Imperfection (DI Gardener 2)

“And?” pressed Gardener.

“I was on my way to see Mr Price, but I knocked on his door and introduced myself. He had his back to me, facing his mirror

.” The stage manager stopped as if that was the end of the sentence. Like a wind-up toy, he suddenly started again. “He, er, just nodded and said something, but I didn’t catch what it was.”

The technician was provoking Gardener. It wasn’t that he was slow, but he didn’t seem to realise how important his information may be. Even more annoying was his habit of protruding his bottom lip and blowing upwards to clear a lock of hair which kept falling across one eye; the option of having his hair cut had obviously escaped his attention.

“Did you see him after that?”

“No. I passed by his dressing room at around four, but the door was closed.”

Gardener thought back. That was when his father must have been there. He recollected his father mentioning Leonard White’s mood: the actor had seemed subdued, not his usual self, but nothing further had been said.

“Do you know Leonard White?” asked Gardener.

“Not really.”

There was that phrase again. You either knew the man, or you didn’t.

Gardener and Steve Rogers were disturbed by the arrival of his partner DS Sean Reilly, the Home Office pathologist Dr George Fitzgerald, DCI Alan Briggs, and a team of SOCOs. A number of constables remained by the stage doors, craning their necks to see what had happened. All his team had already donned their protective paper suits so as not to contaminate the scene.

Gardener quickly took Briggs through what he’d found. The DCI listened without interfering. A sharp rapping on the roller shutter door attracted their attention.

“I imagine that’s Steve Fenton with the ESLA gear,” said Gardener.

Briggs shouted over to Steve Rogers, “You, open the door and let him in.”

The DCI, a physical bear of a man originating from Liverpool, had held the position for a little over a year, having taken it shortly after the death of Gardener’s wife. In the early days, neither he nor Gardener had seen eye to eye. Time had settled their differences, though, and both officers now held a great deal of respect for each other.

Briggs had a huge barrel chest. Little could be seen of his face due to his thick black beard and moustache. A few inches shorter than Gardener, he carried his authority well. In Gardener’s opinion, Briggs’ only failing was his short temper; during those outbursts he spoke extremely fast, never fluffed his words, and grew in confidence with each one spoken.

As the senior officer, Briggs allocated the tasks. He asked Gardener’s second-in-command Reilly to interview the two stagehands on the other side of the auditorium. He then stepped outside the stage area, calling Colin Sharp over.

“Colin, take a number of uniformed officers and cover all the exits. Go to the entrance and set up tables. Sort out a couple of digital cameras for the officers, mouth swab kits, and personal description forms. I want names, addresses, and any available ID. After that, send them to a table for a DNA mouth swab and get the officers to write down all details, including what they’re wearing.”

Sharp sighed. “Looks like we’re in for a long night, sir. Are we allowed to take their DNA?”

“Not by law,” replied Briggs. “You’ll need to ask their permission, sign a form. Explain to them it’s only for this investigation. After that we’ll destroy it. If anyone gives you any trouble, call me and I’ll come and sort it.” Sharp nodded before leaving. Finally, Briggs organised a roof search with the use of a helicopter.

Moving back to the stage, Briggs asked. “Who found the body, other than the entire audience?”

“Still trying to determine whether the first person on the stage was Paul Price, or his stage manager Steve Rogers,” replied Gardener. “As soon as I got here, I checked that Leonard White was dead, then went out and spoke to the audience.”

“Where have you been since then?”

“Over there to talk to Rogers.” Gardener pointed to him.

“In that case,” said Briggs, “you stay here with Fitz until he’s completed his examination and the body is removed. I’ll interview Steve Rogers.”

Gardener and Fitz had to wait for the SOCOs to finish the ESLA before approaching the corpse. During that time, Gardener asked the sound technician to check all of the equipment to see if it had been tampered with. He requested all tapes – whether they belonged to the theatre or not – to be taken away for analysis.

Fitz eventually donned a pair of surgical gloves. “So, what happened?”

Gardener repeated what Paul Price had told him.

“Was this how you found him when you came backstage?” asked Fitz, checking each of the man’s joints.

“Yes.”