Peter Diamond - 09 - The Secret Hangman

by Peter Lovesey

  ‘What do you think, guv?’ Ingeborg asked, unimpressed by Halliwell.

  ‘On balance, I favour a single killer. I’ve thought a lot about cults. When it seemed we were faced with suicides this was a possibility, else how can you explain people doing away with themselves in near-identical ways? But we’re dealing with murder now. Joss Steel didn’t tie a noose around her neck and kick a chair from under her. She was put there.’

  ‘With sugar in her hair,’ Halliwell added.

  ‘Let’s not get sidetracked,’ Diamond said.

  Ingeborg said, ‘We’re assuming the husband was abducted too – but is that definite?’

  ‘That’s the MO,’ Halliwell said.

  ‘What are you thinking?’ Diamond asked her.

  ‘The husband could have killed her.’ For Halliwell’s benefit, she said, ‘Before you arrived we talked to Dawn, the stable girl. There’s a guy who visits on Fridays. He leaves as she’s arriving, round about five. He’s been here for the afternoon. It’s obvious what Dawn thinks.’

  ‘That he’s the lover?’

  ‘He’s in his twenties, nice car, good-looking. What if the husband got wind of it?’

  ‘Killed her for two-timing him?’

  ‘Exactly.’

  Diamond said, ‘He’d bury her in the paddock. He wouldn’t hang her in the park.’

  She saw the logic in that, sighed and conceded with a faint smile. When a wife takes a lover, the husband doesn’t want the whole world to know.

  ‘We’ve got to assume Martin Steel is under imminent threat of death,’ Diamond said. ‘Here’s the action plan: to get everything possible on this couple. Their recent movements, contacts, phone calls, e-mails, credit statements. I need at least three good people here going through their personal stuff. Keith, you talk to the gardener, Ted Hawkins, house in the village with the gnome fishing in the pond. Inge, get onto that cleaning service, Tidy House. See what they know.’

  ‘What about lover boy?’

  ‘Hold on, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.’

  ‘The mystery caller, then.’

  ‘I’m going to call him Man Friday. We need to identify him first. He’s top of your list of questions. Between the cleaners and the gardener we ought to find out more.’

  ‘You don’t mind them knowing?’

  ‘What – that she may have been testing the mattress on Friday afternoons? She’s dead, Keith. We’re not protecting her reputation.’

  ‘And if they don’t know anything about it?’

  ‘We turn up a contact number. Get weaving.’

  Alone in the exercise room, he used the wall-phone to call the nick and get the reinforcements he needed. Leaman was managing well with those calls from the public, or so he claimed, as he would, being John Leaman. The phone lines were red-hot, but when pressed he had to admit that nothing more of importance had come in. Yes, Leaman said, it was no trouble to send three DCs.

  Diamond replaced the phone. He looked around at the apparatus – the rowing-machine and the weights, and reflected on the time the couple must have spent toning their bodies – for what? He got up, and felt the flop of his beer gut over his waistband. Maybe he’d see how the abdominal exerciser worked.

  More sore than refreshed, he went back into the main part of the house to check on Safeguard and Search. They were getting more sets of fingerprints than they wanted. He told them about the cleaners and Man Friday and they said it would be helpful to get their prints for comparison. ‘You wish,’ he said.

  But he’d had an idea while he was trying out the exercise machine. Was it possible that Man Friday was a personal trainer? Smart car, broad shoulders. Friday afternoon at a rich woman’s house, a place equipped with an array of exercise machines. How many personal trainers plied their trade in Bath? he wondered. He knew a way to get inside information.

  He took out his new mobile and called the only number stored in it.

  33

  Athought nagged at him while he drove to Paloma’s. Ten minutes ago it had seemed obvious to get in touch. Her son Jerry was in the personal-training business, so here was a reason to seek help from friends. The closer he got, the less appealing it seemed. You don’t let your work impinge on your private life. How embarrassing if Jocelyn Steel’s Man Friday was none other than Jerry. Even worse if the training turned out to have been more intimate than personal.

  Too much of a coincidence? He hoped so. There had to be other personal trainers in the city. Maybe Man Friday wasn’t a fitness expert at all. Please God, he gave piano lessons, or did tarot readings.

