“Here’s the short version...”
“Thank you.”
“When you delete the file, you only delete it from the directory. The data remains on the card. If you record new files, then the old ones get overwritten, but in this case, there were no new files, so...”
“The data is still there.”
“Now this one here,” Kapoor typed on the keyboard and a played video clip. “This is the assault. Let’s watch.”
They watched in silence until they saw the dark clad figure run from the room, and Kapoor stopped the playback. “Looks like she used something to fight him off. She didn't mention that. Said she used her arms and legs like a demon. Probably pepper spray.”
“That’s illegal, isn’t it?”
Kapoor nodded. “Guess that’s why she forgot to mention it.”
“Could be perfume?”
“Not sure anyone will buy that.”
“What do you want to do about it?”
“Nothing for now. I’ll talk to her. Let’s go back to the attacker.”
“Could be anyone,” Manning said. “Williams say anything about the other files?”
“Just Alice doing bedroom stuff.”
“Anything compromising?”
“No sex, other than our friend Flanagan, but several of Alice undressed. Nothing abnormal.”
“Unless you’re an obsessed predator?”
Kapoor nodded. “Yeah. He’ll use these to either control her or embarrass her. Or he might keep them for his own gratification.”
“But she’s got nothing to worry about if it’s normal bedroom stuff.”
“Come on Liz. Would you like a stranger recording your bedroom activities? Putting those videos on social media?”
Manning pinched her nose. “No. Guess not.”
“Let’s leave social media out of it for now. It may only be a threat.” Kapoor dragged the video playback position marker with the mouse and clicked. “Here, you can see from the video he drops a packet of pills during the struggle with Alice. They’re Captagon. Same as used by the terrorist during South Ken.”
“Is there a connection to the attack?”
“If they were hers, then our friend DI Marks in SO15 would have her back in his care. SO15 are sniffing at this, but not biting. Anyway, no prints on the bag, but partials on several pills.”
“Shit. We have a recording of the crime and a dropped possession, but sod all from either. Did anything ever come from the brick through the window?”
“They couldn’t lift anything from the brick. They have partials from the beer mat, but all that would prove was that owner of the fingerprints was in the pub.”
“Great. We’ve got nothing.”
“That’s about right, unless the partials on the pills are decent. Anyway, Flanagan’s agency confirmed the guy used an alias of Brian Hailsham to view the property. The phone number he gave was fake. He wore a hat, gloves and glasses. The CCTV in the agency wasn't working.”
“Street CCTV?”
“Someone’s on it. We’ll see what turns up, but it’s a long shot. Twitter might help. Williams’s been through it. The guy has an account called @StalkingAlice. He emailed the link to the sex video to Flanagan, which we saw earlier. Since then, he tweeted a public link to the Flanagan video using #AliceMadsen along with other hash tags relating to South Ken and promised more later. Seems he intends to post the bedroom videos of Alice.”
“Think he’ll contact her first? Taunt her?”
“He might. Obviously, he’s using a burner. Williams’s trying to get a number, but the stalker’s careful so far. We can try for IP addresses, but that’s another long shot.”
“Shit.”
“Yep. Shit. Let’s come at it another way. What’s his motive?”
“Sex? Obsession?”
Kapoor brushed her hair from her eyes. “Looking at his tweets, many connect to South Ken. Williams thinks there’s a link and so do I. There’s a trend. He created @StalkingAlice after the attack. See the hash tags he used? #lockherup. #champagneterrorist. #stalkingalice Supposing the motive is revenge?”
“Seems a strange way to go about it.”
“Perhaps he’s using revenge as the excuse to indulge a sexual fantasy or obsession?”
“Perhaps he’s just a proper bastard?”
“Could be. We need to look at the victims. Friends and families. Might even be someone who was there. Let’s look at relatives of those who died and were injured. You know, life changing injuries. Maybe there are still some victims in a critical condition.”
“Seriously Sarge? That’s a lot of people.”
“We prioritise people of interest. Profile them. Male. 20s or 30s. White. Present at the scene. Have a close friend dead or seriously injured. Then we’ll get photos to show Flanagan, see if he recognises Brian Hailsham.”
“SO15 will have a list of witnesses. Doubt they’ll have photos though.”
Kapoor wobbled her head from side to side. “Between SO15 and social media we’ll get photos. I’ll request the witness list. But it’ll need Thorne’s approval.” She entered the details on the computer and sent the file to Thorne. A minute later, her mobile rang. She showed it to Manning. “Thorne.”
“That was quick,” Manning shook her head and pointed at the phone. “I gotta bad feeling about this.”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Good timing, Sergeant.” Thorne sounded cheerful, as if Kapoor had solved a problem for him. “I wasn't sure who to give this to, but I need to assign a SOIT to an urgent case.”
“But I’m already assigned, Sir. And I was off shift an hour ago.”
“Now you've got another sexual assault, an actual rape this time. It’s OT. Most of my detectives want the OT. Your current case is non-urgent, and knowing SO15, it will take them hours to clear this request, so in the meantime... Well, you don't need me to tell you what to do.”
She rolled her eyes at Manning. “I’m on it, Sir.” Kapoor put the phone down and shook her head. “I’ve got another one. You want in?”
Manning shook her head. “You mad or what? I told you already. I’m going out with a friend tonight, and if we’re done, I’m outta here.”
