Edmunds remembered something. He was already flicking through the pages of his notebook. He started paraphrasing:
‘28 June – guard duty outside interview room. Overheard discussion between Mayor Turnble and DS Fawkes: “I understand. You were all just doing your jobs: the press, the lawyers, the hero that shattered my wrist and pulled me off Khalid.”’
‘Fawkes said that?’ asked Simmons in concern.
‘Word for word,’ said Edmunds. ‘He named three of our victims before we had even started looking into them.’
‘It’s not enough,’ said Vanita. ‘Not to invite the shit storm that’s going to hit us if we go down this path.’
Edmunds walked out of the meeting room and returned with the first of the archived evidence boxes. He handed each of his colleagues the relevant documents attributed to the case, along with the incriminating sign-out sheet.
‘You all remember Wolf’s reaction to me discovering this yesterday?’ asked Edmunds. ‘Well, I’ve got six more beneath my desk – our desk.’
‘This explains everything,’ said Baxter. ‘Wolf clearly spooked this freak and now the killer’s acting in self-defence.’
‘I considered that, but did Wolf tell anybody here about any of this?’ Edmunds asked the room. ‘Boxes of invaluable evidence that could have saved these people’s lives? That could save his life?’
No one responded.
Edmunds squatted down and held his hands over his eyes, rocking back and forth gently on his heels. He grimaced as though he were in pain and started whispering nonsensical snippets of information to himself:
‘Wolf IDs him … He approaches him … Leaks details of the case … No. No, but he doesn’t just do that because these are Wolf’s enemies – this is Wolf enlisting him.’
‘I’ve heard enough of this shit,’ said Baxter, getting up to leave.
Edmunds turned back to his uncomfortable audience:
‘Wolf wanted revenge, justice, call it what you will, for Annabelle Adams, for her family, for himself,’ he started, still piecing it all together even as he spoke. ‘None of these people’s corruption, inaction or opportunism had been answered for, while he was serving time in a psychiatric hospital and another young girl was lying dead.
‘So, he gets reinstated and starts actively looking into unsolved murders. After all, an unsolved murder means an uncaptured killer. He conducts his investigation in secret, finds these seven old cases and somehow discovers the identity of the killer. Ah, but instead of arresting him, he uses him to bring retribution down upon everyone that he holds accountable.
‘The ingenious twist was to add his own name to the list, making the entire thing about him. Wolf knew that no one would suspect him if his life was under threat. I mean, think about it: if Wolf’s name wasn’t on there, he would have flagged up as a suspect from the get-go.’
There was a knock at the glass door.
‘Not now!’ all five of them bellowed in unison at the mousy woman, who scurried away back to her desk.
‘If, and that’s a big if, Fawkes did discover the identity of the killer,’ said Simmons, ignoring Baxter’s glare, ‘that would mean the answer is somewhere inside these seven boxes.’
‘It would,’ nodded Edmunds.
‘This is ridiculous,’ hissed Baxter.
‘If you’re right, we should assume that Fawkes was passing information to the killer the entire time,’ said Vanita.
‘That would certainly explain a lot,’ said Edmunds. ‘I’ve been concerned about the possibility that we might have a leak for a good few days now.’
Edmunds looked to Baxter for confirmation, but she purposely ignored him. Vanita sighed.
‘Then we have a real shot at saving Ashley Lochlan,’ she said, ‘as Fawkes won’t be involved.’
Finlay and Baxter glanced at one another.
‘Am I missing something?’ asked Vanita.
‘Wolf was with her this morning,’ said Baxter impassively. ‘It looked like he’d stayed the night.’
‘Is there a rule left that man hasn’t broken?!’ exclaimed Vanita, glaring accusingly at Simmons. ‘We’ll need to make Ms Lochlan aware of the situation. DC Edmunds, assuming you are right about this, do you believe the killer is aware that Fawkes is behind it all?’
‘That’s tricky to answer.’
‘Try.’
‘I can only speculate.’
‘Then speculate.’
‘No. Wolf clearly considers himself far cleverer than all of us, including the killer. I can’t see that he would want to leave any loose ends. I also don’t believe for a moment that this killer would willingly allow one of his victims to survive after promising the world his murder. It’s a point of pride for him. To fail would be an embarrassment.’
‘Which can only mean that Fawkes intends to get to him first,’ said Vanita.
Baxter threw a handful of paperwork against the cracked glass wall and stood up again.
‘This is complete bullshit! This is Wolf we’re talking about here!’ She turned to Finlay. ‘Your friend, remember?’
‘Aye, but look at the facts, Emily,’ he replied, looking ill.
Baxter turned on Edmunds.
‘You’ve had a thing about a mole on the team for days and this convenient little story just so happens to fit in perfectly for you, doesn’t it? If anyone thinks they’re cleverer than everyone else, it’s you!’ She looked pleadingly at her colleagues. ‘What if Wolf’s being set up? Has anyone thought about that, huh?’
‘Maybe he is,’ said Simmons soothingly, ‘but we need to bring him in either way.’
‘I agree,’ said Vanita, picking up the meeting room phone. ‘This is Commander Vanita. I need an Armed Response Unit to attend William Fawkes’ home address immediately.’
Baxter was shaking her head in disbelief. She slid her mobile phone out of her pocket.
Finlay was watching her closely. ‘Emily,’ he said firmly.
She grudgingly put it away.
‘Be aware, suspect may be dangerous,’ Vanita continued on the phone. ‘… That’s correct: suspect … that’s affirmative. I am ordering you to arrest DS Fawkes.’
CHAPTER 29
Friday 11 July 2014
12.52 p.m.
Baxter glanced in the rear-view mirror. Ashley sat nervously in the back seat, staring out at the heaving streets they were crawling through at an agonisingly slow pace.
Baxter had asked Finlay to drive, which appeared to have shocked him more than anything else he had heard on what had already been, by anyone’s standards, an unusually shocking day. He had taken them on the most absurd route across the city and it was taking all of her self-restraint not to comment on it as the set of temporary traffic lights up ahead allowed another two cars to pass by the crater that had been dug out of the city centre.