checked and rechecked every interview that had been compiled during the
original investigation. From his own memory he pulled out the visit to
the house in the hills with Emma, making his own notes from her
descriptions and recollections,
From his father's meticulous investigation and Emma's recollections, he
was able to re-create, in his mind, the night of Darren's death.
Music. He imagined Beaties, Stones, Joplin, the Doors.
Drugs. Everything from grass to LSD cheerfully shared.
Shop talk, party talk, gossip. Laughter and intense political
discussions. Vietnam, Nixon, women's liberation.
People coming and going. Some invited, some just showing up. No one
questioning unfamiliar faces. Formal invitations had been for the
establishment. Peace, love, and communal living the order of the day.
It sounded nice enough, but for a cop in the first year of the nineties,
it was frustrating.
He had the guest list his father had compiled. It was, of course,
woefully inadequate, but a place to start. Playing a hunch, he spent
days verifying the whereabouts on the night of Jane Palmer's death of
every name on the list. He'd turned up sixteen people who had been in
London, including all four members of Devastation, their manager, and
Bev McAvoy. Michael ignored his tendency to cross them off, and spent
several more days checking alibis.
His printout now had twelve names. He liked to think if there was
indeed a connection between two murders, twenty years apart, it was on
that list.
"It gives us something to work with," Michael said. He leaned over his
father's shoulder so that they could both study the printout. "I
want to dig a little deeper, find any and all of the connections between
these twelve people and Jane Palmer."
"You've got the McAvoys on the list. You don't think they killed their
own son?"
"No. It's the connection." He pulled over a file and opened it. He had
a list of names connected with broken lines. It resembled a family --e,
headed by Bev, Brian, and Jane. Below were Emma's and Darren's names.
"I've been hooking them up, using interviews and file information. Take
Johnno." Michael slid his finger down. "He's Brian's oldest friend, his
writing partner. They formed the group together. He remained friends
with Bev during her long estrangement from Brian. He also knew Jane the
longest."
"Motive?"
"Money or revenge is all we've got," Michael went on. "We can easily
apply both of those to Jane Palmer, but it's a stretch for anyone else
on the list. Blackpool." Michael moved his finger down. "He was more
of a hanger-on at the time Darren was killed. His big break came
several months later when he recorded a song Brian and Johnno had
written. And Pete Page became his manager." He ran his finger over the
lines connecting Blackpool with Brian, Johnno, Pete, and Emma.
"No connection with Palmer?" Lou asked.
"I haven't found one yet."
With a nod, Lou leaned back. "There are several names on your list that