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A
t eight o’clock on Sunday morning the hunt for Danny Cain went national.

A hastily arranged press conference was held at the central police station in Southampton. Temple sat alongside Superintendant Priest at a table at one end of the room facing an audience of about twenty reporters, photographers and TV camera operators. In front of them were foldaway boards emblazoned with the Hampshire police logo.

Priest kicked off the proceedings by confirming the identity of the man found dead in his home in the New Forest. He didn’t have to mention that Vince Mayo had been the boyfriend of his only daughter. Most of the reporters already knew it. After a brief summary he held up a photograph of Danny Cain that had been taken from his house.

‘This is the man we want to question in connection with the murder,’ Priest said. ‘His name is Danny Cain. He’s a freelance
journalist
based here in Southampton and was, as you may already know, the victim’s business partner. We believe he is with his wife and six year old daughter and we’re very concerned about their safety. It is imperative that we find this man as soon as possible.’

Cain’s photo and those of Maggie and Laura Cain had already been issued to the press and broadcast news outlets. Now they were going to make public CCTV footage that had been obtained in the last few hours.

Priest indicated the large TV monitor on a stand to his left. Angel stood next to it holding the remote.

‘There are two short sequences,’ he announced. ‘The first shows a man we believe to be Danny Cain being attacked by two youths in Southampton city centre. The second was recorded about half an hour later in another part of town. This sequence appears to show the victim getting his own back by viciously attacking the two youths with an iron bar. We are taking the unusual step of releasing this footage because we fear that Danny Cain poses a serious threat to other people and we need the public’s help in finding him.’

Priest gave the cue for Angel to run the tape.

Temple watched the black-and-white images for the third time that morning and still he could not believe his eyes.

As luck would have it there were several CCTV cameras trained on the Bargate, one of them, mounted on a building just yards away, had captured in graphic detail the attack on Cain. It appeared to be unprovoked. The tape showed him walking into the archway whilst looking at his phone. Less than a minute later he reappeared and that was when the youths jumped him. It was a classic mugging. They punched and kicked him and made off after taking something from his pocket.

The camera dwelt on Cain as he struggled to his feet and
staggered
out of shot. By the time police arrived at the scene he was gone. Only to appear later in St Mary’s. There the pictures were not as clear because they were from a private security camera mounted on top of a pole at the entrance to the flats. The action was very much in the background, but once the youths had confirmed that it was the same man they’d jumped earlier it was easy to see the resemblance.

Cain attacked the pair suddenly and savagely after running up behind them. He wielded the iron bar with brutal force, striking the two youths about their heads and bodies. It was no wonder their
injuries included a broken nose, a fractured cheekbone and three lost teeth.

As the audience reacted to the footage with predictable surprise Temple wondered yet again what had possessed Cain to do it. The youths had not owned up to the Bargate attack until they were confronted with the evidence by the officer who went to see them. Then they said they had attacked Cain because he had – in their words – ‘annoyed them’ by not answering his phone.

They were drunk, they said, and just lost their cool. Having stolen his phone and wallet they made off, believing they would never see him again.

Temple wondered how Cain had managed to find them so quickly? Was it pure chance or had he followed them from the Bargate?

But there were other more pertinent questions that needed answering. Like, what he was doing wandering around the city centre in the first place, having run away from his house? Was he looking for his wife and daughter perhaps? And why did he feel compelled to go after the youths? Was it to get revenge or was it because he was desperate to retrieve his phone?

It was strange behaviour, but Temple wasn’t sure how much to read into it. Cain was hardly likely to act normal if he had just murdered his best friend. But even so there was something about the sequence of events that troubled him.

‘I suggest you field the questions, Jeff,’ Priest said, jerking Temple out of his reverie.

The tape had finished and the Q&A session began.

Do you have reason to believe that Cain might kill his wife and daughter?

What evidence links Cain to Mayo’s murder?

Are you looking for anyone else in connection with the killing?

Do you know if Cain and Mayo were working on another exposé about police corruption?

