The Red Dahlia at-2

by Lynda La Plante

  Langton pushed his chair back. 'The lady in the shop implied that there was a lot of sexual activity at the hall, a lot of all-night, all-week parties and drugs, though no one has ever been arrested. Wickenham used to bring in local girls, but the gossip festered, so he now hires in from different companies. I want them checked out. Okay, now we come to Edward Wickenham's girlfriend. She is the daughter of the late Sir Arthur Harrington, northern industrialist; mother was Constance, also deceased. That's about all we know, apart from that she's not been seen for weeks. Check her out, she's maybe the caller — she's apparently at a health spa right now.'

  Anna sat back in her chair as Langton paused, frowning, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

  'Okay you can say none of this adds up to any evidence against Charles Wickenham, or even against his son — because they may be in this together; there again, they might not be. However, my gut feeling is that we have at long last found our killer. Now we have to draw him in and tread very carefully. Even if it transpires that he lied and did know Louise Pennel and Sharon Bilkin, it is still not enough to arrest him. I don't want to scare this creature off before we have that search warrant granted and we check out that sumptuous place he lives in. I need the names of people that went to parties at the Hall. If our caller is telling the truth, Louise Pennel was a guest at that ancestral pile; he might also have cut her body up there. I want to interview the local uniforms at the village. I want to know what this son of a bitch eats for breakfast. I want to talk to Edward Wickenham's girlfriend, track back to Wickenham senior's army days; in fact, we need to talk to anyone that knows him now, who knew him then. We leave no stone unturned. So let's get moving.'

  Langton went into his office, accompanied by the Commander and her DI, leaving everyone breathless.

  As Anna sat writing copious notes, Lewis came and sat on the edge of her desk. 'He never ceases to screw me up! I mean, why not let us in on this when we were in the patrol car?'

  'He keeps things close to his chest,' Anna said, though she felt the same way.

  'I mean, he's damned sure it's Wickenham, but we can't prove it, so all that big speech was for what? To impress the Commander?'

  'Hang onto this case, more like it,' said Barolli, joining them.

  Anna was surprised: she had never heard either of them deride their Governor before. She kept her mouth shut.

  Lewis yawned. 'Well we've got our work cut out schlepping around, but if he's right, then we should crack on.'

  'What did you think?' Barolli asked Anna.

  'I didn't like him; like the Gov said, he was wearing the signet ring, so he was maybe lying about not knowing Louise Pennel; if he knew her, then he would also have known Sharon Bilkin.'

  Anna was grateful when the case manager interrupted their gossip, calling them over to break down Langton's requests. Whatever anyone felt, there was now a renewed energy in the Incident Room. They at long last had a suspect, and with the Commander being privy to the briefing, it was pretty certain that Langton would not be replaced.

  Chapter Twelve

  DAY TWENTY-THREE

  Anna arrived at the station early the next morning. She was about to head up to the canteen for breakfast when she saw Professor Marshe arrive by taxi. Anna gave a small nod of acknowledgement and continued into the station.

  She was midway up the stairs when Professor Marshe called out. 'Excuse me; it's Detective Travis, isn't it?'

  'Yes.'

  'Is DCI Langton in?'

  'I think so; his car's outside.'

  'Good, I need to speak to him.'

  Anna hesitated. 'I'll tell him you are here if you'd like to wait.'

  'It's all right, I know the way.'

  'I'm sorry, but the Incident Room is only for officers connected to the case.'

  Professor Marshe gave her a cold, arrogant glance. 'In case you have forgotten, I was brought in on the case by DCI Langton. Excuse me.'

  Anna stood patiently on the stairs, watching her pass. Today, she was not wearing her hair in a chignon but loose, held back with a velvet alice band. It made her look a lot younger and prettier, if rather old-fashioned. She was wearing a chic, tailored suit in pink and black tweed.

  Anna changed her mind about going up another floor to the canteen and instead followed Professor Marshe into the Incident Room, eager to see the reactions.

