‘It seems as though Coley and Norris both had someone to use as their pawn, which means Lassiter probably had one, too,’ Imogen said.

‘So, this Parker guy, do we think he’s now after the final professor? Do we think he knows who it is?’ Gary asked.

Imogen frowned. ‘Where’s the list of the faculty members?’

Gary pulled out a small brown file and handed it to her; it was a list of university staff.

‘So, if we assume Owen Sager was Norris’s pupil, Coley had his eye on Abbey Lucas, then we need to know who Helen Lassiter’s pupil was,’ Imogen said.

‘Right. Well, I went through all of Lassiter’s pupils and there’s one that sticks out. He comes from a lower socioeconomic background; his grades didn’t meet the requirements, but Lassiter pulled some strings to get him in. His name is Russ Beacham and he’s been AWOL since Hugh Norris went missing,’ Gary said.

‘It’s not uncommon for prestigious universities to let students with lower grades in if they fit the requirements in other ways. It’s an effort to make them seem less elitist. It could be innocent enough,’ Imogen said.

‘His were lower than that, and realistically he didn’t have anything going for him. No outside academic clubs. He hadn’t taken part in any of the hiking challenges like Ten Tors or Duke of Edinburgh or any of that other extra-curricular stuff they look for.’

‘You think he could be the attacker?’

‘Well, Russ had lessons with Hugh Norris and Owen Sager,’ Gary said. ‘Also, Owen Sager got in trouble with the police a couple of weeks before he died for tagging on a church – he sprayed a giant swastika in broad daylight.’

‘Jeez, that almost sounds like a dare,’ Imogen said. ‘What about Beacham? Has he been in trouble with us before?’

‘He sure has. Shoplifting in that huge DIY warehouse down by the bus station,’ Gary said.

‘So, let’s flip it. Let’s look for all the uni students that have been brought in since September and try to ascertain for sure which ones had one of our twisted profs,’ Imogen stated. ‘Beyond that, look for the pupils who didn’t have the required grades. Maybe we can find out who the fourth person is.’

‘Do we have enough to show the DCI without getting in the shit? We just have to leave out Parker’s involvement,’ Adrian said.

‘It all connects, so yes,’ Imogen added. ‘What happens if we catch Parker?’

‘We arrest and charge him,’ Adrian said.

‘For everything?’ Imogen asked.

‘We’ll have to deal with that shitstorm when the time comes.’

‘I was hoping you would say that,’ Gary said.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Adrian knocked on the door to Imogen’s flat. She opened it almost immediately. He held out the flowers he had bought for her and she ushered him inside with a puzzled look on her face.

‘Why did you buy me flowers?’

‘I literally have no idea. I was in the petrol station and they were there. It was flowers or charcoal.’