Anna looked up from the book. ‘My God, do you believe that is why the child was mutilated?’
‘It’s possible. I would say the markings on his body were done for a sort of show. Whatever madman is behind this, he will be controlling and terrifying people for his own ends.’
Anna thought of Camorra. She explained the murder of Arthur Murphy and how Eamon Krasiniqe was in a stupor, starving himself to death. Could someone, with a single phone call, make a another person believe he was the walking dead?
Professor Starling shrugged. ‘Well, the prisoner would have to believe that whoever made the call could have that power. As I said, it’s all in the mind. I have witnessed cases where this zombie ailment had taken over certain people.’
He closed his eyes again, and quoted softly, ‘“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.’”
Anna hesitated. ‘Milton?’
‘Indeed. Paradise Lost.’
‘May I borrow this book?’ She could see that he didn’t want her to, but he gave a small nod. ‘Is there any cure for the person suffering from the so-called zombie curse?’
‘Yes, but you have to tap into the brain.’ Again Starling returned to the bookcase. ‘I know they found no trace of drugs in the young boy, but there have been various cases in the US; there is a veterinary drug used to demobilize horses if they require treatment. It acts as a total freeze of all muscles in the body, but does not affect the heart. It would, if injected, bring on the exact symptoms of a zombie-like state.’
Anna made a note of the drug, as the Professor began discussing how, in Ancient Egypt, dead royalty often had their living servants buried alongside them, and how the latter were sedated with various herbs before the tombs were sealed. Anna took a look at her watch, but she remained listening for another ten minutes before she could make her exit. She had to interrupt him, and he was taken aback.
‘I really have to leave, Professor Starling. I can’t thank you enough for your time.’
‘Oh yes — well, my pleasure.’ He did not shake her hand but gave a small bow, and held his office door open. ‘You know where I am if you need to talk to me again.’
The entire team was gathered, some still eating their lunch. Anna tried to slide in unnoticed, but Langton turned towards her.
‘Cold better, is it, DI Travis?’
‘Yes, sir — thank you.’
Langton turned to everyone. ‘DI Travis did not have a cold; she took the day off to visit Wakefield prison and interview Idris Krasiniqe. Anyone else on my team who decides to take off on their own enquiries will be off the case. Is that understood? We work as a team and our loyalty is to each other; any findings, we pool together. I will not have any officer working with me who thinks they have the right to make any decisions without my approval.’
Anna flushed as everyone glanced towards her. She felt humiliated, which was obviously his intention, but then it got worse.
‘Firstly, DI Travis, would you please inform the team why you decided that you would, without permission from me, or bothering to tell the duty manager, make the journey to Wakefield prison?’
Anna licked her lips.
‘We’re waiting,’ Langton said, staring at her.
‘I … erm … felt that the enquiry into the murder of Gail Sickert and her child was becoming bogged down with other cases. We are accumulating so many suspects, and I just felt that I needed time out to really get my head around all the different possibilities. I apologize to you, the duty manager and everyone else if I acted out of line. I will obviously not do so again.’
‘Really,’ he said, then stuffed both hands into his pockets. ‘The truth is that DI Travis was concerned about my health. So, I would now like to assure everyone that, contrary to Travis’s concerns, I am, as you can see, perfectly fit — mentally and physically — to head up this enquiry and do not in any way feel that we are becoming bogged down with irrelevant issues. I am certain we are on the right track, just as I am certain that, unbelievable as it may seem, the tentacles that are embracing so many other crimes do link directly back to the death of Gail Sickert and her child.’
Langton picked up his marker pen.
‘I think this man Summers’s murder fits into our investigation as follows. As we know, Joseph Sickert needed a safe place to stay and, with the help of Rashid Burry, Gail was persuaded to take him in. This would have been very shortly after she moved in with Donald Summers. The older children were enrolled in a local school and Summers began work at the bungalow. A relationship then developed between Gail and Joseph Sickert, resulting in the death of Summers. Okay, let’s bring it all up to date. Sickert then cohabits with Gail. DI Travis visits Gail, trying to track down Arthur Murphy for the murder of Irene Phelps.’
Langton began to link everyone he named with thick red lines.
‘In the same halfway house where Murphy is hiding is Rashid Burry, the very man who arranged for Sickert to stay at Gail’s bungalow stroke piggery. In the process of arresting Murphy, DI Travis is seen by Rashid Burry.’ He turned to the team. ‘All still with me?’
There was a low murmur of assent; some of this, they already knew.
‘Okay. Burry visits Sickert to help him out with treatment for his sickle cell, tips off Sickert and goes to ground. Sickert starts to panic. Travis then visits Gail again, to sort out the issue of whether Gail had given her the photo of Murphy and Kramer willingly or not.’
Langton looked at Anna. ‘Travis is, it seems, constantly acting without back-up! An irate Sickert threatens her. Murphy gets sent down for murder, and is put into Parkhurst prison. Gail Sickert disappears, along with her children.’
They were now focused on the case they had all been brought in for.
‘Now we come back to the mounting coincidences. As we know, Idris Krasiniqe was arrested for the murder of Carly Ann North, the case I was investigating. During the interrogation, Idris gave the names of two accomplices. Lewis, Barolli and I tried to track these two guys down: guess where? A hostel in Brixton, a few streets away from the halfway house where Vernon and Murphy and Burry were living. You all know what happened to me; you all know, too, that Idris Krasiniqe then withdrew his statement and insisted he was acting alone. However, a white Range Rover was seen at the murder site. We have been unable to trace it, but whoever was driving it may have brought Carly Ann’s body to the wasteground and even driven Idris there, although he denied ever seeing the car. Remember, Idris Krasiniqe is an illegal immigrant.’
Langton was using his marker pen again, as he now drew a line to back to Murphy.
‘Arthur Murphy is murdered in Parkhurst by another prisoner, Eamon Krasiniqe. Eamon is also an illegal immigrant: so is Sickert, and so is Rashid Burry, which brings us to our main target. All we can be sure of is his surname: Camorra. He is a known people trafficker and a known voodoo dabbler, who’s already spent time in prison. This man links to all the others involved in the various murders.’
He turned to Anna, who walked from her desk to stand in front of the incident board. She opened her notebook, feeling very nervous after her dressing-down, but determined not to show just how humiliated she felt.
‘Idris Krasiniqe had stated that he had no known relatives in the UK when he was arrested for the murder of Carly Ann North. He had forged papers and passport. We now have confirmation from him that it was his brother, Eamon Krasiniqe, who killed Arthur Murphy in Parkhurst. After the murder, Eamon went into a catatonic state. He seems unable to speak or move and is refusing food. He is terror-stricken and believes that he has a voodoo hex on him, making him what they call the walking dead. Idris himself is afraid to come out of his cell at Wakefield prison, scared that a hex will be put on him too. I gained some reaction from Idris when I mentioned Rashid Burry and Joseph Sickert, but the biggest reaction came from Camorra’s name.’