Peter Diamond - 09 - The Secret Hangman by Peter Lovesey Read Free Book Online

said. ‘Do you have a 317?’
    ‘We do indeed.’
    ‘And would your computer tell us who has been staying in there over the last few days? It could be important,’ he added.
    She got them a printout.
    There were five names. The fourth was Dalton Monnington.
    Diamond exchanged a look with Halliwell.
    ‘Would you have this one’s address?’
    Jenny used the keyboard. Dalton Monnington was from Wimbledon. He’d stayed one night at the hotel and paid with a voucher from a travel agent.
    ‘You wouldn’t happen to remember him?’ Diamond said, and this was the moment when she proved herself a star.
    She must have dealt with scores of guests, but she had perfect recall of this one. ‘Quiet, black hair and brown eyes, mid-twenties, average height, dark grey suit, white shirt and striped tie. He carried a biggish case, the kind reps have for their samples, and a sports bag for his clothes.’
    ‘You spoke to him?’
    ‘Twice about the parking. And later he asked for a city map and I gave him one.’
    ‘You didn’t register him?’
    ‘No, that was someone else.’
    ‘He stayed Tuesday night, right?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And went out to eat? Well, we know he did. Would you remember what time he came in?’
    ‘No, I knocked off early. And you don’t see all the comings and goings from here, especially if guests don’t want to be seen.’
    He showed her the picture of Delia. ‘Have you seen this woman at all?’
    She glanced at it, then shook her head. ‘Sorry.’
    ‘You don’t have to be sorry, Jenny,’ he said, picking up the photo and the matches. ‘You cracked the puzzle.’

5
    D C Paul Gilbert, the latest member of the murder squad, had transferred from headquarters a month ago. He was still in awe of Peter Diamond.
    ‘Tell him,’ Keith Halliwell said.
    ‘Should I? It’s only a suggestion.’
    ‘Save it for the briefing, then. Let him say his piece and then bring it up.’
    And now the opportunity was imminent. It was Saturday morning and Diamond was holding forth to the team, dramatising the crime to get total attention. ‘He strangles her. We don’t know where. Possibly in a hotel or his home, wherever that is. Then he has to dispose of the body. He could dump it in the woods, bury it, dismember it. He does none of these things. He transports it to a public park and hangs it on a swing where everyone will see it. What kind of nutcase is this?’
    He seemed to be waiting for an answer. The older hands said nothing.
    DC Gilbert glanced towards Halliwell, but there was a shake of the head. This was not the moment.
    It was Ingeborg who piped up with, ‘A publicity seeker?’
    ‘You mean with a stunt like that he’s sure to make the papers. You’re the expert.’
    ‘If he’d buried her, like you just said, nobody would hear about it.’
    There was some amusement at this, but not from Diamond.
    ‘All right, let’s say he wants the world to know about his crime. What’s it about – his ego? Am I going to have to bring in one of these profilers?’ The way he said the last word showed what he thought of the science of offender profiling.
    Halliwell said, ‘There’s got to be some reason for taking a risk like that, stringing her up in the park.’
    From the back of the room DI John Leaman said, ‘He was trying to pass it off as suicide.’
    ‘We’ve been over that,’ Halliwell said. ‘Any fool knows a hanging leaves a different mark.’
    ‘Hold on,’ Leaman said. ‘Who are we dealing with here? Not you or me. Anyone in this room would think it a dumb idea, but this is a guy who just killed someone and is stuck with a body. He’s in deep trouble. He’s not trained in forensics. He’s not thinking straight. All he wants is to get rid of that body without being found out. Rigging up a suicide could have seemed like a brilliant plan.’
    ‘You’re saying he did this in the heat of the moment?’
    ‘Well, if killing someone isn’t a hot moment, I don’t know what is.’
    More amusement