"# Never feel too good in crowds" "# With folks around" "# When they're playing" "# The anthems of rape culture loud" "# Crude and proud" "# Creatures baying" "#All I've ever done is hide" "# From the times" "# When you're near me" "# Honey, when you kill the lights" "#And kiss my eyes... #" " Hey." " Hi." "It's beautiful, isn't it?" "Yeah." "Kind of day that makes you think anything's possible." "You could climb Everest, fall in love, learn origami." "Origami?" "!" "Yeah." "I'm sure I could manage a basic swan." "But we're probably going to just do pretty much what we did yesterday and the day before." "Probably." "Work, sorry." "All right." "Thomas?" "Hi." "Nikki, hi, look..." "I, er..." "I know you're on late, but I, er, I need you to come and cover for me." " Sure." "What's up?" " Oh, it's court." "Thought I was done and dusted." "Seems the defence don't believe I know the difference between strangulation and suffocation." "More fool them." "I'll head in now." "All right, thanks." "Appreciate it." "Ripped By mstoll" "Want anything from inside?" " Coffee?" " Can't live on coffee." "You can talk." "Steven?" "Steven!" "Steven!" "Steven!" "Steven!" "Help!" "My God!" "Somebody help!" "Inside, everyone, someone's been shot!" "Get down!" "Everyone get inside!" "Get under cover!" "What's happening?" "Bertha, what's going on?" "!" "Stay down!" "You're all right, I'm not going to let you go." "Get in your car!" "Now!" "Oh, my God!" "# Testator silens" "# Costestes e spiritu" "# Silentium. #" "The fact that your client chose to confess outside an interview room is yourproblem, not mine." "He said it, I heard it, and so did DC Smith, the duty sergeant and the office cleaner." "I'd call that belt and braces, wouldn't you?" "Hello?" "Ma'am?" "Chief Superintendent Drake's in your office." "I think he's asleep." "Oh!" "Thank you, Gabby." "Hello." "Your ship come in?" "No." "Bloody Russians, depriving me of you all night." "So I thought you were going to call it quits if nothing came in?" "We did." "So where've you been?" "Here." "Jane, I'm moving out." "Look, I'm 40 now, and..." "Like you've said before, '"Don't know means no,'" right?" "Who is she?" "She's no-one." " Oh, please." " Look, this hasn't been an easy thing for me to do." "Oh, what, and that's why you were asleep when I came in?" "What's going on?" "We don't have fun any more." "What?" "We... we have fun..." "Come on." "Let's, let's go and get drunk in Soho, let's book a holiday..." "I've rented a flat." "Look, who knows?" "It mightn't be a permanent thing." "Oh!" "Oh, well, I'll cling to that, you arrogant bastard!" "Now, why didn't I want to do this at home?" "You've spent too much time with sociopaths." "Yeah." "Way too much time." "Robert!" " Greater London Police, can I help?" " Greater London Police." "DC Gabby Lawson." "What?" "Three people shot dead at a service station." " I heard four." " From who?" "That bird in Control I had a thing with." " What?" "Kathy Bates?" " That's just mean." " That's what you call her." " I'm allowed." "Yeah." "What's your wife call her?" "That's all they said?" "Suspected sniper." "That's all they said." "Didn't mention if they'd been caught?" "Nope." "Reassuring." "Forewarned is forearmed?" "Sure." "See your ID, please?" "Alexander and Hodgson, Lyell Centre." "Just park up over there." " Cross-reference with Jerry." " Jim." "DCI Jane De Freitas, DS Jim Clout." "Nikki Alexander, Jack Hodgson." " What've we got?" " This man over here is Steven Lakhani." "The lady on top is Andrea Lakhani." "Both ID'd from driver's licence and bank cards." "No ID on her yet." "Any idea where they were shot from?" "Hoping you can help us out there." "We've done a sweep of the area, but found nothing so far." " Lucky all this petrol didn't go up." " Witness said his hand stayed clenched to the pump handle after he was shot." "Cadaveric spasm." "When people die in extreme stress, a muscle group remains contracted, giving evidence of their last act of life." "Let's get in the warm and let these squints do their own work, eh?" "We've got a crime scene to process, Jim." "You're not going to get anything from them except bullets." "It's our daily routines that govern the ecology" " of victimisation." " Here we go." "How did these people elevate their victim status?" "Well, CCTV, witnesses and daylight