Page 83 of Her Last Breath

‘They’ve been reprimanded, ma’am.’

‘They don’t know the concept of the word. Wait till I get my hands on them. This is a suspect in a triple murder. I was with forensics, combing this man’s flat for evidence. Imagine if he’d made his way home?’

‘I guess we can thank Brazani for the tip-off.’

Jane took in a deep breath, trying to still her adrenaline and fury. There would be time later to investigate how the particulars of their prime suspect had leaked. For now, she needed to rally her team and make sure Colin Wilson didn’t leave Burnley.

‘How did he leave the church?’

‘CCTV shows him going through to the priest’s living quarters from the foodbank hall,’ offered DC Chan. ‘He was then seen exiting Father Walsh’s front door.’

Jane was grateful for the DC, at least someone was on the ball.

‘Next stakeout, you’re going,’ Jane said pointedly. ‘Where did he go next?’

‘Tracking him through CCTV in Burnley Central, he first headed back to his flat but then changed course.’

DC Chan ran the CCTV grainy images on her screen.

‘Can you project them to the main screen?’ DS Johnson asked.

Moments later, they could all see the same grey figure, hoodie on, dark joggers and trainers. He was carrying a small rucksack, the only discerning feature that might help them track him.

‘He headed up Halstead Street, towards Manchester Road Station,’ DC Chan said. ‘He made a U-turn when he saw a couple of uniforms.’

‘OK, where are we at with the potential transport links?’ Jane demanded.

‘Already sent out an alert, ma’am,’ DS Johnson replied. ‘Border control, ports, airports. We managed to get uniform out to both Burnley railway stations in time.’

‘Good. Has he used his bank accounts?’

‘Nothing yet,’ said DC Chan. ‘We’re monitoring them closely.’

‘He may have international accounts or local banks in the DRC. Make sure you run a wider check than just UK institutions. There was a lot of cash in his flat, but he didn’t know we were onto him when he left for the foodbank this morning. He wasn’t prepared, so that gives us an advantage.’

‘Cash for what?’ DC Berry asked.

Jane ignored him, feeling the sting of betrayal. The conversation with Sameer was still fresh in her mind. She couldn’t believe she’d been wanting to approach HR for him, talking of a promotion, something to make his life easier.

‘That might explain why Alice had a ready supply of cash, Mark Burrows too,’ DS Johnson added. ‘Bill Hargreaves was buying very expensive engine parts to do up his Harley. He was also ordering groceries and takeaways, according to apps on his phone. Always choosing the cash payment option.’

‘Kowalcyzk is checking the notes we found at Hargreaves’ flat for Wilson’s prints, along with the notes we found at Burrows’ lock-up,’ Jane assured him.

‘Unless he wiped them?’ DS Johnson said.

‘Hard to wipe bank notes completely and it would have looked odd to his victims if he was wearing gloves while handing money over. Where did Colin Wilson go after Manchester Road?’

DC Chan sent more video clips to the electronic whiteboard, along with a map of Burnley.

‘This is his route,’ she said, her cursor using a thick red line to trace it from Manchester Road Station. ‘He first made his way to the A682, then made a detour to Scott Park. That’s the last time we caught him on camera.’

Jane studied the map, the expansive green park.

‘Get uniform to scan every inch of that park. Especially the surveillance team. They stay on duty and they check every fucking blade of grass until we find him.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

Jane asked DC Chan to give her street-level views of the areas around the park and south of Rose Hill, before turning to DS Johnson.