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‘True,’ says Priya. ‘Good luck. Keep us posted.’
There’s another few seconds of silence.
‘Well, we’re no closer to thewho, then, for now,’ Steph says. ‘So what about thewhy? What do we know about Jane Holland?’
Priya shuffles some paperwork.
‘Right. Jane Holland was fifty-five, single – never married, no kids – and lived alone at the address where the murder was carried out, 6 Oaks Road, Edgbaston. For those not familiar with the area, Edgbaston is a pretty affluent suburb of Birmingham. Nice and green. Home to the Botanical Gardens and the Cricket Ground of course. And birthplace of former prime minister Neville Chamberlain, for those who like a fun fact. Anyway, Oaks Road is averynice one; Jane’s house is worth close to two million.’
‘Phewwwww.’
There’s a low whistle from Bryn.
‘How did she make a living?’ he asks.
‘Gambling,’ says Priya. ‘As in, she owned a couple of casinos – the Topaz Group. One here in Birmingham, and one in Coventry. High-end places with cocktail bars and good chefs. Little goldmines, by all accounts.’
‘Nice. So who inherits?’ asks Steph. ‘Any possible motive there?’
‘One of the first things we checked,’ says Priya. ‘But there’s no one big beneficiary. She was an only child and both parents are deceased. The casinos will keep going for now – there’s a board of directors, and her will, made some time ago, requests that they continue to run the business as profitably as possible for ten years, after which it’s to be sold. They’ll all get a decent payout for doing that, but they’re all wealthy anyway and the sums wouldn’t be life-changing for them. She’s left some money to a handful of close friends, and to three cousins, and she’s put some cash into university funds for their children. But the bulk of her estate, once the casinos are sold, is to be divided between a number of charities. They get a bit now too, but they’ll get more down the line. She supported about a dozen, mainly ones that work with underprivileged or abused kids, plus a couple of foodbanks and two of the smaller cancer charities. They’ll all do very nicely out of it, but not for a while yet. There’s nobody who benefits big-time immediately, that’s the thing. So would someone kill her now, for a payout in ten years’ time? Maybe, but we’re just not sure. We’re still working our way through interviews with all of her friends, those three cousins, and the people she dealt with at the charities, but so far they all have solid alibis for the night of the murder. And none of themfeelright, if you know what I mean? I could be wrong, but I just don’t get the feeling that money was the motive here. Nothing appears to have been stolen from the home either. Nothing disturbed at all indoors.’
There are nods from the other officers, who’ve been scribbling notes as Priya’s been talking. Then Linda says:
‘Nothing was taken from Lisa’s person either. Her phone, her purse, everything was still in her bag when her body was found. And this Jane sounds like a very good woman, as was Lisa, which makes this all even shittier. And still no obvious links whatsoever between them. I mean, they were both single with no children, and both comfortably off, although Lisa wasn’t in Jane’s league. She had a good job, but she hadn’t even bought her own home yet – she was still renting – so her prospects were good but she didn’t have much to leave anyone. But other than their single status and their good careers – nothing. We have, without explaining why, asked Lisa’s friends and family if they knew if she had any friends or acquaintances in Birmingham, and in Cardiff or Cheltenham too. But they don’t think so, so I don’t think these two knew each other or anything. It’s so bloody frustrating.’
‘So why the hell have they been targeted?’ says Bryn. ‘It just doesn’t seem to make any sense. Theremustbe a connection between them all, guys. We just haven’t found it yet. And if we’re going to stop him killing David here in Cardiff, whoeverheis, we need to find it in the next few weeks, don’t we? Priya, how about a press release asking for anyone based in Cardiff, Oxford or Cheltenham who might have known Jane to come forward? That might help, if we word it carefully? It might throw up a connection without necessarily alerting anyone to the fact that we think we’ve got a serial killer on the loose?’
‘Yes, OK,’ says Priya. ‘Worth a try.’
‘It is,’ agrees Steph. ‘But honestly, I think the answer lies with Mary Ellis. Assuming for now she’s an innocent in all of this, she’s also single and reasonably well off, so I suppose there’s that small similarity between her, Lisa and Jane. But there’s obviously a lot more to it than that. The killer sent her that diary for a reason. Yes, because of her job and because he wants the notoriety, maybe. But he’s also saying she’s on his hit list, unless it’s a different Mary he’s talking about. So shemusthave a proper connection with our two victims, and with this “David in Cardiff”, whether she knows it or not. There’s no way this is random. It’s far too organised. On that note, do we have any thoughts about where this killer might be based? Considering the locations of his crimes and planned future crimes?’
Bryn raises a hand.
‘I’ve been thinking about that. Best guess is probably not a northerner, as all the locations are south of the Midlands. But other than that, who knows?’
‘Agreed. And I’ve been wondering about something else,’ says Priya. ‘He’s warned us about four possible killings, but where’s the guarantee that that will be the end of it? What if another diary appears once he’s got through this first lot? He’s managed to kill two women already and get away with it – with the best will in the world, we have sweet Fanny Adams to go on here, don’t we? He must be feeling pretty cocky right now, and that scares me. There’s no way of knowing how far he might go, and how long this might go on. And threatening to kill on the 1st of April? I bet that’s deliberate. April Fool’s Day. He thinks we’re all idiots.’
There are nods from all the boxes on the screen, and a deep groan from Bryn.
‘And it’s our turn next,’ he says. ‘Deep joy. I’m with you Steph – I think the key lies with Mary Ellis. Watch her, OK?’
Steph turns to look at Jess.
‘We will, won’t we Jess? Keep in very close contact with her. You OK? You’re very quiet.’
Jess nods.
‘Just thinking. And I’m on it,’ she says.
