by Carol Wyer
Kate shook her head. ‘It’s a natural reaction.’
‘I should have done more.’
‘There was nothing more you could have done.’
Her bottom lip trembled. ‘Maybe. Maybe not.’
‘Has Olivia got a boyfriend?’
‘No.’
‘But she has had relationships in the past?’
‘Yes. None were very serious. The longest one lasted about three months and she’s been single for over a year.’
‘So, she wasn’t getting any unwanted attention from anybody, text messages, phone calls?’
‘Not that I know about.’
‘Do you mind me asking if you’re in a relationship?’
‘Me!’ She spluttered. ‘I haven’t dated anyone since my ex-husband and I split up, last year.’
‘Have you had any men friends around to the house?’
‘No. Only my brother when we first moved in. He lives in Ireland.’
‘I see.’
‘He wouldn’t have hurt her. He adores her.’
‘I’m sure he’s not involved. He’s in Ireland at the moment, isn’t he?’
‘Yes. He’s a headmaster at a school in Limerick.’ She rolled her bag strap around her hand. ‘Can I go now?’
‘Very soon. Just a few more minutes. Did you notice if Olivia was troubled in any way? Has she been tense recently?’
‘Not in the least.’
‘The houses on Salt Lane haven’t been up long, have they?’
‘No.’
‘When did you move there?’
‘Two months ago.’
‘And where did you live before that?’
‘Stafford. Olivia wasn’t happy about the move, but we had to sell the old house and this one was brand new – a fresh start.’
‘Was there any reason she didn’t like living there?’
‘She preferred being in town. She missed her friends and the nightlife.’
‘Have you by chance noticed anyone hanging around your street in the last few days, or has Olivia mentioned any strangers in the area?’
She stared vacantly at Kate. ‘No. It’s quiet there. There are only two houses occupied. The others are still up for sale.’
‘You weren’t aware of any prospective buyers looking around them? Maybe cars parked that you don’t usually see in the street?’
‘No. Nothing.’
‘What about any comings and goings – vans, delivery men, builders?’
‘They don’t use our street. The site entrance is on another road that runs parallel to ours.’
‘That’s helpful. Thank you.’ Kate gave her an encouraging smile and then asked, ‘Did Olivia express concern about any of her work colleagues?’
‘She loves her job and gets along with all the staff and residents. There’s nobody I can think of at all.’ She made to leave. ‘I don’t know anything. I need to see her. What if she’s . . . what if she dies while I’m here with you? I have to go.’
‘I’ll find a nurse to escort you back to her. If you can think of anything at all, please give me a ring, no matter what time of day or night. This is my personal card.’ She handed it across. Rebecca took it without looking at it. ‘Mrs Sandman, I need your permission to speak to Olivia as soon as she comes to. Would you please tell the consultant you are happy for me to talk to her?’
‘Yes. I’ll do that.’ She chewed at her lip for a moment. ‘I haven’t told her father. I came straight here.’
‘If you’d rather, we can arrange for somebody to contact him.’
‘Please. Now, I must go.’
Kate gestured to the nurse, waiting on the other side of the glass window, who came forward immediately.
‘She’s all I have,’ Rebecca said. ‘I don’t know what I’ll do if—’
The door eased open. ‘Rebecca, are you ready?’
She jumped to her feet and scuttled away without a goodbye.
Kate watched them disappear, her heart heavy for the woman. Even if Olivia were to recover, she, like Tilly, would be haunted by the memory of what had happened to her. She watched as another member of staff pumped gel onto their hands and wondered how much longer she needed to wait. Olivia could be unconscious for hours or longer. Morgan would soon replace her, ensuring an officer was on site should the girl come to. It left her a man short; however, until William arranged extra officers to cover this duty, they’d have to suck it up.
Olivia’s attacker had known her movements, been waiting for her to leave for work. He must have hidden somewhere nearby to observe her routine. Laura, Heather and Olivia. He’d been familiar with all their comings and goings. Who was this man who got close enough to his victims to build up an idea of their every move without drawing suspicion to himself?
She sighed and thumbed through speed dial for the number for HQ where she requested an officer inform Olivia’s father of the current situation, then went back to pacing the room. Her mind returned to the conversation she’d had with Emma, before Rebecca Sandman’s appearance. It bugged her that Heather’s computer had bypassed her team and been sent directly to the technicians. She couldn’t let go of the idea that pertinent information was being withheld. Dickson’s cool attitude towards her only served to fuel her suspicion. He had to be behind the instruction to send the computer to the lab, yet pursuing it would only make matters worse, especially if Dickson found out.
She halted by the window, stared at her mobile screen for a minute, then made the decision to place her faith in Felicity. Felicity wasn’t into office politics and got along with only a handful of people who she liked. Kate was one of those. The phone call was answered immediately.
‘Hi, Kate. How’s the latest victim?’
‘She’s hanging on at the moment, but I haven’t been able to talk to her yet. By all accounts it’s touch-and-go.’
‘Poor girl. Emma was here earlier and told me about it.’