make this situationally low-risk for the victim, high-risk for the killer." "Compulsion over caution usually spells personal." "A petrol station isn't a predictable fixture in someone's day, like a train platform." "Unless the fixture isyour day, because you're an employee." "Phone?" "I'll check inside for personals." "For God's sake!" "Sorry." "CCTV of the shooting should help us find the sniper's nest." " We're pulling it now." " The victim with the head wound should help with bullet trajectory." "The bullet missed the pump and the car, which gives us limitation of angles." "Exit wound is in the rear of the skull." "High-velocity spatter here." "Pitted tarmac where the bullet impacted." "Also, skull and brain fragments travelling from the exit wound in the same direction as the bullet." "So..." "What is he?" "About six foot?" "He's standing here." "Left hand." "Assuming he's standing at his full height at the moment of impact..." "Shooter's got to be up there." "She had kids?" "Bertha?" "Did she?" "I don't know." "She normally worked in a different garage." "All clear!" "Yup." "Looks like a groundsheet or something like it has been laid here very recently." "Everything's been flattened." " He was here a while." " Hours, not minutes." "OK, I want a fingertip search radiating out from here." "He might've left food or drink packaging." "Don't hold your breath." "I can't see any shell casings, which means he's probably collected them." "Three bullets, three kills at this distance." "We're talking a pro, or someone who's putting in some serious hours" " at his gun club." " OK, so he's evidence-conscious and a decent shot." "He pre-selected this location and he waited." "For what?" "I don't know." "But if the cashier was his real target, you'd think he'd want a sightline into the shop." "He couldn't know she'd run to the couple's aid." "Hey, Gabby, your nanny been deported yet?" "Yes, she has, so you can stop making that joke." "Gabby." "The only access to this wood is Quarry Lane, which is just a track." "So work your way backwards until you hit a CCTV camera on a main road." "Jim, get on to every gun club in the South East - any firearms missing, anyone practising extra hard, anyone acting weird?" "Any tweed jacket gives you a hard time..." "He'll be getting his licence back in 2020." "Assassin personalities don't snap like spree killers." "They fantasise about the moment they'll finally take a stand against this shitty, unjust world" " for weeks in advance." " Tell us how you feel, ma'am." "I'm telling you he will have been here several times, and that someone will have seen him." "She's well schooled in profiling." "Two weeks at FBI Quantico," " she thinks she's Clarice Starling." " Try a year." "Karbenghi." "Was her first day, but the Lakhanis" " had been coming all week." " How do you know?" "Found receipts for petrol, snacks, flowers and coffee." "Yesterday they came twice, at 11.34 and 17.53." "The RX Luxury." "Top of the range - wood veneers, leather extending to the sides and rear of the seats, it even has polished sill tread plates." "Huh." "Are you trying to sell us the car?" "It strikes me they cared about appearances to the tune of about 12 grand over the standard model price..." "And then suddenly they didn't." "Dr Alexander?" "That, er..." "That chimes with my first look at the bodies." "Er, Steven Lakhani is unshaven, untrimmed nails, greasy hair, and some body odour." "Andrea Lakhani looks underweight, no make-up, traces of a manicure but it's not recent, and same thing with her hair." "I think something went wrong for this couple before they were killed." "Oh, yeah?" "Yeah." "They had a house five miles away, but they chose to stay in a hotel by the airport." "Why couldn't they go home?" "Ma'am, the Assistant Commissioner wants an update." "This is Kate Hulton, our new assistant director of communications." "Kate, DCI Jane De Freitas." " Good to meet you." " Hi." "We need to talk media strategy, Detective Chief Inspector." "Yes, we do." "Now." "No, actually, now, I'm processing a live crime scene." "She's right, Jane." "We need a meet-and-greet in the hour." "Some things to think about meantime." "Are you appealing to the public?" "Are you saying the killings are random?" "Are you ruling out a racial motive?" "And what's your advice to the public?" "Should