As if remembering something else, he began to pull stuff from the corner of the cabin. ‘I have some of her artwork here. Do you want to see it?’
Without either of them answering, he pulled two empty sacks from the top of a tea chest. Reaching in, he took out a scrap album and opened it on the small table. When he started talking, it was as if he was remembering a prized student.
‘You see here how advanced she was, capable of working in abstract from a very young age. It was all about perspective with her.’ Kate looked down at the sketches and paintings, varying collages made up of cubes, while Lyons grew increasingly animated. ‘Cubism,’ he continued, ‘isn’t about cubes. It’s about creating a greater reflection of reality. Sandra used different perspectives to elevate the work from a flattened vision.’ He flicked through the pages. ‘Look how her work developed. Her use of shadow is extraordinary. We used to watch old black-and-white movies together. She became obsessed with how the light created the shadows across the screen. What some people saw as a negative, with the early black-and-white movie pictures, inadequate to re-create real life, she was fascinated by.’
‘It’s all making sense.’ Kate looked at Lynch.
‘What is?’
‘Don’t you see? Look at her artwork, the breaking up of the world into segments, fragments, creating an obscured reality. Look at her use of shadow, the splitting of self, and the self-portraits.’ Kate turned back and forth through the scrapbook. ‘She’s experimenting with light and the use of the dark. As her work advanced, the shadows in the self-portraits became increasingly dominant.’
‘I still don’t get you.’
‘She has control of the re-creation, a world she is comfortable within. The portraits would have become progressively more important to her, especially as she couldn’t control reality. The artwork was becoming an expression of her identity …’
‘How is this connected to the killing?’ He still sounded unsure.
‘It’s what she does after she kills. She creates the scenes so she can be photographed in them. That’s why the reflection in the mirror is so important. It’s like …’ Kate began pacing around the cabin, both men staring at her ‘… she is using the images as markers. It’s her way of proving she exists.’
‘Why would she do that?’ Lynch sounded more confused than ever.
‘She’s never sure when the other identity is going to take over. The darker, more aggressive and daring side would have known of the existence of her other self. When the weaker personality was put under pressure, it allowed the darker one to take over and become dominant. Creating self-portraits was her proof of existence.’
‘I always wondered why she could change,’ Barry Lyons said, ‘from being mostly shy to more forceful, almost demanding my attention. I put it down to her insecurity, nothing more. I should have realised. Maybe if I had …’
‘It would have been impossible for you to know, at least not fully.’ Kate touched his arm. ‘If it’s any consolation, I think she did love you – at least, one side of her personality certainly did.’
‘How do you know?’ he asked.
‘Sandra did a sketch of someone who looked very like you, especially the eyes. It illustrated she cared, and certainly enough not to harm anything that reminded her of you.’
‘We’ll need to visit her old home.’ Lynch was clearly itching to move on. ‘I can get the address from O’Connor.’
‘This time you’ll need a search warrant,’ Kate responded, ‘if you want me to be part of it.’
HARCOURT STREET STATION, SPECIAL DETECTIVE UNIT
THERE WAS NO denying Adam O’Connor’s adrenalin rush at being back in the centre of the investigation. He had no idea what to expect with Alice Thompson, but one thing on which he was in complete agreement with Lynch was that he would get answers. He chose Interview Room 9B, the smallest and darkest room in the unit. It faced west, with only one small window, and was constantly in need of artificial light.
He knew Sergeant Janet Lacy had been part of the first interview with Alice Thompson, and was keen to hear what she had to say. Initially he was surprised by her hostility: she described the woman as up herself, and a pain in the rear end. He liked Janet’s passion, even if it sounded over the top.
‘Janet, you’ll be joining me for the interview with Alice Thompson.’
‘You know she’s already here, don’t you? She won’t like being kept waiting.’