MURDER DOWN THE AISLE

DI ELLIS YORKSHIRE CRIME THRILLERS

BOOK 11

OLIVER DAVIES

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PROLOGUE

Iwas still in shock.

How was this possible? How?

Of all the names that could have been on there, this was the one I really didn’t want to see. And yet there it was, jumping out of the paperwork in bold ink.

Larry Arnold.

The owner of the Wolf and Lamb Pub.

My friend and now undeniably our top murder suspect.

So far, my search into the killer of Angela Lowell, Lydia Henton, Nadia Manir, and potentially Marika Dabrowska had many twists and turns, but the evidence ultimately kept pointing back to Larry. The man had hired all four women at his pub, had consistently been our only known link to all of them, and now he was listed as delivering alcohol to the Bucking Bronco Pub around the time Nadia Manir was there with her mystery man and likely future killer.

It wasn’t looking good for Larry.

And yet, even with the overwhelming evidence stacked against him, something didn’t feel right to me. I’d met Larry more than once, and he radiated nothing but goodness. I genuinely saw the man as a friend, an ally, so the thought of him hurting innocent women was inconceivable. Could that same man really be a serial killer? No. It didn’t seem right. I couldn’t believe that of him. I wouldn’t believe that of him.

I didn’t know why his name was on that list, but I knew there had to be a reasonable explanation for it.

“Sean,” Nadia’s voice said softly, bringing me back to the present moment with her. “Is everything okay?”

I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked around Samuel Waltz’s office. It was just me, him, and Detective Superintendent Nadia Begum in the room, and both of them were looking at me with pale, concerned faces.

“Yeah, you’ve been oddly quiet for a few minutes now,” Samuel said, rubbing his hands together as he licked his lips nervously.

“No, I mean, aye, I mean, I dunno,” I said in a quick, quiet voice as I rubbed the bridge of my nose in confusion.

Nadia stepped forward and held her hand out for the list, but I was holding it tight to my chest. Nadia, noticing the stubborn way I held onto the list, grumbled impatiently and lunged for it. With difficulty, she eventually pried the list out of my sweaty fingers and looked at it herself. As she looked, I waited with bated breath, knowing her well enough to know exactly how she was going to react.

“Wait,” she said slowly, pulling the piece of paper so it was barely an inch away from her face.

Here it comes, I thought to myself glumly as I watched Nadia laser focus on the names.

“It says here around the time Nadia went missing that a regular delivery driver here was Larry Arnold,” Nadia said cautiously. She gazed toward Samuel for confirmation, but he simply shrugged. Nadia then looked at me, her eyebrows high and dangerously close to her hairline.

“Larry Arnold,” she repeated his name, her eyes glued to mine for reassurance. “Isn’t he the man who runs the Wolf and Lamb Pub? The man you’ve kept me from questioning since I joined this case?”

And there it is, I thought to myself in defeat.

“Aye, he is,” I said honestly, crossing my arms as I spoke. “However, I for one don’t think—”

“Well, surely this settles things, then!” Nadia exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement. She waved the list wildly in the air like she was Charlie Bucket holding one of the precious golden tickets in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. “I’ve been saying from the beginning, Larry is our guy, but you’ve been convinced otherwise.”

“And I still am,” I said matter-of-factly.

Nadia scoffed and put her hands on her hips, scrunching up the list against her body as she did so. “You’re joking, right? All lanes point toward Larry, Sean! And they have since we received that anonymous letter several days ago, but you’ve been too pig-headed to see it!”

The only reason we’d reopened the cold case was the letter sent to Victoria Way station, which simply stated the names of the three murdered women and Larry’s pub. Nadia clearly saw it as pointing to the murderer, whereas I saw it as pointing us to somewhere we could get some answers.

“The evidence looks bad, I get that, but something still doesn’t feel right here!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up passionately. “Larry has done nothing but help. Why would he have done that if he knew it could leave him exposed?”

Nadia sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. “Who knows why anyone does anything, Sean? Maybe he’s cocky and thought he could get away with it like he has for almost two decades, or maybe he sees this all as some sick, twisted game?” She sighed again, then turned from me to Samuel. “Does the name Larry Arnold ring any bells with you?”

Samuel shook his head, instantly putting my hopes up.

“See!” I said, looking at Nadia with a satisfied expression.

Nadia huffed in irritation before turning back to Samuel. “But would you recognise any of the people on the list?” she pressed. “Any of them mean anything to you?”

Samuel rubbed his neck uncomfortably. “In all honesty? Probably not,” he said with discomfort. “We get different people all the time, and I can’t say they ever hang around long enough for me to get to know them. They literally drop off the delivery, get a signature, then go.”

Nadia looked at me smugly, causing me to roll my eyes.

“I get your gut doesn’t think it’s Larry,” Nadia said, her tone softening slightly. “But we have to follow the trail of evidence.” She raised her hand and began to tick things off her fingers. “He hired the girls, his ex-girlfriend wasn’t surprised at the thought of him being the killer, and now this!”

“Aye, I know,” I said dejectedly as my shoulders slumped. “But this just doesn’t feel right.”

Nadia gave me an oddly firm yet gentle look. “I’m sorry, but I have to insist we bring Larry in now,” she said with authority. “You’ve delayed me talking to him for a while, but you also promised me that if more signs pointed to him, you wouldn’t stand in my way.”

“I just think if we go through the entire list, give it a bit more time, then we can—”

“Sorry, Sean, but enough is enough,” Nadia interrupted firmly, clutching the list in a tight fist. She turned to Samuel Waltz with a stern face, which made Samuel look nervous. He looked like expected her to scold him. “Thank you for all of your help.”

Samuel opened his mouth to speak, but Nadia didn’t wait for him to finish. Instead, she charged out of the door in determination.

“Nadia! Wait!” I called after her, mumbling and swearing under my breath. I chased after her, but Nadia was annoyingly fast. She was able to get out of the office, into the bar area, and was pushing through the Bucking Bronco Pub’s front door before I’d barely entered the bar. The moment she exited the building, she didn’t look back.

I swore under my breath, then turned to see Samuel had followed us out of his office and was now standing sheepishly next to Nessa behind the bar. Bill was still sitting in a chair in front of them. I moved toward them quickly, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I did so.

“Bloody hell, that woman can sure move fast!” Bill exclaimed, his face filled with almost admiration. He then turned to Samuel. “I take it you were able to help them, lad?”

“I’m not entirely certain,” Samuel said with an awkward laugh. “The detective superintendent seemed to think so, at least.”

I could sense Samuel looking at me, likely filled with guilt over my unhappiness with what the list revealed.

“You both said you saw the delivery man with Nadia, right?” I asked hastily as I scrolled through my phone.

“Yes, we did,” Samuel said cautiously.

“Aye, but this was a few years back now,” Bill chimed in unconvincingly.

I found a photo of Larry and showed it to Bill. “Was this the man you saw with Nadia?” I asked desperately, my fingers drumming impatiently on the side of the bar as he stared at the photo.

Bill rubbed his face uncomfortably. “It’s hard to tell, lad. It was a few years ago now,” he quietly repeated, his eyes glued to the photo of Larry.

“But?” I pressed, moving closer. “Really look and think. This is important.”

Bill scratched his face, pulling an unattractive expression as he stared at the photo. “I wouldn’t want to say with certainty, mind,” he said defensively as he turned to face me. “But he does look a bit like the man I saw with Nadia, aye."

No! I thought to myself in irritation. This can’t be right.

“And how about you? Do you think he looks familiar?” I asked Samuel hastily, ignoring the worried look Nessa was shooting me.

Samuel looked at the photo, his pupils dilating from his focus. He eventually turned to me. From the sad look in his eye, I knew what he was about to say.

“Sorry, Sean,” he said in a slow, guilty tone as he stepped slightly closer to Nessa. “I think he looks familiar, too.”

“Aye, ta for the honesty,” I said glumly as I started walking backward toward the front door. “I will contact you if I require any further assistance.”

I rushed out of the bar and toward my car. I looked ahead and saw Nadia’s car already driving off into the distance, and I swore under my breath. With haste, I got myself into my vehicle and started the ignition.

As I drove after Nadia, I was filled with frustration. As I smacked my fingers irritably on the steering wheel, a horrible thought formed in the back of my mind. Was my trusty gut getting unreliable in my old age?

My gut had been the main reason I’d trusted Larry, and yet deep down, I couldn’t argue with anything Nadia had said. The trail of evidence pointed toward Larry as our killer, and yet I was ignoring the evidence in favour of my own personal feelings. That wasn’t like me.

I suddenly thought of Agata, Marika’s sister, and felt my blood run cold. She, just like Bill and Samuel, suggested the photo of Larry looked like the man she had seen around her sister. Could I truly disregard the eyewitness accounts of three different people?

I’d been so convinced of Larry’s innocence, but now I couldn’t help but wonder if he truly was the devious serial killer who had plagued me for almost two decades. Maybe he was simply a master manipulator, using me the same way he’d manipulated the women who worked for him.

I gritted my teeth in frustration and shook my head. My head and heart were in complete contrast to one another, and I had to quickly figure out which was right. As we drew closer to Larry’s pub, I tried to not think about how Larry’s kind, gentle face would look when we charged into his pub and demanded he come to the station with us. Larry had been nothing but good to me, and treating him in such a way would feel like a horrendous way of repaying him.

Larry may have been a large man, but he was a gentle giant, and it was hard to imagine him as a vicious murderer. A crazed killer who would take women, cut off their wedding fingers, then leave them out in the cold in nothing but their white underwear.

And yet… not all murderers were who you expected them to be.

My mind was suddenly drawn back to a case from decades ago where the vicious killer and kidnapper of young women had taken me completely by surprise. The killing had been brutal, and yet the murderer had been someone who never would have looked capable of such atrocities…

1

Istifled a yawn as I continued my drive to Faye’s flat. The past year had been a long year—a long, long year—and I felt as though I was permanently exhausted. Just over a year ago, Lylah and I had left the horrible evening of murder and mayhem at Simonstone Hall. Since then, our wedding preparations were well on their way. Naturally, Simonstone Hall was off of our list of potential venues after the shit show we experienced there, but we had now decided on our venue, finalised our guest list, and were set to get married in six months’ time.

Six months until I married the love of my life, and I couldn’t wait for that to happen.

As I continued to drive, my thoughts were interrupted by an incoming phone call. I smiled to myself when I saw it was Lylah calling. I’d only just left Lylah at home, but I knew it wasn’t a good day for her unless she spoke to me about wedding matters at least ten times. I quickly hit accept so I could speak to her.

“Hey, love,” I said. “Is everything alright?”

“No, Sean!” Lylah said dramatically, her voice shaking. “Everything isn’t okay. Everything is far from okay!”

“What’s wrong!?” I asked worriedly, my foot tapping anxiously next to the brake pedal.

“It’s an absolute nightmare!” Lylah said anxiously. “Mum just called me to say my second cousin has recently become vegan, but we don’t have any vegan options on our menu!”

I relaxed, then snorted. “Really? That’s the big emergency?”

“I’m glad you find it amusing!” Lylah exclaimed. “You can be the one to call the caterers and tell them then!”

“Fine by me, love,” I said with a smirk. “I’ll call them as soon as I get back from Faye’s.”

“Thank you,” Lylah said with a sigh of relief. “I can’t deal with this right now. I thought after a nice two days off of work for AJ and Luna’s wedding I’d feel relaxed, but it’s like the moment we got back the stress of everything just came rushing back.”

Lylah and I had booked some time off to attend AJ’s wedding. It had been a beautiful day, and seeing AJ’s own day helped me mentally prepare for my own. Luna had looked beautiful in a flowing white dress and AJ had looked dashing in his navy suit, and the two had been rather fortunate that their wedding went off without any issues.

Nothing as dramatic as murder and poisoning, like the last wedding I was at.

“Aye, it was a nice ceremony, but reality quickly hits you once you get back to everyday life,” I said without enthusiasm.

“It really was lovely,” Lylah said with a soft, reminiscent sigh. “I just hope our wedding will go as smoothly as theirs did.”

“I’m sure it will, love,” I said happily. “Is there anything else you’re panicking over while I have you on the phone?”

Lylah laughed. “No, but expect a phone call when the next emergency arises.”

“Alright, I’ll expect a call within the next ten minutes then,” I said sarcastically as I stopped at a traffic light.

“Cheeky arse,” Lylah said with a giggle. “Are you nearly at Faye’s?”

“Aye, should be there in a few minutes,” I said as I adjusted my mirror to check the traffic behind me.

“How is she, anyway?” Lylah asked fondly. “Have her exams been going well?”

Faye had been applying to become a PC. The reason I was going to see her was to help with her paperwork and prepare for her final exam. She had been jumping through hoops for nearly a year now to get to this point, and I couldn’t wait for it to all be over. I imagined she was keen for it to end, too.

“Aye, she seemed quite confident when I last spoke to her,” I said. “It shouldn’t be much longer until she becomes a qualified cop.”

“Ooh, that’s exciting!” Lylah said keenly. “I take it you’re still hating the idea?”

I snorted, knowing Lylah knew me too well. Faye was my daughter, so I’d always give her the support she needed, but I couldn’t pretend I was completely on board with the idea of her joining the police force, either. Anytime I imagined her getting the job, all I could think about was dangerous, life-threatening scenarios she could get into. Faye wasn’t a child anymore, but in my eyes, she’d always be that little girl I was desperate to protect from harm.

“Yup, still hate it,” I said bluntly as I tapped my thumbs on the steering wheel. Suddenly, I could see Faye’s block of flats in my line of sight.

“Anyway, love, I’m at Faye’s now, so I’d better go,” I said affectionately. “I love you and I’ll see you when I get home.”

“I love you too,” Lylah said warmly. “Give Faye a big cuddle from me.”

Lylah hung up the phone as I arrived at the block of flats and entered the car park. I got out of my car, locked it, then started making my way to the building’s large front door. As I entered, I quickly made a beeline for the elevator. I was far from a lazy man, but considering Faye and Becky lived on the top floor, I wasn’t keen on climbing all of those stairs. Once I was in the elevator, I waited patiently for it to climb all the way to the top.

As I finally approached Faye and Becky’s front door, I smiled when I saw Becky coming out of it. Her curly black hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her face looked slightly flushed. Becky saw me and waved at me energetically as she power walked in my direction.

“Hey Sean!” she said. “Sorry, I’m running late for work, so I can't stop!”

I barked a laugh. “Good to see you too, Becky!”

Becky laughed in return as she walked past me quickly. As she reached and waited for the elevator, she turned to face me. “Thanks for everything you’re doing to help Faye. Once she officially becomes a PC, we should have you over for dinner as a thank you for all of your help.”

“Ta, Becky, I’d like that,” I said appreciatively as I put my hand to my chest.

I watched Becky get in the elevator, then leave before I continued toward their shockingly red door. I knocked on it, then waited a couple of minutes for Faye to answer. When she eventually answered and saw me standing there, she jumped forward and threw her arms around me.

“Dad!” she said keenly as she held me close. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Aye, it’s good to see you too, kiddo,” I said softly as I patted her shoulder. “You’re looking well.”

“So do you,” Faye said gently as she stroked my stubbly cheek. She then stepped aside and gestured for me to enter. “Please, come in!”

“Ta, love,” I said kindly as I shrugged off my leather jacket and stepped inside her modern, immaculately clean flat.

“Can I get you a drink, Dad?” Faye offered as she took my jacket out of my hands and hung it on the back of a wooden chair close to the front door.

“A tea would be great, love,” I said appreciatively as I walked toward the largest sofa in the flat and got comfortable.

As I relaxed in the chair, I watched Faye walk past me and enter the kitchen. I waited as she made our drinks, then smiled gratefully as she walked through the archway and put a mug directly into my hands. I thanked her, then waited as she placed her mug down on the table and got herself comfortable.

“I appreciate you coming here to help me today, Dad,” Faye said as she shuffled in her chair.

“And you are sure this is what you want, right?” I asked cautiously before I took a sip of my tea.

Faye looked at me with a furrowed brow. “Not this again, Dad.”

“What?” I asked innocently.

“You know what, Dad,” Faye said with a bored sigh.

I took another long sip of my tea before I responded. “I just don’t know why you want to join so badly, that’s all.”

“You joined, didn’t you?” Faye asked petulantly, crossing her leg over her knee and bobbing it.

“Aye, and I had good reason to,” I said with a nostalgic smile.

“And I don’t?” Faye asked snappishly.

“Depends on what your reason is,” I said cooly, looking at her with a quirked eyebrow.

Faye tutted in annoyance. “I’ve already told you a thousand times, Dad!” she said unhappily. “I want to help people! Because I want to do something worthwhile!”

I smiled at her proudly and took another sip of my tea. “That’s all I wanted to hear, love. It’s good to see you’re passionate about it.”

Faye smirked at me as she crossed her arms in mock annoyance. “You were testing me! Again!” she said with a dry laugh. “So not cool, Dad.”

