The Christmas Killer

by Alex Pine

  As the old woman reached the other side of the road, the Range Rover picked up speed and drove off.

  Annie was left staring after it, her heart banging against her ribcage.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  The briefing session in the village hall resumed shortly after DCI Tanner finished his phone conversation with the Chief Constable.

  ‘She told me that a press conference has been scheduled for seven o’clock,’ he announced to the team. ‘It’ll be at the constabulary headquarters in Penrith and she wants me to front it. So let’s get this done.’

  James went back over some of the ground he had already covered and then provided an update from the crime scene in Willow Road.

  ‘Lorna Manning’s body has been removed and a thorough search of the property has taken place,’ he said. ‘No weapon has been found and forensics are confident that the only thing taken was the photo of Lorna from the living room. Meanwhile, all the neighbours have now been spoken to. None of them saw anything last night, but the woman who lives directly next door to Lorna’s house did hear what she thought was breaking glass.’

  James consulted his notebook before continuing. ‘Her name is Doreen Sinclair and she told officers that she was lying in bed awake when she heard it at just after midnight. She’s sure it came from the rear of Lorna’s house but assumed it was an outside light or an ornamental feature that was blown over by the strong wind. She heard nothing more after that so didn’t bother to get up. We’ve checked the rear patio and garden, and the only thing that’s broken is the glass panel in the kitchen door. So it’s safe to assume that the intruder broke in and killed Lorna shortly after midnight.’

  James went on to point out that the rear garden backed onto a narrow lane with only a few detached houses on it.

  ‘It would have been easy for the killer to approach the house along the lane and climb over the low garden fence,’ he said. ‘As ever, the lack of CCTV cameras means we don’t have the luxury of viewing video footage that might have captured the perp.’

  James explained that checks were being carried out on Lorna’s phone, laptop and social media history. Officers had also been searching her office at the school and speaking to colleagues there, but nothing of interest had so far emerged.

  ‘We haven’t yet established a meaningful link between our two victims other than that they both lived in Kirkby Abbey,’ he said. ‘But the killer seems to believe that they did have one thing in common – they both deserved to die. And if this is indeed the motive, then we need to find out as much as we can about Lorna Manning and Charlie Jenkins.

  ‘One thing that does seem to be in doubt is whether Lorna was in a relationship. Most of her friends and colleagues don’t believe she was, but it turns out that on Wednesday evening she had a meal at The King’s Head with Giles Keegan, who you all know was one of us before he retired. Now, it could be they were just acquaintances, but either way, I intend to talk to Giles about it. I’m also planning to interview Daniel Curtis. It was his father who spread the gossip about Charlie’s affair with Janet Dyer. But Daniel was also seen loitering outside the school on Friday evening and I want to know if it had anything to do with Lorna. For people who aren’t familiar with Daniel Curtis, he served a prison sentence for having sex with a minor and was ostracised by the people of this village.’

  James decided not to mention his wife’s involvement with the man, but he couldn’t help wondering if any of them already knew about it.

  ‘Do we know anything about Lorna Manning’s movements over the weekend?’ one of the uniformed officers asked.

  ‘Good question,’ James said. ‘Right now, all we know for certain is that she went to the square on Sunday for the carol singing and was there when Charlie’s body was found. I saw her myself. And I’m told that a couple of her neighbours saw her coming and going on both days, but no one noticed if she had any visitors. So we need to look into it some more.’

  James invited Stevens to update the team on enquiries relating to Charlie Jenkins. The DS had just spoken to someone back at the office in Kendal who had been collating information.

  ‘The headline point is that forensics haven’t come up with anything that moves the investigation forward,’ he said. ‘They found no unusual or suspicious activity on his phone and computer. And the kitchen knives taken from the pub and the flat above it contained no blood traces. I’ve also talked to the FLO who is with his wife, Sonia. She says the woman has given her no reason to suspect that she killed him. Sonia didn’t leave the flat last night at all and only emerged this morning to attend the church service for her husband. So she’s most definitely not a suspect in Lorna Manning’s murder.’