  ‘You did the right thing, letting me know you were coming,’ Paloma said when she opened the door. She’d put on make-up and what looked to him like a party dress.

  ‘It’s a business call.’

  ‘Yes, buttercup, you made that clear, but I can make myself presentable for a business call, the same as a social one.’

  ‘And you have. You look terrific.’

  ‘You can give me a business-like kiss if you want.’

  ‘Is there such a thing?’ He stepped into the hall and held her and their lips pressed and every other thought was blocked out.

  But Paloma reminded him why he was here. ‘You want some help from Jerry, you said. I called him and he’s on his way over. A drink while you wait?’

  ‘Better not.’

  ‘It’s not about that poor woman who was found in the park, is it? I saw her face on the television.’

  ‘Afraid so,’ he said, and told her about the exercise room in Jocelyn Steel’s house and his theory that she had a trainer. ‘I’m clutching at straws here, but Jerry knows more about this kind of thing than I do. He may have a few ideas I can follow up.’

  ‘I’m sure he’ll give any advice he can. It’s a horrible case, by the sound of it.’

  ‘They’re all horrible for someone.’

  ‘Doesn’t one as bad as this give you nightmares?’

  ‘Once in a while, but I’ve been doing it a long time. What keeps me awake is trying to work out where I’ve gone wrong. In this one there’s a vicious twist. The husband is going to be killed unless I find the psycho who’s got him.’

  ‘That’s awful pressure, Peter. I know I couldn’t handle it.’

  ‘You treat it as what it is – a job. Think too much and you’re stuffed.’

  Jerry let himself in, called out to them from the hall and finally put his head round the door. ‘You need a receptionist, Mum.’

  He was in a silver tracksuit today. A useful lead-in. Diamond asked if the colour went with his new motor.

  ‘The car’s not mine, unfortunately,’ Jerry said. ‘It’s rented. And it’s black.’

  One awkward suspicion removed. ‘Good of you to come.’

  ‘You want to pick my brains, Mum said. Not sure I have any, but you’re welcome to try.’

  Diamond gave him some background. Jerry hadn’t heard about the latest murder. He wasn’t the sort to listen to his car radio. He’d have Coldplay going at top volume.

  ‘It’s only an idea,’ Diamond said, ‘but she had a regular visitor – a young man – and I thought he might be a personal trainer. It struck me that you’re likely to know of any others who do the job locally.’

  ‘I wouldn’t say I know them all.’ Jerry thought a moment. ‘Three spring to mind.’ He stopped as if he regretted saying so much. ‘I wouldn’t want you to knock on their doors and say I sent you.’

  ‘That’s not in the plan. Three, you say.’

  ‘What you can do is look on the noticeboard in any gym. That’s how we get our clients.’

  Paloma said, ‘Peter doesn’t have time for that. A man’s life is in danger.’

  ‘From a trainer?’

  ‘I didn’t say that,’ Diamond said. ‘I’m hoping to find a witness.’

  ‘OK.’ With reluctance, he said, ‘Wayne McRae, Kev Cummings and Harry Lang are the local guys. I don’t have their addresses.’

  ‘No problem.’

 
; ‘Wayne lives in the city. The other two may be from outside.’

  ‘Fine. Would you know what they drive?’

  ‘I’ve seen Wayne in a green Honda Civic. Couldn’t tell you about the others.’

  ‘How would they have got into this line of work? I don’t suppose everyone goes through college like you did.’

  He reddened. ‘You’ve been checking up on me?’

  Paloma said, ‘Jerry, of course he hasn’t. I told him. I’m proud of you. I bet these others aren’t so well qualified.’

  ‘Who knows? Anyone can set up as a trainer. You can hang around fitness centres chatting people up. There’s a back-door route into most jobs. It’s how good you are that matters.’

  Diamond asked, ‘Do most of your clients have weight-lifting equipment in their homes?’

  ‘Depends. Some of the rich ones do.’

  ‘This wouldn’t be so unusual then: a rowing machine, treadmill and a machine for strengthening – what do you call them? – the abs?’