“Since when have you ever found me cool?” I asked sarcastically.

“Fair point,” Faye said with a giggle, leaning toward the table to grab her mug of coffee.

“Right,” I said seriously. “So what have you got for me to take a look at then?”

Faye stood up from her chair and walked into the kitchen. A few moments later, she came out with some paperwork, which she passed to me.

“These should be the last few forms,” Faye said nervously as she sat back down and started to sip her drink. “I just wanted you to check through everything before I handed them in. After that, I just have to wait and hear when I’ll be taking my final exam.”

I nodded, my eyes focused on the paperwork. “Don’t worry about the exam, love,” I said thoughtfully as I read through the papers. “You’re more than prepared for it, and you know your old man will help guide you in any way possible.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Faye said nervously as she tapped her fingernails loudly and anxiously against the side of her mug.

After several minutes of reading, I put the papers down on the table with a flourish and turned to face Faye. “I don’t know why you called me over, kiddo,” I said in a bored tone. “You clearly don’t need me. That paperwork is finished to perfection.”

Faye bobbed up and down in her chair excitedly. “Really?”

I smiled at her. “Aye, you’ve done yourself proud. And me.”

Faye sighed in relief and sank into her chair slightly. She downed the rest of her coffee, then turned toward me with a much happier, more relaxed expression.

“I had a great time at AJ and Luna’s wedding, did you?” Faye asked as she swung her legs over the arm of her chair.

“Aye, it was a good day,” I said fondly, nursing the mug of cold tea in my hands.

“And I take it you’re back to work soon?” Faye asked, her face screwing up in slight concern.

“Aye, back tomorrow,” I said with a tired smile.

“Considering you’ve just had a few days off, you don’t exactly look like you’ve had much rest?” Faye asked with apprehension.

I snorted. “Ta for that, love,” I said with a cheeky grin.

Faye rolled her eyes and smiled playfully. “You know what I mean!” she said impatiently.

“It’s just a busy time for me at the moment, that’s all,” I said reassuringly. “I may not have been working, but Lylah has certainly been keeping me busy with wedding preparations.”

Faye nodded understandingly. “Remind me to tell Becky to never propose to me. I don’t think I could handle the stress of planning a wedding.”

We visited for a bit longer, and my exhaustion continued to creep up on me. Eventually, after many yawns from me, Faye stood up from her chair and escorted me to her front door. She opened it, then gave me a gentle hug.

“Take care of yourself Dad, yeah?” she asked with worry. “You’re only thirty-six, not sixty-six.”

“Charming,” I said with a gruff laugh as I hugged Faye. “Just you wait, love. Soon you’ll be a PC and you’ll realise just how much the job ages you.”

“Mmm, can’t wait,” Faye said sarcastically as she let me go.

We both laughed, then Faye waited at her front door until I was in the elevator and out of sight. Once the elevator moved downward, all I could think about was my bed beckoning me toward its warm embrace.

As tired as I was, I was also keen to get back to the office. Tomorrow was my first day back, and I needed to be as well rested as possible. I’d been a DCI for long enough to know that I could receive any number of unexpected phone calls tomorrow. I just hoped I wouldn’t be pulled into an intense case before I’d barely stepped through the front door.

2

The more the man looked at the woman, the more he realised just how perfect she was.

She wasn’t overly tall, likely no more than five foot two. The man noted she appeared to live in the same knee-high flat black boots, so it was easy to get a rough idea of her height. She always wore fitted clothing, which highlighted her slender figure. When she walked, her long, straight brunette hair blew gently in the breeze. She was an attractive woman with an oval-shaped face, pale skin, and wide blue eyes that shone.

There was no denying that the woman was an exquisite beauty who most men would tear their arm off just to get near.

And yet that wasn’t why he was interested in her.

He had no physical or sexual desire toward the woman. That would be sick and wrong! What sort of man would desire his own sister?

Well. Sort of his sister.

The man lived in Ampleforth, a village in North Yorkshire, and he had been overwhelmed when he saw this woman for the first time. It was like his dead sister had returned to the land of the living.

He’d been so hopeful that she was back, but as he drew closer to her, it became apparent this woman was simply a carbon copy of his late sister.

The man knew the woman must have moved there recently as Ampleforth was small—barely more than eight hundred people—and he’d never seen her before until around five days ago. Ever since he’d first laid eyes on her, he’d been following her around, hoping to get to know her better.

The man missed his sister more than words could say, and he knew there was no way he could deny himself the opportunity to be with her again. He longed to speak to her, to introduce himself to her, and yet he knew he’d easily scare her off.

No. He couldn’t risk that.

Everything had to be perfect. Following her around for the past few days made him feel like he really knew her. He knew she lived with her parents, that she worked at Shallowdale House Bed-and-Breakfast—though he was unsure of her exact role there—and he had seen her once with a man, perhaps a boyfriend. He scowled to himself as he thought of the pathetic lout. His sister was worth a lot more than that creep, and he was going to make sure she didn’t settle for a loser like that.

He was her brother, and it was his job to make sure she was safe. She may have felt safe with her parents, but they’d never be able to look after her and care for her like he could. He knew, deep down, that the only way she would ever be safe was with him… far away. It was his sworn duty to whisk her away.

He knew the perfect spot, the perfect place he could take her. No one else would ever find them or be able to cause them harm.

The man’s plan was simple. Wait for her to leave for work, approach her, then whisk her away before any harm could come to her. Her walk to work took her just under fifteen minutes, which didn’t give him much time. Luckily, her walk took her through a small park, so he had parked his car close to get her into his vehicle easily. He also had a cloth soaked in chloroform in his jacket pocket as a precaution, but he hoped that his new sister would be as keen to speak to him as he was to speak to her. He’d lived in this village for long enough to know that during the evening when his sister walked through the park it was deserted. He just had to be patient.

He didn’t want to leave anything to chance. He had studied her meticulously for five days, The man waited patiently outside of her house, and sure enough, she left the front door at the exact same time she always did.

The man sighed to himself in relief and kept a distance as she walked from her house. As he followed her from a distance, fear had a sudden grip on his heart. He wanted this all to be perfect. He needed their introduction to be perfect, and yet there were so many ways it could go wrong. He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself, watching her back as she drew closer and closer toward the small, dark park. Ampleforth Playground always looked eerily quiet and a bit spooky at night. The swings moved creakily in the breeze, and the leaves on the ground swirled as though they had a mind of their own.

The man always admired her for this route. When she walked through the playground, she always did so with a straight, firm walk, telling him she had no fear. Most women would be frightened to walk alone—especially at night—but not his sister! She was courageous, strutting her way to work as though it was nothing.

It was one of the qualities that convinced him this woman must be his sister reborn.

Once she was in the middle of the dark park, the man knew he had his chance.

“Alannah, wait!” the man called after her.

The girl turned around. When she saw the man approaching her, she kept rooted to the spot with a nervous expression. Her eyebrow quirked up in confusion. The man felt surprised to see his brave sister looking so intimidated by his presence. It wasn’t like her at all.

Now that she was looking at him, he could take in everything about her properly. She was wearing the same boots she always did, and her legs were covered by sheer black tights. She wore a blue tartan skirt which the man assumed was part of her uniform, as she always seemed to wear it for her shifts, and her white blouse was concealed behind an insanely bright yellow coat that shone like a beacon in the night’s sky. Her long brunette hair blew slightly in the night’s cold breeze, caressing her cheeks as softly as a lover. She moved her red painted lips nervously as she continued to look at the man like a deer caught in headlights.

“A-Alannah?” she said questioningly, taking a slow step away from the man.

“It’s me, Alannah!” the man said to her happily. “It’s me!”

The woman took another step away from him, her pale face growing even paler in her anxiety. “S-sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong p-person,” she said in a cautious, timid tone. She kept her eyes glued to the man as she slowly stepped away from him once more.

“I definitely haven’t,” the man said with a slight laugh. “Don’t you recognise your own brother?”

The woman continued to move nervously, but her face grew more serious. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but I’m Mia, okay? Not Allanah.” She started to walk backward at a quicker pace, her eyes still fixed to the man. “Leave me alone, okay?”

The man sighed and rubbed his face, giving her a slight smile. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Allanah,” he said with regret as he stepped closer. “I’m your brother, and I’m here to protect you.”

“You’re a freak, that’s what you are!” she shouted.

No sooner had she finished her sentence did she turn her back to the man and start making a run for it. The man swore under his breath and charged after her.

“Alannah, stop!” he shouted as he ran. “Don’t be an idiot! You know you don’t need to be frightened of me.”

The girl continued to run and didn’t look back. To the man’s surprise, she didn’t run in the direction of her work. Instead, she veered to the left and through a hole in the trees, which would only have led her toward the road and toward his car. The girl ran with all of her might, but the man was much faster. He grabbed her from behind and pulled her into his chest.

“Calm down, Alannah!” the man said as he struggled to hold her still. “For fuck’s sake. We aren’t kids anymore!”

“Let me go or I will scream!” the girl said loudly.

The man looked around and started to panic. He knew no one else would be here, but the last thing he needed was his sister screaming. Likely no one would hear her from here, but he wasn’t willing to take that risk. The man hastily went into his pocket and pulled out the chloroform soaked cloth.

“I’m so sorry, Alannah,” the man struggled to say as he tried to maintain his hold on the girl. “But this is for your own good.”

Before the girl could say anything else, the man had the chloroform cloth on her mouth. As she tried to resist, she accidentally took in a big breath, knocking her unconscious. She suddenly went slack in his arms. When she started to fall, the man scooped her up and pulled her to his chest like she was a doll.

“It’s okay, Alannah,” the man said softly as he looked down at the girl with warm eyes. “I’m going to keep you safe now.”

The man looked around him and sighed with relief when he saw there were no signs of their fight. He then walked cautiously out of the park, keeping his eyes and ears alert, and eventually made it to his car. He gently put her in the passenger seat and put on her seatbelt. Once she was secure, he kissed her forehead delicately, then ran around to the driver’s side. He allowed himself a moment to get himself comfortable, then started to drive. As he drove, he kept glancing toward the woman and speaking to her.

“I’m glad we are back together now, Alannah,” the man said emotionally as he tapped her knee. “It was unbearable without you.”

There was silence for a moment as he drove away from Ampleforth and toward a large body of water. Once he approached it, he turned to Alannah with a smile.

“Recognise this place, sis?” he asked with glee. “Yeah, it’s where we always came as kids! I’m going to get you settled in our new home. Once we’ve gotten to know one another a bit better, I promise I’ll take you swimming like I always used to.” He paused and looked at her dramatically. “Things are going to be much better this time, sis. I can promise you that!”

The man drove past the lake, a big smile on his face.

He finally had his sister back and nothing in the world was ever going to get in the way of that.

3

Iheard Lylah moan beside me as my alarm started to blare loudly.

“Eurgh, I hate that thing!” Lylah said in a tired grumble as she threw her hands over her ears. “It’s like listening to the gates of Hell opening.”

I snorted as I pushed my hair out of my face and sat up in our bed. “Come on, babe, getting up for work isn’t that bad,” I said sarcastically as I rubbed her upper back. “I thought you’d be keen to get back today?”

“I am happy to be going back. I just wish we were back at a much later hour,” Lylah said tiredly as she pulled the duvet over her head. “Besides, I’m not as obsessed with the job as you are.”

I smiled at her body under the duvet as I pulled myself out of bed. “Aye, that’s true! I’ll bring you a coffee, alright? That should wake you up a bit.”

“I love you,” I heard Lylah call gratefully behind me as I left the room.

I chuckled as I made my way downstairs and toward the kitchen. I then made coffee and a quick breakfast for myself and Lylah. While I brewed our drinks, there was silence in the flat except for the whistling of the kettle, so I knew Lylah had likely fallen back asleep while she waited for me. After ten minutes, I made my way back upstairs, ready to present Lylah with a warm coffee, a scrambled egg, and an avocado bagel.

“Babe,” I said softly as I put her coffee down on her bedside table and prodded at the duvet.

Lylah groaned unhappily and slowly sat upright. Once she pulled the duvet down and saw the breakfast I held in my hand, she suddenly looked awake and beamed at me.

“Baby!” she said joyfully. “You made my favourite!”

I kissed her forehead as I passed her the plate. “It’s our first day back after a long weekend off. I thought it would be a good way to start the day.”

“Good?” Lylah asked with a snort. “Try the best way! This is incredible.”

I quickly went back downstairs to grab my own coffee and breakfast, then brought it back upstairs. I got into bed beside Lylah and the two of us chatted as we enjoyed our breakfasts. Like usual, our conversation naturally veered onto the topic of work.

“Do you think we missed much when we were away?” Lylah asked curiously, her mouth full of eggs.

“Doubtful,” I said as I started pulling my bagel apart. “You know what Rebecca’s like. If anything had happened, she’d have called me right away.”

Lylah giggled as she reached for her coffee. “True, you two are like bloody kids when it comes to keeping in touch over things.”

“Hey, Rebecca’s my best friend as well as my partner!” I said with a slight laugh around a mouthful of bagel. “Our relationship will always be like this, so you best get used to it.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m definitely used to it by now!” Lylah said, taking a sip of her drink before she gently placed it back on the bedside table. “I’m well past the stage of overthinking your friendship.”

“Good,” I said passively as I grabbed another section of my bagel.

There was casual chat between us as we finished our breakfasts and got ourselves ready. I let Lylah shower first—purely because she always took longer than I did—then got myself showered and dressed. I then waited impatiently as Lylah styled her Daenerys Targaryen-worthy plait. Once that was finally done, we made our way to my car and travelled into work together. I drove as Lylah applied some of her makeup using one of the car’s mirrors, causing me to roll my eyes.

“I’m glad I’m a bloke and don’t have to deal with that sort of shit,” I said with humour as I casually watched Lylah masterfully apply eyeliner in a moving vehicle. “A quick shower and a shave. That’s all I need.”

“Lucky you,” Lylah said sarcastically as she continued to put her makeup on.

After a quick drive, we made it to Victoria Way station. Together Lylah and I exited the car and walked side by side into the building. We both said a warm greeting to Karen, the receptionist, then walked up the stairs and into our department. I held the door open for Lylah and gestured for her to go in first.

As Lylah walked through the door, I heard a loud squeal of delight and knew Nadia must have seen her. The two women had always been good friends, but their friendship had grown a lot over the past two years, which made me happy to see. I knew Lylah had initially reacted badly to Nadia’s promotion to DS, but that was all in the past. Everyone had moved on from it. I slowly entered the department and wasn’t surprised to see Lylah and Nadia already embracing. Nadia saw me and gave me a warm smile as a way of greeting.

“Hey, Sean!” Nadia said happily as she let go of Lylah. “It’s good to have you back, too.”

“Ta, Nadia,” I said with an appreciative nod. “It’s good to be back. Two days off was too many.”

I heard the unmistakable sound of Rebecca snorting. “Now that’s definitely a Sean thing to say,” she said sarcastically as she looked at me with her dark, piercing eyes.

I crossed my arms and gave her a curt nod. “Rebecca. Good to see you too.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes and walked toward the kitchen. “Do you both fancy a drink?” she asked over her shoulder as she walked.

“Aye, ta,” I said appreciatively as I looked around the office, quickly noticing Elijah wasn’t there. “Smith not in yet?”

Rebecca put on the kettle, then glanced at her watch. “It’s only now eight thirty, knowing him he will stroll in at eight fifty-nine.”

“Aye, that sounds like him,” I said matter-of-factly, moving my arm quickly away as Lylah went to playfully smack me. I turned to her with a serious expression. “Now, I wouldn’t go around hitting superior officers if I were you.”

Lylah rolled her eyes. “Elijah is a good worker. I hate when you make it sound like he’s lazy,” she said protectively.

“I know he isn’t lazy, but he constantly likes to push his starting time,” I said matter-of-factly as I shrugged.

“In Elijah’s defence, he was working late last night… so if he is late, let’s try to not bite his head off over it,” Nadia said kindly.

“Ah, Smith pulled the short straw, did he?” I asked as I walked toward the kitchen to wait for Rebecca to finish making my drink.

“Yes, but he didn’t leave behind any notes or paperwork, so I assume he had a quiet shift,” Rebecca said emotionlessly as she poured hot water into two mugs.

“Hopefully,” I said as I leant against the kitchen table.

Rebecca finished making my drink and passed it to me. I thanked her, then watched as she took Lylah her drink. I then followed Rebecca as she walked to her own desk, sat down in her chair, and signed onto her desktop. She swivelled her chair to face me. “Enjoy your time off?” she asked casually.

“Aye, AJ’s wedding was nice,” I said passively.

“Did Lylah and Faye enjoy themselves too?” Rebecca asked.

“I think so,” I replied, tapping my fingers against my mug as I spoke. “I saw Faye yesterday, and she seemed happy.”