‘Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that.’
Her voice dropped. ‘I shouldn’t have let her have access to the computer, so I hope you understand I went out on a limb, only because I like you both.’
‘I know and I really appreciate it.’
‘As I explained to Emma, there really wasn’t anything on it that would have been of any use to you. Heather used it largely for work and a little online shopping. There was nothing that raised any red flags.’
‘I’m sure if there’d been anything encrypted or deleted, you’d have found it.’
‘You know me so well.’ She followed the statement with a suspicious ‘And I know you, so tell me what is this phone call really about?’
‘Can we keep this conversation between us?’
‘It’ll be as if it never took place. You can trust me. Guide’s honour and all that.’
‘Were you a Girl Guide?’
‘I have several hard-earned badges to prove it.’
Kate felt her lips pull into a smile. She found it hard to equate the self-acclaimed, anti-social Felicity as part of any such organisation.
‘Spit it out,’ said Felicity.
‘Who instructed you to keep the contents to yourself?’
There was a soft intake of breath. ‘I really shouldn’t tell you.’
‘Felicity, I’m up against it here. We have two dead women and another whose life is in the balance. The perpetrator is on a killing spree and if I can’t get my act together, heaven knows how many more women will die. Imagine if Bev were to become one of his victims!’
‘Don’t say that.’
She’d struck a nerve. Felicity doted on her partner.
‘We can’t let this man strike again. I’m concerned I’m being kept in the dark. I can’t have that. Nothing should get in the way of this investigation. Tell me who it was and I won’t pester you again.’
She thought the line had gone dead but Felicity spoke at last. ‘It was Superintendent Dickson.’
‘Did he explain why?’
‘There was some sensiti
ve information on it, regarding an operation he was overseeing. I was instructed to download all files pertinent to the case, email them to him, then delete them from the computer.’
‘You didn’t happen to see what the case was about, did you?’
‘It didn’t involve your victims, not unless they were underage sex workers.’
Kate stopped breathing for a few seconds as she processed this news. Underage sex workers. Like Rosa and Stanka, those girls that Farai told me had been booked for guests at the Maddox Club? She was about to press the technician further on the matter, but Felicity spoke first.
‘Let me make it clear, I didn’t read through any of the files. I didn’t need to know what it was about. Nor do you. Look, Kate, “Operation Agouti” wasn’t relevant, so no matter how vexed you are that you weren’t given primary access to the computer, it wasn’t some deliberate ploy to scupper your investigation. I can assure you there was nothing else.’
‘Thank you. I’m . . . getting frustrated. I hoped the computer would hold some vital key.’
‘I understand. You’re facing a tough challenge and this year hasn’t been kind to you. I’ve been straight with you, so although it’s probably not the answer you hoped for, you have one nevertheless and . . . we didn’t have this conversation.’
‘Thanks again.’ She hung up and tapped the phone against her chin. Felicity had referred to the operation by its name and probably knew more than she was willing to say on the phone. So, Agouti involved underage sex workers, girls and boys like those Dickson and his friends had slept with. She still couldn’t fathom out why a civilian officer had been brought on board to assist. This was a valid puzzle piece but she was unsure where it fitted within her own personal Dickson jigsaw. ‘Chris, I’ve not given up on uncovering the truth about you. You understand that, don’t you?’
There was no reply. She searched for the mental connection she required to respond in his voice, but this time she couldn’t. A lump rose in her throat. He was drifting away and it was because she wasn’t dedicating enough time to his cause. ‘I shall. I’ll find time. Don’t go, Chris.’
A movement caught her eye and she recognised the large figure at the reception desk. Morgan had arrived to replace her. She shouldered her bag and exited the waiting room.
CHAPTER TWENTY
‘For crying out loud, what the fuck do we have to go on?’ Kate patrolled the small space between her desk and the whiteboard with all the ferocity of a guard dog. ‘Well?’
Emma showed her palms. ‘We’re struggling, Kate. We’ve interviewed all the builders who were working on the site where Olivia was found. Their alibis all check out. None of the neighbours heard or noticed anything suspicious. Nobody at the retirement home has a clue as to what might have happened and are all devastated. It’s dead end after dead end.’
Kate thumped the whiteboard hard. ‘No! No, it isn’t. There must be connections. The killer knew his victims. How? How the hell did he know these women? Look at them all again. There is something that connects them. We need to look harder! Time is ticking. And we don’t know when or where he will strike next.’
Jamie cleared his throat. ‘Guv, we’ve spoken to everybody.’
‘We haven’t. There are many more people we could talk to. Get a list of every delivery driver that dropped off at the building site in Salt Lane and check them out. What about Kevin Shire? Where was he this morning?’
‘According to him, he was in bed until eight,’ said Emma.
‘Anyone able to confirm that?’
