Page 104 of Reinventing Cato
“No, I’m not.” There was no need to be defensive. Vigge had missed the pattern too. To anyone but an expert in constellations, the stab wounds looked random. “If I didn’t know so much about constellations, I wouldn’t have spotted it either.”Sorry for taking the credit, Cato.“And I didn’t see it straightaway.”
“It’s a good catch,” Fleming said and Vigge decided maybe he did like him.
“Both guys were found in properties where the owners were away,” Neil said.
“So someone knew they were away.” Fleming pulled at his lip with his teeth. “Your guy was wiped clean of blood. Dewitt wasn’t.”
“I think the first time the killer did this, he didn’t realise the pattern wouldn’t be identified,” Vigge said. “For our victim, he made it easier to see. I know two similar category A murders don’t mean we’re looking for a serial killer, but there are too many parallels to ignore. What do you think?”
Fleming nodded. “I think you’re right. It’s the same guy. And I’m beginning to wonder about another case we have.”
He eyeballed Vigge for a few more seconds, then showed him his phone. It was a photo of a woman who’d been stabbed multiple times in the middle of her back. Vigge had seen the photo before.
“The sun, maybe?” Fleming said. “I know that’s not a constellation and yes, it’s a stretch, but the pathologist reckoned the weapon was similar to the one used on Dewitt. We’d not linked them, I think more because Dewitt was gay than anything else. Your guy was gay too, which might mean she’s not part of this, but I just have that feeling.”
“Tell us about the case.” Vigge leaned back in his chair.
“Marcie Nolan. Twenty-three years old. One of the bar staff at Devolution. A club in Brighton. Reported missing by her housemate on the 9thof July, and found dead in a beach hut in Lancing. The door had been broken open and she’d been laid on a daybed inside.”
“Sexually assaulted?” Vigge asked.
“No trauma, but she’d recently had sex. Traces of Rohypnol were found in her system. None in Dewitt but they’d have gone by the time he was found.”
“Our guy had Rohypnol in his system.”
“Hmm. Interesting.”
“Any suspects?” Vigge asked. “Boyfriend? Someone from the club?”
“No boyfriend. There was a guy in the club who’d been seen to pester her, but he had an alibi. Obviously, both cases are ongoing. We’re still looking. Do you have anyone you’re looking at who might have connections to Brighton?”
“I wish we had someone we were looking at. Hours of work and not much to show for it.”
“Same here. The Met might want this now.”
“Yeah. Will you send me what else you’ve got and I’ll do the same?”
Fleming nodded and pushed to his feet. When he reached the door, he turned. “Oh, by the way, what was your interest in that car accident in our patch?”
Christ.“The son of the driver is a friend of mine. He was concerned his mother had been targeted.”
“You think she was?” Fleming raised his eyebrows.
“I’m not sure.”
Chapter Sixteen
Cato was in a really good mood even though his arse ached.Vigge.Sex had been…different last night. More fun. More meaningful. More everything. But even better, he wanted to have sex with Vigge again. That never happened. Well, rarely happened, and he usually talked himself out of it. It hadn’t happened since he’d been with Max. Now all he had to do was not wreck things. He sighed.
He was done with work for the day, and grateful the weekly colloquium hadn’t dragged on, probably helped by him not contributing as much as he usually did. Back at the house, he packed the food he’d bought into the car, along with his violins, amp, laptop and overnight bag. On the kitchen table, he left six-packs of Sam Adams, Budweiser and Coors Light, and wrote a note telling Sam and Pedro he was sorry for being a grump, and to pace themselves and not drink all the beer before he got back. Which reminded him he’d still not invited anyone to the party.
Before he forgot again, he fired off texts to several friends. Once he was sitting in his car, he used his pay-as-you-go to call Devan.
“Hi, Cato.”
“Are you back in the north?”
“Yep. We got back a couple of hours ago.”
