“Of course. We walked it several times with her when we were over. We stayed in a hotel—obviously.”
“That’s very helpful and if you can I’m going to ask you to sit down with one of my officers and go over that route. It could be of crucial importance to know where she went and what time of day she went there.”
Gemma nodded without enthusiasm.
“You think that whoever did this... saw her on her route to and from...” Alastair petered out, unable to finish this unpleasant thought.
“If she had few friends and was security-conscious, then yes, it might be that he followed her home.”
Alastair closed his eyes—not wanting to go there—but Gemma looked straight at Helen. She wanted—she needed—the details. “Did he hurt her? Was there... a fight?”
“We don’t think so. When we interviewed the tenants, nobody remembered hearing anything like that. There was no sign of a break-in, no sign of a struggle—”
“But that doesn’t make sense,” Alastair butted in. “She wouldn’t let anyone in. They must have forced their way in.”
“Unless they had a key.”
Gemma’s thought hung in the air. Helen had come to the same conclusion already, but hadn’t wanted to say it out loud.
“Would she have given a key to anyone? A trusted friend? A figure of authority?” Helen asked.
“Absolutely not. Not even if she’d been threatened with eviction or expulsion from college—she would never compromise her security in that way,” Alastair shot back. “I really think you’re barking up the wrong—”
“She had her lock changed,” Gemma said suddenly.
“When?” Helen asked, without hesitation.
“About... about six months before you say she...”
“Went missing. Why did she change the locks?”
“Somebody wrecked the old one. Squirted superglue into it. We thought it was kids at the time, but now...”
It was all starting to make sense.
“So she got her locks changed?”
“Yes. I remember it was quite a to-do. She asked her college tutor to come round, as she didn’t want to be alone with the locksmith. He obviously thought she was mad but obliged anyway.”
“Do you remember who changed the lock?”
“No, but the receipt might be in her effects. She was quite particular like that.”
“Do you know how many keys were provided?”
“Two, I think. She kept one on her key ring and wore one round her neck as a backup.”
“Would she have slept with the key round her neck?”
“No, she wasn’t that mad. Why?”
“It might be important, but let’s focus on the keys. So you believe there were two and neither was out of her possession.”
“No, that’s not quite true,” Alastair offered. Helen swung her gaze toward him.
“She had some more cut. I know that because she sent one to us. She gave the other one to her landlord, I believe. Much against her better judgment, but those were the rules.”
“And do you know where she got the extra keys cut?”
