Page 121 of The Hallmarked Man
‘Cheers,’ said Strike, noting her warm smile as she set it down and half wishing he hadn’t accepted it. Kim left, closing the door behind her.
She’s going to hang around until we come out,thought Robin.She’s not going to let that dress go to waste.
‘I’d imagine the reason the Met didn’t publicise that Peugeot 208,’ said Strike, lowering his voice, ‘is that someone in Lynden Knowles’ circle drives one.’
‘Probably,’ agreed Robin.
‘Moving on,’ said Strike, turning to yet another page of notes, ‘Pat’s found ninety-two married Hussein Mohameds so far, so we’re a while away from finding the one who lived upstairs from William Wright, but when I’ve got time I’ll comb through them and see if any of them look likely.
‘I’ve also done a bit of research on our porn friend, Dangerous Dick. He’s registered with what looks like London’s premier adult entertainment agency, Triple XR – or he was. I called there – fake name, obviously – and asked to be put in touch with him. He’s no longer on their books.’
‘Oh,’ said Robin.
‘Obviously, that doesn’t mean he’s been bumped off, but it’s interesting, all the same. I asked for contact details and they sounded suspicious and said I could leave a message for him. I asked him to call, but hehasn’t. I’d imagine they get a fair few nutters trying to contact them, porn stars, so I think you might have to make the next approach. New voice, and I’d imagine a woman will seem less fishy, but I can’t think of any cover other than pretending you’re casting a porn shoot.’
‘Right,’ said Robin, privately wondering how many more unforeseen dilemmas she was going to have to face today. Exactly how you went about convincing an adult actors’ agency you were a bona fide porn producer, she had no idea at all.
‘We’ll workshop it,’ said Strike, ‘after Christmas. In the meantime, I’ll have a bash at identifying the woman who delivered that cipher note. If she’s in the same line of work, she’s bound to have an online presence. Anyway, what’ve you got?’
‘Well, I’ve hit a complete dead end on Sapphire, the girl who messaged Osgood and Oz. I called the missing persons’ charity,’ Robin added. ‘Apparently she disappeared from a foster home. She’d only been there a month and hadn’t told the foster parents anything about meeting a man, or mentioned anyone called Oz. She’s got quite a bit of form for running away, though, so maybe there’s nothing in that at all, but,’ Robin went on tentatively, ‘I’ve actually found something else. It might be completely irrelevant, but for what it’s worth…’
She typed a few words into her own keyboard then turned the computer monitor so that Strike could see a news story dating from June.
Two pictures of the same beautiful young woman, who had waist-length black hair and olive skin, stared out of the screen. In one, the girl was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. In the other, she was pouting in black lingerie.
LONDON STUDENT FOUND STABBED ON NORTH WESSEX DOWNS
The body of a young woman discovered on the North Wessex Downs on Sunday 19th June has been identified as Spanish student Sofia Medina, 20, say police.
Described by friends as ‘outgoing, hard-working and fun’, Medina was studying for a BA in Film and Screen Business at the University of West London. She was last seen alive by flatmate Gretchen Schiff, 21, on the afternoon of Thursday 16th June.
‘She told me she might be away all weekend,’ Schiff told reporters. ‘I didn’t think it was strange. She had lots of friends. I thought she was probably staying at someone’s flat after a party or something like that.’
Medina was a prolific poster on her OnlyFans account, which a friend who wished to remain anonymous says was Medina’s attempt to make enough income to help fund her degree.
‘I warned her she was making it too easy for men to find her in real life. She talked about being a student and posted pictures of herself in the university bathrooms. I’m really scared someone who saw her OnlyFans stalked her and abducted her.’
Forensic analysis has revealed that Medina was raped before she was killed. The murder is believed to have happened in the early hours of Sunday 19th June. Her body, which had sustained multiple stab wounds, was found by a dog walker.
ABANDONED VAN
Police would like to identify the owner of a 2013 VW Up Complete 999cc, which was found abandoned without its number plates on Baydon Road, approximately two and a half miles from where the body was found.
If you have any information about this story, please call…
Robin had thought she might need to explain to Strike why she was showing him the article, but when he’d finished reading, he said,
‘Yeah, I remember seeing that. You think she might’ve been the light-skinned Asian woman who took stuff out of William Wright’s flat, before he was murdered?’
‘Well, she’s obviously not Asian, but that hall’s dark and Mandy only saw the couple briefly. I know it’s a very long shot, but she does match the basic description of the woman – light brown skin, long black hair, didn’t sound English – and she was murdered just twenty-four hours after Wright.’ Robin could hear how thin her theory sounded when spoken aloud, yet still felt compelled to lay it all out. ‘I was struck by Sofia telling her flatmate she’d be away all weekend, but not giving details of what she was supposed to be doing.’
‘Maybe they’d fallen out. Or maybe they weren’t friends, just people who rented a flat together.’
‘I know it could just be that,’ said Robin, ‘but look at this.’
She typed in another search term, then said,
‘This is the description they gave out of the body, before it was identified as Sofia. “Latina or South Asian, 162 cm, wearing jeans, trainers and a pink T-shirt with a peony design.”’ She looked up at Strike. ‘Mandy said the girl who went in and out of Wright’s flat was wearing a pink top with flowers on it.’
