He was lucky, said Gavin Murfin. There isnt much property for first-time buyers around here.
No, youre right. I wonder how he managed the mortgage. Hitchens sighed. Theres an awful lot of stuff to work on, sir.
Information is what we need, said Kessen. If we can establish what sort of people were dealing with and what terms theyre on with Quinn, we might be able to work out his intentions.
I suppose so. But we cant begin to take measures to protect all these people, can we?
We can warn them that they might be at risk. Who else do we have?
There are two friends of Mansell Quinn. Or former friends, at least. The three of them were very close at the time of the murder. Both were called to give evidence at the trial, and both declined to give him an alibi. That was pretty much the clincher.
Who needs enemies, eh?
Number one, we have Raymond Proctor, aged fifty, married. He runs a caravan park near Hope.
Family?
Married, as I said. Two teenage children. Hang on, no one grown-up son. The teenagers are step-children, from his wifes previous marriage. Poor bugger.
Kessen regarded him coolly. Proctor, you say?
Yes, this is the guy whose first wife was killed by Quinn hed been having an affair with her. So we cant expect much love lost there, I suppose.
Friend number two?
Number two is William Edward Thorpe, aged forty-five, single. Thorpe was a soldier, spent quite a lot of his time serving overseas. He was with the local regiment, the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, but he was discharged last year.
Current whereabouts?
Unknown.
His regiment should have records.
Weve tried them, said Hitchens. On discharge, Thorpe went to Derby for a while. He was staying with one of his old army buddies whod finished his stint a few months earlier. But the friend says Thorpe walked out after a few days, and he doesnt know where he went after that. The computer throws up a drunk-and-disorderly charge for a William Edward Thorpe in Ashbourne a couple of months ago, but his address was given as no fixed abode.
We need to find him. Quinn has a motive for looking him up.
So much work, said Hitchens.
DCI Kessen waved away the comment.
Sudburys an open prison, right? said Murfin.
Yes.
Didnt we have one who escaped from there recently?
If you can call it escaping. He was on an unsupervised work party on the prison farm, and never went back to his cell at the end of the day.
I dont know why they bother doing it. I mean, those open prisons are a cushy number. And hell only get sent back to somewhere worse when hes caught.
If hes caught.
Come on, sir. When did we not catch someone whod walked out of Sudbury? These blokes always go straight home. The poor sods dont know what else to do.
Cooper put his hand up. Gavin has a point, sir. Mansell Quinn didnt escape, but his thinking could be the same. He might just have been going home.
Damn right. He turned up at his wifes house and killed her.
Cooper shook his head. That wasnt his home. He never lived there.
No, youre right. His previous address was in Castleton. But somebody else lives there now. Complete strangers, I assume. Check on it, would you, Murfin.
Quinns mother lives in Hathersage, said Cooper. That will be the place he thinks of as home.
Weve talked to her, havent we? DS Fry?
Yes, sir. But I dont think she was being entirely open with us.
Put a bit of pressure on, then. Get some officers into the area to talk to all the neighbours. See if we can get a sighting of Quinn. OK, Paul?
Hitchens had no choice but to nod.
Somebody look into public transport, said Kessen. Is there a railway station near Sudbury?
Well check, sir.
He might have hired a car, said someone. Or stolen one.
We should look into it, said Hitchens. Right.
If Quinn does have a car, pointed out Kessen, its going to make it much less difficult for us. A known vehicle will be easier to locate than an individual who may or may not be on foot, and who has the whole of the Peak District to wander around in.
We hope for the easy option, then, said Hitchens.
Obviously. So we want sightings of vehicles in Aston, near the victims home.
And appeals, sir?
The press office are already on to that. Theyre fixing up a press conference later this afternoon. We aim to get Quinns photograph on the local TV news tonight. We need as many members of the public looking out for him as possible.
I got chatting with some of Mrs Lowes neighbours at Aston this morning, said Murfin. They said they were just passing, but of course theyd come for a nosy around to see what was going on.
The next-door neighbours?
No, further up the village. They didnt see anything last night, but they volunteered Mansell Quinns name themselves. Theyd heard he was due out.
Where did they hear that from?
They seemed to think it was something everybody knew.
The Carol Proctor killing is a case everyone in that area will remember, said Hitchens. At least, everyone who was living around there in 1990. But we have to reach the others as well the newcomers, and all those thousands of visitors, too.
If necessary, well spend some money on distributing posters. Anything else, Paul?
