by Malcolm Rose
At last Cherelle said something. “It was two weeks after Emily’s death, Investigator Harding. Poor girl.”
Luke nodded and smiled.
****
Luke did not need Malc to project the image of a starry night onto his bedroom ceiling. He could look out of the window into the sub-zero night and see a vast expanse of clear sky. To reach his eyes this night, light from the stars had set out billions of years ago. It always struck him as bizarre that he was seeing how the stars looked a very long time ago. “EW2 in Woburn was trained to be a food technologist – maybe a chef – so search all information in case you can find out if she ever prepared fugu, though I don’t know what that’s got to do with EW1. Or EW3.”
“Searching.”
“What was EW1’s job?”
“Textile designer.”
Luke nodded. Dundee had a strong history in the production of fancy fabrics. “And EW3?”
“What is your query?” Malc asked.
“She was retired – obviously – but what did she work in?”
“She was a gardener.”
“Did she specialise in cacti, by any chance?”
“Confirmed.”
Puzzled, Luke thought about it. “A retired cactus grower in York, a food technologist in Woburn, and a fabric designer in Dundee. Only obvious link: their name. But EW1 could have been poisoned by a meal of fish, or something sprinkled on a cactus.”
Malc reported, “It is highly unlikely that Emily Wonder in Woburn ever made fugu. She helped to prepare meals in Woburn and Milton Keynes. In that area, restaurants are not sophisticated enough to offer fugu.”
“How about Dundee? That’s a different kettle of fish altogether.”
“Kettles and fish are relevant to your current line of enquiry, but my programming fails to find a rational meaning.”
Luke turned away from the stars and smiled at his mobile. “Dundee restaurants are in a different league – much more stylish. Did you find one serving puffer?”
“No. In addition, the hospital has never recorded a case of fugu poisoning.”
“Was there a list of visitors to the animal sanctuary? Did you download it?”
Malc answered, “Confirmed. I have stored it.”
“Did EW1 go the day she died?”
“Confirmed. She arrived at eleven nineteen and left at one fourteen.”
“Two hours,” Luke muttered to himself.
Correcting him, Malc said, “One hour and fifty-five minutes.”
“Whatever. I wonder if she ate there.”
“She presented her identity card for lunch in the canteen.”
Luke sat up straight. “Interesting. Keep a list of everybody who was in the sanctuary at the same time. Have their names cropped up in any of the three EW cases so far?”
“No.”
Luke sighed. “Was the animal sanctuary one of the canteens you checked for fugu?”
“Yes.”
That meant it had not served EW1 with pufferfish. He gazed out of the window for a minute and then asked for a link to Jade. Almost at once, Malc threw her image onto the bedroom wall.
“Hiya,” she said. “How’s tricks?”
“Could be worse.”
“Where are you? I can’t keep up.”
“Dundee.”
She hesitated for a moment. “Dundee. Have you seen Georgia?”
Luke could not tell her a lie. “Yes,” he replied. “All in the line of duty. She helped me with that case up here.”
“Is she as gorgeous as ever?”
Luke smiled wryly. “If you like that sort of thing, yes.”
“And as keen on pairing with you as ever?”
“I put her off for a bit.” Changing the subject, he said, “Have your ears recovered from the Year Birth concert?”
“Barely. When I shut my eyes, I can still hear her screeching.”
Luke laughed briefly. “Can you keep a secret?”
“You know I can.”
“Why does anyone kill people with the same name, Jade?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. To terrify the last one standing, maybe.”
“Mmm. How would you feel if someone started bumping off other Jade Vernons?”
“How could there be anyone else like me?” she replied with a grin. “I’m a one-off.”
“Seriously.”
“Scared stiff.”
Luke nodded. “Emily with the amazing throat didn’t seem scared stiff to me.”
“So, she hasn’t heard about the other Emily Wonders. You didn’t let on.”
“That means whoever’s doing this can’t be trying very hard to terrify Emily Wonders. Q – the killer – isn’t making a song and a dance about it.”
Malc interrupted. “To avoid detection, Q is unlikely to indulge in such behaviour.”
Jade clapped her hands. “Absolutely right, Malc. How could you make such a silly suggestion, Luke?”
“Shush. Malc’s bad enough without you encouraging him. Anyway, I think you’re wrong about the motive.”
“Okay. Maybe Q thinks he can get at one Emily Wonder by hurting her namesakes. You know. Like a voodoo doll. You stick a needle in the doll and the real person feels the pain.”
“Mmm. Scientific nonsense,” Luke replied, “but an interesting idea.”
“If it was me,” Jade said, “I’d do us all a favour and throttle just the one Emily Wonder. Pure and simple.”
Malc reported, “An agent has identified the bearded man as he returned to his quarters this evening.”
“I’ve got to go, Jade. You take care.”
“You too.”
When her image faded, Luke turned to Malc. “What’s his name, then?”
“Cornelius Prichard.”
“Did he visit Dundee Animal Sanctuary on the day EW1 died?”
“Confirmed.”
Luke smiled with satisfaction. “Now I’m humming.”
“I do not detect any such sound.”
