“Now, here’s the paragraph about Bobby’s death,” Sam says, flicking to the relevant chapter.
“We lost Bobby under tragic circumstances the following July and I was so pleased we’d had that moment together.
“I think that what Denver tells us about his family is true. But he’s slipped up—he’s also included Bobby’s death in Betty’s chapter, and that was the connection we needed to make,”Sam says.
“And Lister just told us…” Taylor begins, but hesitates.
“Lister just told us that Denver used to visit another boy, possibly called Brown, at a Newcastle university in the early noughties,” Sam says. “Betty lived in the North East. DI Duggan will ask Jemma Hammond if she remembers anything and is willing to make a statement. He’ll give her Sean Lister’s address as well, and tell her to sue him for backdated child support.”
“If you’re right, ma’am,” Chloe announces, “then you’ve solved Betty Brown’s murder and led us straight to Denver.”
Sam nods. She’s keen to know what Taylor thinks of her theory, but he seems a little dazed and is staring absently out at the busy fourth floor.
“Perhaps Denver killed Bobby and Betty suspected it, so Denver killed her too,” Taylor ventures.
“Maybe,” Chloe says. “But if Betty suspected it strongly enough, she’d have gone to the police—and she didn’t.”
“But she did do one thing,” Sam says. “She changed her will. DI Duggan half told me when we visited Newcastle but he got dragged away. I called him earlier this morning and he confirmed it. A few months after her son died, Betty changed her will and left all of her money to the Salvation Army. Effectively disinheriting her nephew. Her only remaining family. Why would Betty do that unless—”
“Shit,” Taylor says, and Sam is surprised to hear the word on his lips. “You’ve cracked it. All we need to do is search the general register office for Betty and Albert Brown’s nephew and we have Denver. You’re a genius, Sam—I mean ma’am.” Taylor flushes. “All the clues were right there, inHow to Get Away with Murder,” he says, smiling.
“I hate to mention it, ma’am,” Chloe ventures. “Your theory is great but very, erm, loose.”
“You’re right, Chloe,” she sighs. “There’s no way I’d get a warrant to arrest Betty’s nephew based on what I have right now. Even when we find him, we’re nowhere near meeting the burden of proof that he is Denver or that he hurt Betty.”
“Tell us what we need to find, ma’am,” says Taylor, leaning forward with pen poised.
“Cold cases are almost always solved by forensic breakthroughs or new physical evidence—or by circumstantial evidence that is so strong that a jury believes without doubt that no one else could have committed the crime.”
“Betty was cremated and the crime scene is long gone.” Chloe wrinkles her brow. “But we might be able to find some physical evidence that connects Betty’s nephew to the book. A notepad with an early draft of the novel on, for example. Or the profits from the book sales.”
“Yes,” Sam responds, “or a physical connection to another person mentioned in the book—that would work, too. Denver claimsto have taken Betty’s sapphire ring, Melanie’s earrings and Daisy’s dragonfly necklace—so, that kind of thing.”
Taylor butts in: “Can’t we just arrest the nephew and—”
“That’s not how it works, Taylor,” she responds. “We need evidence.”
“But at least we have solved the case. We know who Denver is,” Chloe says.
“Maybe,” Sam sighs, “but Charlotte’s case isn’t solved and that’s—.”
“Sam! Sam Hansen!” Harry yells from across the room, causing a temporary lull in chatter as heads turn Sam’s way. She moves to the doorway of the tiny glass meeting room. “I’ve got him!” Harry bellows. “The man who burned down the printer’s. He’s here in London. I’ve got Denver-bloody-Brady’s address.”
Less than anhour’s drive from New Scotland Yard is the east London neighborhood of Barking. Once a thriving community, many residents now struggle to pay extortionate rents to corporate landlords who fail to maintain their properties. Tower blocks of rotting flats are filled with mold that kills the people that live there almost as quickly as the drugs and guns wielded by the gangs that have grown in number and strength as the area has gone downhill.
While Taylor drives, Sam takes out her phone and rewatches the CCTV footage that Sussex Police sent to Harry. It clearly shows a man entering a petrol station and paying at the counter. A simple facial recognition search identified the man as Andrei Albescu, a petty criminal of Romanian origin now living in Barking.
To quell the motion sickness in her stomach, she puts her phone away and stares out of the window. She scours the streets of Barking, as if she might spot Charlotte’s killer, somehowknowing who he is on sight. He could be out there right now, watching someone, waiting. Ready to kill again. Sam opens a pack of Polos and palms one into her mouth. She returns her eyes to the face of each passing man. She sees a group of teenagers and does a double-take. One of them is wearing a T-shirt that saysI Love Denverand is holding hands with another, whose top readsI AM Denver.
“My God,” she whispers. Taylor doesn’t respond, but flicks through the radio stations.A Bring Me the Horizon song fills the car and Sam feels her shoulders immediately relax. Still, she keeps her eyes fixed on the pedestrians as London whizzes by.
They’re not far from their destination when her phone vibrates. Even though her stomach has only just calmed, she can’t resist reading the email from DI Duggan.
Hansen,
I’ve just spoken to Jemma Hammond’s mother. It’s not good news. Jemma was killed last year in a car crash. Bloke in a truck on his phone drove right through her car. Her son survived so I’ve passed on Lister’s details to him, but the lad says he wants nothing to do with his dad. Jemma’s mam can’t remember the names of her uni friends but I’ll keep pursuing it.
I’m up to the chapter “Timing and Alibis” and I think Denver’s made this one up, too.