  The discussion then moved swiftly onto the messages in the Christmas cards and the implied threat that ten more people were going to be murdered.

  ‘I’ve been giving this a great deal of thought,’ DCI Tanner said. ‘Now that there’s been a second killing, we can’t remain completely silent on the matter. It’s best we say something because there’s bound to be a leak at some point. What I propose we do is make it known that we suspect that the same person could be responsible for both murders and that there’s a possibility he or she will strike again. That way we cover ourselves if it gets out. I touched on this with the Chief Constable and she’s happy to go ahead with it for now. She agrees with me that if we go public with everything, we might well encourage a few nutters to start sending out their own bogus threats in Christmas cards. We will, or course, reassure people that we’re looking out for them by having officers patrolling the village day and night on foot and in cars.’

  Nobody questioned this approach or raised objections to it and James thought it made perfect sense. If they said absolutely nothing about the threat then they ran the risk of a major backlash once it got out.

  Tanner wound up the meeting and said he was leaving it to James and Inspector Boyd to organise the patrols and the next steps in the investigation.

  ‘Finally, we all need to bear in mind that, apart from everything else, we’re going to have to cope with what we’re being led to believe will be one of the worst storms to hit this part of the country in years. And we all know how the chaos caused by really bad weather can create huge problems for us. So just make sure we’re as prepared as we can be.’

  There was just one more issue that James wanted to talk to Tanner about but he waited until they were alone outside before doing so.

  ‘Sir, my wife’s uncle has come to stay with us for Christmas,’ James said. ‘He’s been behaving strangely and Annie is now wondering if he’s got anything to do with what’s been happening. But if I broach the subject with him it creates a conflict of interest.’

  James told Tanner what Annie had said and made it clear that he thought she was worrying unnecessarily.

  ‘It doesn’t sound like he’s our killer,’ Tanner said. ‘But you’re right to mention it. I suggest you suss him out yourself, but if you feel that it should move to the next level then get DS Stevens to interview him formally.’

  ‘Thank you, sir. I’ll do that.’

  ‘And one last thing, James,’ Tanner said. ‘I want you to know that I’m glad we’ve got someone with your vast experience on this case. You have my full support and I’m confident that if anyone can find the bastard responsible for this, it’s you.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Annie was desperate to know what her Uncle Bill had been doing in Daniel Curtis’s Range Rover. Her mind raced through various dark scenarios as she walked in the direction they had been heading when she saw them.

  It was a small village, so it didn’t take her long to spot the Range Rover again, pulling away from the kerb in front of The King’s Head. Daniel was now alone at the wheel so Annie assumed he had dropped Bill off.

  She quickly stepped behind a tree so that he wouldn’t see her as he drove past.

  When he was gone, she hurried across the road towards the pub. It was then she remembered that he
r uncle had said he saw Daniel loitering outside the school on Friday evening. She could even recall his exact words: I’d recognise that pervy bastard anywhere. Did you know he was back, Annie?

  Bill had sided with her parents when her relationship with the much older Daniel was exposed. And on the one and only occasion when Daniel came to the house to speak to her father, Bill called him a paedo and told him to fuck off. Her uncle had hated the man with a vengeance back then. So why the hell was he riding around in Daniel’s Range Rover only days after returning to Kirkby Abbey?

  Annie was determined to get an answer to that and other questions as she strode into the pub. There were only a handful of people in the bar so she spotted Bill easily enough. He was sitting alone at one of the tables with a pint in front of him. As she approached, he stood and smiled.

  ‘Order a drink at the bar,’ he said. ‘Tell them I’ll pay for it when I get another round in.’

  Annie was thrown by the fact that he seemed so pleased to see her. It caused her to pause for a second before deciding to take him up on his offer.

