As they got back into the car, Ellison made the call to Jane Petty. As she was still involved in supporting Marion Bannister, she said she’d arrange for one of her colleagues to support David Mearns. ‘So, that’s all arranged now,’ Ellison said to Annie as he looked at his watch. ‘It’s already seven o’clock. Either I can take you home and you might still meet up with Charlie or we can stop and eat further up the coast. There are several seafood restaurants. Your call.’
‘Can you give me a minute to decide?’ Annie said as she put her belt on. ‘I still have the sound of Gillian Mearns’ sobs in my head.’
‘Sure.’ Ellison turned right at the bottom of the road and continued on the coastal route. He pointed to the left. ‘Aren’t the views beautiful? We used to go on vacation around here when I was a kid.’ Annie looked in the direction he was pointing, watching the waves breaking on the shoreline. The idyllic scene was interrupted by Ellison’s cellphone. ‘Yeah, Bronski, how’s it going? … Yeah, we left the parents a few minutes ago. The father’s agreed to do the formal identification in the morning … OK, we’ll see you then.’ Ellison shut the phone. ‘Bronski wants the three of us to meet in the morning to look at how we’re going to co-ordinate the two investigations. He’s updated Franconi.’
‘Good. Let’s eat. I’ll ring Charlie when you drop me home.’
Chapter 23
The cellphone woke Annie, right in the middle of a dream. Her eyes still half shut, she answered.
‘Good morning, sleep well?’
She stretched her other arm out from the sheet. ‘Not as well as I would have, if I’d spent the evening with you,’ Annie replied pleased to hear Charlie’s voice.
‘Can we remedy that tonight?’
‘I hope so, but I’ll have to see how today goes. What’re you up to?’
‘I’m going to get some groceries and make sure everything is ready for Angie …’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I was hoping to tell you last night. Angie is being discharged tomorrow. I’ll still have to take her back for physical therapy each day, but they’ve decided she doesn’t have to stay overnight any more, as long as someone’s in the house with her for a few weeks.’
Annie threw her legs over the side of the bed and found her slippers. ‘Charlie, that’s such good news. I wasn’t expecting it this soon.’
‘I know, I know. The doctors are pleased with her progress and although they initially thought she should start with day trips home, now they think that being in familiar surroundings will do her good.’
‘Even though those familiar surroundings were where the assault took place?’ Annie asked, having had experience of victims deteriorating on return to crime scenes. How much worse when the scene is your own home, she wondered.
‘She’s determined to get back to the house, even with that. At least that’s what she’s told them and me. Plus she knows that I’ve redecorated and she wants to see it. Don’t forget she never saw the vandalism in the other rooms. That happened after she’d been left her for dead upstairs.’
‘Hmm,’ Annie responded, convinced that the reality for Angela Goodman might be very different from what they were all expecting. She kept those thoughts to herself.
‘Selfishly, of course, it also means that tonight is my last night on my own, so I was really hoping I could spend it with you.’
Annie lowered her voice. ‘I’d like that too, but with this second case …’
‘I understand,’ Charlie replied. ‘I’m going to the hospital this morning. Want me to drop you into work? That way, at least I can see you for a few minutes.’
*****
Ellison caught up with Annie as she was walking in the front entrance of the station. ‘Soldier boy, again?’
‘He does have a proper name, Detective,’ Annie chided.
Ellison shook his head. ‘And I thought my charms were finally working on you.’
‘Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends,’ Annie laughed.
‘Story of my life,’ said Ellison as the two of them started up the stairs to the squad room.
Bronski was already in, standing by his desk as usual, reading his messages. ‘Morning Detectives. Let’s get some coffee and catch up.’
As the three of them sat at the table by the whiteboard, Bronski took the lead. ‘The captain made it plain last night that he wants us to pool resources. To start with, we’ll have to treat each murder as a separate inquiry until we establish more than the obvious connection between the two cases. He wants us to work as a unit on the two, so every detail is shared.’
‘Makes sense,’ replied Ellison and Annie nodded her agreement.
‘Good. So Ellison, what’re you following up on your case?’
‘The obvious issue of the possible link to child pornography, maybe an abuse ring. We’re waiting for Dan Parker to get back to us about Bannister’s laptop. We also have the information from Detective Baxter in New Haven that Bannister was scheduled to be interviewed next week.’ Bronski wrote laptop on the board, while Ellison continued. ‘We also have Mearns’ computer. We need to see if the two had similar predilections.’
Bronski started a second column for victim two. ‘We need to see if Baxter recognises Mearns’ name. He may be part of their inquiry too, for all we know. Who’s spoken to him?’ Bronski asked.
‘I have, sir. Do you want me to ring him and tell him about Mearns?’ Annie replied.
‘Yeah,’ Bronski confirmed and Ellison agreed. Bronski wrote Baxter inquiries under victim one and a question mark in the second column for victim two.
Ellison then came in again. ‘We also have the file on Bannister that Bishop O’Brien passed to us. We need to go over that again, see if we’ve missed anything. We also need to check on the discrepancy between Tony Amato’s story about the letter of complaint he sent to the bishop and the bishop saying he’d no knowledge of it. I think on that one we talk to Frances Amato and see if she can verify.’
