Page 73 of Reinventing Cato
Vigge took a deep breath. “I hurt you and I bitterly regret that. There should have been no chance of you seeing those photos. They’re gone.”
“You burnt your house down?”
Vigge raised his eyebrows.
“Ah, right. Not that sort ofgone.” Cato crossed his arms.
“No one ever comes to my house. And I meanever.It just didn’t occur to me…”
“I know I shouldn’t have been looking at them. I said I was sorry, but you didn’t want to listen.”
“A problem with my job is that it makes me see the worst in people. It’s no wonder I’m on my own. I don’t deserve to be with anyone. I just wanted to see you in person to apologise.” He took a deep breath. “And to thank you. The pattern you spotted in those wounds… Brilliant, Sherlock.”
“Really?” Cato’s eyes widened.
“Yes. I shouldn’t be discussing this with you at all, but…” Vigge took the sketches he’d made from his pocket. “Do these remind you of anything?”
Cato went through them all and stopped on the last. “Lynx.”
Inigo Dewitt.God.He almost asked if Cato was sure, but of course he was.
“Want to take off your coat?”
“I didn’t think you’d want me to stay.”
Cato sighed. “I asked if you wanted to take off your coat not stick your cock in my arse.”
Vigge tossed his coat onto Cato’s chair.
“So someone else is dead with a star pattern stabbed into their back?” Cato asked. You think both guys were killed by the same man?”
“Yes.”
“So now you have to look for links between them. Did they live near each other?”
“Nowhere near.”
“Maybe they were in a stargazing club or chatted in an astronomy forum.”
“Or maybe it’s only the murderer who’s interested in astronomy. There might be significance in the choice of the constellation. I know Cygnus looks like a swan, but how did Lynx get its name? It doesn’t look like a lynx.”
“Because it’s faint and hard to see, elusive like a lynx or perhaps because you’d need the keen eyes of a lynx to see it.”
“Any connection between the two constellations?”
Cato chewed his lip. “Lynx is the 28thin size, has five stars with named planets. Cygnus is the 16thlargest, has ten stars with named planets and six of the stars are named. I mean, there’s nothing obvious that links them. There are 88 constellations. I hope there’s not another 86 murders planned.”
So did Vigge.
“When did the murders happen?”
“Last September and December.”
“Poor guys.” Cato sighed. “If they’re gay, you checked Grindr, right?”
“I can’t talk about it anymore. I’ve already said too much.”
“Okay. You want a coffee?”
