‘We’re a good team, sir.’
‘That may be, but this Hamilton woman is better. Mind you, she does not have a commissioner to answer to, only her admiring public. How many followers on her website now?’
‘Over twenty-five thousand.’
‘She’s posted another death,’ Goddard said.
‘That is the subject of our discussion. So far, we have not received any confirmation of another murder.’
‘Apart from her website,’ Goddard said. This time she’s posted photos.’
‘She’s mentally sick,’ Sara said.
‘That’s damn obvious to anyone. Still smarter than anyone in this room.’
It was Sara who spoke first after Richard Goddard had left. ‘Unfair comment.’
‘We go back a long way,’ Isaac said. ‘His bark's worse than his bite, and besides, he is correct.’
‘Have you seen the photos?’ Larry asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Can we deduce where they were taken?’ Wendy asked.
‘It’s not easy. London, and not far from here. You can see the skyline in the background.’
Chapter 16
As Sara and Sean were about to leave the office and return to Twickenham, Isaac’s phone rang. He picked it up.
‘Hold on,’ Isaac shouted at them before returning to the phone.
‘Another body?’ Wendy asked.
‘34 Davies Street, Mayfair. Larry, Sara, you can come with me. We cannot have everyone at the murder scene. Gordon Windsor will go spare if we all come marching in. Sean, Wendy, get ready to conduct a door-to-door. Bridget, open another file.’
Challis Street to Davies Street was no more than two miles. Traffic was heavy mid-morning. Isaac took the portable flashing light out from under his seat and secured it to the roof of his car. With the siren and the light, cars started to pull over to one side to let him through.
‘Dramatic,’ Gordon Windsor said on their arrival.
‘What floor?’ Isaac asked.
‘Second. Good view, charming apartment, or at least it was.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’ll see once you’ve kitted up.’
Two uniforms were standing outside; the crime scene tape had already been rolled out. Due to the crowd that was building up, barriers were being erected on the other side of the street. As Isaac, Larry and Sara kitted up – gloves, foot protectors, and overalls – a television crew arrived. Barry Wiltshire, their lead crime reporter, saw Isaac and made a beeline for him. Isaac told one of the uniforms to deal with it. He did not have the time to indulge in idle speculation on the street, at least not before he had seen the body and the crime scene, and even then, he did not want to speak to Wiltshire who was an obnoxious toad of a man.
Isaac and his team entered the front door of the building and climbed the two flights of stairs. Once inside the apartment, they followed the obvious route down the hallway. On the floor in the main room was the body of a man: as usual, naked and lying on his back.
‘Investment banker, or at least he was. Explains how he could afford this place,’ Gordon Windsor said. He had preceded them up the stairs and was standing close to the body.
The white carpet that the body lay on was covered in blood, a lot of blood. Bloodied footprints could be seen on the polished floorboards around the perimeter of the carpet. Larry felt his stomach reacting, as did Sara. Isaac appeared unmoved by the scene.
‘That’s where she walked after killing him.’ Gordon Windsor had seen Sara looking at the footprints, trying to ascertain where they led to.
‘Did she shower?’ Sara asked.
‘Helped herself to the food in the refrigerator too. I would estimate she spent thirty minutes here after she had killed him.’
‘Identity of the deceased?’ Larry asked.
‘Dennis Goldman. Apparently a whiz kid with stocks and shares.’
‘How do you know that?’ Isaac asked.
‘There’s a certificate on the wall from his bank.’
Sara’s phone rang, and she excused herself from the conversation. Once outside the apartment, she spoke. ‘Sara Marshall.’
‘Is it?’ an enquiring voice asked. Sara recognised it instantly.
‘Dr Lake. We are here now. It is almost certainly Charlotte.’
‘She phoned me ten minutes ago,’ Gladys Lake said.
‘What did she say?’
‘She sang a song.’
‘What song? Do you remember?’
‘I will never forget it as long as I live. Oh, what fun, I slit his throat. Who will be next? Will it be you?’
Sara felt a shiver down her spine. ‘You’ll need twenty-four-hour protection.’
‘With Charlotte? What’s the point?’ Gladys Lake said.
‘She has only killed men, so far. We have no reason to believe she is targeting you.’
‘That may be, but I am scared.’
‘Then leave. Go overseas, take an extended vacation until we apprehend her.’
‘I will consider that option.’
The phone line went dead. Sara called DI Rory Hewitt in Newcastle. ‘I’ve just had Dr Lake on the phone,’ she said.
‘She called me five minutes ago. We have assigned immediate protection for her.’
Sara returned to the murder scene and told Isaac about her conversation with Gladys Lake. Gordon Windsor was checking on the condition of the body. ‘She did not intend him to live. Very thorough,’ he said.
‘Was he alive when she cut his throat?’ Larry asked.
‘Probably not, although his blood would still have been pumping.’
‘Friday night?’ Isaac asked.
‘Judging by the putrefaction, the gases emitting from the body, the defecation, I would agree with that possibility. Why Friday night?’
‘That was the date given by his murderer.’
‘You realise she enjoys this?’ Windsor said.
‘She’s already threatened someone else,’ Isaac said. He checked Charlotte Hamilton’s website. It kept being blocked, only to reappear on another server. She now had eighty-four thousand followers.
***
Wendy and Sean