  Professor Marshe headed straight into Langton's office, leaving a waft of perfume behind her.

  Lewis looked over to Anna and raised an eyebrow. 'She's a pushy piece, isn't she?'

  Anna watched Bridget put two coffees on a tray and head towards Langton's office.

  'I'll take that in, Bridget; I need a quick word with the Gov.'

  'Oh, thanks.'

  Anna balanced the tray on her forearm and was about to knock on Langton's door when she heard his familiar bark. 'It's none of your business!'

  'Of course it is. You brought me onto the case and you haven't even got the decency to call me and give me an update. I wouldn't even have known that you had a suspect, but I saw the Commander last night and she told me. I felt like a total idiot.'

  'After what happened with you and the press, I presumed you would have been too embarrassed to discuss it, let alone with the Commander.'

  'I am not embarrassed in the slightest; if you want my input then I am prepared to give it. The Commander felt that I would be invaluable: that's why I am here.'

  'Why? Do you need another chapter in your book of exploits, capturing serial killers that no one could have arrested without your help?'

  'Don't be crass.'

  'I wasn't aware I was being crass, sweetheart.'

  'Don't call me sweetheart! Just tell me straight: do you want my advice or not?'

  'As you are here, why not? But don't let's waste time: if you have anything to say about our suspect, do it in front of the team.'

  'I need time to read the update on who he is.'

  Anna nearly dropped the tray as Langton opened the door. 'Ah, Travis; can you sit with Professor Marshe and give her an update on Wickenham? You might as well have my coffee. I'll be in the Incident Room.'

  He passed Anna, leaving his office door ajar. Anna carried the tray in and placed it down on his desk. Professor Marshe was sitting cross-legged in the straight-backed chair, one leg swinging back and forth in irritation. 'Christ, he's a chauvinistic bastard,' she muttered.

  Anna smiled sweetly and proffered the coffee. Professor Marshe reached for the cup and looked into it. 'Do you have any cream?'

  'No, but I can get you milk if you want.'

  'Forget it.' Professor Marshe took a bottle of water out of her briefcase. 'So tell me about this Winchester character.'

  'Wickenham,' Anna corrected, and hesitated before sitting in the chair behind Langton's desk. Professor Marshe opened her notebook, clicked on her pen, and tapped the page.

  'Right, first give me his personal details: age, etcetera etcetera, marital status, children?'

  Anna excused herself to get her own notebook. Langton was sitting with Barolli and Lewis in the Incident Room.

  'Keep her out of my hair, Travis: be aware she's very pally with the Commander, so anything you do say to her will be repeated.'

  'Yes, will do.'

  Langton weaved through the desks to come to her side. 'We're still getting the line-up organised for this afternoon but don't tell her that; just see if she can bring anything to the table.'

  'Okay.' Anna hesitated; she could smell alcohol on his breath.

  'What?' he said, glaring at her.

  'There's a packet of mints in my drawer if you want one.'

  He frowned, and then walked back to join Lewis and Barolli. Anna returned to his office. He was beginning to really concern her; it was still only nine o'clock.

  It was after eleven when, accompanied by Professor Marshe, she went back into the Incident Room. Anna had felt at times that she was being interrogated, but by the end she was impressed. She watched Marshe go up to
Langton and talk quietly with him for a while before he called for everyone to pay attention. They did not exactly jump to it, but the room eventually fell quiet.

  'Charles Wickenham, I believe, is now your prime suspect. When I was first brought in, I mentioned that your killer's marital status would be an important factor. I think it is imperative that you interview his ex-wife: the profile I have been compiling for you underlines that your killer has a hatred of women. This is very deep-rooted and would have begun in his early childhood.'

