lighter.
‘Sir.’ Noble was suddenly uneasy. ‘I wanted to thank you…’–Brook glanced at Noble with a look of mild bemusement though he knew what was coming–‘…for not mentioning my cock-up last night.’ Brook smiled.
‘Forget it, John. It wasn’t your fault. You had good reason not to enter the crime scene, especially as another officer had told you there were no signs of life. I’m not sure I can be quite so forgiving with Aktar though. Tampering with the evidence is a very serious matter.’
‘What do you mean?’
Brook searched for the relevant photograph. ‘Remember the pizza, the Four Seasons? Look at it. What do you notice?’
‘Notice?’
‘Be boring and factual.’
Noble hesitated briefly, unsure of what was required of him. After a pause to verify Brook’s serious intent, Noble took a stab at it. ‘It’s a half-eaten…’
Brook raised an admonishing eyebrow to Noble who knew the signal well and corrected himself.
‘…partially-eaten pizza.’
‘Better.’
‘It’s had two pieces taken from it.’
‘Go on.’
Noble looked at a loss.
‘Describe the pieces, John.’
‘Well, one’s a triangle cut out of the ham and mushroom bit…’
‘Triangle,’ said Brook with heavy emphasis. Noble looked back at him, perplexed, trying not to laugh.
‘The other piece,’ Noble smiled suddenly, ‘is torn from the salami segment. This pizza could have been eaten by two different people. Presumably Jason Wallis tore a piece off…and someone else took the trouble to cut a slice. The killer?’ he said hopefully, before shaking his head the instant Brook shook his own. ‘Aktar. The…idiot,’ barked Noble with real venom, remembering to omit the adjective.
Brook decided not to string it out any longer. ‘And what happened to both of them?’
Noble nodded now. ‘They both collapsed. The pizzas were doctored in some way. That’s how the killer was able to cut the family’s throats without a struggle.’
‘Right.’
‘That’s why you asked me about Aktar’s weight. Jason’s just a skinny kid. He fell where he was eating, where there’s tomato sauce on the floor, but the drug would take longer to be ingested by a heavier man so he would have finished his piece and still have been able to move around for a while. People would think he’d fainted after seeing the bodies.’
‘That’s very impressive, John.’
‘What? Telling you what you already knew?’
‘I only knew because I was looking for it.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well…I’ve seen this MO before.’
‘When?’
‘A long time ago.’
‘With throats cut and the blood on the walls?’
‘Similar.’
‘That’s how you knew there was a message for us.’
‘Yes.’
‘And the doctored pizza?’
‘No. That’s different. Things change each time–just enough to muddy the profile.’
‘But he immobilised and killed families?’
‘Yes.’
‘Who was the killer?’
‘We never found him.’
‘What…?’
‘I don’t want to say any more at the moment because the connection’s not certain. And I need you to keep an open mind about things so you can pull me up if I start barking up the wrong tree.’
‘Whatever you say.’ Noble was annoyed but did a good job of not showing it. ‘So what now?’
‘Now? Until we find the van we concentrate on the house.’
‘SOCO are still going over it.’
‘They won’t find anything.’
‘They might.’
‘Not a chance. The planning that went into this. He’s not going to take his gloves off and touch things, or get peckish and leave a perfect set of dentures in a lump of cheese.’
‘I guess not. He might have had a sip of wine though.’
‘Don’t bank on it. What about the weapon?’
‘Nothing so far.’
‘How many uniforms have you got looking?’
‘Dozens.’
‘Get more, at least for a day or two, and widen the search. Fingertip. Get onto the council and suspend refuse collection in the area. Search all dustbins and grates
‘Sir.’ Noble was suddenly uneasy. ‘I wanted to thank you…’–Brook glanced at Noble with a look of mild bemusement though he knew what was coming–‘…for not mentioning my cock-up last night.’ Brook smiled.
‘Forget it, John. It wasn’t your fault. You had good reason not to enter the crime scene, especially as another officer had told you there were no signs of life. I’m not sure I can be quite so forgiving with Aktar though. Tampering with the evidence is a very serious matter.’
‘What do you mean?’
Brook searched for the relevant photograph. ‘Remember the pizza, the Four Seasons? Look at it. What do you notice?’
‘Notice?’
‘Be boring and factual.’
Noble hesitated briefly, unsure of what was required of him. After a pause to verify Brook’s serious intent, Noble took a stab at it. ‘It’s a half-eaten…’
Brook raised an admonishing eyebrow to Noble who knew the signal well and corrected himself.
‘…partially-eaten pizza.’
‘Better.’
‘It’s had two pieces taken from it.’
‘Go on.’
Noble looked at a loss.
‘Describe the pieces, John.’
‘Well, one’s a triangle cut out of the ham and mushroom bit…’
‘Triangle,’ said Brook with heavy emphasis. Noble looked back at him, perplexed, trying not to laugh.
‘The other piece,’ Noble smiled suddenly, ‘is torn from the salami segment. This pizza could have been eaten by two different people. Presumably Jason Wallis tore a piece off…and someone else took the trouble to cut a slice. The killer?’ he said hopefully, before shaking his head the instant Brook shook his own. ‘Aktar. The…idiot,’ barked Noble with real venom, remembering to omit the adjective.
Brook decided not to string it out any longer. ‘And what happened to both of them?’
Noble nodded now. ‘They both collapsed. The pizzas were doctored in some way. That’s how the killer was able to cut the family’s throats without a struggle.’
‘Right.’
‘That’s why you asked me about Aktar’s weight. Jason’s just a skinny kid. He fell where he was eating, where there’s tomato sauce on the floor, but the drug would take longer to be ingested by a heavier man so he would have finished his piece and still have been able to move around for a while. People would think he’d fainted after seeing the bodies.’
‘That’s very impressive, John.’
‘What? Telling you what you already knew?’
‘I only knew because I was looking for it.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well…I’ve seen this MO before.’
‘When?’
‘A long time ago.’
‘With throats cut and the blood on the walls?’
‘Similar.’
‘That’s how you knew there was a message for us.’
‘Yes.’
‘And the doctored pizza?’
‘No. That’s different. Things change each time–just enough to muddy the profile.’
‘But he immobilised and killed families?’
‘Yes.’
‘Who was the killer?’
‘We never found him.’
‘What…?’
‘I don’t want to say any more at the moment because the connection’s not certain. And I need you to keep an open mind about things so you can pull me up if I start barking up the wrong tree.’
‘Whatever you say.’ Noble was annoyed but did a good job of not showing it. ‘So what now?’
‘Now? Until we find the van we concentrate on the house.’
‘SOCO are still going over it.’
‘They won’t find anything.’
‘They might.’
‘Not a chance. The planning that went into this. He’s not going to take his gloves off and touch things, or get peckish and leave a perfect set of dentures in a lump of cheese.’
‘I guess not. He might have had a sip of wine though.’
‘Don’t bank on it. What about the weapon?’
‘Nothing so far.’
‘How many uniforms have you got looking?’
‘Dozens.’
‘Get more, at least for a day or two, and widen the search. Fingertip. Get onto the council and suspend refuse collection in the area. Search all dustbins and grates
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