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There were also empty food wrappings in the bin and the vegetables she didn ’ t use in the fridge.
    ‘ Now, here ’ s the first significant anomaly. The PM shows that she also had a glass or two of red wine a few hours before her death. But there were no glasses on the draining board and no sign of the bottle the wine came from in the flat, and she had no time to stop for a drink on the way home. ’ He looked around the faces in front of him.
    No one spoke.
    ‘ This of course raises the question: what happened to the glass she drank from and the bottle? There were a set of six wine glasses in the cupboard, all clean; that seems to me like a full set. Why would she put the glass away after washing it and not the crockery? ’ He waited a moment then answered his own question. ‘ One answer could be that the killer had a glass of wine with her and then, after killing her, wiped both glasses clean then put them away, thereby making sure his prints weren ’ t on one of them. If that is the case, he no doubt took the bottle with him. ’
    Stumpy Gerrard said, ‘ Was there any sign of a cork, boss? ’
    ‘ Good question, Stumpy; the answer is no and the corkscrew was in the cutlery drawer. It could well have been a screw-top bottle; either that or the killer was meticulous enough to put the corkscrew away after him and take the cork away with him. ’
    DC Liz Foreman said, ‘ Was there any debris on the dining table, sir; anything that might suggest a bottle had been opened there? ’
    Brookes smiled. ‘ Another good question, Liz; according to the CSI the answer is no. ’
    He waited a moment, but there were no more questions so he continued, ‘ The other thing is her clothing. When she was fished out of the river she had her navy skirt and blouse on but no jacket; instead she wore an old woollen cardigan. Her legs and feet were bare. I think it ’ s safe to assume that when she got home she took off her jacket, shoes, and tights and put on the cardigan and house slippers. That indicates to me that she wasn ’ t expecting visitors; all the women I know want to look their best when entertaining. ’
    Rose frowned at his sexist remark; exactly the same could be said of men. But she said nothing.
    Brookes continued, ‘ At about eight pm, a neighbour across the hall heard Alison ’ s doorbell ring, then she heard the murmur of voices; she thinks that one voice was male and one female, presumably that of the deceased. But she couldn ’ t swear to that nor could she hear what was said. The neighbour neither saw nor heard anything else after that so she can ’ t confirm that Alison invited the visitor in. She said that she had her TV on later and wouldn ’ t have heard much from outside unless it was very loud.
    ‘ From our examination of Alison ’ s flat, we can say that there was some kind of a struggle. A coffee table was overturned in the lounge and a chair cushion was on the floor. One carpet slipper was found in the bedroom, one on the balcony. And in the bedroom, there were indentations on the bedclothes that suggested someone had lain on top of them. There were smears of lipstick on the pillow and what look like boot marks on the duvet. ’
    He pointed with his billiard cue to a plan of the flat on the whiteboard. ‘ So, we have signs of a struggle in the bedroom and the lounge and a slipper found on the balcony. Now you can see that the balcony actually overhangs the river. Access to the balcony is through these sliding glass doors from the lounge.
    ‘ Now, forensics. Behind the leather cushions on the settee, George Hadley found a few hairs and dandruff that are not the victim ’ s. He ’ s confident he can get the DNA from them. Of course, they may or may not be the killer ’ s. But if we find a suspect and they are his, at least we ’ ll be able to put him at the scene.
    ‘ Alison ’ s spare room was set up as her computer workstation; there was a printer and other accessories but no computer. We