‘What does that give us?’
‘Possibly a new way of looking at Cornwall. We’d checked out the dates and, yes, he was on the schedule for that entire week, but we didn’t check if they had a weather problem. What if Alan Daniels was not in Cornwall when Melissa Stephens was murdered?’
Anna was silent. He nudged her.
‘What do you think?’
‘It’s possible,’ she said dubiously. ‘But what if he was in Cornwall for that entire time? What if he had simply forgotten where he had put his dental X-rays? What if Alan Daniels is not our killer?’
‘He is.’
‘But supposition and maybes could be wasting valuable time. If you take Alani Daniels out of the equation, what are you left with?’
‘Thank you for that vote of confidence, Travis.’
‘I’m serious. What are you left with?’
He glared. ‘Seven dead women, eight with Trixie, maybe ten, after we leave the States. Left to rot in cold storage, because they were part of society’s garbage.’
‘That’s not quite true!’
‘It fucking is true. Except Melissa, of course.’
‘All of their cases were investigated.’
‘Bullshit. If I hadn’t gone back into the dead files, that’s where the poor bitches would still be rotting. Look at the Yorkshire Ripper. Eleven women dead before they got him.’
Anna was trying not to argue. At the same time, she wasn’t just going to accept everything he said verbatim. ‘They had the Ripper in five times. And still they couldn’t catch him. He was a dead ringer for the Identikit pictures the witnesses provided. But they released him, because they were concentrating on a tape recording that had been sent in.’ She gripped the steering wheel tighter. ‘And the man on the tape didn’t have a Yorkshire accent. In other words, all that wasted time on a piece of evidence sent in by some sicko, who had nothing to do with the killer.’
‘So you think I am wasting my time?’ he snapped.
‘Maybe you are wasting time with Daniels. That’s all I am saying.’
Signs to Los Angeles started appearing overhead. Anna asked Langton to check the map to find out which slip road they should take off the freeway. He looked over the map for a while then, sheepishly, turned it the right way round.
‘Just take the next one. We’ll find our way from there.’
She took a deep breath.
He leaned back and said quietly, ‘Oh shit, shit. Maybe I have lost my way.’
‘No, we’ll be OK,’ she said through clenched teeth. It says “Sunset”.’
‘I didn’t mean that way, Travis. What if you’re right and I am chasing up my own arse?’ He gave her a sidelong smile. ‘Christ, you’re like your old man. Do you know that, Travis?’
He could not have given her a better compliment.
When he added, ‘And just as objectionable,’ she started to laugh and so did he, defusing their previous tension. Then he concentrated on the map and started to direct her towards their hotel.
It was even hotter in LA: up in the eighties. Though the Beverly Terrace Hotel was smaller than the one in San Francisco, it had the advantage of an outdoor pool. Their meeting was scheduled with the LA Police Department for three thirty, so there was a bit of time to unpack, shower, or just relax. Anna decided on a swim and went down to the pool.
She was on her tenth length, before she caught sight of Langton. She swam to the steps.
‘Do you want me?’ she asked.
‘Finish your swim.’
‘No, it’s all right.’
She shook the drops of water from her hair.
‘It’s just, I managed to get an email through to the station,’ he said. ‘You know, asking for an update.’
She was climbing heavily up the steps from the pool, her swimsuit clinging to her damply. He held on to her elbow as she was clambering out.
‘Barolli’s getting on to the London company to check out Daniels’s schedule. Whether they gave him any time off during the week of seventh February; say, enough time for a return trip between Cornwall and London.’
She turned towards a sun lounger as he handed her a towel.
‘Thanks. What about the dentist who did his work over here?’
‘I’m getting in touch with him. The dental lab is emailing him the details. We’ve eventually got to get over to Orange County. That’s where the victim from here was found. So we may have to make contact with their department.’
‘Right.’
‘I think I’ll follow your example and have a quick dip,’ he said, not moving.
‘Did you pack your trunks?’ she asked.
‘Nope, but I’m OK in my jockey shorts.’
He got up and wandered into a changing cubicle. She collected her belongings and finished drying off; waiting for him to come out, as he’d left his jacket and his wallet.
He appeared with a towel round his shoulders and his clothes in a bundle under his arm.
‘You look remarkably fit, considering,’ she said, rubbing her hair dry.
‘Considering what?’
‘Well, you smoke too much, and drink, and — do you exercise at all?’
‘Do I exercise?’ he said mockingly.
‘Yes.’
‘Used to, few years back.’