The Dark Web Murders

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Thursday, 23rd August. Early evening 

"Our conversation is hardly over, Edgar," Sheehan said, still hoping to keep Doran talking. "I've been completely open with you about my deductions, but I still have a lot of questions. What was your motive for the killings, for example? I mean, you know that we had ourselves tied up in knots searching for a Club connection that didn't exist, but I have only just realised that the victims are connected by some sort of jury trial. Neeson would have been the presiding judge. Stevens, I would guess, was the prosecuting barrister. And Redmond would have been the jury foreman. But I can't see what connection McStravick might have had with the others, and no clear motive springs out at me." 

Doran eyed him contemptuously. "If you're stalling for time, I can assure you, Chief Inspector, help is not on its way. And regarding your feeble attempts to identify my motivation, it is of no consequence to me whether or not your puny intellect is satisfied. I now have other matters to attend to—" He paused, offering Sheehan a sardonic stare. "—matters that will require your involvement and your complete attention." 

"But what about the blackmailer?" Sheehan urged, almost desperately. "There's a mystery there." He sought to appeal to the psychopath's ego. "Surely it would please you to rub my nose in the stupid way I allowed you to pull the wool over my eyes with that clever ploy? I mean, there was no sign of him on the parking garage CCTV footage. Indeed, you claimed that you were there but there was no sign of you on the footage either. I have to say, I found that very odd. And then the so-called blackmailer seemed to disappear off the scene altogether after the first murder. Was there a blackmailer at all, or was he a figment of your fiendish imagination?"

 Doran's expression didn't change but his stillness made it clear that his vanity was vying with his desire to proceed with business. "Oh, there was a blackmailer all right," he said eventually. "It's just that the blackmailer was me. When you started asking questions, I simply gave you the same story I gave the judge. Of course I wasn't on the CCTV footage. I didn't actually act out the scenario I gave the judge. It was a small ruse, but it had you chasing your tail. That was satisfying." 

"I'm sure. But why were you blackmailing the judge?" 

"The first obvious reason is that I needed a lot of money to pay for the investigation I had to conduct in order to identify all the actors in my revenge saga. That was a costly process, and not just investigative costs. I had to offer several bribes to unsavoury characters before I was finally led to the truth." He offered the detective a mirthless grin. "So, you see, the judge's regular contributions to my cash flow were extremely useful." 

He reached out and checked the tightness of the ties on Sheehan's wrists, scarcely aware that he was doing so. He stepped back and continued to speak, "But I also wanted the judge running scared so that I would have easy access to his house late at night when the time came to consummate his demise. That would give me time to execute him and clean up afterwards. Obviously, his holding that party at his house was a bonus I couldn't ignore. I chose that night to ensure that suspicion fell on everyone but me." 

"You played your part very well," Sheehan said. "Self-effacing, timid, helpful." 

"Easy when you have considerable intellect and are in full control of your emotions." 

"It also helps if you're a psychopath," Sheehan said dryly. 

Doran eyes glittered as he stared at the detective. "I can always change my mind and kill you, too." 

"You knew about the second safe, didn't you?" 

"Of course. Who do you think fixed it for your blundering forensics officer to trip over?"