Body Heat Page 18

  Nigel looked up from his screen.

  “People who have left SSE are still on the list, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, guv.” Nigel nodded vigorously. “There are several clients that have since left.” He looked round the room. “None of them contacted more than one of the women and Jayne was calling them, to find out why they left. I’ll check with her and find out how far she has got.”

  “Thanks, Nigel. I thought you would have had it covered.”

  “Of course.” Callie had followed Miller to the door, so that Nigel and Jeffries could hear her. “He might have more than one profile.”

  “I’ve checked methods of payment and none of them use the same ones.” Nigel assured her and Callie didn’t want to go further and point out that there were ways round that, in case they asked how she knew. Perhaps she could call Nigel and put the idea into his head. He was much more open to suggestions than either Miller of Jeffries.

  “What about phone records?”

  “We have the details of all calls and texts for numbers registered to the women, but we have nothing connecting to any of the men on SSE, and we haven’t been able to find your Dr Brown on there, either. Although we did bring him in for questioning. You might want to steer clear for a while. I think he knows someone from the surgery put his name forward.”

  Jeffries snorted.

  “He won’t do anything. He was just a dickhead.”

  For once, Callie agreed with him, but thought that keeping out of Gerry’s way could be a good idea.

  “Do you think any of the victims had more than one phone?” Callie queried. “Or perhaps just swapped out the sim cards for a pay-as-you-go one, not in their names.”

  “It’s possible, we haven’t found anything to prove it though.” No wonder Miller seemed so defeated. Information that had seemed guaranteed to lead them to the killer, had turned into pretty much a dead end.

  “And, um, from what I can tell, after the initial contact they would have probably messaged using something like WhatsApp and with handsets pretty much destroyed in the fires, we have no hope of getting those from the company,” Nigel added morosely.

  “Not unless we get GCHQ or MI5 involved,” Jeffries added and Callie silently thanked Kate for making her use that and vowed that any future conversations of an intimate nature would be using the App so she could delete all the embarrassing ones.

  “We are working our way through everyone on all our lists.” Miller tried to sound upbeat, but failed.

  “We’ll still be tracing, interviewing and eliminating well into next century,” Jeffries said. “What we need is a way of eliminating them quicker. Who’s for a cuppa before we get back on the phones?”

  Callie took the hint and left them to their ongoing calls.

  Chapter 22

  Gerry Brown was in the general doctors’ office rushing through a stack of repeat prescriptions, barely checking them to see if they were correct before adding a scrawled signature to the bottom, when Callie came in and watched for a few seconds before he realised that he wasn’t alone and turned to look at her. She swallowed her irritation at his slapdash work and smiled despite Miller’s warning that he might suspect her of having given his name to the police. He would hardly have been likely to remain in the room with her if he really did think she had done that, would he?

  “How’s it going?” she asked vaguely. He looked up, as if only just registering that there was anyone else in the room.

  “Okay.”

  He shrugged, seemingly unsure what she was asking, which, in truth, she was as well. She was just trying to strike a conversation, so that she could get to know him better. Now that the SSE website seemed to be a washout, she was wondering again about the locum GP and was curious about what he did on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

  “I was wondering, now that you seem more settled here and are spending more time in Hastings,” she began, “if you wanted me to show you round one night? Introduce you to the pubs or the jazz club? I mean, I know you don’t live that far away, and have probably had nights out in the town but I thought you might not know the, um, singles scene.”

  She knew it sounded like a desperate pick up, but she ploughed on, nevertheless. “Maybe on a Wednesday night? The comedy club has an open mike night on a Wednesday that can be quite fun.”

  “Wednesday’s not a good night for me,” Gerry looked a bit like a rabbit caught in the headlights. “I have a standing commitment on a Wednesday.”

  “Oh? What’s that?” She tried to sound innocent but he just glared at her and went back to his work.

  “Some other night, then,” Callie persisted.

  “Um, maybe. Let me think about it.” Gerry seemed more irritated than flattered at being asked out by Callie. “Thank you.” He added as an afterthought.

  “Assuming your wife doesn’t mind,” Callie added maliciously.

  “We’re separated.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Callie lied.

  “I doubt it. I mean, you don’t seriously expect me to believe you would make a pass at me if you thought I was still married, do you?”

  “Busted.” Callie smiled. “I heard on the grapevine that you were working here because you had left your wife, but I wasn’t sure if you already had another girlfriend and, you know, that that was the cause of the split.”

  Gerry abruptly switched off his computer and stood up.

  “I don’t know what your game is, but I don’t believe for one moment that you haven’t heard all the gossip. Everyone in the office must know very well why I have ended up in this God-forsaken job.” He stomped out of the room and straight down the stairs, without even bothering to take his signed prescriptions into the office.

  “Touchy subject,” Callie said to herself as she gathered up the paperwork and took it all through to the girls in the office to deal with.

  “Dr Brown gone?” Linda asked her when she saw Callie had his work as well as her own.

  “Yes, I may have upset him,” Callie admitted.

