Authors: Clare Donoghue
Lockyer could tell she had more to say, but she stopped herself. She had been quiet in the car on the way back to the station. He had assumed she was as floored by Mort’s attitude as he was, but maybe it was more than that. ‘That’s a bit of a stretch, Jane,’ he said. She turned to face him, her eyes blazing.
‘Are you telling me you don’t think Mort’s involved, after what he said to us today?’ she asked.
‘No, Jane, I’m not. Mort was an abomination, no doubt. But from what Roger’s just said and from Dave’s findings, Lebowski’s the guy – nine times out of ten.’
‘But she was attacked at home,’ Jane said, shifting in her seat. ‘Explain that to me.’
Lockyer took a deep breath. ‘The drugs suggest premeditation, Jane,’ he said, putting the pieces together in his mind. ‘From what you’ve told me, Lebowski’s a clever guy. The fact that Maggie was attacked when she got home, rather than at Lebowski’s house, gives him the perfect alibi.’ He waited until Jane was looking at him. ‘Think about it. He’ll say, “If I drugged her and planned to kill her, why wouldn’t I do it in the safety of my own home? Why would I risk taking her home and attacking her on her front doorstep, where people could see me, where people would recognize me?”’
Jane was shaking her head, but Roger was nodding. He could see sense in Lockyer’s reasoning, even if she couldn’t.
‘I authorized the warrant. DC Groves is just getting the necessary signatures. She should be making the arrest shortly,’ Roger said, standing up. ‘Forgive me, Jane, but I thought you’d be pleased?’
She was still shaking her head. ‘I am, boss. Of course I am. But there’s something that doesn’t fit. Why the tomb? Why put Maggie down there when she was alive? I can’t explain it right now, sir, but I know Mort’s holding something back. Victor . . . ’ Again she stopped.
‘Well, you will have at least forty-eight hours to question Lebowski before you have to worry about charging him. Put a team on this Mort character. If your suspicions prove correct, then you’ll have your next arrest already lined up, won’t you?’
‘Yes, boss,’ Jane said, nodding. ‘Thank you.’ She turned and walked out of Roger’s office, leaving Lockyer and Roger in her wake.
‘What was all that about?’ Roger asked.
‘Not sure,’ Lockyer said. ‘This is her first big case. As she said, it’s complicated. It’s a lot of pressure. You know Jane. She just wants to get it right.’
‘Okay, well, make sure you back her up.’
‘I will, Roger,’ Lockyer said, turning to leave.
‘And, Mike, without needing to go into detail, I need to ask: are you all right? You seem more together – more like your old self – but . . . ’
‘It’s okay, Roger,’ Lockyer said without hesitation. ‘I’m good, better: back on form.’ The euphemisms sounded weak, but he could tell by Roger’s face that they were the words he wanted to hear.
‘Good. About time,’ he said. ‘Off you go. Good luck with Lebowski. Let’s hope Jane has her man.’
It was an interesting phrase, Lockyer thought, as he left Roger’s office, closing the door behind him.
‘I don’t believe it,’ Jane said, walking into Lockyer’s office. She sat down without waiting to be asked.
‘What don’t you believe?’ he asked, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands behind his head.
‘Victor – I don’t think he killed Maggie Hungerford.’ It was the first time she had said the words out loud. Just hearing herself cemented her belief.
‘And what makes you think that?’ Lockyer asked.
There was warning in his tone, but Jane couldn’t stop herself. ‘I’m not sure.’ She was embarrassed by the weakness of the statement. ‘I know how that sounds, but listen. Victor dated Maggie, yes. He saw her the night she was attacked. He even admitted that they argued. But he didn’t kill her.’
‘Jane,’ he said, pushing his chair back and walking behind her to close the door to his office, ‘I’m not sure what your relationship with Lebowski is, but I think it’s fair to say it’s clouding your judgement in this case.’
‘Relationship?’ She lowered her voice before continuing. ‘There is no relationship between me and Victor. I’ve talked to him, interviewed him. He isn’t a killer.’
‘Jane,’ Lockyer said, holding up his hands, ‘you’ve got to admit that you seem to be taking this personally. You only met the guy yesterday, and now you’re protesting his innocence like he’s a family member. It’s not like you, and what I don’t understand,’ he continued, his eyebrows raised, ‘is why. What did Lebowski say or do to incite this . . . reaction?’
She felt winded. ‘He didn’t. I’m not.’ She didn’t know what to say. She dropped her head.
