The Visitor (#3 - The Craig Modern Thriller Series)

by Catriona King

  “I don’t think we’ll get a hit from any of them, and it definitely wasn’t Murdock. What’s Murray doing in Scotland, Liam?”

  “Basically, he’s scared shitless of Tommy, boss. It seems Tommy never approved of Evie’s choice of hubbie. And the word’s out that he’d cheerfully do for Murray, now that she’s dead.”

  “Ask him to come back please, Liam, the Kerrs are the only family he has. He needs their support, and his daughter needs him. Tell him Tommy’s locked up at the moment and we’ll warn him off. Right. Forget Tommy’s crew for now, we need D.N.A.s from Greenwood, McAllister, Iain Lewes and Michael Randle for elimination.” Liam smiled at the mention of Lewes name, the boss hadn’t ruled him out completely then. Craig was still talking.

  “We don’t want the prosecution’s well poisoned by cutting corners, so make sure you get a warrant for anyone who won’t co-operate. I’m not handing them a mis-trial down the line on some technicality. Judge Standish is good for warrants, and he doesn’t mind being contacted at home. He lives out in Moira. Davy, can you check if the D.N.A. matches anything on the databases, please?”

  “Dr W…Winter’s already checked, but the answer’s no.”

  Craig rubbed his hand across his face. “OK. Liam, anything more on Michael Randle?”

  “Well he’s a violent wee bugger, even carries a knife to work. He’s also had a bust for skunk. But he couldn’t have killed Murdock, boss. I held him all weekend on possession of the knife. And I really can’t see him for Evie. Surely our killer has to be brighter than Randle? He’s a real ‘equal rights for bricks’ case.”

  “OK - but we could be looking at two people working together, and he had the skill and access to arrange electrical failures. Greenwood and McAllister have as well. McAllister let slip he was an engineer before he went into management. Check Randle’s knife and all their D.N.A.s anyway, and get all their alibis from Sunday until today checked please.”

  “I can tell you where Moya Murphy says Greenwood’s been since last Friday. In Dublin at some conference.”

  “Let’s get him back, then.”

  Craig updated them on Murdock’s gruesome demise, the detail of the abdominal incision shocking everyone. Annette understood now why only Melissa Pullman’s case fitted. Craig grabbed a marker and started writing on the board.

  “The Caesarean is a common theme. We don’t know yet if Murdock was drugged or with what, but he’s a big man. So unless he was subdued somehow, I’m certain he would have fought back, and there’s no sign of defensive wounds. My money’s on the Insulin/Pethidine cocktail being in his blood stream. Maybe Cocaine as well. Or maybe that was just window dressing to tell us something specific about him. It’s unlikely the killer gave him a snort just to make him feel better, so the coke scattering is definitely significant. It’s staging of some sort. And when we find it, the location of the primary scene will have importance as well.”

  “To Murdock, boss?”

  “Or his killer. Murdock was bound, incised and left face-down to bleed out through his abdominal wound. He was clothed for part of the time they had him - the restraint marks show that his socks protected his ankles from the binding. He was probably stripped sometime after death but before Rigor was complete at twelve hours. He most likely bled to death, but John wants to rule out other methods. I doubt that Carotid occlusion will show up in Murdock, it’s much too kind a way of killing. I think that’s why our killer used it for Evie. The killer was cool enough to kill Murdock, and keep him somewhere for at least six hours for Lividity to set in. Then he moved him before full Rigor and displayed him naked on his back for maximum effect. Somewhere that he’d be found quickly. Indicating humiliation?”

  Annette interjected hesitantly. “Violation maybe, sir?”

  Craig nodded. Yes. Violation. That was it.

  “Leaving him somewhere to bleed out, means that he was confident that Murdock wouldn’t be accidentally found there. So we’re looking for a primary scene with a lot of privacy. Somewhere that the killer knew he wouldn’t be disturbed. Somewhere he has a degree of control of, and is very familiar with.”

  “Excuse me, sir.”

  Craig turned from the whiteboard and saw Martin leaning forward, eagerness written across his round young face. He’d learned not to raise his hand now.