  “Well, that’s not exactly hard these days.” Linda looked round the room conspiratorially and then continued in a quieter voice. “You know his wife has really taken him to the cleaners?”

  “That’s hardly a surprise, under the circumstances.”

  “No, but he was a partner in their, you know, website thingy business and he’s had to resign from that as well as give her the family home. Seems that she had a controlling interest in the company and has voted him out. Good job he’s got his stellar medical career to fall back on.” Linda laughed.

  “Ooh, who would have thought you were so cruel, Ms Crompton.”

  “It seems that she’s happy to make her money from adultery but not so keen on her husband doing it. That’s irony for you.” Linda paused and gave Callie a meaningful look. “And you should have told me that his website was the internet dating agency that’s been in the news.”

  “I wasn’t sure I was allowed to, and anyway, I didn’t know for absolute certain that it was them.”

  Linda gave her a look of disbelief before moving on.

  “They were probably both having affairs left, right and centre. Mind you, he’s probably quite glad he’s not on the board. He doesn’t need any more scandal and I can’t imagine it’s going to be bringing in quite so much money now it’s been linked to a killer, do you?”

  One of the other staff called to the manager and she hurried away, leaving Callie to think about the implications of what Linda had said.

  Gerry had lost pretty much everything when he was forced to give his wife the healthy and profitable business, not to mention the house, but the situation had changed and now that he no longer had a financial interest in the success of the business, the murders meant that it was no longer profitable. In fact, it was in ruins and so his wife had lost her money too. If that didn’t shout motive, nothing did. Callie hurried back into the now empty doctors’ office and grabbed a phone.

  There was no answer from
Miller’s mobile so she rang the incident room and got through to Nigel and told him that Gerry Brown had not only been a director of SusSEXtra but had lost his place there as part of the separation settlement. She told him that revenge on his wife by destroying the business could possibly be a motive for the murders.

  Nigel took careful notes of what she was saying and said that he would pass it onto Jayne who was interviewing ex-spouses, and Amelia Hepton-Lacey, also known as Mrs Gerry Brown, would be added to her list. If anyone would know how to get around the website financial systems and checks, it would be Gerry, he pointed out.

  “And what you mentioned about members hiding their identity, Dr Hughes,” Nigel continued. “I’m following that up myself.”

  Callie was relieved that her information was being acted on, and began to feel renewed hope that the killer would be caught and that it might even be soon.

  Callie had barely put the phone down after her conversation with Nigel when it began to ring again.

  “Hello?” she said as she answered it. “Dr Hughes speaking. Oh, Adrian, how can I help?”

  She listened as Adrian Lambourne explained that he had seen Mark and started him on some relaxation therapy and also changed his medication again. His colleague at the clinic had issued him with enough of his increased strength tablets to last him a week, but he wanted Callie to do a prescription to continue them on from there. He had also booked Mark into weekly sessions so that he could be monitored more closely moving forward.

  “Of course,” she agreed. “I’ll do it straight away. Oh, and Adrian? Thank you.”

  She had more than a twinge of guilt that she had been so rude to him, but was pleased that it had finally made him sit up and take notice. The outcome had been better care for her patient and that was a good result in her book.

  * * *

  As she walked out of the surgery door, Callie was surprised to see Jayne Hales waiting for her in the car park.

  “Hey, Doc,” she greeted Callie casually. “I thought you’d be finishing about now.”

  “Why didn’t you come in and say you were here? I would have been out sooner.”

  “I didn’t know if your patients knew about your work with us and didn’t want to risk one of them taking it amiss if they saw the police hanging round their doctor.”

  “I shouldn’t worry, most of my patients would enjoy the gossip. Anyway, it’s not like you are in uniform.”

  “True.” Jayne hesitated. “Are you rushing off on visits or do you have a minute?”

  “No visits, thank goodness, I was just going to walk home. How can I help you, anyway?”

  Jayne looked relieved.

  “Well, maybe I could just walk with you and pick your brains as we go, if that’s all right?”

  “Perfectly.” Callie started walking. “Hope you’re fit, it’s a steep climb.”

  “Everything’s a steep climb in Hastings.” Jayne laughed and followed her. “I wanted to ask about a colleague of yours.”

  “Gerry Brown? I spoke to Nigel about him as soon as I heard about his connection with the SSE website.”

  “That’s right, he’s passed it onto me as I am interviewing the wives and partners of anyone connected with Mark.”

  “Because the killer has to be someone who knows Mark and be able to get their hands on his fingerprints.”

  “Exactly, and the boss wants to know if they also have any marital problems or whatever, because of your theory about the motive being adultery.”

  Having paused to ensure Callie had followed her explanation, Jayne continued when Callie nodded that she had.

  “So, I have an appointment to speak with the ex-Mrs Brown tomorrow, get her side of the story. I just thought I’d speak to you first and get the low down from your point of view.”

  Callie quickly ran through everything she knew as they walked.

  “I really don’t know any more, except that he’s really not a likeable man and I’m not exactly impressed with his skills as a doctor, either.”

  “So,” Jayne said, breathing deeply as she struggled to keep up with Callie. “I’m betting you don’t need to go to the gym if you are doing this every day.”

