50/50 Killer (11 page)

Then I leaned back, considering it.

As Mercer had said, it was too similar to the design today for it to be a coincidence. The same killer was surely responsible for both. So I wondered again about Greg's initial reticence - and also the less vocal reluctance of the rest of the team. Where could that be coming from? Certainly there were differences - some aspects of the older crimes seemed to be missing from the current one - but what had been found was conclusive enough, and I couldn't understand what was bothering everyone so deeply.

Maybe it's not that I'm not convinced. There's just something about this that's making me uneasy
.

I frowned, remembering Greg's words. Then I returned to the file.

At the second crime scene, the 50/50 Killer had closed the front door upon exiting the house, and this became the first real insight into his methods and motives. The Litherlands' door had been left open because they had both died. But one of his second pair of victims was still alive and able to attract attention. The 50/50 Killer wanted his victims to be found.

The Roseneils, twenty-three-year-old newly-weds, had been restrained in the same way as the Litherlands. Daniel Roseneil was gagged during the ordeal and passed out at some point, through pain or terror or both. Upon regaining consciousness, he found the killer gone and his wife lying dead beside him. The killer had removed his gag but left him tied to the bed. Daniel screamed for over an hour before the neighbours broke in.

The Roseneil murder was assigned to Mercer's team before it had been officially tied to the previous case. Under different circumstances, Hunter would have handled both, but Mercer recognised something in the crimes he couldn't shake off, and he petitioned for and won the whole case. I could imagine that wouldn't have gone down too well. But whatever the internal ramifications, from that point on the hunt for the 50/50 Killer belonged to our team.

Again, I skimmed the details.

Julie Roseneil's body displayed similar injuries to Carol Litherland's, in both number and intensity. Extensive cuts and burning; disfigurement of the breasts and genitals; mutilation of the face and head. Like Carol's, Julie's throat had been cut. Daniel Roseneil had been tortured as Bernard Litherland had, but in the end the killer had left him alive.

I clicked through the scene-of-crime photographs, attempting without success to maintain some distance from what I saw. I noted that a similar pattern to the first one had been painted on the wall above the Roseneils' bed. Half dreamcatcher, half occult symbol, the webbing smeared by those little cross-checks.

This was the 50/50 Killer's signature, then, present but subtly different at each of the crime scenes. None of the patterns had ever been identified from books, but it was clearly meaningful and important to him. Whatever his motivations for the murders, these designs played a key role in the underlying pathology.

The photographs concluded with a black-and-white picture from the Roseneils' wedding, taken four months before the attack. They were both standing. Their bodies were facing away from the camera but they had turned back slightly to smile for it, hands held between them. It was hideous in comparison to the other pictures: the ones taken afterwards. They seemed so young and happy; their grip on each other's hands looked good and strong. And then Daniel had regained consciousness to find his dead wife beside him.

There was interview footage in the online file. It was in black-and-white, like the wedding photograph, but that was the only similarity. In these images, Daniel Roseneil's face was bruised and downturned, his body language one big flinch. He didn't look at the camera once. The video reminded me of the Gulf War clips of captured US soldiers forced to make statements, only this was infinitely worse, the injuries far more extensive and disfiguring. Text in the corner of the screen stated that the interview was conducted by Detective Andrew Dyson.

I put in the headphones attached to the monitor.

Dyson: 'Daniel, could you tell us what you remember about the night?'

Daniel Roseneil was looking down and to the left. His features were swollen and ruined. As he spoke, his lips clicked, sticking together slightly.

Roseneil: 'There was a man in the bedroom. I don't know what time it was. I woke up and he had a knife at my throat.'

Dyson: 'Did he say anything?'

Roseneil: 'He was whispering. I think he was reassuring me. But I can't remember exactly what he said.'

Dyson: 'That's fine. Can you remember what happened next?'

Roseneil: 'He had handcuffs. He made me tie Julie up, her hands and her feet. Then he tied me up as well.'

Dyson: 'Then what did he do?'

No response.

Dyson changed tack: 'What did he look like?'

Roseneil: 'He was the Devil.'

A pause.

Dyson: 'The Devil?'

It turned out that the intruder had been wearing a pink rubber demon mask, secured with elastic round his head.

Throughout the ordeal, the man had been calm and controlled. Daniel had kept looking for a moment when he could
do
something to stop what was happening, but the opportunity never came. From the moment Daniel awoke, he was going to end up either cuffed to the bedposts or with his throat cut. The intruder didn't slip up once.

Roseneil: 'A game. He said we were going to play a game.'

Dyson: 'What kind of game? It's okay, Daniel. Take your time.'

Roseneil: 'A game about ... love. He was going to hurt one of us. He said ... he said I had to choose who it was.'

Dyson: 'It's okay.'

Roseneil: 'One of us was going to die and I had to choose. He said I could change my mind, all the way until dawn.'

Dyson: 'Can you remember what happened after that?'

Roseneil (determined): 'I chose me.'

From that point on, his recollections of what had happened became disjointed.

It was understandable. There were flashes and impressions, but the actual memories of being burned or cut were buried too deep. He simply couldn't remember, and any attempt to probe in that direction resulted in a partial shutdown. He didn't recall Julie being tortured, either, or acknowledge the fact that, at some point, he had probably changed his decision, the pain finally becoming too much. When her name was mentioned, he turned further away from the camera, as though even attempting to retrieve that memory was a step too far.

Dyson backed off, and I approved.

They turned the clock back a little. The killer had talked to him a lot. The exact words were lost, but he knew the man had been calm, almost friendly, acting as if he'd known the couple for years. Daniel recalled thinking
How did he know that?
But not what had been said to prompt it.

