was trustworthy. If he had found out they were still being taped, it could have been the exact opposite. Anna had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She raised her hand slightly.
‘Do you think that my life was in danger last night? He was very close and towards the end, he was drawing me into his arms as if he wanted to embrace me. In fact, if DI Langton hadn’t been in the flat, what do you think he would’ve done?’
‘His audacity in turning up at the flat yet again shows us the cracks. He is getting very desperate. But I don’t think he is earmarking you as a victim: not yet. Right now, he is really covering his tracks. But I think he is unnerved, especially by the fact McDowell is not the patsy he thought he would be. So this visit could have pushed him into making a really big mistake. It could also fuel his need to prove how brilliant he is, and that would mean another victim.’
He took a deep breath. ‘So, in answer to your question, I don’t think he intended any harm to come to you last night — you are, at present, too useful — but I believe he will. Your trust value went down a notch when DI Langton appeared. I hope I’ve impressed on you how dangerous this man is. He isn’t thinking like a hunted man. He thinks like a hunter. Right now you should be regarding him as a walking time bomb.’
At no time had Langton glanced towards Anna, though he remained attentive. Everyone in the room could feel his impatience whenever Parks covered territory that he already knew.
They were, however, still dependent on the results from the forensic laboratory to come in. Without them, they still only had circumstantial evidence and not enough to either charge Daniels or keep him in custody. He had not broken into Anna’s flat, but ‘paid a late-night visit’.
Parks concluded ‘I would say he is aware that he is under constant surveillance, which means he’s already taking risks while, at the same time, proving how clever he is by outwitting the surveillance team.’
After Parks had left, Langton gave a briefing to the team. It was imperative they retain the surveillance on Daniels. Glancing at Lewis, he said that both sides of the Queen’s Gate residence must be watched as from now. McDowell would be called in for further questioning and it was crucial they get from him any possible connection to Daniels. If Daniels had planted the handbags, then he must have known where McDowell lived.
Lewis lifted his hand. ‘Unless McDowell really did kill three of the victims. It is still a possibility.’
Langton nodded, though he seemed doubtful. However, he explained, they would be stepping up McDowell’s interrogation and pushing for a result. With no word yet from forensic, he instructed Anna and Barolli to go over there and breathe down their necks. He discussed the possibility of the pink shard of glass coming from Melissa’s T-shirt.
‘We’re clutching at straws at the moment but one of them could be enough to pick him up. So get cracking and let’s get a result today and get this animal off the street.’
In the car park, Anna and Barolli passed McDowell, handcuffed to an officer, being led away from the prison security van. He looked less fit than the day before and seemed disorientated, his feet shuffling beside the officer. His withdrawal symptoms had really kicked in and he was visibly shaking, his hair lank from sweat.
‘I wouldn’t like to interview him. Going to be like pulling teeth,’ Barolli said, watching McDowell being led into the station. They got into the patrol car. ‘Apparently, he got roughed up in the nick.’
‘Can I ask you something?’ she said quietly.
‘Of course.’
‘I’ve read the surveillance reports. Even though there wasn’t a rear exit from Daniels’s apartment, there was someone on surveillance there in case he did a roof job.’
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
‘So they must have known when he’d skipped out?’
‘Yes ? well, the gov knew.’
‘Was I set up?’
Barolli knew he was in trouble. After a moment’s hesitation, he shrugged. ‘This is off the record, OK? The gov asked Lewis to do extra time. He was the one on the rear of the Queen’s Gate flat.’
‘I knew it. Langton set it up, didn’t he?’
‘Look, Anna ? even I wasn’t in the loop, all right?’ Barolli flushed. The truth was, he did not approve of the risk Langton had taken.
‘Did he pull the surveillance from the mews behind Daniels’s place?’
‘Listen, it’s hard to keep up with him,’ Barolli sighed. ‘I don’t want to say anything that would put me in the shit, all right?’
She gave him a penetrating look. ‘He did though, didn’t he?’
‘I can’t say.’
From the rear of the patrol car, Anna looked out of the window, amazed at her own stupidity. Every time she felt she could trust Langton, he slapped her down.
‘I met his ex-wife, Nina,’ she said carefully, watching for a reaction.
‘Great looker, so I’ve heard.’
‘Did you know she’s the commander’s DI?’
Barolli laughed.
‘No!’ He shook his head, amused. ‘Now I know how he knows what the commander is having for lunch! He plays women like they were violins.’
Anna pursed her lips. Plays women like violins, does he? She decided to change the subject.
‘Do we know when Melissa’s body will be released for burial?’
‘Not yet. They already had samples, so they didn’t need her hair for a match. I suppose they might have already let her family take her home. Though I doubt it, really. The gov would want us to go to the funeral, out of respect. Guess she’s still at the mortuary.’
‘Home,’ Anna murmured, struck by the fact that Melissa Stephens was never ever going home. Whatever she herself had been put through lately by Langton meant nothing in comparison.
Langton placed a full packet of cigarettes in front of the huge man and watched him shake as he lit one. His solicitor, Francis Bellows, warned them that his client was not in good shape as his rights were read to him again.
After a quick glance at Lewis, Langton flipped open his file. ‘Right, let’s get started. Did anyone approach you during the past few weeks, say? Asking questions about you, where you lived? Anything that you can think of that was unusual?’
McDowell leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed. ‘Yeah, the fucker from the traffic cops towed away me car. Said it wasn’t taxed or insured; outstanding parking fines, an’ I missed a court appearance or something, I don’t know.’
‘This was recently?’
‘I can’t remember.’
Langton slapped the table with the flat of his, hand. ‘You are up for three counts of murder. If you had a hard time in prison last night, think about twenty years of it, maybe more. You’d better start thinking.’
‘Thinking about what?’ He blinked, unnerved.
‘If anyone approached you, or someone you know, asking questions about you.’
McDowell frowned. There was a long pause. He bent his head. He was ‘thinking’.
Using tweezers, the forensic scientist worked intently on Melissa’s T-shirt. First he matched the colour of the diamantes, then he prised the jeweller’s claws open with his tweezers, unclipped a stone and laid it under the microscope.
‘Colour matches,’ he said softly. He signalled for Anna to come closer. As she examined it through the microscope, he continued: ‘It’s such a small fragment: they’re probably sold in their millions. Trouble is, it’ll take time to build up the surrounds.’
Anna surrendered the microscope to Barolli, saying she would see if the T-shirt manufacturers could be of any help.
Anna went into the anteroom to use her mobile. It was disheartening to hear that it was a very big company and that millions of T-shirts with diamante designs had been manufactured. She described the specific design. She waited on hold for five minutes before a new voice came on to the phone. This woman said that this particular T- shirt was not a bulk order, but one specially commissioned by a jeweller as a deluxe promotional item. He had ordered two dozen as gifts for special occasions, to be presented to clients in a tote bag.