they just be carrying on with their business?" "Well, guess what, Kate?" "In order to answer some of those questions," "I have to do some, you know, detecting." "The backlash clock is already ticking." "Get the media onside now and they're more likely to let you keep your job in the unfortunate event you don't have someone in custody this time tomorrow." "Last I heard, the media's powers didn't include appointing SIOs." "But they can sure get them fired, and resenting it isn't going to turn the clock back to 1987." "Where the hell did you find her?" "!" " A word." "Now." " You got it." "Just give me a bloody clue." "I'm clawing at the air here." "Jane, this is a career case." " If you're having trouble focusing..." " Oh, shut up!" "...I'll have to bow to the AC and take over." "Come on, this has Chief Super written all over it." "I don't want charity." "Look, I'm too busy with the Russian thing, plus... you're better with the really bad ones." "Don't flatter me, please." "I thought it was worth a shot." "He's an assassin-type personality, not a spree killer, although he could devolve into one." "Walk me through the distinction." "A spree killer's rage is unpredictable even to them." "They don't conceal their identity, plan an escape or pack groundsheets." "This man has an agenda, top of which is getting away with it." "There may be another shooting." "OK, so was she victim number four or victim number one?" "Rigor mortis hasn't set in - I should say four." "Clean entry wound..." "exit wound, anything but." "So we're, what, ten miles east of the service station?" "Post-rush-hour, that's a journey of minutes on the M25." "We'll pull those cameras first." "So why her?" "Why not?" "If it's the same guy, who's a psycho killing at random, then looking for patterns and motives is going to drive us mad." "So the bullet entered the car through here, shattering the glass on impact." "Remnants of powder on the passenger door..." "That's weird." "Looks like gunshot residue." " Close range?" " Ten yards or less." "Very different from your service-station shootings." "OK." "Looks like she was here to go jogging." "Was she arriving, leaving?" "Arriving." "Water bottle's full, towel looks dry." "It's also likely she was deaf." "The car has a panoramic mirror." "Keys are still in the ignition, so he must've shot her as soon as" " she parked up." " Or she had reason" " not to leave her car immediately." " Yeah, OK." "Hannah Smithson, she was profoundly deaf." "Lived in Bayswater, but back home to finalise her wedding this Saturday." "Who found her?" "When she didn't come back from her run, Dad went looking." "Fiancé still thinks he's got a wedding rehearsal this afternoon." "Bullet nicked the frame, exiting the driver window." "There's no nick on the passenger side." "Which suggests low-to-high gradient." "You'd expect the opposite?" "Yeah." "Factor in powder on the outside of the door..." "Shot was taken from low down and close range?" "Three feet from the ground, tops." "So, what, we're looking for a midget?" "More likely he was crouched down." "Why would he do that?" "Stealthing up on her?" "What, with a 50-inch sniper rifle?" "Awkward, not to say conspicuous." "Could have a different gun." "If the bullet's hit a tree, we could be in good nick." "Clarissa, you need to prep for another body..." "What?" "Three just arrived." "Here's hoping there won't be a fifth." "News said a sniper using a high-powered rifle." "You know as much as we do." "Be careful, Nikki." "See you back there soon." "Thanks." "Why did it have to be Hannah?" "Why did it have to be my little girl?" "I'm very sorry." "Her fiancé, Andrew... he's deaf, too." "L-I normally text him but how can I text him with this?" "I really don't think I can do it." "There." "You were right." "Tree stopped it." "DCI?" "Something to show you." "See this blood?" "Yep." "It's smeared... with what look like clothing fibres attached." "So unlike the spatter, it probably didn't come from the victim's head wound." "We normally see this kind of transfer when blood seeps out through clothing." "Somebody else was in the car." "DNA from the blood will settle it." "Where's Hannah?" "What's happened?" "What's going on, Alec?" "Where's Hannah?" "Andrew, I'm so sorry." "Something terrible has happened." " Should we stand down the roadblocks?" " Another