There was no doubt that Ed Barrow was guilty of crimes against him, as was Sue Christie. He wasn’t sure who was the worst, but it appeared that the woman was the guiltier. He had always had his suspicions, even before he took to the street. She was always too available, too polite, and too willing to offer herself to him.
He had known that Gwen was sometimes jealous, but she always took him at his word, and besides Sue was with Ed, and they were always good friends. But he had caught Sue once looking through his notes, pretending to be curious, not that she would have understood what she was reading; few people would have.
He had followed Sue down Bayswater Road, seen her turn into Westbourne Street and enter the restaurant. He had even seen her kiss the man that she met on the cheek as they sat down. A familiar face, he knew who it was. He had not seen her hand over the files but assumed she had. It would take them two days before they realised that what she had given him was worthless; time enough to complete what was necessary, to publish his paper, and to protect his family. It was a calculated risk, he knew that, and he was gambling with the lives of his wife and his daughter and her child. It was a risk he had to take.
***
Isaac Cook had a time issue as well. Apart from the occasional flurry of activity, the Homicide department was not working hard. The all points warning was still out for Malcolm Woolston, the case for the prosecution was tight, but they had nothing more. There was only so much walking the street, conducting interviews, looking at CCTV that could be done. After the conversation with Ed Barrow: nothing.
The joint funeral of Harold Hutton and his wife had been attended by a number of politicians, including the prime minister. There had been speculation, even by the PM, about what the police were doing to resolve this tragedy.
DCS Goddard, after the obligatory blasting out from Commissioner Davies, felt the need to vent his spleen in his office, Isaac standing to attention to hear him out. ‘What’s going on here?’ Isaac mentally counted down from three minutes, the time for his DCS to change from argumentative to responsive.
‘We’re working on the case.’
‘This man can’t be that hard to find. You sit there with your small team, even after I’ve told you to get more people.’
Two minutes to go, Isaac thought.
‘We’re utilising other stations in our hunt for him.’
‘And he’s walking around the area, phoning you up, killing whoever.’
‘He’s not killed anyone since Hutton.’
‘Great. Is that something to be thankful for?’
One minute, Isaac thought.
‘Not at all. We’ve followed everything by the book, left no stone unturned. We’ve interviewed his former colleagues, spoken to his wife and daughter.’
‘You know what Davies wants?’
‘His man in my seat.’
‘Exactly. What can I say to hold him off?’
‘Will he listen?’
‘You know the man.’
‘Whatever we say, he’ll counteract with invective.’
‘Christ’s sake, Isaac, sit down,’ Goddard said. Isaac knew that now they could hold a worthwhile discussion. ‘Hutton was important. Davies is being pressured as well on this one, and he’s right to criticise. The fact that the man is a blithering fool is neither here nor there. He’s our boss. I can’t ignore him.’
‘That’s understood, sir. We believe that Woolston has a legitimate reason for his actions.’
‘Murder? Legitimate?’
‘We ran into this with the Marjorie Frobisher case.’
‘Government interference, distorting the truth?’
‘It’s not the same, at least not in its entirety. Woolston realised that the government, probably others, were going to use his research for non-ethical purposes. He couldn’t agree, they tried to force it out of him, he disappeared.’
‘Very commendable, no doubt, but now he’s killing people.’
‘Apart from Robertson, which he regretted, he has killed another two.’
‘Why do we always get these cases? What’s wrong with a straightforward domestic dispute. Every case you take on always has some unforeseen complication. And now you’re saying that murder is justified.’
‘That’s not what I said. Woolston believed that Hutton and Arbuthnot deserved to die.’
‘Any more on his list?’
‘He said he wasn’t finished.’
‘Names?’
‘He didn’t give them. And If Woolston is right, and there are government officials involved, you know what can happen.’
‘We’ve been forced to cease our investigations before, let a murderer walk free because of an official directive. This one could be the same.’
‘Are you meaning that Woolston may get off?’
‘I’m not sure yet, but if he has vital information and they get to him first, then it’s always possible.’
‘And I’m meant to tell Davies all this?’
‘Unfortunately, you’ll just have to take the heat and keep us on the case.’
‘Isaac, I believe you have an easier job than me,’ DCS Goddard said.
***
In one corner
