Page 58 of The Chapel of Bones

It was Pam’s day off work, so he left her sleeping and made himself breakfast.

When he arrived in the CID office, Rachel was already at her desk. As soon as she saw him, she stood up.

‘I spoke to the bookshop in Morbay. Someone there remembers that woman at the book launch Claire Mountjoymentioned. Seems she’s a fairly regular customer. She’s got purple hair and she hangs round the children’s section, although he’s never seen her with any kids. I’m waiting to hear more. Also Tom’s traced the email address to a John Richmond. Address in Morbay. He said there was no attempt to hide the sender’s identity, so whoever sent it probably wasn’t very computer-savvy.’

‘We’ll need to speak to Mr Richmond. Malicious communication is a crime.’

‘Do you think Suzy Porter was the killer’s real target? Was Mrs Potter killed by mistake?’

‘According to Colin, Sue Potter was probably killed in the evening, so the killer might have mistaken pale grey for blonde if the light wasn’t good. But Claire Mountjoy’s right: if it was a case of mistaken identity, the killer couldn’t have known Suzy well. And they got the wrong address, so I think we can rule out Claire herself. And anyone else close to Suzy for that matter.’

‘Ms Porter’s been in touch with the DCI already this morning demanding police protection.’

‘What did he say to that?’

‘That he’d see what he could do. Oh, I nearly forgot. She received another email last night. Luckily it came in when Tom was doing his bit, so she hasn’t seen it yet.’ She brought the email up on her own screen:How could you pretend to write sweet books like thatfor children when you’re so cruel?You bitch. You deserve all you get. You deserve to die a horribledeath.

‘Wow.’

‘Exactly my reaction.’

Wesley considered the new development for a moment. ‘Cruel. That’s the word used to describe the lanzani in that note Sue Potter received: “A cruel beast who attacks any animal not of its own kind.” ’

‘Tom says it’s from the same address as before.’

‘We’d better go and see this John Richmond as soon as possible.’

‘Already arranged. He said he’d be in all morning. He asked what it was about, but I didn’t tell him. Thought it best to keep it as a surprise,’ she added with a knowing smile.

‘Thanks.’ Wesley should have known Rachel would have everything in hand. Gerry had said more than once that she deserved promotion. But with Freddie, Nigel and the farm to consider, coupled with the possibility that promotion might mean a move away from Tradmouth, things weren’t that straightforward. Neither Wesley nor Gerry wanted to lose her. Wesley wasn’t sure whether they were being selfish, but ultimately it was something only Rachel could decide.

Wesley rushed to Gerry’s office to tell him about the new communication to Suzy Porter – this time a definite threat to her life.

‘This sounds like the most promising lead we’ve had so far, Wes. And it makes me think that our theory that Sue Potter was murdered by mistake might be spot on. Our killer knows that his target lives in Belsham but doesn’t know the exact address. He finds someone more or less the same age and physical description with a virtually identical name and makes a fatal mistake. Fatal for poor Sue Potter, that is. And now that he’s realised his mistake, the threats continue.’

‘What about Aleric Donnal? Is there a connection?’

‘That’s the theory we’ve been working on. But I can’t for the life of me think what the two have in common. Unless Donnal turns out to be one of Suzy Porter’s ex-boyfriends.’

‘There’s never been any suggestion that Donnal was involved with anyone. I get the impression that he was like one of those old bachelor dons in Victorian times, dedicated to the study of medieval history and turned on by the sight of a bestiary.’

‘There’s still a lot we don’t know.’

‘We’ve spoken to all the universities he studied or worked at and they all say he was a brilliant medieval scholar and well respected. Nothing adverse is known about his private life. It seems he lived for his work and nothing in his background rings any alarm bells.’

There was a long silence before Wesley spoke again. ‘Don’t forget that Dale Gadson’s asked to see us. Says he has something important to tell us.’

Gerry stood up wearily, huffing and puffing as though it was a great effort. ‘OK. I’ll get someone to call Ethelred Bingley’s daughter to say we’ll be there later. But we’ll have a word with this John Richmond first – ask him why he’s been sending hateful emails to Suzy Porter. Then we can look forward to another trip to the zoo.’

35

John Richmond didn’t seem the type to send threatening correspondence. He lived in a neat semi-detached house in a respectable Morbay suburb and looked an unremarkable individual: balding, middle-aged, medium height, medium everything.

‘Your station rang to say you wanted a word. What is this about?’ He sounded worried, like an innocent man who feared he was about to be accused of something he hadn’t done.

‘Somebody’s been sending threatening emails from your email address.’

The man’s jaw dropped. ‘That’s impossible. I hardly use my computer. I’m not one for technology. And I certainly haven’t sent offensive emails to anyone. Why would I? It’s not the sort of thing I do.’