hour, please." "We've got two massive tailbacks on the M25." "And a gunman who's killed four people in two hours." "OK, did you get that?" "Leave the roadblocks up." "Thank you." "Right." "Press conference?" "Thank you, Jim." "In case I don't come back alive..." "Everybody, could we please have 30 seconds" " on the elephant in the room?" " Guys." "Thank you." "OK." "Motivation." "What's this guy getting out of it?" "He's too intelligent, too organised to fit the profile of a grandiose playing God." "Well, Dr Harold Shipman was intelligent." "Medical degree and whatnot." "True, Harold Shipman was intelligent and devolved into a psychopath." "He also killed to inherit." "If this guy's in it for the money, where's the ransom demand?" " How do you know he's a he?" " I don't, but as forensic profiles go," "Mr Assassin personality is pretty reliable." "White, 25 to 35, isolated, with an extreme persecution complex." "He craves acceptance, and might excel in a new job, but eventually his obsessive nature and suspicion of authority will get the better of him." "OK, he's likely to keep a detailed journal of slights, real andimagined, and he often turns out to be a functioning paranoiac." "If he's functioning, we won't be able to tell, anyway." "Not if you come out and ask him, Jim, no." "It's a trait of paranoiacs to make detailed, internally coherent arguments based on one delusional premise, so you'll need to dig down." " Happy days" " This guy's felt this way for years, so there'll be some recent trauma or stressor that's pushed him over the top." "Loss of a job or a relationship are the most common, and that is something that we can check quickly." "Thank you." "Good luck." "Right, chop-chop." "Back to work, everyone." "Are you OK?" " Yeah." " Sit down." " Can I get you some water?" " No, thank you." "You really don't look well." "It was my brother's stag do last night." " What were you drinking?" " Does it matter?" "You look pretty ill, that's all." "I need to be with my brother now." "Yeah, I need to speak to him, too." "Are you police?" "No, I'm a pathologist." "Andrew, I have to ask you a very personal question." "I apologise in advance for that." "OK." "What is it?" "Is it possible Hannah was seeing someone else?" " What?" " Is there, um, an ex-boyfriend or colleague, someone who made you feel insecure?" "Why would you ask me that?" "Why?" "Because we think someone was with her when she was killed." "We think that person left the scene and could be an important witness." "What makes you say that?" "Little things." "Little details about the scene." "Like what?" "The passenger seat in Hannah's car was rolled all the way back." "OK... my brother needs to be left alone now." "That's a bad hangover." "Tell me about it." "Did you know you have broken glass in your hair?" "We were just talking!" "I wanted to be sure she was certain about the wedding." "Ah!" "Andrew." "That's enough." " Calm down, OK?" " Lie down." "He's been shot." "He needs an ambulance!" "What can you tell us about the gunman?" "Very little at this point." "Can you confirm three of the four victims were of ethnic origin?" " No comment." " Has the gunman" " made any contact with the police yet?" " No comment." "What's your advice to the public?" "Be vigilant, be careful, but go about your business." "How can the public be vigilant without any description of the killer?" "I wish I could offer more specific information, but I can't at this time." "Is it fair to say, then, that you have no concrete leads at this point?" "It's fair to say it only happened four hours ago and our investigation is just getting started." "But I hope the fact that I am taking time out to talk to you today proves our desire to work with the media on this." "Thank you, there'll be another briefing at the end of the day." " Thank you very much." " DCI De Freitas..." "Taking notes?" "You cannot get away with '"no comment'" in 2015, and there's no point saying '"our desire to work with the media'"" "through gritted teeth." " How would you like me to say it?" " Like you mean it!" "You were testy, and testy looks weak." "Dr Alexander, not a good time." "Hannah and I had a... a drunken one-night stand a few months ago." "I couldn't get her out of my head." "What, so you demanded one for the road?" "Classy." "Personally I hope your