Page 58 of Dropping Like Flies

“He must have done.”

“Maybe he found his way into an office and got it from there.”

“That was my first thought. But everyone at Eclipse is claiming they’ve never seen it before. So either the manager’s lying through his teeth, or Dougie got it from somewhere else.”

“Where?”

Ben sighed. “I don’t know, and Dougie isn’t saying. But then he isn’t saying anything now that Mike Fenchurch is on the scene.”

Mike Fenchurch was Dougie’s lawyer, the man—just as Ben had predicted—instructing his client to say nothing as soon as he’d been brought on board. “What about the search of Dougie’s flat? Did that turn up anything?”

“Nothing. No diary detailing his crimes. No receipt for a sharp knife. And definitely no fingers. Just a very overwrought mother who is extremely vocal that her son couldn’t possibly have done what he’s accused of.”

“She knows he confessed, right?”

“Ah yeah, that’s the other thing,” Ben said wearily. “He’s schizophrenic and off his meds. And don’t ask why we weren’t told that when we went round to interview him because I’ve been asking that myself and getting no answers that don’t scream gross incompetence.”

“What about the alibi?”

“She’s not shifting on it. She claims Dougie was with her on the night of Rupert’s death. That there’s no way he could have done it.”

“What’s your gut feeling?”

There was a long pause while Ben mulled the question over. “How would he know about the symbols and the fingers if he hadn’t done it? And the schizophrenia only gives more of a reason. His mother has admitted that it’s a constant struggle to get him to take his meds. That Dougie doesn’t see that he copes far better when he’s on them. It wouldn’t surprise me if Rupert ended things with him because of that. They probably met when he was on his meds and he found things too difficult when Dougie stopped taking them. Proving he did it is going to be one hell of a job.”

“And I always thought catching the murderers was the hard part.”

Ben gave a humorless laugh. “Definitely not. That’s just the start. The making sure they go down for a very long time is always the challenge.”

“His confession must count for something? That, and him having made previous threats to someone who ended up dead?”

“Hopefully.”

The invisible thread that connected Ben and me gave a twang and I hated not being able to see his face. “Where are you?”

“At the station.”

“What would it take for me to lure you away from there?”

“A better offer.”

“Me… you… a takeaway… a massage? How does that sound?”

“You always gave very good massages.”

The smile in Ben’s voice made me smile. “My place or yours?”

“Mine. It’ll give me time to shower and slip into something more comfortable.”

“I didn’t know you had a silk negligee.”

Ben’s laugh was throaty. “I’m afraid I can’t promise that.”

“Pity. What time do you want me there?”

“Now.” The word hung there for a moment before Ben laughed again. “Which… would be ludicrous considering I’m not there, so you’d be hanging around outside waiting.”

“You’re worth waiting for.”

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