Free Perfect Intentions: Sometimes justice is above the law by Leona Turner Page B

newfound celebrity status, and it hadn’t yet dawned on him that the sooner this case was solved, which Henson himself wanted to happen, his enraptured audience would disappear, along with any ‘glory’ that had accompanied it. Henson would be back at the bottom of the pecking order, but this time instead of being disliked by his peers, he would be ridiculed. Henson was starting to act as if he was the star in his very own detective show. Well, he was going to have to start realising sooner rather than later that television dramas were not a mirror to the real world. As far as Holt was concerned, this story was going to end, and it wasn’t going to get a second season.
    Loretta opened the door to a very weary-looking Jimmy Holt.
    “Jimmy, come in.”
    Holt did as he was bid.
    “Have you had any news on the first victim’s identity yet?”
    “ No, I’ve got people trawling through the missing persons file as we speak.”
    “ What about Matt Reynolds? Do you know why he was targeted?”
    “ Well, not really; all we know is that he had a slightly chequered past as far as his relationships were concerned. He had been arrested for domestic abuse; we spoke to an ex of his, and apparently he was, shall we say, a difficult man to live with.”
    Loretta nodded at this. She still wasn ’t sure how much she could trust Holt as far as her patient files were concerned, and as he’d found out about Matt’s questionable personal life, she didn’t feel she needed to break a confidence.
    “ Although…” Holt leant towards Loretta for emphasis.
    “ We think his past may have had something to do with his selection.”
    “ What makes you say that?” Loretta rose to the bait as was expected.
    “ Part of his heart had been removed.”
    “ I didn’t read about that in the papers.”
    “ Well, you wouldn’t; we didn’t release it. The press are hysterical enough at the moment.”
    “ What do you mean ‘part’ of the heart?”
    “ Well, whoever did it certainly wasn’t an expert. It had been hacked at using whatever tools they’d found in the toolbox.”
    “Was the heart removed from the scene ? Is it a trophy?”
    “ No, it was found a bin in the corner of the room, in the chest cavity where it had been there was a note, the note read ‘heartless’. According to Dennis Grant—that’s our coroner—Matt had been dispatched with the drill and the heart had been removed post mortem.’
    Loretta looked amazed for a moment.
    “Heartless. The killer felt that as he hadn’t used it during his life, he had no need for it in the next.”
    “ And again, the scene was set to make it look as if escape had been a possibility. There was an alarm clock on the table next to the chair that Matt had been taped to. The door keys were found just behind it, obscured from view of whoever was in the chair. While Matt was secured in the chair, it appears he had two holes drilled through his ankles. The tape had then been deliberately cut away, and he had attempted to drag himself to the door. He made it, as well; his fingerprints along with his blood were found on the door handle. But the door was locked, and I imagine that’s when his time was up. The alarm was set for nine thirty, and that pretty much sits exactly in the estimated time of death bracket.”
    Loretta took a minute to digest what had been said.
    “You know, I’m not so sure about the ‘possibility of escape’ thing. I think it may go deeper than we think.”
    “ How do you mean?”
    “ Well, it’s a bit tenuous, isn’t it? Almost as if it’s been thrown in.”
    “ I thought we agreed that the killer was organised.”
    “ Yes, but I don’t know. It’s starting to feel a little like it’s been put in to distract us—sorry, I mean you.”
    “ But you’re the one who brought it to my attention.”
    “ Yes, but now I’m not so sure. It’s quite clumsy, and I’m starting to think the whole idea of a possible escape may not be a part of the ritual of