Cold Revenge (Willis/Carter #6)(53)

‘How useful are the forums going to be?’ asked Maxwell.

‘You’d be surprised,’ answered Hector. ‘People just ask a small question about the last sighting of Nicola Stone, about Douglas’s possible victims, then it snowballs. If the killer is the kind of person who enjoys feeling smarter than everyone else they’re going to love joining in the conversation.’

‘Have there been any results from house-to-house around Cedar Court?’ asked Willis. Blackman wasn’t there, she was liaising with the Heather Phillips team. Laptop filled her place.

‘Sarge, we are following up on a group of individuals in number seventeen who we haven’t been able to get hold of. Community police officers are assisting in tracking these individuals down.’

‘What about the neighbour, Roy?’ asked Carter.

‘Roy has told our Family Liaison Officer that he could have revealed the secret of Nicola Stone’s identity to a number of people when he’d had a few glasses of wine,’ answered Laptop. ‘Except, we know that Roy doesn’t go anywhere or see anyone else but those people who come into his flat and they are all connected to Cedar Court, plus, crucially for me, she had to be tricked into opening the door when she knew the kind of people who might be waiting on the other side.’

‘If it had something to do with Roy she would have opened it,’ said Willis, ‘or the church, and the vicar.’

‘Exactly . . . run background checks on them,’ said Carter. ‘We have a duty to protect the other disciples, the other people who may be a target for this killer. What do we know about them?’

‘We have yet to get statements from Cathy Dwyer or Stephen Perry,’ answered Hector.

‘That has to be next on the list,’ said Carter.

‘We’re running a trace on Perry’s car for plate recognition around all the sites that concern us,’ said Hector.

‘How did it go with Douglas?’ Carter asked Willis.

‘He is very highly regarded inside. He has a surgery, almost daily, for helping prisoners with problems. He is known to all of them for his good works in there.’

‘Jesus.’ Carter shook his head.

‘But, as the mask slips,’ continued Willis, ‘you can tell he hasn’t changed. He’s in his element in there, so many people to manipulate. He’s a very big fish in a small overstocked pond. I have no doubt he must have a phone. I have requested a list of all those work parties and accompanied days out that Douglas has been on in the last two years. I am pretty sure Douglas asks and he gets. He deals in favours, he even tried to say I owed him for information he gave me on Nicola Stone. He said Nicola was fully aware of the abduction of Rachel McKinney and that she was with him when he did it.’

‘Too little too late,’ said Carter. ‘I wonder if she confessed that and other things to the priest at the church she went to?’

‘Would he tell us?’ asked Maxwell.

‘Afraid not,’ answered Carter. ‘He would be instantly excommunicated.’

‘Did he give you anything else?’ asked Maxwell.

‘He was slightly shocked when I told him about Nicola, but then he calmed and I felt he really didn’t care, maybe even saw it as a good thing. After all, when he comes out of there, he is wanting a clean sheet and so far two of his disciples have gone. Two down, four to go, five with Ash,’ said Willis.

‘Yvonne Coombes should be offered some protection, should be moved,’ Maxwell pointed out. ‘Surely she’s next on the list? Whether the murders are linked or not, we know that Nicola Stone’s death is connected with Heather.’

‘What did he say about Lambs Farm?’ asked Carter.

‘He was not expecting it,’ Willis answered. ‘When I said we were digging up Lambs Farm, it really threw him, for at least a minute. But he is nothing if not shrewd and calculating. He was already pointing the finger at the new killer for all he was accused of in the past. He is angry, frustrated, but even now expecting to come out of there in June next year.’

‘I had a meeting with the SIO at the time of Heather’s disappearance – that was ex-Superintendent Davidson. It was useful, but it highlighted massive gaps in the inquiry. It showed me that, by putting all their energy in nailing Douglas forensically, they made a big mistake, they underestimated how cunning he is. When Douglas managed to wriggle free, Davidson had nothing left to fall back on and a chance was lost. The only way we can ever get Douglas is by bringing something new to the table. Going forward,’ said Carter, ‘all the people at risk need contacting: Perry and Dwyer and anyone who was at those parties at the time Heather disappeared. Who has been in trouble with the law since then? Who was on the edge of the disciple circle? We know lots of people saw things that probably shocked them at Hawthorn Farm, at the parties, at the evenings that went on there. Search back through all the statements and get back out interviewing people afresh.’

‘Everybody and his brother went to Douglas’s parties, half of Chesham,’ said Hector, pointing at the sheets of names and addresses that were pinned to the whiteboard. ‘That’s the list of people who were there the night Heather disappeared. It’s just about everyone under the age of fifty who’s on the electoral register.’

‘Chris, you’ve been quiet? This is turning into a bigger investigation than we thought, do you need to have more help on this?’