Hindsight (9781921997211) (21 page)

‘I was hoping we could work the case with you, especially since it looks like most of the vics and the killer are from this region. I have a teleconference booked with DCI Fisher in half an hour to advise him of the latest developments. I'm happy to discuss it with him if you'd prefer?'

Byrnes glared at her. His jaw muscles clenched and unclenched a few times as he struggled to get his temper under check. ‘If Detectives Dyson, Steiner or any of your other officers are going to work this case then they do it strictly under my lead. They don't scratch their arses unless I've approved it first.'

‘Of course CS would be in charge, that's understood.' She flashed something that vaguely resembled a smile but had about as much warmth to it as an average arctic winter. ‘Detective Dyson won't be working this case. He has a conflict of interest.'

‘What conflict? He's been working it up until now, hasn't he? Don't tell me there's a chance he's compromised the case as well?' Byrnes's voice went up a few notches again.

‘One of the victims is Detective Dyson's missing wife.'

‘Oh for fuck's sake! What is wrong with you people?' Byrnes bellowed.

‘That's enough! This is the last time I warn you!' Sorenson yelled back.

They stared at each other until Byrnes finally looked away.

‘Now, if everyone has themselves back under control, we all have work to do. I need to brief the senior leadership group. Then I need to brief the rest of the team here. Ed and Phil, I want you to run through what you've done this morning in detail and outline the rest of the cases you think are linked.'

‘Yes, ma'am,' Phil said.

She left the room and the four of them sat there looking at each other.

‘Well, I could use a coffee. Shall we grab one before we get into it?' Ed said finally.

Grunts and nods of assent meant they were all seated at a table down the road five minutes later. It still felt like they were two opposing teams facing off but the informal setting and coffee went some way to overcoming hostilities.

‘This's pretty good coffee.' Rawlinson sounded genuinely surprised. It probably hadn't occurred to him that anywhere outside a five-kilometre radius of the city could make a decent brew.

‘So what made you think there might be a serial operating?' Byrnes cut to the chase.

‘It was the eyes. Janet Hodgson and the other three women had exactly the same colour eyes as my wife.'

‘That's a big leap to make,' Rawlinson said.

‘Yeah, I knew it at the time but I guess I've been searching for answers about Susan for so long that I pretty much jumped at the idea.'

‘So how did you find the other vics?'

The question was asked casually enough but Ed knew he was entering dangerous territory and had been preparing his answer. ‘Since Susan went missing I've been taking an interest in missing persons and homicides in the area.'

Byrnes gave him a penetrating look but Rawlinson jumped in before he could voice any of the difficult questions that Ed was bracing himself for.

‘How did you hook up with the psychic?' Rawlinson asked.

‘Sorenson recommended her. She knows her family. She's legit,' Phil answered.

Ed had to hide a smile. It was amazing; her dislike for Byrnes and Rawlinson had her defending Cass. Who would have thought it? ‘I'm confident she's the real deal as well. I saw her in action yesterday and there was nothing fake about her,' Ed said.

‘How did she come up with the expo connection?'

‘When she has a vision she actually experiences what the vic saw, heard and felt just before they died. She got a glimpse of the guy who killed Marcy Lucas in 2009 and heard her say he was the guy from the expo.'

‘Hmm, and your wife?' Byrnes asked.

‘I remembered she'd been to an expo in the months before she died,' he lied.

‘So you really think that the stallholder is your guy?'

‘We think he looks pretty good for it; worth asking more questions and trying to get a search warrant for his house and car anyway.'

‘All right, Steiner, you and Rawlinson can go and pick him up. I'll organise for the records to be sent down for the other cases if you give me the details. We'll see if there's any record of them attending expos,' Byrnes said.

Nods of agreement all round.

‘Oh, and Dyson? Bring your psychic in. I want to meet her and she might as well have a look at your suspect, nothing official, of course. After that you're off the case.'

They headed back to the station. Sorenson was already briefing the rest of the officers. They listened with rapt attention as she gave an outline of the situation, stressing that a serial killer was only a possible line of enquiry.