  “Yes, Martin?”

  “Could Murdock’s death be the killer copying what Murdock did to someone he loved? Did Murdock do this to a relative of the killer, sir?”

  Craig nodded. “Yes. That’s why the Melissa Pullman case could be so important. I know Beth has also been common to all the cases, and that helped on timing as she’s only been back here since 2008. But I’ve said it before - we can’t get complacent on that. There could be deliberately false trails here, and Beth’s presence in all of the cases could be one of them.

  Perhaps Melissa Pullman was the pivot, and perhaps the killer’s using Beth’s presence deliberately, to point us to cases since 2008. They may want us focusing on more recent cases in the same way they wanted us to know that Evie was definitely murdered. Or, conversely, they could be deliberately pointing us away from an older case. If we think laterally, now that Mr Murdock has been murdered we can be sure he was one of the main pivots. So the worst case scenario is that, as he was a doctor for thirty years, a surviving child could be thirty now. Old enough to kill.”

  “But the cases that match were all female babies, boss, and the D.N.A. found was male.”

  “I agree that it’s unlikely, Liam. The killer wanted us to know Evie had been murdered, so I think they’re deliberately pointing us to the Murdock/Walker combination. And that means cases since 2008. But the D.N.A. stain could be a false trail.”

  Craig scanned their faces. Some were puzzled and some worried - his speculation was confusing them. He should keep it inside his head.

  “Don’t worry, I’m just being Devil’s Advocate. The killer definitely wanted us to pay attention to Evie’s murder and it’s what that tells us that provides the focus for our case. That and Melissa Pullman. Beth was on both cases and so was Murdock. Our background searches didn’t show any other matches to the method in Northern Ireland, Ireland or the U.K. Or from the G.M.C. or medical insurance societies for Murdock.

  There was one case of maternal death, using Insulin and abdominal stabbing in Australia when Beth was there. But it was the other side of the country and her alibi checked out - it was the woman’s husband who did it. But hospital records from thirty years ago are patchy, and most haven’t been digitised, so we can’t rule them out entirely yet. Keep digging.”

  He stared at their tired faces, feeling sorry for them. But they were getting closer to their killer, he could feel it. They couldn’t relax just yet.

  “Let’s re-focus on what we have. Four deaths now, similar M.O. and we’re looking for a tall, strong man with easy access to maternity and electrical knowledge. Let’s tidy up the loose ends and dig deeper on Melissa Pullman. And we need to find that primary scene. I want you all to work on the Pullman case first. It’s our best lead so far. If you find anything at all that fits, bring it directly to me please.

  Go back over anyone who was in that Unit on Monday evening and dig into their pasts. Find out about any links between our suspect list and Melissa Pullman. Check how their family members died, and if anyone’s female relative died in childbirth flag them up to me.”

  Craig was speaking so quickly that Nicky gave up trying to take notes, recording him instead.

  “Find Melissa Pullman’s husband. Where is he? I want to interview him. Liam had Randle in all weekend on possession of the knife, so don’t waste any time on him. And I’m pretty convinced that our killer’s not Iain Lewes. So just get their D.N.A.s, check Randle’s knife and rule them out.

  Equally, Tommy’s cronies are weak propositions. We’re looking at someone much more sophisticated as our killer. Get McAllister and Greenwoods’ photos over to Melissa Pullman’s family immediately, Liam. And Joe, can you m
ake sure that all the protection officers are doing their jobs please.”

  “All fine as of an hour ago, sir. Should I tell them about Mr Murdock?”

  Craig thought for a moment. The detail of Murdock’s death needed to stay within the team, but the protection officers needed to know.

  “Update the officers, but not their charges, Joe. And reinforce the message that no-one goes anywhere without protection. The killer could still go after Katy, Beth Walker and Laurie Johns. Especially Beth Walker. She needs to be protected.”

  ‘Katy’. Liam smiled and Craig avoided his eyes. They didn’t have time for his banter right now.

