‘Equally, we have no motive whatsoever for the killing. Not for anyone, including Whittler. We can’t connect Whittler yet to the Cassavettes, or to the store. As far as we can prove, he hasn’t even shopped there. Instead, we have a total vacuum about his life for well over a decade. So, ladies and gentlemen, this is far from a done deal. And while it remains that way, we look at every angle and every conceivable alternative. Mikey, anything coming up on background?’
‘Getting there, yeah.’ Mike stood and picked up a sheaf of papers, which he used like a laser pointer towards the whiteboards. ‘Lou had a substantial debt. Most of it to buy the place outright, but he’d borrowed again to turn part of it into a café. Last month he loaded up a business overdraft to cover day-to-day losses. He was going backwards, basically.’
‘So any kind of stock loss would be getting on his nerves, yeah?’ Bill chirped from a half-shadow in the corner, his arms folded.
‘Absolutely,’ replied Dana. ‘According to his wife, Megan, he also thought it was a point of principle. So maybe that made him more belligerent when the burglar turned up.’
Lucy raised a hand. ‘Hi, devil’s advocate here. So that supports a view that the fight in the store was accidental. So that Whittler – sorry, the assailant we haven’t confirmed yet – didn’t go with any violent intent. Hence the packet-of-knives routine. Cassavette comes over all outraged, there’s a scuffle that won’t stop, the assailant grabs something handy, and boom.’
‘That’s a plausible scenario,’ agreed Dana. ‘I think that might be Whittler’s story.’
‘We haven’t asked him yet. We’ve spoken to him twice, yeah?’ Stuart Risdale, a twenty-year veteran and leader of the search teams as required. A man with a padded and ageing Labrador, and becoming more like his pet every day. His tone was polite enough. She noted the collegiate ‘we’ when he meant ‘you, Dana’ – Bill encouraged team vocabulary – but the question was valid.
‘Three times, actually. I get it, Stu. Other than the victim, he’s the only person we can currently place anywhere near the scene at that hour. When we initially broached it in Custody, he physically recoiled. It’s a fine line, and we’ll probably only get one realistic shot at it. So this one needs a slow build-up. Plus, at the moment, we’re getting Whittler with no external edit. We’re on the twenty-four-hour limit with that – the court will step in tomorrow morning. Once he lawyers up, we lose all the information in Whittler’s head. His lawyer will make it very clear he’s to say nothing until a trial. And believe me, this guy knows how to stop talking.’
She turned from Risdale to the room in general. ‘We need to approach it gradually, and we need to acquire information that helps us challenge or confirm anything he says. That’s our advantage right now: he’s speaking without a legal filter. That’s a limited-time offer: we can’t afford to waste it.’
Bill nodded sagely from the touchline and Dana felt boosted by the support.
She turned back to Mike. ‘What else on the Cassavettes?’
Mike nodded at the use of the plural. ‘So, neither show up on any local intelligence. Nathan Whittler’s brother does: twice. For assault, and for threatening behaviour.’
Dana leaned in. ‘Hmm. Circumstances?’
Mike flipped through some more notes. ‘Ah, here we go. Jeb – for that is his name – was twice cited for incidents outside locked construction areas. Looks like both times were arguments with union reps who were trying to stop non-union labour such as Jeb walking through. Scuffles, big talk, lots of that bristling thing, and presumably some shoving. No blood, no fractures, no charges, no convictions.’
‘But a propensity for violence. We need to speak to the brother anyway, as he’s the last living relative for Nathan. But dig some more on that, please, Mikey: it might be ammo.’
‘Shall do. So, as I say, neither Lou nor Megan show up locally. But Lou is on the state system, according to my source at Central.’
Lucy nudged Mike’s leg. ‘All your sources at Central, Mikey. Are they one person who’s very busy, or lots of different people?’
‘I can neither confirm nor deny either of those options, or any other. So Lou shows up as having links to some regional players in money laundering. Old buddies, neighbours from way back – nothing official. Central thought he might be using his previous store to wash cash; but the investigation never got far. I’ve asked my source to dig deeper. I’ll get back to you on it.’
Dana nodded. ‘Okay. Background on the couple so far?’
‘They married three years ago. I found one of those newspaper articles they only publish after the happy couple get back from honeymoon – so they don’t get burgled while they’re away.’
‘Or in case they die doing the parascending thing,’ chirped Lucy.
‘Optimist. Anyway, their heart-warming backstory is that they were teenage sweethearts. Lost touch after school, met years later in a supermarket car park. Be still my bleeding heart…’
‘Wait,’ interjected Dana. ‘She’s the same age as him? Truly?’
Mike checked his notes. ‘He’s thirty-five, she’s… yeah, thirty-four. Both thirty-one on their wedding day. Yeah. She’s aged better than him, huh?’
‘Definitely. I’d have put her mid-twenties. Anything else?’
‘The phone records and computers from Lou turn up nothing unusual. Except porn-site visits.’
‘That’s unusual?’ Stuart glanced around the room. ‘Asking for a friend…’
Mike chuckled. ‘What’s unusual is an uptick from a fairly steady routine. I wondered if it might suggest tension within the marriage. Sure enough: Megan’s laptop says she’s had three meetings with a lawyer in the last month: Spencer Lynch. This guy specialises in divorce. Last meeting was yesterday – a one-hour conference at his office.’
There was a slight frisson in the room. This station was used to domestic-led homicides in all their forms: this new option fitted their comfort zone.
Bill’s voice drifted in from an angle. ‘Lynch? Met him. Bottom-feeder. Only does divorces and challenging pre-nups. No slicing up your ex – no fee. He’s exactly like you’d think he’d be.’
Dana nodded and turned back to Mike. ‘Does anything confirm Megan’s alibi for the time of death?’
‘Nope. Waiting on Megan’s mobile records. Uniform will be canvassing neighbours after this meeting, in case they saw anything for that time. According to Lou’s phone, she sent a text to Lou at 2330 – he replied 2331. There’s nothing on her home phone after 7 p.m. until 0628, which was a call to her mother.’
Dana nodded. ‘Yes, she rang her mother while I was there doing The Knock: I can verify that. Are we sure we have all their phones covered?’
‘I’ve checked all the networks for Lou, for home and work addresses. Still waiting on Megan, so not closed yet. It’s possible someone has a pay-as-you-go hidden away, but otherwise, we’re good.’
‘So Megan has no alibi. Any signs of a lover, or is she only disgruntled?’
Mike swapped one sheaf for another, this one stapled. ‘Okay, so her laptop was more useful than Lou’s. She’s booked a trip to Paris for next month. One ticket, return. She’s been chatting on social media with a number of people, most of whom look to be old friends from the city. Nothing there to suggest anything other than being fed up of living here, wishing she hadn’t come. I never see my husband, the spark’s gone, etcetera. If I was guessing – and I am – I’d say pissed off, but maybe hadn’t decided to leave yet.’
‘That fits my impression when I spoke to her. So no one’s cheating?’