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understood her obvious desire to show they were making progress, but when the consulate’s liaison officer was getting information at the same time as the investigating officers, it might be time to point out that it was supposed to be the consulate sharing information with the police, rather than the other way around.
    â€œThere seem to be four possible scenarios,” began Maik tentatively, flicking a glance in Jejeune’s direction as if to say, that suggest themselves to us mere mortals, at least . But if Jejeune, now perched impassively on the desk at the back of the room again, had at first appeared set to make a contribution, he seemed to think better of it. Maik took a heartbeat to register Jejeune’s expression and moved on. “The first possibility is that it was burglary gone wrong. The victims stumbled in and it all went haywire from there. Second is that the girl, Phoebe Hunter, was the target and Santos was just an unlucky witness who had to be dealt with. Killed,” he corrected himself. “Third, vice versa, and number four,” Maik paused significantly, “is that someone went there with the intention of killing them both. So far, we’ve found no evidence of any connection between the victims, and nothing to suggest anybody even knew Santos was going to be at the sanctuary, so we’re concentrating on the first two theories, that either it was a burglary, or it was Phoebe Hunter the killer was after, especially since we have a suspect calling to threaten her the day before.”
    Like the others, Lauren Salter had picked up on the inspector’s reluctance to discuss matters of evidence in front of an outsider. But this particular outsider was held in high esteem by Danny Maik, and that was good enough for her.
    â€œThere’s a fingerprint and a partial palm print on the filing cabinet that don’t match any of the others in the sanctuary. The thing is, they could belong to Maggie Wylde. Her prints aren’t on file with us.”
    Shepherd pinned Jejeune with a look that seemed to ask just when he was planning on getting around to telling them his views on that theory. “I believe the inspector has some misgivings about Margaret Wylde as a suspect,” she said.
    The silence of disapproval is perhaps the most eloquent silence of all. Jejeune’s audience looked at one another uneasily. Maggie had disappeared immediately after the crime, and they all knew that sudden flight was about as clear a sign of guilt as you were likely to get in the early stages of a murder inquiry. And that was without even considering the fact that she had called and threatened one of the victims the day before the murder.
    Unable to avoid discussing it in front of Trueman without appearing to have something to hide, Jejeune went over the same ideas he had expressed in Shepherd’s office. He had barely finished speaking before Salter rushed in.
    â€œSir, with respect, you don’t know Maggie. It would be just like her to do a bit of tidying up afterward, locking the cages and such.” She looked around the room, seeking support for her claims.
    â€œIt isn’t just that,” said Jejeune carefully. He drew a breath, as if readying himself for an inevitable battle. “The records indicate there were thirteen doves at the sanctuary, in six different cages. The cage from which the two doves were taken, the one where the bodies were found, was at the far end of the corridor. I think whoever took the doves targeted the ones in that cage specifically.”
    â€œSurely that points even more squarely at Maggie,” said Salter, still aggressively defending her ground.
    â€œThe problem is,” said Jejeune, “BTO confirmed none of the birds at the sanctuary were banded.”
    Salter and the others looked puzzled, but off to Jejeune’s side, Maik slowly nodded his head. “And according to David Nyce, Turtledoves have no distinguishing