Some of the local reporters knew Danny Cain and Vince Mayo personally. They had worked with them over the years. They found it hard to believe that the man they knew and liked had turned into a homicidal maniac. They were all aware, too, that the pair had
enemies within the police, amongst them some of the detectives charged with finding Mayo’s killer. Luckily none of them chose to pursue this aspect. They’d probably store it up for later when they were looking for a fresh angle.

‘I must stress that Danny Cain has not been convicted of any crime,’ Temple said. ‘We want to question him about a murder and because of the circumstances we feel it necessary to name him.’

In truth the team were now convinced of Cain’s guilt. In the past few hours they had received confirmation that Mayo’s blood type matched the stain found on Cain’s shoes and in his car. DNA tests were now being carried out. In addition they had found a carving knife in the kitchen sink at the cottage. It wasn’t the murder weapon, of course, but the prints on it matched those belonging to Cain. So perhaps he had threatened Mayo with it before beating him to death.

But the real clincher for Temple and Priest was something that had been discovered by the officers who examined Mayo’s mobile phone. There were a series of text messages that revealed what had presumably been a closely guarded secret.

If Cain had discovered that secret then he would have had a strong motive for killing his friend and partner.

‘It’s me, hon. Danny’s going to London on Monday to see the editor of the
Mirror.
But of course you know that. Can we get together early afternoon at your place? Call me.’

‘It’s me. I tried calling earlier but your phone was off. Let’s meet in the usual place at lunchtime. I’m in the mood for some car sex in the forest.’

Those were two out of five voice messages that Vince Mayo had for some reason saved on his phone. They had come from Maggie Cain’s mobile so it was reasonable for Temple to assume that it was her voice.

The service providers for both their mobile phones had also emailed a full list of text messages they had exchanged. Most were of an intimate nature. Lots of kisses. Talking about what they had done to each other and what they wanted to do the next time they met up.

It was clear that Mrs Cain had been conducting an illicit affair
with her husband’s partner for at least five months. But the last exchange of text messages between the two suggested to Temple that Cain might have got wind of what was going on.

Mayo to Mrs Cain: ‘
Are you sure that Danny doesn’t know about us?’

Mrs Cain to Mayo:
‘Positive. Why?’

Mayo to Mrs Cain:
‘I think I’m being stalked. Jennifer saw a guy in the woods behind the cottage yesterday afternoon. He was watching the house and had binos.’

Mrs Cain to Mayo:
‘Danny was with me.’

Mayo to Mrs Cain:
‘So maybe he’s hired a private detective.’

Mrs Cain to Mayo:
‘You’re getting paranoid, Vince. First the man with the camera and now this.’

Mayo to Mrs Cain:
‘I told you the guy took a pic of us in the car. I saw him with my own eyes. And, just like the man behind the cottage, he was wearing a sheepskin coat.’

Mrs Cain to Mayo:
‘We were parked in the forest, Vince. He was probably snapping the wildlife. I told you.’

Mayo to Mrs Cain:
‘
I’m still worried. If it has nothing to do with Danny then what’s going on?’

Mrs Cain to Mayo:
‘Let’s meet tomorrow. Call me from the office when you get the chance.’

That final exchange had taken place a week ago. There were no text messages between the pair after that.

Temple was in Priest’s office discussing the messages and their significance. They had not been mentioned at the press conference, but in terms of the investigation they were an explosive development.

But on a personal level Priest was shocked that Mayo had been cheating on his daughter.

‘If the bastard wasn’t dead already I’d probably kill him myself,’ he fumed. ‘This is just what my daughter doesn’t need at the moment.’

‘You don’t think Jennifer suspected that Mayo was being unfaithful?’ Temple asked tentatively.

Priest shook his head. ‘No way. She would have told me. I’m sure of it. And even if she hadn’t I would have sensed in her mood and behaviour that something was wrong.’

‘We’ll have to tell her, sir. Do you want me to do it or do you want to?’

‘Of course I’ll tell her. She’s going to be inconsolable.’ Priest sat back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. His rugged features were taut and sallow. He seemed to have aged ten years in as many hours.

