The mood in the major incident room was far more sombre than it otherwise would’ve been. Yes, they’d managed to avoid the fifth murder, but it had come at a huge cost. Not only had they failed to get their man alive, but the death of Luke Baxter had had an enormous impact on everyone who worked at Mildenheath CID.
It was rare that any officer was lost on operational duty, and it was even less likely for a CID officer. For Jack Culverhouse and Debbie Weston, the outcome was particularly bittersweet. As far as they were concerned, Luke Baxter had died a hero. He’d put himself in harm’s way to save Debbie and had given his life in protecting Culverhouse.
Even Wendy had to admit that she’d come to respect Luke somewhat after they’d cleared the air earlier that night. She was thankful that they’d been able to do that.
The local and national news channels were all running the story about how a brave police officer had been killed in the line of duty whilst saving the life of a serial killer’s fifth intended victim. Suzanne Corrigan’s name was, once again, all over the papers but this time it wasn’t as part of the byline. There were the predictable calls from some areas of the media for the police to explain why the public at large weren’t made aware of the threat that had existed, but that wasn’t something the Chief Constable felt obliged to answer at that moment in time.
The police were still trying to come to terms with why Paul Kinsella had done what he’d done, as well as how. Finding his victims had been fairly straightforward — his mother’s inability to keep anything to herself had helped with that. His home was being searched at that moment in time, and the officers had already found notebooks full of plans and names — many of them scribbled out. The lucky ones. From what they could ascertain at this early stage, it seemed that one of his female friends had been sexually assaulted a few years earlier, and the police had failed to charge the suspect. Judging by the scribblings in his notebooks, his mind was far from stable and he seemed to consider it perfectly justified to take innocent lives in order to prove his hypothesis that the modern day police force were no better than Victorian plods.
The whole episode had resulted in a very strange atmosphere around Mildenheath CID. It wasn’t just the absence of Luke Baxter that was odd, but the presence of Martin Cummings, the Police and Crime Commissioner, who’d come to address the team. He was, unsurprisingly, viewed with suspicion. After the recent rumours about merging Mildenheath CID at county HQ to try and cut costs, Cummings was far less popular than he usually was — which wasn’t very popular at all. Culverhouse certainly wouldn’t have put it past him to come and announce the move on a morning like this. As far as he was concerned, the man’s tactlessness knew no bounds. And coming from Jack Culverhouse, that was quite something.
‘Firstly, I just wanted to both congratulate you on your success and commiserate you on your loss,’ Cummings said, his hands clasped in front of him. ‘I understand Luke was a very bright and talented young officer with a strong future ahead of him. He put all that at risk in order to protect his fellow officers. I’ll be speaking with the Chief Constable in due course to see how we can honour his memory and ensure that his sacrifice is not forgotten.’
Charles Hawes nodded as Cummings continued.
‘Now, I know there’s been a lot of talk about the proposed merger of Mildenheath CID into Milton Hall. I thought it might brighten your spirits slightly if I were to let you know that the plan is currently on hold.’
‘Sorry, sir,’ Culverhouse said, interrupting. ‘By on hold, do you mean it’s off?’
Cummings looked slightly uncomfortable. ‘It seems so, yes. But I must stress that this was due to logistical matters. It is in no way a reflection on feedback from officers or any recent cases.’
There were a few sniggers and knowing looks exchanged. They knew Cummings would never have been able to justify scrapping the CID setup — not after this.
‘Now, I just wanted you all to know how proud I am of you. If there’s anything else I can do, please do let me know.’
‘Actually, there is one other thing,’ Culverhouse said, raising his hand.
‘Yes?’
‘Tell Malcolm Pope I send my regards.’