The Doll's House

The black-and-white photograph of her and Charlie stared at her from the desk. It spoke volumes. She checked the time. Imogen Willis was due shortly. She reviewed her case notes on the Jenkins and Gahan killings again, knowing the specific area she wanted to concentrate on: the sense of reward that the drowning offered the killer.

If the method of killing far outweighed the risks, was this a one-way trip? One that the killer had no intention of ever coming back from? If so, the possibility only pointed one way: personal destruction.

Kate considered O’Connor’s interpretation of Becon. He wasn’t a man to get his own hands dirty. He was capable of using others. If he had been involved with Jenkins’s shaky financial dealings, the prospect of proving it, considering his level of power and protection, would be difficult, but there was more at stake here than money.

She had started to question the possibility of psychosis in the murders. In the public domain, there was often confusion between psychopathic and psychotic behaviour. In reality, they were poles apart. At extreme levels of psychosis, there were serious mental disorders, like schizophrenia, but as with all mental illnesses, it could take varying forms. It was often brought on by severe depression, disintegration of personality, and sometimes resulted in grossly distorted thoughts, perceptions and heightened levels of anxiety. All these factors could be bubbling over in the killer, including how and why he arrived at this juncture.

Kate heard a low tap on the door: Imogen. ‘Come in,’ she called from her desk. When the door opened, Kate saw instantly that she was distressed. ‘Close the door, Imogen. Come and sit down.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Are you okay? Can I get you a drink of water? You look a little pale.’

‘No, I’m fine. Actually, no, I’m not fine.’

‘Let’s start nice and easy. Take your time. When you’re ready, you can tell me what happened.’

Imogen wasn’t in the mood for waiting. ‘When I woke up this morning, I thought it was two days ago.’

‘You mean you got the days mixed up?’

‘No. I lost two days. Forty-eight hours gone.’

‘You can’t remember any of it?’

‘Nothing.’ Panic rising in her voice. ‘I went down to the kitchen, and Jilly started to ask me stuff, and I had no idea what she was talking about. Kate, I can’t even remember coming in here with my parents and sister. Jilly told me we did, but I don’t remember it.’

‘Don’t worry, Imogen. Calm down. We’ll work this out.’

‘Okay.’

‘What is the last thing you remember, before you lost the two days?’

‘I was with my friend Alicia.’

‘Where?’

‘At her house. We were using her laptop, chatting on Facebook.’

‘Were you relaxed?’

‘Yeah, I was grand. Alicia was in great form too.’

‘What were you talking about?’

‘Different things.’

‘Give me an example.’

‘How cute Harry from One Direction is.’ Imogen managed a smile.

‘What else?’

‘Alicia talked about her sister. She’s away in London, but she’s coming home. They’re very close.’

‘When is her sister due back from London?’

‘I don’t know. I can’t remember. I remember her saying her sister was coming home, and after that I remember nothing.’

‘Imogen, do you recall what we spoke about before, about how disassociating yourself from events can happen?’

‘Yes.’

‘I think it’s possible that when Alicia was talking about her sister, you lost yourself for a while. Something triggered it, but we can’t be sure what.’

‘Do you think it has anything to do with me and Jilly? I mean we’re close, like Alicia and her sister.’

‘It could be. The important thing, Imogen, is not to let this upset you.’

‘It’s hard, Kate.’

‘I know it is, but you’re on the right track.’

‘Do you think so?’ Imogen sounded unsure.

‘Yes, you’ll have to trust me. It will come back. It’s just a matter of time.’



Shortly after Imogen had left, Kate phoned O’Connor. The more she thought about the killings, the more the influence of psychosis made sense. If Becon was a driving force, considering what O’Connor had told her about their conversation, it was unlikely that he was the one in any kind of psychotic state.

If psychosis was involved, it tied in with the killer not functioning within his normal routine. It would be practically impossible for him to do so. The signs should be obvious to those near to him.

O’Connor was quick to answer. ‘Kate, I was about to phone you.’

‘I need you to examine the behaviour patterns of the key players we know of, starting with Dominic Hamilton and Martin McKay.’

‘Kate?’

‘What?’ Kate didn’t like the sound of O’Connor’s response.

‘Hamilton’s missing.’

‘How do you mean, missing?’

‘He didn’t go home last night. Lynch spoke to his wife, Valerie, about ten minutes ago. It seems he’s been taking a lot of time off work. His wife felt he had been originally working too hard, but she was also worried that he might be depressed.’

‘And she has no idea where he is?’