by Sally Rigby
‘If you can find out the make and model, that would be of great help. There are only five more days until the next murder is due to happen,’ Whitney said.
‘We’ll do our best. There’s something else.’
‘What?’ she said impatiently, sensing Claire was about to reveal something big.
‘When the chloroform rag was placed over the mouth, the victim bit the murderer’s hand.’
Whitney’s heartbeat quickened. Finally, a break.
‘So, you’ve got the murderer’s DNA?’ Terry said.
‘Unfortunately not. He was wearing gloves. But we do know they were black leather. There are traces of leather in the victim’s teeth.’
Whitney swallowed her disappointment.
‘So, really we’re no further on in identifying the perp?’ she said.
‘I didn’t say that,’ Claire replied, a mysterious tone to her voice. ‘I’ve been saving the best bit until last.’
The woman was a mystery. One moment all brusque and business-like, the next wanting to play games.
‘Come on, Claire. I don’t have time to mess around.’ She shifted anxiously from foot to foot.
‘Fine. You can wait for my report if you’re going to be like that.’ Claire shrugged.
‘Guv,’ Terry warned. ‘We need this information now. Remember the three strikes.’
Whitney laughed. She couldn’t help it. Even Claire glanced at her and gave a little smile.
‘Sorry, Claire. I didn’t mean it. Will you tell me, please?’
‘I found two hairs on the victim’s clothes that don’t belong to him. We’ve run them through the National DNA database.’
‘And? Have you come up with a name?’ she asked.
‘No.’
Her heart sank. ‘Oh.’
‘You’re not understanding. Now, you have much more to work with than you did before,’ Claire said, her eyes bright.
‘But how do we know the hairs are from the murderer and not from someone else?’ Terry asked.
‘Simple. I found a third hair in the victim’s mouth, among the fibres from the cloth used to administer the chloroform. They could’ve easily been missed.’
‘What’s the chance of it being someone else’s hair, already in his mouth?’ Whitney asked.
‘Unlikely. So, now you get the importance of what I’m telling you.’
She could kiss the woman. But of course, she wouldn’t, as she valued her life.
Whitney turned to Terry. ‘And that, DI Gardner, is why we work with Claire the way we do. She’s the best. I don’t care how many pathologists you have dancing to your tune, Claire could outshine all of them put together, with her eyes closed.’
‘I get it now.’ Terry nodded.
‘What the hell are you going on about?’ Claire asked.
‘Just singing your praises, Claire. Anyway, back to the body. That’s fantastic news. Thank you. Now all we’ve got to do is find him. Is the perp male?’ she checked.
‘Yes.’ Claire nodded.
‘We’d been working on that assumption, as you know.’
‘Well, now it’s confirmed,’ the pathologist said.
‘Anything else you’re holding out on telling me?’
‘No. Now go and find him.’
Chapter Twenty-Five
Thursday, 20 June
George watched Ross as he stood at the bar waiting to be served. They’d had a really nice meal, and she felt relaxed in his company. She hadn’t yet decided whether to invite him to her brother’s wedding. She knew Whitney thought she should, but on so many levels it could turn out to be a disaster. Not to mention it would be admitting they were actually dating, as opposed to being friends who went out occasionally.
Did that bother her? She had too much going on in her life to embark on dating again. It had been a disaster with Stephen and not something she wanted to repeat. Her work had suffered, and she’d felt out of her comfort zone. She much preferred being on her own, with no one to please but herself. She’d always enjoyed her own company and had never found herself bored or lonely.
‘You’re looking serious,’ Ross said as he placed their glasses on the table and sat opposite her.
‘I’ve got a lot on my mind,’ she said.
‘Work?’
‘Not exactly.’
‘Police work?’
‘Not exactly.’
‘You’re not making this very easy. Shall I assume you don’t want me to know?’
Stephen would have hounded her until she’d told him. And if she’d still refused, he’d have sulked like a child. Ross was refreshingly different.
‘It’s not that I don’t want you to know. There’s something I want to ask you, but I’m just not sure about it yet.’
‘That’s cool. Ask me when you’re ready.’ He smiled.
His reply convinced her to bite the bullet.
‘My brother’s getting married soon, and I wondered if you’d like to accompany me to the wedding?’
He stared at her, frowning. Asking him so soon had been a mistake. She shouldn’t have listened to Whitney. It was obvious by the expression on his face he was looking for a reason to say no.
‘Are you sure?’
‘It doesn’t matter. Forget it. I knew you wouldn’t want to.’ She picked up her glass and took a sip of her beer.
‘It’s not that. Under normal circumstances I’d have jumped at the chance. It’s just—’
‘Just what?’ she interrupted.
‘Having already met your father, what happens if he remembers I was the waiter he had a go at?’
‘He probably won’t recall the interaction, but I can always remind him, if you’d like me to.’
‘Do you think that’s a good idea? I wouldn’t want to upset him at the wedding.’
‘Do you want to go or not?’ she demanded.
