There was an uncomfortable silence, then Brock asked if the killer was likely to strike again in Northcote Square, and in particular whether Poppy Wilkes might be at risk. The psychologist thought not; Rudd had been the focus of the whole thing, he felt sure, and any further killing would be superfluous. Bren asked how they might recognise the perpetrator and the psychologist offered a sketch: craving attention yet shrinking from the spotlight, so an unhappy, neglected childhood relationship with his mother, and perhaps a physical blemish or handicap of some kind of which he is acutely conscious; very intelligent and organised but excited by violence, so perhaps a substantial academic and work history coupled with disruptive incidents.
Kathy said, ‘You keep saying “he”. Is there any reason to suppose it’s a man?’
‘No indeed, nor that there’s only one individual involved. I was just using the singular male pronoun for convenience.’
There was something wrong with all this, Kathy knew, and it took her a moment to realise that she hadn’t told them what she’d learned at the Soane Museum. Her head felt fuzzy, and before she could speak the psychologist had handed over to the laboratory reporting officer, RO in the jargon, the scientist with overall responsibility for managing the forensic examinations at the laboratory. He was describing progress on the crime-scene analysis, pinning up a series of photographs and computer-generated diagrams plotting bloodstains at the scene. From these he described the sequence of events that had occurred in the studio.
‘We believe there was an initial struggle-the noises that DS Kolla and PC McLeod heard-during which Rudd received a blow to the head that probably incapacitated him. We believe that it was only after the assailant attacked PC McLeod that he returned to strike the fatal blow to Rudd’s throat. One of the reasons for this is here…’ He pointed to a photograph of a bloody shoeprint crossed by a splatter of bloodstains. ‘The spray came after the footprint, so Rudd was still alive and pumping arterial blood as the killer made his escape to the door.’
‘What about DNA?’ Bren asked.
‘Disappointing so far. We’ve only found Rudd’s and Wilkes’s DNA on the cloak, where it came in contact with them presumably, and the blood is all Rudd’s as far as we can tell. The killer was very careful to avoid leaving traces-probably wore gloves and some kind of protective clothing beneath the cloak and mask. There were DNA traces on the abandoned shoes in the bin, but they don’t match anything we have. We haven’t found any discarded hairs or fibres. We had hopes for saliva traces inside the mouth opening of the mask, but there again it turned out to be Rudd’s DNA- we think he must have spat at his assailant during the initial struggle.’
His words took Kathy back to the moment she had forced her way into the studio. Once again she felt her feet sliding on the bloodstained floor, and herself toppling…
‘What happened?’ She looked up in surprise. People were clustered around her, looking concerned, and she seemed to be sitting on the floor.
‘You blacked out,’ someone said, and then she heard Brock giving orders to get a doctor. Two men lifted her to her feet and began to move towards the door.
‘I’m fine,’ she protested, and heard Brock at her shoulder, ‘I should never have let you come in today, Kathy.’ She stopped objecting and let them lead her away.
Later that evening Brock received a message to proceed immediately to an urgent meeting with Commander Sharpe at New Scotland Yard. When he reached the office on the sixth floor he thought he detected a spark of interest beneath the chilly glare of Sharpe’s secretary. She knocked on the connecting door and showed him straight in.
‘Coffees, please, Lillian,’ Sharpe barked.‘Sit.’
Brock did so.
‘You look worried, Brock.’
‘Oh, no. So many things to sort out.’
‘Tell me. But you seem to have sorted out Sir Jack Beaufort. He’s thrown in the towel.’
‘What?’
‘Couple of hours ago. Resigned from the review panel on personal grounds. The Beaufort Committee no longer has a chair.’
‘That’s interesting,’ Brock said cautiously, trying to read Sharpe’s mood.
‘Interesting? It’s spectacular! The whole building’s buzzing like an upturned wasp’s nest. You had a session with Beaufort this morning, didn’t you? I’ll need a full report; every fact, every suspicion, every innuendo.’
‘Innuendo?’
‘The man’s a paedophile, isn’t he?’
‘I’m not sure that he is. I think Wylie set him up.’
‘Come on, Brock, don’t go soft on me now. You must have shaken him this morning. He knows the game’s up. No smoke without fire.’
‘In this case, there’s lots of smoke and very little fire.’
‘Well, we can hand him over to the tender mercies of the Child Protection Unit if you want him out of your hair. The important thing isn’t him, though, it’s his damned committee. We’ve got to make sure it’s so tainted by this that they’ll never dare to bring its recommendations into the light of day.’
The door opened and the secretary came in with a tray.
‘What’s this?’ Sharpe asked.
‘Your coffees, sir.’
‘Bugger the coffee. We need a drink. Whisky for me. Brock?’
Brock nodded.
‘Big ones, Lillian. And pour yourself one.’
While Brock was away, Bren made a last check of his emails for the night, giving a little start to see the letters FBI appear. The message was brief and impersonal. Approval had been given to release to the Metropolitan Police the contents of six hundred and seventy-two messages stored in the accounts of Patrick Abbott and Robert Wylie. A CD containing the material had been despatched by secure express mail. Bren sent an acknowledgement and thanks, knowing that he wouldn’t sleep well that night.
28
Kathy blinked awake and realised with relief that she was in her own bed. She’d had a dream about passing out in a team briefing held at a crime scene with enormous bloodstains on the walls. Then she heard a noise in the living room, a tap running, then stopping. Someone was there. A figure appeared in the bedroom doorway. ‘Hi, how are you feeling?’
‘Nicole? Is that you?’ She couldn’t remember what her friend from the National Identification Service was doing there.
‘Yes. Brock asked me to come over. You’ve had a good sleep. Do you feel any better?’
Kathy sat up slowly.‘I think so, yes. I feel as if I’ve had a long rest. What time is it?’
Nicole checked her watch.‘Ten past ten.’
‘I don’t remember how I got here.’
‘The doctor checked you out at Shoreditch and gave you a shot of something. They brought you home and Brock gave me a ring. He’d have stayed himself but he had things to do.’
‘Have you had dinner?’
‘Yes, and breakfast.’
‘Breakfast?’
‘It’s Thursday morning. You slept for eighteen hours straight. I kipped on your sofa. I’ll make us a cup of tea.’
As Kathy listened to the comforting sounds of Nicole outside at the kitchen sink she adjusted to what she’d just learned. It was frightening how little control you had when you could be switched on and off like a TV set. In her mind, the bloodstained wall and writhing blue snakes were more vivid and immediate than the smell of toast coming through the door. She closed her eyes and let the images fade.
Nicole returned with a tray and sat down on the edge of the bed.‘You’ve got a bit more colour in your face,’she said.‘I was worried about you. You looked so white.’
‘I’m sorry, Nicole. I seem to be getting you to do me favours all the time.’
‘That’s what friends are for.’
‘What about your work?’
‘There’s nothing urgent. I can stay as long as you need me.’
‘Didn’t Lloyd mind?’
‘He’s a copper too, remember.’
Kathy didn’t know Nicole’s latest partner well, but remembered that he was a detective in west London. All in the family.