  She continued, repeating virtually all that Langton had discovered from the locals about Wickenham and his father; although it was still only hearsay, it appeared to be the focus of her profile. As she talked, some of the officers continued to double-check Wickenham's alibis for 9 January. Langton paid little attention, constantly sending and receiving text messages. The rest of the team were also becoming impatient: they were already privy to so much of what she was saying. Then there was a pause. She twisted a lock of her blonde hair round and round her manicured index finger before she eventually spoke. Her voice had changed; she spoke quietly and calmly.

  'I have discussed a sociopathic tendency; it is quite rare for them to become violent.'

  Anna glanced at Langton, who was looking at his watch impatiently.

  'However, in this case I think you are dealing with a very, very dangerous specimen. I do not doubt that you have the right man. Everything I have discussed is a profile of someone with a compulsion to create terrible pain. His own self-loathing is so deep that he can go to horrendous lengths and feel no remorse whatsoever. This man enjoys the act of torture, of mutilation, and of watching his victims die. I would say he was addicted to drugs, probably amphetamines to get high and, I think, something to iron his hyperactive side down: it could be grass, even morphine. He will have access to these drugs due to his background, and this is where you have to tread carefully, as he is also quite likely to commit suicide: not due to any kind of remorse, but one, to escape from incarceration, and two, fuelled by his fury at being caught.

  'His ego is such that he believes he is above suspicion. He thinks his intellect is above that of any of the officers leading the enquiry. I would say he will have arranged his alibis and be very confident that he is safe from prosecution. You have no witnesses. You have no weapons. His tools of torture will, I am certain, be close to him; he will enjoy cleaning and inspecting them. He will also enjoy the fact he is under suspicion, because he is certain he can outwit you. The key will be to allow him to think that is the case; the more you give this man rope, the more he will move towards placing the noose around his neck and hanging himself. But tread carefully, because he will even enjoy hanging!'

  Langton was still texting, but the rest of the team were now listening very attentively. He did look up when she started on how they should proceed.

  'I have spent some time with the pathologist that completed the autopsies on both of your victims. I also had a close friend, a police surgeon, discuss the mutilations. He told me that surgeons make very bold, clean incisions through each layer of tissue with the correct amount of pressure to divide only the tissues. An amateur cutting would more than likely underestimate the amount of pressure it takes to divide the skin, let alone cut the intervertebral disc. The surgeon's procedure often results in cuts that are serrated at the ends from going over the tissues repeatedly. This is known as "staging laparoscopics" — going through the skin in stages — but with an amateur wielding the knife, the wound would look as if it had been skived. The professional cuts through the skin at an angle to the horizontal plane, so that one edge is feathered, the other peeled. He suggested that our killer was educated enough not to attempt to cut through the bones of the lumbar spine and was professional enough to locate and divide at the disc space. It takes tremendous skill and a very sharp instrument to divide the spinous ligaments and the thick paravertabral muscles. An amateur would no doubt leave hacking wounds.'

  She closed her notebook. 'My associate said he believed without doubt it had to be a professional surgeon to have been able to prolong the torture without killing his victim prematurely. Your suspect is a qualified surgeon, therefore very much to my mind the killer. He will no doubt be as abusive to his son, Edward, as his own father was to him. Anyone around him, close to him, as I said before — his ex-wife, his daughters — go to them first. It will infuriate him because he is unable to control these interviews; not being privy to what is said might easily push him into your laps, but again I must impress upon you that you must tread very carefully with this man. He has spent many hours planning how to kill the Red Dahlia, even giving her that name to the press. No one was ever arrested for the murder of the Black Dahlia, so he will have been very diligent in covering his tracks, just as the original killer was. His obsession with the Elizabeth Short murder will be a sort of guide for him. He will believe he can never be arrested or charged, because he associates himself with her killer. I would advise you to let him think that he is getting away with his crime as you manoeuvre behind his back. I know you do not have enough evidence to make a formal arrest. However, do not let this man out of your sight because I think he is preparing to kill again.'

  The team remained silent. Professor Marshe asked if anyone had any questions. Langton told her that they were preparing a line-up and asked what she felt about it. She nodded over to the details on the board.