He laughed. ‘That’s what I like about you George. The way you’re so direct and get straight to the point. If you’d like me to come with you, I’d be honoured. Where is it being held?’
Would he change his mind once she told him? Whitney had been astounded once she’d found out. How would he react? ‘Westminster Abbey for the service, and the reception’s at the Imperial War Museum.’
‘Whoa. I’m guessing you waited until I’d said yes before telling me that.’
‘You can change your mind, if you want.’ She shrugged like it wasn’t important, but actually it was.
‘I’m joking. I won’t change my mind.’ He leaned forward and took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
‘It’s black tie. You can hire a tux.’
‘I won’t need to. I have my own. When you go to as many awards dinners as I do, it’s cheaper to own one than hire all the time.’
‘I’ll book some accommodation for the Friday and Saturday nights. There are some excellent hotels close to the reception. My treat.’
‘Why don’t we go up on the Wednesday or Thursday and make a proper break of it? We’ll have time to check out the Tate Modern and catch a show. What do you say?’
She bit down on her bottom lip. If he wanted to arrange a short holiday, did that mean they were officially dating, and not just friends with benefits?
How did she feel about it? Actually, not bad. Whitney would approve.
‘Okay, let’s do it,’ she agreed.
‘Text me the dates, and I’ll make sure to put it in my diary.’
She glanced at her watch. ‘I can’t be too late this evening; I need to be at the station with Whitney first thing. We’ve got a busy few days ahead of us.’
‘I’ve been following the news reports on the murders. I assume that’s what you’re working on. It’s a dreadful situation. There’s another one expected on Sunday, isn’t there?’
‘Yes. Unless we can stop the murderer beforehand.’
‘Do you have any leads?’
‘I’m not allowed to share anything about the investigation. All I can say is we’re working out possible trains he’s li
kely to be on.’
‘That’s promising.’
‘Don’t say anything. Nobody knows.’
She could have kicked herself for telling him. Whitney would go ballistic if she knew. If it got out, it could make the killer change his plans.
‘Of course I won’t. You can trust me. Hopefully, working out where he’ll be will mean you’re able to stop him.’
‘You’d have thought so, but we knew the potential trains when the third victim was killed.’
‘Sounds like you could do with a break.’
‘Yes. And soon.’
Friday, 21 June
George set her alarm to six, and by seven-thirty, she was already at the station. She was conscious there was still so much to do, and she wanted to pull her weight. She hurried inside, through the back door, and made her way to the incident room, where several of the team were already seated at their desks. She continued to Whitney’s office, hoping the detective was in. Whitney was peering at her computer screen, and when she glanced up and saw George standing there, she beckoned for her to come in.
‘Bloody Excel spreadsheets. I’ll never get to grips with them. I’ll have to take this home and see if Tiffany can help. She’s an IT whizz.’
The mention of Tiffany’s name reminded George she hadn’t seen Whitney’s daughter for a few weeks. They caught up in one of the university cafés fairly regularly, but as it was exam time, the young woman wasn’t around.
They’d become close since Tiffany had been abducted and George was part of the rescue. After her ordeal, Tiffany had put on a brave face in front of her mother, not wanting to worry her. But she’d confided in George. She’d been seeing a counsellor, at George’s insistence, and had made remarkable progress. She was almost back to her old self, but George knew they still needed to keep an eye on her, as she could easily slip back if things got difficult.
‘I can help, if you’d like. I use Excel all the time.’
‘Thanks for the offer, but we’ve more important things to do. What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you until later, as I thought you were out with Ross last night.’
‘I was, but I didn’t stay out late because I wanted to get in here early to see you,’ she said.
‘So you could tell me you’ve fallen in love with him and couldn’t wait to share it.’ Whitney grinned.
‘That’s silly, and not what I meant.’
‘Did you ask him about the wedding?’
‘Yes, I did, and—’
‘And is he going with you?’ Whitney interrupted.
‘Why are you so interested in the wedding, when we’ve got work to do?’
‘Just humour me. Is he going with you? Yes or no?’
‘Yes.’
‘Awesome. Now let’s go into the incident room and get moving.’
They left Whitney’s office and walked over to the board. More people had arrived.
‘Listen up, everyone, I have something important to tell you. We have the murderer’s DNA.’
George’s jaw tensed. How come Whitney hadn’t told her? When did she find out?
‘Well done, guv. What did he leave it on?’ Matt asked.
‘There were stray hairs on the victim’s clothes and one in his mouth, mixed in with fibres from the cloth used to sedate him. It seems our elderly victim put up quite a fight. This murder wasn’t as easy as the others. The DNA also confirmed our assumption the murderer is male.’
‘Any chance he’s in the database?’ Matt asked.
‘Unfortunately not.’ Whitney’s phone pinged, and she picked it up from the desk. She frowned at the screen. ‘I’ve finally received the list of a thousand employees who were made redundant from Transwide in 2014. Ellie, I’d like you to start going through it. We’ll need background checks on any red flags.’
‘There are certain people you can eliminate,’ George said. ‘You don’t need to check the women, or any who are currently under the age of twenty-nine, or over the age of sixty-five, as they’re unlikely to be our perp.’