brother never forgives you, but in the meantime, could you please tell me everything that happened in the car park?" "I knew it was wrong, but I just needed to see her one more time." "We were talking, then..." "Then this car pulled up." "A Volvo, I think." " Colour?" " Blue, or black." "Dark." "It was weird - the car park was really empty, but it pulled up close, and... with the boot facing us." "Did you get a look at the driver?" "No, uh, I just registered it wasn't my brother's car... or anyone I knew." "But you're sure it was a Volvo?" "Then there was this crack." "Suddenly my arm was on fire and Hannah's slumped on the wheel and the horn's blaring and... and Hannah was dead." "And I ran away." "We're anxious to trace the driver of a black or navy Volvo saloon, mid-to-late '90s model, seen in the vicinity of the Saddleworth Common area at around 11 o'clock this morning." "If anyone has seen this vehicle or thinks they've seen this vehicle, please contact..." "Bullet from the tree is a.308 ball round, the sniper's ammo of choice." "Easy to shoot." "Superior terminal ballistics." "Predictable trajectory," " even in high wind." " Any trace?" "Negative for prints." "I've swabbed for DNA, but doubt it'd survive the heat of firing" " and impact." " What kind of range are we talking?" "If you know what you're doing, you can score reliable hits from up to 800 metres in all but the most extreme weather conditions." "And if you just want to hit anything?" "There's been documented fatalities at well over 1,000 metres with this bullet." "The body is that of an adult female, aged approximately 37." "No decomposition changes noted." "The deceased is in good general condition, although she is on the cusp of malnourishment." "Stretch marks suggest she's given birth, or gone through extreme weight change." "There is a Pfannenstiel incision just below the belly." "Caesarean?" "Probably, but it's also a hallmark of hernia repair." "I just checked medical records - the baby died at six weeks from a heart defect." "Andrea had tried IVF on and off for ten years when she got pregnant." "They buried their daughter at Ewell Garden of Rest." "Two junctions along from the service station, three from the hotel." "Sleep, drive, mourn, repeat." "But they would've come through it." "Eventually." "Stomach contents are minimal, with a preponderance of a dark liquid that's almost certainly coffee." "Tests will confirm." "There is what appears to be a healed knife wound to Steven Lakhani's right buttock." "Stabbing of the buttocks is associated with '"shaming'" injuries." "Humiliation rather than serious injury." "Who did you piss off, Steven?" "I suggest you contact local hospitals, because from the size of this wound" "I'm sure Lakhani would've needed medical attention." "Cause of death, massive trauma to the brain resulting from a single gunshot wound." "Hi." "Julia here." "Please leave a message." "Hi, hi, it-it's me." "Um, listen." "I..." "I don't know where you are today, I'm presuming Rosie's at school, but, er..." "Well, I don't want to panic you, but you must've seen the news and..." "Maybe it's best if you, er, call me back as soon as you can." "And l-I promise this isn't some kind of ruse just to get you to talk to me," "I just... really need you to call me back." "Thanks." "Bye." "Oh, God." "How did you know there was someone else in Hannah Smithson's car?" "The blood on the passenger door strongly suggested it." "Oh, cos I thought you left the scene before we found that blood." "OK." "As a pathologist you develop an eye for signs of a staged scene or scenes that aren't what they appear to be." " Like a suicide that's really a murder?" " Right." "And nearly always those signs relate to the least effort principle." "Which says?" "People take the path of least resistance, and when they don't, you have to ask why." "This girl drives five miles to go jogging in suede trainers she'll ruin the second she steps out of the car, parks in the spot furthest from the entrance, and chucks her towel and water bottle in the back" "where they're hardest to reach." "But remove the premise she was there to go jogging and the scene reveals itself?" "That's it?" "Then there's personal experience." " Of getting shot?" " Of getting married." "Two days before my wedding, I didn't have time to pee." "Oh." "I..." "I