It was the middle of the evening. Tim was driving home from Lincoln and had covered about half the distance before he remembered that he hadn’t called Katrin to let her know he’d be late. His conscience pricked him, but he decided it would be pointless to stop and call her now: he’d be home in less than half an hour.
As he swung the car into his drive, he saw that Katrin hadn’t drawn the curtains, although by now it was quite dark. Hearing the noise of the engine, she came to the window and looked out. He could see from her expression that she wasn’t in a good mood. Mentally he was preparing his apology as he hurried from the car into the house.
‘Katrin, I’m really sorry, I…’
‘Where have you been, Tim? You could have called me. I kept Sophia up for ages because you said you’d see her before she went to bed. I know you’ve got a lot on your mind with the vehicle thefts, but it’s not as if it’s a murder case…’
‘It is a murder case, now,’ Tim interrupted, ‘I’ve been seconded to Michael Robinson’s murder investigation. I’ve been with him in Lincoln this afternoon. That’s why I’m so late. I’m sorry – I meant to call you.’
Katrin was immediately sympathetic.
‘Oh, Tim, I’m sorry about that. Superintendent Thornton can be very insensitive sometimes. He must know that you’ll hate working for Michael. And what about your own case?’
‘I’ll tell you more about Michael later: it’s not as bad as it sounds, but I must admit I thought the same as you, when Thornton first told me. Michael’s asked me to be joint SIO; I’m not reporting to him…’
‘That doesn’t sound like him!’
‘No, although he has a reason for it. And he’s got a lot on his plate now. They’ve found two more bodies in the Fossdyke Canal…’
‘That’s extraordinary, after what we were talking about yesterday!’
‘I know – the odd thing is, I didn’t remember the connection you’d made until I was on my way home. Can you tell me again about those old murders – the ones in Bolton, I think you said?’
‘It was Burnley. The killer’s name was Stephen Jenkins. He was studying criminology – or supposed to be. His stepfather was supporting him, I think on condition that he kept out of his mother’s way. He killed and decapitated two prostitutes and then he killed a schoolgirl. He seems to have borne a grudge against prostitutes – I don’t need to tell you that it’s a trait shared by many serial killers. It was assumed that Jenkins had been exploited by prostitutes, or that he felt irresistibly drawn to using them and then felt disgusted with himself. He maintained his right to silence both when being questioned by the police and throughout a very long trial: he made no attempt to explain his actions and resisted his defence’s dogged attempts to suggest mitigating circumstances – disturbed childhood, diminished responsibility, all that sort of thing. Claiming he felt remorse was a non-starter. But you haven’t started at the beginning, Tim. You say there were three bodies in the Fossdyke. Were the victims all women? Was either of the others decapitated?’
‘They were all women. All young, but one was just a child – a girl in her early teens. The other women had been decapitated, but the girl hadn’t.’
Involuntarily, a shiver ran through Katrin’s body from head to foot, as if someone had pumped ice into her veins. She wrapped her arms around herself. Earlier she had lit the fire. It was burning low now and she drew closer to the modest blaze.
‘Katrin?’
‘This is uncanny. It’s as if you’re describing the Jenkins crime all over again. Have you found the heads of the two women?’
‘No. We haven’t given up looking for them yet. Were the heads of Jenkins’ victims ever found?’
‘One of them was, eventually. Buried on the canal path, I think. I can check. Jenkins never admitted to the murders – or denied them, for that matter – but apparently he was furious when the head was found, threw some kind of violent tantrum. He was in prison by then. The police had already identified the victims, but I imagine they were glad that when it was confirmed that the head belonged to the person they thought it did. They found out who the girl was almost immediately, but they couldn’t begin to guess at his motive for killing her There was no evidence that he was a paedophile.’
‘What else do you know about him? Was he the usual loner?’
‘He was a misfit rather than a loner. He did have some friends, both at the college and working in the town. He also had a girlfriend. She had no inkling that he was violent – or so she claimed. The police suspected that he’d been responsible for several vicious attacks on local women before he actually killed, though I don’t think they proved it.’
‘Probably didn’t need to. He’s serving an indefinite tariff, isn’t he?’
‘Yes. His defence tried to get him put in Broadmoor. He was examined by two psychiatrists, who both concluded he was sane. The judge said he was extremely dangerous and posed a significant threat to women.’
‘Perceptive of him!’
‘Yes, but you know as well as I do that kind of formal summing up serves a purpose: it means he’s unlikely to be re-leased unless he can prove he’s both remorseful and no longer a danger.’
‘He hasn’t applied for parole?’
‘I can check, but it’s unlikely he’d be allowed to. The crimes took place only six years ago. And as I’ve just said, he’s made no attempt to fulfil the requirement for parole.’
‘Agreed. I’m just trying to establish there’s no possibility at all that Jenkins could be involved in the Fossdyke murders, once we know when they’re likely to have happened – that he wasn’t out on licence at the time. The strangest thing from my perspective is the young girl, in both cases. Why did these two girls die?’
‘Was the body of the young girl at the Fossdyke weighted down?’
‘No, she was found floating in the canal. And probably only put there last night, which is also odd: if the same person killed all three, he was taking a big risk by going back.’
‘But had the bodies of the two women been weighted? With stones, maybe?’
‘Yes, although he made a better job of it with the second one. She was still at the bottom of the canal. It seems that a bag of stones had been tied to the first one and worked loose over time. Her body was found by a fisherman, partly risen to the surface. The girl had been chucked in, probably by someone in a hurry, and didn’t sink.’
‘This gets weirder! The girl that Jenkins killed had been hurled into the canal in haste, as well. Her body was visible from the bank. It was only when police divers went in to retrieve it that they found the first of Jenkins’ other two victims. Her body had also risen to the surface – it was partially obscured by some reeds. It had broken free of the weights – a bag of stones.’
‘Why do you think Jenkins killed the girl?’
‘He was a psychopath. Arguably, you don’t need any other explanation; but she wasn’t his usual type of victim. If the police are right about the other assaults, all the women he attacked were prostitutes except her. My guess is that she’d found out something about him and he was afraid she might expose him in some way – though I seem to remember there was no evidence that he knew her.’
‘Would you mind collecting all the stuff you have on the Jenkins case and sending it to me? It’s bound to give us some clues about the Fossdyke murders.’
‘You’re thinking they’re copycat crimes?’
‘It’s rather obvious, isn’t it? Too obvious, in fact. I think that’s what we’re meant to think, but the truth of it is probably something quite different. Even so, the Jenkins case is the best lead we have – we’ve found precious little else to go on, except the bodies.’
‘Sure, I can gather the stuff together for you. It won’t take me long. Now, what was it you were saying about Michael? Has he blotted his copybook at last? I’m all agog.’