Giles Blunt: Crime Machine

“What do we hear from Forensic?”

“DNA from the Scriver cottage matches Curtis Winston. There’s no criminal record under either name, but he’s now the chief suspect in several gruesome murders in the States-all of them where he has a slight connection but no obvious motive.”

“People annoy him, so he cuts their heads off.”

“He has his so-called children do it. The guy who attacked you was one Jackson Till. He’s done time in the Texas state pen for rape, manslaughter and aggravated assault. Are you okay? How are you holding up?”

Delorme had gone pale. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I can’t stop thinking about it. Seeing it. Over and over again.”

“You didn’t have a choice. You know that.”

“I do know that. It doesn’t seem to make any difference.”

“If it’s any comfort, SIU’s initial take is they believe you killed him in self-defence. The final report’ll take weeks. Same for me and Donna Vaughan.”

A wave of nausea or something like it passed through Cardinal and he sat down on the couch beside her. Neither of them spoke for a long time. Finally Cardinal said, “I never thought I’d see the day I’d shoot a woman.”

“Like you say,” Delorme said, “it’s not as if you had a choice.”

Another silence.

Eventually Cardinal said, “You know, I spoke to the real Donna Vaughan. She’s a freelance journalist in New York who covers fashion and has no interest whatsoever in the Russian mob. She also had no idea that Christine Rickert borrowed her identity about two weeks after she got out on parole. I’m telling you, Lise, sometimes my own idiocy takes my breath away. I can’t believe I didn’t see through her.”

“Why, John? You had no reason to suspect her of being anything other than an aggressive journalist.” Delorme placed a warm hand on Cardinal’s shoulder. “And it’s not so long ago your wife died. You were vulnerable.”

“Stupid, you mean.”

“You broke a major case. Two major cases. I don’t think that qualifies as stupid.” She gave his arm a squeeze. “You want to watch a video tonight? Do the popcorn thing?”

Cardinal shrugged. “I don’t know…”

“Come on. What do you feel like? An old classic? A comedy?”

“I really don’t mind,” Cardinal said. “Something without monsters.”