‘No. And Saturday night, he claims he was at home, watching television. Again, no witnesses. We can’t prove if he was or wasn’t where he said. I’ve put in a request to the mobile provider, to see if his phone can be placed at either Stafford on Saturday, or Weston this morning. Oh, and he claims to never have heard of either Heather or Olivia. I hit a brick wall with pubs he visits. It seems neither Heather nor Laura were pub-goers. It would have been unlikely he met them there. I have had one more thought. Kevin did some part-time work last year for a local courier service. I’ll ring the company. Find out if he ever delivered anything to any of the victims’ places of work or home addresses.’
‘Good. Do it.’ Kate turned away, prodded the board. ‘Why did our perpetrator choose these women to be his victims?’
‘Their looks,’ said Jamie.
‘Yes, he’s definitely drawn to a type – small-framed, youthful, dark-haired and brown-eyed.’ Like Tilly. She tried to dismiss the thought. ‘I don’t believe he chanced upon his victims, plucked them out from a crowd and then stalked them until he knew enough about them to act out whatever warped fantasy he has. It would have taken time to gather information on their habits and routines. He must have raised suspicions.’ She was speaking more to herself than her colleagues, frustration engraving lines on her forehead. ‘He knew the exact times they went to and from work, where and when they exercised, and he knew where to lie in wait for them.’ She paused to study the photos, giving herself an opportunity to order her tangled thoughts.
‘He attacked them all in areas close to industrial bins, skips or large refuse containers and I think that’s important to him. But why?’ She tapped either side of her temples lightly then clicked her tongue. ‘He disposes of his victims as he would any rubbish. I’d even go as far as to say he hates women, which is why he dumps their bodies in this fashion.’
Jamie made to interrupt, but Kate was on a roll, articulated theories now streaming from her lips. ‘He chooses locations that fulfil this purpose, cases them out, ensures they have no CCTV and then, at the given moment, lies in wait, hidden from view. All of this preparation takes time: weeks, even months. And he follows the same pattern each time. I think he’s been planning this rampage for a long while and if he knew his victims this well, they undoubtedly knew him. The question is how?’
Jamie hesitated then said, ‘He’s a friend.’
‘We’ve cross-checked all their online friends and actual friends. We haven’t found anyone that all three knew.’ She shut her eyes. Think, Kate, think. She had nothing other than the knowledge she should see beyond the pictures on the board: Laura dumped in an industrial waste bin on a car park; Heather left in a skip by a car park—
Emma gave a defeated sigh. ‘We’ve looked at work colleagues and until Olivia became our latest victim, we’d made some connections between Heather and Laura. Shouldn’t we go back to those as well? See if we can make some of them fit Olivia as well?’
Olivia left by a dumper truck on a building site, alive. Kate opened her eyes. ‘The third attack differs to the first two in that it didn’t happen at night, and the victim survived. He wasn’t as methodical.’
‘Two different killers?’ suggested Jamie.
‘That’s plausible, but I’m sure it’s the same perpetrator and he’s getting careless. He stalked these women for ages to learn about them, which indicates he was meticulous in his planning yet now, he’s raping and murdering them, day after day. The two behaviours don’t correlate.’
‘Unless his initial intentions were to find out about these women, a sort of hunting game, but something triggered him into actually carrying out the attacks,’ said Emma.
Jamie pursed his lips. ‘Do you think he has a list of women he fantasises about raping and killing and now he’s going through it?’
Kate swivelled around. ‘That’s possible. I’d go as far as to say he’s motivated by the high each attack brings him and that, in turn, spurs him into attacking again, to feed the high. Yes. That makes sense. However, the speed and intensity with which he’s carrying out the attacks is making him careless. Olivia is still alive.’
‘You think she’ll recover?’
‘Hard to say. She’s in a bad way. My request to place a uniformed officer outside her room has been approved, so Morgan will be back here soon. Right, who are we looking for? Who would be able to find out information about these three different women without arousing suspicions? That’s
what we need to establish. Once we’ve done that, we might be on the right path to identifying our killer.’
‘I take it you’re making progress, then?’ DCI William Chase had arrived unheard and threw them a half-smile.
‘Not really,’ said Kate, dismissively. ‘We’re bandying ideas.’
The smile evaporated. ‘Ideas? That’s not good enough. We need leads and a suspect.’
‘And I need a larger team to work this investigation, but we don’t always get what we want, do we?’
He silenced her with his palm. ‘Not here, Kate.’
She followed him into the corridor and lowered her voice. ‘Look, William, it’s no good piling pressure on us. We’re busting our guts as it is. You can’t expect instant results when all I have are three officers, all of whom have to attend a bloody crime reconstruction on the back of a half-baked idea the killer will show up to watch it.’
‘That’ll do, Kate. Don’t make a scene here. We’ll continue this in my office.’ He marched towards the staircase, leaving her dumbfounded. She hadn’t been making a scene, merely expressing her viewpoint as she often did with William. He had a bee in his bonnet over something and it wasn’t because she had stood up for her team and their lack of progress. Nevertheless, she did as she was bidden and climbed to the next floor where she joined him in the office, shutting the door behind her. They’d had many a friendly discussion in this room but there was no camaraderie in his cold eyes today.