Rebecca turned to face me. “I take it you were helping with her PC application?”

“That I was,” I said in a slow, emotionless turn.

Rebecca quirked her eyebrow and looked at me with humour in her eyes. “She’s going to become a PC, Sean,” she said playfully. “The sooner you wrap your head around the idea, the better.”

“I know you’re right, it’s just hard to think of my only child being in such a dangerous career,” I said quietly, my forehead creasing with concern.

Rebecca patted my elbow compassionately. “I understand, but if she’s anything like her father, she’s born for the job.”

I gave Rebecca a grateful nod, then sipped more of my coffee.

There was silence for a moment before Rebecca spoke again. “That’s the thing with time off, isn’t it? It goes by way too quickly,” she said casually. “It barely feels like you were gone an hour, let alone a couple of days.”

I grimaced. “The time off was nice, but it’s good to be back.”

Rebecca glanced subtly toward Lylah, then lowered her voice. “Not enjoying your wedding planning, then?”

I scoffed. “Have I ever enjoyed planning anything?”

“So true,” she said sarcastically as she fidgeted with her mouse.

I glanced sheepishly at Lylah, then returned my gaze to Rebecca, lowering my voice as I spoke. “Obviously I can’t wait to marry her, but this wedding planning is more tiring than I remember it being.”

Rebecca laughed weakly. “And this is why I will never marry.”

“Jude’s a lucky, lucky man,” I said sarcastically as I winked at her.

Rebecca simpered at me. “And Lylah is a lucky, lucky woman to be marrying someone as emotionally available as you are.”

We both laughed, then I looked at my watch and saw it was now five to nine.

I groaned and moved my body away from her desk. “Anyway, I best go to my office and see what crap I’ve been left to deal with.”

“Don’t worry, I only left you the stuff I hate doing,” Rebecca said playfully.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Fantastic.”

I started walking toward my office, but stopped at the loud sound of the department’s doors swinging open. I turned and saw Elijah walking in, but the moment I saw his face, I knew something wasn’t right. Elijah was always effortlessly handsome with his elfin features, slight frame, blond locks, and shining green eyes, and yet today there was a clear emptiness to him. Instead of dazzling like usual, he looked dull and almost lifeless. His clothes, usually always pristine, looked creased and unkempt. He sauntered slowly into the department and barely acknowledged anyone in the room.

It was like a zombie had just entered the department.

Lylah, seeing her friend looking so forlorn, instantly jumped up from her desk and walked with speed over to him.

“Elijah, what’s wrong?” Lylah asked with concern as she put a comforting arm around his waist.

“I had an awful night last night,” Elijah said glumly as Lylah led him to his desk.

Nadia stepped over to Elijah and rubbed his back. “I’ll make you a coffee and we can hear all about it, okay?” she asked supportively.

Elijah nodded gratefully as he collapsed tiredly into his chair.

“Was your bad night professional or personal?” Rebecca asked in concern, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side.

“Professional,” Elijah said in a broken voice. He was barely able to lift his face from the ground.

I knew instantly something bad must have happened.

“What is it, Smith?” I asked with authority, moving quickly toward his desk.

“Last night, just after midnight, I received a call from a Sylvia Murray, telling me her daughter hadn’t returned home,” he said in a slow, monotone voice. Nadia forced a hot mug into his hand, and he gave her a weak, grateful smile before he continued. “I was talking to her for over an hour getting information.”

“And I take it she is still missing?” I asked with worry.

“Yes, she is,” Elijah said sadly, clinging the warm mug to his chest as though for comfort.

“How old is the girl?” Nadia asked nervously, her hand clutching her heart.

“Twenty,” Elijah said slowly. “So not a child, but still young.”

My blood went cold at his words. Faye was about to turn twenty herself, so the thought of a girl of that age going missing hit a bit too close to home for my liking. I pinched my hand before my thoughts veered off to my daughter going missing and returned my focus to Elijah.

“I listened to her and gave her all the support I could,” Elijah continued forlornly. “She kept apologising, saying she knew it had been less than twenty-four hours, but she was desperate. I explained to her that the wait of a day was a common misconception and that I’d look into it right away.”

I took a long sip of my coffee and knew that no matter what calls came in today, my priority and focus was going to be on helping Elijah solve this missing person’s case. I had never seen Elijah so beaten up over a case before. As his superior, it was my duty to support him during difficult times.

I didn’t know who the missing girl was or what had happened, but I was going to put my all into finding this girl. I wouldn’t stop until she was found.

I just hoped she was still alive.

4

Imay have barely stepped foot in the department after some time off, but I was ready and raring to dive into this case. Elijah needed the support of myself and the team, and although I knew there was going to be heaps of paperwork for me to contend with on my desk, this missing girl had to be everyone’s priority right now.

If she had only been missing for a few hours, then we were in the best possible position to find her if we acted quickly.

“Everyone,” I said in a loud, commanding voice as I gazed around the room. “This missing person case is now priority one, understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Lylah said as she rubbed Elijah’s back.

“Understood,” Rebecca said passionately from her desk.

I nodded at the team before turning back to Elijah. “Right, tell us what you know.”

“Her name is Mia Murray,” Elijah said, his tone sounding less miserable now that he had the support of the entire team behind him. “She’s recently turned twenty and lives at home with her parents.”

“I take it the mother gave you details regarding her disappearance?” I asked before downing the rest of my coffee and placing the empty mug on Elijah’s desk.

“As best she could, sir, yes,” Elijah said, sitting up tall in his chair and holding a firm grip on his mug. “Naturally, she was very shaken.”

I nodded compassionately. “What did she say, exactly?”

Elijah took a quick sip from his mug and placed it down on his desk hastily. He then reached into the inside pocket of his creased jacket and pulled out a notebook.

“I wrote down everything she said to me, sir,” Elijah said as he waved the notebook in the air. “Sylvia said that Mia left their home around six last night to go to work. She expected Mia back around eleven, but when she didn’t come home, she grew worried and called us.”

“So she only gave it an hour before calling here?” Lylah asked, raising her eyebrow as she glanced around the team. “Seems a bit hasty, doesn’t it?”

Faye could be only a few minutes late and I’d be thinking about calling the police, I thought to myself honestly. When it comes to your own flesh and blood, you don’t mess around.

“Not really,” Nadia said diplomatically as she rubbed her chin. “If her daughter was always back home on time, it’s natural she’d worry if that routine suddenly shifted.”

“Aye, I agree,” I said passively as I crossed my arms. I turned back to Elijah. “Where does Mia work?”

“She works at Shallowdale House Bed-and-Breakfast as a cleaner,” Elijah read from his notebook speedily. “Apparently she hasn’t worked there for long.”

“And did the mother contact Mia’s workplace when she didn’t come home?” I pressed, tapping my fingers on my elbows as I spoke.

“Yes, she called them right away, and that’s why she was so concerned,” Elijah replied, his face screwing up in concern. “She left the house at six to start her shift at half past, but according to the manager, she never made it there.”

I gazed into the faces of my team and saw they, like me, were worried by this information. If Mia hadn’t turned up to her shift, it suggested something had happened to her on the way.

“So someone possibly knew she’d be on her way to work, then took advantage?” Rebecca asked unhappily as she scratched at one of the small scars on her face.

“Aye, someone could have been an opportunist and waited until they knew she’d be on her own and potentially vulnerable,” I sighed.

There was a tense silence for a moment—Lylah took advantage of this by grabbing her coffee from her desk and Elijah drank most of his own—but after a bit, Lylah spoke up.

“We are jumping to the conclusion that she has been taken, but there are maybe other reasons why she didn’t go back home,” Lylah said uncomfortably as she stroked the rim of her mug. “She could have run away, or she could have gone to someone else’s house.”

“True, but why would she then ignore calls from her clearly worried mother?” Nadia asked as she rubbed her temple.

Lylah chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment before replying. “Maybe she and her mum had a falling out, or they just don’t get along?”

Elijah swivelled his chair to face Lylah. “Possible, but unlikely,” he said matter-of-factly. “From how Sylvia was talking, it sounds like the two women are really close. I certainly didn’t get the vibe of a strained relationship there.”

“Well, she wouldn’t exactly admit that on the phone, now would she?” Lylah asked petulantly as she crossed her arms.

“I suppose not,” Elijah said quietly, his body slumping unhappily in his chair.

“Okay, let’s say she hasn’t been taken. Is there anyone she could have gone to see?” Nadia asked thoughtfully. “Any friends or a partner she could have stayed with?”

Elijah shook his head. “Not as far as the mum was aware,” he said despondently. “They only just moved to the area, hence why she hasn’t been working at the bed-and-breakfast for long.”

Rebecca sat up from her chair and stepped closer to the rest of the team, sweeping her short hair over her ears as she walked. “Where do they live and when did they move there?”

“They moved to the village of Ampleforth just under a week ago,” Elijah said as he glanced at his notebook.

“Wow, that’s not a good first week, is it?” Nadia asked glumly as she hugged herself. “Just moved in and your daughter goes missing.”

“I thought we were working under the assumption she hadn't been taken?” Lylah interrupted with a slight pout.

“Right now we aren’t ruling out any possibility,” I said firmly as I stepped away from Elijah’s desk and stared into the distance.

“Okay, but hear me out,” Lylah said quickly, gazing around at the team with wide, excited eyes. “She’s only twenty, right? Practically still a teen. She probably had a life before she moved to Ampleforth and was unhappy with her mum for dragging her away from it.” She paused dramatically. “What if instead of going to work she tried to go back to where she lived before? Maybe to see some of her friends.”

I turned to Lylah, looking at her with a tilted head. “That’s always a possibility,” I said slowly. “But if that was the case, she’d have planned it with her friends, right?” I turned to Nadia. “Nadia. Have a look at Mia's social media pages. See if she has any close friends you could contact to see if they’ve heard from her.”

Elijah played with his man bun, a nervous expression on his face as he addressed me. “Sylvia said she’d contacted all of Mia’s best friends… and they said they hadn’t heard from her.”

“They could easily have lied to her to protect their friend,” I said bluntly, nodding toward Nadia to do as I’d asked.

“I’ll look now, Sean,” Nadia said happily as she walked toward her desk.

“Right, while Nadia looks into scenarios where Mia left of her own accord, we can continue discussing why someone would have wanted to take her,” I said with authority as I stepped slowly around Elijah’s desk.

“The family have been in Ampleforth for less than a week?” Lylah asked curiously as she played with her mug. “That’s hardly enough time to make enemies.”

Elijah shrugged slightly. “I don’t know, you’d be surprised,” he replied, moving his eyes from his notebook to look at Lylah. “Small, protective neighbourhoods and all that. Maybe some people in the village didn’t like a new family muscling in on their business.”

“But enough to do something this extreme?” Lylah pressed, shaking her head slowly in disbelief. “No. It doesn’t seem right.”

“We know nothing about Mia or her family, though,” Elijah said pointedly. “How do we know they haven’t turned up and been the neighbours from hell?”

“What do you think, Sean?” Rebecca asked suddenly as she watched me pace.

I stopped my pacing and directed the team.

“Mia and her family could have upset the neighbourhood, or her disappearance could have nothing to do with that,” I replied. “We need to figure out who could have wanted Mia hurt and why.”

“A family member, a boyfriend maybe,” Rebecca speculated out loud as she played with her hair. Rebecca’s words suddenly gave me a theory.

“Do we know if it’s just the mother Mia lives with?” I asked Elijah as I scratched my chin in contemplation.

Elijah shook his head. “No, sir. Sylvia mentioned that they share the house with Mia’s dad, Evan. I actually ended up speaking with him briefly once I was done talking to Sylvia.”

I guess a potential disgruntled father chasing down his daughter is out of the question then, I thought to myself tiredly.

“Did he have much to say?” I asked curiously, and Elijah shook his head.

“Alright. So, do we know anything about a potential boyfriend?” I asked without much hope as I ruffled my hair impatiently.

“I asked Sylvia, but she said she didn’t know of one,” Elijah said tiredly. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.”

I nodded as I tapped my foot erratically, my mind working quickly to think of further questions for Elijah. “Do you think you got everything out of the mother that you could, Smith? Or do you think we should speak to her and see what else she has to say?”

Elijah rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I feel like I got everything out of her that I could, but I’d understand if you wanted to try to speak to her yourself.”

I looked at Elijah for a moment and had an internal debate about what to do. I had more experience than Elijah, so there was always the possibility I’d be able to ask questions Elijah wouldn’t have thought of. Still, from what he had told us, it was clear he’d done an excellent job speaking to the victim’s parents. Right now, there was no point in speaking to them again, not when I had no new questions for them.

But I couldn’t stand in this department twiddling my thumbs.

“I think we have a lot of potential questions but no way of answering them,” I said bluntly, crossing my arms and huffing in annoyance.

“How are we supposed to answer them with no evidence or facts?” Rebecca asked candidly.

“Aye, you’re right, and we’re going to achieve nothing sitting around here,” I said loudly. “We all know the early stages of a missing person’s case are crucial, so we have to act right away!”

“What do you suggest we do, sir?” Elijah asked, standing up keenly from his chair.

“You’ve only just spoken to the family so there’s no sense in doing that again just yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go to their address and retrace Mia’s steps,” I said confidently. “I suggest we look into any potential routes the girl could have taken to work and look for any clues.” I paused and looked at the team with a steely gaze. “It could be a long shot, but right now it’s all we’ve got.”

“It sounds sensible to me,” Rebecca said, nodding her head approvingly.

“Who are you taking with you to investigate, sir?” Lylah asked, leaning forward hopefully.

I cleared my throat awkwardly and looked at Elijah. “Smith was the one to start the case, so it’s only fair he comes with me to look for the girl.”

Elijah looked surprised, but pleased. “Thanks, sir! I'm ready whenever you are.”

“What shall we do in the meantime?” Rebecca asked, her tone oozing disappointment over being left behind.

“Stone was right about also working on the theory that Mia hasn’t been taken. The only way we can figure that out is by looking into her life,” I said as I stepped toward the department’s front door. “I think you and Stone should help Nadia look into Mia’s life. Find out any information on her friends and contact them all, see if any of them have heard from Mia or even hidden her with them.”

Rebecca nodded and turned to Lylah. “Come on, Stone. Let’s get to work.”

Lylah also looked disappointed to be staying in the department instead of going out on the field, but she accepted her job with grace and walked toward Nadia’s desk to check on her progress. She looked back at me and gave me a warm smile, which caused my heart to flutter. Once she was with Nadia, I turned to Rebecca with a resolute expression. She walked over to me, and we spoke to one another in hushed tones.

“Call us if anything comes up in your search, alright?” I asked softly.

Rebecca folded her arms and gave me a weak smile. “Same goes for you,” she said quietly as she glanced over her shoulder toward Nadia and Lylah. “Hopefully, the girl is with her friends and this worry has all been for nothing.”

“Aye, let’s hope,” I said, hoping the doubt I felt wasn’t clear in my tone.

I patted her arm roughly before turning to meet Elijah, who was waiting for me at the department’s front door.

I wanted more than anything for Rebecca or someone to call me with news Mia was safe, but a dark cloud was looming over me, and I was convinced something bad had happened to the young girl.

I just seriously hoped that I was wrong.

5

As I walked behind Elijah toward the main entrance of Victoria Way station, I felt annoyed at myself for continuously thinking about Faye. From the moment Elijah had mentioned Mia’s age to me, all I could picture were scenarios where my own daughter was missing, not a stranger. I envisioned Lizzie bursting into tears, consumed by her own fear and panic over what had happened to our daughter, while I desperately searched for her. In my mind, I tried in vain to find her, but no matter where I looked or what I did, it wasn’t good enough.

It was a horrific thought, and one I hoped I’d quickly be able to shake from my mind.

Just over a couple of years ago, I worked the Holly Jameson case. I believed Holly had been kidnapped, but I followed a trail of Instagram stories to eventually find that she had faked the whole thing for social media views. Holly had been slightly older than Faye, and yet during that case I didn’t have the same concern over my daughter’s safety that I did now.

Likely because my gut was screaming at me that this case was a lot more serious than Holly’s had ever been.

With Mia, there was no reservation in my mind that something bad had happened. There was always the chance she hadn’t been taken, like the time I was searching for Sarah Charles. Her parents were concerned something had happened to her when in reality, she’d ran away to be with her girlfriend, Kaz. But still, my gut told me I wasn’t going to be as lucky this time.

I followed Elijah out of the station and together we approached my car. Once we both got comfortable inside, I started the ignition as I spoke to Elijah.

“You said she was taken in Ampleforth village, right?” I asked passively.

“That’s right, sir,” Elijah said as he put on his seatbelt and gave me the family’s exact address.

I put the address in the satnav and was relieved to see it was only just over half an hour away.

“Not a far journey, that’s good,” I said happily as I looked over my shoulder and started to reverse out of the station.

For a while we drove in silence, then after around ten minutes Elijah spoke.

