Lying Beside You (Cyrus Haven #3)(17)

‘Maya met him and communicated with him via a dating app. We are seeking that data from the company, which is based in America.’

Another reporter shouts, ‘Could she be a hostage? Has there been a ransom demand?’

‘Her family are not wealthy.’

‘Do you have a murder weapon?’

‘No.’

‘Did Maya kill her father?’

‘We don’t believe so.’

Hoyle is growing annoyed by the questions. ‘You will be issued with photographs of Rohan and Maya Kirk. We are asking for the public’s help in tracing Maya’s interactions on Sunday evening. Who did she speak to? Did she go home alone? Was she followed? If anyone saw her, please come forward. You can give information anonymously using the Crimestoppers’ number.’

Hoyle picks up his hat and tucks it under his arm. The reporters are unhappy. Most are still looking for an angle – something that lifts this crime above the ordinary, tragic banality of another act of violence and puts it on the front pages of the national papers or the evening news bulletins.

Upstairs in the incident room, a task force of forty-plus detectives has gathered for a briefing. Some I recognise or know by name. DC Monroe gets called Marilyn, which she doesn’t seem to mind. She shuffles sideways and offers me a corner of her desk.

‘OK, what do we have?’ asks Hoyle.

DS Edgar speaks. ‘None of the neighbours saw or heard anything unusual on Sunday night. A little boy in the house opposite says he saw a ghost out his bedroom window, but his parents say he’s always seeing monsters when he eats too much sugar.’

There are chuckles around the room.

‘We’re still collecting footage from home security cameras and CCTV; and checking vehicle movements in a four-hour window either side of midnight. So far, we’ve clocked fifty-eight vehicles in Beaconsfield Road, many of them cabbies using it as a short cut. A food truck was parked on the nearest corner for two hours. We’re looking for the owner.’

Edgar hands over to another sergeant, Paul Lennox, whose nickname is Prime Time because of his love for cameras and his reputation for getting himself on TV.

‘The Sex Offenders Register has thrown up eighteen possible suspects living within two miles of the murder scene. Twelve have alibis. We’re looking more closely at the other six, but most are your garden-variety perverts and groomers.’

‘Any of them have links with Maya Kirk?’ asks Hoyle.

‘None, but she made a complaint about a peeping tom a few weeks ago. Paulie Brennan lives two streets away. He was stopped by a patrol car, but denied he was watching her undress. Brennan was out on Sunday evening with two mates, both with biker connections. The Blue Angels MC.’

‘Trace his movements. I want to know if they crossed paths. Where are we with former boyfriends?’

Monroe speaks: ‘Maya had a two-year relationship with a local builder called Daryl Branagh, which ended acrimoniously. Branagh posted naked photographs of her on a revenge porn site but took them down within forty-eight hours. Police interviewed him, but no charges were laid because Maya declined to make a statement.’ Dropping her voice, she mutters, ‘We should have charged him anyway.’

Another detective, whom I don’t recognise, delivers a backgrounder on Maya: ‘She was born in Nottingham and educated at St Mary’s Catholic Academy, which is in the same street as her house. Later she went to Nottingham Free, a co-ed secondary school in Sherwood, where she sat for her A-levels. She studied for a Bachelor of Science degree at Nottingham University and spent three years working for the National Health Service. After that, she drifted from job to job as a receptionist, office manager and sales rep. She set up her dog-grooming business two years ago. Most of her bookings are online or over the phone. Mainly cash. No receipts.’

‘Customers ever come to the house?’ asks Hoyle.

‘Not usually.’

‘What about her finances?’

‘Solid. She took out a personal loan to buy the dog-grooming van but has almost paid it off.’

Hoyle has been pacing the floor in front of a whiteboard where Maya’s photograph is displayed beside her father’s. He scratches idly at his cheek with three fingers and examines the images. He turns suddenly.

‘Any thoughts, Dr Haven?’

The question surprises me. I didn’t expect him to ask for my opinion. Eyes weigh upon me.

‘I don’t think Rohan Kirk was the primary target. It’s more likely he stumbled upon the abduction of his daughter.’

‘You think she invited the killer home?’ asks Hoyle.

‘Or he forced his way inside. He isn’t someone particularly close to Maya or he would have known she didn’t live alone. More likely, he’s a casual contact, or someone she met that evening who followed her home.’

‘Why did he take her?’ asks Lenny.

‘I don’t have enough information to answer that.’

A detective calls out from the far side of the room.

‘The dating service has just sent us Maya’s chat history. She arranged to meet someone called Alex Foley.’

Moments later, a webpage is projected onto the whiteboard. Foley’s dating profile lists his age as thirty-six and says he works in IT. The main photograph was taken outdoors, showing blond highlights in his hair and muscled forearms sticking out of a T-shirt that is a size too small.