didn't have you down as married." "I'm not." "I was 21 and it was all over extremely quickly." "Right." "No record of Steven Lakhani being stabbed in the arse." "However, he was accused of intimidation two years ago." "In what context?" "His company acquires premises for big corporations." " Supermarkets, petrol stations." " Any links to the petrol station" " where he was shot?" " Nah, nah, nah." "His thing was inner-London locations." "Anyway, two years ago he was taken to court by a woman who accused him of infesting her café with rats and smashing windows cos she wouldn't sell." " Was he acquitted?" " Get this." "Woman was found to be unreliable and got done for tax evasion." "OK, have a look at her, see if she had it in her to take revenge on Lakhani." " It was two years ago." " You know what they say... best served cold." "Martin?" "Martin!" " Here we are." " How many times, Mary?" " I don't need a glass." " But not to bring one would be rude." " You look tired, Martin." " No, I'm fine." "A busy life's a happy life, right?" "Thanks, Mary." "Martin!" "Martin!" "Martin." "What?" "What?" "What is?" "Get inside!" "Why didn't he kill me?" " Why didn't he kill me?" " Did Martin work here full-time?" "He-he-he didn't work here." "He... started cutting the grass when the MoD cut our grant." "Did he come at the same time every week?" "In spring and summer." "So do you know what Martin did for a living?" "He was a sports teacher at St Arthur's School, but his charity work was like a second job." "I was one of the people who recommended him for an MBE." "Sounds like a good man." "He was a saint." "Thank you." "We're within three miles of the M25 again." "Approximately 15 miles west of the second shooting and five miles west of the first shooting." "So he's going back on himself." "North, south, east, west..." "'"Don't try and second-guess me or look for any pattern.'"" "Which doesn't mean there isn't one." "Nothing off the M25 cameras yet?" "Oh, too much." "'"Dark-coloured Volvo'" is such a wide search parameter." "They're flooded with possible suspect vehicles?" "'"Overwhelmed'" is the word they used." " We've got his phone." " I'll take it." "Thanks." "She was bringing him a drink." "At the service station, he shot the cashier who tried to help." " Think he's getting soft?" " Shooting the victim's ankle is his first deliberate nonfatal strike." "Which is a well-known technique to incapacitate, right?" "When a headshot is difficult, which it wasn't, and you finish the job." "He waited." "He delayed his escape." "He risked a second nonfatal shot." "But it was worth it to watch this man suffer." "Maybe someone didn't think he was a saint." "You're saying it's personal?" "The location, the risks, the sadism, the knowledge of the victim's routine..." " Yes." " What about the other victims?" "Target practice?" "Or this is the work of an expedient but unrelated copycat." "Someone hears about the sniper and thinks today's the day to get away with murder." "Martin Cross becomes victim number five." "Explains why this killing's so different." "Well, let's wait for ballistics, shall we?" "Talking of which..." "Where's he likely to have fired from?" "Well, he was sitting on the mower when he was shot in the right ankle, so my best guess..." "Somewhere over there." "Scratches on these, from the extractor of the firing pin." "If he still has the gun when you get him, you can tie him to this murder, at least." "First time he's left casings." "Fits with him unravelling." "He got closer than necessary, too." "The dogs tracked him up to the lane, but they didn't need to." "Trampled undergrowth, broken branches - he got away as fast as he could." "Adrenaline and fear." "If you find excrement, don't assume it's animal." " Oh, come on." " I'll take my DNA any way I find it." "DNA is 12 hours." "If he fits with the spree-killer model, he'll be dead by tonight." "Probably by his own hand." " Look forward to that!" " Yeah, but how many more will he take with him?" " You all right?" " Yeah." "Thank you." "From what I've heard, it sounds like your husband was an exceptional man." "Thank you." "Sheila, do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" "What about?" "We need to be sure Martin wasn't targeted personally." "I thought this man was shooting people at random." " That's