‘Thanks, George. Narrowing it down should make it a bit easier,’ Whitney said. ‘Ellie will need help, so I want half of you to continue working on identifying the potential train targets, and the other half working on the list of people made redundant.’
‘Is it really worth the effort, considering the lapse in time since Transwide let these people go and when the murders started?’ Vic asked.
‘Do you have any other ideas?’ Whitney asked.
‘No,’ he said.
‘If I may interrupt,’ George said, resting a hand on Whitney’s arm. ‘The desire for revenge can fester in a person. It could be that something happened to this man which tipped the balance between wanting revenge and actually seeking it. It makes sense to consider this in our investigation if we have the resources to do so.’
‘You heard the doctor. Let’s do it,’ Whitney said.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Friday, 21 June
Two more days and I’m done with Lenchester. Then I need to decide where I’m going to next. So many areas to choose from. If Transwide had cared as much about the people they employed as they did about their profits, then none of this would’ve happened.
But no, they allowed their greed to interfere, and we all know what happens to greedy people.
They lose out in the end.
The old bugger I killed last time proved to be difficult. I’ve no idea why he was resistant to being sedated, as I used the same amount of chloroform I’d done in the past. As for when he bit me, luckily, I was wearing gloves, so none of my blood seeped through. Not having my DNA means they’re no closer to catching me than before.
I wish I could say committing these murders was making me feel better. But nothing I do will ever come close to getting payback for what Transwide did to me and my family. Maybe when they’re out of business I might think differently, but at the moment I still feel sick when I think of how they destroy lives without caring one little bit.
Part of me wants to tell them what I’m doing. But if I do, I’ll be unable to continue, and I don’t want to stop until I’ve totally destroyed them, however long it takes.
I’ve got nothing else in my life, so I can devote all my time to putting an end to their despicable work practices.
It would be nice to share this with someone. Someone who understands. Sometimes I feel guilty for taking the lives of innocent people, but they died for the greater good. The greater good being not allowing giant corporations to destroy the lives of anyone who gets in their way.
The government should have stepped in and offered help, but they’re just as bad. They let them get away with everything they’ve done. All they can see are the taxes from which they profit.
How many more deaths before they put people first and taxes second?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Saturday, 22 June
When George arrived at the incident room, Whitney was beside the board, staring at it while running her fingers through her hair. Despite not leaving until ten the previous night, most of the team were already at their desks working. It was imperative that their efforts were focused on researching those made redundant from Transwide and identifying potential train targets. It seemed an insurmountable task, especially as tomorrow was the two-week deadline.
‘Morning, Whitney. How’s it going?’
‘Not fast enough.’
‘We’ll find something today. Remember, we’re already further on this time than we were when the last murder took place.’
‘You’re right. Listen up, everyone,’ Whitney said. ‘I want a rundown of where we are, and then we’ll decide what we’re going to do for the rest of the day.’
‘I’m currently looking at credit card ticket sales from all the different rail operators on the actual murder days, including ours, and comparing them with the list of names from Transwide,’ Ellie said.
‘Any joy?’ Whitney asked.
‘Not yet. I did find a woman who
was on one of the trains coming into Lenchester, but she’s out of our age range, and also female.’
‘She could have bought a ticket for someone else,’ Frank said.
‘Maybe,’ George said. ‘But it’s unlikely she’d be involved when you consider she only bought one ticket out of many. It’s just a coincidence.’
‘Keep going with your research, Ellie,’ Whitney said.
‘We’ve been going through potential trains and train times,’ Doug said. ‘Using the same parameters as we did for the previous trains, we’ve come up with three possible trains. The first is the train leaving Newcastle at eight-thirty in the morning and arriving in Lenchester at one-ten.’
‘The same train as our first victim was on,’ George said.
‘Yes. No CCTV on the train, and it’s relatively quiet,’ Doug said.
‘Have they targeted the same train twice before, Vic?’ Whitney asked the detective.
‘No. But that doesn’t mean he won’t this time. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern,’ he replied.
‘What about the others?’ Whitney asked.
‘There’s one leaving London at one-thirty-five and arriving in Lenchester at two-thirty-five. The other’s going from Salisbury to Birmingham and will be in Lenchester at two,’ Doug said.
‘So we have three potential trains, and we’ll have officers on all of them,’ Whitney said.
‘Providing the murderer sticks to his usual MO,’ Frank said.
‘I think it’s likely,’ George said. ‘We know he needs a quiet train with no CCTV, so we have to assume he won’t change, especially as he most likely believes this isn’t going to be his last set of murders.’
‘Speaking of CCTV, now we have the list of names, has anyone suspicious been identified?’ Whitney asked.
‘We’ve gone through everything we can from the CCTV footage we’ve received from the various stations on the Lenchester routes,’ Frank said.
‘Terry, did you keep a copy of footage you looked at when you were undertaking the previous investigations?’ Whitney asked.
‘I’ll check. It should be somewhere, I hope,’ Terry said.