‘Cathbad gave me a lecture on them,’ says Nelson. ‘Something about the devil putting a light in a pumpkin. Biggest load of bollocks you’ve ever heard.’
‘The narrator didn’t have a name,’ says Ruth. ‘I wondered why that was.’
‘I didn’t notice that,’ says Nelson. ‘I just noticed that she had some very funny ideas.’
‘The story suggests that the narrator wants to die,’ says Ruth. ‘That’s the most disturbing part. Do you think that’s what Ivor did? Convince the women that they wanted him to kill them? It doesn’t seem possible.’
‘It’s not possible,’ says Nelson. ‘What is possible is that Ivor lured these women onto the marshes and then murdered them. He may have convinced them that he was in love with them. Some women obviously find him attractive. Look at Crissy Martin. Chantal Simmonds too. And Ailsa Britain. All of them still carrying a torch for him.’
The old-fashioned phrase makes Ruth think of the lantern men, the lonely light moving shakily across the horizon. ‘What about Heidi?’ she says. ‘Do you think her death’s linked to the others?’
‘Well, Ivor March didn’t kill her,’ says Nelson. ‘I know that much. But what worries me is that someone might be wanting to link the cases. Heidi was strangled, her body was found on marshland but she was obviously killed elsewhere. I don’t want that to get out, by the way.’
‘I won’t tell anyone,’ says Ruth.
‘Not even Frank.’
‘I don’t discuss my work with Frank,’ says Ruth with dignity. She doesn’t like Nelson’s tone. ‘Shouldn’t you be seeing Larry now?’
*
Larry Hanson is friendly, if slightly defensive. He’s a solid-looking man, rather below average height, who looks as if he could handle himself in a fight. Larry says that he did some boxing in his youth and used to work as a bouncer. He moved to Cambridge after his divorce and saw the job at St Jude’s advertised in the local paper. ‘I thought it sounded peaceful,’ he says, with a rather sardonic grin. ‘A bit like that Morse series that used to be on TV on Sunday nights.’ As far as Nelson remembers, Morse’s Oxford was a hotbed of gruesome murder, but he thinks he knows what Larry means.
He doesn’t seem a very likely potter but Larry says that he was always good with his hands, managing to make this sound very sinister. He attended ‘two or three’ pottery courses at Grey Walls. They were run by a woman called Tamsyn. He has no idea where she is now. He kept in touch with Ivor and Crissy. ‘They seemed like nice people. I wasn’t to know, was I?’ This is said with a certain amount of truculence but Nelson agrees that Larry wasn’t to know. Nelson takes out of the photograph of Jenny McGuire with the four men.
‘Do you remember when this was taken?’
Larry examines the photo. He has a complicated tattoo on one hand, star and moon and tendrils like a plant, or a snake.
‘It was last summer,’ he said. ‘Some of the old Grey Walls crowd met up for a barbecue on the beach. A sort of reunion.’
The words ‘Grey Walls crowd’ strike a chill to Nelson’s heart, as does the thought of a reunion. He produces the other photograph. ‘Was this taken the same day?’
‘Yes,’ says Larry. ‘Ivor was always keen on building camp fires. He said that they were beacons in the wilderness. Something like that.’
Nelson has heard Cathbad say something very similar. Strange how Cathbad now seems almost normal and Ivor March sounds deranged.
‘That’s Jenny McGuire, isn’t it?’ he says. ‘Did you know her well?’
‘I think I only met her that once,’ says Larry. ‘She was one of Ivor’s students at the community centre. Nice girl.’
‘What about this woman?’ He points at the figure holding the stick.
‘I can’t remember,’ says Larry. ‘Helga? Helena? One of those names. She came with one of the other blokes.’
‘Which one? Can you remember?’
‘Maybe Len or Bob. I think it was Len. They belonged to some sort of cycling club. I remember thinking it was odd. I mean, Len’s gay. Live and let live, that’s what I say, but what was he doing with such a pretty girl?’
What indeed, thinks Nelson.
‘Tell me about that day,’ he says. ‘What did you do? Where did you all meet?’
‘We met at the community centre. Ailsa runs it. That woman there.’
‘Do you know Ailsa well?’
Larry shrugs. ‘I met her a few times. She’s OK. A bit stuck-up.’