All this had gone into the notes to follow up - '
Possible acquaintance?
' - but although the subsequent investigation was exhaustive, nobody with any connection to the Roseneils seemed good for it. The team worked that angle hard and got nowhere. For his part, Daniel was convinced he'd never met the man before.

I minimised the interview window and clicked through the file. Simon and Greg had worked up a possible solution to how the killer knew so much about the Roseneils. Just as with the Litherlands, the killer had left the scene as clean as possible, but there was certain activity that he couldn't hide. From dust residues, it looked as though the plug sockets and light fittings had been interfered with and, once again, there was no sign of forced entry. There was also evidence that the killer had spent a certain amount of time in the attic. Initially confusing, those discoveries began to make sense in the light of what Daniel half remembered.

I read through the IT report.

Greg had listed examples of the type of surveillance devices he suspected were being used: microphones and cameras that could be hidden in sockets or left secreted around the house; devices that could intercept emails and passwords; moulds and kits that could be used to model locks and keys. It was frightening how easy it was to acquire them.

The theory was that the killer had gained access to the house long before the murder, and had been watching and studying his victims for some time. Recording their conversations. Spending nights above them in the attic. Living with them, to an extent - perhaps even for many months. He learned their secrets and their lies, and he used his knowledge to hurt them emotionally in addition to inflicting physical pain.

All of it was part of his 'game'. He tortured people to make them abandon the person they loved.

I closed my eyes. Horrific as the murders were, I found I was thinking at least as much about the survivors. About the choice they'd had to make.

I'd die for you, I couldn't live without you - people say those things all the time, but they almost never have to deliver on them. The victims the 50/50 Killer left behind had to face the reality of failing to live up to their words. Despite what they'd told their partners, they hadn't loved them enough, and so now that person was dead. They had chosen themselves.

I opened the photograph of Daniel and Julie Roseneil again, the one from their wedding day. They looked so happy and unaware, the picture full of possibility and promise. It was a reminder that you never know what lies ahead. Most days everything is fine and normal, and then one day it isn't. By its very nature, you don't see it coming. The terrible things that happen in life hit you like a truck out of a side road.

And then back to Daniel Roseneil in the interview footage, with his ruined face and his ruined life. Out of nowhere, his wife was dead and he was alone, and in some ways he was responsible for that. Unhelpful as it was for the investigation, I didn't blame him at all for not remembering what had happened that night. I didn't blame any of them.

There had been two further attacks, both taking place during the following year. The third victims were Dean Carter and Jenny Tomlinson, a couple in their late twenties, and at this scene the killer had reversed his scenario, allowing Jenny to choose who would be tortured and killed. She was badly hurt but survived the night; her boyfriend died in her place. Seven months after that, the 50/50 Killer targeted his fourth victims. Nigel Clark was given the choice. He was hurt so badly that he would never walk again, while Sheila, his wife of over twenty years, was killed.

In each case, the killer's technique was impeccable. There was no sign of forced entry. No useful forensic evidence was ever left behind.

I didn't need to see the photographs of these last murders. Instead, with time pressing, I returned to the main menu and opened two overall summaries. The first dealt with witness impressions; the second was a psychological profile.

In the first, the 50/50 Killer had been reduced to a list of basic attributes. He was white, slightly taller than average, slim but athletic, calm and polite, articulate. He had dark-brown hair. While carrying out the attacks, he didn't seem to enjoy what he was doing - but nor did he find it difficult. The torture was mechanical, done without emotion or pleasure.

It wasn't what we'd expect from this type of killer. In cases like this, the victim is generally an object to fulfil a fantasy or a need. But although sexual assault was involved in the 50/50 Killer's crimes, it seemed to be more part of the tools he worked with - a way to terrorise and hurt - than an end in itself. He appeared calm and dispassionate, mutilating people before killing them and then leaving them alone when they were dead: when the game was over. Any enjoyment he gained from the process was kept well below the surface.

And yet, remembering that terrible hissing sound he'd made, it was clear he was getting something from it.

I turned to the psychological profile, ready to approach any concrete claims with hefty scepticism. But I was surprised. There were more question-marks here - more readily acknowledged guesswork - than anything else. Specifically, there was a reluctance to address the exact nature of the killer's pathology. Why did he do this to people? He used torture and pain to manipulate them, forcing them to betray their partners. What was he getting out of it? Each speculation met a contradiction. The report confined itself largely to more general assumptions, instead, and I settled into the familiarity of these.

He was likely to be over twenty-five years old, because the sophistication of the crimes suggested an older, more experienced offender. He would certainly be of above-average intelligence, but would lack anything that a normal person would think of as an emotional life. Given the cost of the surveillance equipment, he probably had money, and he was mobile but not transient. A white van, never identified, had been seen in the vicinity of two of the scenes, and the equipment he used would certainly be easier to transport and monitor from a van. Plus, a tradesman parked up was less likely to arouse suspicion.

Both his financial stability and his age made it likely he functioned adequately in society - that like Jacob Barrett he was successful at masking his true nature. But any relationships he held down would be a front. His real life happened in other people's homes at night, and the pursuit of that would be constantly occupying him behind the facade. Friends and acquaintances would be casual at best, and were likely to have worries or concerns about him. It was suggested that he might be fascinated by weapons, and might own or have read books on torture, police techniques and the military.

And so on.

I couldn't find anything I disagreed with, but none of it was written with anything like the usual confidence. There was something about this man and his crimes that precluded definite statements. Nothing could be taken for granted, and perhaps at the heart of it lay the devil mask he wore. Nobody would say it, but the ease with which he operated, the methods he used, the carnage and ruin he left behind ... Well, it was stupid, but you couldn't help but think.

'He was the Devil,' Daniel Roseneil had said.

And of course he wasn't. There was no such thing. But nevertheless everything in the profile read as guesswork. Tentative ideas that circled a black hole, afraid to touch.