O’Connor was looking at the bookcase. ‘She certainly was a reader,’ he remarked.
Kate knelt down to read the titles. ‘She liked to keep her books, look at the variety, probably every book she’s read in the last year or two.’
‘Can’t say I’m an expert on young girl fiction.’
‘It changes, O’Connor. There is a big leap at that age, moving from easy reading to young adult. Caroline has everything here from Anne of Green Gables to Pretty Little Liars.’
‘So?’
‘So, they all make sense, except for this one,’ she said, pointing at a particular book.
O’Connor knelt down beside her to see. ‘The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe? What don’t you like about that one?’
‘Apart from it being unusual reading these days for a young girl?’
‘I’m listening.’
‘Edgar Allan Poe married his first cousin, a thirteen-year-old girl called Virginia Clemm. Some people believe the couple’s relationship was more like brother and sister than husband and wife, although he was fourteen years her senior when they married.’
‘Did he not write about a detective?’
‘He did, a character called Dupin, but he wrote many things, including poetry. If this is a full collection, it will include his famous poem ‘Eulalie’, which was about his wife.’
‘I thought you said her name was Virginia?’
‘I did, but he liked the ‘l’ sound.’
‘Anything else about it?’
‘Well, Poe had a recurring theme in his poetry – the death of a beautiful woman. He believed that was the most poetic topic in the world. Perhaps if Caroline had started to believe she wasn’t attractive, it could be that her killer sensed her anxieties, might even have used them to his advantage to gain her trust. Perhaps this was his way of reaching out to her.’
‘And what about the wife? What happened to her?’
‘Died of TB in her early twenties.’
‘Cheerful fellow, no doubt.’
‘Well he may not have been cheerful, but if Caroline had a copy of his work then there is a strong possibility our killer gave it to her.’
Was Kate kidding herself or did O’Connor actually look slightly impressed?
‘Right, don’t touch it. I’ll get Hanley to go over it again, page by page. Are you finished here?’
Kate took a last look around Caroline’s room. ‘Think so. Let’s step outside.’
‘You go on. I need to have a quick word with Canter before I leave.’
≈
From the footpath on the canal side, Kate took in the view of what she now knew was Caroline’s bedroom. Stepping over the low wall running along the canal bank, she stood on the grass verge facing the house, her back to the water, then walked farther along the bank until she stood directly under the bridge. As the grass verge neared the canal bridge, it lowered by about a metre and a half, which meant Kate could still see the Devines’ house while being all but completely out of view from above.
When O’Connor crossed over to join her, she realised that at first he couldn’t see her. Eventually he spotted her under the bridge and came down. He looked around the spot where she was standing. ‘What are you thinking?’ he asked.
‘I can’t think of a better viewing point than right here,’ Kate replied. ‘If he stalked her, O’Connor, he got to know her movements, followed her home. What better vantage point could there be than watching her in the safety of her own home?’
O’Connor looked up at the bedroom window, just like her abductor might have done. ‘So, Kate, if he was stalking her, why take her now?’
‘That I don’t know. He could have felt it was time to move their relationship to another level. Fantasising about Caroline, watching her, following her home, they all fed into some need he had, but it’s a bit like an addiction, it doesn’t remain stationary. He wanted more.’
‘This grass verge gets plenty of traffic, Kate. Look at it.’ The verge was littered with cigarette butts, sweet papers, even a couple of empty vodka bottles. ‘It could have been used by under-aged drinkers, someone homeless looking for shelter, even lovers. But if our Peeping Tom did use this area to keep an eye on Caroline Devine, then Hanley will be kept busy when he gets here. I’m not sure what he’s going to find after so much time, but if there’s something here, I’ll be damned if we’re going to miss it.’
Ellie