‘OK, I’ll put those two things under Bannister for now and you two can follow up on the Amatos. Can’t see any line of inquiry parallel to that one for Mearns, can you?’
Annie came in. ‘Unless Bannister sought legal advice from Mearns if he was worried about the upcoming Baxter interview.’
‘Good point, Detective. We need to ask Mearns’ law partner if Mearns was acting for Bannister. OK, what else?’
‘The autopsy on Mearns, will that be today?’ Ellison queried.
‘I’m waiting for a call on that,’ Bronski replied. ‘Do one or both of you want to be in on that one as well? Maybe you’ll recognise something familiar from Bannister’s. I’ll put autopsy down for both victims. We’re still awaiting the results on Bannister, aren’t we?’
‘Yeah we are,’ Ellison answered, thoughtful for a moment. ‘Going back to you leading on Mearns and me on Bannister, I’d suggest that Detective Macpherson is the common link between the two investigations.’ He hesitated to see if his colleagues agreed.
‘That makes sense,’ Annie answered.
‘OK, Ellison, so what’re you proposing?’ Bronski asked.
‘I think you two need to prioritise interviewing Mearns’ colleagues this morning to establish his activities over his last twenty four hours. You also need to find out if he had any connection professionally or personally to Bannister.’ Ellison looked at Bronski, who agreed. Then Ellison turned to Annie, ‘I would suggest a quick phone call to Detective Baxter before you two set off.’ Annie made a note in her book. Then he continued. ‘I’ll arrange Frances Amato for early afternoon. Meanwhile I’ll hassle Dan Parker about the computers and find out about the autopsy time. If it’s late afternoon we can all meet up here and decide who’s going.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ Bronski responded. ‘Only one thing missing, who�
�s going to keep the captain in the loop?’
Ellison folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. ‘Let’s wait and see who’s around when he gets in.’
As it happened, Franconi was in later than usual. Annie was on the phone as he arrived. She looked up and acknowledged him. Bronski stood up. ‘We’re ready to update you Captain, when you have a minute.’
Franconi glanced at the whiteboard. ‘My office, five minutes, all three of you.’
Franconi reached for a paperclip as the three detectives took seats in his office and started on his fingernails. Bronski gave a reprise of the actions listed on the whiteboard. ‘Sounds good. You OK working across the two cases, Scotty?’ Franconi asked.
Annie winced at the way Franconi still chose to address her, over two months down the line. ‘I’m fine with it, sir. I was contacting Detective Baxter when you came in. He wasn’t in yet out so I’ll try again.’
‘Good, keep him updated. He’s a very competent detective. Is that all?’ The detectives nodded. ‘Right, well I’m handling the fallout from two murders so close together, time wise. I informed the chief last night and today I have another press release to do. He’s going to let the mayor know this morning. I don’t think we’ll escape the mayor’s wrath. We need to keep the salient details out of the press. I’ll have to admit that there appears to be a connection between the two murders. We need more on any personal or professional connections between the two men. There has to be something. I know you’ll ask more about that today. Any thoughts, so far?’
It was Bronski who answered. ‘After the body was removed yesterday, we spent more time searching the bedroom. We found a lot of sadomasochistic equipment and some recordings. It’s all being swabbed for DNA traces. We can’t rule out some sexual perversion theme connecting the two cases, although it’s only an hypothesis at this stage. The computers may hold some key evidence.’
‘Right. Keep me informed of anything significant.’ Franconi picked up his phone, the clear signal that the briefing was over.
Chapter 24
Lansdowne pressed send on his cellphone. The text was short, Call me. His mood was dark. Mearns wasn’t getting back to him and Lansdowne couldn’t understand why. His phone ringing interrupted his train of thought.
‘Mr Mayor, I have the police chief on the phone for you,’ Sheila said, as she put the call through.
‘Morning Chief. I hope you’re calling to tell me you’ve caught Father Bannister’s murderer.’
‘No sir. In fact, I’m calling to inform you of a second murder, with too many similarities to Father Bannister’s for it to be coincidental.’
Lansdowne’s breath caught and he hoped that the chief hadn’t detected it. He cursed himself for not listening to the news that morning. He pressed one palm against his desk, trying to brace himself, knowing that his voice couldn’t betray his anxiety. ‘Tell me.’
‘The victim is a local lawyer, Patrick Mearns.’
Lansdowne could feel the bile rising in his throat. Only moments ago, he’d sent a text to a dead man. Where was Mearns’ phone? Did the police have it? He knew he had to stay calm. ‘What do you mean by similar?’
‘I’m not really at liberty to say, sir. Let’s put it this way, both men were attacked in a similar way, most probably with a knife. Bannister was found unconscious and as you know didn’t make it through the surgery, whereas Mearns was found dead in his apartment.’
‘When?’ Lansdowne wondered if Mearns was being attacked even as he was leaving messages for him.
‘It’s not official yet, but we think in the early hours of yesterday morning,’ the chief replied.
