Pip had been scribbling as Maria spoke, her words slanted, letters trampling each other in her haste to get it all down. She realized Maria had stopped, was waiting for her to speak.
‘Sorry,’ Pip said. ‘So, other than the confession, what evidence did the police have that made them think Billy is DT?’
‘Well, there were a few things,’ Maria said, and Pip could hear shuffling down her end, as though Maria were flicking through papers. ‘The main one was that Billy was the person who found Tara Yates, the final victim.’
‘He found her body?’ Pip asked. She vaguely remembered that now, from one of the podcasts she’d listened to, remembered how they’d framed it as the big twist.
‘Yes. He found her like that. Tape around her ankles and wrists, wrapped around her face. I couldn’t ever imagine seeing another human being like that. It was at work, where he found her. Billy worked for a grounds maintenance company: cutting lawns, trimming hedges, picking up rubbish, that sort of thing. It was early in the morning, and Billy was on the grounds of a manor house, one of his company’s sites, cutting the grass. He spotted Tara in the trees around the edge of the site.’ She cleared her throat. ‘And Billy… well, the first thing he does is run over to her. He thought she might still be alive, couldn’t see her face, you see. He shouldn’t have gone over, should have left her there and called the police straight away. But that’s not what Billy did.’
Maria trailed off.
‘What did he do?’ Pip prompted her.
‘He tried to help her,’ Maria exhaled. ‘He thought the tape on her face was keeping her from breathing, so he started to unwrap it. Touching her and the tape with his bare hands. Then when he realized that she wasn’t breathing anyway, he attempted CPR, but he didn’t know what he was doing, had never learned what to do.’ A small cough. ‘He knew he needed help, so he ran back to the manor and told one of the employees to call the police, to come help him. He had his mobile on him, he just forgot about it in the moment. I guess maybe he was in shock? I don’t know what that does to you, seeing another person like that.’
Pip knew exactly what it did to you, though she could never try to explain it.
‘So, the result of that,’ Maria continued, ‘was that Billy’s DNA, his sweat and saliva, were all over poor Tara. And his fingerprints. Silly boy,’ she said quietly.
‘But the police would have known that was from him discovering the body, trying to save Tara, even if he didn’t realize it was too late and he was only contaminating the scene.’
‘Yes, well, maybe that’s what they believed initially. But, you know, I’ve done a lot of research into serial killers these last few years. I would even go as far to say I am an expert in them now. And with this kind of criminal – DT – it is very common that the killer would try to insert himself into the police investigation somehow. Calling in with ideas or tips, or offering to help in search parties, that sort of thing, even trying to get information to see how safe they are from suspicion. That’s what the police thought this was, eventually. Billy inserting himself into the investigation by discovering Tara’s body, to appear helpful, innocent. Or maybe to cover himself in case he had left any DNA on her while committing the murder.’ Maria sighed. ‘You see now, how everything is twisted to fit the story?’
With a sinking feeling in her gut, Pip realized she had just nodded. No, what was she doing? She didn’t want it to go this way, because if there was a chance Billy was innocent, then… fuck, oh fuck.
Luckily Maria had resumed talking, and Pip didn’t have to listen to the voice in her head any more.
‘Maybe this would have been OK, on its own,’ she said, ‘but there were other details that tied Billy into this whole mess. He knew one of the victims. Bethany Ingham, number three, she was his supervisor at work. He was very sad after he learned about her death, said she was always so nice to him. And the first victim, Phillipa Brockfield, her body was found on a golf course in Beaconsfield. It was another site that had a contract with the company Billy worked at, and Billy was on the team assigned there. His work van was seen driving to the golf course on the same morning Phillipa’s body was left there but, of course, he was just driving to work. And the duct tape… well, it was the exact same kind Billy had access to at work, so…’
Pip could feel that part of her awakening, the spark in her brain, questions rolling over each other, gathering speed. The world slowing as her mind picked up, double pace. She shouldn’t, she knew what this path meant for her, but she couldn’t stop it, and one of the questions came loose.