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“At four seventeen in the afternoon?”
“It’s a beautiful spot at that time of day. But under the circumstances...”
It made no sense at all, thought Gabriel. “The newspapers were a bit vague as to the exact location of the crime scene.”
“An overgrown hedgerow north of Porthchapel Beach. It looked as though the killer tried to conceal the body. Which is interesting,” added Peel. “The previous four victims were left where they had fallen, with the backs of their skulls split by a single blow. They were probably dead before they hit the ground.”
“And Professor Blake?”
“He made a real mess of her. He also seems to have made off with her mobile phone.”
“Did he take the phones of the other victims?”
Peel shook his head.
“Theory of the case?” asked Gabriel.
“My colleagues think Professor Blake must have heard the killer stealing up behind her. And when she turned around, she sent him into a rage.”
“Which would explain the overkill.”
“But not the missing mobile.”
“She might have dropped it somewhere.”
“We’ve swept the entire coast path and the area surrounding the hedgerow where the body was discovered. We found three old mobile phones, none of them belonging to Professor Blake.”
“And it’s not emitting a signal?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you should make sure she didn’t leave it in the car.”
“I know how to search a car, Mr. Allon. The phone is gone.”
Gabriel smiled in spite of himself. “And what about you, Detective Sergeant Peel? What’s your theory?”
He ran a hand over the gunwale of the ketch before answering. “We’ve always been a bit cagey about some of the details of the killings. The number of blows, the location, those sorts of things. It’s standard procedure in a case like this. It helps us weed out the cranks and kooks.”
“What about copycats?”
“Those, too. After all, how could someone imitate the Chopper if he doesn’t know his exact methods?”
“Do you believe Professor Blake was killed by a copycat?”
“I’m willing to entertain the notion.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve shared this theory with your fellow officers.”
“I didn’t think it would be wise for me to rock the boat on such an important investigation. Not at this stage of my career.”
“Leaving you no choice but to pursue the matter independently.” Gabriel paused, then added, “With the help of an old friend.”
Peel made no reply.
“Does the chief constable know that you’ve contacted me?”
“It’s possible I neglected to mention it.”