Ignoring his mobile, Luke said, “Come on. Interview time.”
Chapter Nine
It was after midnight. Luke had got Cornelius Prichard out of bed to talk to him. Without his cap, the man looked entirely different. His hair, like his beard, was jet black and rugged. His cheeks glowed pink as if he were constantly drunk or embarrassed. Even though he must have been drowsy, his bright eyes darted warily between Luke and Malc.
“I’m investigating a disturbance on the third floor,” Luke said to him. “Do you ever go down there?”
“I... er... Yes, but I haven’t done anything wrong,” he replied. “Not a thing.”
“Where do you go? And why?”
“It’s... er... awkward.”
Luke could see that he had suddenly begun to sweat. “I need an answer.”
Prichard’s eyes flitted towards Malc. He must have known that the mobile was recording the interview. “I heard about Emily Wonder and... you know.”
“What?”
“I was fascinated. That’s why I moved into this block. To be closer to her.” His cheeks had become bright red now.
“But you must know she died.”
Cornelius nodded. “I mean, closer to where she was. You see, I’d broken my arm. I was in plaster when I first met her.”
Cutting in, Luke asked, “Where was that?”
“The animal sanctuary. In the canteen. She died a few hours later, according to the news.” He shook his shaggy head. “Awful. Dreadful.”
“If that was the first time you met her, how come you knew who she was?”
“She left her identity card on the table next to mine. You don’t forget a name like Emily Wonder. No way. I dashed after her and gave it back.”
“Was that the last time you saw her?”
Cornelius stared at Luke nervously. “Yes. I didn’t follow her. Nothing like that. But, when I heard she’d died, she sort of... haunted me. I might have been the last one to see her alive. And she was so young. Such a waste. I can’t
get her out of my mind.”
“Did you see what she was eating in the animal sanctuary?”
Cornelius looked baffled. “Er... no.”
“What did she say to you?”
“She scratched her arm on a cactus by the door and I told her she’d be all right.” He sighed heavily, looking even more guilty. “Then she asked me what I wanted. When I gave her her identity card, she said, ‘Silly me. Thank you.’ Such a lovely young voice. It’s... more than a shame.”
“And that’s why you moved in here? To be close to the memory of someone you barely knew?”
“You make it sound... crazy. But it didn’t feel like that to me. You see, I feel like I really connected with her. I’m not a stalker or anything. No. I can’t stalk someone who’s not around any more. But I am a bit obsessed, I suppose. She... affected me.”
Luke nodded. He didn’t really understand Cornelius Pritchard’s obsession, but it wasn’t against the law to be weird. His story seemed to check out with everything that Luke knew about EW1’s final day. “It wasn’t a nice way to die, was it?”
“I don’t know how she died. Only what they said on the local news. It sounded long and painful, I’m afraid. What killed her?”
Luke’s only answer was a shrug. “What’s your job?”
“I’m a builder.”
“Did you go into her apartment?”
Cornelius shook his head.
“Or get a look inside?”
“Once. When I left some lilies.”
“Did you see a fish tank?” Luke asked.
“Emily kept fish?” He seemed grateful for any extra information about her because, after her death, he’d claimed her as a friend. “No. I didn’t know that. I didn’t see it.”
“Have you heard of situs inversus totalis?”
Cornelius frowned and shook his head. “Was she ill?”
“No. Forget it.” Luke put on a shiver. “I’m going to have to go out again in a minute. It’s cold, isn’t it? I bet you need good winter coats up here.”
Cornelius gazed at him, mouth open.
“It’d be helpful if I could take a quick look at them.”
“In there.” He pointed to a cupboard near the front door.
Luke opened it so that Malc could scan inside for a contact lens, then he prepared to leave. “Thanks. That’s it for now. But, off the record, something’s been troubling me.”
“Oh?”
“Haven’t I seen you before?”
“I don’t know. Have you?”
“I’ve just come from York. Have you been there?”
“A long time ago,” Cornelius answered.
“How about further south? Maybe that was it. Just before Year Birth. Weren’t you in Woburn?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Maybe you were building down there?” Luke nodded in Malc’s direction and said, “I can check.”
“I’ve never been to Woburn. No chance.”
****
After a pomegranate breakfast, Luke went back to the restaurant in the animal sanctuary. Finding the chief attendant, he asked, “Were you working here last summer?”
The woman nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Do you happen to remember serving someone called Emily Wonder?”
“No, but...”
“What?”
“One of my colleagues did. Roxy. He kept talking about her. Still does, actually. We don’t normally remember customers but, well, she died and her name... you know. I guess it fixes it up here.” She tapped the side of her head.
“Can I speak to him?”
She pointed towards the young man wiping down tables. “That’s him.”
Roxy still recalled asking the young woman if she was the Emily Wonder and then serving her meal. “Salmon salad, I think it was, but...” He shrugged. “I can’t be sure.”
“Did anything unusual happen to that meal?”
Roxy frowned. “Unusual? What do you mean?”
“You took it from the kitchen, straight to her table?”
“Yes.”
“So, no one could’ve interfered with it.”
Roxy shook his head. “Not without the chef, me or her knowing about it.”
