Cold Killing. Luke Delaney

Any last lingering possibility that this could be a domestic hangs on whether the victim was having a relationship with Jonnie Dempsey, and so far no one’s been able to confirm whether he was or wasn’t. Dempsey is only a suspect in so far as he worked at Utopia, knew the victim and now he’s missing and can’t be found, so all other suggestions are welcome.’

      ‘Maybe we should consider a stranger attack,’ Donnelly spoke up. ‘A random killer.’

      ‘No forced entry, remember?’ Sean reminded him.

      ‘Maybe the killer posed as a client?’ Donnelly suggested. ‘Talked his way into the flat.’

      Sean was beginning to suspect Donnelly knew his blackmail theory was little more than a smokescreen. A screen that allowed Sean time to think. Time to walk in the killer’s shoes – to feel him. To understand him. ‘From what we’re being told of our victim, he was too careful for that.’ Sean tried to steer Donnelly away from the possibility for a while longer, until he had things straight in his own mind.

      ‘But it has to be a possibility?’ Donnelly insisted.

      He had to give Donnelly something. ‘Possibly,’ Sean answered. There was a ripple of noise around the room.

      ‘If it’s a possibility, then what are we doing about it?’ Sally asked.

      ‘We’ve released a national memorandum, police eyes only, checking for recent similar cases,’ Sean reminded them.

      ‘Maybe we should go further back?’ Sally suggested.

      ‘As it happens, I’ve already asked General Registry to send me a number of old files.’ He sensed Donnelly’s discontent. ‘I’ve asked them for anything involving vulnerable victims where an excessive use of violence was involved, going back over the last five years. But don’t get too excited, we’re doing these checks as a matter of protocol, not because I think we have a madman on our hands.’

      ‘That’ll be a lot of files,’ said Donnelly. ‘You’ll need some help going over them.’

      ‘No,’ Sean snapped. ‘I’ll read them myself.’

      ‘What about Method Index?’ Sally asked. ‘They may have data the General Registry doesn’t. Something older or something that never made it to court.’

      ‘Good,’ Sean said. ‘Look into it, Sally. Take some help if you think you’ll need it.’

      ‘And Hellier?’ Donnelly asked. ‘What about Hellier?’

      ‘Surveillance started on him this morning,’ Sean told them. ‘Link up with them as soon as you can and keep them on the right track.’ Donnelly nodded without speaking. He didn’t seem too happy. Sean raised his voice slightly. ‘Don’t lose focus, people. Hellier is still our prime suspect and blackmail our prime motive. We’ll look into other possibilities because we have to, but I don’t want anyone going off on a wild-goose chase when we have an obvious suspect right in front of us. As for Paramore and Dempsey, let’s get hold of Customs and Immigration – see if either have left or tried to leave the country. Paulo.’ DC Zukov raised his head. ‘You take care of it, okay?’ Zukov nodded once. ‘We’ve all got work to do, so let’s get on with it.’ The meeting broke up.

      Sean reached his office just as Donnelly caught up with him. He knew Donnelly would want an explanation.

      ‘Are you going to tell me what’s really going through your mind?’ Donnelly asked.

      ‘Let’s not make a drama out of it, Dave.’

      ‘How long have you known this wasn’t about Hellier being blackmailed?’

      Sean closed the door to his office. ‘I don’t.’

      ‘Come on, guv’nor. Protocol, my arse. If you’ve requested old files from General Registry then you’re looking for something else.’

      Sean sighed. He could see no sense in keeping anything from Donnelly any more. ‘All right. Hellier wasn’t being blackmailed, but I still think he could be our man. The second time I met him I really began to believe it could be him.’

      ‘Can I ask why?’

      ‘Graydon wouldn’t have tried to blackmail him. From what we’ve learned about him, he was too passive to attempt blackmail. Especially someone like Hellier. He’s too intimidating. Too threatening.’

      ‘Then why have you got the team chasing the blackmail theory, not to mention Paramore and Dempsey?’

      ‘I need to make things appear straightforward, just for a while longer. It’ll buy me time to think the way I need to think. Once I show my hand, things will get a lot more complicated around here. I can’t see clearly when I’m crowded, and besides, Paramore and Dempsey must be found and spoken to. I could turn out to be wrong about Hellier.’

      ‘So you don’t think Hellier was being blackmailed, but you do think he could have killed Graydon.’

      ‘I do.’

      ‘Care to share?’

      ‘Because I don’t believe in coincidences. Hellier’s bad to the core. It’s simply in his nature. You know the type of animal I’m talking about. We’ve both dealt with them before. And now someone Hellier was connected to is dead.

      ‘If I’m right about him, then his motive for killing is the killing itself. He’s a very rare breed; the chances that Graydon crossed two such people are extremely remote, although not impossible.’

      Donnelly slumped in a chair, exasperated. ‘Bloody hell, guv, this is all a bit loose. You wouldn’t want to take it to court.’

      ‘Agreed, but there’s another way to go after Hellier. He has no anxiety about this case. When I speak to him about it I can’t feel anything. No panic, concerns, doubt, nothing. He’s absolutely sure he’s got away with it.’

      ‘If he did it,’ Donnelly reminded him. Sean ignored the warning.

      ‘He was at his most confident when we were talking about the Graydon case. So long as we stuck to that, he was totally in his comfort zone. That tells me he’s left us very little, if anything.’

      ‘But?’

      ‘But at other times I’ve sensed his anxiousness.’

      ‘About what?’

      ‘About something else. Something that could betray him.’ Sean sat and faced Donnelly. ‘Something in his past. Maybe he’s—’

      ‘You think he’s killed before?’ Donnelly interrupted.

      ‘If he’s the type of animal I think he is, then there is a very real possibility he has. When I read the old case files from General Registry, hopefully some detail will stand out.’

      ‘You are aware of what you’re saying?’

      ‘Of course I am.’ Sean looked him in the eye. ‘That’s why this has to stay between the two of us for now. I’ll fill Sally in when I get a chance.’

      ‘God forbid the powers that be find out you reckon you’re on to a serial killer. This place will go fucking crazy with senior officers trying to get their faces on the telly.’