‘Where are we at with the Talbot, Millard and O’Dowd investigations?’ Calleja queried.
‘Well you know that Dr Moloney has her own theories about this case. Maggie and Mark are still pulling together the evidence, while Kat and PC Reynolds are trying to tie all the loose ends together, guv.’ Hooper hoped he didn’t sound too unsure in his presentation of the investigation so far.
‘Hooper, what kind of feedback is that? Some theories? Getting the evidence together? Tying up loose ends? What the hell? We need answers and we needed them yesterday! I have the DCI harassing me every bloody day about this. If one more body shows up, the media are going to be hounding us daily – I don’t want that to happen.’
‘I know, gov. We have a briefing in an hour and I’ll make sure we have some solid leads.’
Hooper left his DI’s office in a fluster. His chest tightened and he noticed the way it was affecting the team – the dark circles under their eyes, constant pacing of the room – he hated how this was affecting them. In all honesty, they didn’t seem any further ahead – there was still nothing definitive. Lucy Sherwood was their probation officer, but they really didn’t know who or what else tied these men together. And where did Patrick Quinn fit in, if at all? Dr Moloney still believed a vigilante was responsible, and she was adamant that the killer was female. Even with the drug, though, how could a woman inflict that much damage? According to Lucy Sherwood, none of the men were intravenous drug users, although Talbot did have a history of sporadic heroin and crack misuse.
With the briefing about to start, Hooper poured himself a coffee and waited for his team to assemble. Kat arrived with PC Reynolds in tow – ‘Morning, guv,’ they said in unison and Hooper nodded in acknowledgement. Once everyone was seated, Hooper called order.
‘OK, everyone, DI Calleja is breathing down my neck, because our DCI is breathing down his … where are we at with these cases? We’re at risk of having to hand everything over. There’s even talk of this team being disbanded on the basis that we’re causing more harm than good. Come on! We need this resolved.’
There were some murmurs in the room. Dr Moloney stood up.
‘May I, sir?’ she said as she pointed to the investigation board.
‘Be my guest.’ DS Hooper stood out of the way and she took centre stage.
‘I’m not going to go over everything we have so far, as I assume we all know the facts. I’m still convinced that we’re searching for a female perpetrator. These murders are personal. As I’ve always said – the victims were incapacitated – and I think this was so that she could commit the offences without any risk of being attacked. There’s clearly an underlying anger here, as shown by the wounds to the victim’s throats. Is this the killer’s way of silencing the offender? According to the pathology report, this is the last thing that’s done. We know that she – or he – beats the victims. A Taser was also used in the case of Mick O’Dowd. Maybe because the killer either didn’t have the opportunity to get close enough to inject him a second time or perhaps the effects didn’t last as long. It does not appear that Talbot was injected with the same drug as the other two, but instead, was initially attacked from behind and then an empty syringe stuck in the neck. Another statement perhaps? Mick O’Dowd was also set alight – his face, part of his neck, his hands, and his genitals.’ They all looked at the board.
It was filled with names and lines linking individuals to the victims.
Kate continued walking back and forth in front of the board. ‘Lucy had a connection with all of the men. A victim of domestic abuse herself, she certainly had motive. Shell Baker knew two of the men. Her close friend was now in hospital after being assaulted by Mick O’Dowd. Her cousin suffered years of abuse at the hands of Robert Millard, but there is no evidence to connect her to Talbot at the moment. The team had recently discounted Kevin, the barman, as he didn’t seem to have any grudges to bear. Patrick Quinn’s murder does not appear to be connected to the three murders at this stage – though the police are still unwilling to rule anything out.’
‘The team have questioned whether any of Mick’s children had returned to seek revenge, but there were no links to Robert Millard or Drew Talbot and no evidence to suggest they’d been in contact.’
Maggie spoke up. ‘I agree with a lot of what you’re saying. Every one of the people mentioned has reason to want these men dead. We need that one connection. Where would someone get the drug? Surely that has to be what will solve this for us – at least with Millard and O’Dowd. Though what if Talbot is known to the killer, and he or she didn’t have access to the drug when the opportunity to kill him came around?’
‘I like your thinking, Maggie.’ Kate smiled. ‘Succinylcholine is hard to get a hold of. Hospitals and Vets may have it – so we’d need to see if any reports of drugs stolen have been made in the weeks leading up to the murders.’
Maggie stared at the crime scene photos on the board in front of her. Piece by piece everything began to fall into place. The witness statements, evidence, and photos flickering and flashing in her mind. She was suddenly back at the crime scenes, seeing them take place in real time. The images cleared in her mind and the killer was revealed. The face clear. Maggie smacked her hands on the table.
‘Oh, my god.’ She stood up. ‘It was right under our noses all along. We do know someone who has links to hospitals and a vet’s surgery.’