The room was silent for a few seconds before someone asked, 'Why the bizarre way of killing them?'
'I don't know,' shrugged Jon. 'But it fits with this ensuring their silence business. They've seen him and he can't afford to leave any witnesses?'
'So the fact that he's only killed females so far,' said the female officer who had spoken earlier, 'that's just coincidence? If a flashy car is parked outside a bloke's house, he could be next?'
The room began murmuring as Jon replied, 'I suppose so. That drug will knock you out if you're male or female.'
'This spate of car thefts you've been investigating,' said McCloughlin. 'The method they're using relies on the cover of darkness I presume?'
Jon nodded.
McCloughlin frowned. 'Heather Rayne had lain undiscovered for a day in a centrally heated flat — time of death somewhere between five and ten in the morning the day before. The other two victims were discovered first thing in the morning. Could they have been killed at night? What are their estimated times of death?'
A couple of officers darted off to their desks. 'Polly Mather — early morning. Probably between six and nine.'
'She was found in her dressing gown,' added Jon.
The other officer spoke up. 'Mary Walters — same. Probably between six and nine. But she was fully clothed.' 'So,' Jon started, aware he was trying to make the facts fit as he went along, beginning to regret that he'd spoken out without fully considering his theory from all angles. 'Maybe he's going into the house during the last few minutes of darkness. It could explain the absence of any witnesses so far. Perhaps he's dressed Mary Walters and Heather Rayne afterwards — their clothes showed some signs of disturbance.'
From the high and low tones in everyone's voices, Jon could tell his hypothesis had provoked a mixture of excitement and doubt.
McCloughlin looked at him for a moment before addressing the room in general. 'I want that theory checked against all three victims so far. For a start let's see whether any keys are missing from their flats. See if you can disprove Jon's line of reasoning. Now, while we're at it, anyone else got any thoughts they'd like to air?'
The female officer who, earlier in the investigation, had wondered if Polly was planning to travel with anyone, said, 'Polly Mather was about to embark on a round-the-world trip — as far as we know, on her own. I've checked her property inventory and there's no sign of a passport, which seems strange. Is it worth checking to see if the other victims' passports are missing too?'
'With which line of enquiry in mind?' McCloughlin demanded.
'I don't know,' she shrugged. 'It was just a thought.'
He nodded at her. 'Go for it. Let me know what you find. What we have to establish is the link between our three victims — and there has to be one. So we'll be widening the circle of enquiry; in addition to friends and family, we'll be getting statements from all colleagues and other associates. I also want their exact movements over the last seven days mapped out — where they've been, how they got there, who they went with. I want everywhere they visited covered: shops, pubs, cinemas, even toilets. I can't emphasize how important more haste, less speed is on this one. Work quickly everyone, but with total concentration. We've got to find the thread that links them together before another body shows up. Oh and one other thing.' Self-consciously he began adjusting his tie. 'I'm doing a TV interview tonight, some details to stop the press piranhas going into a total frenzy. I'll use it to appeal for information from anyone who has had someone suspicious or unusual knock on their door, trying to gain entry to their house. It might throw up something interesting.' As the outside enquiry team queued up at the allocator's desk to receive their next action, Jon lingered at the white boards, staring at the photographs once again.
'Not bad, not bad at all.'
The voice took him by surprise and he was smiling before he'd turned his head. 'Hi, Nikki.' He looked down at her. 'You don't think I just made a total twat of myself?'
She didn't patronize him with a blank denial. 'OK, there were a few holes in your theory. But at least you're thinking around the problem. Who else had the balls to air any sort of a theory?'
'You mean who else was thick enough to spout off with a half-baked hunch? Still, what brings you to the incident room?'
She looked around. 'Central heating. Do you realize how crap my fan heater is at warming up that draughty bloody caravan they've given me?'
Jon grinned, feeling the familiar urge to give her a hug. 'So, apart from thawing out, what else are you up to?'
Nikki continued in a more businesslike tone. 'Actually, I'm just dropping off the plan-drawer's pictures. Then I'm back over to my office to look at getting the crime scene painted with ninhydrin.'
Jon knew that, although ninhydrin showed up fingerprints, it also destroyed more fragile forms of evidence. As a result, it was usually the very final stage in the forensic examination. 'Are we calling it a day, then?'
'Well, unless you've got any other particular tests in mind. But there's not much for us to go on. No blood splatters, no broken locks, windows or wrecked furniture that could have caught on clothing or scratched skin. In fact, the only promising thing we've removed are a few fibres from the upholstery. I'm talking to the other CSMs in the hope they might find more of the same in the property of the other victims.'
'What are they like? These fibres.'
'I'd say they were pure wool. A sort of pale green. Perhaps from a suit; it's hard to say.'
'Fair enough. Well, I'd better go over and see what my next task is. I'll see you around.'
'All right,' answered Nikki brightly. 'But remember, if you want a cup of lukewarm instant coffee, don't hang around. I'll not be in my caravan for much longer.'
*
DCI McCloughlin's interview was the lead story for Granada News and not far behind in the national bulletins. He gave the usual limited information about the three victims, then aired his concern that the killer, or killers, appeared to be gaining access to his victims' homes without any sign of a struggle.
'Therefore, I would like to hear from anyone who has had someone call at their house, probably first thing in the morning, with an unusual or unconvincing reason for doing so. Perhaps you've turned such a person away because they were unable to show you a proper ID card, or they were offering a product or service that seemed bogus. If you've had such a call we urge you to phone us immediately.'
In his daughter Liz's flat the old man sat directly in front of the TV screen, several empty bottles of Guinness now on the table beside the armchair. She was upstairs, completing some designs for a presentation on Monday morning. As DCI McCloughlin finished his appeal, holding the camera with an earnest gaze, Liz's father let out a slow, rasping snore.
Chapter 20
August 2002
Tom came to with a start, unsure if it was the sound of his own snores or the rain battering down on his head that had awoken him.
He didn't know if it was something to do with air being blown in off the Irish Sea, then rising and cooling on reaching the Peak District, but downpours in Manchester were a way of life.