‘Did Erin ever mention the name Samantha to you, anyone called Samantha Valentine, a friend of hers?’
‘I don’t remember her mentioning any names, I’m sorry… but she did talk about this one frienda lot,if I remember rightly.’
My adrenalin started pumping furiously. For some reason, I hadn’t expected her to say that. ‘The blonde one, with the red lipstick and the perfume? Her, you mean?’
My heart exploded in my chest.
‘Yousawher? You met Samantha, this friend of hers?’
Her eyes widened and she took a micro step backwards, away from the front desk.
‘Um… well, yeah, no, I mean, I never met her socially, if it’s the same woman we’re talking about. I didn’t know her name, but I’m pretty sure she came here for a job interview on the same day as Erin. I don’t know if they knew each other previously, or if that’s how they met.’
‘Would you recognise her again, this woman, if you saw her?’
Davis couldn’t pull her phone from her pocket fast enough. ‘Did she look something like this?’ She slid the sketched image of Samantha Valentine in front of her. I held my breath as she stared at it.
‘Honestly?’ She looked up after a moment. ‘I really can’t say. I suppose it could be. She was blonde, attractive, in her earlythirties, and she looked, I dunno…expensive. She wore a pair of Louboutins, you know, the ones with the red soles,’ – she looked at Davis – ‘and I distinctly remember thinking that if she could afford to buy a pair of those, then she doesn’t really need this job! Wish I could afford them.’ She sniffed. ‘And the perfume she wore, it got up your nose a bit, do you know what I mean?’
‘Yes, Zoe, I knowexactlywhat you mean.’
Adrenalin was dancing inside my guts. Zoe doesn’t know it, but she may be a vital witness, perhaps theonlywitness to a suspected sighting of Samantha Valentine,a person who doesn’t exist.
‘So, yeah, I think that’s how they met, maybe. Anyway, I saw her a couple of times after that, once while she was waiting outside the building, across the road. I assumed she was waiting for Erin, though it could’ve been someone else. And then another time, I saw them coming out of Pret A Manger together, walking towards Elmo Gardens. I assumed they were going for lunch in the park. Why?’ She looked at me and then at Davis. ‘Erin hasn’t killed her as well, has she?’
TWENTY-NINE
Hair fibres, in among Milo Harrison’s blood. Together with Tilly Ward’s DNA,they found Erin’s hair at the crime scene. I don’t know why I’m as surprised – nor strangely as disappointed – as I am to learn this, not after hearing what DI Pritchard and the eminent Dr Wainwright had to say. Also, there’s a possible link between Erin and our latest victim, Milo Harrison, as it turns out.
‘Harrison went to university in Leeds,’ Mitchell had earlier informed me. ‘He lived less than half a mile from Erin’s home town back in the early 2000s. Maybe she knew him, gov.’
It was possible of course. Was there historic bad blood between them? Had they been in some sort of a relationship and it went bad? Had she started stalking himway back then? These are the questions skipping through my head, and yet despite this, and despite the DNA evidence, I find myself struggling to truly believe that Erin Santos was involved in Milo Harrison’s murder. Harrison’s family and friends were adamant that they’ve never heard of the name Erin Santos nor Samantha Valentine. They felt positive they would’ve known if he was, or ever had been stalked by anyone. They were a close-knit family who supported each other and were open about their problems.
Maybe I’m losing my touch and Erin’s just too good at what she does – convincing people into believing her,getting under their skin, just as Amanda Pritchard warned me. Is that what’s happened here? This is what I’m asking myself as I wait behind the door of the Met Police media suite, back in London after a long day already. I take a few deep breaths. Why do I keep coming back to the feeling that sheistelling me the truth, at least on some level? I rub my temples with a thumb and forefinger. The cognitive dissonance is giving me a banging headache.
I can’t rule out the idea that Erin is dangerous though. If all of thisistrue, then she could already be targeting her next victims, grooming them into killing on her command. Had she set her sights on Malcolm? Was it a covert heads-up she was giving me when she told me they had slept together? The idea sends a chill through me. Erin is really screwed now though. And I’m just about to explain to a room full of journalists why.
‘Good afternoon, thank you all for coming. I’m Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Riley of the Metropolitan Police, Senior Investigating Officer on the homicide of Milo Harrison, thirty-two, from South West London. Further to the arrest made last week, I can confirm that a thirty-four-year-old female has been released on pre-charge conditional bail pending further inquiries.’ I try not to blink in time with the camera clicks, the pops and flashes that shock my eyes shut. I don’t know how these celebrities do it, day in and day out. No wonder they all wear dark glasses and look pissed off. I compose myself and hope that my tie is straight. I’ll get trolled by the fashion police otherwise. People relish commenting about this kind of stuff – you know, lucky people with a lot of time on their hands and not much else to think about.
‘On Thursday, we released an artist’s sketch of a woman we believe could be using the name Samantha Valentine. We have, as yet, been unable to locate this witness who, it’s been alleged,left the scene of the crime.’ The room is silent, save for the camera clicks. I pause. ‘Following a forensic update, we are now looking for another person of interest andpotential witness.’ I choose my words deliberately. I need Erin to call me back.
‘Erin Santos is a former patient of Larksmere Psychiatric Hospital with a previous conviction for the manslaughter of a man in 2019. We believe she may be in the London area and we need to speak to her in relation to our ongoing inquiries.’
‘DCI Riley!’ A member of the press raises a cursory hand and begins to speak at the same time. ‘Is Erin Santos a suspect? Did she murder Milo Harrison?’ His question sets off a chain reaction among them. Now it’s like a round of bullets being fired.
‘Why have you released a murder suspect, Detective Inspector? What made you let her go?’
‘Mr Riley, can you give us the name of the suspect? Is Erin Santos dangerous? Should she be approached by the public? What are you doing about finding her?’
‘Dan!’ A slim, red-headed woman wearing glasses catches my attention. She’s standing towards the back of the room. ‘Dan, can you tell me how Erin Santos and Samantha Valentine might be linked? Is Samantha Valentine even real?’
I don’t exactly recognise this particular journalist – she’s too far away and her face is mostly obscured by the sea of fellow hacks and cameras in front of her for me to get a proper look at it – butsomethingabout her presencefeelsfamiliar somehow. And she’s not too far off the money either, although it’s more complicated than that if what Dr Wainwright and Amanda Pritchard say is anything to go by.
‘We’re following intel and leads as to her current whereabouts. We’re confident we can find her. First and foremost, we want to make sure she’s safe.’ The cameras start to pop like fireworks as Erin’s police mugshot flashes up on the screen behind me. ‘Erin Santos is a forty-year-old white female,with, we believe, long dark hair, though this picture is over six years old, so it’s possible she’s changed her appearance and could look significantly different. She’s five feet four inches, with a slim build and striking green eyes, and she speaks with a soft Yorkshire accent. If anyone knows Erin, or knows where she is, please contact the incident room on the number on screen now, below. Thank you.’
‘Were the victim and Erin Santos a couple, were they in a relationship? How is she related to the case?’
The truthful answer is that I don’t yet know. Currently, we’ve found no definitive link between Erin and Milo Harrison, aside from the fact that the victim lived close to Erin in Leeds during a two-year university degree over a decade ago. Dr Wainwright, however, had confirmed the dates that Erin had been let out on day release, prior to her being discharged from Larksmere. And one of those dates was the same date Tilly Ward claims to have first met Samantha in a bookshop in town – it tallies. There’s no CCTV of course, the team has already checked. But the store owner vaguely recognised Tilly Ward’s photograph when Parker and Mitchell had paid him a visit.
