Read Online Above Suspicion by Lynda La Plante - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lynda La Plante
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began.
Lewis did a running commentary. They had identified Melissa in frame, as she passed by Paul Smith’s boutique in Floral Street. He froze the film at that point.
‘Look: no handbag. No coat. She’s really hurrying. Now you see her, now you don’t.’
Lewis replayed the moment Melissa passed the security camera. She was in quite a hurry, almost running. The next sighting was Melissa going down Exeter Street near Joe Allen’s restaurant, walking at a slower pace, but looking confused. She turned back, giving the camera two hits.
‘Now we presume she’s heading past the Opera House towards Bow Street mags court.’
‘Or she could have been going back to the boyfriend,’ Moira said.
‘No, wait now, we’ve got something good coming up. There’s a time code on this section: it’s eleven fifteen and here she comes.’
All heads craned forward to watch, as Melissa came in shot, passing the Donmar Theatre. The footage had been taken from across the road. ‘Two black kids, with grey anorak hoods pulled over their faces, try to get Melissa to stop and talk to them. As one puts out his arm towards her, she backs away. She will have nothing to do with them. They follow for a few feet, then she starts to run. The two boys look after her, as she disappears out of frame. They walk away.’
Lewis pressed fast forward, then stopped the frame again.
‘The theatre was already closed; so was the Pineapple Dance Centre. Now, just on the edge of frame, is that her boyfriend? I can’t be one hundred per cent, but it looks like Rawlins to me.’
They rewound and replayed, all the time peering at the fuzzy frame. All they could agree on was that it could have been Mark Rawlins, but it was impossible to be sure as he was hardly in shot.
‘Get that blown up,’ Langton said.
‘Already in the pipeline.’ Lewis picked up the remote. ‘On to the next section.’
‘Why didn’t she get the tube at Covent Garden?’ Moira asked.
‘They shut the gates at half ten; congestion on the platform. OK, this is the best we’ve got and it tallies with our Cuban friend. It’s footage from the Club Minx and buttressed on to it is the footage from the massage parlour opposite. So we’re getting two hits of the same sequence, from different perspectives.
‘There’s our Cuban pacing around, lighting a cigarette. He is directly opposite the massage parlour. Passing him are a number of cars, one is a Range Rover and the other is a Jaguar. You can see the flash of the neon sign outside the massage parlour; it’s giving us that strange light. Now, there’s a vehicle on the inside of the Range Rover, but hidden; it’s some kind of low car and it’s turning right. You can see his indicator flashing, along with the neon light. But there’s no way we can tell the make of the vehicle. We’ve got the reg of three of the passing vehicles but no luck with the other two.’
There was a brief pause as the footage jumped to the next segment.
‘OK, now we’re seeing footage from the massage parlour security camera and again the Cuban’s statement bears out. Here she comes, just entering right of frame, maybe intending to walk down Greek Street, to Soho Square. If we believe the boyfriend, she was heading towards Oxford Street, either to get on the tube at Tottenham Court Road or to continue on to Oxford Circus tube. That would make more sense since she lived in Maida Vale, which is on the Bakerloo, line. There’s a clear shot of Melissa for only a second, passing the massage parlour and again she looks as if she were unsure of her direction. She stands a moment. She turns back to walk past the massage parlour again. She walks virtually out of shot, then she can be seen looking towards something or someone, before disappearing out of frame.’
Lewis held up his hand. ‘Now, on the freeze frame, you can just see a small section of a pale coloured vehicle. It could be white or grey, but all we’ve got is that fraction of the side
Lewis did a running commentary. They had identified Melissa in frame, as she passed by Paul Smith’s boutique in Floral Street. He froze the film at that point.
‘Look: no handbag. No coat. She’s really hurrying. Now you see her, now you don’t.’
Lewis replayed the moment Melissa passed the security camera. She was in quite a hurry, almost running. The next sighting was Melissa going down Exeter Street near Joe Allen’s restaurant, walking at a slower pace, but looking confused. She turned back, giving the camera two hits.
‘Now we presume she’s heading past the Opera House towards Bow Street mags court.’
‘Or she could have been going back to the boyfriend,’ Moira said.
‘No, wait now, we’ve got something good coming up. There’s a time code on this section: it’s eleven fifteen and here she comes.’
All heads craned forward to watch, as Melissa came in shot, passing the Donmar Theatre. The footage had been taken from across the road. ‘Two black kids, with grey anorak hoods pulled over their faces, try to get Melissa to stop and talk to them. As one puts out his arm towards her, she backs away. She will have nothing to do with them. They follow for a few feet, then she starts to run. The two boys look after her, as she disappears out of frame. They walk away.’
Lewis pressed fast forward, then stopped the frame again.
‘The theatre was already closed; so was the Pineapple Dance Centre. Now, just on the edge of frame, is that her boyfriend? I can’t be one hundred per cent, but it looks like Rawlins to me.’
They rewound and replayed, all the time peering at the fuzzy frame. All they could agree on was that it could have been Mark Rawlins, but it was impossible to be sure as he was hardly in shot.
‘Get that blown up,’ Langton said.
‘Already in the pipeline.’ Lewis picked up the remote. ‘On to the next section.’
‘Why didn’t she get the tube at Covent Garden?’ Moira asked.
‘They shut the gates at half ten; congestion on the platform. OK, this is the best we’ve got and it tallies with our Cuban friend. It’s footage from the Club Minx and buttressed on to it is the footage from the massage parlour opposite. So we’re getting two hits of the same sequence, from different perspectives.
‘There’s our Cuban pacing around, lighting a cigarette. He is directly opposite the massage parlour. Passing him are a number of cars, one is a Range Rover and the other is a Jaguar. You can see the flash of the neon sign outside the massage parlour; it’s giving us that strange light. Now, there’s a vehicle on the inside of the Range Rover, but hidden; it’s some kind of low car and it’s turning right. You can see his indicator flashing, along with the neon light. But there’s no way we can tell the make of the vehicle. We’ve got the reg of three of the passing vehicles but no luck with the other two.’
There was a brief pause as the footage jumped to the next segment.
‘OK, now we’re seeing footage from the massage parlour security camera and again the Cuban’s statement bears out. Here she comes, just entering right of frame, maybe intending to walk down Greek Street, to Soho Square. If we believe the boyfriend, she was heading towards Oxford Street, either to get on the tube at Tottenham Court Road or to continue on to Oxford Circus tube. That would make more sense since she lived in Maida Vale, which is on the Bakerloo, line. There’s a clear shot of Melissa for only a second, passing the massage parlour and again she looks as if she were unsure of her direction. She stands a moment. She turns back to walk past the massage parlour again. She walks virtually out of shot, then she can be seen looking towards something or someone, before disappearing out of frame.’
Lewis held up his hand. ‘Now, on the freeze frame, you can just see a small section of a pale coloured vehicle. It could be white or grey, but all we’ve got is that fraction of the side
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