  ‘Abdominal muscles. If you’ve got a big place and money to spend, why not? I know of four or five people with their own gear.’

  Diamond hesitated. ‘This is, em, difficult. Close your ears, Paloma. The clients tend to be rich women, conscious of their figures, right?’

  ‘Some of them.’

  ‘The trainers are young, fit guys like yourself?’

  Jerry smiled, folded his arms and nodded. ‘You’re asking if it leads to anything? The first thing everyone wants to know.’

  ‘It’s not a personal question. I’m interested in these other guys. Does any of them have a reputation?’

  ‘I wouldn’t know,’ he said, chuckling at the notion. ‘I don’t even talk about stuff like that.’

  He’d resisted the chance to dish the dirt on the others and Diamond respected him for that, even though it could have aided the investigation. McRae, Cummings and Lang would be traced and checked as a priority.

  There wasn’t any more to be got from Jerry. The names were useful. He shrugged and left the room when Diamond thanked him.

  Paloma reached for Diamond and hugged him. ‘I know you’ll stop this killer. I’m confident you will.’

  ‘The thing is, can I stop him in time?’

  She whispered, ‘Be careful. I want you safe. You wouldn’t believe how much I want you.’

  He had to loosen her grip to get away. He drove back to Manvers Street thinking he was in a pig of a job.

  34

  He was with Georgina now, in her Manvers Street eyrie. One of those times when he needed her backing. His lamentable record – in her eyes – of neglected duties, flip remarks and open insubordination had to be put aside for the greater good, the snaring of a serial killer. It was a matter of persuading her. He’d listed the five hangings and told her he was convinced that the sixth was imminent.

  ‘How can you possibly know?’ she said, folding her arms across that awesome silver-buttoned bosom.

  ‘It’s a pattern, isn’t it? This killer attacks couples. The woman dies first and then there’s a short interval before the man is murdered. We’re in that interval now.’

  ‘How long have we got, according to you?’

  ‘It could be tonight or tomorrow night and we know it will be somewhere in the city, which is why I’m asking for a blanket police presence. Vehicle checks, obbos, the lot.’

  ‘That’s easily said, Peter. We don’t have the manpower for this. I can’t just open another box of bobbies. Headquarters are already complaining about the overtime worked on the ram raids.’

  The ram raids were a blind alley he refused to go down. ‘This man will die unless we act.’

  ‘Just having officers on the streets is a fishing trip, and you know it. Haven’t you and your people got a suspect by now?’

  ‘We’re closing in.’

  ‘You’ve had long enough.’

  That remark was below the belt considering she’d insisted he stood down the incident room and put all his resources into the ram raids. Still, this wasn’t the moment to remind her. ‘Jocelyn Steel’s murder has given us several new leads. We could have an arrest any time, but it’s still vital to have this back-up.’

  ‘What’s the killer’s motive?’

  ‘If I knew that, ma’am, we’d have him by now.’

  ‘A connection between the victims?’

  ‘Nice idea.’ He was trying so hard not to sound sarcastic. ‘Nothing yet.’

  Georgina sighed. ‘With a man’s life on the line, I don’t have much option, do I? I’ll clear it with headquarters, but I look to you to make it unnecessary.’

  Keith Halliwell was still out at Midford when Diamond phoned him.

  ‘Have you caught up with the gardener?’

  ‘Saw him in his cottage, yes. He’s not in the frame, guv. Aged about eighty and worried he might lose his job.’

  ‘Any use as a witness?’

  ‘He’s all right mentally. He’s known the couple about four years. They don’t mix much with the villagers, he said, but they treat him well. He knew Jocelyn Steel better than her husband, who seems to work long hours. She was always even-tempered, he said. Liked her riding and swimming. The pool and the exercise room were built after the Steels bought the house. She would swim and lounge by the pool with a book. Didn’t have many visitors.’

  ‘Did you ask about Man Friday?’

  ‘He didn’t know or wasn’t saying.’

  ‘Out of loyalty?’

  ‘Hard to tell. He’s a canny old bugger.’

  ‘Had he heard of Agnes, the friend who left the phone message?’

  ‘No. He’s strictly an out-of-doors man. Brings his own coffee in a flask and drinks it by himself.’

