The Death Messenger (Matthew Ryan Book 2)(112)

‘No, Mr Spencer called me.’

‘He’s there with you? Could I have a word?’

‘He left. He’s rather upset. I gather they worked together. I said I’d wait for the undertaker.’

‘In that case, do you have a moment to talk to me? I’d like some insight into Sauer’s.’

‘Whatever for?’

‘I’m investigating the murder of multiple victims. It’s a complicated case involving the disease. It would take too long to explain. Jo Nichol developed symptoms at around the same time as one of our main suspects.’ Ryan failed to mention that his suspect was also dead. ‘In no way am I suggesting that she was involved – she was ruled out of our enquiry some time ago – but it would help me to know how plausible it is in the latter stages of Sauer’s to beat a man to death. We have reason to believe that our suspect, a male, was quite poorly.’

‘He would be. These patients deteriorate quickly.’

‘Which is why I’m asking.’

‘I’m not qualified to answer that, Detective. I’m a general practitioner. You need to talk to a consultant.’

‘I’m after your opinion, sir, nothing more. There are so few specialists, we’ve not yet managed to find one who is available to talk to us. You’ve had very close and recent contact with a sufferer. In my book, that counts; you have an expert opinion to give and I’d like to hear it.’

The GP hesitated.

Ryan pressed on. ‘I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. If our main suspect didn’t have the capacity to kill, we may be looking in the wrong direction. Sir, we have reason to believe that another death might be imminent . . . possibly before the day is out. The perpetrator must be stopped. Not to put too fine a point on it, your advice, expert or not, may save a life.’

‘I see your dilemma.’ The medic paused. ‘I won’t give evidence on a witness stand.’

‘Off the record is fine.’

‘Then, in my humble opinion, and don’t quote me on it, it’s highly unlikely that a person in the latter stages of Sauer’s would be capable of extreme violence such as you’re describing. The disease is brutal, Detective. It saps strength and drains energy. Don’t get me started on the physical deterioration.’

It wasn’t what Ryan wanted to hear.

He thanked Blake and hung up.

He was about to redial when Grace let herself in.

‘It’s turning cold.’ She took off her coat and sat down, a rueful expression on her face. ‘Guv, sorry to be the bearer of bad news – Danish Police say Pedersen failed to identify Mark Montgomery as a suspect. He’s not the man she saw.’

O’Neil eyeballed Ryan. ‘Can this day get any worse?’

He felt her frustration and saw her head go down. His conversation with Blake had brought him to the same conclusion. Mark Montgomery was not the killer. Suddenly, the case they had built together began to crumble, every building block falling down around them, creating a cloud of confusion.

Ryan was every bit as deflated as the rest of them. A chill ran down his spine as Grace’s words taunted him. ‘I need to make a call,’ he said.

‘This is not a good time,’ O’Neil said. ‘We need to regroup.’

‘Later, I need to do this – Jo Nichol is dead.’

Grace and O’Neil were nonplussed. They watched him dial out, lost interest as he waited for the call to be answered, and went back to work. The ringing tone stopped, Dan Spencer answering with his full name. He was in a car. Ryan heard road noise in the background. He tried to lift himself out of the gloom and put on a professional front.

‘Mr Spencer, it’s DS Ryan. I just spoke to Doctor Blake and wanted to offer my condolences. I’m so sorry to hear about Jo. I know how close you two were. Is there anything I can do for you?’

‘Nothing, thanks.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘Do you need company? I could send someone round.’

‘I said I’m fine. I’m heading north to see my mum. Thank you for taking the trouble to call.’

‘No problem, as long as you’re OK. You take care.’

I’m heading north . . .

Those three words were like a punch in the gut to Ryan. He swore under his breath as he put down the phone, causing O’Neil to raise her head. His eyes found hers. ‘Pedersen was correct. Mark Montgomery wasn’t the man she saw in Copenhagen. We fingered the wrong guy.’





62


‘What a monumental cock-up.’ Ryan was pacing up and down, angry for not having seen what was right in front of him, more so for allowing Sophia to get one over on him. ‘Mark Montgomery was Shdwman. Dan Spencer was dude1980. Why the hell didn’t I spot that? Sophia must have been laughing her socks off when I tried to implicate her brother.’ He took a long, deep breath. ‘Well, she won’t be doing it for long.’

It took Newman less than twenty-three minutes to find out where Spencer’s parents lived – an address in the village of Yarm, North Yorkshire – twenty more to find the identity of the caller the cinematographer was most in contact with. The DVLA were useful, British Telecom too, everyone keen to cooperate in finding the country’s Most Wanted.