Alex gave Chloe a nod, gesturing her out into the corridor. Chloe stood, barely tearing her gaze from Connor Price.
Alex waited until they were both in the corridor then pulled the door closed behind her, keeping a grip on the handle in case Connor Price decided to try something stupid, like leave.
‘You’re upset with me,’ she said, not wanting to waste what little time they would have until the duty solicitor showed up. ‘I’m sorry if you feel I didn’t support you this morning.’
‘I’m not upset with you,’ Chloe said, pushing a length of blonde hair behind her ear. ‘I shouldn’t have gone to see Patrick Sibley like that. It was stupid.’
Alex didn’t think anything would be helped by agreeing with this statement. Going to see Patrick Sibley like that had been reckless and foolish. Hadn’t Alex warned her against approaching any of the ‘suspects’ on her increasingly neurotic list? And hadn’t she failed to adhere to her own advice when making the decision to take that post-mortem report? She wasn’t really in a position to judge.
‘I know you said you wanted me to leave it, but when things settle down here I will help you, I promise.’
She knew she shouldn’t be making promises she wouldn’t necessarily be able to keep, and Alex realised she had no idea how she would help Chloe. As the superintendent had reminded them, cases couldn’t be returned to unless new evidence had come to light. Without any, they had nothing to work from. Chloe knew it and that was what was making her so angry.
‘Things won’t ever settle down here,’ Chloe said, barely masking her irritation.
Alex sighed. ‘I know it feels like that some days, but—’
She was interrupted by the appearance of the duty solicitor, a man Alex had sat opposite far more often that she would have liked. He gave both officers a cold smile and a brief acknowledgment before nodding at Alex’s hand, which was still clutching the door handle. She pushed the door open, waited for him to walk past her then rolled her eyes at Chloe before following him into the interview room.
A few minutes later, the interview was under way.
‘You’ve already admitted to having had an affair with Miss Taylor,’ Alex reminded Connor.
He glanced nervously at the duty solicitor, as though gauging a reaction before he opened his mouth. The look was repeated every time he spoke. ‘Yes.’
‘But it ended recently?’
‘Yes.’
‘When was the last time you saw Sarah, Mr Price?’
Connor narrowed his eyes. ‘You know when. We talked about this when I was here the other day. I saw her at the care home where she works.’
‘And you argued?’
‘We didn’t argue, it wasn’t like that.’
‘But another member of staff heard raised voices and saw you in what was described as an altercation—’
‘That’s not true—’
‘With Miss Taylor, during which you slammed the car door in an aggressive manner. Correct?’
‘Is there a need for the interrogation stance, Ms King? This isn’t a courtroom.’
Alex shot the duty solicitor a stare. ‘Objection noted. And it’s Detective Inspector King.’ She reached for the file resting on the table in front of Chloe and took out a photograph, pushing it towards Connor.
His face changed at a single glance of the image.
‘Lola?’
‘You know her?’ Whatever she’d been expecting, Alex hadn’t anticipated that. She had been braced for a fleeting acknowledgment in the eyes, or a flicker of guilt so subtle it might easily go undetected.
Connor looked up at Alex sceptically, as though it was a trick question. ‘Yeah,’ he said tentatively. ‘I mean, I haven’t seen her in a while, but she used to come to the support group. I read about her on the Internet this morning. I can’t believe it.’
‘The support group where you met Sarah?’
‘Yes.’
‘Lola was a member of the same group?’
‘Yes,’ Connor said impatiently.
Alex looked to Chloe. A link between the two victims would surely help move the investigation forward, but why hadn’t they found this out earlier? Had Alex taken her eye off what was important, missing something that should have been obvious? This was why the super had been so insistent that Chloe’s past be left exactly where it was, for now at least. They couldn’t afford distractions.
‘How long had Lola been a member of the group?’ She tried to keep her voice level, steady. The last thing she wanted was for Connor to think he had an advantage over them.
They’d had no idea that Lola Evans had been a part of any such group – her grandmother had never mentioned it, and had therefore presumably had no idea that her granddaughter had been going. Either that or she hadn’t known anything about the group. Ethan Thompson hadn’t mentioned it either, which suggested Lola had kept it to herself. What else had she kept hidden from those who were presumably closest to her?
Being a stripper, Alex thought, silently answering her own query.
As though the realisation of what Alex was implying had hit him square between the eyes, Connor’s expression betrayed his panic. ‘Quite a while, on and off,’ he told them, his anxiety intensifying. ‘More off than on. Why are you asking me about Lola?’
‘Do you know where Sarah is?’
‘My client has already answered that question—’
‘No,’ Connor snapped, cutting the solicitor short. ‘I told you, I don’t know where she is, OK? Why are you asking me about Lola? Do you think—’ He stopped abruptly. It was obvious what they thought. ‘I didn’t touch Lola. I swear to God. I haven’t even seen her in months.’
‘Did somebody help you, Connor?’ Alex asked.
He looked imploringly at the duty solicitor.
‘Do you have any evidence that Mr Price is in any way connected to either of these cases?’
They didn’t, but Alex wasn’t prepared to volunteer that information. She was pinning her hopes on the second blood sample currently unaccounted for. She continued to hope it belonged to the man they were looking for, and not to Sarah.
A swab had been taken from Connor – time would tell.
‘Did somebody help you?’ Alex repeated, ignoring the man.
Connor gritted his teeth. ‘I haven’t done anything.’
Alex sat back in her chair and sighed audibly. ‘Both women were known to you, both were highly vulnerable. They came to your group seeking support. You were in a position of trust. Did they trust you, Connor? Is that why they went willingly with you?’
‘This line of enquiry is based on supposition and circumstance, DI King, of which you’re well aware.’ The duty solicitor was eyeing her with impatience. It was a look she often attracted from him.
‘You’re right,’ she acknowledged. ‘We’ll need a little longer to prove it, won’t we? Connor Price, I’m arresting you for the abduction and murder of—’
‘You can’t, I haven’t done—’
‘Lola Evans and the abduction of Sarah Taylor. You don’t have to say anything, but—’
‘Anything, I don’t know where—’