Evanly Bodies - By Rhys Bowen Page 0,67

"It just occurred to me that if one of them were gay, then they'd know whether Martin Rogers also had those sort of tendencies."

"Worth a try, I suppose," Bragg said. "God knows, anything is worth a try at the moment. You want to tackle that then? Think you can be tactful enough?"

More tactful than you, Evan thought. "I think so, sir," he said.

"So let me get this straight," Wingate said. "These weren't in any way killings done by somebody with a lust to kill. That sort of killer takes his time, enjoys his victim's panic. Shooting through an open window is an impersonal way to kill. Almost execution style. So I'm wondering if we're looking for someone who targets gay men because he abhors homosexuals? A righteous and overly moral crackpot?"

"That's possible too. Ex-military type, still has a Japanese pistol from the war." Bragg nodded.

"In which case," Wingate continued, "that type writes letters to newspapers and may well have made a nuisance of himself before. He may have tried to get a gay club shut down. Someone should check through newspaper files."

"Job for you then, Pritchard," Bragg said. "But I have to tell you, in my gut, I don't feel this is heading in the right direction. Martin Rogers-yes, I suppose he could have been a closet gay. But the other two-don't seem the type. Terry Owens is newly married. Why get married? You don't have to be secret about sexual preferences these days. Why not be openly gay?"

"And Megan Owens was recently pregnant," Pritchard chimed in, "so that shows he was doing his stuff."

"Unless he wasn't the daddy," Wingate said.

Bragg chuckled. "Assuming he was. That pretty much rules him out, in my opinion."

"So you don't want us to check out these things after all?" Wingate asked, with a touch of annoyance.

Bragg shrugged. "Might as well. It's not as if we've got a stronger lead or a stronger connection between the three. We should follow up on that TV repair van that was parked nearby, I suppose. I'll do that. And I think I'll go and have a chat with Megan's mum. She'd probably love to dish any dirt she has on Terry. Meet me back here at two thirty. We should have forensic reports by then."

Evan hurried in the direction of the car park. If he got through his interviews at the university quickly enough, then there was nothing to stop him from checking in with Watkins and seeing how the search for Jamila was proceeding. He had scarcely driven out of the car park when his cell phone rang. He answered it, praying it wasn't Bragg, having changed his mind and wanting Evan to be his page boy again.

"Evan, it's me," said Bronwen's soft melodious voice into his ear. "Sorry to ring you when you're working but this is important. I did borrow a car and go to Jamila's school at lunchtime. I spoke with several of her friends, and they are all extremely worried about her. Apparently she actually told one of the girls that her brother had threatened to kill her if she ever tainted the honor of the family. Would you let Inspector Watkins know this?"

"I will. I'll go over there right away," Evan said.

"I'm so worried about her, Evan," she said. "I can't think straight. It's torture sitting in a classroom when I want to be out looking for her."

"I feel the same way, love. But we both have jobs we have to do."

"I just feel there would be a better chance of finding her quickly if you were on the case."

"Come on, Bron." Evan laughed uneasily. "You know Watkins is a good man. And Glynis Davies is top-notch. If they're on the case, they'll be doing their best."

"But what if their best isn't good enough?" Evan heard the catch in her voice.

"I'm on my way to speak to them right now. Don't worry. I'll make sure they're doing everything possible. See you tonight then. I've no idea what time."

Instead of turning off to the university, Evan put his foot down and kept going. There was no sign of DI Watkins, but Glynis was just coming into the police station front door as Evan was leaving.

"Hello, what are you doing here, stranger?" She gave him her dazzling smile.

"Came to check on you, actually," Evan said. "I wanted to know what news there was on Jamila."

Glynis's face grew serious again. "Nothing yet, I'm afraid. We've had the parents bugging us all morning. I went to