‘So you all met at the community centre. Then what did you do?’
‘We walked down to the beach. I collected driftwood with John. We had some beers in a cool box. The others all sat around chatting. One thing I remember, Ivor spent a lot of time talking to Jenny. Chantal wasn’t happy about that at all.’
‘Really?’ says Nelson. ‘How did you know?’
‘Well, Chantal was with Bob and I saw them looking at Jenny and Ivor. Then Bob went over, I think he was trying to break them up, but Ivor took no notice. He stayed sitting with Jenny until it was time to eat. I think they were talking about books. Ivor taught creative writing.’
Were they discussing Jenny’s short story? wonders Nelson. The story that features the sinister artist. Whatever the topic he can imagine Chantal being annoyed that Ivor’s attention was focused on another woman.
‘Wasn’t it awkward at the picnic,’ he says, ‘what with Crissy and Chantal both being there? I mean, Chantal was Ivor’s girlfriend and Crissy used to be married to him.’ To say nothing of Ailsa Britain and her relationship with Ivor, whatever that was.
‘They seemed to get on OK,’ says Larry indifferently. Nelson does not have Larry down as a great student of human nature. Surely there would have been tensions with not only Chantal and Crissy, but also Jenny and Ailsa amongst the party. Ivor had been married to Crissy, Ailsa had been in a relationship with Bob and was briefly married to Leonard, Jenny clearly had feelings for Ivor, Chantal was his fanatically devoted girlfriend. Nelson also wonders if Larry, recently divorced, was interested in any of the women present.
‘What about Heidi?’ he asks. ‘Who did she talk to?’
‘I can’t remember,’ says Larry. ‘Maybe to the women, Ailsa and Crissy. John and I built the fire and Len did most of the cooking. Bob was with Chantal, trying to calm her down, I think, and Ivor was with Jenny.’
‘Can you remember the exact date of the barbecue?’ he says. ‘It says July on one of the pictures.’
‘July the fourth, I think, because someone made a comment about the fourth of July being Independence Day and Crissy said that her divorce had made her independent from men.’
That sounded like rather a barbed comment for such a supposedly happy occasion. By the end of July Nicola Ferris was dead. In August Jenny McGuire left home for the last time. What had happened to prompt this killing spree?
Chapter 21
Tanya arrives at the community centre just as the French conversationalists are leaving and the cyclists are starting to arrive. She spots Ailsa Britain, who she remembers from the first investigation, packing some boxes into the car.
‘Hallo.’ Tanya strolls over.
‘Oh, hallo.’ She doesn’t think that Ailsa looks exactly delighted to see her but, then, the woman always was a bit of a cold fish.
‘Are you off for the day?’
‘Yes,’ says Ailsa. ‘Lynn Wheels always lock up after themselves.’
‘Do you know them well, the Lynn Wheels lot?’
‘Not really. I know Douglas, the organiser.’
‘Did you know Heidi Lucas, the girl who was killed?’
‘I met her a few times. I was so shocked when I heard what had happened to her.’
Tanya gets out the photocopy, looking a little creased now.
‘Do you remember this evening? I think it was last July. There’s you with Ivor March, is
n’t it? Heidi’s in the front.’
Ailsa looks at the picture in silence. Her face is composed but Tanya thinks that she can sense a feeling of unease. You see, Judy, I can do feelings too.
‘I remember the evening,’ says Ailsa. ‘I don’t really remember Heidi.’
‘Who invited her?’
‘Leonard, I think.’
‘Your ex-husband?’
‘Yes.’ Ailsa gives her a straight look. She has blue eyes, emphasised by navy mascara that is, in Tanya’s opinion, a mistake. ‘I don’t know how he knew Heidi.’
‘Probably Lynn Wheels,’ says Tanya. ‘They were both members.’
On cue, a worried-looking man approaches them. ‘DS Fuller? I’m Douglas Foster, the club secretary.’
‘Hi.’ Tanya shakes hands. ‘Let’s go inside and talk. See you later, Ailsa.’
Ailsa Britain does not reply.
