‘So, all of these details tying Billy to the murders, they’re related to his job,’ Pip said. ‘What’s the name of the company he worked for?’
Too late. Just asking it meant it was already too late for her. That, on some level, she must think it possible, that she might not be speaking to the mother of the DT Killer at all.
‘Yes, that is where the connections seem to come from,’ Maria said, voice even faster now, more excitable. ‘The company is called Green Scene Limited. Scene, not like eyes, like the kind in a film.’
‘Got it, thanks,’ Pip said, writing the name of the company at the bottom of her page. She tilted her head, studied the words from another angle. She thought she recognized the name. From where, though? Well, if the company operated nearby, she’d probably seen its logo on vans driving through Kilton.
‘And how long had Billy worked there?’ Pip asked, as she swiped her finger across her laptop’s trackpad, the screen springing back to life. She typed in Green Scene Ltd Buckinghamshire and hit enter.
‘Since 2007, it was.’
The first result was the company’s website and, yes, Pip did recognize the cone-shaped tree of its logo. An image she knew, that already existed in her brain somewhere. But why? The home page told her about Green Scene’s specialist and awardwinning grounds maintenance services with a slideshow of photos. Lower down the page was a link to another site, its sister company Clean Scene Ltd which offered cleaning services for offices, housing associations and more.
‘Hello?’ Maria said tentatively, breaking the silence, and Pip had almost forgotten she was even there.
‘Sorry, Maria,’ she said, scratching her eyebrow. ‘For some reason, I recognize the company’s name. And I can’t figure out why.’
Pip clicked on the menu item labelled Our Team.
‘Oh, I know why you’ll recognize it, darling,’ Maria said. ‘It’s because the –’
But the page loaded, and the answer was there in front of her, before Maria could say it. A grinning photo of a suited man at the top, introducing the Managing Director and Owner of Green Scene and Clean Scene Ltd.
It was Jason Bell.
‘It’s Jason Bell’s company,’ Pip said on an outward breath, the pieces connecting in her head. Yes, that was it. That’s how she knew it.
‘Yes, dear,’ Maria said softly. ‘Andie Bell’s father, and of course you know all about Andie Bell. We all do now, because of your podcast. Poor Mr Bell was going through his own unthinkable tragedy around the same time.’
Exactly the same time, Pip thought: Andie died on the same night Tara Yates was murdered. And here, Andie had come up yet again, back from the dead. Billy Karras worked at Jason Bell’s company, and his connection to the DT killings in each case was also tied to his job.
If Pip had to admit it to herself, right here, right now, that there was even the faintest possibility Billy Karras was innocent – that there might be a wrong man and a right man – Green Scene Ltd was where she should look first. If this were a case with no other complications, no ties to her, no dead pigeons or stick figures on her doorway, that would be her first step. And yet, that step seemed so much harder this time, so much heavier.
‘Maria,’ Pip said, her voice rough and gravelly. ‘Just one last thing. After Billy was arrested, the killings stopped. How do you explain that?’
‘As I said, I’ve learned a lot about serial killers in the last few years,’ she said. ‘And one thing most people don’t realize is that sometimes serial killers just stop. Sometimes they age out, or they have life events going on that mean they don’t have the urge, or the time any more. Say a new relationship, or maybe the birth of a child. So, maybe that’s what happened here. Or maybe the killer saw an easy way out, after Billy’s arrest.’
Pip’s pen dragged to a stop, her mind too full. ‘Maria, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today. This has all been very –’ don’t say helpful, don’t say terrifying - ‘interesting,’ she said.
‘Oh, darling, please, thank you for taking the time,’ Maria sniffed. ‘There’s no one I can talk to about this, no one who listens, so thank you for that. Even if it goes no further, I understand, darling. You know how hard it is to appeal a conviction once it is made? It is almost hopeless, we know this. But Billy will be so touched to even know you reached out. And I will get right on to scanning the transcript of Billy’s interview, so you can see for yourself.’