‘Well, at least we have our motive now,’ he said. ‘Cain found out about the affair and went to the cottage to confront Mayo. Something was probably said in that last phone call Mayo made to the Cain house.’

‘Maybe his wife confessed and he got straight on the blower to confront Mayo. Tell him he was coming over.’

‘I think it’s more likely that he found out,’ Priest said. ‘Maybe the mystery guy that both Jen and Maggie Cain mentioned was indeed a private detective.’

Temple nodded. ‘Let’s hope Jennifer can help us with a
description
.’

The latest developments energized the detectives. The briefing room was loud and lively, despite the fact that many of the officers had been up all night working on the case.

The display boards now contained pictures of Cain and his family. There was also a large map of Southampton and the New Forest. Coloured pins showed Mayo’s cottage, Cain’s house and the sites of the two attacks involving the youths. A sweep of all the CCTV cameras in the city was still in progress, but so far there were no other sightings of Cain.

Temple asked the teams to provide updates. He learned that Mayo had a bank overdraft of £7,000. He also had a string of credit-card debts, as well as his other outstanding loan. Cain’s finances were healthier but still in bad shape. The salary he was paying himself was barely covering his outgoings. The Southern News Agency was bringing in a small amount of income from some fixed contracts with newspapers, but it had almost used up its capital base. There was just a few thousand left in a business account with Santander.

Brayshaw had spoken to Maggie Cain’s mother. She had no idea where her daughter was, but said she’d taken Laura out for the day
on Saturday. When she took her home about five in the evening she didn’t bother to stay because her daughter and Cain had been arguing.

‘The mother said she didn’t know that her daughter had been having an affair with Mayo,’ Brayshaw said. ‘She told me she found it hard to believe. And I must say she looked pretty upset.’

‘So Cain and his wife had an argument only hours before he drove over to Mayo’s cottage,’ Temple said.

Brayshaw nodded. ‘Her mother assumed it was over money. But of course she can’t be sure. She didn’t have a chance to talk to her daughter. But she did say that money has been an issue between the couple for sometime.’

More evidence had come to light confirming that Mrs Cain and her daughter had been at home on the previous evening. Apparently a neighbour – a Mrs Susan Troy – had dropped by to get a petition signed against a development of flats near by. The neighbour said Mrs Cain answered the door and let her in. Both Mrs Cain and her husband signed the petition and they seemed happy enough. Mrs Cain mentioned that they would soon be sitting down to watch the lottery draw on television.

‘Then what the bloody hell happened after that to set things off?’ Priest wanted to know.

‘It must have been the phone call,’ Temple said. ‘The one made by Mayo to Cain’s landline. That was at eight forty-five – around the time the Lotto programme ended. We know that Cain went to the cottage soon after.’

‘But what about the wife?’ Angel said. ‘Did she go with him to the cottage or did she wait at the house? And where was she when we arrived? The neighbour in the street behind saw a man who we think was Cain. But there’s no mention of a woman and child.’

Brayshaw had checked out Joe Dessler’s alibi. He’d managed to track down the owner of the Grand Casino, who was now in the process of obtaining all the security footage.

‘He confirmed that Dessler was there last night,’ Brayshaw said. ‘He saw him several times playing roulette and blackjack. And he reckons he lost a large sum of money.’

The level of interest in Dessler had diminished however since the focus of the investigation had shifted to Danny Cain. But Temple wanted the loan shark to remain in the frame because of his threats against Mayo. And because of the story that Mayo and Cain had been working on, the one that was supposed to expose Dessler as a criminal.

‘What about the computers we picked up?’ Temple asked. ‘Have we examined the drives yet?’

‘We’re expecting something through any minute,’ he was told. ‘They’re password protected so it’s taken a bit of time.’

In fact just an hour after the meeting in the briefing room ended a computer technician named Ben Crawley called Temple to say he had got into Mayo’s computer and had managed to download the Dessler story, which was in rough draft form.