‘Do you realize you keep calling him “Victor”?’ he asked. Jane closed her eyes. She had caught herself referring to Victor by his first name a couple of times, but beyond that, no, she hadn’t realized. ‘I take it that’s a No,’ he said, sitting down. ‘Look, Jane – that aside, I appreciate your instincts, but you need to be realistic. You interviewed Lebowski yesterday for what: a few hours? That isn’t enough time to observe and study a suspect’s responses. You wouldn’t be the first copper to form an opinion of a suspect before having all the facts.’ Jane bit the inside of her cheek. ‘You didn’t have the morphine angle then,’ he said, holding up one finger. ‘Given that, and everything you told me last night, Lebowski is the obvious fit. I know you told Roger that you thought Mort might be involved, but come on. Do you really believe the Miss Marple stuff you were spouting in there?’
‘I don’t know, sir,’ she said, feeling as if she wanted to crawl out of his office with her tail between her legs. ‘But I felt something with Mort,’ she said. Lockyer might be right about the Victor thing. She had taken the news of his arrest personally, but not because of any relationship. It was because of Mort. How could Lockyer be so obtuse? They had only finished speaking to Mort a couple of hours ago. Had he forgotten how unhinged the guy had been? ‘There was something wrong there, very wrong,’ she said, looking over at him, searching his eyes for some shred of understanding.
‘I’m not going to argue with you. Mort is a major concern, on a number of levels. But, Jane, Lebowski dated the victim. He had the means, the opportunity and a possible motive.’
‘What motive?’ she asked.
‘You said yourself that Lebowski and Maggie argued the night she was attacked.’
‘Yes, but . . . ’
‘Hang on,’ he said. ‘Let me finish.’ She sat back, resisting the urge to cross her arms. ‘Lebowski told you that Maggie had tried to cry off that night because Mort wanted to see her, that he’d been trying to get her back for months.’
‘Yes,’ Jane said.
‘Did Victor tell you what he and Maggie argued about?’ Lockyer shook his head. ‘You’ve got me doing it now. Did Lebowski tell you what they fought about?’
‘No, he didn’t,’ she said, knowing where Lockyer was going with this.
‘So, isn’t it possible that Maggie was thinking about getting back with Mort; that she was thinking about breaking up with Victor, and that is what they were fighting about? Jealousy, revenge,’ he said, sighing. ‘They’re not the most exciting motives, but they’re the oldest.’
Jane’s brain felt as if it was misfiring. She could hear what Lockyer was saying, but something was stopping her from accepting it. ‘Mort didn’t say anything about trying to get Maggie back. In fact, from the way he talked about her, I can’t imagine he would even have entertained the notion.’
‘So now you believe Mort?’ he said. She could tell Lockyer was trying to sound sympathetic, but he was failing. ‘Five minutes ago you were telling me and Roger that Mort fed Maggie the morphine because she rejected him. If Lebowski is telling the truth, then you have a possible motive. If the impression Mort gave of not being interested in Maggie any more is true, then your theory about him killing Maggie out of jealousy doesn’t stack up. You can’t have it both ways.’
‘It doesn’t have to be jealousy,’ she said, feeling her resolve weaken. ‘What Mort said about wanting information on her death, to study it, what if that was to cover his tracks? Victor – sorry, Lebowski – said he thought Mort was carrying out unauthorized experiments with an off-campus clique: weird psychology shit.’ Even to her this was sounding far-fetched, but goose-bumps had come up on her arms. ‘I haven’t had the time or the manpower to really look into the air-hose and CCTV angle, but think about it.’ She looked at Lockyer to gauge his reaction. He wasn’t laughing, so she decided to keep going. ‘Maggie was drugged, but not enough to kill her. She was hit, but not hard enough to inflict serious injury. She was put in that tomb alive with a supply – however limited – of air. There was a camera lens in with her. Why? Why would anyone want to watch that?’ Lockyer’s mouth turned down at the edges. He was considering what she was saying. That had to mean she hadn’t gone mad. ‘I’m sure Phil would say that someone would need to be psychopathic, if not psychotic, to indulge in such an elaborate murder. But what if it wasn’t a murder – not in the usual sense of the word? What if it was an experiment? An experiment set up by an over-zealous, mentally unhinged PhD student?’
‘Jane . . . ’ Lockyer began.
‘I know it sounds crazy, but it’s been on my mind ever since I met Mort.’
‘What would he hope to gain from such an experiment?’ he asked, shaking his head. ‘Are you saying Maggie was meant to come out of that hole and report back on how she felt?’
