‘Drug dealers, social detritus? Could be. Get low-lifes off the street. The victims were known criminals, their names in the papers. If the second one’s been selected, it was an easy pick.’

‘Who are we looking for?’

‘Best guess, the first kill’s a trigger. We’ve got no idea how, or why. Nothing. But it sets off a rage in the killer’s mind, something that’s been sublimated. It’s made him want to do it again, given him a raison d’être. The second kill is very clean and calculated, but it’s also odd, unhinged. And it feels a bit too quick. Too soon. Then, of course, there’s the ages.’

‘Ages?’

She looked at Joe as if he was dim.

‘First victim, twenty-five. Second, nineteen. Barely a man. I might be wrong, but the second victim was chosen. And he was six years younger. If there’s a plan to get low-lifes off the street, age might be another criterion.’

‘Age?’

‘Get ’em while they’re young. Or younger.’

‘Shit.’

‘Shit indeed. You want me to put a few quid on it?’

‘The next one? You mean…’

‘Oh, there’ll be a next one. And soon.’

‘Younger still?’

‘Fifty quid says yes. Let me know. I need the money.’

She handed him the files.

‘So, Mr Romano, apart from the murders, how’re you doing? Anything of significance going on with you?’

‘Not really. Why do you ask?’

‘Let me see. There’s a slight swagger in the way you walk. It’s very subtle, but it’s oh-so-new. You’re tense, out of sorts, but you’re carrying it well. A bit too well for the old Joe. Plus, vis-à-vis the lady in the pub, there’s Occam.’

‘You can apply Occam’s Razor to a single photo taken in a pub?’

‘A photo with your arms round each other, heads together? And the eyes! Oh, the eyes, Joe!’

‘It was nothing! It’s… nothing!’

‘You sure?’

‘I’m on a bloody murder inquiry!’

‘Not forever, you’re not.’

35

There were several calls on the way back from York. He ignored them, having finally found a radio station playing a string of Bruce Springsteen favourites, which came closer to hitting the spot than anything else so far. Curiosity got the better of him in the end. Up ahead he saw a familiar layby, and an even more familiar building. He pulled over to see who’d been ringing.