“I just want to thank you again for bringing me with you today, sir,” Elijah said gratefully as he nervously rubbed his thighs. “I’m so grateful to be here.”

I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the road and swiftly nodded. “That’s alright, Smith,” I said passively. “As I said, you started this case, so it’s only fair you play an active role in solving it.”

I sensed Elijah nodding energetically beside me. “I promise I will do everything I can to help Mia and her family.”

“I know you will, Smith,” I said with a slight smile as I tapped my fingers next to the gearbox. My smile slowly slipped from my face as I thought about the family. “Right now, Mrs. Murray will be going through what is likely the most difficult time of her life. It’s our job to do everything we can to stop that difficult time from turning into a tragic one.”

Elijah rubbed his face and made an odd noise in his throat. “Do you think Mia is still alive then, sir?”

I sighed and moved my hand back to the steering wheel. “I seriously hope so, lad,” I said glumly. “In these sorts of cases, I find that the victim is either killed right away, or the kidnapper has no intention of killing them/ Let’s just hope it’s the latter.”

“Yes, sir,” Elijah said gravely as he pushed himself upward in his seat.

“What do you think?” I asked curiously, glancing at him for a moment before focusing back on the road. “Do you think she’s still alive?”

Elijah rubbed his face thoughtfully. “I hope so, sir, but I don’t know. She disappeared on the way to work. For some reason, the scenario I had in my head was that she was accidentally hit by a car or something when she was walking. Maybe the person responsible panicked and tried to dispose of the body.”

I whistled. “Intense, but a good theory nonetheless. Just… don’t take this the wrong way, but I seriously hope you are wrong.”

Elijah chuckled awkwardly. “So do I, sir.”

We then drove in silence until we reached the outskirts of Ampleforth village.

“This must be it,” I said dryly as I drove into the village.

As we drove through Ampleforth, I suddenly felt like I was in a random episode of Midsommer Murders. The village of Ampleforth had a rather dated feel to it, and all the houses looked like they’d been around for several decades at the very least. There were no new builds around the area, just similar looking old buildings made from white bricks and stones. There were a couple of large churches, a few quaint inns, a couple of old-fashioned pubs, and a rather tiny farm. Overall, the village looked quiet. I was curious why Mia and her family had decided to move here.

I continued to drive and noticed that most of the villagers seemed to be in at least their sixties, which only further piqued my curiosity. The village looked like the sort of place you’d move to when you were ready to retire, not somewhere for a young family to build their lives. Elijah, like me, was clearly scanning the surroundings. I could sense his head moving around vigorously as though he were a nodding dog toy.

“I guess looks can be deceiving, but no one I’ve seen so far looks like they could be a kidnapper,” Elijah said pointedly as he continued to gaze out of the window.

“I know what you mean,” I said flatly as my foot tapped anxiously next to the car’s pedals. “Why did the Murrays move here, of all places?”

“I was thinking the same thing, sir,” Elijah said bluntly as he ran his hand over his hair. “The village looks nice enough, but there isn’t exactly much excitement, is there? I can’t see how it would appeal to a twenty-year-old girl.”

I thought of Faye and how she would feel if I told her we were living here and bit back a smirk. I knew for a fact Faye would be mortified at the prospect, so I could only imagine how Mia must have felt.

“Do you know where they lived before here?” I asked curiously as I stopped my car to let a grateful elderly couple cross the road.

“Not an exact location, but from what Sylvia said it sounded like they used to live close to York,” Elijah said passively as he continued to scan the surroundings, almost as though he was expecting Mia to burst out in front of us at any moment.

I turned to Elijah with a furrowed brow. “From a busy city to a practically dead village? An odd choice,” I said slowly, my fingers tapping wildly against the steering wheel as I waited for the couple to finish crossing the road.

Elijah leaned back casually in his chair, his eyes still alert. “I guess not everyone enjoys city life.”

I gave a noncommittal shrug. Once the couple were away from the road, I started to drive again. It only took another five minutes of driving before the sat nav declared we had reached our destination. The road we turned down had a few similar looking houses, and I quickly identified which one was Mia’s address. Mia’s house didn’t appear to be anything overly special. For a place that housed three adults, it looked rather small from the outside. Similar to the other houses I’d seen as I drove through the village, their house was made from old looking white bricks, though theirs seemed extra shabby. A small piece of ivy grew along the bricks and was slowly reaching the roof. The place looked incredibly woebegone, and I found it hard to believe that a family would have chosen this as a new place to live.

I wondered if maybe Mia had been taken due to family troubles, likely financial ones, which made me want to speak to them and find out. However, as I’d already told myself to leave the family for now, I knew I had to focus on following her trail for any potential clues. If that came up with nothing, the option of speaking to Sylvia and her husband was still there.

I didn’t want Sylvia seeing my car outside of her home, so I drove past it and parked a few doors down. Once I was satisfied that the car was close enough to the curb, I gestured with my head for Elijah to get out of the car so we could get to work. We both stepped out and started walking slowly away from my car.

“Right, so how are we doing this then, sir?” Elijah asked me, keen to get started.

“We need to figure out trails from here to Mia’s work,” I said as I zipped up my leather jacket. “I think the best way to do that is to follow a satnav trail from here to there. At least if we know a basic route, we can figure out other potential routes she would have walked.”

Elijah had already pulled his phone out of his trouser pocket halfway through my sentence and went to Google maps. He then typed in the address of Mia’s work and smiled when it was up.

“According to this, the walk takes about fifteen minutes. Let's follow the trail and see what we can find,” Elijah said excitedly, his eyes glued to his phone.

“I’m surprised it’s even as long as that in a village this small,” I said in astonishment.

Elijah snorted as we followed the trail on his phone.

From Mia’s address, the walk took us down public pathways and past a few of the village’s shops. After nearly half of the journey, I started to feel frustrated, knowing that a kidnapper would have struggled to get Mia in such open areas. There were no hidden crooks the attacker could have hidden in, no closed off areas where Mia could have been trapped. Out in the open like this, the kidnapper would have had no chance of taking her.

“Keep an eye out for any potential security cameras, Smith,” I said as I looked around for them myself. “These areas are open, and a camera could have picked up on something if we are lucky.”

“Will do, sir, though I can’t say I’ve seen much yet,” Elijah said, shoving his free hand into his trouser pocket as he sighed disappointedly. “This village seems a bit out of touch with things like modern technology.”

I grumbled irritably, knowing he was right. The village looked incredibly old-fashioned, so things like security cameras likely didn’t exist here.

We turned a corner, and I saw something which made me stop for a moment. It was something which gave me my first bit of hope since we started our walk.

It was a park.

The park was more of a small playground and had nothing overly significant to it. Although it was in the distance, I could see what looked like a slide, a couple of swings, and quite a few trees surrounding the rectangular space. There was nothing about the park that stood out, and yet there was one thing about it that appealed to me.

It would be the perfect place for someone to have attacked Mia.

“From that expression, I’m guessing you like the look of that park?” Elijah asked me hopefully as he glanced toward it.

I looked at him with a hopeful smile. “Aye, something like that,” I said casually as I pushed back my hair. “Everywhere else so far has been too open, too exposed, even during the nighttime.” I hesitated and glanced over at the park again. “Aye, if a kidnapper was going to take Mia without being seen, then that park would be perfect.”

“What are we waiting for?” Elijah said, moving eagerly on the balls of his feet. “Let’s go check it out!”

I squeezed his shoulder and urged him forward. We walked speedily toward the park and the closer we drew to it, the more my gut was purring.

This is the place. It has to be, I thought to myself hopefully.

“Look at how closed off this place is!” Elijah said as we arrived at one of the entrances. “I think you’re right, sir. This place really does look promising!”

I nodded as I put my hands in my leather jacket to hunt for some gloves. Elijah, noticing what I was doing, started to grab his own gloves out of his jacket pocket.

“What do you think, sir?” Elijah asked cautiously as he put his gloves on. “Shall we take a side each, then meet in the middle?”

“Time is of the essence,” I agreed. “We should separate. We’ll clear more ground that way.”

“Yes, sir,” Elijah said quickly. “I’ll take the left side closer to the road, and you can take the right.”

I smiled at Elijah for showing some initiative and agreed. Elijah went his way, and I went the other. I took a deep breath, hoping more than anything that we were about to find clues that pointed us to Mia’s whereabouts.

I know you’re still out there, Mia, and I’m coming for you.

6

The day was bright, which meant the visibility at the park couldn’t have been any better. I couldn’t have asked for more perfect conditions to search for clues.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Elijah searching hard on his side, so I turned back to mine and focused. I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, but I hoped for something, anything, that would indicate some form of altercation. The park wasn’t overly big, so I knew Elijah and I would be able to search it quickly. Hopefully, we’d get some good results.

I moved near the entrance of the park that Mia would have entered based on her house’s location, then I acted out her likely movements. There was a clear, thin concrete path through the centre of the park, and I knew Mia would have logically walked over it to get to the other side. In a way, this was a detriment to the case. If the park was all grass, then it would have been much easier to see potential signs of a tussle between Mia and her attacker. If she was attacked from behind on the pavement, the only clue would be if she dropped a personal item. I scanned the pavement, and it was clear there was nothing overly noticeable like an item of clothing or a bag on it. Although there wasn’t anything on the bigger side, I stooped my body closer to the pavement and scanned it carefully, hoping I’d find something like an earring or a key that could have belonged to Mia. For a few minutes I walked like this, ignoring the searing pain in my back from the position of my body, and huffed in aggravation when I reached the far end of the path and found nothing. I pushed back my hair and stretched out my back as I glanced toward Elijah on the left side of the park. From the concentration etched across his features, it was clear he had yet to find anything.

Come on, I thought to myself hopefully. There has to be something here.

I moved away from the path and scanned the grass and around the trees on the right side of the park. After thirty minutes of intense searching, I still found nothing. If anything, the park was annoyingly tidy. There wasn’t even so much as pieces of litter darted across the ground, let alone anything that could have helped us.

When I finished my search, I glanced toward Elijah. From the disappointed look on his face, it was clear he hadn’t found anything either. I sighed and stepped toward him, gently pulling off my gloves as I did so.

“Nothing?” Elijah asked me despondently as I approached him.

I shook my head. “And you?”

Elijah grumbled as he pulled off his own gloves. “Nope, nothing whatsoever.”

Either our kidnapper is meticulous, a complete expert, got incredibly lucky, or Mia wasn’t taken here, I thought to myself slowly.

“What now?” Elijah continued, his eyes glued to my face.

“Now we continue along the trail and see where that takes us,” I replied, hoping my tone sounded more confident than I felt. “If Mia wasn’t taken here, then she must have been taken elsewhere on the way to work.”

Elijah smiled weakly and hunted his pocket for his phone. “I guess that’s all we can do,” he said in a dejected tone.

I crossed my arms and waited for Elijah to get the route back up. “According to Google maps, the place is just over a five-minute walk away,” Elijah said thoughtfully as he scratched his face. “That doesn’t give us much time to find another potential kidnapping location.”

“No, but let’s try to keep the faith,” I said to Elijah pointedly as we walked.

Elijah’s face went pink. “Sorry, sir, I just don’t want to let Mia or her family down,” he said guiltily.

I smacked his upper back in a gentle, understanding way. “Me neither, Smith, which is why we can’t lose hope and need to keep trying.”

We followed the rest of the route in silence. The closer we drew to the bed-and-breakfast, the more my own hope started to fade away. Outside of the park offered nothing but open spaces again. When we reached the bed-and-breakfast, I sighed in annoyance.

There was no way Mia could have been taken anywhere except for the park, and yet there was no evidence there to back up that theory. We stood in front of the bed-and-breakfast, and I felt Elijah’s eyes on me.

“What now, sir?” Elijah asked quietly.

I pushed back my hair and looked at Elijah. “Since we are here, we might as well speak to the staff and see what they have to say. They may know details of her personal life or be able to offer us some pearls of wisdom.”

Elijah agreed, but as we moved to the front door, I realised we had hit another snag.

The bed-and-breakfast was closed today.

I swore under my breath and folded my arms irritably as I glared at the small closed sign in the window. “What sort of bed-and-breakfast is closed on Wednesdays?”

“This one, apparently,” Elijah grumbled unhappily.

“This is far from ideal, but right now there is nothing more we can do,” I said in annoyance as we walked away. “I suggest we go back to the station, find out if the girls have had any more luck than we have, offer them a hand if they need it, then we can return here tomorrow.”

Elijah looked dejected but agreed. “We don’t have much of a choice, do we?”

I looked at him sympathetically. “We will find her, Smith, I’m sure of it,” I said, attempting to inject confidence into my tone.

“I know we will, but it’s the state we will find her in that concerns me,” Elijah said morosely as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and drooped his shoulders.

I had the same concerns as Elijah, but considering he already seemed completely dejected, I didn’t want to add to his negativity by voicing my own.

We walked back to the car in silence, and our car ride to the station was equally quiet. There was a tension in the air, thick with frustration that we weren’t getting anywhere. I thought again about Faye, and couldn’t imagine the stress Mia’s parents must have been going through. I hated the fact I still had no reassurance to offer them. I just hoped, once we got back to the station, there would be some good news for us.

The drive back to the station felt slow, but eventually, we made it back. Elijah and I got out of the car and walked side by side through the main doors, up the stairs, and into our department. When we entered the room, Lylah stood up from her desk and approached us.

“How did it go?” she asked keenly as she twiddled her hands in anticipation.

I glanced behind her and saw Nadia and Rebecca were now both alert, their attention on me instead of their computers. I kicked my foot awkwardly along the ground before speaking.

“Not very well, if you want the truth,” I said bluntly as I watched Elijah walk sulkily toward his desk. “We followed Mia’s trail to work and found nothing. To make matters worse, we couldn’t even go into her workplace. It’s stupidly closed on Wednesdays.”

Lylah touched my elbow with a sad expression. “Sorry to hear that, sir,” she said affectionately.

I gave her a weak smile and walked further into the room, my eyes moving between the different faces of my team. I went to speak, but our department’s main phone started to ring. Nadia quickly moved from her chair and went to answer it. I raised an eyebrow and caught Lylah’s eye.

“That will be Sylvia again,” Lylah said in a slow, upset tone. “She’s been calling every twenty minutes or so to ask for an update.”

After a few minutes, Nadia rejoined the team, her face a mixture of sympathy and annoyance. “You alright?” I asked her gently.

Nadia gave me a small smile. “I’m fine,” she said quickly as she sat back in her chair. “I feel for the woman, but we can’t do our jobs if she continues to ring here every few minutes.”

I nodded and looked at Lylah. “I don’t suppose you’d mind making me a coffee, would you?”

Lylah instantly went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. As the kettle boiled loudly, I stepped toward Rebecca’s desk and readied myself to address the team.

“You know how Smith and I got on, but how did things go on your end?” I asked, crossing my arms and widening my eyes hopefully.

Rebecca pushed back in her chair and looked up at me, crossing one leg over the other as she did so. “Unfortunately, our success rate matches your own,” she said bitterly. “The three of us contacted a bunch of Mia’s close friends, and all of them swore they haven’t heard much from her since she moved. We all made sure we pressed her friends and made them see how serious this was, but none of them admitted to having Mia with them.”

Lylah walked over and pushed a mug of coffee into my outstretched hand. I nodded to her gratefully, then turned my focus back to Rebecca.

“Did any of you get the vibe that any of the friends could have been lying?” I pressed.

Rebecca swept her hair over her left ear. “No, I don’t think any of them were lying, and neither did Nadia nor Stone,” she said unhappily. “The friends all knew we were working under the impression Mia could have been taken, so I doubt they’d have lied when they were aware of the gravity of the situation.” She smirked slightly. “Especially not when we all strongly hinted they could be arrested for obstructing a police investigation if they didn’t tell us everything they knew.”

I rolled my eyes with a slight smile, knowing the move was just the sort of thing I’d grown to expect from Rebecca. “Did you ask the friends about a potential boyfriend or girlfriend?” I asked curiously.

Rebecca sat up straighter in her chair. “The people we spoke to all seemed to have the same mind and opinions when it came to Mia. None of them thought she had a boyfriend before she moved or knew about a potential new boyfriend since living at Ampleforth, and all of them seemed to think that Mia is far from the running away sort.” She hesitated and her forehead wrinkled in concern. “Which makes the likelihood of her leaving of her own accord slim to nil.”

I bit my lip in discomfort before taking a slow sip of my coffee. Deep down, I’d never thought it was likely that Mia had simply run away, but to have that confirmed was a bitter pill to swallow. Especially as that only left foul play as an option.

I took another sip of my coffee, then walked into the middle of the department. “Right, so it now looks like we have to assume that Mia has been taken, which makes this case extremely serious,” I said with authority as I put my free hand on my hip and looked around the room. “We contacted people close to her, kept an eye on her social media, and we searched the route that she’d have taken to her job, so what else can we be doing right now?”