  Martha’s husband Luke was behind the bar and she got him to pour her a large glass of Pinot. She carried it over to Bill’s table and sat down facing him after taking her coat off.

  ‘Cheers, Annie,’ he said, holding up his glass. ‘This is a nice surprise.’

  ‘I came here looking for you earlier,’ Annie said. ‘But you’d already gone out.’

  ‘Well, I’m sorry about that. I went to the garage. They’d let me know that they’d recovered my car and I wanted to see how much damage there was and how much it was likely to cost to repair.’

  Annie took a sip of wine and wondered whether he was telling the truth.

  ‘But you’ll never guess who I met when I left there,’ Bill said. ‘In fact, he gave me a lift back here and only dropped me off a few minutes ago.’

  Annie put her glass down on the table and lifted her brow.

  ‘So who was it?’

  ‘Your old flame. That filthy scumbag, Daniel Curtis. I couldn’t believe it when he pulled up in his fancy fucking car and asked me if I wanted a lift. He didn’t realise it was me at first, because my face was half-covered with the hat and scarf, so I had to tell him who I was, and then I said I’d rather walk. But he insisted and so I swallowed my pride because I was bleeding lost.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Annie said. ‘The garage is only a few hundred yards from here.’

  ‘I know, but while I was there the guys were all talking about another murder in the village and police cars were driving by with their lights flashing. It put the shits up me and when I left there I was confused and disorientated. I started walking away from the village and pretty soon didn’t know where I was. I’d gone about half a mile, I think, before Curtis stopped.’

  Annie felt another frisson of unease. It seemed like such an implausible explanation.

  ‘I tried to call you,’ she said. ‘But I’m guessing you’re going to tell me you left your phone in the room, again.’

  ‘That I did, Annie. I’m not used to carrying the pesky thing around with me.’

  ‘I heard you went out late last night,’ Annie said as casually as she could. ‘Where’d you go?’

  ‘For a walk,’ he replied. ‘I got bored in the room and they don’t allow smoking. So I wandered around for a bit, had a couple of ciggies, and then went back. I had a good sleep after that.’

  ‘Did you see anyone else?’

  He shook his head. ‘The village was dead and that suited me. I was in no mood for conversation.’

  ‘So what kind of conversation did you have in the car with Daniel Curtis?’

  Bill drank some of his beer and licked the froth from his top lip before answering.

  ‘He asked me if I’d moved back to the village and I told him I was staying just for Christmas. He said he was spending the holiday with his dad.’

  ‘And did he mention me?’

  Bill nodded. ‘He said he’d heard you were living here again with your husband but that he hadn’t seen you around.’

  ‘And that was all?’

  Bill’s brow twitched and he seemed uncomfortable suddenly.

  ‘Don’t hold anything back, Bill,’ Annie said. ‘I’ve a right to know.’

  ‘Well, he did ask me if something that Janet Dyer had told his old man was true,’ he said.

  Annie felt the blood fill her cheeks. ‘And what was that?’

  Bill gave her a sympathetic look. ‘Surely you can guess, love. It was the secret that years ago we all agreed to keep in the family. It seems you were the one who let it out by confiding in your old school friend.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  It was coming up to five o’clock and James and DS Stevens were about to leave the village hall. Outside, darkness had descended on Kirkby Abbey. It had also started to snow, and though it wasn’t yet heavy enough to cause problems, it was making members of the team a little anxious. Some were keen to call it a day so they could get home before the weather deteriorated further.

  ‘You can’t blame them,’ DS Stevens said to James. ‘Most have been here all day and they don’t want to be stuck here all night as well.’

  James had some sympathy, which was why he’d already agreed to let the majority head off at seven. Most of the initial legwork had already been carried out, including the house-to-house, and the forensic sweep of Lorna Manning’s home would soon be wrapping up. A lot of what else had to be done could wait until tomorrow and would be determined by what leads needed to be followed up.

