And as for Danny O’Connor, all that blood – his reply to that didn’t match the facts either. He’s making it up, boss, I’m sure of it.’
‘I know. Shit. SHIT.’
She groaned and thumped a fist against the nearest wall. Then she turned back to Devon.
‘I just don’t know. My gut’s telling me this isn’t our man after all. His motive just doesn’t make any sense. I mean, who kills people because they just don’t like the look of them? And how did he manage to track down people who all look so similar – luck? It doesn’t add up. But … what if we’re wrong? What if he did kill them, and he’s just embellishing his story? Maybe he’d liked to have given them a good kicking as he described it, but they died too quickly for him to do that? And we let him go and he goes straight back out there and kills someone else? And then goes to ground, and we lose him? The press …’
‘Don’t. Just don’t.’
They’d carried on questioning Dolan for another couple of hours before returning him to his cell, by which time the gnawing doubts had grown into fully fledged disbelief. George Dolan, Helena was now convinced, was telling them an elaborate lie. Why, she had no idea, other than he was currently unemployed and homeless, and maybe a couple of days in a warm police cell with all meals provided was a better option than trying to find somewhere to sleep and scrabbling around for work. It had happened before; there were many in his position who were happy to be charged with wasting police time and suffer its maximum penalty of a six-month prison sentence if it meant guaranteed accommodation for a while.
At her desk, Helena suddenly made her decision. Her gut feeling had rarely let her down, and right then it was telling her that George Dolan was not their killer. They could release him on bail on the murder charges, pending further investigation. They could keep tabs on him, make him surrender his passport if he had one, make him report to the station daily. It was a risk, possibly, but only a small one. He wasn’t their man, she was almost certain of it. It just didn’t fit, and Dolan had been a distraction, someone who’d taken her eye off the investigation for too many hours. She needed to focus. And despite the lack of hard evidence, she still felt that focus pulling her in only one direction. Towards Gemma O’Connor.
Chapter 25
I emerged from Victoria Underground Station feeling hot and anxious. The tube had been packed, and I’d been forced to stand, hands clammy as I clutched onto the overhead rail, body pressed between a tall, bearded man who smelled strongly of cigarettes and an equally tall woman who was wearing far too much perfume. The combination made me feel ill, and out on the street I took huge gulps of the traffic-polluted air, trying to steady myself. It was already ten to one, but the pub I was due to meet Quinn in was just around the corner, and I found it easily. It was small and half-empty, a dark little bar with a beer-stained, seventies-style swirly carpet and mismatched wooden tables and chairs, the ceiling and paintwork – clearly not redecorated since long before the smoking ban – nicotine yellow. A quick glance around showed me that I was the first to arrive, so I ordered a diet Coke and found a corner table from where I could see the door. I sipped my drink, wondering why I was feeling so nervous. It was only Quinn, and it had been me who’d requested this meeting, after all, I reasoned, but the anxiety remained.
Maybe it was because I’d finally caught up with the news on the train on my way to London. Flicking between the websites of Sky and BBC News, I’d discovered that for the past two days the police had been questioning a man who’d walked into the police station of his own accord, claiming to be the serial killer. That would explain the sudden disappearance of the press from my front door, I thought, my chest tightening as I’d speed-read the articles. Then I’d groaned quietly in frustration as I clicked on the latest update.
At midday, the suspect was released without charge, pending further enquiries. A spokesman for Avon Police said that the investigation into the murders of Mervin Elliott and Ryan Jones remained