almost certainly the case." " But you want to know if he had any enemies?" "I'm not the only kid in school whose dad's a teacher, but I'm the only one" " who doesn't get stick." " It's true." "Everyone loved him." "His charity work, it's remarkable." "And on top of his job." " Yeah." " Where did that drive come from, apart from wanting to help others?" "It wasn't to win an MBE, if that's what you mean." "No, no, no, no, of course not." "But... did Martin's work fulfill a personal need, or... compensate for anything?" "When he was passed over for Head of Sport, he practically doubled his charity work." "Gave ten years to that school, and what do they do?" "Parachute in some wimp with a sports degree." "All the kids thought Dad should've got the job." "Were the other teachers jealous of your dad's popularity?" "Definitely." "But not enough to want to kill him." "Right." "OK, well, thanks for talking to us." "Excuse me, er, where's the toilet?" " Oh, um..." " Oh, it's back down there," "I'm afraid." "To the left." "Have you got, er, family, friends you can call on?" "Of course we have." "We'll be fine." "Are you going to be all right?" "Why do you ask?" "Craig, I'm sorry to ask, but does your mum normally drink whisky at three in the afternoon?" "It's not a normal day." "Sure." "Yep." "When she has too much, I..." "I hide the bottle." "Here." "I want you to give me a call if you need to talk about anything, OK?" "Thanks, Jack." "Er, take mine, too." "If you or your mum need to speak to anyone, just give me a call and I'll assign you a police liaison officer." "OK." "Cheers." " I have to check on my mum." " Yeah, all right." "Police liaison officer." "Wow" "Look, mate, I know you meant well, but it's not your gig." "I just feel for the kid." "Then let's catch the bastard that killed his dad." "Yeah." "Let's." "Printout of his iCal appointments." "Busy man." " Organised, too." " Oh, yeah?" "I cross-referenced the iCal appointments with" " the handwritten entries in his Filofax." " Belt and braces?" "Almost." "One appointment on his phone that's not" " in his Filofax." " What, an oversight?" "It's a weekly appointment." "What are we talking - hotel?" "Secret tryst?" "Nothing so promising." "Rayleigh Civic Hall." "Oh." "Hi." "Please, come in." "Take a seat." "Everyone's welcome." "Perhaps you'd like to start this evening, Graham?" "OK." "My name is Graham." "I have an uncontrollable temper, and sometimes I've hurt the people that I love." "Hello." "My name is Martin." "I have an uncontrollable temper." "And sometimes I hurt the people I love." "And what about our newcomer?" "Er..." "Yes, preliminary ballistics are in." "The same gun was used to kill all five victims, including Martin Cross." "I was wrong about a second killer." " Coffee?" " No." "Had enough already." "And I don't like my spree-killer theory much more." "If he'd degenerated, we'd have more victims by now?" "Clinical assassin to hot-headed sadist takes more than an afternoon." "One gun doesn't necessarily mean one killer." "Assassin personalities are paranoid loners - they don't do teams." "And they don't stumble away from crime scenes" " leaving a trail of evidence either." " True." "He's pretty much profile-proof." "Unless your idea of somebody using the killings to hide a body in bodies still holds." "If the sniper's using random victims to camouflage" " a pre-selected one." " Martin Cross?" "The victimology says he's the odd one out." "Why go to those lengths?" "Why not just kill Martin?" "Good question." "I don't know." "Because if he kills Martin in any other context, he's prime suspect, but with a spree killer on the loose..." "Martin's just another unlucky victim." "I know what you're going to say." "Martin Cross was a saint and everybody loved him." "No, I wasn't, actually." "Jack pulled some data from his phone." "Martin was due at a self-help group tonight for anger management." "Robert." "Hi." "Hi." "Can I help you, mate?" " Is, er, is Julia in?" " No." "You're Thomas, right?" "Right." "And you are?" "Conrad." " Conrad?" " Mm." " Hi, Dad!" " Hi, darling." "All right?" "Is it, er, OK if I wait here for Julia?" "We're just heading out." " What?" " Yeah, we're meeting her from work and going for a pizza." "Well, have you seen the news?" "The sniper?" "Yeah." "The place we're going's all covered