Lylah moved next to Nadia at her desk and the two women looked at one another with blank expressions. Elijah continued to look glum and defeated. He was sitting at his desk and slowly moving his chair from side to side with a vacant look. Rebecca was looking at me, her forehead screwed up in concentration.

I sighed impatiently, took a long sip of my coffee, and smacked my lips before speaking again.

“Right, so clearly no one has any ideas,” I said bluntly, looking around at the sheepish, embarrassed faces of the team as I spoke. “We all know the first twenty-four hours of any missing person’s case are crucial, so we can’t afford to waste any time.”

“But what are we supposed to do, sir?” Lylah asked stubbornly as she leant against her hand on Nadia’s desk. “We have no evidence, we can’t question her work as they’re currently closed… we could speak to the family again, but Elijah already got everything out of them, so what else is there?”

“We know roughly where she was taken, right?” I asked loudly, addressing the entire team as I slammed my mug down on one of the desks. “Let’s look into any potential CCTV around Ampleforth during the time she was taken. We can get a team to Ampleforth with a photo of Mia so they can ask the locals if they’ve seen anything, and gauge their feelings toward their new neighbours, too. We might not have much to go on right now, but that’s why we need to try to proactively find things to go on.”

“We didn’t have much luck seeing any cameras though, sir,” Elijah pointed out nervously, sinking into his chair as though worried he’d face my wrath by questioning me.

“True, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t cameras that we missed,” I said boldly as I looked at him with crossed arms.

The team went quiet, so I looked around them all sternly as I gritted my teeth. “Well? What are we waiting for!?” I said snappishly. “Let’s get to work!”

I watched in frustration as the team all rushed to do their jobs. I picked up my coffee, finished the final dregs of it, then put it in the kitchen. After I placed the mug in the sink, I walked into my office for the first time since I’d come back. I saw the large pile of papers in my paper tray, grumbled, and completely ignored them. There was plenty of time to go through those, but limited time to find Mia.

The hours trailed by, and the day slowly came to an end. As I drove Lylah and I home, I was filled with frustration over our lack of progress. Elijah and Rebecca had found nothing when looking into CCTV options. Lylah and Nadia had a few words with random villagers in Ampleforth, and none of them seemed to have been around during the time Mia went missing. They all also seemed to be incredibly positive of the Murray family and had welcomed them with open arms. While those four did those tasks, I kept an eye on Mia’s social media pages for any recent updates, but that also wielded nothing. To make matters worse, Sylvia had called us another four times throughout the day to check on our progress.

Nothing feels worse than being unable to give someone the good news they so desperately craved.

I felt bad, and that night Lylah and I barely spoke since I was too consumed by my negative thoughts. The team and I had all worked hard, and yet time was ticking, and we still hadn’t found any evidence pointing us to Mia’s whereabouts. I knew that first thing tomorrow, I’d drop Lylah off at the station, then go back to Ampleforth to speak to Mia’s workplace. It was one of the only options available to us now, and I was getting desperate for any information that could help.

Luckily, that evening and morning rushed by like someone had pushed the fast-forward button on my life. In what felt like no time at all, I was back in the car with Lylah, and we were travelling to Victoria Way station, both of us determined to make today a more successful day. As I drove, I put a comforting hand on Lylah’s knee.

“Sorry I’ve been so quiet, love,” I said gently as I squeezed her leg. “This case is just getting to me, that’s all.”

Lylah put her hand on my own and stroked it. “I understand,” she said sensitively. “It felt awful going around the village and getting nothing. I just hope today will be different.”

“Come, love,” I said kindly as we pulled up to the station. “I’ll go in with you and see if Smith fancies joining me again today.”

Lylah looked slightly disappointed, but agreed. As we walked inside, I noticed Lylah continued to look put out, so I sighed impatiently.

“You know if I had my way, I’d always choose you to go out with me,” I said in a gentle yet firm tone as we walked up the stairs. “But Smith was the one to start this case, so it’s only fair I let him have the most involvement in it.”

Lylah looked at me guiltily. “Sorry, I definitely need to work on my poker face, don’t I?” she asked sheepishly.

I rubbed her lower back and snorted. “Aye, maybe a little bit.”

We entered the department in a happier mood, but that happiness soon vanished when I saw Elijah wasn’t in the room. I glanced at my watch and hoped he’d be in soon. Luckily, Elijah turned up five minutes later, so I gave him a curt nod, then addressed the team.

“Right, today I’m wanting to go back to Ampleforth and speak to the workers at that bed-and-breakfast,” I said. “I think it’s best if I—”

My words were interrupted by the loud ringing of the department’s main phone. I grumbled in annoyance at the timing.

“Shall I answer it?” Nadia offered as she stretched her back away from the desk. “It’s probably going to be Sylvia again.”

“Nah, it’s alright,” I grumbled tiredly, my feet already making their way toward the phone.

I’d ignored all of the other calls from her, but I couldn’t avoid speaking to her forever. I grabbed the phone and put the receiver to my right ear.

“Good afternoon, DCI Ellis speaking,” I said gruffly as I fidgeted with the phone’s cord.

“Ellis, I’m glad it’s you,” said a familiar female voice. “This is DC Carter.”

I raised an eyebrow in surprise as I looked back toward my team. “DC Carter, it’s good to hear from you,” I said, my tone still flat. “How can I help you?”

Sarah was silent for a moment, which made me instantly stand straighter.

“Unfortunately, I’m not calling with good news,” Sarah eventually replied.

I could tell Sarah was trying hard to keep her tone free of emotion, but her voice quivered as she spoke. Sarah always seemed to keep a level head, so to hear her sounding on the more emotional side caused me to feel alarmed.

“What’s happened, DC Carter?” I asked boldly.

I was still facing my team, and like me, I saw their body language change instantly. Everyone was suddenly alert and giving me their undivided attention.

“I’ve just been called to a scene at the Gormire Lake in the North York Moors National Park,” Sarah said passively, her voice still quivering slightly.

I held my breath at her words. The North York Moors held nothing but unpleasant memories for me, so the thought of needing to go there was far from a welcome one.

“Alright, what happened there?” I asked cautiously as I rubbed my face.

“The body of a young woman has been found,” Sarah said glumly. “A young man noticed it in the water first thing this morning.”

My blood ran cold at those words. The moment Sarah mentioned a young woman, I could only think of one name.

Mia.

Jesus Christ, please tell me it isn’t her, I thought to myself morosely.

“That’s awful,” I said in a glum tone, hastily turning my back on the team so they couldn’t see my facial expressions.

“I know,” Sarah said sadly. “Are you and your team able to get here?”

I didn’t know whether or not the body was going to be Mia’s, but I knew going to see the body had to be a priority over speaking to Mia’s work colleagues.

“Of course, DC Carter,” I said confidently. “I’ll get my team ready now and we’ll be on our way shortly.”

“Thanks, DCI Ellis,” Sarah said emotionally. “Be warned, you and your team aren’t going to like what you see.”

Before I could ask any further questions, Sarah hung up the phone. For a moment, I stood there holding the phone, unable to move or put it down.

Everything in my body was screaming at me that the body was Mia’s. I knew the lake wasn’t far from Ampleforth, and it would have been the perfect location for someone to dump her body. I sighed deeply, put the phone down, then turned and faced the team.

Everyone looked at me with concerned expressions, but eventually Nadia stepped forward.

“What did DC Carter have to say, Sean?” she asked with worry.

I pushed my hair back, my expression flat. “I think she may have found Mia.”

7

Elijah’s face lit up hopefully, but Rebecca, Nadia, and Lylah could tell from my tone what I was insinuating.

Sarah had likely just found Mia’s body.

Elijah’s face quickly changed as he glanced around at everyone else’s expressions. Rebecca’s face was void of emotion, Lylah’s lip quivered unpleasantly, and Nadia was looking toward me with wide, emotional eyes.

“No. No,” Elijah repeated in a quiet, broken voice. “She can’t be dead.”

I sighed and rubbed my face. “There’s always the potential the body isn’t Mia Murray’s, but I think we need to go in expecting it to be her,” I said candidly as I stepped toward the team.

“What did DC Carter say, exactly?” Rebecca asked, her tone oozing authority.

I knew Rebecca was just as upset as everyone else, but she was trying to be ever the professional. It was exactly what we all needed right now. We could not allow our emotions to get the better of us, especially in our career field. Rebecca had always been good at keeping a level head when it came to emotional matters.

“She said that a body had been found at Gormire Lake,” I said as I crossed my arms. “And she’s requested our presence there.”

“The lake isn’t overly far from the village, is it?” Elijah asked slowly, his eyes to the ground.

I sighed. “No, it isn’t.”

“Did she say anything about Mia—er, the body,” Nadia said, quickly changing her words halfway through her sentence. Her cheeks reddened.

Elijah glanced at her pointedly, and Nadia avoided his gaze.

“No, all she said was there was a body, but I won’t lie to you all, she sounded more upset than I’ve ever heard her to be,” I said honestly as I rubbed at the scar on my lip. “She told me to warn everyone that we likely won’t like what we see there.”

Elijah went pale and Lylah put a trembling hand to her mouth.

“Jesus, that sounds bad,” Rebecca said bluntly as she tapped her fingers on her elbows.

“Aye, it does,” I said frankly as I furrowed my brow. “If anyone wants to stay behind, I’ll understand. I know we’ve all been working on this case as a unit, but there’s no shame in anyone staying at the station.”

As emotional as the team looked, everyone stood up straight and looked determined at my words.

“We’re in this together, sir,” Lylah said as she took a step forward.

“We always support one another, and that won’t change now,” Nadia said fervidly as she squeezed Lylah’s shoulder.

Rebecca rubbed her neck as she nodded. “We should all go, Sean,” she said emotionlessly. “We can take two cars. That way, if we get a call about another case someone can leave.”

“And I have to be there, sir,” Elijah said boldly. “I was the one to start this case. If Mia is dead, I have to be there to see it through.”

I gave him a thin smile, then looked around at the team. “Rebecca is right. We should take more than one vehicle. Knowing our luck, we’ll get a call when we are out. Who is driving?”

“I will,” Nadia and Rebecca said at the same time.

The two women looked at each other in amusement at speaking in unison.

I nodded appreciatively at both of them. “Ta, you two. Me and Stone will travel with Nadia, and Smith you can travel with Rebecca.”

Everyone agreed and instantly got moving. Rebecca and Nadia went to the coat racks and grabbed their jackets while Elijah, Lylah, and I started making our way out of the department. We walked down the stairs, and I stopped when I reached the reception. As soon as I got there, Karen eyed up the three of us with a surprised look.

“I take it that something serious happened if this many of you are leaving?” Karen asked curiously as she leant her elbows on the desk.

I scratched my chin and grimaced. “Unfortunately so,” I said bluntly. “DI Tumber and DS Begum are also coming, so we will all be out of the department for a bit. If we receive any urgent calls, forward them directly to my mobile.”

Karen raised an alarmed eyebrow but agreed.

We all moved with haste out of the front door of the station and toward our vehicles. Rebecca always parked at the front of the station like I did, but Nadia always parked on the road slightly away from it. By the time Nadia, Lylah, and I had reached Nadia’s car, Rebecca’s car sped past us. She put her hand out of the window and waved at us with a satisfied grin as she passed by.

“Let’s hope Elijah doesn’t suffer from travel sickness,” Nadia said sarcastically as we got into the car. “Just watching Rebecca drive makes me nauseous.”

I snorted as I put on my seatbelt in the back seat. Out of politeness, I’d let Lylah join Nadia in the front. “He’s been able to put up with my driving, so I’m sure he’ll be fine,” I said with a slight smirk.

“You’re more furious than fast I’d say,” Lylah said sarcastically as she got settled in the front seat. I rolled my eyes as the two women giggled together.

Once we were all ready, Nadia pulled out of her parking space and started making her way to Gormire Lake. I had a quick glance at the satnav and grumbled to myself when I saw the drive was going to take us around forty-five minutes.

As much as I didn’t relish the idea of seeing the body of a woman who was barely an adult, I was desperate to know if the body was Mia. I was already convinced it was her, but I had to have that confirmation before we could move forward. My thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Nadia’s voice.

“You said the body was found at Gormire Lake, but did DC Carter say anything specific?” Nadia asked.

“Like what?” Lylah asked curiously as she turned in her chair to face Nadia.

“I mean did she say if the body was in the lake or near it,” Nadia said as she looked at me in her rearview mirror. “That could maybe give some indication of the cause of death.”

“Aye, she said the body was found in the lake first thing this morning,” I replied as I fidgeted in my seat. “Apparently some young bloke noticed it, but that was all she said.”

“Likely drowning then,” Nadia said with a sad sigh.

“But accidental or on purpose?” Lylah asked, tapping lightly on her knee as she spoke.

That’s what we are about to find out, I thought to myself unpleasantly.

“People accidentally drown while swimming on a regular basis,” I said. “But if the body is Mia, I think it’s safe to say the chances of the death being accidental are unlikely.”

Lylah and Nadia both kept quiet for a few moments then Lylah spoke again.

“Someone could have killed Mia elsewhere then went to the lake to dump the body,” Lylah said thoughtfully as she played with her blond plait. “Maybe the death wasn’t a drowning at all.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Nadia said with an appreciative nod. “She wouldn’t have exactly gone swimming when she was meant to be going to work, would she?”

The journey resumed in silence for a while, everyone consumed in their own thoughts over what we were about to uncover. There was silence and minimal movement in the car until we were around ten minutes away from the lake. The closer we got to our destination, the more I noticed with impatience that Nadia was acting strangely. She was tapping various areas around the car with her fingers erratically and kept glancing at me in her rearview mirror, her face the picture of anxiety. After a few minutes of this, I bit the inside of my cheek in annoyance.

“Something on your mind, Nadia?” I asked bluntly, gazing into the rearview mirror with a raised brow.

Nadia’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she cleared her throat and quickly recovered.

“I was just thinking about how you might be feeling,” she said, her tone suggesting slight embarrassment.

“How I might be feeling?” I asked her in confusion. “We are about to go and see the body of a dead girl, Nadia, so I can imagine I’m feeling the same as everyone else.”

Nadia scratched the back of her neck. “I know that,” she said impatiently. “But I also know we are approaching the North York Moors too and didn’t know how you felt about that.”

Understanding hit me quickly, and I grew slightly sheepish in my seat. My brother, Craig, had died at Runswick Bay in the North York Moors many years ago. Just over a year ago, I’d had to confront that past when my dying father revealed to me that Craig’s death wasn’t an accident. That newfound knowledge had pushed me into finding out the truth, and the truth was far from pleasant. Rebecca, Lylah, and I ended up back at the bay where our colleague, Benjamin Cattermole, formerly known as Emmett Hunter, was revealed to be Craig’s old classmate and killer. After an altercation on top of the cliffs, Rebecca ended up shooting and killing Ben. None of us had returned there since that day.

Luckily, the North York Moors were massive, and I knew there was at least an hour’s distance between Gormire Lake and Runswick bay, but that didn’t mean it was a nice thought to be so close to a place which held such dark, consuming memories for me. However, as I looked into the reflection of Nadia’s dark, concerned eyes I knew I didn’t want to admit that my heart almost jumped out of my chest when Sarah had mentioned the moors to me. I had to keep it together for the sake of the team.

“Ta for the concern, but I’m alright,” I said gently as I smiled at the rearview mirror. “That’s all in the past now.”

Lylah turned around and faced me, her forehead screwed up in uncertainty. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Lylah asked softly as she reached her hand out toward me. “That psycho tried to kill you.”

“And he succeeded in killing my brother,” I said coldly as I gripped her hand. “But I can’t let that consume me. Thanks to Rebecca that man is dead, and I don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“God, Rebecca,” Lylah said in a slow, worried tone as she moved her hand away and shifted her body so it was facing forward again. “I hope being close to the moors won’t trigger her. She dealt with all of that so well, I’d hate for something to set her back.”

I rubbed my stubble and looked out of the window, trying to imagine how Rebecca was fairing in her car.

“Rebecca will be fine,” I said confidently. “She’s a strong woman, and it isn’t like we are going to the scene, anyway. She’ll be so focused on finding out what happened to our victim that she won’t have the time to think of herself.”

I knew the team had great respect for Rebecca, almost as much as I did, so it was only natural everyone would want to make sure she was okay too. I also knew Rebecca well enough to know that we had to be smart around her. If for one second she thought we were concerned over her, she wouldn’t take it well.

“I guess we’re here,” Nadia said candidly, bringing my focus back to the moment.

I looked directly ahead and noticed two PCs standing on the road, blocking the entrance to the lake. Nadia slowly approached the PCs and rolled down her window. I watched as one of the PCs, a slightly overweight woman with cropped blond hair and small green eyes, approached the window. She looked into the car with a stern glance, her nostrils flaring as though she just got a horrendous whiff of something.

