The Janus Project (ONC 2020 - LGBTQ)

17. Progress

Ash returned to the police station late in the afternoon, after a long, frustrating day of interviewing Jenkins' neighbours and the small group of people who were his friends. None of them had been able to shed any light on the matter, all of them expressing horrified disbelief at the thought that someone would want to kill him.

"Mr Jenkins? I didn't know him well, just to say 'Good morning' to, you understand, but the last person I'd have thought would be murdered in such a brutal way!"

"Such a quiet, well-mannered man, hard to believe he had an enemy in the world."

Ash had no sooner entered the station, when the constable behind the desk told him a young man had called for him earlier, and seemed disappointed when told Ash was not available. He'd left an envelope for him.

Hoping for the promised imagegram, Ash picked up the envelope eagerly and took out the contents. There was a piece of paper giving a more detailed description of Lee Fuller, as he was called. Apparently at his last physical examination, the Butcher weighed fourteen stone and was five foot ten inches tall. Brown hair, brown eyes, as Kai had said. He had no tattoos or distinguishing marks.

Nothing there, that would make him particularly memorable.

Ash put that to one side and picked up the two imagegrams. They were identical, which was odd, but more importantly, they showed a face looking directly at the camera, the features clear and detailed. The face showed no expression, as if the inhabitant was elsewhere. It gave Ash the chills.

And Ash knew he'd seen that face before. Imagine some black rimmed glasses around the eyes, the hair brushed in a different style—grown out from the prison cut—and he was looking at Jenkins' colleague, Keith Miller.

"Got you!" said Ash softly. As Fuller was an escaped prisoner, he could pick him up immediately. No need for further evidence or a warrant. And with Fuller back in jail, and off the streets, Ash would be able to investigate Jenkins' murder at his leisure.

However, he couldn't afford to mess this up. He should confirm with the prison that Fuller had escaped from custody. So far, he really only had Kai's word for it...

A tendril of unease unfurled in the pit of Ash's stomach. He couldn't remember seeing any prison details on the paper Kai had provided. He picked the paper up and read the description again, turning the sheet over to check the other side but the only information was about Fuller. No prison letterhead. No name or address of the prison supposedly involved.

True, it read like a prison report and the imagegram had Fuller holding up a number but... other than that, there was nothing to support Kai's story, nothing to say Kai hadn't made the whole thing up. Written it himself.

Ash stared at the imagegram again, Fuller's expression—or lack of it—wasn't evidence but it gave him pause. If it wasn't for that, he thought he would have chucked the whole thing straight in the bin. He took a deep breath and made his mind go back to his interview with Miller. Relived his odd, jumpy, manner at the start of the interview... Compared his subsequent nervous, self-effacing behaviour to the hard, impassive face of the man shown in the imagegram...

Ash put the documents back into the envelope, realising that he'd come to a decision without being aware of it. First, he'd give Kai the benefit of the doubt and send a runner to each of the prisons in Londa, there were only two and it wouldn't take long. If Kai had told him the truth, it would speed the process up considerably, but in any case, he was going to refocus the investigation on Miller.

Every instinct told him he was looking at the face of a murderer.

Ash was disappointed, though hardly surprised, when both runners eventually returned to report that neither prison had a record of Lee Fuller, escaped or otherwise.

However, now he was faced with a dilemma, should he broaden his investigations of the Butcher to include Kai?

~~~

Meanwhile, Kai was facing his own dilemma. He was happy enough to leave the hunt for the Butcher in Ash's capable hands for the moment, but he couldn't help worrying about Kayden and the other Prototype, John Hargrave. He was convinced one or the other would be the Butcher's next target. He would never forgive himself, if the Butcher got to one of them first. Surely it was his responsibility to warn the two men, though what could he possibly say that would make any sense to them? He would probably sound crazy, but he had to try.

Kai hailed a steam carriage to take him to Hargrave's address on the other side of Londa. He was still trying to decide exactly what to say when he reached his destination. He got out and crossed over to the terraced building. He knocked on the door and waited. And waited. He knocked again, loudly. His heart began to pound. Surely he wasn't too late already?

The door of the house next door opened and a woman peered out.

"There's no point making all that noise. There's no-one home," she announced, crossly.

"I'm looking for Mr John Hargrave," Kai told her, his heart returning to its normal speed. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"They've gone away," she said with a sour satisfaction. "Visiting her mother up in Mancha."

"Hargrave is married, then?"

"These ten years, and two little ones to show for it."

"Do you know when they'll be back?"

"Not for a couple of weeks, at least."

"Excellent!" said Kai, beaming. "Thank you!"

She peered at him suspiciously. "And don't think you can come back here some night and break in to the house while they're away! My husband and I keep an eye on the place and we are light sleepers."

Kai bowed. "I wouldn't dream of it. Thank you for your assistance, my good woman."

She sniffed disparagingly. "Cheeky!"

Kai bowed again, and walked down the street, watched all the way to the corner by the suspicious neighbour.

That was great news! Hargrave and his family should be safe enough up in Mancha. By the time they returned in a couple of weeks, the Butcher should be back under lock and key. Now, to catch another steam carriage, and make his way to Kayden's house.

This was going to be interesting!