when he returned and found her?’

‘That is possible though extremely unlikely. However-’

Miss Dixon cuts her off. ‘It is possible?’

‘Yes.’

‘Thank you.’

‘You have spoken about the use of a baby wipe to clean the poker and of wipes found in the house. But you could not match the wipe used on the poker to that particular packet, could you?’

‘No. Only to that brand,’ says DI Ferguson.

‘It is feasible that the perpetrator found the wipes when they looked for something to clean the poker with?’

‘It is,’ agrees DI Ferguson.

‘Or that they brought wipes with them, that is feasible too?’ says Miss Dixon.

‘Yes,’ says DI Ferguson, though you can tell she thinks it’s a load of bollocks.

‘And Mrs Tennyson’s phone, she may well have cleaned it herself, yes?’

‘She may,’ says DI Ferguson.

‘Had the police ever had concerns about Mr Tennyson prior to this?’ says Miss Dixon?

‘No.’

‘He has no convictions, cautions, never been charged with a crime?’ says Miss Dixon.

‘That’s right,’ says DI Ferguson.

‘And in the course of your investigation, did you establish if the deceased had reported domestic violence to the police?’ says Miss Dixon.

‘No, she hadn’t.’

‘Attended hospital with either unexplained injuries or reports of domestic violence?’

‘No.’

‘Sought an injunction against her husband?’

‘No.’

‘Raised the issue of domestic violence with her GP?’

‘No.’

‘Did the family inform you of any incidents of domestic violence or suspicions about domestic violence?’

‘No,’ says DI Ferguson.

‘Your officers carried out house-to-house inquiries in the area; did any neighbours report disturbances at the Tennysons’ house?’

‘No.’

‘Is it true that Mrs Tennyson saw a prowler in her garden on the Wednesday immediately before she was killed?’ says Miss Dixon.

‘Yes, but we were able to speak to that individual and rule him out of the inquiry.’

‘How did you rule him out?’

‘He had an alibi, which was confirmed by several independent sources. He could not have been at the house on the Saturday night.’

‘An alibi,’ says Miss Dixon, as though it’s something she wanted to hear. ‘It is true that Mrs Tennyson reported to the police that she was being stalked in 2007 and again in 2008?’

‘Yes,’ says DI Ferguson.

‘The man was identified at that time as Broderick Litton?’ Miss Dixon says.

‘Yes.’

‘And both Jack Tennyson and Ruth Sutton told you about this man immediately after the murder?’