“That’s a start. I’m sure things will turn out for the best, Bullet. Hey, maybe I should call you Granddad Bullet from now on?”

The startled look on Jack’s face made her chuckle.

“Jesus, you can be so warped at times. I’ll tell you one thing; this past week, there have been moments when I’ve wanted to be transferred back to the frontline in Afghanistan. At least out there, I could be sure who the enemy was, most of the time anyway. That can’t be said about my home life right now. One minute, Donna seems at peace with Teresa’s predicament.” He clicked his fingers. “Then the next, she’s breaking down in tears, devastated beyond words. I’ll never be able to figure you women out.”

“Ha! I doubt if you’re alone there, Jack. Most men don’t have a clue what goes on in a woman’s complex brain.”

“I’m inclined to agree with you on that, although I suspect it’s not the brain that worries most men. It’s the unbalanced hormones that have a tendency to strike fear into most men, me included, I have to admit.”

Sally laughed. “Shoo… I have work to do.”

After Jack left the office, she picked up the phone and dialled Simon’s number.

He answered after the second ring. “Ah, Inspector. You must be psychic I was just about to call you.”

“You were? With good news, I hope.”

“A mixture of news, shall we say? Right, first things first, I need to find the report of Maddie Webster.” Sally heard paperwork being shuffled before he spoke again, “Here it is. As suspected, the DNA results have confirmed that the bodily fluid on the victim indeed belonged to the same offender.”

“That’s excellent news. Why am I sensing there’s a but in there somewhere?”

“Ever the cautious one, while the evidence clearly links the two crimes, you’re aware, as I am, of the need for factual evidence to back up the DNA. As I recall from our last conversation, you had very little to go on. Is that still the case?”

“I’m afraid it is. Which is why I wanted you to examine Dorling’s room and vehicle as a priority. Any luck on that front?”

“The team have been at the guesthouse all night, much to the disgust of the landlady. Sadly, they didn’t really find much, only traces of Dorling’s DNA. No trophies from either victim or anything of that ilk.”

“Well, that doesn’t necessarily prove anything, does it? It only means that the victims were never in his room. What about his car?”

“We’ll be carrying out a thorough search of the vehicle over the course of the next few days. I’ve sent a member of my team out this morning to gather samples of the soil where the two victims’ bodies were found, to see if it matches anything we might find on Dorling’s tyres. One thing I will say about his room…”

Sally’s brow wrinkled as she frowned. “What’s that, Simon?”

He let out a large sigh. “I sent four guys to the address, and not one of them managed to find any evidence of blood on Dorling’s clothing, either clean or in his laundry, which was scattered around the floor. That fact alone struck me as odd. Do you agree?”

Sally nodded as if the pathologist were sitting in the room with her. “Yes, I agree, very strange. Maybe he disposed of the clothes before he went back to his room.”

“At this point, anything and everything could be possible. I just wanted to make you aware.”

“Maybe he dumped his clothes in the B&B’s wheelie bins. Did your guys check that?”

“I asked the same question. Unfortunately, the bins were emptied yesterday.”

Sally slapped the desk hard enough to make her palm sting. “Damn. Why isn’t anything in our jobs simple?”

Simon chortled. “A question I’ve asked myself a hundred times over the years, Inspector. So to recap, yes, the deaths of Brenda Fisher and Maddie Webster are connected. I’m still awaiting a few results back from the third victim, Alexina Graham. My instinct tells me that all three victims will give us the same DNA. The redeeming point is that the suspect is now locked away. We just need to come up with more evidence against him to make a conviction stick.”

“Yeah, that’s the tricky part. Of course, he’s denying ever knowing the first victim. I didn’t tackle him about Maddie Webster, as we didn’t have the results back. Maybe I’ll take a ride out to the remand centre and throw that at him today.” Sally tapped a pen against her chin.

“That’s up to you. My suggestion would be to postpone your meeting with the suspect until we have the results back from both the car and the latest victim. The more you can sling at him, the better, I’d say.”

“You’re right. Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you on that before I schedule a visit. I don’t need to tell you how important it is to get the results back quickly, do I?”

“No, you don’t, Inspector. Right, I have a double PM to perform, a murder-suicide case. I’ll be in touch shortly.”

She ended the call then rang her parents’ home.

“Hello, Mum. How are things?”

“Hello, dear. What, with the neighbours, do you mean?”

“Yes. Any improvement, or are swords still drawn as far as Dad is concerned?”

“You know your father as well as I do. Once he’s got his mind set on something, all sorts of stubbornness is stirred into the mix.”

“I know. Umm… I was wondering if I could drop by tonight? Maybe stop over even?”

“What? Why are you asking? Of course you can. You know there’s always a bed for you here, love. Is everything okay?”

Relief flooded through her. “Yes, Mum. I’ll tell you about it later. I just need somewhere to stay for a few days, that’s all. Give my love to Dad. I’ll be there around six thirty, unless something crops up here in the meantime.”

“How wonderful. I’ll cook your favourite for dinner. Roast chicken with all the trimmings.”

“Yummy, I’ll have a light lunch in that case. Thanks, Mum. Love you.”

“I love you, too, dear. See you later.”

For the rest of the day, Sally and her team followed procedures to try to place Dorling or his car at the crime scenes. Sally set the arduous task of searching through the CCTV footage to Joanna. But disappointingly, nothing of any relevance showed up on any of the cameras in the surrounding areas.

At six o’clock, Sally ordered the team to pack up and go home. After Sally had bid them all farewell, she was collecting her handbag and jacket when Jack appeared in her office doorway.

“Want me to come home with you? Check the coast is all clear?”

“That’s sweet of you, Jack. However, I’ve decided to stay at my parents’ for the next day or two. I rang Mum earlier.”

“You wouldn’t be telling me a fib now, would you?” he asked, one eye half-closed and tilting his head.

“No. It’s true. Thanks for your concern. You get off and tackle your mess at home and leave me to deal with mine, okay?”

“Grr… did you have to mention that? I might just have a sneaky one at the pub before I entrench myself in the battlefield. I can still walk you out to your car, though, right?”

“That’s a deal.”

They left the building together then went their separate ways at their vehicles. On the thirty-minute journey to her parents’ house, Sally prepared herself for the barrage of questions, along the lines of what her partner had subjected her to earlier in the day.

She pulled up in the drive and glanced across the street at the troublesome neighbours’ house. All was quiet, thank goodness. At least if a disturbance occurred during the evening, she would be on hand to deal with it.

Trepidation seeped into her veins as she placed her key in the front door and entered the house. Dex was the first to greet her. She knelt and made a fuss of her dog, who was pretty vocal and seemed pleased to see her. Tears of happiness welled up in her eyes. She hugged him, stood up, brushed down her suit, then walked into the kitchen, where she knew she would find her mother.

Not looking up from stirring the pot on the stove, Janine welcomed her daughter. “Hello, love. You’re just in time. I was about to dish up.”