‘No. I don’t know,’ she said, and she didn’t. ‘He had the camera, so maybe he didn’t need her to come out. Maybe she was just a guinea pig, like you said. Or,’ she went on, throwing her hands up, ‘or maybe I am losing it. Mort, the camera, the tomb – I can feel a link. I just can’t see it.’ Lockyer didn’t say anything. Jane’s shoulders sagged. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, pushing her thumbs into her temples. ‘Everything you’ve said about Lebowski makes sense. He’s the one in the frame. I’m focusing on the wrong person. I’ve let the case . . . I’ve let Mort get to me. My mind won’t settle.’ Again it was the first time she had said the words aloud, but not the first time she had thought them.
‘It’s okay, Jane. It’s happens to everyone. It’s happened to me, more than once. It’s a big case – your biggest. You met Lebowski and he seemed normal. You met Mort.’ He paused. ‘And he seemed nuts. It’s your job to connect the dots, not tangle yourself up in knots.’ She nodded. ‘You’re bound to be anxious,’ he said, ‘keen to get it right; and get it right in record time. The kind of pressure you’re under would drive a normal person insane.’
She managed to smile. ‘Are you saying I’m not normal?’
‘I hope not. Normal people don’t make very good detectives. And you, Jane, are an excellent detective.’
She took a deep breath and blew it out. ‘Okay. I think I need to get some air, clear my head, before they bring in Victor . . . I mean, Lebowski.’
‘Do you want me to sit in?’ he asked.
‘Yes, sir. I do, thank you.’ The relief in her voice was obvious even to her. She needed his support; it had just taken her a while to realize how much. She needed to talk things through – that was all. To get her mind straight. She was so used to having Lockyer there as a sounding board that not having him on the investigation had left her floundering. She could almost feel the fug of confusion lifting, and for that she was grateful.
As she stood to leave she saw Penny jogging across the office towards them. ‘Looks like they’ve got him already,’ she said, opening the door to Lockyer’s office. ‘You back from picking up Lebowski?’ Jane asked, pleased that she had remembered to call him by his surname. No matter what she thought, he was now a murder suspect awaiting charges. She needed to maintain an emotional distance if she was going to do her job, and not calling him Victor was as good a place to start as any.
‘Yes and no,’ Penny said.
Jane noticed that she was out of breath. ‘What’s up?’
‘It looks like we might have another clandestine site,’ she said, taking in a lungful of air. ‘Over in Elmstead.’
‘Another body?’ Jane asked.
‘Not sure yet – maybe,’ she said. ‘It was dumb luck, really. I was out with Chris, waiting for the go-ahead from the SIO to pick up Lebowski. Despatch called the office looking for you. Franks told them you were in a meeting, so he transferred the call to me.’
‘Right,’ Jane said, willing Penny to get to the point. Lockyer was standing behind her. She could feel that he was ready to move. So was she.
‘A man was seen over in Elmstead.’ Penny took out her notepad and read, ‘The individual was seen “rooting around” at the edge of the woods. The description sounded like Lebowski, so Chris and I took the call, went over to check it out and, sure enough, there he was. We took him into custody, and I called Franks and Whitemore to secure the scene. They called in the GPR guys as a precaution. I just got off the phone with Franks. GPR confirms that another underground space has been found.’
Jane turned to Lockyer. She knew what needed to be done. He nodded. ‘Penny, are you happy to process Lebowski’s arrest with the custody sergeant?’ she asked.
‘Yes, boss,’ Penny said. ‘No problem.’
‘Fine. Get things under way here. DI Lockyer and I are going to head over to Elmstead. Can you call Dave and let him know what’s happening?’
‘Already done,’ Penny said. ‘I phoned down to the mortuary suite earlier. Dr Simpson is just finishing a post-mortem but after that he said he’s all yours, if you need him.’
‘Great job, DC Groves,’ Lockyer said from behind Jane. Penny thanked him and nodded to Jane, before turning and walking away, back across the office towards the custody suite. If he wanted to say ‘I told you so’, now was the time to do it. But instead he said, ‘It’s not looking very good for our boy Victor, is it?’ There was no sarcasm in his voice and he had said ‘our’ rather than ‘your’.
‘No,’ she said. ‘It’s not.’
1st May – Thursday
Jane was pacing outside the interview room. She was waiting for Lockyer to arrive so that they could question Victor Lebowski together. So much had happened since yesterday’s arrest. Her brain was in overdrive.
‘Ready?’ She turned as Lockyer walked towards her, a folder wedged under one arm. ‘I’ve read through the file and listened to the interview you did on Tuesday,’ he said.