“We are directing all traffic away from this area,” the woman said in an annoyed tone as she took in everyone in the car. “There has been an incident that is currently being resolved.”

“We are aware,” Nadia said with authority as she pulled out her badge. “I’m DS Begum, here with two of my colleagues.” Nadia waited for the woman to finish inspecting her badge before she lowered it. “We received a phone call from DC Carter telling us to get here.”

The woman turned to her colleague and nodded at him before looking back to us.

“Of course, I’m sorry to hold you,” she said apologetically as she stepped away from the car.

“That’s fine,” Nadia replied, giving the PC a polite smile before closing her window and starting down the road.

“At least everything seems to be in order here,” Lylah said with relief as she glanced back toward the two PCs. “That will make our jobs much easier.”

“Definitely,” I said in agreement.

The last thing we needed was a bunch of people wandering around the lake and disrupting our investigation.

As Nadia continued onward, I noticed some police tape up ahead cordoning off the lake. Just behind the tape I could see the lake coming into view.

I didn’t know what would be better: if the body was Mia, or if another poor young woman had lost her life. Neither option was pleasant, but I was soon about to find out what we were dealing with.

8

We soon reached the lake’s main car park and Gormire Lake came into full view. The lake was still a bit of a walk from the carpark, at least ten minutes, but even from here you could get a good look at the vast greenery that surrounded the lake. The area was so covered by trees and bushes it could only make me think of one thing.

This would be the perfect place to dispose of a body.

I stood outside the car and waited for Nadia and Lylah to exit the vehicle. Once both women were outside, I saw them gazing at the lake with looks of awe.

“Wow, that lake is huge!” Nadia said, impressed. “We’re lucky the body didn’t vanish!”

“It’s beautiful.” Lylah said, turning to look at me, a smile. “Isn’t it gorgeous, Sean? I mean, sir?” she corrected herself quickly, her cheeks reddening.

“I can’t say I’m able to see much beauty right now,” I said as I glared toward the lake. “Not until I know what’s happened to the girl.”

“My sentiments exactly,” a voice replied. I turned around and saw Rebecca getting out of her car, Elijah close at her heel.

“I thought you’d have been ahead of us?” I asked.

“We got here before you, but Smith and I decided it would be best to wait until everyone was here before we set off,” she said casually as she joined us.

“Aye, let’s go to the scene together,” I said with approval as I gestured for everyone to start making their way toward the lake.

“I dread what we are about to see,” Rebecca said as she walked beside me.

“Aye, me too,” I said unabashedly as I matched her pace. “DC Carter didn’t exactly make it sound like we’d be stumbling upon anything pleasant.”

“Well, let’s just hope that whatever we do find will be something we can solve quickly,” Rebecca sighed.

We walked along the muddy path, our feet crunching against the leaves and twigs. I avoided glancing at Rebecca, but my conversation with Nadia and Lylah made me curious as to how she was feeling being back at the moors again. I was unsure how to bring it up, but luckily Rebecca made that job easy for me.

“At least this time we’re on the complete opposite side of the moors,” she said casually, though I noticed her hands were gripping one another tightly.

I cleared my throat. “Aye, I can’t say I’m disappointed to be away from the cliffs.”

There was an awkward silence for a moment, but I quickly broke it.

“Are you feeling good though?” I asked candidly as we continued to walk amongst the trees and toward the lake.

Rebecca gave me an expressionless side-eye. “Of course,” she said quickly.

I knew better than to press Rebecca, so I simply nodded. Suddenly, I heard noises which made me stop in my tracks. There were at least two voices, both female, and after listening to them for a few seconds it was clear who the voices belonged to.

DC Sarah Carter and Hannah Smith, the pathologist who had surprised me on more than once occasion with her strong scouse accent.

As we drew closer, our feet loudly snapped twigs along the path as we walked. I heard Sarah and Hannah stop talking and knew they must have pulled their focus in our direction. We stepped around the corner, and Sarah turned around to face us. She gave me a curt nod, her expression far from happy. Her shoulder-length brunette hair had been tied back in a tiny bun, and her small blue eyes looked even smaller due to the redness around them. It was obvious she’d either recently been crying or had been holding back tears, which put me more on edge than I already was. She was wearing baggy cargo trousers, thick black boots caked in mud and gunk, and a waterproof jacket. She moved slightly to the left, revealing Hannah standing just behind her.

Hannah was wearing a rather grubby looking forensic suit, which told me she’d already examined the body. There was mud, wet leaves, and other debris from the lake plastered all over her suit, so it was now far from white. Even with the suit on, I could still get a glimpse of her bright auburn hair. The sunlight came down from the trees and somehow made her hair shine all the brighter, even when mostly covered by a white forensic hood. Her eyes, one blue and one brown, were wide and filled with sorrow.

Christ, I thought to myself in dismay. Things must be bad if these two professionals are struggling after what they’ve seen.

“DCI Ellis,” Sarah said in a flat tone as she stepped toward me, snapping off her gloves as she walked. She looked around the team and acknowledged them all before turning back to me. “I’m so grateful to you and your team for coming here.”

“DC Carter,” I said briskly. “No need to thank us. Just let us know what it is we are dealing with here.”

Hannah stepped closer toward us. “Quick and to the point, probably the best considering the unpleasant circumstances we find ourselves in,” she said honestly as she gazed at the team.

I quickly glanced at Rebecca—who always seemed rather taken by Hannah’s beauty—and was surprised to see she wasn’t reacting to Hannah at all. If anything, her face was void of emotion and she radiated nothing but seriousness. Either Rebecca had gotten over her slight crush, or the situation was so intense that she could do nothing but focus on the task at hand.

“I will quickly catch you up on things before Hannah shows you the body,” Sarah said, looking at Hannah as though for reassurance.

Hannah nodded and took a slight step away from us. I watched the direction she walked in, and I could tell from the police presence in that direction that she must have been moving toward the body. With great difficulty, I turned away from Hannah and looked at Sarah.

Sarah gave me a grim smile. “We always end up on the most unpleasant of cases together, don’t we?”

I nodded as I rubbed my stubble. “How did you end up here, anyway?” I asked curiously. “You haven’t had another day off ruined, have you?”

During the drugs case I’d worked nearly two years ago, Sarah had called me to the scene. She’d stumbled across a woman who found a body when out on a walk. If it wasn’t for the fact she’d been trying to explore on one of her days off, I likely never would have been pulled onto that case.

Sarah rubbed her hands together and chuckled dryly. “Not quite. I actually work at a station not too far from here. When I received my promotion, I was transferred to Pickering station, which is around half an hour from here. It’s the closest station, hence why that guy called us.”

She gestured to her right, and I looked over and noticed a man for the first time. The man looked young, probably not much older than the young woman, and he was currently hugging himself while talking to two PCs. He was wearing an Under Armour gray tracksuit that looked wet and glued to his body. His short brown hair was also slicked to his face from the water. Initially, I thought he was hugging himself because of what he’d just witnessed, but the more I looked at him the more I realised he was trying to warm himself up as he spoke to the PCs.

“My team doesn’t specialise in deaths and homicide, so I knew the smartest move was to call you in,” Sarah finished.

I nodded then glanced back toward the young man. “Have you questioned him yourself?” I asked, my eyes taking in everything about the man.

“Yeah, I have, though I asked him to stay. I had a feeling you’d want to question him personally,” Sarah said with a knowing look in her eyes. She crossed her arms then continued. “He told me he’d got up for an early morning run and when he was running around the lake he saw the girl in the water. He said instinct kicked in and he quickly dove into the water, hoping the girl might be alive.” She sighed glumly. “But it was clear she’d been dead for a while.”

“So his DNA will be all over the body now,” I said with slight annoyance. I understood the man did what he needed to do, but he’d also contaminated the body.

“Yes, but he acted how anyone else would,” Sarah said somewhat protectively.

I nodded as I searched my jacket pocket for my gloves.

“Anything else you can tell us before we look at the body?” I asked gently as I started to pull my gloves on.

Sarah watched as my team also put on their gloves and rubbed her neck in contemplation. “I have a few other things I could tell you, but nothing you won’t get yourself from seeing the body,” she said pointedly. “I’ll say a quick goodbye to Hannah, then leave you lot to your investigation.”

I lifted a heavy brow in surprise. “Are you not joining us for the investigation?”

Sarah looked almost wistful as she shook her head. “I wish I was, I do love working with you guys, but my DI insisted I pass the baton over to you and your team once you got here,” she said, her tone tinted with bitterness. “Though obviously I want you to let me know how this all turns out.”

“Of course,” I said respectfully. “Once this is all sorted I’ll give you a call, alright?”

Sarah smiled appreciatively. “Thanks! Anyway, I’d better hurry up out of here so you can get to it.”

Sarah didn’t wait for me to respond, instead she said her goodbyes to the rest of my team then approached Hannah. After a couple of minutes, Sarah left the area. Once she started to walk away, Hannah came back toward us with a sombre expression.

“Are you all ready to see the body?” Hannah asked passively as she adjusted her forensic hood around her hair.

“As ready as we'll ever be,” Lylah said nervously.

Hannah grimaced understandingly then gestured for us to follow her. We all walked in silence behind Hannah, none of us doing much more than breathing as we composed ourselves for what we were about to see. Hannah took us toward the edge of the lake, gesturing for the PCs to move out of our way, and once they did, I was able to see the body for the first time.

I looked at the body and could see why everyone had been so affected by it. The girl looked incredibly young. Although I’d have said she was likely around twenty, she had a youthful face that made her look as though she was in her late teens. I’d only seen the one photo of Mia—I’d asked Elijah to show me one when we were at the station so I knew who we were looking for—and, although it was hard to tell from the damage done to her, I was almost certain I was looking at her.

The color had drained from her face and body so that she was a ghostly white, likely from being in the river. She wore a bright yellow coat that I noticed with horror had blood down the front of it. The blood was mostly on the sleeve of her left arm, but there was also some on the left side of her coat. It was impossible to tell if she had multiple injuries, or if she had hurt her arm and the blood had dripped down from her sleeve and onto her side. Her long brunette hair was stuck to her face and covered in mud and muck from the lake. She had worn sheer tights, but they were now scratched to pieces. Whether this was from her attacker or from being thrown in the lake was hard to say. I noticed she wore black, long boots, and only one of them was missing. I hadn’t noticed a boot on the trail we walked, so I wondered if maybe it was near the lake or in the lake itself. I pushed back my hair and felt at a loss for words as I looked at the dead girl’s wide, pleading blue eyes. It was a horrid sight to see, but I knew I had to maintain professionalism.

I looked down at the blood over her coat and felt nothing but anger. “So she didn’t die from drowning then?” I asked coldly.

“Actually, I think she did,” Hannah said in surprise as she moved closer to the body.

I raised an eyebrow. “But the blood?”

“I think she sustained some injuries, though until I get her on my table it’s impossible to say what those are,” she said candidly as she moved her gloved hands toward the girl’s exposed neck, gently moving a silver butterfly necklace that was there. “Whatever the injuries were, I think the blood on her coat makes them seem a lot worse than they really were. See the red marks here?”

I moved closer to the body, sensed the others doing the same, and saw clear red marks standing out against her shockingly white neck. “Strangled?” I asked curiously.

I looked at Hannah, who was shaking her head. “I can’t say for certain, but to me it looks more like our attacker grabbed the victim’s neck from behind and forced her under the water.” She hesitated and made a sad sighing sound. “The poor girl wouldn’t have stood a chance.” She then lifted up the cuffs on the girl’s coat. “There are red marks here too, so I would assume she was restrained before she got here.”

I felt my blood starting to boil at the thought of someone holding the girl hostage then forcing her under the water. Why? They must have been furious to have done something so unspeakable to her.

“So you’re quite confident the girl was killed here and not elsewhere?” Rebecca asked with authority as she stepped closer toward the body.

Hannah looked at Rebecca and stood up. “Yes, pretty certain, though until I get the chance to properly examine her I wouldn’t want you to quote that as fact,” she said with a slight warning.

I struggled to pull my eyes away from the girl. The pale face, the vacant eyes, and the blood standing out so vividly against her yellow coat were a horrid sight to see, and yet it spurred me on to do my job.

I turned back to Hannah and edged slightly away from the body. “Do you have an ID on the vic?” I asked slowly.

Hannah bit her lip. “No, the girl had no possessions on her,” she said in disappointment. “You’ll either have to wait until I get a formal ID through the lab results or for someone to put in a missing person’s request.”

We’ve already had one of those, I thought to myself gloomily

I looked toward Elijah. From the way the look on his face mirrored my own when I first saw her, I knew I didn’t need to wait for pathology to know the girl’s identity.

I was facing the body of Mia Murray.

I looked toward the others, who were also looking at the body with broken, defeated expressions. That only further cemented the girl’s identity in my mind. I’d been relatively certain the body was that of Mia’s from the moment I saw her, but Elijah and the others had closely analysed the girl’s social media accounts. They knew her appearance like the back of their hands, and from the look on all of their faces, I could tell they were certain we’d finally found her.

Just not in the way any of us wanted.

“We actually did have someone call in about a missing person,” I said cautiously as I chewed the inside of my cheek. I gestured toward Elijah. “DC Smith received a call Tuesday evening about a young woman going missing. We spent all of yesterday looking for her, but to no avail. All of us have seen photos of her, and the girl in front of us looks a hell of a lot like the girl in those images. Her name was Mia Murray, and she’d recently celebrated her twentieth birthday.”

Hannah took a long intake of breath, her eyes on the dead girl. “What a waste of such a young life,” she said solemnly. “Is there anything else you want to ask?”

“Aye, can you tell how long she’s been dead for?” I asked as I looked down at Mia’s cold, white skin shining like the light of the moon.

Hannah crossed her arms and looked at the body. As she thought, the tip of her tongue protruded out of her mouth and moistened her lips. “From the discoloration on the skin I’d say it was likely she was killed at some point last night.” She hesitated slightly as she took in the body. “I wouldn’t want to say much for certain until I get her analysed, but it would have likely been between nine PM and midnight.”

Meaning there was a chance I could have saved her, I thought to myself with dread.

“Mia’s mother called the station to report her daughter missing on Tuesday evening,” I said in a slow, emotionless tone. “So whoever took Mia waited around twenty-four hours until they killed her. I wonder why.”

“Me too,” Hannah said, her sad tone tinged with anger. “Whoever her killer is, they wanted to keep her alive for a reason, at least initially.” She rubbed her face, then turned back to me. “Anyway, I think that’s probably everything for now. I will get her to my lab and contact you once I have the results.”

I nodded to her gratefully, then turned to my team. I jerked my head for them to follow me and we all walked away from Hannah. Once she was out of earshot, Rebecca spoke.

“I guess we know where Mia is,” Rebecca said flatly, her dark eyes staring straight ahead without emotion or expression.

I pushed back my hair and hung my head in respect. I’d failed Mia by not finding her in time, but I knew I couldn’t continue to fail her in death like I had done in life. Mia was dead, and I was going to stop at nothing to find out exactly what had happened to her.

“We didn’t save her, but we can still honour her,” I said passionately as I looked around the glum faces before me. “Mia deserves our full effort with this, guys,” I said with authority as I pulled off my gloves. “It’s shit we didn’t find her alive, I get that, but we have to work hard to do right by her!”

The team all started to nod, and I clapped my hands together in alertness.

“Rebecca and I are going to speak to the guy who found Mia,” I instructed. “You three can talk more with Hannah, look more at the body before she takes it away, or even look at the area where she was pulled out of the lake. Anything that will help.”

Nadia, Lylah, and Elijah all quickly agreed and made their way back toward Hannah. After watching them for a second or two, I turned back to Rebecca and gave her a stern look.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Ready,” she affirmed.

As we approached the young man, I just hoped and prayed that he would be able to provide us with some useful information. Mia may have been dead, but I was going to stop at nothing to figure out what had caused such a tragedy.

9

As we approached the young man, the two PCs with him nodded at us respectfully, then quickly stepped away to allow us some privacy. Once we were in front of the man, I was able to take him in properly. I’d noticed his soaked gray Under Armour tracksuit before, but up close I could see that the tracksuit also had splatters of blood on it. It was either from hurting the girl himself, or more likely from when he pulled the girl out of the water. He had short brunette hair and startling blue eyes that made me appreciate just how young he looked. It was hard to tell, but I’d have said the man was either in his late teens or early twenties. He was slender, tall, and looked rather pale. Either his complexion was naturally light, or the shock of what he’d endured today had drained the color from his face.

“Good mornin’,” I said to the man curtly. “I’m DCI Sean Ellis and my colleague here is DI Rebecca Tumber.”

The man looked between us nervously. “I’m Alvin Bayron,” he said in a quiet, well-spoken voice.

“DC Carter informs us that you were the one to find the body, Alvin?” Rebecca asked passively as she snapped off her forensic gloves.

“Yes, I did,” Alvin said cautiously as he rubbed his arms. He then cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Will this take long? I’ve been here for a while now and I’m freezing.”

