Moran looked at Jane and nodded towards the door. ‘Show her out.’
Hilary was silent as they walked downstairs to the foyer. Standing together at the front steps, Jane decided she had to say something so Hilary didn’t think she condoned Moran’s behavior.
‘I’m sorry for the way DCI Moran treated you. I had no idea he’d sent officers to your house.’
Hilary’s face relaxed slightly. ‘I could see that from the way you looked at him. But you shouldn’t be the one apologizing, officer. I know Aiden better than anyone. He’s confided in me all his life, and believe me, he is incapable of murder. I hope, for all our sakes, you find the person who did do it.’
For a moment Jane thought back to the discovery of the first victim. ‘This may sound strange, Hilary, but was Aiden ever in the boy scouts, cadet corps or anything like that?’
Hilary frowned. ‘No. Why do you ask?’
‘It’s just something to do with the investigation. Has he ever done any type of job where he’d have learnt to tie different kinds of knots or ropes?’
‘No, that would be impossible for him.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘My brother was born with a partially clasped left thumb.’
Jane was puzzled. ‘What does that mean?’
‘Aiden’s thumb is slightly deformed. It faces in towards the palm of his hand, so he can’t straighten it. Every pair of shoes he ever had were slip-on as he can’t tie a shoelace because of his thumb.’
‘Do you know if Aiden was working?’
Hilary sighed. ‘He was, at a pub in Soho. I was told he got sacked for stealing from the till. I expect it was to feed his drug habit.’
Jane recalled the cleaner mentioning the needle and spoon in Aiden’s hostel room. ‘Was he a heroin user?’
‘Heroin? I don’t think he was on that stuff. Cannabis was his weakness, though he did tell me he occasionally popped a tablet of speed.’
Jane remembered her conversation with the barman at the Golden Lion, who said a woman came in looking for Aiden. Jane looked at Hilary and realized her hair color and style was similar to Helen Matthews.
‘Did you ever go to the Golden Lion looking for Aiden?’
‘Yes, but that was before those women were killed. If you don’t mind, officer, I really need to go. My husband will be angry about the police searching our house.’
Jane told Hilary she’d like to speak with her in more detail about Aiden and asked if they could meet in private. Hilary looked apprehensive, then told Jane she would think about it and maybe call her. Jane gave her the CID office phone number.
‘I really am sorry about what just happened. If you want to talk, then please call me.’
Jane returned to Moran’s office, feeling her anger at him building.
Moran looked up. ‘She say anything else to you?’
‘No, for some reason she wasn’t in the mood for conversation,’ Jane replied testily. ‘But she did tell me she went to the Golden Lion looking for her brother. So it was probably her the barman saw and not Helen Matthews.’
Jane picked up her notebook, but decided not to mention Lang’s clasped thumb in case Moran just said Hilary was lying to cover for her brother.
Moran sighed. ‘The officers searching her house in Woolwich just called in. So far there’s nothing to suggest Aiden Lang has been there. The neighbors were shown Lang’s photograph. No one recognized him.’
‘Looks like she was telling the truth then,’ Jane remarked.
Moran sensed a hint of sarcasm in her voice. ‘If you’ve got a problem with the way I interviewed her then spit it out.’
Jane knew better than to get into an argument. ‘I’ll go and type these notes up,’ she replied.
‘You’re going nowhere until you answer me,’ he growled.
‘I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to give my opinions, sir,’ Jane replied evenly. ‘You are leading the investigation, so you make the decisions.’
Moran laughed. ‘I could see from the sour look on your face you didn’t approve of the way I interviewed her. I don’t have time to listen to how wonderful Hilary Peters thinks her brother is, or pussyfoot around being nice when she refuses to accept he’s a murderer. I’m not going to be accused of failing to do my job, Tennison. Searching her house and speaking with the neighbors is a necessary part of the investigation.’
‘As I said, sir, you make the decisions. I’m sorry if I upset you with my sour look. It won’t happen again.’ She was managing to keep her emotions in check, but desperately wanted to get out the room before she lost control and said something she’d regret.
‘Don’t try and soft-soap me, Tennison. If you think I was wrong, then at least have the balls to tell me.’
Jane looked him in the eye. She recalled him telling her earlier he was happy for her to express her opinions as long as it wasn’t in front of other officers.
‘This is strictly between us. On a one-to-one basis?’
Moran looked around the room. ‘Well, I can’t see anyone else in here, can you?’
Jane took a deep breath and spoke calmly, but without holding back. ‘Hilary Peters is an innocent victim of her brother’s crimes, but it seems to me you treated her as if she was a criminal just because Aiden Lang is a homosexual. Hilary didn’t make her brother gay, and wanting to protect him doesn’t make her a bad person. Surely, as police officers, we should treat suspects’ families with a bit of decency and understanding.’
Moran shrugged. ‘Hilary Peters will get over it. What’s done is done and I stand by my decision.’
Jane shook her head in disbelief. ‘Hilary’s husband hates Lang because he’s gay, a poofter, faggot or any one of the derogatory terms I’ve heard bandied round the office. Do you really think he’ll brush off his house being searched and neighbors questioned with a “what’s done is done”?’
As far as Moran was concerned, their one-to-one was over. ‘You can call it a day now and book off duty,’ he said brusquely as he picked up a folder on his desk and started reading.
Jane banged the door closed behind her and went straight to the ladies’ locker room to compose herself. Standing at the sink, she looked in the mirror and was taken aback by how worn out she looked. But she didn’t regret speaking her mind to Moran, and after splashing some water on her face, she felt restored.
The CID office was empty, with everyone out searching Hilary Peters’ house or following up suspected sightings of Aiden Lang after the press appeal. Jane looked at the roster and saw she was off Saturday and working Sunday, which meant she could still go for dinner with Paul Lawrence. But realizing she needed something to cheer her up now, so she didn’t just sit at home thinking about the investigation, Jane decided to pay a surprise visit to her parents in Maida Vale. She gathered up her things, flicked off the lights and closed the door behind her, leaving the photos of the three murdered women and Aiden Lang in darkness.
Jane still had her own key to her parents’ flat, but wanting to make her visit a nice surprise rather than a shock, she knocked on the door.
The Tennisons’ large flat in Maida Vale was pleasantly decorated. It had three good-sized bedrooms, an open-plan lounge with dining room, and a kitchen with a breakfast bar along one wall.
Jane’s father opened the door, beaming from ear to ear. He was dressed casually in a white shirt, grey trousers and slippers. He stepped forward and gave Jane a big hug and kiss on the cheek.
‘Lovely to see you, Jane. Come on in.’
Jane walked into the hallway and instantly smelt the sweet aroma of home-baking. ‘That smell always makes my mouth water.’
‘Your mother’s in the kitchen making some bread and scones. Mother, come and see who’s here,’ he called.