  Half a dozen officers whose shifts had started late would remain in the village overnight. They would take turns patrolling on foot and in a marked car and remaining in the village hall. Hopefully that was going to make the people of Kirkby Abbey feel safer and stop them from panicking.

  These days it wasn’t possible anywhere in the country to have large teams of officers working around the clock. There just weren’t the numbers, and even hardy coppers needed to sleep and rest.

  The Cumbria Constabulary covered an area of some 2,613 square miles, including 200 miles of coastline, and the county had seen a significant increase in crime in recent years. And yet there were only just under 1,500 officers.

  James had been given an assurance that he would get all the people he needed, but he knew that would depend on how long the investigation lasted and whether there were other major crimes or incidents that would need to be resourced. That was why the predicted storms were of such concern. You just didn’t know how many serious problems they’d throw up.

  Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to be one of those cases where everything quickly falls into place and it doesn’t take long to narrow down the list of suspects. Two murders meant double the amount of work and things would get tougher and vastly more complicated if more bodies turned up.

  James had worked on two serial killer investigations during his police career. But the victims in both cases had been picked at random by psychopaths who murdered for the sheer pleasure of it, and the killings had taken place at various locations around London. This was so very different.

  In this case, the first two victims were known to each other and had lived in the same small, rural community. It seemed likely that they had also known their executioner. The perp appeared to have a warped but organised agenda and he wanted to draw attention to his mission through weird messages in pretty Christmas cards.

  James was frustrated because there were so many questions that they still couldn’t answer. For instance, why were the killings linked to the Twelve Days of Christmas? Would the killer really try to claim that many victims? What could have triggered such a murderous spree? And what made the perp think he could carry on killing with impunity in a village with a population of barely seven hundred people?

  ‘Shall we make a move, guv?’ DS Stevens said, breaking into James’s thoughts.

  James nodded as he threw on his coat and wrapped a scarf around his neck.

/>   A patrol car was waiting outside for them with its engine running. Their first stop was going to be Ron Curtis’s house as his son Daniel had finally turned up there and they had arranged to interview him.

  James wasn’t looking forward to meeting the man who had seduced Annie when she was a teenager, but he had to admit he was curious to know what Daniel Curtis was like.

  Ron Curtis had claimed that his son was no longer interested in young girls but James doubted that was true. He was probably just finding it harder to seduce and groom them now that he was in his fifties.

  On the way to the Curtis house, James and DS Stevens went over the reasons why Daniel was a person of interest.

  ‘He’d been ostracised by the villagers after his stint in jail, and it was made clear to him that he wasn’t welcome in Kirkby Abbey,’ James said. ‘So he might well have decided to get revenge. He also is said to have reacted angrily after Charlie Jenkins confronted and threatened his old man.’

  Stevens nodded. ‘Ron told us that Daniel was back at his own home in Keswick when Charlie was murdered on Saturday night but this can’t be confirmed. Is it possible Ron was lying or had Daniel lied to him? And then there’s the fact that Daniel was spotted lurking outside the school on Friday evening. Was he there hoping to catch a glimpse of Lorna Manning, or perhaps planning to follow her home from there?’

  Just before the patrol car arrived at Ron’s house, James said to Stevens, ‘There’s something else you need to know about Daniel Curtis. Three years before he was done for having sex with a minor, he had a brief fling with my wife Annie, who was sixteen at the time. When her father found out he put a stop to it. Before then her dad and Ron Curtis were mates, but after that they didn’t talk to each other. I should have mentioned it when the guy’s name first cropped up, but I didn’t think it would come to this and we’d have to talk to him.’

  ‘Don’t sweat it, guv,’ Stevens said. ‘That was nearly twenty years ago by my reckoning and Annie wasn’t a minor. So I don’t think we’re into conflict of interest territory. It’ll be a different matter with her uncle if things stack up against him, though.’