Reeves shakes his head. "Not necessarily. Certainly, that is what whoever is behind this wants us to believe. All we know is that somebody is at least imitating him. We have not yet counted out that he could be a copycat killer. But it is reasonable to assume that whoever called your name in the lift was the same person that committed this murder, or at least an accomplice to the crime."
I start muttering and babbling. "It must be him. You must be able to catch him this time? Things have moved on since he last killed, haven't they? You have CCTV. You must have some DNA. Were there any witnesses?"
Reeves puts his hands up. Things are getting out of control. I'm getting out of control. Just like I did in Richard's office. "I'm not able to disclose the exact details of our investigation, Mr Clancy. But I assure you that all the available evidence was gathered and secured in the hour after the officers were deployed to the scene. We are speaking to everybody who may possibly possess information that will be of use to us..."
His tone is deflated. Nervous. I shake my head. "He is still too clever. He is just older and wiser now, probably even cleverer than he was last time. I bet you have nothing, do you?"
Silence fills the room. Reeves changes the direction of our chat. "That is not the only reason I wanted to speak to you, Marcus. The crime scene investigator reported the likely time of death to be around midday. To be around 12:00..."
He dangles the statement in the air like a banana, making me the monkey he wants to take a bite. I nod my head, remain nonplussed.
"I checked my phone and I have two missed calls from the same number. The last call was at 11:59. I dialled the call return number today, and do you know whose voicemail it went to?"
I make a show of acting innocent and naive. "11:59? Hold on. I would have called you at that time..."
"Is there a reason you were calling me at the same time a victim was murdered? A victim you just happened to know?"
"So you are suspecting me of something? You should arrest me. This should be recorded."
"Like I said; you are free to leave at any time, Mr Clancy."
Silence. I don't move.
"Where were you at the time you called me, Marcus?"
I have a thought. I act quickly. "I was on my way to you. I was calling to let you know."
I reach into my pocket and pull my blue phone out of my pocket. I slide it across the table. "You must be able to track my phone? Whereabouts? Take my phone. You'll see that I was on my way to you..."
Reeves indicates that he doesn't want my phone. "Why were you on the way to me? Why did you need to see me so desperately?"
"I came to see you a few weeks ago didn't I? The feeling has been building and building. Felt that something terrible was going to happen. It was this insane gut feeling..."
"But as far as I'm aware, Marcus, you didn't see me, did you?"
I consider telling him some story about going to the main desk, that I was told he was out or unavailable, but think better of it. This is the police I'm messing with here. Surely they could check this story out? I opt for a version that is less traceable, possibly less believable.
"I reached your building at just gone 12, DCI Reeves. And then the feeling just vanished. I knew it was too late. I stood outside your building and there just seemed no point speaking to you. I had no evidence. I'd just be wasting your time."
"Who are you - Mystic Meg? We could do with you on the force." It was the stiff taking notes. He'd suddenly recharged his batteries. Reeves glances at him as if to say it was probably best he just kept quiet and continued taking notes.
I push my phone back across the desk. "Check my calls. I was in a mad panic. I made a load of different calls. Just before I called you. My dad said I should call you if I was worried. And so I did. Check later. I called the same people again, to tell them I was fine, that the moment had passed..."
Reeves reluctantly taps away at my phone. He knows he isn't going to find anything, that he is going through the motions. Why would I be so keen to pass him the phone if it contained anything incriminating?
"I appreciate that this has been a difficult time for you, Marcus," Reeves says. This is textbook empathy. I know, because I've taught it in my workshops. The dumb prick is falling for it. "And to be honest with you, the anxiety is written all over your face. You look like a shadow of the man who sat opposite me a few weeks ago. No offence. And I know this recent revelation is only going to cause you further stress. But we both know that if whoever this is wanted you dead, then you'd be dead by now. This is a murder enquiry now, so I have a team working night and day on it. You need to tell me straight away if you hear anything. Do you hear?"
"I hear."
"Do you still feel something terrible is going to happen?"
I shake my head. "The grim reality, officer, is that it already has happened. I feel nothing now. Just empty. That's why I couldn't get out of bed this morning. Numb."
"Have you heard anything from him since you last saw me?"
"Nothing. I've been looking out for him all the time.
