Lizzie scrolls to the top of the message trail. The most recent messages are dated the day Kristen Altman died.
Kristen had written:
I need more
$10k at least
And the answer came back:
I don’t have that
Find it
I can’t give you any more I told you already
Whatever
I’ll tell the cops
Don’t
But I can’t keep paying Give me $10k
Then we’re done
$10k and it’s over?
Yeah
Where/when?
Usual place
Manatee Park by the lap pool
1am
Ok
After this no more
I mean it
Moira feels the adrenaline building inside her. She looks at Lizzie. Her eyes are bright. The upset of a few minutes ago gone. They’re close to the truth and they both know it. The person Kristen was messaging – blackmailing – could be her killer.
‘Should we call the number?’ says Lizzie.
Moira shakes her head. ‘Not yet. Let’s see some more.’
Taking the phone from Lizzie, Moira scrolls up through the trail of messages. She finds the first contact between Kristen and the unlabelled number. The first message was sent by Kristen a few weeks ago: I saw what you did
Who is this?
I saw you.
Who is this?
How did you get my number?
I have proof
Proof of what?
You’re a thief
What??
I have proof
Give me $2k
Or I’ll tell the cops No
This change your mind?
Beneath the message is a photo. The image is grainy, obviously taken at night, but it’s clear enough. It shows a man climbing over a high wall. He’s coming from inside a backyard towards the street, the picture capturing him in the moment he swings his legs over the top. There’s a large, heavy-looking carryall over his shoulder and he’s dressed in dark colours including gloves. But his balaclava has got pushed up and you can clearly make out his face.
Lizzie gasps. ‘That’s Donald Ettwood.’
Moira turns to Lizzie. ‘You know him?’
‘He’s a member of the community watch. Moved here about six months ago. Keeps himself to himself really – not one for sports and socials – but Philip seemed to think he was okay.’
Moira looks at the man in the picture again. He’s medium build, looks fairly tall – he could be the man she saw up on the Wild Ridge Trail, and at the CCTV office. And even if it’s not the same guy, the photo is evidence that he’s the burglar, or at least, if there were more than one person involved, that he took part in the burglaries. The message trail shows Kristen sent the picture and was extorting money from Donald, and they’d arranged to meet at the pool in Manatee Park on the night she died. Money is one of the oldest murder motives in the book. It all adds up to making Donald Ettwood prime suspect for her murder. ‘We need to—’
‘When Kristen first messaged Donald he didn’t seem to know her,’ says Lizzie, taking the phone from Moira and scrolling up to the start of the message trail again. ‘So how did she know the man she took a picture of was Donald? And then how did she get his number?’