“Did she leave her table at any point?”
Roxy stared at the ceiling, thinking. “Yes. Before the meal was ready, I think. I guess she went to the washroom.”
“Do you remember anything odd happening? Anything at all.”
Roxy shrugged. “Not really.”
Luke pounced. “That means something happened but you don’t think it matters.”
“Well...”
“Tell me.”
“I’m sure it’s... nothing. I didn’t mention it to the investigator – he didn’t seem very interested anyway – but it made me think afterwards. When I served her meal, after she’d come back to the table, she pointed to a bottle of water and said thanks.”
“Yes?”
“Well, I didn’t put it there. It didn’t strike me as important. It was thirsty weather back then. Very thirsty. I guessed she’d asked another attendant for it but thanked me instead. It’s common enough. It’s just that... because she died... it’s stuck in my mind.”
Luke nodded. “Thanks. That’s helpful.”
On his way out, Luke paused by the shelf of cacti and shook his head. No one would lace the spines with poison on the off chance that the intended victim would stumble into them. But that bottle of water intrigued him. It would have been easy for someone to lace it with a tiny amount of TTX and then place it on her table when she slipped out to the washroom.
Chapter Ten
Before leaving for Edinburgh on Saturday, Luke visited Dundee Pet Supplies but none of the staff could recall receiving an aquarium the previous summer following its owner’s death. No wiser about the fish that EW1 kept, Luke took a cab and headed south. He was keen to talk to the Emily Wonder who was a Year-10 student taking criminology at Edinburgh School.
The building was a granite monster that looked as if it had stood on the site for ever. The interior was a blend of the ancient and the luxurious. The ornate ceiling was a long way above Luke’s head. It had been painted green to match the curtains. In the reception, it was an Instructor Clint Garrett who greeted him with a powerful outstretched hand. “So, you’re the famous Luke Harding, then.” His voice echoed around the large room.
“Famous?”
“Famously young for an FI. Word about you reached us from Birmingham. I cancelled a hill-walking weekend to meet you. Of course,” he said with a sly smile, “you might not hold the record of the youngest FI for long. I can tell you, we have a batch of bright students ourselves.”
To Luke, the instructor seemed more than usually competitive. “Does that include Emily Wonder?”
“Perhaps, but... Never mind. You’ll see for yourself. I guess you want to get on and meet her.”
“Please.”
Leading Luke down a hushed passageway, Instructor Garrett said, “Does she have anything to worry about?”
“How do you mean?”
“Am I correct in thinking it’s about the death of three people with her name?”
Luke grimaced. “Not many people know about that.”
“I’m in criminology,” he explained. “I’ve got a computer program that searches all local news broadcasts for crime and it’s come across the name of Emily Wonder three times.”
“There’s no sure evidence to say they’re crimes.”
Clint Garrett laughed. “Oh yes there is. One: it’s too much of a coincidence to be natural. Two: an FI turns up at my school wanting to speak to our own Emily Wonder.”
“Have you told her about your research?”
“Yes. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her and I hadn’t warned her.” He turned into a small meeting room and said, “Ah, here she is. Emily, this is FI Luke Harding.”
“Thanks,” Luke said to him, trying not to react outwardly to the student�
�s strange appearance. “You can leave us.” He waited until Mr Garrett had closed the door before asking with a smile, “Is he a good instructor?”
Her answer lacked enthusiasm. “Nowhere near as good as he likes to think.”
“There’s a few like that.”
“He rates himself as my friend but...” She didn’t have to say any more. The slight sneer on her face was enough.
She was the strangest looking girl Luke had seen. She was incredibly thin. Her body and face seemed to consist only of sharp angles. Her skin was like a brown plastic bag stretched over bone and muscle. She was also far too tall – even taller than Luke – and her huge chin jutted out unnaturally. At a glance, she looked masculine. But her eyes reminded Luke of his own. She was examining him carefully like a mobile aid to law and crime scanned a suspect. Probably eager to find out the purpose of his visit, she was looking for clues in his manner.
“I bet he tells you how murderers try to fool investigators. They all do.”
“He goes on about the motiveless and weaponless killing of a stranger,” she replied. “Then there’s nothing to link the culprit to the victim – or the crime scene.”
Luke asked, “How do you commit a weaponless murder?”
“I don’t,” she said in a deadly serious voice.
“How would you?”
Emily fidgeted in her seat. “Are you testing me?”
Luke shook his head. “I’m just curious about how they train you here.”
Emily shrugged. “A poison that works at very low levels, maybe. Something biological like a virus. Chemically, potassium chloride’s a classic. Stops the heart but doesn’t leave a trace.”
“Except a puncture wound.”
“An injection inside the mouth is very hard to spot.”
Luke grinned. “The would-be victim might notice someone trying to shove a needle down her mouth.”
“Stun with a stinger first, then.”
“Okay. Forget chemical and biological stuff. What about a physical weapon that kills but doesn’t leave a crumb for an FI? The stream of electrified air from a stinger hits like lightning, leaving a burn mark.”
Emily thought about it for a few seconds. “Is there one?”