Page 89 of Her Last Breath

Lodging her knees deep under her desk, she tapped at her computer. The palms of her hands were still sensitive from the welts, but she managed nevertheless, swallowing down the pain.

In her mind she rehearsed the case against Colin Wilson. The link to the three victims was clear; the van found near his flat was the same one that they had seen at each of the murder sites. Wilson had no alibis for the times when Alice disappeared, or when Mark died. Jane flicked through statements from his neighbours. They barely knew him, let alone kept a record of his whereabouts. She opened another file. One of his neighbours had seen someone matching Colin’s description in the days before Bill Hargreaves had been killed.

Still, Jane knew she needed to interrogate the evidence, make sure there were no loose ends. The missing link in the evidence chain was tying Colin physically to the three victims. His phone had unhelpfully been either at home or switched off during their abductions.

Startled by the knock on her door, Jane raised her head to see Sameer. He came in uninvited, sat on the edge of her desk, close enough for her to smell his exotic aftershave.

‘Nicely done, Hacker.’

‘Thanks, sir.’

‘Vindication for everything I believed you could do. We all know you should have my job.’

‘Hardly, and no thanks.’

‘Yeah, I think you like the dirty work.’

The words sounded suggestive coming from him. Jane smiled weakly. This was the way she always behaved. Scared in case a mistake had been made or they had missed something which would scupper a case later in court, she couldn’t let go of her doubts.

‘We’ll never know why he did it or how. Not properly.’

‘You caught a killer that nobody else knew existed. Go home, you deserve this win.’

She wasn’t sure. Still, it was over. Now she was faced with the tough days ahead, watching her mother die.

‘After Mum, I think I’m going to head back down south,’ she said softly. ‘I don’t think I can be here.’

Sameer nodded his understanding, before responding gently: ‘Don’t make any rash decisions, though. Let’s discuss it later when you’ve had time to think it through properly.’

‘Has that ever worked for me?’

‘I don’t want you being alone down there. Afterwards, I mean. Here, I can help you.’

The thought was appealing. Whatever had gone on between them in the bedroom, Sameer was always a good listener and they had managed to keep their friendship and professional relationship alive. Rather than stalling into a bad cliché of cops that shagged and then couldn’t even look each other in the eye.

And what was she going back to in any case? Her empty, soulless flat? The friends who only seemed to appear when she wanted to go on a bender or get laid? Work her sole priority? There was history here. Memories that she might finally be able to find some comfort in.

Only she’d been running for twenty years, she didn’t know how to do anything else. No, her mind was made up. The day after she finished what she needed to do for her mother, she would start running again.

‘There’s nothing to discuss,’ she said firmly, turning her attention back to her computer.

Chapter 62

They burst through the doors, jubilant, shrugging off the tension of the search and apprehension of their murderer. Their mission was to celebrate what they had achieved.

The Old Lady was the go-to pub for Burnley Police, the place coppers went to take the edge off after a harrowing day. It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night, Jane’s team the only people there.

Dealing with a triple murder on top of their caseload was enough to send Jane’s team through the doors of the pub on a regular basis, she herself always declining. Not today, though. Jane felt as though they needed her there. And surprisingly, she needed them around her too.

Jane observed her colleagues, who until only five days ago had been either hostile or suspicious. But since she had followed her gut regarding Alice, the team had slipped towards her, backing her. Including DS Johnson.

‘I’d buy you champagne if my boss would agree to a raise,’ DC Berry was shouting.

The comment made Jane seethe, reminding her of what she was planning to do for him as a gesture to recognise his hard work. Before the doubts and his links to Sol Brazani had come to light. Was Pawel Kowalcyzk absolutely sure? Then again, DC Berry had been open about the financial pressure his family was under.

‘First round on me,’ DS Johnson said, interrupting her train of thought.

They all lined up their drinks, Jane only taking a small vodka with coke, as DS Johnson proposed a toast to her.