‘No way.’ Viv Kantz looked like she wanted to throw the pile of reports on her desk straight at Carla.
Carla hadn’t gone through Albert but had turned up at the station unannounced. Baros’s warning that the lieutenant was unhappy with her had stuck and she’d not wanted to give Albert the chance to head off the meeting. Viv kept her waiting for over an hour, finally coming to the lobby herself to collect Carla. Viv was only mildly interested in Lauren’s notebook and the map coordinates. When she heard the name Iris Chan, she slammed down onto the desk Lauren’s notebook that Carla had handed to her.
‘You know, you remind me a little of Lauren. She had the bit between her teeth on this too. I have a sound conviction for the Iris Chan murder and we’re proud of the investigation here. Iris’s killer, Michael Lines, is safely in jail and that’s where he’s staying.’
Carla had anticipated this argument. ‘Which means he can’t have been responsible for Madison’s death. What about Stella?’
‘He had an alibi. Believe me, nothing would have made me happier to pin that one on him. I’d really like to clear up the murder rate in this county, but his alibi was sound. He was in hospital getting stitched up after a fight. The medical records gave us the time of admission and discharge. It wasn’t really his MO anyhow. Lines was an obsessive, but he didn’t use sex workers.’
‘Do you think it’s possible he had an accomplice? It seems that Lauren might have found a connection between the killings.’
Viv nudged the notebook towards Carla, the gesture dismissive. ‘The only thing that piece of paper shows is that Lauren was looking for a connection. Do you know who Michael Lines’ defence attorney was? Actually, don’t answer that. The name Larry Foster will mean nothing to you. The point is, once he hears that I’m investigating other killings that might be connected to Iris’s killer, he’ll be on it like a terrier. He’s another obsessive like you and Lauren.’
‘Thank you very much.’
‘Don’t get me wrong. I probably have that particular gene too, but I don’t want this conviction brought into doubt without any evidence.’
‘Did Michael Lines have a connection to Iris Chan?’
‘Former boyfriend. They met at Jericho, but Michael dropped out due to mental health issues. As I’d expect, the relationship didn’t last the change in status of the two. Life at the college is intense, I don’t need to tell you that. Iris was a hard worker training to be a vet. Michael got a job in a bar. Nothing wrong with that. Zoe’s doing something similar, although she’ll be getting a kick up the butt from me if she doesn’t find a vocation sooner rather than later.’
‘How did Michael take the break-up?’
‘Badly. It started with social media posts – you know, borderline stalking – then Iris found small deposits made into her bank accounts with threatening references. “You’ll die” or “slut”. He didn’t even bother trying to hide it. I mean we could trace the bank account back to him no problem.’
‘Were you involved in investigating the stalking behaviour?’
‘It only came to light after the killing. Iris was a cool figure. She told her friends she could deal with it and they believed her.’
‘You initially thought she killed herself though, didn’t you?’ Erin had given Carla the bare bones of the case and, once more, Carla had been shocked how quickly the investigation team had been happy to jump to conclusions in relation to the death.
Viv sighed and looked towards the window as if the sight of Carla was giving her hives. ‘We did. She was hanging from an ash tree and it looked like suicide until we did a bit more digging and found the threats. The problem was Michael Lines had an alibi as he’d been working in the bar all evening. But then a customer remembered they hadn’t seen him for half an hour. We reinterviewed other patrons and it was the same. Between nine and nine thirty, no one saw him and that was about the time we had a witness to Iris and an unknown male entering the woods.’
‘And he confessed.’
‘Not straight away, but he was interviewed for around twenty-four hours and he eventually admitted to the killing.’
‘Who interviewed him?’
Viv scowled. ‘Now, hold on. Those interviews were by the book and they held up in court too despite the defence’s best efforts. Don’t go down that route.’
‘Could I go and see him, maybe? There might be a connection to the other killings.’
‘I’m asking you not to.’ Viv’s expression was flinty. ‘In fact, I’d rather you left the rest of this to me.’
But you can’t actually stop me, thought Carla, admittedly unaware of the protocol of visiting prisoners. Perhaps his attorney Larry Foster would be a better bet. ‘Thank you for your time.’ Carla rose to go, but Viv waved her back into her seat.
‘I want to ask you something else. Are you behind Tammy Knowles putting in an official request to see if we have Lauren’s notebook?’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I thought so. Can you please leave Tammy alone. She has made various accusations against my department and everything needs to be done by the book. Her grief has turned her into an obsessive. Another one.’
‘She didn’t come across like that with me.’
‘Didn’t she? Well, she’s turned up at my house on more than one occasion and threatened my kids. Did she tell you that?’
Carla grimaced. ‘Nothing of the sort. I found her very rational and focused.’
‘I’m not having my family put at risk and I’m asking you not to contact her again.’
Stunned, Carla nodded.
Viv stood without meeting Carla’s eye. ‘Take a break from all this, Carla. I understand you know what it’s like to lose someone close, but my sympathy has its limits. Remember that.’