Tanya and Douglas sit in one of the classrooms. Outside they can see the cyclists arriving for their evening meeting. They are chatting and laughing, probably comparing racing saddles and spokes. They don’t seem devastated by Heidi’s death but, to be fair, that might not show on the outside. The members seem an eclectic bunch, some are grey-haired and others, to Tanya’s critical eye, look at less than peak fitness. But there are young people too. Tanya spots a slim blonde woman in stripy shorts who looks vaguely familiar. She’s very attractive too but Tanya is married now and shouldn’t be noticing such things.
‘I’m so sorry about Heidi,’ she says to Douglas.
‘We’re all devastated,’ he says. ‘Heidi was a lovely girl. A talented cyclist too.’
‘We’re anxious to find a woman who was seen chatting to Heidi on Thursday evening,’ says Tanya. ‘Do you know if any of your members were cycling that route?’
Douglas shakes his head. ‘I don’t, I’m afraid. It’s not a club night and that wasn’t an official route. A lot of members have cycling apps like Strava. They can post a time for the distance and compare themselves to other riders. Heidi may well have chosen her route that way.’
They still haven’t found Heidi’s mobile phone but her bank statements will show if she had downloaded any apps. Not that this gets them very far.
‘Heidi was seen chatting to a woman with long greyish blonde hair, dressed in black cycling clothes riding a blue bike,’ says Tanya. ‘Does that description ring any bells?’
Douglas shrugs helplessly. ‘It could be anyone. There are lots of cyclists on the road.’
‘Do you have a list of members?’
‘Yes, I printed one out for you.’
‘Thank you.’ Tanya scans the list quickly and sees the name Leonard Jenkins. She doesn’t think that she saw Leonard outside but she’s only seen him in photographs so can’t be sure.
‘Does Leonard Jenkins come to meetings regularly?’ she asks.
‘Yes,’ says Douglas, sounding surprised at the question. ‘He’s one of our veterans but he’s very fit. He’s done lots of racing, here and abroad.’
‘Did he know Heidi?’
Now Douglas looks positively worried. ‘I’m not sure. I think so. It’s a very friendly club.’
‘We know that Leonard and Heidi attended a barbecue together last year,’ says Tanya. ‘Did you know anything about that?’
‘No,’ says Douglas. ‘But there can’t have been any funny business. I mean, Leonard is gay.’
Depends what you mean by funny business, thinks Tanya.
‘Was Heidi particularly friendly with anyone else at the club?’ she asks.
‘I think she had lots of friends,’ says Douglas. ‘Like I say, everyone’s very upset. We’re going to have a candlelit vigil for her.’
When Tanya leaves, making her way through the assembled cyclists, she sees that some of them are, in fact, in tears, and others are standing around rather helplessly. She is also rather disconcerted to realise that the attractive blonde in striped shorts is the boss’s daughter, Laura.
*
Tanya starts the evening briefing without waiting for the boss but he strolls in halfway through. Probably been in Cambridge with Ruth.
‘We’ve spoken to the witnesses who saw Heidi on her last bike ride,’ she says. ‘Stella Patten, the women walking home from Brownies, saw her at twenty past eight. She can only really remember the pink shorts but we’re pretty sure it was Heidi. Ted Avery saw a woman answering to Heidi’s description talking to another woman near Churchgate Way at eight thirty. The description of the second woman’s a bit vague, I’m afraid. Ted spoke to a police sketch artist but all he really got was that the woman had long hair, “greyish or blonde”. Other than that, he can really only remember the bike. He says it was blue and brown.’
‘Weapons bias,’ says Judy.
‘Probably,’ says Tanya. To show that she understands the term, she explains to Tony. ‘When faced with an assailant holding a gun, the witnesses can usually only remember the gun. That’s known as weapons bias.’
‘And in this case the bike’s the weapon?’
Tanya ignores this. She has already noticed a regrettable tendency towards levity in Tony Zhang.
‘I’ve spoken to Douglas Foster, who runs Lynn Wheels, and he confirms that Leonard Jenkins is a member. He doesn’t know if Leonard knew Heidi but he says that the club is very friendly.’
The boss makes an exasperated noise. ‘It’s highly suspicious that Leonard took Heidi to that barbecue. Why would an older, gay man socialise with a young woman? What if he was procuring her for Ivor March?’
‘Procuring her?’ says Judy.
‘Maybe Leonard thought that Ivor would find Heidi attractive. Maybe that was the deal. Leonard and Bob found women for March.’
