'Not everything. I watched Jinx for a while, then some time later I heard you calling and looked out the other window. I saw your car parked, then-
'Thanks very much,' said Alan tartly. 'I could have been dead by the time you came to a decision. You're required to act in good faith, you know, not stick your head in the nearest bucket.'
He grinned again. 'Yeah, well, I thought it was only your windshield that'd been smashed, not your shoulder, and no one dies of a broken windshield. You should have lights along the drive-then maybe I'd have seen a bit more.'
Alan glared at him. 'So all you saw was a silhouette,' he growled, 'and you don't know, any better than I do, who it was.'
'That's about the size of it.'
'Are you planning to elaborate, or is that all I get?' he said curtly. 'It may have escaped your notice, but I suffered an unprovoked attempt on my life two nights ago and I'm not keen for a repeat experience.'
Matthew blew a stream of smoke into the air. 'It was hardly unprovoked, Doc. The way I remember it, you were threatening to stay there all night till Jinx showed herself. You're too convincing, that's your trouble. The bastard believed you.'
Alan had forgotten that. 'So what was he doing there?'
'Waiting.' He flicked him a sideways glance.
'What for?'
Matthew shrugged. 'For whatever he came here to do.' He saw thunderclouds gathering on the doctor's face. 'Look, Doc, I can guess, same as you can, but that's not to say either of us'd be right. Personally, I can't see that scarecrow in number 12 murdering anyone; therefore there's some maniac wandering around out there trying to shove the blame onto her. Strikes me he'll be shitting bricks in case she spills the beans, so my guess is, he was waiting to have another go at her.'
Alan considered this for a moment. 'That can't be right. You said she was out there for an hour and you saw her face every time she lit a cigarette. If you saw her, then he must have seen her too, so why not finish her off then?'
Matthew looked down the drive towards where Alan had stopped his car on Monday night. 'Because he didn't expect to find her outside. She'd have screamed her head off if he'd crept up on her under the tree.'
'Not if he'd hit her from behind. She wouldn't have had time to scream.
'Jesus, Doc,' said Matthew severely, 'you don't have much imagination, do you? He wasn't going to make it look like murder, not after he went to so much trouble to fake suicide last time. He was going to trap her in her room, slit her wrists or string her up from the bathroom door, and you'd have had a suicide on your hands next morning, and the cops would have rubbed their hands and closed their files. My guess is, he's been waiting for days for an opportunity to slip inside and do the business, but he's up against it here. He probably didn't reckon on so many people being on the premises at night. You've got good security, Doc, but then you need to with the sort of fees you charge.' He grinned. 'There are too many rich bastards in here who'd do their nuts if intruders could walk in and out as they pleased.'
'Why did he have the sledgehammer if he didn't plan to hit her with it?'
Matthew shook his head in exasperation. 'You're no psychologist. are you? It's the tool of his trade, Doc, and the rule is, you carry the tools with you just in case. Look at the Yorkshire Ripper-he carried his hammer and chisel with him wherever he went. You should study a bit. This guy's an organized nutter, and your average organized nutter doesn't go out unprepared.'
'Except we're not talking about a serial killer.'
'You reckon? Three murders look like a series to me.'
'Come on, Matthew, there was ten years between them, two of the victims were men and one was a woman, and all three victims were linked to Jinx Kingsley. That's not a typical pattern for serial killing.'
'Not yet maybe,' said Matthew, 'but I'd say his control's really slipping now, wouldn't you? There were nine years between Jeffrey Dahmer's first and second murders, then in the next four years he committed another fifteen. Will you still be saying this guy isn't a serial killer when the next poor sod gets bludgeoned to death?' He saw Alan's skepticism. 'Anyway, who's to say what he's been doing between then and now? I'll lay money on the fact that he's found some other way to work out aggressions. You should talk to my dad. He's represented creeps like this at trial. They're bloody clever and bloody manipulative, and I'll tell you this for free-if I were Jinx, I'd have amnesia too.'
'All she has to do is give his name.'
'Which means it'll be her word against his. Get real, Doc. She's the number one suspect, so it stands to reason she's going to try and throw suspicion on someone else. That's the name of the game as far as the police are concerned. She needs proof, and my guess is, there is none. I'd say she's desperately buying time at the moment until she can remember something that will nail the bastard.'
'She couldn't be any worse off than she is now.'
Matthew flicked his butt onto the drive. 'You're forgetting she's been through this once with Russell. She already knows what happens when no one's convicted of a crime. The victim's nearest and dearest live with the guilt forever and tear each other apart in the process. Suspicion's an evil thing, Doc. I know. I've been there. My old man's accused me of some terrible things in the past, not because he knows I've done something, but because he's afraid I've done it.'
'So has she told you who it is?'
'There'd be no point. What could a junky do? It's her father she needs to tell. He's the only guy with the clout to sort this bastard out once and for all.'
