The Night Stalker

‘Yes, where did they get this quote, DCI Foster?’ asked Oakley, picking up one of the newspapers. ‘“Across London, 14,000 CCTV cameras are no longer in use; police don’t have the man-hours to effectively keep residents of the capital safe.” You’ve been rather vocal about the lack of CCTV cameras, haven’t you?’

‘Are you suggesting that I’ve been briefing the press about this case, sir?’

‘No, the Assistant Commissioner is not suggesting that,’ interrupted Marsh.

‘Now, Paul, I can speak for myself,’ snapped Oakley. ‘What I’m saying is that it doesn’t do to start fear-mongering, DCI Foster. You lead and influence a vast number of officers. Your team has been given a great deal of manpower for this murder investigation. I just don’t think it’s good for morale if you are constantly harping on about what you haven’t got. How many more officers do you believe you require?’

‘Sir, I am not being negative, and I don’t harp,’ said Erika.

‘How many?’

‘Five. I have prepared a paper for you which details exactly how I will use—’

‘A week has passed since the murder of Gregory Munro, and I need to ensure that manpower is being properly deployed,’ interrupted Oakley.

‘Yes, sir, but—’

‘I would strongly advise that you refocus our investigation, DCI Foster, working on the assumption that Gregory Munro invited a man into his house for the purpose of sexual intercourse, and that this man, whomever he was, saw an opportunity and killed him. A crime of passion.’

‘A gay bashing?’ said Erika.

‘I don’t like that phrase, DCI Foster.’

‘But the press loves it. And the gay community will, no doubt, experience a backlash of negativity if we refocus the investigation with that angle. We also found evidence of forced entry through the kitchen window, and the fence at the rear of the property had been clipped. It doesn’t sound like Gregory Munro invited whoever did this into his house. The fake security firm leaflet is our strongest lead. This is summer holiday season. We haven’t yet spoken to all of the Laurel Road residents because some are still away on holiday. We’re also going through the list of complaints from Gregory Munro’s patients. Again, this is taking time.’

‘Have any complaints proved to be a worthwhile lead so far?’ asked Oakley.

‘As of yet, no, but…’

‘I’d like to hear from our criminal profiler,’ said Oakley, cutting her off yet again. ‘Tim?’

Tim Aiken, the criminal psychologist, had remained silent until now. He had a short, shiny mop of hair, designer stubble and, despite his shirt and tie, wore a thick bunch of multicoloured woven bracelets on his wrist. He looked up from where he had been doodling a series of cubes in his notebook. ‘I think the man we’re looking for is a very controlled individual. He plans every move very carefully. Physically, he’s strong. Gregory Munro wasn’t a small man and there was little evidence of a struggle.’

‘Gregory Munro was drugged; he had a huge dose of flunitrazepam in his body. Flunitrazepam is used as a date rape drug. Whoever broke in made time to drug him, and then waited for the drug to take effect,’ added Erika.

‘Yes. There is also widespread use of flunitrazepam in the gay community for a sexual high, for enjoyment,’ replied Tim.

‘I doubt many people who’ve had it slipped into their drink in a bar enjoyed themselves,’ said Erika.

Tim went on, ‘The killer could have been very intuitive, using a honeypot method with the security leaflet to lure the victim into calling him. Coupled with the use of a sedative, we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of a homosexual element.’

‘Gregory Munro wasn’t sexually assaulted,’ said Erika.

‘True, but our killer may have had issues with masculinity, and previous bad experiences with type A, or alpha males. He may want to suppress masculine individuals.’

‘Bloody hell. How much is he costing us?’ asked Erika when the meeting had ended, a sticky, uncomfortable forty minutes later. She was walking down the stairs from the conference room with Marsh.

‘Don’t hold much stock in forensic profiling?’

‘I think it can be helpful, but so often they’re called in and seen as miracle workers. Forensic profilers don’t catch criminals, we do.’

‘Don’t complain. He works for you, remember. He talked Oakley out of cutting your budget.’

‘Only by blinding him with science.’