Little Boy Blue

96

‘I want us to look again at the credit cards.’

Helen had made Charlie jump when she appeared by her desk. However long you worked with her you never got used to her stealth.

‘We’ve run them several times,’ Charlie replied quickly. ‘Both credit card owners used many of the same stores and internet sites, so the point of fraud is going to be hard to pin down. Look at the list – Amazon, Ticketmaster, Trainline, Sainsbury’s, Gumtree, iTunes, Pets at Home -’

‘Let’s come at it from another angle then. If it’s internet fraud, then it’s going to be virtually impossible to trace, so let’s focus on the retail outlets. We’ve been assuming that our killer has specifically cloned cards to facilitate these murders. But it’s more likely he was involved in petty crime first, only later graduating up to more serious offences.’

‘So we want to look for seasoned credit card fraudsters -’

‘Exactly. Get on to the local outlets that the fraud victims used regularly. It would be easy enough for an employee to lift their details when ringing through a transaction, so let’s see if any employees – past or present – had form for credit card fraud. Don’t limit yourself to recent offences – this kind of crime is a long time in the making.’

‘But if they’re on file, wouldn’t we have got a match to a DNA source at one of the crime sites?’

‘Not necessarily. It may be they were questioned but never charged. Or it may be that our killer is just too cautious. He didn’t even touch Paine, yet managed to kill him. The same may be true of Jake Elder.’

Charlie nodded, but it was a depressing thought. Were they chasing shadows?

‘I originally thought forensics would be crucial, given the lack of credible witnesses,’ Helen continued. ‘But now I don’t think we even have that luxury. So we’re looking for tiny mistakes, small pieces of the puzzle that put together -’

‘Lead us to our man. You should know, though, that even with just the retail outlets highlighted it’s a seriously long list -’

‘I know it’s a needle in a haystack -’

‘Look, I’m happy to do it, of course I am.’

‘Good. Thank you.’

Helen turned to go, but Charlie had more to say.

‘Look, Helen, I know I said too much yesterday.’

‘It’s not your fault, Charlie, it’s mine.’

‘Whatever, I just wanted to let you know that I’m really sorry and that I’ll do whatever is necessary to help you break this case.’

‘Thank you.’

Helen should’ve gone further, apologizing for her erratic behaviour, but she didn’t really trust herself and something in Charlie’s demeanour meant it wasn’t necessary. The mark of a true friend.

‘Call me if you find anything,’ Helen said, turning to leave.

‘Sure. Where are you going?’

Helen paused in the doorway of the incident room and turned back to Charlie.

‘To climb inside the mind of a killer.’