Beads of perspiration were forming on Lansdowne’s forehead. ‘What about the press? There’ll be a feeding frenzy on this one. Two professional men murdered in the space of a couple of days. Are we thinking serial killer here or what?’ Lansdowne was trying to sound concerned. What if the chief was aware that he knew the two victims as more than passing acquaintances? How much should he reveal now? He needed time to think.
‘A statement is being prepared as we speak. The details will be sparse. We’ll be saying it looks like the work of the same person or persons but we’re not able to provide details. The press already have the story, so all we can do now is damage limitation. The leak didn’t come from us.’
‘Who’s leading on the case?’ the mayor asked.
‘We’ve got two experienced, highly competent detectives, Ellison and Bronski, each leading on one, but pooling information. Detective Macpherson is working with them both.’
‘We don’t want every priest and every lawyer thinking they may be next. Is there any indication why these two men were targeted?’
‘We’re following up a few leads. Nothing solid yet.’
‘Like what?’ Lansdowne wiped the sweat from his brow with his handkerchief. It was difficult to probe too much and frustrating that the chief wasn’t more forthcoming with information.
‘Mr Mayor, it’s too early to say.’
When the call ended, Matthew Lansdowne went straight into his private bathroom and splashed water on his face. He stood there for a few minutes trying to calm himself down. His thoughts were racing. Should he have admitted to knowing both men? Any trawl of their backgrounds would reveal how their paths crossed. That was only superficial, surely. The cellphone records would be more damaging. Where was that damn cellphone? There was one thing worse than the police having it. He tried to stifle further thought on that prospect.
*****
‘Detective Baxter, good morning.’
‘And to you, Detective Macpherson. How can I help you?’
‘Sir, we’ve had another murder, almost identical to Father Bannister, only this time the victim died at the scene.’
‘Another priest?’ Baxter queried.
‘No sir, a lawyer this time. His name was Patrick Mearns. We found a considerable cache of sadomasochistic equipment in his bedroom, as well as DVDs and two computers. All of that is being examined. We wondered if his name has come up in any of your inquiries and whether he’s connected to Bannister in that way.’
‘The name doesn’t jump out at me, but I’ll check our records to be sure. Can I call you back Detective?’
‘Of course, sir. I’ll give you my cell as we’re interviewing staff from his office this morning. I’ll take your call when it comes.’ Annie smiled as she put the phone down. She’d warmed to Detective Baxter the first time they’d spoken and wondered what the man was like. Something about him reminded her of her dad, her idol. Peter Baxter, though, sounded like he was considerably younger, probably closer to her in age, rather than her father. She knew her dad would be proud of her obtaining this exchange, although it had only happened because the woman who had been granted it had become pregnant. Annie had taken her place. Still, she was proud of the way Bronski and she had worked the Hardman case and now she part of the team investigating two homicides.
She opened the file on Brian Bannister. It was difficult to be sure if Bishop O’Brien had passed on a complete set of notes and correspondence on the priest or whether he had pruned it first. She began reading and taking notes. Annie couldn’t understand the Catholic priesthood, especially the vow of celibacy. It made no sense to her. Still, religion hadn’t played a major part in her life for so long that she wasn’t a good judge of anything religious. Surely though, a man would find it difficult to be celibate. By all accounts, Brian Bannister had excelled in his studies for the priesthood and was ordained by the archbishop nearly ten years ago.
There was a history of the parishes where he’d worked and letters from parishioners praising his dedication to his youth work. They referred to the difference he was making to the community. But at what other costs? Further into the file, there were two letters stamped highly confidential from families quer
ying things he had said to their sons. The details were sketchy and both asked for appointments to see the bishop. Annie searched the files to see if these had taken place. There was no evidence of interview notes or follow up letters. Annie’s doubts about Bishop O’Brien surfaced again.
She made a note of the names and addresses of the parents making the complaints and a note in her action section to mention the lack of interview notes to Ellison and Bronski. She glanced over, but Ellison was totally engrossed in his computer, so she thought she would leave it for a few minutes. Finally, Annie saw that the bishop had made a note to write to Detective Baxter to seek an appointment. Again there was no follow up. Annie was convinced there were papers missing. There was no correspondence from Tony Amato either. As she finished her notes, Bronski got up from his desk and slung his jacket over his shoulder.
‘You ready to do some interviews, Detective?’
Annie closed the file and got up from her desk.
Chapter 25
Back from my run. God, that feels better.
Time for the news. Wow, she looks solemn. Patrick’s face is filling the screen.
‘We have news about a second murder in the city, following the murder of Father Brian Bannister. The second victim has been named as Patrick Mearns, a lawyer with the firm of Atkinson & Mearns based in the city. Mearns’ body was found in his first floor apartment in the Rowan apartment complex. Police and forensic technicians spent all day yesterday at the scene and we understand that the apartment is still sealed off. No further details are available on the cause of death. We understand that an autopsy will be performed either later today or tomorrow. The police have yet to issue a statement. We have some unconfirmed information that the death of Patrick Mearns and that of Father Brian Bannister on Monday morning may be linked. However, we await confirmation of that.
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