  'Well, if he is identified by the landlady, it will mean he has been caught out in a he, but she never saw his face clearly.'

  'She described his signet ring.' Langton said.

  'I know, but so many men of his class wear them.' She shrugged.

  The meeting broke up, and Professor Marshe went into Langton's office. The team were fazed by her speech. She obviously believed Charles Wickenham was their killer; any doubts they may have had were not even mentioned. It yet again gave the team an added energy, as the hunt that had taken so long to get under way was now closing in on the man they all now suspected was their killer.

  A car was sent for the landlady to be at the station for two p.m. At the same time, Wickenham himself was called and he agreed to be present. A car was also sent to collect him, even though he offered to drive himself. He did not ask for a solicitor to be present. He had been asked to wear a long dark coat; he was told that if he did not possess one, then one would be provided.

  At one forty-five, Langton, accompanied by Anna and Lewis, drove to the purpose-built identity suite, with its two-way glass for officers to watch the interaction and the one-way window for witnesses to walk alongside as they viewed the nine men. An officer unconnected to the case would brief the landlady on what she should do. Langton and his team would not be allowed to discuss anything with her.

  When Wickenham arrived, he was relaxed, and appeared to be as helpful as possible. He had brought in a long, dark navy, cashmere draped coat and asked if it was suitable. He was asked to draw the collar up, as were all the other men. He chose position number five. Anna and Langton watched the way he smiled at the other men. He was told to hold the numbered card up with both hands.

  Mrs Jenkins was very nervous. She kept on saying that it had been a long time ago, and that she doubted she would be able to pick anyone out. She was calmed down and given a cup of tea by the officer who explained that she should take her time; if she wanted, she could ask him to ask the men to turn right or left or look full face towards her. He repeated numerous times that the lineup of men could not see her through the one-way glass.

  Langton and Anna waited patiently as the viewing began. Mrs Jenkins did take her time; she walked back and forth and then paused in the centre exactly opposite Wickenham. She asked if they could all turn to their left, then right. She asked if they could place their left hand up across the lower part of their faces. This they did, and she walked the length of the window again. She paused for a second time opposite Wickenham.

  'Do you recognise the man that called at your house on the ninth of January t
his year?' asked the officer.

  Mrs Jenkins licked her lips. Langton took a deep breath.

  'He is not wearing the signet ring,' Anna said, quietly.

  'I know; hang on.'

  Langton turned up the sound. She had now asked if the men could say something. When asked what she wanted them to say, she said something like, 'I'm sorry to disturb you.'

  The men repeated the line one after another; again, she stood in front of Wickenham.

  'Come on, come on,' Langton hissed, under his breath.

  They both watched as Mrs Jenkins hesitated and then turned to the officer.

  'I think it's number five, but he had a ring on his little finger when I saw him; he sounds like him, I just can't be one hundred per cent sure.'

  Langton looked at Anna. 'Shit; not good enough.'

  'Close though. She picked him out.'

  'Yeah I know, but it's not one hundred per cent. I'm going to let him go.'

  Anna nodded and they went out into the interview room allocated for suspects. Wickenham was staring out of the window, his back to them, as they entered.

  'Thank you very much for your time, Mr Wickenham. We really appreciate you coming in to see us. The car will drive you back to your home.'

  Wickenham slowly turned to face them. 'I knew it would be a waste of time. I do apologise for not getting back to you with all the contact numbers for you to check out, but I no longer have a secretary. Will later this afternoon be acceptable?'

  'Yes sir, thank you very much.'

  Langton forced himself to be cordial through gritted teeth as Wickenham shook his hand and then gave Anna a smile. 'Nice to see you again. It was really rather inconvenient, but I suppose you have to do what you have to do.'

  'Yes,' she said, pasting on a smile like Langton.

  Langton then asked if Wickenham could provide contact addresses for his ex-wife and children as they needed to interview them. Anna was looking directly at Wickenham and saw his eyes narrow and his jaw tighten.