Chapter 4: Another Murder

‘But we had talked it all through at the centre long before we got together, so Abdul knew full well that I wouldn’t stand for any of that.’

‘He also knew I wouldn’t stand for wearing any face coverings, although he does still try that on occasionally. When we started to have feelings for each other, I made it clear that we were going nowhere unless he accepted that British women were free people with the same rights as men.’

‘You’re obviously a strong lady,’ Glennis told her with a smile. ‘You have to be, don’t you love,’ Mrs Aziz responded, ‘Otherwise all men will just walk over you.’ Glennis smiled at Tommy and thought better of making a reply.

‘Do you have a contact number for your husband?’ Glennis asked. ‘Of course,’ Mrs Aziz said, ‘Why on earth didn’t I think of that?’ She pulled out her phone, ‘Shall I ring him?’ ‘Please,’ Glennis said, ‘Tell him we only need a throat swab, it will only take a few seconds then we can eliminate him.’

Mrs Aziz dialled the number which was answered after several rings. They could hear a male voice saying hello. Mrs Aziz said, ‘Hi love, there are some people here to see you, I’ll pass them over to you to explain.’

She handed Glennis the phone. Glennis said, ‘Hello Mr Aziz, I’m Detective Constable Glennis Osbourne, we’re interviewing everyone in the area of the recent murder, and I wonder when is convenient to meet up to take a DNA swab. It’ll only take a few seconds then we can eliminate you from our enquiries.’

There was a long pause then he said, ‘I won’t be home until very late, I’ll call into the police station on my way to work in the morning.’ ‘OK, Mr Aziz, I’ll pass you back to your wife, but if you do get home tonight, you can call in to the station at any time. Thanks for your help.’ She handed the phone back.

‘Hi love,’ Mrs Aziz said, ‘Won’t you be home for dinner?’ ‘Don’t question me woman!’ he snapped, ‘I’ll be home when I’m good and ready.’ Then he hung up. It was clear from her expression that she was upset.

Glennis asked, ‘Is everything alright?’ Mrs Aziz looked troubled, ‘He snapped at me and hung up she told them, he’s never spoken to me like that before.’

‘Does he often miss his evening meal?’ Glennis asked. ‘Not often she replied, but he has a couple of times.’ ‘Do you know why?’ Glennis asked. ‘No,’ she said, ‘He always told me he had been held up at his brothers but thinking back, I didn’t really believe him.’ ‘Where abouts is he?’ Tommy asked. ‘He lives in the next town,’ she told them.

‘Do you have his address?’ Glennis requested, ‘I don’t suppose we’ll need it, but it would save us bothering you again.’ Mrs Aziz opened her phone, flicked through it and read it out to Glennis who wrote it down. ‘Thanks, Mrs Aziz,’ she said, ‘You’ve been most helpful, we’ll leave you in peace now.’ They got up and were shown out.

Getting back in the car, they rang Jack to meet them back at the front. When he joined them, Tommy asked Jack to stay in Glenda’s car to keep watch in case he returned. Jack went to take up his position whilst Tommy and Glennis returned to the station to decide whether to send the police in the next county to the brothers address or get clearance to go themselves.

When they got back to the station, the desk sergeant waved to them. Going over he said, ‘This has just come in from over the border.’

Tommy took the paper and read it with horror. It was a report from the police force in the next county to say that a fifteen-year-old girl had been found with her throat cut and apparently raped in a wooded area at the side of a country lane.

Their Pathologist had put time of death around fifteen thirty that day. Tommy immediately contacted them to give them Aziz’s brothers address. They told him they would send a team round immediately. Now that there was no point in them going themselves, Tommy and Glennis returned to the incident room.

Once back at the incident room, Tommy updated his team.

Meanwhile, over the border, Detective Inspector Peter Salmon had been given the task of leading a team to Aziz’s brothers address. An Armed Response team was ordered as back up. DI Salmon and his three colleagues arrived at the arranged meeting place in the next road to the address just as the ART arrived in their unmarked vehicle.

DI Salmon told them he didn’t want the ART going in first as they had no idea if their suspect was there or if there were children in the house. They decided that DI Salmons’s team would drive into the road and park just past the house.

DI Salmon and one colleague would knock on the front door whilst his other two men went around the back. The ART would drive in behind them and park outside the house but would stay in their vehicle unless they were needed.

The three vehicles drove around the block and pulled into their positions. DI Salmon and DC Matt Gately knocked on the front door. It was opened by a man fitting the suspect’s description. DI Salmon showed him his warrant card and asked him to identify himself.

The man seemed unphased by having a policeman on his doorstep and told him he was Faisal Aziz. ‘I’m trying to locate your brother,’ DI Salmon told him, ‘Is he with you?’ ‘No, you just missed him,’ Faisal told him, ‘He left about fifteen minutes ago.’

‘Do you mind if we come in for a moment?’ Peter asked? ‘Not at all,’ Faisal said, stepping back from the door. They followed him through to the back room, Matt putting the snip on the front door and pushing it too. In the back room they were introduced to Faisal’s wife and daughter then invited to sit down.

Peter told them, ‘We have been trying to get hold of your brother to eliminate him from our enquiries, but we keep missing him. His wife gave us this address. We’ve been collecting DNA samples from everyone in the area of his home, it will only take a few seconds, but as I say we keep missing him.’

‘Couldn’t you get him at home or at work?’ Faisal asked. ‘He hasn’t been into work today and hasn’t returned home yet,’ Peter told him. ‘Is there a problem at home?’ ‘Not as far as I know,’ Faisal told them, ‘He seemed fine when he was here and never said he was having any problems.’

‘There where the scratches, Dad,’ his daughter mentioned. Faisal glared at her, then turned to Peter to say, ‘He had tripped in his front path and scratched his face on a thorn bush. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that.’

Matt spoke up, ‘I have an idea sir, if you’re willing. We have a lot to do, and we don’t want to be wasting our time trying to find your brother just to get a DNA sample. I wonder if perhaps you would give us one instead?’

Faisal looked more surprised than alarmed, ‘How will that help?’ he asked. ‘Well, I might be wrong,’ Matt told him, ‘But as I understand it, the DNA of siblings is almost identical, so your DNA should be near enough to eliminate your brother and save us chasing him.’

‘I’ve no problem with that.’ Faisal said. ‘I’ll just get a kit out of the car,’ Matt said, ‘He got up and left the room. Going out front he told the Armed Response Team he didn’t think their man was there and they would both be out in a few minutes.’ Taking the kit back in, they took the swab, sealed it away, thanked Faisal for his help and got up to leave.

‘What shall I tell my brother next time I see or speak to him?’ he asked. Peter told him, ‘Just tell him you’ve saved him from being chased by the police,’ and grinned at him. Thanking him again, they left.

Peter stood the ART down and leaving one of his men to keep watch on the house, he returned to the station with the other two. Contacting DI Tommy Bell, he told him what had happened, mentioned the scratches and explained Matt’s idea about getting his brother to give a sample.

Tommy thought that had been a great idea and asked Peter to pass his compliments on to Matt. ‘The sample is on its way to forensics as we speak,’ he told him, ‘I’ve left a man watching the house in case he returns.’ Tommy thanked him and hung up.

Tommy added the scratch mark details on to the whiteboard, then told his team to go home. He decided to stay another hour to catch up with his paperwork. He was just about to pack up and go home himself when his phone rang. It was DI Slamon from the next county.