I think thats it for now, sir.
But Cooper raised a hand. Sir, if Quinn is looking for revenge for some perceived injustice at his trial, I wonder if he might also go after the professionals involved. For example, the judge, the lawyers
- or the police officers, said Kessen. Yes. Specifically, the officers who worked on the Carol Proctor case and put the evidence together that got him sent down.
The DCI looked at Hitchens. Youd better add looking up the investigating officers to your list of tasks, Paul, he said.
Hitchens looked more uncomfortable than ever. No, sir.
Why not?
I dont need anyone to look them up.
Kessen smiled at him. Perhaps youd better tell us why, DI Hitchens. I think some of us here dont know.
Well, one of those officers, said Hitchens, was me.
Rebecca Lowe might have lived alone, but she had an active enough life. Analysing her diary, address books and other material that had been taken from her house, the incident room staff had already begun to piece together her movements, her regular activities and closest contacts. Later, her phone records would be gone through, her letters and bank statements read in the hope of tracing connections that might point to a motive, a suspect, or a possible witness.
Along with the forensic examination and the postmortem, it was all part of the routine that had to be observed to demonstrate that things were being done properly. But everyone knew that a separate operation was going on at the same time the effort to find the man already identified as the prime suspect: Mansell Quinn.
Ben Cooper found himself with an interview to do almost immediately. At least once a week, Rebecca Lowe had attended a gym located on an industrial estate in Edendale. Her sister Dawn said that shed been talking about joining a new fitness centre at Hathersage instead, because it was nearer. But changing your gym was a bit like converting from one religion to another. You risked being told that everything youd done so far in your life was wrong. Perhaps Rebecca had been a bit set in her ways, after all. Shed stayed at the Edendale gym.
One of our more mature ladies, said the trainer at Valley Fitness. But she was in better shape than most. In fact, she could outlast a lot of the younger women on the bikes. Also, she wasnt afraid to try new things. Shed put her name down for a trial Pilates class.
Did she ever talk about her ex-husband?
Wait a minute he died, didnt he?
Sorry, I mean the husband before that.
An earlier ex? No, I didnt know she had one. Shed lived a bit then, had she, Rebecca? Seen off two husbands, but still kept herself in condition? Well, good for her.
When did you last see her?
Monday morning. She always comes in for a session on Monday morning. Never misses.
That checked with the photocopy Cooper had of a page from Rebecca Lowes week-to-view diary.
And she was definitely there yesterday morning?
Yes, ten oclock to eleven. She made a joke about working off the excesses of the weekend. She liked a bottle of wine now and then, I think.
Cooper looked at the entries for the previous two days. Lunch with her sister on Saturday. A dinner party with some friends on Sunday night.
And did Mrs Lowe seem her normal self?
How do you mean?
Did she seem worried about anything? Did she mention anything that was bothering her?
I didnt talk to her that much, but she seemed perfectly happy. Just as usual. Wait a minute, though
Yes?
The phone was silent for a moment. Cooper could hear a series of strange noises in the background, and imagined the running and stretching and pedalling that must be going on while they spoke. The thought of it made him feel tired.
There was a man who was due out of prison about now, said the trainer. Is that right? Somebody that Rebecca knew very well.
Yes?
The phone was silent for a moment. Cooper could hear a series of strange noises in the background, and imagined the running and stretching and pedalling that must be going on while they spoke. The thought of it made him feel tired.
There was a man who was due out of prison about now, said the trainer. Is that right? Somebody that Rebecca knew very well.
Yes, thats right. Did Mrs Lowe tell you that?
No, I dont think so.
Oh.
Somebody else must have mentioned it. An old murder case, wasnt it? Or maybe its just a bit of gossip. I might be able to remember his name, if you give me a minute.
Never mind. I expect it was Quinn.
Thats it! So is it right? Is he out?
Yes, Im afraid so.
As Cooper put the phone down, he was handed a photograph. It was a recent shot of Rebecca Lowe, the one theyd be issuing with the press releases. She was dressed for the outdoors, in a green body warmer and jeans, and she had a dog at her heels a small thing with a plumed tail and a screwed-up face. Rebecca had rather a narrow face, with lines around her eyes but enviable cheekbones. Her hair was blonde, though surely it must be dyed at forty-nine.
The trainer at the fitness club was right Rebecca Lowe looked in good condition. But seen off two husbands? It looked as though one of them had come back again.