The Sunday papers were having a field day. Some enterprising crime reporter on the Telegraph had made the connection and most of the others had followed suit. Elder picked up a discarded copy of the Mail from someone’s table when he went into the hotel dining room for breakfast; Hadley and Rachel read the Observer over avocado and toast and flat whites, Rachel’s treat, in their local coffee shop in Crouch End.
Victim of escaped killer questioned in murder case.
For no doubt a sizeable backhander, someone had leaked the information about Katherine being formally questioned by the police in relation to Anthony Winter’s murder and the reporter had taken it from there. Along with a profile of Adam Keach, there was a résumé of the crimes for which he had been convicted, a rerun, more salacious in some cases than others, of the treatment Katherine had suffered at his hands. Just when she seemed to have been gaining in confidence, the last thing she needed.
The account of Anthony Winter’s murder was accompanied by unauthorised reproductions of the paintings for which Katherine had been his model.
There was an up-to-date photograph of Katherine, taken from her Facebook page, several others of her at sixteen which came from various newspaper files. The same pictures of Tina Morrison that had been used before were rolled out again, in addition, somewhat incongruously, to one of her wearing her Greggs’ uniform and smiling.
The image of Elder that appeared in most papers was at least ten years out of date and made him look stern and unforgiving. In the Sunday Times, it was suggested that he was actively involved in both investigations, the Midlands-based one into Adam Keach’s escape and the subsequent attack on Tina Morrison, as well as the London-based hunt for Anthony Winter’s murderer.
Cornwall cop comes out of retirement to help solve two major crimes.
Aside from being grossly inaccurate on most levels, what angered Elder particularly was that it successfully identified the area of the Penwith Peninsula where he lived.
When he rang the flat, Chrissy answered. No, she told him, they never have a Sunday paper, not any kind of paper really. But the story he was worried about was all over social media. Katherine hadn’t seen it yet, she was still sleeping, but she promised to keep an eye on her when she did.
‘Ask her to call me,’ Elder said. ‘Okay?’
‘Okay.’
In the café, meanwhile, Hadley was following up her flat white with a macchiato, anger etched across her face.
‘If I find out it was someone at Holmes Road who took the Telegraph’s shilling, I’ll have him up on charges and out the door before he draws another miserable breath, so help me.’
‘You don’t think,’ Rachel said, ‘unpleasant as some of it is, all this coverage might help in some way?’
‘You are kidding, right?’
‘Mightn’t it make it more difficult for this Keach person to stay under the radar? And I suppose it’s not inconceivable someone might come forward with new information about Anthony Winter.’
‘And Katherine Elder? How about her? Having all that dragged through the papers again.’
‘I know,’ Rachel said. ‘It won’t be easy for her. Not easy at all. With everything else that’s going on especially. I just hope she gets the support she needs.’
When Katherine made her way to the bathroom a good couple of hours later, Stelina was at the table wearing noise-cancelling headphones and working on an overdue essay, and Chrissy was sitting out on the balcony answering emails on her laptop. As usual on Sunday mornings, Abike had headed off to a concert at Wigmore Hall.
It wasn’t until she was out of the shower that Katherine switched on her phone and, having checked her messages, flicked across to the news.
‘Fuck,’ she said quietly and closed the screen.
When her phone went some fifteen minutes later, she thought it would be her father, but it was Vida.
‘Kate, are you okay?’
‘Yes, why?’
‘I’ve just been reading all this stuff in the papers. I had no idea.’
Katherine didn’t know what to say.
‘I just thought,’ Vida said, ‘right now you probably didn’t want to be on your own.’
‘It’s fine. Chrissy’s here. And Stelina.’
‘Okay, that’s good. Only I was going to say, if you wanted to come over and spend some time with Justine and me …’
‘Really, it’s nice of you, but I’m fine.’
‘If you change your mind, it would be good to see you. You could come round some time with Chrissy, maybe?’
‘Yes, thanks, I’d like that.’
When she broke the connection, Katherine was surprised to find there were tears in her eyes. Why was it some people were so nice when they didn’t have to be?
She texted her dad and assured him she was all right, made herself tea and toast and joined Chrissy out on the balcony. Perhaps, once all the fuss had died down, it was going to be okay …