‘But these relationships are doomed to failure, right? She can never hold down a proper one, can she?’
‘She can, if she’s able to detach herself from her demons, live parallel lives. I can’t shake the feeling that we’re still missing a huge part of this jigsaw, but there is one other thing we’ve learned from Andrea.’
‘What’s that?’
‘The killing of Pinzini happened within months of Pierre Laurent’s murder. Potentially, she then formed another relationship after only weeks, perhaps even days. As I said in my report, these crimes happen because of a stressor, the result of a rise in anxiety levels. However, once she is in that mind-set, she has the ability to move on to the next victim quickly. Her desires, despite the gap in time of the Shevlin murder, are escalating. With each new target, she will want more.’
He leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked.
‘I doubt I’ll be involved with this case when we’re back in Dublin.’
‘You’re talking about that newspaper report.’
‘The force always protects itself, Kate. The chief might have given me a chance with this one, but now the heat is on, my involvement will be history. He won’t risk leaving me in a key position. He’ll want to sever the reason for the journalist’s attention at source. It’s the way we do things. Remove, keep quiet, move on, and protect the force at all costs.’
When his mobile rang, he answered it. ‘Hi, Mark … I see … Thanks for letting me know.’
‘What is it?’
‘Mark has done a check on Sandra Ryan’s details. Like her college application, her address and phone numbers are false.’
‘So it’s another dead end.’
‘He’s checking the others on the list with Girardot, but they’re all French nationals. I don’t have a good feeling about this. Whoever Sandra is, she’s part of it, she or one of her friends.’
‘You didn’t tell Mark about the lipstick matching?’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘Why not?’
‘I guess there’s a part of me that still isn’t thinking right today.’
She was silent, the cascading waters louder somehow, until finally she said, ‘Me neither.’
‘Kate …’
‘Look, let’s drop it for now.’
‘If that’s the way you want it.’
‘It’s not a question of what I want. It’s a question of too much happening for it to be the right time.’ She hadn’t wanted to sound harsh, but they weren’t carefree people with uncomplicated lives.
‘There was a time, Kate, I would have agreed with you, but not now.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s the excuse I used for not contacting my son. It was never the right time.’
She didn’t answer him, but he had sown a nagging doubt in her mind. Perhaps he was right.
SANDRA
I’VE NO IDEA how long I’ve been asleep, but it’s dark in the studio when I wake.
Getting up from the sofa bed, I pull the tartan picnic blanket off me. I’m nervous walking over to the windows to look outside. At first, I think I see another shadow, but it’s only a trick of the light. The gleam of the moon is bright, but it disappears as the trees sway back and forth. I close the curtains, before reaching down to check the radiator. The heating must be switched off. What time is it? I remember calling Alice at some point. Switching on the studio lights, I search for my mobile phone, but I can’t see it anywhere.
I go to the door, listening for sounds coming from outside. If Edgar was home, I would hear him shuffling about, but the house is silent. I turn the studio lights off again, listening a second time. Still nothing. Unlocking the door, I wonder if she has been in the house again. Maybe I could smell her perfume, or find something moved, but everything is as it should be. Even in the dark, I’m quite sure of it.
The clock in the hallway says eleven p.m. Why didn’t Alice call? Perhaps she did, and I didn’t hear her while I was asleep. I start touching things, the pictures on the wall, the banisters as I walk up the stairs. The carpet is soft under my bare feet. I stop midway, turning back, looking out to the drive. I can’t see Edgar’s car. I begin walking again, trailing my hand up the wall, connecting with the familiar, not knowing why, other than the nagging sense that I could be in terrible danger.