Peter Lovesey - Cop to Corpse

She wasn’t letting him laugh off the danger. ‘Have you ever thought why the first note was sent to Harry Tasker?’

‘It’s a kind of bravado on the part of the killer. Serial killers sometimes get an extra kick from announcing their crimes in advance. Jack the Ripper is supposed to have done it.’

‘I thought most of the Jack the Ripper letters were sent by people cashing in on the publicity, like the man who sent the Yorkshire Ripper tape.’

He was impressed. ‘You’ve done your homework on serial killers.’ Another remark he wished he could take back.

A silence developed between them.

Finally Paloma looked at his plate. ‘I don’t think you’ve eaten any of the cheese and biscuits yet.’

‘Not much appetite.’

‘Peter, you are worried by this.’

He made a sweeping gesture in dismissal and then thought better of it, deciding he owed her an honest answer. ‘Well, I’ll tell you. I’m not entirely sure that the man we are holding killed all three of the victims. The case has had huge publicity. Any police killing does. I’ve had a suspicion all week that the shootings weren’t random. Now I believe Harry Tasker may have been shot by someone else, a killer who wants his crime to be lumped in with the Somerset sniper.’

‘But it’s the same gun for all three, isn’t it?’

‘The same kind of gun, same kind of ammunition. A Heckler and Koch G36, firing 45mm cartridges. They’re standard issue in the police. See the way my mind is working?’

‘Someone in the police had a grudge against Harry and saw this as an opportunity to kill him and have the crime credited to someone else?’

‘Exactly.’

‘Is this G36 a prohibited weapon?’

‘God, yes.’

‘You’d have to be a firearms officer to own one?’

‘You wouldn’t own it. They’re police property.’

‘Does anyone else use them? What about the army?’

‘No, but they’re widely used in Europe. It’s the standard service rifle of the German army, among others.’

‘Do you see what I’m getting at?’ she said. ‘There must be some being traded in the criminal world.’

‘That goes without saying. The G36 has been around since the early nineties. Not as long as the Kalashnikov, the AK47, but you can get them illegally. I’ve seen one that was used in an armed hold-up in Bristol. I didn’t think they were knocking around in Bath until today, when I visited a house and found a whole secret armoury of AK47s, G36s and much more. Big shock.’

Her eyes widened. ‘In Bath? Where was that?’

‘I’d better not say. We haven’t recovered them yet.’

‘Not a policeman’s house?’

He smiled. ‘No.’

‘The guns are out there, then,’ Paloma said. ‘That’s all I’m saying — that the weapon used to kill Harry Tasker may not have been a police weapon.’

‘We’ll know shortly. A G36 was recovered this afternoon from the river close to where our suspect was arrested.’

She brought her hands together in approval. ‘Can it be identified as the gun that killed all three?’

‘When it’s cleaned up. The ballistics experts will do a test firing, discharging bullets into a test-firing chamber. The rifling inside the gun creates marks called striations along the side that are as good as fingerprints. Under a microscope they can be compared with the bullets found at the murder scenes.’

‘You said we’ll know shortly. How soon is shortly?’

‘Always longer than you hope for.’

‘And then you can be certain?’

A silence followed. Diamond was pondering new possibilities.

Paloma gave a sudden cry of surprise. Raffles the cat had crept into the room and jumped on her lap. He’d belonged to Stephanie and enjoyed female company. After letting her feel the weight of his paws on her thighs, he settled into a comfortable position, anticipating he wouldn’t be disturbed for some time.

Diamond was so deep in thought he hadn’t heard Paloma’s cry or noticed the cat. ‘I may have made a wrong assumption about the gun.’

Paloma frowned. ‘Go on.’

‘Everything happened in a matter of hours, the shooting of Harry followed by the report of a gunman in Becky Addy Wood. It was easy to assume that the two incidents were related and the gun being carried in Becky Addy belonged to Harry’s murderer. But if my theory is right, and Harry was shot by whoever wrote that note, this is going to need a rethink.’

‘Can’t you tell your forensics people this is an emergency?’

‘They still take the same amount of time.’

‘Meanwhile, you’re at risk of being killed.’

‘That’s why we’re eating in tonight.’

‘Peter, you shouldn’t make light of it. I don’t think you should leave the house until these tests are confirmed one way or the other.’

‘I can’t take time off.’

‘How will you travel to work tomorrow?’

‘Car, as usual.’

‘That’s crazy. He could be lying in wait. We’ll go in my car, with you out of sight, lying on the back seat.’

He laughed.

‘I’m staying the night,’ she said in a tone that brooked no argument.

‘If that’s the outcome,’ he said, ‘I’ll settle for the back seat.’

‘It’s nothing to do with you,’ she said glancing down at her lap. ‘Raffles isn’t moving off my lap. His decision.’

‘I don’t want anyone to see me like this,’ Diamond said from his position lying along the back seat.

‘They won’t. That’s why we’re doing it,’ Paloma said as she drove down the Lower Bristol Road into Bath. She knew when to be firm with him. ‘Last night you were perfectly okay with it.’

‘Yes, but this is now.’

‘We’re just passing another cemetery on our right.’

‘Point taken.’ He was dressed for a funeral, but not his own. They had discussed whether he should take the risk of attending Harry Tasker’s funeral. Diamond had insisted he would be there, after giving his word to Harry’s widow. It wasn’t as if he’d be standing in the open around a grave. The cremation would be in a small indoor chapel, surely too enclosed for a sniper to take a shot at him and escape.

He had decided to treat the latest ‘You’re next’ note seriously and take care, but say nothing about it until the ballistic test results came in. Then he would be better placed to judge whether the note was a hoax. He’d know for sure if the rifle recovered from the river had been used for any or all of the shootings. Then it would become clear whether the killer of all three victims was in custody.

‘Crossing the river now,’ Paloma continued her commentary. ‘Soon be in Manvers Street.’

‘I may sound ungrateful,’ he said. ‘I want you to know I appreciate this. You don’t have to drive right inside the nick. Just drop me in the street.’

Paloma smiled to herself. The police parking area was a yard at the heart of the building enclosed by walls several storeys high and scores of windows. ‘Fine. We’ll do as you say.’ Her voice softened. ‘Please take extra care today. It matters to me, you know.’

He thanked her. The car halted and he got out and was crossing the pavement without appearing to hurry when she surprised him by sounding the horn twice as she rejoined the traffic. He tensed, looked round and wagged a finger. But she was already gone.

Inside on the stairs, he met John Wigfull, a blast from the past. Now a civilian responsible for publicity and press relations, Wigfull had once been his deputy and they had never got on. JW was someone well capable of setting him up. Diamond wondered how much he knew about the present investigation. ‘Morning, John.’

The cordialities had to be exchanged, whatever each was thinking. Wigfull’s Lord Kitchener moustache had always masked his true sentiments. ‘Morning, Peter. You’re looking sombre.’