‘Questions?' she asked.

‘Is it true you've been using a psychic?' Samuels asked.

Sorenson glared at him. ‘Who told you that?'

‘Some of us overheard your discussion in the meeting room this morning,' he said with a smirk.

Sorenson looked like she wanted to eat him alive but she managed to answer with a modicum of civility. ‘Yes, a psychic has provided us with some valuable assistance.'

‘Are they still working on the case?' Samuels asked.

‘Jesus, the guy has more balls than brains,' Phil whispered. ‘Any minute now Sorenson is going to rip his head off and shit down his throat.'

‘We have no plans for her to participate any further at this time. Her involvement in this case is strictly confidential. It's not to leave this room.'

She answered a few more questions and then called the briefing to a close.

‘It's not every day we get a case this big around here,' Phil said.

‘Let's get this clear. The chances of this turning out to be a serial are pretty fucking slim but I'm prepared to humour you just in case you've bumbled your way to finding a genuine psycho,' Byrnes said.

‘We'll see, until then we have a shitload to do,' Phil said.

Ed grabbed his keys. He had a feeling it might take some convincing to get Cass to come in for an ID. The sooner he got over there and talked to her the better.

It was going to be a big day. With a bit of luck they might have the person responsible for Susan's disappearance in custody by the end of it. A wave of white-hot rage swept over him as he thought about what he'd like to do to him.

Half an hour later he was standing on Cass's porch again. Anita answered the door at his first knock. She didn't look surprised to see him. Ed wondered if that was part of her talent. Did she know in advance who was going to come calling?

‘Is Cass home?' As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realised how absurd the question was. Of course she was home.

‘Come in, yes, she's here and she's awake. I heard her in the shower about twenty minutes ago so she should be down soon. Come into the kitchen. Do you want a cup of tea?'

‘Coffee would be great if you have some?'

‘I can manage that.'

Anita Lehman was dressed in a black turtleneck jumper and jeans; quite different from the flamboyant, gypsy-looking outfits she'd sported on his other visits. Her hair was pulled back from her face. She looked elegant. She looked tired too. Ed felt a pang of guilt. He was pretty sure he was partly responsible for that. She must have been worried about Cass the day before.

He sat in the same chair. He was starting to feel like a fixture in their kitchen. Even the cat hardly batted an eyelid when he walked in. The sleek black head looked up from its food bowl for the briefest moment before going back to enthusiastic scoffing.

‘That cat is eating every time I'm here.'

‘Yes, he's a passionate devotee of his food bowl. He didn't get to be the size he is just by chance.'

‘Hmm, it's a wonder the locals don't think you're witches — three women with a black cat.'

‘Trust me, some of them do.' She passed him a coffee and slid a plate of homemade biscuits in front of him.

‘They're my mum's homemade choc-chip biscuits. Beware, they're very moreish.'

‘I'm going to get fat if I keep visiting you like this.'

Cass walked into the kitchen a few minutes later just as he was tucking into his third biscuit.

‘Morning, Mum. Hey, Ed.'

‘Gee, I must really be spending too much time here if you were actually expecting to see me at your table.' He smiled at her.

‘Nah, I saw your car from my window.' She gave him a faint smile back. She still looked tired; there were dark shadows under her eyes and her skin was pale and waxen.

‘Sit down, Cass. I'll pour you a coffee. Do you want some breakfast?'

Ed didn't bat an eyelid at the idea of breakfast at midday. He was starting to get used to the weird hours Cass kept.

‘No, no breakfast thanks, Mum. I'm not hungry. I might have something later.'

Anita passed her a mug of coffee. She turned to Ed. ‘Do you need to speak to Cass in private?'

‘No that's fine, Mrs Lehman. Please, stay.'

She sat down and they all sipped in silence.

‘I have some news for you,' Ed said finally.

Two pairs of eyes looked at him expectantly.

