Cambridge Blue - Alison Bruce [117]
‘I don’t agree.’
‘I see,’ Marks said, letting the words settle for several seconds. When he spoke again, his first question surprised Goodhew. ‘In that case, do you know what motive Jackie Moran might have had for killing Lorna Spence?’
‘None that I know of. I don’t think she did.’
‘And that’s your unbiased opinion?’
‘Absolutely.’
Marks frowned. ‘Personally? In her position I would have gone for help rather than dumping Colin Willis’ body in the river. I suspect that anyone who kills, then covers it up, is deliberately hiding something. But go on, tell me the rest of your theories.’
Goodhew had some, of course; plenty in fact. They’d only been a jumble of seedling ideas until this last hour, but talking to Marks had stimulated his thoughts and some of the ideas had since flourished; they’d sprouted tentacles and now seemed to be intertwining quite effectively. The next step would be to try voicing them out loud. He took a deep breath, then jumped in. ‘Firstly,’ he began, ‘we know that Colin Willis had already had dealings with Lorna Spence and Victoria Nugent, therefore it seems too much of a coincidence that he just happened to target Jackie Moran for a random attack. Either he picked on her as a result of something Victoria or Lorna said, or he was hired to kill her by one of these two women.’
‘Which one?’
‘Lorna, I reckon. From what Bryn O’Brien said, it was Lorna who spent some time alone with Colin Willis, whilst Victoria wasn’t interested.’
‘So why would she want Jackie dead?’
‘Perhaps she didn’t. Maybe she hired Colin Willis on behalf of someone else. Once it was obvious that the plan had failed, disposing of Lorna would have broken the link between Colin Willis and whoever wanted to see Jackie Moran dead.’
‘So the diary page left at the stables was just planted to throw suspicion on her sister, Alice.’
‘And we only know it was planted because Jackie Moran survived, otherwise it might have looked like she’d had it in her possession all along.’
‘Actually,’ Marks corrected, ‘we only know it was planted because Jackie Moran told us so.’
Goodhew didn’t like the implication. ‘Even if it didn’t turn up as she said it did, I’m still sure it’s genuine.’
‘OK, so if it was deliberately planted, that would be by Lorna?’
‘But ultimately for the benefit of whoever it was who hired Willis as a killer.’
‘Who then goes on to kill Lorna when Jackie survives?’
‘I guess so.’
‘And this same person will be Victoria Nugent’s killer, too?’
Goodhew nodded but suddenly felt his ideas drifting off course – or wilting, to use his earlier analogy.
‘So you’re saying,’ Marks was hitting his stride now, ‘that behind all of this is a very determined killer who has murdered both Lorna Spence and Victoria Nugent, yet felt it necessary to go through a third party to hire an amateur like Willis in a half-hearted attempt to kill Jackie Moran? And when the first attempt on Jackie Moran failed, why wasn’t there a second? So why the “I’m like Emma” message? And who sent Lorna that junk mail?’
Goodhew couldn’t answer.
‘You see, Gary, ideas are all fine and good, but they need to hold water. If you spend too much time working on your own, you’ll lose sight of the real objectives.’
Goodhew nodded dumbly. Marks was right, of course, and he felt stupid for letting himself colour the facts so carelessly, even if he hadn’t realized he was doing so.
‘Do you want another chance in this department?’ his superior asked suddenly.
‘Yes please, sir.’
Marks sent him to get coffee and, on his return, Goodhew found his boss sitting with Alex Moran’s journal in one hand and his phone in the other. His attention seemed primarily with the phone, however. After another minute, he replaced the receiver and took the coffee he was being offered.
‘Do you know what leads are like?’ he said.
This was one where Goodhew knew the answer. ‘Buses?’
‘Exactly. Right now I’ve got a bundle of them.’
‘Not a fleet?’
‘In the hours before Lorna’s death she’d had intercourse with two men; Bryn O’Brien and Richard Moran. It was easy to determine