Page 34 of Her Last Breath

She stared at Liam, even though he was refusing to look at her. His face flushed red under her scrutiny all the same.

‘Where were you on August the twenty-second between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.? And where were you on August eighteenth between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.?’

‘I was at work,’ Liam stuttered, speaking to his solicitor rather than to Jane. She knew this wasn’t true for the day Alice went missing and was killed. ‘You can ask Ray, he’ll tell you. I was on the roster both days.’

‘We already checked. You weren’t.’

This wasn’t true for the day Mark died, but Jane was assuming it would be; Liam had lied about being at work when Alice Rogers died, so why not Mark Burrows?

‘Your client has no alibi for the times we believe Alice Rogers and Mark Burrows were killed,’ Jane said, directing her words to the lawyer. ‘I suggest he finds a way to remember where he was when they died.’

His solicitor leant across to Liam, covering his mouth as he whispered something in his client’s ear, which made Liam’s shoulders sag slightly.

‘I was at work,’ he repeated pathetically.

‘The fact you’re lying to me makes me assume the worst, Liam.’ Jane’s voice was sharp and menacing. ‘Makes me think that when I look at you, I am looking at a cold, vicious killer. What’s more, I intend to prove it.’

Chapter 21

There was a palpable change in the atmosphere when Jane returned to the incident room. The uncomfortable looks she’d received when she first told them to re-investigate Alice’s death were gone. Her instinct was right; she had already connected Alice Rogers’ and Mark Burrows’ deaths. More than that, she had pulled strings to get Dr Lydia involved. Burnley CID wasn’t the poor cousin in Lancashire Constabulary anymore, thanks to Jane.

Her team were on board now, she could tell. Despite being the new girl, they were working on her theories. Not bad for less than two weeks’ work. She smiled inside. Alice Rogers’ loved ones were not being short-changed.

Leaning over DS Johnson’s screen, Jane looked at the images he was checking with DC Chan’s guidance.

‘It’s difficult to track the van fully, ma’am; we have no licence plate and the make is too generic,’ DS Johnson repeated what she already knew.

Jane looked at small colour boxes on the screen, white vans moving around in slow motion.

‘There, that’s a good shot. Near to where we know Alice was last seen. Surely the camera picked up a number plate?’

DS Johnson moved the image back and forth but they couldn’t capture anything.

‘Four-D plate maybe,’ he said.

Jane and DC Chan both looked at him blankly.

‘It’s a thing that’s been happening of late. Four-D number plates are being modified to try and ghost speeding cameras. Might be why we can’t get a match so easily. ANPR are updating their technology, but the councils up here are still implementing them.’

‘What about the damage to the vehicle?’ Jane asked.

‘It’s evident when you know you’re looking for it, requires more technically minded experts though.’

DS Johnson clicked his mouse, pictures changing and being blown up to give them a better view of the damage. It looked dented and shadowed when seen at this resolution. On the passenger side, the killer may not have noticed it.

‘There, can you see?’ DC Chan pointed to the screen. ‘Same van, if we compare the pattern of the damage. Unlikely two different vans have exactly the same shaped scrape on them.’

‘Where is this?’ Jane asked.

‘Stoneyholme, near March Street,’ DC Chan read from the camera’s location stamp in the corner of the screen.

‘Right around the corner from where Mark died,’ DS Johnson said, locking eyes with Jane.

‘This van is how our killer is moving around Burnley,’ she said.

‘Leave it with us, ma’am,’ DS Johnson said. ‘There are thousands of Ford Transit Couriers in the Northwest, so it’s going to take some time. I did this before, though. I have an algorithm that can check ownership and registration details. ANPR can help us eliminate the vehicles we don’t need to worry about. There will be other CCTV sightings of the van, I’m sure, it’s just going to take a bit of resource.’

‘Thank you.’