  “Couldn’t Tommy still be Murdock’s murderer, sir? He was free on Sunday night.”

  “If Murdock had been killed in a simple way like shooting or being beaten to death, then I’d have said maybe yes, Annette. But this isn’t his style. He wouldn’t know enough to mimic the incision, and John said that it was accurate. Although we’ll hold him for a while longer on the stalking. We’re still missing something obvious about our killer so we need to go back over all the evidence. Liam, can you chase-up the Cocaine and Carotid occlusion links.”

  “Carotid occlusion is a military or martial arts technique, boss. Unfortunately that only rules out the people we’ve already ruled out. Lewes was in the officer training corps at Uni and so was McAllister. Randle does Karate, and Greenwood’s a weekend warrior.”

  “Greenwood does martial arts too, sir. I noticed a book about Taekwondo on his desk, when I went to collect the floor plans.”

  “Fine. Dig a bit more on Greenwood. Joe, give his territorial commanding officer a call and find out what he knows. And I want McAllister’s background checked out further. Davy, can you do that please.”

  “W...we did that on everyone and I told Liam about McAllister’s problems. Greenwood came up clean as a w...whistle.”

  Seeing Craig’s wry look he added. “But I’ll dig even deeper.”

  “I’ll get warrants for searches if we can find grounds, boss.”

  “Right. Can everyone be back here at 8am please, Nicky, I’ll be up with the D.C.S. if you need me. Liam, can you join me at the lab at five to see what John has on Murdock. There was less than ten days between Evie’s and Murdock’s deaths, so our killer’s definitely escalating. We need to catch him quickly. Before we have any more victims.”

  “But surely, if its revenge for something personal and he’s killed Mr Murdock now, won’t that be the last of it, sir?”

  “I’d like to say yes, Annette, but we can’t be sure until we get him. He could be having a psychotic break, or have an agenda that none of us can guess at yet.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Tuesday. 5pm.

  “Based on the fact that his Rigor had started to relax when we saw him at one o’clock, and allowing for the temperature in the shed, I’d put time of death no earlier than eighteen to nineteen hours ago. He died between ten and eleven last night, Marc. We’re looking at a maximum of nineteen hours since death, and then face down for at least six hours for Lividity. None of his bones were broken, so he was definitely moved, stripped and laid flat before full Rigor set in at twelve hours.”

  Craig nodded. “It would have been much safer to move him in darkness. I checked sunrise time this morning and it was light at about six. So I’d say he was left at Queen’s Quay no later than five this morning.”

  “That makes sense. OK. We know that he was definitely alive on Sunday night at eight, so the killer could have held him just over twenty-four hours, before killing him last night. There are no signs of sexual abuse or torture, just blunt assault. He may even have left him alone somewhere for those missing hours - it all depends how cool this bugger is.”

  “Very. I think he feels virtually nothing for his victims.”

  “He couldn’t have any empathy, or he wouldn’t be able to kill like this. A psychopath then. Although he did express regret at killing Evie.”

  “It didn’t stop him.” Craig paused, thinking for a moment.

  “The roads would have been clear at five this morning, so we might be lucky with the traffic cameras.”

  “Nicky’s got Traffic pulling the tapes already, boss. The area around there is pretty deserted at that time, so I doubt there’ll be any eye witnesses.”

  John nodded, continuing. “OK. Murdock was a big man, so this was someone very strong, or more than one person. Earliest findings indicate that he was bound with hemp-based rope. The pattern and thickness matches common household varieties, although obviously we’ll be more accurate given time. But we’re definitely not looking at handcuffs here. It was rope or thick string, and probably available anywhere. His clothes were cut off while he was alive. Just. There are superficial cuts consistent with that. Have you found the primary scene yet?”

  “No, still looking, Doc. Queens Quay’s a big area.”

  “It might not be there, Liam. You should be looking for a primary with a specific significance to the killer. I think the Trust is a better bet.”

  Craig closed his eyes. “You’re right - hang on a second.”

