Stavely has just called,” he said. “He wants to know if he can come in and talk to us further. He says he’s got more to say.”
“Interesting,” Jonah said. “And the answer is definitely yes.”
“OK. I’ll see when he can make it.” O’Malley returned a minute later. “He says he has a Jobseekers meeting, but he could come in at three.”
“OK,” Jonah said. “That’s fine. Let’s do our briefing.”
O’Malley nodded, and called to the other two.
Lightman picked up his notes and rose, but Hanson didn’t react at first. She had a five-mile stare that was focused somewhere on the desk next to hers. She looked about as zoned as he felt.
“All OK?” he asked, taking a few steps toward her.
She gave him a startled look. “Yes. Sorry. Just…processing.” She picked up her coffee mug and iPad and followed him inside.
“So, a quick sitrep,” he said as Hanson closed the door behind them. “We have Andrew Mackenzie in custody for questioning until tomorrow at latest. I’d like to talk to his wife at the earliest possible, and then will probably want to interview him again. Ben, can you call her and book her in?”
“Sure,” the sergeant replied, making a note.
“In terms of where we’re at, we know that Aurora was raped, and that she had a crush on Mackenzie. Mackenzie knew she was going camping. So we’re pretty interested in him, but we’ve also had some developments with Jojo Magos. A fire on her property, which seems to be the exact duplicate of one that happened eight years ago. It’s unclear, as yet, whether someone else set the fire or whether Jojo did it herself for some reason, but I’m making talking to her a priority. She may not have raped Aurora, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t help someone else to.”
He could see O’Malley nodding, while Hanson was simply watching him thoughtfully.
“And, related to that fire, I’d like you all to be careful when out of the station. It looks like someone is angry, and willing to act,” he said. “Sorry for the slightly cryptic text messages last night, but I don’t want any of you putting yourselves in danger if someone’s feeling threatened. All right?”
The three of them nodded, and he told them to carry on with the case and then went to grab his coffee mug, which still held his last half-drunk cup. Hanson was in the small kitchen already when he arrived, pouring herself a hefty slug from the pot.
“Did you sleep badly, too?” he asked, emptying his mug down the sink. “There are a lot of unpleasant things to think about. After, what? Twenty-eight years as a detective, I still end up going over and over things when I should be sleeping.”
Hanson gave him a vague smile, and took a large gulp out of the cup. “You must have seen worse things.”
“Yes,” Jonah said, nodding. He finished up the pot, ignoring the printed sign that told him to make a new pot if he’d had the last bit, and put it back empty on the hotplate. Nobody ever refilled it unless they were after a cup. “But I’d seen Aurora in the flesh. That definitely makes it harder.”
There was a brief silence, and when he looked up at her Hanson was giving him a very searching look.
“Do you remember the last time you spoke to her?” she asked.
“Aurora?” he asked. He gave her a small half smile. “I never spoke to her. I’d just seen her around at school. She was a lot younger.”
He could feel his heart somewhere in his throat. It was the first time he’d ever had to lie to one of his team. He felt like the lie was all over him, and he turned away from Hanson and went back to his office with the back of his neck tingling. He could feel her watching him the whole way.
* * *
—
BACK AT HIS desk, he pulled out the reports on the blaze at Jojo’s house eight years before, and tried to concentrate on them, even while his mind was full of dim lighting and the spin of a disco ball glinting off blond hair.
None of that mattered right now. He told himself harshly. The only thing that mattered was finding Aurora’s killer.
So, Aleksy, he thought. There was something wrong about Aleksy, and that fire.
When he had asked Jojo for Aleksy’s phone, it had been about due care. But there was now a much stronger reason to look at her