Page 75 of Her Last Breath

‘DC Chan?’ Jane said loudly, annoyed.

‘Ma’am, you need to listen to this,’ she said. ‘There was no crossover between Alice Rogers and Wilson’s mobile phones, but we did find his number on Burrows’ phone. Messages set to twenty-four-hour deletion, though.’

‘So Wilson and Burrows knew each other?’ DS Johnson asked, intrigued.

‘Any chance Tech can get us the deleted messages?’ Jane followed up.

‘The tech unit have the device so are trying but honestly, it’s unlikely, ma’am.’

Jane understood what that meant. WhatsApp was notoriously hard to crack. Still sometimes there would be traces in storage files on the device or backed up somewhere.

‘What we do have is voice notes, ma’am.’

‘Burrows kept those?’ DS Johnson was striding over to DC Chan’s desk as he spoke.

‘Mainly with confirmation of dates and times, codewords which are locations possibly? There are only a handful of these voice notes between the two of them. This one you’ll want to hear though, ma’am.’

DC Chan played the message, Colin’s voice ringing out loud and clear.

‘You piece of shit, do you think this is over? You think I’m just going to let you stitch me up and get away with it? No way, man, you’re done. No one treats me like this.’

It wasn’t the polite angel-of-mercy voice Colin Wilson had put on for Jane at the foodbank. This was grating, threatening; menacing even. Jane suddenly got a glimpse into who Colin became when dealing with emergencies, no doubt having to front up to some unsavoury militia type blokes out in the Congo. Crowd-control for grasping and desperate hands.

The team were silent. That was it; a threat to Mark, a link. If Jane could prove the link she suspected to Bill Hargreaves, she had Colin Wilson locked up.

‘Good work, team, DC Chan,’ Jane said, before addressing the room. ‘Let’s firm up our case. We can’t risk another cold suspect being brought into custody. Let’s make sure we have concrete evidence linking Wilson to all three of our victims before we do that. DC Berry, I need you to head over to the foodbank, speak to some of Wilson’s colleagues. Make sure he doesn’t catch a whiff of it, though. Use your charm on the staff there, find out any possible links to Alice Rogers. Did Wilson try it on with her? Did she knock him back? Any gossip at all?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘Meanwhile, DS Johnson and I better go and deal with our guest downstairs.’

Kangna Kandasamy seemed unaffected by her time in detention. Her hair was still impeccably smoothed to her scalp – in fact, she looked fresher than ever, as though she had spent her time catching up on sleep. What is this, police spa day? Jane thought angrily. This woman should have been bouncing off the walls.

‘Where’s your solicitor?’ DS Johnson asked her.

‘Outside. I told her she’s not needed. I’m going to fire her. She’s been of no assistance to me.’

Jane called her in. Nadia looked put out to be there, probably still reeling from the tongue-lashing Kangna had no doubt given her.

‘Mrs Kangna Kandasamy, we have been questioning you in connection with the murders of Alice Rogers and Mark Burrows.’ DS Johnson’s manner was very matter-of-fact, dispassionate even, as he spoke to her. ‘At present, we feel there is insufficient evidence to charge you in relation to these offences.’

Kangna smiled at Jane, baring her teeth in a threatening way.

‘It is as I have been explaining to—’ she began.

‘However,’ DS Johnson said loudly, interrupting her flow. Jane couldn’t help but smile as he spoke. ‘On further investigation of your links to the victims, we have discovered evidence which proves that you have been selling goods stolen from vulnerable patients in your care. You will therefore be charged with theft and illegal gain from selling of these items. Furthermore, you are still under investigation for the deaths of patients in your care, which will be dealt with by a specialist team being sent by Lancashire Constabulary.’

Ignoring DS Johnson completely, Kangna’s eyes locked with Jane’s, full of venom.

‘You are going to lose your job,’ Jane said coldly, with un-disguised loathing. ‘Your professional nursing registration will be terminated and you will be spending a very long time in prison.’

Before she could officially charge her, Kangna started laughing.

‘I see how the British police are. You are just like Indian police. Corrupt, ready to sink an innocent woman. You have no idea how tough it is for me, how many responsibilities I have. Well, let it be on your conscience. By framing me, you are killing my children. They have nothing. You are the real loser here. I hope you suffer for what you’re doing to me.’

Jane didn’t bat an eyelid. Kangna was the architect of her own downfall. She kept her voice steady and matter-of-fact as she charged her and remanded her in custody while further investigations continued.

Kangna refused to look at her after that, barely acknowledging her fallen circumstances. Cold and calculating to the end.