Allan nodded. “First thing in the morning I’ll check in with her. We’ll start by reinterviewing people we know were present during that hour time period.”

“I assume they’d stopped collecting entry tickets well before the end?” asked Eban.

“Yes. About nine. And ticket sales weren’t tracked.” Signy’s forehead crinkled as she looked at her phone. “Okay, the evidence techs collected the living room drapes from Martin Carstairs’s home. They plan to examine them for trace and contact DNA tomorrow.” Signy met his gaze. “There’s a chance the killer’s DNA is on that material.”

Eban pulled a face. He couldn’t afford to get his hopes up. “Could be time consuming to process and the UNSUB may have worn gloves, but we might get lucky. If there’s DNA in any of the other cases, we might be able to crossmatch. Where are we with the shoeprints?”

Signy pulled out the three photos of footprints, two in the snow, and another from the church hall. “The ones from the neighbor’s property are a match with the ones from the Adele Surrey murder scene. They are the same brand and size as Darby’s winter boots—which were in evidence when Adele Surrey was murdered. Unfortunately, the lab can’t get enough definition from the snow to conclusively prove they came from the same boots. The other footprints that Allan found in the woods on the opposite side are a size twelve Sorel Men’s Glacier XT Winter Boot. We haven’t been able to find the actual footwear that made the tracks.”

Had Martin gone for a walk in the woods alone after the ceilidh? The postgrad student had gone directly from work to the dance, and the snow had continued to fall until around 10 PM on Tuesday night. And, if he had, why weren’t those boots at his house? It didn’t make any sense. Were there two UNSUBS? There was only evidence of one killer at the church.

Was someone trying to deliberately confuse the cops? If so, it was working.

“The boots, the gloves—which I am betting will come back positive for Darby’s DNA—all stink of the killer trying to frame Darby for both murders.” He stared at the timeline. “That makes me think they didn’t know I was in town.”

Signy raised a brow. “Few of us did—at least, we didn’t know you were here to act as her personal bodyguard.”

Eban sent her a slow smile. “Look on the bright side, Detective. Ultimately, it means Darby had an alibi and you got the head’s up on a possible serial killer operating in the area. If you solve this thing, you guys will look like heroes.”

“Shouldn’t we warn the general public?” Allan asked.

“If you do, then you risk the killer bolting again. At least with the press concentrating on Darby, the UNSUB has a false sense of security right now. This is the first time law enforcement has had a lock on them, and this storm means they are likely still in the area. They probably think they’re untouchable.” Eban cast a look around the table. “It’s also the reason we are keeping this working group small.” He held each person in the room’s gaze. The locals had all been carefully chosen for being excellent at their job. The precinct’s two other detectives were working offsite on another big case with the RCMP and DEA. Signy Torgerson didn’t seem upset that she was the lone detective.