The Rain Killer Read Online Free Page B

the bodies around the room as if confused. ‘I wasn’t aware I had anything of interest for you in today.’
    ‘You don’t,’ Sean agreed. ‘I was interested in some people who’ve already passed through your hands. D’you mind if I pick your brains?’
    ‘No,’ Canning answered cautiously. ‘So long as you don’t mind if I keep working.’
    ‘Of course not. Anything interesting?’
    ‘I shouldn’t think so,’ Canning answered. ‘Elderly lady living on her own – died on her own. Looks like a heart attack, but as she wasn’t receiving any ongoing treatment it has to be treated as suspicious until I say different, which I will. Nothing as interesting as our last case.’
    ‘The Sue Evans murder,’ Townsend guessed.
    Sean ignored her. ‘I couldn’t have caught her killer without your help,’ he told Canning.
    ‘Somehow I think you would have,’ Canning replied. Sean just shrugged. ‘So what is it you think I can help you with today, if it isn’t one of my guests?’
    ‘The murdered prostitutes,’ Sean told him.
    ‘I didn’t know you were on that investigation.’
    ‘I am now,’ Sean replied.
    ‘Well,’ Canning asked, ‘what d’you want to know?’
    ‘You did all the postmortems?’ Sean checked.
    ‘I did,’ Canning confirmed. ‘The first victim as she was found in my jurisdiction and after that DI Ramsay ensured all the other victims came here – for continuity.’ Clearly Ramsay was no fool, Sean thought to himself.
    ‘Definitely the same killer?’ Sean asked.
    ‘Definitely,’ Canning insisted.
    ‘Why so sure?’
    ‘The level of violence. The victim type.’
    ‘That can be copied,’ Sean played devil’s advocate. ‘Mimicked.’
    ‘But not the exact cause of death.’
    ‘Go on,’ Sean encouraged him.
    ‘Cause of death was strangulation,’ Canning explained, ‘but there’s more to it than that, although this is all in my reports, if you care to read them.’
    ‘I prefer to talk things through,’ Sean told him.
    ‘Fine,’ Canning said with a slight nod of his head. ‘The point is the strangulation was highly efficient. Whoever did it knew exactly what they were doing. They must have been trained and well-practiced. And they’re strong, extremely strong. I’d be thinking military, or perhaps someone who is an expert in martial arts. The levels of hormones, adrenalin, endorphins, etcetera, show that death was swift.’
    ‘So he kills them with complete efficiency, then takes the time to mutilate their bodies,’ Sean spoke out loud. ‘It’s as if his emotional cycle is the wrong way around.’
    ‘I don’t follow,’ Canning admitted.
    ‘Killers of this type go from a state of rage to a state of calmness,’ Sean explained, ‘but this one seems to go from a state of calmness to a state of rage. Do you think they were raped?’
    ‘As I’ve already stated, it’s difficult to tell,’ Canning answered. ‘All the victims were known prostitutes, so all had signs of recent sexual intercourse, but none had any significant vaginal injuries that would make rape a certainty.’
    ‘So he could have had consensual sex with the victims before he killed them?’ Sean suggested.
    ‘He could have,’ Canning agreed.
    ‘Or he could have been having consensual intercourse with them
while
he was killing them.’
    ‘I suppose so,’ Canning conceded. ‘All of the victims had traces of skin and blood under their fingernails, so we know they tried to fight him off, but whether that was before or after intercourse I couldn’t say.’
    ‘Does any of this matter?’ Townsend broke in. ‘I mean we’ll never be able to prove he raped them, unless he admits to it, so shouldn’t we just concentrate on finding him and pinning him down for the murders?’
    ‘If we want to find him quickly then we need to understand him,’ Sean argued. ‘I need to understand why he does this, not just how he does it.’
    ‘And what d’you understand?’ Townsend asked. ‘What’s any of