‘That’s quite a stretch,’ says Judy. ‘There’s no reason why a young woman can’t socialise with an older man. It’s irrelevant whether Leonard is gay or straight or bi. They were probably just friends.’
Tanya agrees really but she doesn’t want Judy to get any brownie points for political correctness.
‘It does seem a little odd,’ she says. ‘DC Linwood and I spoke to Josh Evans, Heidi’s boyfriend. He remembered the barbecue but said he wasn’t invited. Josh and Heidi both knew Leonard from the club and they had a drink with him once so it does seem a bit strange that Josh didn’t get an invite. Josh says that he and Heidi were happy together and all their friends and relatives seem to agree.’
Nelson points at the group photograph, which is enlarged on the big screen. ‘Ivor March, Chantal Simmonds, Crissy Martin, Ailsa Britain, Bob Carr, Leonard Jenkins, John Robertson. All the major players were there. A few weeks later the killings started, first Nicola then Jenny herself. Something happened that evening, I’m sure of it. I’ve just been talking to this man here, Larry Hanson. He’s a porter at a Cambridge college and the fourth man in the picture with Jenny. Bob, Ivor, Leonard and Larry. B.I.L.L.’
‘You went to see him?’ says Judy. Tanya thinks that she sounds pissed off. ‘When?’
‘This morning,’ says Nelson. ‘He works at Ruth’s college.’
That figures, thinks Tanya.
‘Ivor, Leonard and Bob used to live together at Grey Walls,’ says Nelson. ‘At nights they would go out in a van “saving young women”.’ He puts caustic quotation marks around the phrase. ‘They may well have “saved” Sofia Novak, who could be the third body found in the garden of the Jolly Boatman. Crissy Martin also mentioned someone called the Lantern Man. She says he was responsible for the murders.’
‘Why didn’t I know about this?’ says Judy. Definitely pissed off now.
‘Crissy just told Ruth at the weekend,’ says Nelson, ‘but it’s all bollocks. She couldn’t give a name or a description. Crissy just wants March to be released and that’s not going to happen.’
‘Did this Larry Hanson say anything useful about the ba
rbecue?’ says Tanya. She wants to remind everyone that she’s in charge of this meeting.
‘He said that Ivor and Jenny spent a lot of time together and that Chantal was jealous.’
‘Did he say anything about Heidi?’
‘No, he hardly remembered her. Said that she seemed to talk mostly to Ailsa and Crissy.’
They all look at the projection of the group on the beach. The faces are indistinct but the sky behind them is dark blue, the tide is out and the sand is in bands of brown and yellow. The bonfire is bright in the foreground, casting what seem like ominous shadows across the faces of Jenny and Heidi.
Someone speaks. Nelson looks round in surprise. Tanya has to check twice before she realises who it is. PC Roy ‘Rocky’ Taylor, a man who, according to Clough, needs to be watered twice a week.
‘Who took the photograph?’ he says.
Chapter 22
Early the next morning DC Bradley Linwood is walking across the marshes at Cley. A line of crime-scene investigators moves slowly towards him. They have organised a fingertip search of the place where Heidi Lucas’s body was found. It’s difficult because the land’s uneven and there are little streams everywhere but DCI Nelson is convinced that there is more to find. The scene hasn’t yielded much so far. They haven’t even found Heidi’s phone. According to the CSIs, the victim was killed elsewhere and her body deposited on the footpath. But forensics can’t tell them why. They never can, in Bradley’s opinion.
He’s glad to be working on this case though. It’s a chance to prove himself and he’s grateful to Tanya for picking him as her number two. ‘She fancies you,’ say his friends in the pub. ‘She’s gay,’ Bradley told them, but that only made them worse. He had tried flirting with Tanya, in an experimental way, when he first joined the team, but he was rather glad when he found out about Petra and realised that he could stop. But he needs to impress her on this case. He got his promotion after being first on the scene when a woman priest was murdered in the grounds of Walsingham Priory a few years ago. Since then he feels that he’s been treading water. What he needs is a breakthrough. He realises that Mike Halloran, the leading crime scene investigator, is waving at him. Thank you, God. Or thanks to whatever gods are in charge. He once had a chat with that druid husband of Judy’s and now he’s not sure what he believes, if anything.
The Lantern Men Page 17