in." "Thanks for your concern, though." "It just, um, seems like an unnecessary risk." "As I say, I appreciate the advice." "But not enough to take it." "We're late, so if you don't mind..." "Come on, Rosie." " Bye, Dad." " Bye, darling." "You, er, you might want to get that tail-light looked at." "Yep." "It's on my To Do list." "It was nice meeting you." "By the way, why have you gone to the hassle of renting a flat?" "We're not doing this now." "I've told you, there's no-one else involved." "Well, I know, but why not just book into" " a hotel?" " What does it matter?" "Because people follow the path of least resistance, and when they don't, you have to ask why." "Have you got a suspect prioritisation matrix yet?" " Two hours ago." " Scoring what factors?" "Ownership of a Volvo, a gun licence, a military record." "So you have a preliminary line-up?" "We're working through names." "Make an arrest." "Tonight." "Whoever's on top of your list." "Five people are dead, Jane." "We have to reassure the up-aboves, the public and the media that we're being proactive." "Better to be seen to be doing something than to admit catching murderers is hard?" "Yeah." "Much better." "Mm." "OK." "Anything else?" " My hand hurts." " Oh, sorry about that." "No, you're not." "Look, I'm not going to knowingly waste time and resources." "If you don't, the time and the resources won't be yours to waste." "Oh." "And he giveth and he taketh away." " In all things." " Jane..." "Oh, go to hell." "Hi." "You said it was urgent?" "Look, l-l-I was just..." "Er, you know I came by last night?" "Yes." "Conrad told me." "OK." "Well." "Two things." "One, he took her out, which is completely crazy, to be going outside unnecessarily with this-this sniper thing going on..." "Now you tell me." "Two... who is Conrad, exactly?" "Someone I met." " Where?" " None of your business." "Well, it is my business if he's under the same roof as my daughter." "Calm down, he doesn't live with us." "He was looking after her last night." "For two hours after school." "Big deal." "Also, he's driving her around in a car with a broken tail-light, which is unsafe, not to say illegal." "A broken tail-light?" "That's what this is all about?" "That's what we're risking life and limb to discuss?" "What do you really know about Conrad?" "Look, I have to go." "Next time, please call before you come to the house." "I did!" "Twice!" "What you said in your message, that this sniper thing wasn't a pretext to get me to engage with you?" " Yeah." " Total bullshit." " That's not true." " You're so good at dressing up control as concern, you even fool yourself." "But you don't fool me." "Chief Superintendent John Macready." "Hello, John." "It's Thomas." "I wonder if you could do me a favour." "I need you to run a background check on someone." "This related to a case?" "Mmm, yeah, yeah." "Might be." "I'm not sure yet." "I pinged you his licence plate a couple of minutes ago." "Christian name Conrad." "Ah, yes." "Got it." " OK, let's see." " Thanks." "Multiple drug convictions, but it's all historic, most of it in the '90s." "I'll send you the file, if you like." "Hello?" "OK." "I'll be there as soon as I can." "Five victims around the southwest corner of the M25 and then one 40 miles east." "An expanding comfort zone, or him saying, '"Look behind you'"?" "I will strike anywhere... any time." "I can't control myself." "Close all the schools." "Tell the public." "Is this bastard invisible or what?" "Last night you told me he was unravelling." "Six people are dead and you don't even have a suspect." "The news says this man's killing people at random." " It was just bad luck." " I don't think so." "What about the threat to schools?" " It stays under wraps." " Are you sure it's the right move?" "We can't keep every kid in London at home under lock and key." "What are you doing?" "Warrant?" "!" "He invited us in." "Why do you need to get in there?" "Martin synced his phone to a laptop." "It's not in his office at school and it wasn't in his bag." "Close all the schools?" "It's not a demand he can expect us to meet." "Well, tell that to the parents of the first child he kills when it gets out he also said, '"Tell the public.'"" "Rosie, hi, it's Dad." "Where are you, my love?" "# Testator silens" "# Costestes e spiritu" "# Silentium. #" "Ripped By mstoll"