‘You told me to list everyone who had some kind of involvement and keep it between us, this is exactly what I’ve done, Ben. You can’t deny it, Scotty was the one to have responded to the call outs for all the victims; what are the chances of him doing that for three murders? To be first on scene, that’s just too convenient. He shouted up for all three calls when they came in despite him spending the last few years avoiding most shouts. I checked the log for the car accident that Mr and Mrs Williams died in, and he was first on scene for that too.’
Ben sat down, his hand scrubbing the rough stubble on his face, and she knew she was stressing him out. ‘What’s his motive? Christ, I can’t believe we’re even discussing this, Morgan.’
She shrugged. ‘I haven’t worked that out yet, but I will. But being present at all crime scenes rules out any prints he could have mistakenly left behind, doesn’t it?’
‘Do you know the trouble this would cause if it got out, not least for Scotty, if he’s innocent and we’re accusing him of being a serial killer.’
She nodded. ‘I do, of course I do, and that’s why this conversation is private without an audience.’
‘I don’t see it; I really don’t. Isn’t he married with kids?’
She shrugged. ‘Yes, but when has that ever had anything to do with being a killer? A lot of them lead normal lives, have long-term partners and children. Look at the neighbours’ reactions when these monsters are caught. They always say he was such a good guy, salt of the earth, would do anything for anyone.’
‘But Scotty? It’s like saying Cain is a killer, but we know he’s not, he’s clumsy, loud, always hungry and probably one of thenicest guys I know. It doesn’t make sense to me; how much sense does it make to you? Be honest with me, Morgan.’
She sighed. ‘Not a lot, but it’s a huge coincidence. In fact, it is, it’s a massive one and I don’t like them.’
‘Maybe not, but I don’t want you talking about this with anyone else.’
‘Should I do some digging around?’
Ben looked at her then shook his head. ‘No, if we’re pointing fingers at cops because they attend crime scenes, what’s to stop someone pointing them at you or me? Unless you find a piece of evidence so blatantly obvious that screams he’s responsible, then forget about this.’
Morgan opened her mouth then closed it again.
‘Why are you backtracking, is it because of PSD hanging around or Bigfoot?’
She’d expected a bit of resistance but not this level.
He shook his head. ‘It’s complicated, Morgan.’
She shrugged, feeling more than a little awkward and annoyed at him. He’d been acting a bit weird since Declan had pointed out that she’d come back from New York without a ring on her finger, and she wasn’t sure what was going on with him.
‘Whatever you say, boss.’ Then she walked out of his office, furious with Ben’s attitude yet at the same time doubting herself.
Was she being stupid and making it fit because it suited her? She had nothing against Scotty but it really, really bothered her that he was so involved. There was a small possibility it could be any of the cops she worked with and not Scotty. It just felt as if this could be an inside job, as only someone who worked in the station would have access to the files and know all the small details of each crime scene. Had someone been watching them and using the information to carry out these heinous crimes? She would just have to do some digging around on her own and see what she came up with.
TWENTY-NINE
Angela hadn’t seen an awful lot of Cain with work being so busy, and he’d been helping Amy with the baby as much as he could. She hadn’t minded that one little bit, although it did torment her a lot that maybe he would be much more suited to being in a relationship with Amy than with her, especially since Amy’s partner had died and she was all alone. Cain and Amy were similar ages, worked together and had an awful lot in common, and now they shared the bond with her baby who was the sweetest little thing she had ever met. Checking her Facebook account once more, she clicked on the messages to see if the most important message she had ever sent in her life had been read. She sighed, it hadn’t. Maybe he didn’t use it much. She had promised herself when she was younger that she wouldn’t do this, but now Susan and Jim were dead, what would it matter?
She didn’t really use social media herself, but it had its uses, and getting in touch with people from her past had been one of them. Jonathan was also dead; he’d had a heart attack in Crown Court in the middle of a high-profile murder case, and it had hit the headlines all over the country. That had been years ago, and she hadn’t wasted a single tear on him. She hadn’t even felt bad for his family, and despite the past, she never bore any ill willtowards them. They probably didn’t even remember she existed, as she had always been his dirty little secret. So, she doubted he’d told his bright young wife that he’d been married previously to a child killer.Stop it, Angela, you had postnatal depression and not one person to help you get through it.She berated herself, but she wouldn’t say she had come to terms with that horrible part of her younger life, though she had made her peace with it. Especially after she had trained to be a social worker and spent her life since doing what nobody had done for her, helping mums who needed someone to talk to when it all got too much, so they didn’t get to the point of exhaustion and depression that she’d reached.
She stared at the tiny, grainy picture on the chat page, so small she couldn’t work out what he looked like now as a grown man. It was a terrible image, but maybe he didn’t want to be recognised. A lot of people had their pets, flowers, inanimate images as their profile.
About to click off the page, she noticed three grey dots and sucked in her breath. He was going to reply to her, then they stopped, and she released it, the disappointment hitting her heart harder than she ever imagined. Clicking off the page, she decided she would give him time; at least he’d seen her message and maybe he would answer her when he felt like it. Her phone dinged, alerting her she had a reply, and she closed her eyes and put her hands in the prayer position. No matter what he said, she could handle it. Releasing the breath she’d been holding, she opened the message.
Hey, I don’t know you, do I? Is there any reason you want to meet me? I’m not looking for a relationship, I’m happily engaged.
Angela felt her cheeks burn. Oh Lord, she should have worded that message better.
Hello, I’m sorry. I’m not either. This is more of I think we could be related kind of thing and I’m trying to trace my family. That’s all, I promise.
A laughing emoji appeared on the screen.
Sorry, I misunderstood. That’s good. How can I help you?
It’s a bit complicated over messenger, are you Susan and Jim’s son?
