Every Contact Tells a Tail

I enjoy reading detective fiction. Holding a forensic science degree means that I like to see proper evidence to help the detective reach their conclusion. Magical or Scientific evidence, it doesn’t even matter to me if the author makes it up as they go along, just give me evidence to prove your case and solve your crime.

Fan Art of a ginger cat carrying a glove (drawn by me) with a border of fish skeletons (public domain, Wikicommons)

Every Contact Tells a Tail

(No Spoiler) Book review, A Dark Hiss of Magic

First a brief commentary on fictional crime fighters

The first detective to go hunting evidence was of course Sherlock Holmes. He lay in the dirt to inspect footprints or could tell the difference between brands of cigars by their remaining ash. But would any evidence he provided actually help convict a criminal in the modern era?

Sherlock Holmes (public domain,wikicommons)

Other great Golden Age detectives, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot sifted through the psychology of the suspects to work out who committed the crime. But they relied heavily on the criminal confessing at the end of the book. Fiction reflects the knowledge of the time, so modern detective fiction should show actual methodology of solving crimes.

Why do we need evidence?

One of the most notorious failures of evidence collection in modern policing was the OJ Simpson case in the USA. OJ Simpson was found not-guilty of murdering his girlfriend by a jury of his peers. The police case collapsed when no one could work out where the evidence came from. In one case, a vial of Simpson’s blood was demonstrated to have been in a detective’s pocket for a while, allowing the defence lawyers to suggest that the detective had planted evidence. From this travesty, came the notion that every link, from the moment the evidence is collected on site to the moment it appears in court, is documented. Signatures of the people handling the package are recorded. This ensures that there can be no suggestion that evidence has been tampered with or planted on the alleged criminal. This most important part of modern evidence collection, often skimmed over by writers, is Chain of Custody.

The Dark Hiss of Magic

The Dark Hiss of Magic by Helen Harper is the second book in the Cat Lady Chronicles.

Cover of The Dark Hiss of Magic (amazon)

Kit McCafferty is a retired, middle-aged cat lady living in the most magical town in the UK, Coldstream in the Scottish Borders. Everyone who lives there has some connection with the supernatural. Outside, the world is full of science, but in Coldstream a magical person can live openly. All isn’t sunshine and roses, crime still happens here and Kit gets caught up in a series of murders when she decides to investigate the death of a man, she thinks no one cares about.

Use of Forensics in The Dark Hiss of Magic

Much of the evidence in The Dark Hiss of Magic is the ordinary, non-magical sort.

‘We found a gun,’ he [Captain Montgomery] said. ‘It will have to be sent away to Glasgow for ballistics, but it appears to match the calibre of the weapon that was used to shoot [victim]’[i]

Collected by a police officer, Captain Montgomery of the Magical Enforcement Team (MET) and sent to a laboratory, we can see that the evidence is valid.

Other lawful evidence comes from the post mortem by a Dr Singh.

“… But this wound,’ he [Dr Singh] motioned towards a smaller and neater mark, ‘is not from any river beast.’ It was only a few inches wide, on the edge of John Doe’s ribs. It hadn’t been visible when he’d still been clothed in his wet shirt, but it was clear enough now. ‘A straight-edged sword did this,’ I breathed. I shook my head. ‘The blade was thin but it must be very long because it’s been angled upwards. Some sort of rapier, perhaps.’[ii]

And when a suspect is arrested, Captain Montgomery is careful with his comments, until all the forensic tests have been performed.

‘The concealed blade you discovered inside [arrested suspect]’s cane seems to match the wound found on [victim]’s body, although we haven’t confirmed that yet.’[iii]

However the most important clue, found by Kit herself, is the glove. Using her special magic, Kit finds a glove belonging to a suspect and soaked in the blood of the victim. But, and this is the big one, it was collected in a way that cannot be confirmed. There is no Chain of Custody.

‘All I can say is that I have some special skills that enabled me to bring it here,’ I replied ‘Yes.’ ‘But you won’t tell me what enchantment it was.’ ‘No.’ ‘Then how can I trust it?’[iv]

Here, the writer, Helen Harper, admits that a police officer cannot accept the evidence collected without proper documentation. If the record breaks at any point, the evidence is no longer admissible in a Court of Law. But that does not stop it from being useful.

Useful Vs Admissible evidence

Evidence admissible in a court of law requires a clear chain of custody, but there are other types of information available, they just cannot be used to convict a suspect. In this case, the glove is useful evidence. This type of indication includes rumours, hearsay, articles collected without a clear chain of custody and similar problematic areas. However, what these things provide the police, is a new direction, or a reason to look at a person more closely. With this information pointing the way, the police can search for admissible evidence.

The glove

From the book, it is clear that the police have magical means to identify who the glove belonged to.

An image of a random pair of black gloves (public domain, Wikicommons)

This allows the police to look into the suspect’s actions and motivations more closely, and bring them in for questioning.

[Suspect 1] has a regular outreach meeting scheduled at a community centre in Bankton in an hour. I’ll meet him there.’ Something about his tone made me smile. Montgomery was planning to surprise [Suspect] and bring him in for questioning before the witches’ council could stop him. It was what I would have done – but it was more than I’d expected from a MET detective. ‘And?’ Thane asked, not yet understanding. ‘You’ll meet him and do what exactly?’

[Detective] Montgomery adjusted his starched cuffs. ‘I’ll see what he has to say for himself.’ He jabbed his stubby fingers at us. ‘If I see either of you at the community centre, the meeting,’ he emphasised the word, ‘will not occur.’[v]

Even evidence without a clear chain of custody can be useful to a police investigation.

Solving the Case

Eventually, the criminal is caught and convicted. I always appreciate an author who uses correct evidence and collection in their detective fiction. Even in a magical world, citizens deserve a fair trial, and not summary justice. This book never states clearly whether they use Forensic Magic or Forensic Science, but from the context, I believe the MET use both.

The Cat Lady Chronicles are a highly enjoyable series of books. Kit McCafferty (and if you like Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by TS Elliot or the musical Cats you’ll really appreciate that name) is a fantastic main character. She’s not a Chosen One. She’s not a teenager. But she is totally relatable, despite her shady background. As a forensic scientist, I highly recommend both The Dark Hiss of Magic and the whole series of Cat Lady Chronicles.

[i] Harper, Helen. The Dark Hiss of Magic (The Cat Lady Chronicles Book 2) (p. 270). Kindle Edition.

[ii] Harper, (p. 48).

[iii] Harper, (p. 270).

[iv] Harper, (p. 151).

[v] Harper, (p. 156).