  He made the call quickly. “Joe, can you get some men over to the M.P.E. Have them search it inside and out for any areas that have complete privacy. Somewhere near Maternity. There’ll be signs of massive bleeding. Thanks.”

  John continued. “He was struck on the base of the skull very hard before death The fracture fits with a hammer, or something of similar size. And there are multiple bruises between one and two days old, all over him. That fits with our timeline, and it’s consistent with him being man-handled or dropped from a height. There are also multiple lacerations.” He pointed to a large cut on Murdock’s elbow.

  “The skin over the bone split on impact, probably from a fall. And the grazes on his face are consistent with common gravel. Des says that it’s stone you could find anywhere. The white powder was definitely Cocaine, but it was just spread superficially. The nasal mucosa showed that Murdock had been a significant past, but not a recent user.”

  “Calming down in his old age, Doc.”

  “Maybe. Anyway the coke was sprinkled around, probably deliberately. Some sort of symbolism perhaps? It might be significant.”

  “Any sign of the Insulin/Pethidine mix?”

  “We’re just waiting for that now. Des put a rush on it. There were recent injection sites on both thighs. We’ve excised them to check, but I’m certain that he’ll prove positive for both drugs. The final cause of death was shock from blood loss. There are no signs of the occlusion method that we found in Evie. I think her occlusion was a deliberately kinder method of killing. I’m beginning to think that Evie was just collateral damage to draw our attention, which makes her death even sadder.”

  “And Tommy’s attention, John. They wanted him involved for some reason.”

  “Then she died because she was Tommy Hill’s daughter.”

  “What a bloody waste.”

  John continued gravely. “Evie’s Pethidine was definitely because they wanted us to know she’d been murdered, but it might only be with Murdock that we’re getting to the real point of all this. The women’s Insulin and Pethidine levels weren’t high, and if the killer’s consistent, then Murdock’s will be the same. Sedative or symbolic, not lethal. But I think you should add Cocaine as relevant to the basis for the killings, Marc. It was very deliberate staging.”

  He lifted a scalpel, gesturing at the body.

  “The Pfannenstiel incision is very interesting. It wasn’t jagged and there were no hesitation marks at all. It was done in a single long sweep, like this.” He drew the scalpel from left to right in the air, demonstrating.

  “This was someone who’d practiced a lot. If they aren’t clinical then they’ve been rehearsing this for a long time. And it was definitely made with a smooth blade. A scalpel or a razor-sharp knife, not a domestic or sports-knife. So again they had access to medicines and medical equipment. The deaths have all been very well planned, so
even if our killer is escalating now I believe they’ll still go after specific targets.”

  Just then, Des Marsham appeared.

  “I thought you’d need Murdock’s results, John. The gravel is common builder’s grade and it’s found pretty much everywhere. The Insulin and Pethidine levels are there, but definitely not lethal. The Cocaine was very pure – medicinal, not street quality. But there’s none in the blood, so it was just scattered or dropped on him. But there was something new as well. There were very high levels of Ketamine present, enough to immobilise even a big man. There are trace amounts in his stomach, and much higher levels in his blood. So he swallowed it first and it was partially digested before death, then he was injected with more of it later. The wound excisions and analysis will tell us more. I’ve got the bloods on Beth Walker and Janey Holmes as well. Both were positive for Rohypnol. I haven’t finished looking at Murdock’s note yet.”

  “Thanks Des. That’s a thought. Marc, did Davy find where the Pethidine’s coming from yet?”

  “No, he’s been searching for days, but there’s nothing yet. All the hospital and G.P. surgeries are accounted for, and there’s been nothing missing from any retail pharmacies. Karl says there’s some street Pethidine out there occasionally, but he’s heard nothing lately.”

  “What note, Des?”

  Craig startled at Liam’s question. He hadn’t even registered Des mentioning it. He was getting tired.

  Des warmed to his subject. “There was a note folded up tightly and wedged in Mr Murdock’s right hand. We only found it when he got back here, because of the Rigor. And I think the removal of his left hand is significant.”

  Craig nodded. “We’ve confirmed with Theatres that he operated left-handed. What did the note say?”