can only find one way of releasing it, watching women undress. It wouldn't even really work for him in a strip- club-the women would have to be unaware of him, he would have to get that feeling of power, of dominance. When he's done it, though, the pressure's released. A personality like that is hardly likely to go running to an old woman and confess, let alone murder her just after he's satisfied himself.'
'I see your point, Alan,' Gristhorpe agreed. His bushy eyebrows joined in the middle and drew a thick gray line over his child-like blue eyes. 'Perhaps the best thing to do would be to rule it out by checking into who Alice Matlock knew.'
'She seemed to be a bit of a loner, sir,' Richmond chipped in. 'Most of the neighbors didn't know much about her, not much more than to say hello if they met in the street.'
'I knew Alice Matlock,' Gristhorpe told them. 'She was a friend of my mother's. Used to come to the farm for fresh eggs when I was a kid. She always brought me some boiled sweets. But you're right, lad, she was a bit of a recluse. More so as she got older. Lost her young man in the first war, as I recall. Never did marry. Anyway, look into it. See if she's been at all friendly with a likely young peeper.'
'There is one other thing.'
'Yes, Alan?'
'Even if it wasn't the same person, if it was the usual lot did the break-in and the peeper just looked and ran, they might have seen each other.'
'You mean, if we get one we might get a lead on the other?'
'Yes.'
'But right now we've very little on either?'
'That's right.'
'Where do you think our best chance lies?'
'The break-ins,' Banks answered without hesitation. 'I'll be getting an artist's impression of the man who fenced the stuff in Leeds any time now. I've already got a fairly good description but it doesn't check with any of the local villains I know. Sergeant Hatchley and Constable Richmond don't recognize him either.'
'So maybe he's not local. New in town?'
'Or been away,' Richmond suggested. 'Only here every now and then.'
'Possible. Know anyone who fits that profile?'
Richmond shook his head. 'Only Andrea Rigby's husband. He's a computer whiz and he spends a lot of time away. But I saw a photo of him on the mantelpiece and he doesn't fit the description. He wouldn't be the type, anyway. From what I could see, he gets plenty of money from fiddling about with computers.'
'Ask around, then,' Gristhorpe advised. 'See if you can come up with anything. You mentioned Wooller in your report, Richmond. He seemed suspicious. Anything in particular?'
'Well, no, sir.' Richmond felt flustered, caught out on a hunch. 'There was the dirty magazine, sir, that's in the report.'
'Yes,' Gristhorpe said dismissively, 'but most of us have looked at pictures of naked women now and then, haven't we?'
'It's not just naked women, sir,' Richmond pressed on, realizing only when it was too late that he had walked right into it. 'Some of them are tied up, sir…' His voice faltered.'… and they do it with animals.'
'Well,' Gristhorpe said, beaming at him, 'I can see you've been doing your homework, lad. But even if the stuff is illegally imported there's not a lot we can do. What exactly are you getting at?'
'Just that he seemed suspicious, sir. Completely uncommunicative, shifty, acted as if he was hiding something.'
'Think he might be our peeper, do you?'
'Could be, sir.'
'Alan?'
Banks shrugged. 'I've not had the pleasure of meeting him, but I've been told that our man could take any size, shape or form. Certainly if he lives a frustrated existence and gets his kicks from bondage and bestiality magazines, then there's a chance.'
'All right,' Gristhorpe said, making a note. 'Keep an eye on him. Drop by for a chat. Nothing heavy, though.' He glanced sternly at Hatchley, who looked down at his notes and straightened his tie.
'The kid, sir. Trevor Sharp,' Richmond said.
'Yes?'
'There was something funny about that, too. I heard them arguing about him being late all the time and neglecting his homework, and when I asked about the night before, his father only mentioned himself at first, sir. Said he was watching telly, right at the far end of the block. Then, later, when I asked, he said the kid was with him, too.'
'Think he was lying?'
'Could be.' 'We had the kid on suspicion of mugging four months ago,' Banks added. 'No case.'
'Well,' Gristhorpe said, 'seeing as the only information we've got on the burglars so far is that they're young, we might as well follow up. Maybe you could talk to them, Alan? Father and son together. See if you get the same impression as Richmond here.'
'All right,' Banks agreed. 'I'll drop by after school today.'
'Might be a good idea to have a word with the head, too. You never know, some of 'em keep tabs on the kids. What school is it?'
'Eastvale Comprehensive, sir,' Richmond answered. 'Same place I went to.'
'That'll be old Buxton, right?'
'Yes, sir. 'Boxer' Buxton we used to call him. He must be close to retiring age now.'
'He's been at that school going on for forty years. Been head for twenty or more, since back when it was Eastvale Grammar School. He's a bit of a dodderer now, lost in his own world, but have a word with him about young Trevor anyway, see if he's been acting strangely, playing truant, associating with a bad crowd. Is there anything else?' Gristhorpe turned to Sergeant Hatchley. 'Anything for us, Sergeant?' 'I can't seem to find a pattern to the peeper's operation, sir,' Hatchley said. 'Except that he always picks blonds.'
'What do you mean?'
'How he chooses his victims, sir, how he latches onto them, knows who to follow.'
'The women weren't all single, were they?' Gristhorpe asked.
'Bloody hell, no, sir,' Hatchley said. 'One of 'em had her husband right there in bed dozing off while our chap was doing his bit through the curtains.'
'He must do some reconnaissance first,' Banks added. 'He knows which window to look through, knows the layout of the house. Even picks the best time to be there.'
'So he chooses his victims well in advance?'
'Must do.'
'They'd all been in pubs the nights they were peeped on,' Hatchley said. 'But I couldn't find any evidence that they were being watched.'
'That would explain it, though, wouldn't it?' Banks said. 'If he already knew who he was going to spy on, he'd know something about their habits. If he'd watched the houses, he'd know when a woman comes home from the pub and how soon the bedroom light goes on. He'd know if the husband stayed downstairs or took a bath while she undressed. He must do his groundwork.'
'Fair enough, Alan,' Gristhorpe said, 'but it doesn't help us much, does it?'
'We could warn people to make sure they're not being followed, to keep an eye out for strangers hanging about the street.'
'I suppose we could.' Gristhorpe sighed and ran his hand through his hair. 'Anything's better than nothing. You talked to the victims again, Sergeant Hatchley?'
'Yes, sir. But I didn't find out anything new, just that all the incidents had occurred after a night out.'
'Maybe it makes him feel that they're sinners or something,' Banks guessed. 'It's possible that he needs to feel like that about them. A lot of men don't like the idea of women smoking or going to pubs. They think it cheapens them. Maybe it's like that with him; perhaps he needs to feel that they're impure in the first place.' Gristhorpe scratched his neck and frowned. 'I think you've been talking to Dr. Fuller too much, Alan,' he said. 'But maybe you've got a point. Follow it up with her. When are you meeting again?'