  ‘Not much help, then. What are you doing right now?’

  ‘Looking through their filing cabinets. They’re hoarders, which could be useful. Every invoice is filed away. They did a lot of buying on the internet. Clive is already out here going through their e-mails.’

  Clive was the mainstay of the Avon & Somerset Hi-Tech Crime Unit and it was an open secret he earned more overtime than anyone else at the nick. Every case had its computer element these days.

  ‘Ask him if there’s a list of addresses.’

  ‘Of people they e-mail? There has to be. But they won’t be postal addresses, if that’s what you were expecting.’

  ‘Keith, I may be a computer illiterate, but I do know that much. Have you got a pen handy? Get Clive to check for these names in particular: Wayne McRae, Kevin Cummings, Harry Lang. They’re three of the local personal trainers. What’s Ingeborg up to?’

  ‘Doing what you asked her – trying to reach the cleaning ladies.’

  ‘Are the crime scene people still with you?’

  ‘Yep. It’s all go.’

  ‘But no progress.’

  ‘These things take time, guv.’

  ‘That’s a luxury we don’t have.’

  He ended the call and sifted through the photos of Jocelyn Steel’s body when it was still suspended from Victoria Gate. By now the killer would have chosen a ‘gallows’ for Martin Steel, somewhere public and yet convenient for his purpose. Was there a clue in the locations he’d used already? The Twinings had been hung from a tree in Henrietta Park and the facade of Sham Castle. Delia Williamson from the swing in Sydney Gardens and her partner, Geaves, from the viaduct over the Lower Bristol Road. Now Jocelyn Steel in Victoria Park. What had been picked for her husband?

  The map in the incident room had large-headed pins marking the five crime scenes. Psychological profilers made entire careers out of sticking pins in maps. Was there anything in it? He was dubious. Most of their results could have been found by anyone with common sense, in his opinion. They’d study this little lot and tell you the killer was someone with local knowledge, someone who knew a bit about knots and worked by night. A boy scout with bags under his eyes.

  Or just another crazy.

  If the profiling lark was only common sense, th
ere was a pressing need to apply some of his own. There was a pattern here. This killer believed in ladies first, and each of them left in a park. How significant was that? He was reluctant to read much into it. If you were looking for outdoor places to hang corpses you’d find parks convenient and quiet at night.

  The male victims had ended up in the more spectacular settings. Sham Castle was a definite landmark, high above the city. John Twining’s body must have been visible from many viewpoints. And Geaves, dangling from the railway viaduct, had caused traffic chaos. Was that any guide to where the next victim would be found? What would you choose to make a real impact?

  He thought about the major tourist attractions: the Roman Baths, the Abbey, the Pump Room, the Royal Crescent, the Circus, Pulteney Bridge and Camden and Lansdown Crescents. Every one of them had its potential for a killer wanting to create an effect. Imagine a body suspended above the Great Bath, or against the west front of the Abbey, or from one of the chandeliers in the Pump Room. Bath’s horror show could run and run.

  Trying to predict the location was not a practical option.

  His phone went again and Ingeborg was on the line. ‘I tracked down the woman who runs Tidy House, guv, and she put me onto Jean Buchan, who cleaned the house last Thursday and has been before. She’s bright and reliable, I’d say.’

  ‘As a cleaner – or a witness?’

  ‘Both, probably. She described Jocelyn Steel as friendly and a bit lonely, she thought, but not so depressed she’d want to kill herself. She’d make coffee for them and be happy to chat for half an hour or so out of the time she was paying to have the house cleaned. Said she looked forward to Thursday mornings because it was a chance to chat with another woman.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘Mainly what was in the papers or on television.’

  ‘Nothing about our victim’s personal life?’

  ‘I was coming to that. She had a woman friend she’d phone sometimes.’

  ‘Agnes, who left the message on the answerphone.’

  ‘I suppose so.’

  ‘Did the cleaner listen in?’

  ‘Not really, but there was a lot of laughing and a kind of animation in the way she was talking that Jean Buchan took to mean they were discussing men. It’s something you instinctively recognise if you’re a woman.’