I knew the man had been standing in his drenched clothing for at least a couple of hours, but I was surprised at his eagerness to get away from us. Was he genuinely just feeling awful from the cold and the wet, or was he feeling anxious around two highly ranked officers?

“I understand you’ve been waiting for a while and must be keen to get home, but a young girl is dead,” I said bluntly as I looked at Alvin. “Surely you want to help us find out what happened to her?”

Alvin flushed crimson and rubbed his wet hair awkwardly. “Sorry, of course I want to help! I’m just freezing, that’s all.” He chuckled uncomfortably.

“I know, and if you allow us to ask our questions you’ll be able to go in no time, alright?” I asked reassuringly as I relaxed my stance.

“Yeah, okay,” Alvin said with a bit more enthusiasm. “Thank you.”

“Right, so take us through everything that happened,” I said as I pushed my hands into my trouser pockets.

“I got to the lake around six,” Alvin said confidently, his arms wrapped tightly around himself for warmth. “I always like to go for a run in the mornings, and the lake is always quiet, so I often come here.” He hesitated awkwardly, his eyes looking behind me and toward the dead girl.

“It’s okay, you’re doing great,” Rebecca said supportively, offering Alvin a warm smile.

Alvin smiled back, then turned his blue eyes back to my own. “I was doing my usual run when I thought I saw something in the corner of my eye in the lake,” he continued. “I stopped running and walked toward the lake’s edge… I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.” He rubbed his face as though still in disbelief. “I didn’t know if the girl was dead or alive, so I quickly dived into the lake and swam toward her. I pulled her out of the water. It was bloody hard, but I managed it, and when I got her on solid ground, I turned her onto her back to see if she needed CPR or something.” He trailed off glumly, his eyes now focusing on the ground.

“But you realised she didn’t?” I asked, finishing the sentence for him.

Alvin nodded. “Yes, it was clear from her face and her skin that it was too late,” he said sorrowfully as he continued to rub his arms, only now his movements were slightly slower to reflect his mood. “I don’t know how long she’d been in the water before I got there, but she was so cold when I touched her.” He shivered from a mixture of the cold and the memory of the moment. “It was like holding soft ice.”

I allowed Alvin a second to compose himself before I asked him more questions. When he looked slightly less emotional, I pressed on.

“When you saw her in the water she was lying face down?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah, it was her hair and that yellow coat that I first noticed when I was running by,” Alvin said absently as he played with his wet hair. “That yellow was so bright… it really stood out. At first I thought maybe it was a bar or something, but I never expected it to be a person.”

I rubbed my stubble and nodded slightly. “When you first got to the lake, did you see anyone around or notice anything different to usual?”

Alvin ran his finger along his bottom lip in contemplation. “No, there was no one around,” he said passively. “Which isn’t unusual—it’s always quiet here. I didn’t see anything strange either, but until I found the body, I suppose I wasn’t looking out for anything either.”

“Do you live locally?” Rebecca asked, tucking her short hair behind her ear.

“I live in Great Thirkleby,” Alvin replied. He noticed our blank expressions and chuckled dryly. “It’s under a fifteen minute drive away, it’s also in Thirsk.”

So not from the same village that Mia lives then, I thought to myself cautiously. But close enough that they still could have met on a dating site or something.

“Do you live on your own?” I asked casually.

“I rent a place with my girlfriend, Olive,” he replied, his face quickly dropping. “Shit, Olive! She’s probably worried sick about where I am. I told her I’d only be forty minutes at the most.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll understand once she realises what you’ve had to go through today,” Rebecca said reassuringly.

If he has a girlfriend, it makes it less likely he was meeting with Mia romantically, but not impossible, I thought to myself sceptically.

“When you pulled the girl out of the lake did you think she looked familiar?” I asked as I pulled my hands out of my trouser pockets and crossed them over my chest.

Alvin rubbed his face thoughtfully before replying. “No, she isn’t someone I’m familiar with,” he said matter-of-factly.

I didn’t know why, but for a moment I looked at Alvin and scanned over his face. He seemed to hesitate for a bit before answering the question, but I couldn’t figure out if he was telling the truth or not. There was still always the chance Alvin had done this himself, and I wasn’t going to rule that out as a possibility.

“And you’re telling us the truth, aren’t you, lad?” I enquired boldly as I stepped closed toward Alvin.

Alvin rubbed one of his thick eyebrows, his forehead creased in confusion. “Of course I am,” he said in a slow, uncertain tone. “Why would I be lying to you?”

I shrugged casually and started to pace slowly around Alvin. “You’d be surprised how often people lie to us, lad,” I said offhandedly. “Especially when they’re trying to save their own skin.”

Alvin jumped slightly on the spot, his blue eyes growing wide with concern. “Wait, you aren’t suggesting I had anything to do with what happened, are you?” he asked in horror.

I stopped pacing when I stood directly in front of Alvin. I crossed my arms and looked into his face with narrowed eyes. “I dunno, lad. Did you have anything to do with what happened to that girl?” I asked coldly.

Alvin looked desperately at Rebecca as though pleading for her help, but when she continued to stand there with a blank expression, he looked back to me imploringly. “Of course not!” he said, his thin lips curling in disgust. “What kind of question is that? None of the other coppers asked me questions like that when they were speaking to me!”

“Aye, maybe not, but I’m a DCI, lad, and it’s my job to get to the truth,” I said in a blunt, unhappy tone as I tapped my foot on the ground in impatience. “And to ask the difficult questions.”

“I know you want the truth, but I do too!” Alvin said, his voice going higher in his panic. “I only wanted to help that girl. I never would have hurt her! I never would have hurt anyone.”

“So you didn’t kill her yourself and come up with some cock and bull story about pulling her out to try to explain away your DNA? You do know it will now clearly be on the body, aye?” I asked as I stood up straighter.

“No!” Alvin squealed miserably. “How can you ask me that?”

“Because the girl is dead, Alvin, and someone must have caused that to happen,” I said coldly. “And conveniently you just happened to find her when no one else was around to verify that.”

Alvin scoffed then rubbed his anxious face frantically. “I didn’t kill that girl, I swear!” he exclaimed aggravatedly. “I don’t even know her.”

“So you say,” I said brashly.

Alvin opened his mouth to reply, but stopped as he looked behind me with wide eyes.

I turned and saw what had caused Alvin to grow quiet.

We stopped talking for a moment while Hannah and another pathologist started to take Mia’s body away. Luckily, the girl was covered so we couldn’t see her, but all three of us knew what was under that white sheet. The two pathologists walked past us slowly, carrying the body with a great deal of respect, and the few minutes it took for them to walk away and out of sight with Mia felt like hours. We all kept quiet for a moment out of respect for the deceased before turning away back to each other.

“Am I able to go now?” Alvin asked sadly. “I really want to get in a shower and take these clothes off.”

“The pathologist took swabs, I take it?” Rebecca asked calmly.

“Yeah, she did,” Alvin said, grimacing uncomfortably. “More than I thought she would.”

I smiled to myself at Hannah’s thoroughness. “Then you’re free to go, lad,” I said without emotion as I slid my hand into one of my leather jacket’s inner pockets. From it I produced one of my cards, which I passed to Alvin. “My contact information is on this card. Please call me if you think of anything else. And don’t think I won’t be contacting you again, either.” I added threateningly.

Alvin gulped nervously as he took the card out of my firm grip. “I will contact you, I promise. I hope you find out what happened to that poor girl.”

“Oh, don’t worry lad, we will,” I said confidently as I stood up taller. “That I can assure you of.”

Alvin nodded uncomfortably then turned to walk away. As did, I watched his movements and part of me was filled with suspicion. I wanted to believe Alvin was just an innocent bystander who acted in the moment to save a young woman’s life, yet part of me didn’t know what to think of the lad.

Was Alvin someone who tried and failed to be the hero, or was he the villain attempting to hide in plain sight?

10

Once Alvin was gone, Rebecca looked at me. An amused smile curled up her lips.

“Enjoying giving the lad a hard time?” she asked playfully as she patted my bicep.

I gave a noncommittal shrug. “Everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise, Rebecca,” I said matter-of-factly as I gestured for her to follow me. “You know that as much as anyone.”

Rebecca stepped into place beside me, and the two of us started to rejoin the others. “That I do, but I highly doubt that kid killed Mia,” she said seriously as we walked. “Why would he go to all of that effort just to pretend he had found her and saved her? If he’d killed her, the sensible thing to do would have been to distance himself as far away from this place as possible. I genuinely think he wanted to help her.”

“Or that’s what he wants us to think,” I said bluntly as I pushed my hair out of my face. “He’s either a good Samaritan or a bold liar.”

Rebecca was saved the trouble of replying to my scepticism as we made it to the others. All three of them looked keen to hear what we had to say.

“Did the talk with him go well?” Nadia asked hopefully, pushing a strand of her raven black hair under her navy hijab.

“Sort of,” I said honestly as I stopped in front of the group. “According to his version of events, he found Mia face down in the water, so he tried to pull her out and save her.”

“His version of events?” Lylah asked with a knowing smile. “Meaning you don’t trust him?”

“Do I ever trust anyone?” I asked candidly as I placed my hands on my hips.

“No,” the entire team said in unison.

I smiled slightly then looked between Lylah, Nadia, and Elijah. “What were you doing when we were questioning Alvin?”

“I spoke a bit more with Hannah and tried to gauge her thoughts and feelings on the case,” Lylah said keenly. She gestured toward the others. “And these two looked close by the body for any potential evidence and spoke to some of the PCs.”

“And what came of that?” I asked hopefully.

“I didn’t get much more out of Hannah then what she said to us to be honest,” Lylah said, her tone tinged with disappointment as she kicked her right foot across the ground. “I had a quick chat with the other pathologist, Jason, and he said similar things to Hannah. Both seem certain that Mia was held by the back of her neck and then forced under the water which caused her death.”

I nodded, though my mind kept going back to the blood that caked her yellow coat. If she died from drowning, where had the blood come from?

I turned to Nadia and Elijah. “And you two?”

“We did a brief search near this part of the lake, but didn’t veer far or find much in the area close to the body,” Nadia said confidently as she pulled at one of her gloves. “We did notice that the blood only seems to be on the ground close to that part of the lake though and there isn’t much of it, so she must have been injured just before she was drowned in the lake.”

I nodded with approval then looked toward Elijah.

“Yeah, and the PCs we spoke to said that they haven’t veered too far away from the body either,” Elijah said tiredly as he rubbed the back of his arm. “It doesn’t sound like anyone has done much of a search around the lake. They’ve mostly kept to the area where the body was found.”

Lylah snorted slightly. “Yeah, and I can see why! The lake is bloody massive,” she said bluntly. “It would take hours to search it.”

“Got something more important to do, have we?” I asked sarcastically with a grin.

“Of course not,” Lylah said stubbornly. “But Sean, er, sir… you can't be serious!?”

Rather than answer, I called over the two groups of PCs and quickly asked them to help us search the lake. My team shared a few glances, but otherwise stayed quiet. The PCs not only offered to help, but gave us radios to use.

“We will split up into three teams of three,” I instructed. “I will look with Rebecca and Stone. Nadia and Smith, you two can look with one of the PCs.”

I turned away from them and looked at the four nearby PCs properly. “Right, I need one of you to join DS Begum and DC Smith,” I said in a commanding tone as I stood up tall and faced them all. “Does anyone volunteer?”

As quick as a beat, a muscular PC with wavy black hair stepped forward. “I’d be honoured to work with you, sir!”

I nodded to him thankfully. “What’s your name, PC?” I asked.

“Adil Sharma, sir,” he said in a powerful voice, his arms tucked firm behind his back.

“Ta for volunteering, PC Sharma,” I said gratefully, gesturing with my hand for him to stand with Nadia and Elijah.

Without hesitation, Adil joined the others with a straight expression. As I took him in, I felt as though he’d have made an excellent poker player. His expression gave nothing away. I cleared my throat, then looked back toward the entire group.

“Right, so the rest of you lot will make up the final group,” I said loudly as I looked at the three remaining PCs. I scanned the group and steadied my focus on a redheaded woman. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“Fiona Gambit, sir,” she said in a strong Yorkshire accent that felt welcome to my ears.

“PC Gambit, I’m putting you in charge of your group,” I said confidently. “If you or anyone in your team find anything then contact me immediately.”

Fiona’s green eyes grew wide with enthusiasm as she nodded. “Thank you for the responsibility, sir! I promise I’ll rise to the occasion,” she said happily.

I nodded to her then turned my focus toward handing out the radios. “If any of us find anything or need any help, contact via the radios.”

“Is there anything in particular you want us to look for, sir?” Elijah asked curiously as he fidgeted with his gloves.

“Anything that looks suspicious, out of place, or could potentially belong to the victim or the assailant,” I said in a loud enough so the PCs could hear me too. “But there is something in particular I’m looking for, aye.”

“What’s that?” Nadia asked curiously as she placed a hand on her hip.

“Mia’s missing boot,” I said.

“But that could be at the bottom of the lake, couldn’t it?” Elijah asked, his brow furrowing as he scratched at his left ear.

“Aye, that it could, but I’m hoping it isn’t,” I said honestly. “That boot could easily have been pulled off during an altercation, so I’m keen to find it. It could be teeming with the attacker’s DNA.”

“I agree,” Rebecca said supportively as she moved in place beside me. “It could be a long shot, but we can’t take that risk. Right now we need all the evidence we can get.”

I nodded at her appreciatively, then smacked my hands together eagerly as I looked at my team and the PCs.

“Time is of the essence, people, so let’s get a move on!” I said loudly. “We will look at the north side of the lake, Nadia you look at the south, and the PCs can look at the west. Whoever finishes first can move onto the east.”

The group of PCs instantly jumped into action and charged off. I watched them leave, then gestured for Rebecca and Lylah to follow me. As we started to walk, I turned to Nadia, Elijah, and Adil.

“Good luck, you three,” I said respectfully as I continued walking.

“Same to you,” Nadia said anxiously as she moved away, Elijah and Adil close at her heels.

I continued walking with Rebecca and Lylah toward the north side of the lake, my body feeling more tense with each step we took. As we walked, I kept my eyes on the ground in the hopes of finding any potential evidence. We started to pass the area where Mia’s body had been found, but I held out my hand to stop Rebecca and Lylah from continuing.

“What is it?” Rebecca asked in confusion. “Do you want to look around this area again?”

I nodded, my eyes focused on the ground.

The first thing I noticed was that Nadia had been right when she’d said the blood was minimal. Only a few drops of it appeared to be near the section of the lake where Alvin had pulled out Mia.

“Odd that there isn’t much blood, isn’t it?” I asked the two curiously as I moved closer to the ground.

Rebecca made an unimpressed noise in the back of her throat. “Not necessarily,” she said casually. “Hannah said that the blood looked worse than it was.”

“Aye,” I said begrudgingly as I stood upward. “Or it could mean this isn’t the area where Mia drowned.”

“Very possible,” Lylah said agreeably as she moved closer to look at the blood herself. “Mia’s body could have travelled down the lake, so there’s no telling where she was drowned.”

I grabbed the radio and pulled it closer to my mouth. “Everyone, this is DCI Ellis,” I broadcasted. “When searching, keep a close eye around the edge of the lake. We’re working under the potential theory that Mia may have been attacked on another part of the shore.”

I hooked the radio back on my belt, then gestured for Rebecca and Lylah to keep moving.

“I think we should all keep a bit of distance from each other to ensure we cover more,” I said matter-of-factly as I looked back toward the lake. “I’ll keep close to the lake’s edge and you two search a bit further away from it.”

The women did ask I asked with twin nods if approval. For a while, we all walked and worked in silence, each of us incredibly focused on the task at hand. The more we searched with no results or no word from the others, the more I grew frustrated and impatient. I didn’t know what I was expecting to find, but after nearly an hour and a half of finding nothing I was feeling incredibly deflated. We hadn’t so much as seen footprints or discarded possessions, let alone anything remotely close to Mia’s footwear.

“This lake is so beautiful,” Lylah said suddenly, breaking the silence as we continued to search the ground for clues. “It’s a shame that such a tragedy happened here.”

“Yeah, I think now I’ll struggle to associate Gormire Lake with anything other than death,” Rebecca said morbidly as she paced across the ground.

I grumbled impatiently at our lack of progress. “Anyone found anything yet?” I asked for the tenth time in the last hour.

“No, sir,” Lylah said quickly.

“Nothing whatsoever,” Rebecca said with an irritable sigh as she stretched out her back. “This place is annoyingly clean.”

“Aye, it is,” I said tiredly as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “We may be having no luck, but I’ll see if any of the others are.”

I roughly pulled the radio off of my belt and spoke into it. “DS Begum, can you hear me?” I said loudly, wincing slightly at the crackling noise that came from the radio.

“Loud and clear, DCI Ellis,” Nadia said in her soft tone.