‘I went back to the station last night and checked Susan's diary. It's still in her evidence box. She went to an expo as well. It looks like the killer was a stallholder. We have a suspect that we're going to bring in today for questioning.'

‘Oh, good, I mean that's terrible, but it's good you have a suspect,' Cass said.

‘Yeah.' He looked down at his hands wrapped around the blue and white china mug. Now that it had come to the point where he had to ask her to come and do the ID he was at a loss for words. Seeing how exhausted she looked reminded him of the high personal price she'd paid to help him already. Asking her to do more didn't seem right.

‘You didn't come here just to tell me that.'

‘No, I didn't.'

‘You want me to come and look at the man you bring in.'

‘Yes. Will you do it?'

Anita Lehman had been silently watching the exchange. She sighed deeply.

‘Mum?' Cass asked.

‘It's all right, Cass. Don't mind me. I just worry for you like any mother would.'

‘Except you're not like every other mother. Is there something I need to know?'

‘No, nothing different from what I've already told you. You need to do what you feel is best.'

‘I have to help him.'

‘Yes, I know.'

Ed wondered what Anita had told Cass. It was one thing dealing with an anxious parent but an anxious parent with the ability to predict the future was something different altogether. It was no wonder there hadn't been many men in Cass's life. It added a whole new dimension to being intimidated by your partner's mother.

Cass sighed. ‘Let me have something to eat and then I'm all yours. Mum, I will have some breakfast. Something tells me I'm going to need it.'

Twenty minutes later they were in his car on the way back to Fairfield. His phone buzzed, signalling an incoming text message. He tossed it to her. ‘Can you have a quick look?'

‘It's a message from Phil. It says, “We've got him, on our way back now.”'

Ed nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak.

‘Are you OK?' Cass asked.

He nodded again, staring at the road ahead.

The trip passed in silence. Ed pulled into the car park and was out of the car before Cass had a chance to unbuckle her seatbelt. He was hell-bent on getting inside; she felt the exact opposite. She reluctantly opened the door and got out. He strode off and she had to almost run to keep up with him. He led her through the squad room and straight to Sorenson's office. Knocking on the door, he barely waited for a reply before he barged in with Cass puffing along behind.

‘Sit down.'

Cass slid obediently into a chair. Ed remained standing.

‘Miss Lehman has agreed to do an unofficial ID,' he said.

Sorenson threw Cass a brief smile and nod before focusing on Ed.

‘I've just got off the phone. Your third vic, the missing PR rep? The McLaren Vale station had her diary in their evidence file. She attended a lifestyle expo three months before she disappeared.'

‘So that's three out of six now.'

‘Yes, I have Samuels trying to get the list of stallholders to check for your suspect. Phil is phoning all of Janet Hodgson's colleagues again as we speak to see if anyone can remember her attending an expo or something similar.'

Ed paced back and forth in front of Sorenson's desk. There was something frightening about the intensity radiating from him.

‘You need to stay here while they bring the suspect in. I don't want you to move a muscle until he's in one of the interview rooms. Understood?'

‘I have to see him.'

Sorenson sighed. ‘You shouldn't even be in the same building. You can view him briefly once he's in the room. I'll come with you.'

‘I don't need you to come.'

‘It's not open for debate. Cass, thank you for coming, you can wait here while I take Detective Dyson around. When we come back I'll arrange for one of the detectives to take you to the room so you can see the suspect.'

‘Will he be able to see me?' Cass felt nauseous at the thought.

‘No, you'll be looking at him through one-way glass.'

Sorenson's phone buzzed. She picked it up and had a brief, monosyllabic conversation.

‘He's here. Let's go, Ed.'

They left, shutting the door behind them. Cass sat there, feeling strangely detached, like she was dreaming all of this and would suddenly wake up. The door opened. She turned around expecting it to be Ed and Natalia.

‘Sorry, I didn't realise anyone was in here,' the officer said, smiling at her. ‘Are you the psychic?'

‘Um, yes, I guess so,' Cass said, uncomfortable with the label.