  “It certainly helps,” Callie agreed. They had reached the top of the hill and Callie’s building.

  “Do you want to come in for a cup of tea?” she asked.

  “No, no. Resuscitation possibly, but I’ll pass on the tea and get back to my car. I’ve been trying to get hold of someone without success and I thought I’d try and catch her when she gets home. Doorstep her, in fact, as she doesn’t seem to want to speak to me.”

  “I don’t envy you that job, but it’s hard to know why someone would try and avoid speaking to you.”

  “Embarrassment, probably. I am asking about their divorces and I am learning that people don’t always behave well during a divorce. I don’t suppose you know anything about Dr Lambourne’s divorce, do you?”

  “I didn’t even know he was divorced,” Callie replied. “I really don’t know anything about him. Apart from the fact that he is Mark’s psychologist. Is that who you are having difficulty getting hold of?”

  “Yes. Oh well, worth a punt.” Jayne smiled and looked down the steps they had just climbed. “At least going down is easier.”

  She laughed and called goodbye as she set off back down the hill.

  * * *

  It was early evening when Callie walked into The Stag and was pleased to see that Kate was seated at a table by the window, a pint and a packet of crisps in front of her had already been partly demolished, and a glass of Pinot Grigio with one cube of ice slowly melting into the wine, stood ready and waiting for Callie.

  “Excellent. Just what I need,” Callie said by way of greeting and sat on the bench opposite Kate.

  “Bad day?” Kate asked.

  “No, not really, just long, and a bit disappointing, that’s all. How about you?”

  “Dreadful,” Kate admitted.

  “Oh, dear, what happened?”

  Callie looked at her friend with sympathy as she listened to an account of having to make up excuses for a client who failed to show up in court, and spending the entire day trying unsuccessfully to get hold of him.

  “In the end I gave up and went home early, even though I had achieved absolutely nothing. So, tell me about your long day. What, in particular, was disappointing about it?”

  “Well, in all fairness, the disappointing bit actually happened yesterday. Apparently they are no further forward finding the killer because there are no contacts in common between the three women.”

  “That could be for all sorts of reasons–”

  Callie held up her hand to stop Kate.

  “I know, and I called Nigel last night and gave him chapter and verse about how people can cover their tracks and he is following up on that, but it’s a delay I hadn’t anticipated. I was so sure that they would find the killer as soon as they had the information from SSE that I deleted my account so they wouldn’t find my profile.”

  “I told you, they won’t be looking at the women,” Kate said in exasperation. “At least I hope not, or they’ll find me pretty quickly.”

  “Please, tell me you aren’t meeting any of the men who contact you. Not while the killer is still out there.”

  “Of course not. I’m not that stupid, but as soon as he’s behind bars I want to be ready. There are some really dirty men on there,” she said with a smile that could be described as pretty dirty as well.

  “But, by definition, if they are looking on that website they are not looking for a meaningful relationship. I mean, they are all married or think you’re married.”

  “I know, but a bit of fun without strings whilst I wait for Mr Right will keep my sexual organs in full working order.”

  Callie sighed. There was no way she could think like that. She wasn’t interested in a no-strings relationship, she wanted one with all the strings – engagement, marriage, children, everything.

&n
bsp; “What about your friend and mine, Gerry Brown?” Kate asked. “Do you still think he might be the killer? I mean that he could be doing this as a sort of act of revenge against his wife and the company?”

  “It doesn’t really fit, but the police are checking him out as well.”

  “Good.” Kate thought for a moment. “As well as what? Or rather who?”

  “Well, I can’t claim to know everything they are following up, but I do know that Jayne Hales is interviewing the wives and ex-wives of anyone connected to Mark Caxton.”

  “The kid who likes to burn cars, but not with people in them?” Kate queried and Callie nodded.

  “I think she’s more likely to get a true picture of their relationships and break-ups from the women involved rather than the men.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Kate said, a little too readily.

  “I think it’s depressing that so many people have unsuccessful marriages. Jayne was saying that most of the people involved had been divorced or separated from long-term partners and that it would be a lot quicker for her to interview the happily married ones.”

  “But we’re talking mainly doctors, health care professionals and policemen and they are all well known to have a high divorce rate. Comes with the job.” Kate thought for a moment. “Lawyers are as bad, probably because of their association with police.”

  “That would account for psychologists as well, I expect.”

  “Thinking of someone in particular?”

  “Adrian Lambourne, Mark’s psychologist. Jayne was asking if I knew the story there but I hadn’t a clue he was divorced. It’s not something you ask people you work with, is it?”

  “Why do think it is?”

  “Why do I think what is?”

  “That some professions have higher divorce rates than others.”

  Callie gave it some thought.

  “Long hours, stress and having to deal with death, I suppose. Makes you want to live life to the full yourself.”

  “I can see that’s why they sleep around, but divorce?”

  Callie shook her head.

  “I think it’s more that they don’t want to put up with being unhappy or to put up with second best if they think they have ended up with a relationship they can’t put right. They don’t want to waste the one, short life they have.”