The Doll's House

‘You know him?’


‘Yeah, Jimmy and I were old pals. I pulled him in a few years back. He was a small-time con artist. Last time he was taken in, he was minding someone else’s credit cards. Jimmy was a bit of a storyteller. When he was cleaned up, and had some money in his pocket, he’d come over as a regular friendly fella. Until, that is, you checked the next morning and discovered he’d taken something you hadn’t planned on sharing.’

‘How did he pull those cons if he was homeless?’

‘Every now and again he’d get himself off the streets. It’s thought he had a personal benefactor of late, but nothing definite. Jimmy never stayed off the street for long. My theory is, he would get some money, maybe after lifting a wallet, live it up for a while, building up hotel bills and the like all over the place. He liked the sauce. The money kick-started the pattern – stolen cards and money, hotels, pulling a few more cons, drinking. Then, when the money ran out, he was back on the streets again.’

‘You’ll be checking the people affected by his scams?’

‘For sure, and cross-checking them with what we know about Jenkins and his contacts. So far there’s no obvious connection.’

‘They might have known each other from years back, even if they didn’t mix in the same circles.’

‘Lynch is chatting to some of Jimmy’s pals now. Jimmy liked to talk to everyone except the bloody police. If there was something going on of late, I’m thinking his friends on the street will know more about it than anyone else. What do you make of it, Kate?’

‘You have my preliminary report. I don’t think the killing of Jenkins was random. Either the killer knew him or he fitted a particular target preference. A homeless person and a celebrity feel too far apart for it to be going down to type. Either there’s some other connection between the two victims, or they knew each other.’

‘At least Jimmy’s social circle is smaller than Jenkins’s.’

‘As I say, look backwards, even to school and college records. Being homeless doesn’t mean he didn’t mix in the same circles as Jenkins at some point. People who sleep on the streets are a microcosm of groupings. They’re a wide mix, coming from every social background.’

‘Kate?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Are you okay? You sound a little distant.’

‘I was just thinking of the nursery rhyme.’

‘Which one?’

‘Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief …’

‘Why?’

‘Keith Jenkins was a rich man. The latest victim was the opposite.’

‘Well, let’s hope it’s not a childhood favourite of our pal, because that, Kate, is a bloody long list.’

‘He’s upped the stacks of there being more killings, O’Connor, and he’s moved relatively fast. The sooner you find out what Jenkins and Jimmy had in common, the better.’ Kate paused. ‘What’s Jimmy’s full name?’

‘Jimmy Gahan. At least, that’s the only name we have – other than Jimmy the Juggler that is.’

‘I see. Was Jimmy brought to the canal as well?’

‘No, this time it was the main crime scene. Why? What are you thinking, Kate?’

‘By stabbing and drowning Jimmy Gahan at a single location, he isn’t sticking to a pattern. Perhaps opportunity is playing a role.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘Jimmy Gahan might have somehow played into his hands. Assuming the killings aren’t random, it could also mean the killer was following Jimmy before he died.’

‘We’ll retrace Jimmy’s last movements, see if we can get any witness details.’

‘Going back to the first killing, it points to a risk-taker, and a need to kill the victim in a particular manner and a particular place. The way this is going down, the drowning is the constant, and is therefore becoming more paramount. But, despite the risks, he’s also calculating the odds. He won’t make sloppy mistakes. But I agree retracing Gahan’s last movements could unearth something.’

‘Anything else?’

‘Has Morrison been able to work out the time gap between Jenkins’s knife attack and the drowning in the canal?’

‘You’re talking an hour at most, possibly a little less.’

‘Still, O’Connor, there was an interval. It could mean there was a level of hesitancy on the part of the killer, but it looks like he isn’t hesitating now.’

‘There’s no guarantee, Kate, that he has other victims in mind.’

‘I know, but the canal and the water connection appear primary. Let’s hope killing Jenkins hasn’t set him off on some kind of spree.’

‘The canal could have been an easy-picking ground for him, especially with a vagrant.’ O’Connor’s voice was cautious.

‘Maybe, but a killer capable of moving this fast will think nothing of acting quickly again.’

‘You said you didn’t think Jenkins’s killing was random.’

‘No, I don’t. Either, as you say, our guy is working off the canal as a hunting ground or something else is at play.’