“Have you and your team had any success on your end, DS Begum?” I asked into the radio hopefully.

There was another annoying crackling noise before Nadia’s voice came through the radio. “Nothing here, sir,” she said with disappointment. “We finished looking around the southern area of the lake, so we are now approaching the east. Hopefully, we will have more luck there.”

I sighed in frustration before pressing the button on the radio. “PC Gambit, are you there?” I asked as I kicked my foot in aggravation along the ground.

“Yes, sir!” Fiona said enthusiastically. “Like DS Begum, we haven’t had any luck on our end so far, sir.”

I swore as I moved the back of my gloved hand over my forehead.

“Very well,” I replied, not even trying to hide the disappointment from my tone. “If anyone finds anything of importance, radio through immediately. We’ll meet at the east side of the lake once we are done.”

“Will do,” Nadia said passively.

“Yes, sir!” Fiona said, her voice somehow still filled with fervour.

I sighed tiredly as I clipped the radio back to my belt. I glanced at Rebecca, noticed the sullen way she looked at me, and knew she was close to telling me we should call it a day. Before she had the chance to, I pulled my eyes away from hers and continued looking around the edge of the lake.

After another fifteen minutes of searching, I heard a noise.

“Sean,” Rebecca’s voice said distantly.

I shook my head and turned around to see Rebecca looking at me. Her hands were on her hips, her head was tilted to the side, and her eyes were filled with compassion.

“I know you’re keen to find this shoe, but it’s either not here or at the bottom of the lake,” she said slowly as she gently stepped closer toward me. “We have been searching for ages now.”

I grumbled unhappily. “I know we have, but I don’t like to admit defeat.”

Rebecca softly touched my shoulder. “We’ve done everything we can here for now,” she said kindly. “If you like, we can call in a dive team to have a look in the lake, but considering the size of it a search would take days. It could all be for nothing if the shoe isn’t even here. Plus—”

Her voice trailed off awkwardly, but I knew what she hesitated from saying.

Plus, if the boot was in the lake and we did manage to find it, the water would have likely removed all traces of DNA by the time we got it analysed.

“I just really hoped we could find it,” I said in aggravation as I pulled off my gloves with a snap.

Lylah stepped beside Rebecca and gave me a weak smile. “I know you did, but Rebecca is right. We’ve looked everywhere, and it hasn’t come to light.”

I rubbed my stubble contemplatively as I stared at the lake. There was a high probability that the boot had been swept away by the water, but I wasn’t ready to give up on it.

If the boot wasn’t at the scene of Mia’s death, then maybe it was at the scene of her kidnapping. I had to go back to Ampleforth and see if it was somewhere there.

My thoughts of the boot were interrupted by a buzzing noise coming from my radio.

“Sean, can you hear me?” Nadia’s voice enquired hastily through the radio.

I looked at Rebecca and Lylah hopefully as I pulled the radio off of my belt and toward my face. “Aye, I can hear you,” I said speedily. “What is it?”

“I think everyone needs to get to the east side of the lake right away,” she said with haste, her voice vibrating excitedly. “There is more blood here. I think we’ve found the area where Mia was attacked.”

“Excellent work!” I said happily. “PC Gambit, you and your team make your way to the east too Nadia, call pathology and see if they can get someone back here right away!”

“On our way now, sir,” Fiona said keenly.

“I will call Pickering station. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hannah and her team are doing their examinations somewhere close by,” Nadia replied.

I thanked her, then put the radio back on my belt. I turned to Rebecca and Lylah with wide, hopeful eyes.

“This could be it!” Lylah exclaimed.

“I bloody hope so,” Rebecca said bluntly.

I nodded keenly and started moving speedily toward the east side of the lake. As we walked, I tried to control my hopes from getting too high. If all else failed, I was happy with the knowledge we’d at least found the area where Mia was attacked and killed.

I just had to hope that a search there would provide us with evidence that could narrow down her killer.

11

As fast as my legs could carry me, I charged toward the east side of the lake, Rebecca and Lylah trailing closely behind me. Nadia’s news had excited all of us, and we were keen to meet her and inspect the area ourselves. If Nadia had found the place where Mia was murdered, then there was a high potential that we would find some much-needed evidence.

As we moved, I couldn’t help but continually glance toward the waters of the vast lake. Its depths were both inviting and repulsive at the same time. Anytime I looked at the lake, it was as though I could see Mia’s body drifting slowly, her yellow coat acting as a buoy to show her clearly against the water. I wondered with cold dread how long her body had been in that water before Alvin fished it out. Had she been dead before she was left in the water, like Hannah suspected? Or was she left for dead, weak and struggling against the lake’s current, drowning as she struggled to escape it?

Those dark thoughts spurred me onward, and eventually I saw Nadia waving energetically toward us to catch my attention. Behind her stood Elijah, Adil, Fiona, and the other two PCs—all looking a mixture of keen and nervous. My eyes locked on Nadia as I jogged over.

“Show me what you’ve found,” I said to Nadia eventually after catching my breath, waving my hand hastily in my eagerness for her to take me to the scene.

“I called the station, and they said a pathologist is on their way,” she said quickly, her words rushing to get out of her mouth as she guided us. “They said they’d be no more than twenty minutes, and that was at least ten minutes ago.”

“Excellent,” I said happily as we snapped our gloves back on. “In hindsight, they shouldn’t have left before we’d inspected the lake’s surroundings.”

“True, but I suppose everyone was working under the assumption that Mia had been pulled out near the area she’d been killed,” Rebecca said passively.

“Aye, and that mistake could have cost us if we didn’t search the area,” I said bluntly. “If we’d all just left, we never would have found this scene.”

“Yes, we get it,” Rebecca said sarcastically. “You’re brilliant and everyone should listen to you more often.”

I glared at Rebecca with a raised brow before turning my attention forward again. Soon after, Nadia stopped close to the lake’s edge. “As you can see, there are some splatters of blood on the mud here,” Nadia said as she crouched toward the mud and started pointing. “Not a huge amount, but more than what we saw near the body. I’m no pathologist, but the blood at that scene was waterier, so it’s more likely the blood dripped off of her when Alvin pulled her out of the lake. The blood here, however, clearly has a thicker consistency.”

I crouched down to Nadia’s level and realised she was right. While there wasn’t a lot of blood, the way it looked on the ground suggested the attack had taken place here. I was desperate for pathology to hurry up with their findings. Hannah and her colleague had both said the body looked as though the cause of death was drowning, but the presence of the blood confused me. Had Mia been attacked before the assailant decided to drown her? Or were her injuries more substantial than Hannah’s preliminary findings dictated?

“What is close to this area of the lake?” I asked everyone sternly. “We need to think about the nearest car parks or anything close by.”

“There was another car park not too far from here,” Nadia said quickly, pointing to the left. “Want me to go check it out?”

“Aye, definitely,” I said keenly.

Nadia nodded. “I’ll go look right away.”

“And I’ll come and help you,” Adil said politely.

Nadia’s cheeks flushed, but she nodded in agreement. I watched the two leave, then turned my focus back to the scene. After a few minutes of looking, I came to the same assessment as Nadia. Although there was clearly blood here, there was nothing else that offered any form of evidence.

“I didn’t expect to be back at this lake so soon,” I heard a tired male voice say from behind me.

I turned around to see a man dressed in a forensic suit approaching us, holding a large gray case in his hand. I nodded at him understandingly as I rose from the ground and walked to meet him.

“I appreciate you getting back here so quickly,” I said.

“Luckily, I wasn’t too far away,” he said with a slight smile. “I’m Jason, by the way. Jason Marrok.”

I took in everything about Jason as he stood in front of me. Although he was covered by his forensic suit, I could tell the man was likely in his mid to late forties. He had short brunette hair that was flecked with gray, and a well-trimmed short beard stuck out slightly from his mask.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jason,” I said kindly. “I’m DCI Sean Ellis. I’m sorry I missed you earlier, but I was interviewing the guy who found our vic.”

Jason waved his hand briskly through the air as though politely brushing away my apology. “No worries, Inspector. You were doing your job, and I was doing mine. Speaking of which, why don’t you show me what I was called back for?”

“My team and I decided to have a thorough look around the lake, and we stumbled upon this here,” I said with authority, standing back so Jason could see the area more clearly. “It looks to me as though this was the area where Mia was attacked and killed.”

Jason kneeled down and looked at the blood patterns. He had a camera around his neck, which he grabbed and used to start taking photos. “I would say you’re right, Inspector,” he said with an approving nod as he continued to snap photos. “It’s a good thing you and your team found this place before the lake was reopened.”

Aye, wasn’t it just, I thought to myself. And if you hadn’t been in such a hurry to leave, you could have found it yourself.

“We just did our jobs, that’s all,” I said pointedly, staring down at Jason with crossed arms.

Jason didn’t respond. Instead, he put all of his focus into his work. Shortly after he started analysing the area, Nadia and Adil returned. I walked toward them hopefully, but from the flat expression on both of their faces, I knew they didn’t have good news.

“No luck?” I asked disappointedly as I pushed back my hair.

Nadia shook her head, her expression still glum. “No. We found nothing in the car park and nothing close to it,” she said unhappily as she glanced at Adil. “There weren't even any CCTV cameras.”

So much for a protected car park, I thought to myself bitterly.

I shook my head in frustration. If the assailant had brought Mia to this section of the lake, then he had to have travelled here from somewhere, but where? He couldn’t have just appeared out of thin air!

“Ta for looking, anyway,” I said passively to the two.

I walked back toward Jason and watched as he finished analysing the scene. He was surprisingly quiet as he finished taking photos and concluded his work. After around fifteen minutes, he rose from the ground with a tired groan.

“I think I’ve done everything here that I can,” Jason said as he stretched out his back. “I got a lot of photos and a few samples to test back at the lab.” He glanced between Nadia and me thoughtfully. “Except for the blood, was there anything else you found?”

“Unfortunately not,” Nadia said with a disappointed tongue click. “We thoroughly scanned the area for a weapon, but there was nothing here.”

Jason nodded as he rubbed the bottom of his mask. “The attacker either took a potential weapon with them or tossed it in the lake,” he said bluntly. “Unfortunately, a lake is the perfect place to dispose of evidence. Once it’s in there, it’s near impossible to get it out again.”

“I was debating on requesting a diving team to search the lake,” I said thoughtfully as I pulled off my gloves. “What do you think?”

Jason made a considerate noise in his throat before responding. “I mean, it’s worth a shot,” he said cautiously. “But unfortunately, those searches take a hell of a long time and often come back with nothing.” He hesitated, giving me an awkward smile. “It’s completely your call though, Inspector. This is your investigation.”

I shook his hand in thanks and watched as he left. Once he was gone, I turned to face my team and the PCs with a grateful expression.

“You all did a good job here today,” I said with respect as I looked everyone in the eye individually. “Mia and her family deserve the truth, and I know her family will be grateful for your dedication in finding her killer. We’ve done everything here that we can, so I think it’s best we call it a day and go back to our respective stations.” I looked more toward the PCs. “If we find out anything else. I will call your station to ensure you’re made aware.”

The PCs all thanked me, then started to walk away. Adil stopped in front of Nadia before he left.

“It was an honour to work with you, DS Begum,” he said with a respectful bow before he left.

Nadia’s cheeks and neck went bright red, and she purposely avoided everyone’s eye contact as the PCs left us.

“I guess it wasn’t an honour to work with me,” Elijah said in a playful tone as he elbowed Nadia in the ribs.

“Oh shush,” she said embarrassedly as she stepped away from him. “W-We should get back to the station so we can get some work done.”

“Do you not want to get PC Handsome’s number before we leave?” Elijah pressed impishly.

I looked between them both with a raised eyebrow. Elijah’s humour slipped off of his face quickly and he stood up straight and serious.

“Sorry, sir,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Nadia’s right, we should get back to the station so we can write our reports and continue our investigation,” I quipped as I began to walk away from the scene.

The others all followed me in an awkward silence until we reached our cars. Again, I sat in the back seat so Lylah could sit in the front with Nadia. Once we were on our way, I kept glancing at Nadia in her rearview mirror and noticed she seemed distracted.

“I’m also disappointed we didn’t find more at the crime scene, Nadia,” I said honestly as I stretched out my legs. “But you did a good job finding that scene.”

“Thank you, Sean,” Nadia said appreciatively.

“And here I thought you were distracted over something else,” Lylah said with a simper.

Nadia went red again and shifted her body away from Lylah.

“Cut it out, Lylah,” I said unhappily as I folded my arms.

Lylah turned to me with a surprised look. “What? What did I do?”

“Just leave Nadia alone, alright?” I pressed in annoyance.

Lylah swore under her breath, folded her arms, then pouted as she looked out of the window. “Excuse me for taking an interest in my friend,” she said bitterly.

Nadia huffed and tapped her fingers erratically on the steering wheel. “Just because PC Sharma is darker skinned like myself doesn’t mean we are naturally going to fancy one another.”

Lylah turned to Nadia in shock. “Wow,” she said in a quiet, hurt tone. “You don’t honestly think I think like that, do you?”

Nadia sighed and turned to Lylah with an apologetic look. “No, I’m sorry, Lyles,” she said with sincerity. “I just don’t like to be put on the spot over things like that.”

“I’m sorry too, Nad,” Lylah said affectionately as she squeezed Nadia’s hand. “I just noticed how keen he seemed to be around you, that was all.”

Nadia’s neck went red. “H-he wasn’t keen to be around me.” She paused awkwardly. “Was he?”

Lylah scoffed. “Erm, yeah!” she exclaimed with a slight giggle. “The moment you went off, he jumped at the chance to keep with you.”

Nadia said no more on the topic as she drove, though when I looked at her reflection, I couldn’t help but notice a slight smile on her face. She cleared her throat anxiously, then turned serious. “It was a horrible day, but at least we know what happened to Mia.” She hesitated glumly. “Even if it wasn’t the outcome we wanted.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but halted when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out cautiously, then looked at the screen in surprise when I realised the station was calling me.

“It must be Karen,” I said slowly as I stared at the number.

“Jesus, please don’t tell me someone else has gone missing!” Lylah said as she turned around to face me.

“Only one way to find out,” I said with dread as I accepted the call. “Good afternoon, Karen. Is everything alright there?”

“Afternoon, sir,” Karen said in a slow, measured tone. “I’m sorry to bother you when you’re out, but do you have a moment?”

“Aye, we’re on our way back anyway,” I said pleasantly. “What can I do for you, Karen?”

“Thanks, sir,” she said. “I just wanted to let you and your team know that since you’ve been gone… we’ve had multiple calls from the same woman asking me how your progress is going on the case.”

Crap, I thought with dread, That can only be Sylvia wanting to know about her daughter. How am I supposed to tell her that Mia’s dead?

“Ta for letting me know, Karen,” I said tiredly as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “If Sylvia rings again, tell her I will contact her shortly, alright?”

“Will do, sir!” Karen said appreciatively. “I’ll see you all soon.”

We both hung up our phones, and then I threw my head back with a frustrated groan. Lylah and Nadia both flicked their eyes toward me.

“It was Karen calling to say she’s received numerous calls from Sylvia,” I said forlornly as I slumped in my seat.

“I gathered from what I could hear,” Nadia said with a sad sigh. “What do you think we should do? I know we identified the vic based on photos, but we haven’t got a formal ID from forensics yet.”

I rubbed my brow frustratedly. “I think when we should have a team meeting to discuss what to do,” I said with authority. “We should see her right away, but this has been a team investigation. We should all decide on this together.”

“Agreed,” Nadia said flatly.

“Good idea,” Lylah said, turning to me with a warm smile.

I smiled back, then gazed out of the window and thought about Mia and her mother. It was always the worst part of my job, having to tell someone that their child was dead, and as I imagined Sylvia’s sorrow, my mind was once again pulled back to Faye. Mia was too close in age to Faye, and it was making it hard for me to not take this case so personally.

I sighed as I glanced at the satnav, seeing we still had twenty minutes until we reached the station. The day was quickly slipping away from us, and the team and I would have to come to that decision quickly. Sylvia’s daughter was dead, and I knew she deserved to be told the truth as soon as possible.

Even if that truth was going to completely destroy her.

12

Ibit back my sigh of relief when I saw Victoria Way station in my line of sight. We all greeted Karen hastily as we walked inside, made our way up the stairs, then pushed open the door to our department. When I opened the door, a strong waft of coffee hit my nostrils, and I sighed happily when I saw that Rebecca and Elijah had made us all drinks.

“We thought everyone could do with a coffee after the day we’ve had,” Elijah said passively as he carried mugs toward our desks.

“I’ve never been so happy that you’re a fast driver, Rebecca,” Nadia said with a sly smile as she shrugged off her coat and hung it up.

Rebecca chuckled.

I took my mug from Elijah’s hands and nodded to him appreciatively. I took a long, happy sip from it before I rubbed my throat and looked around at the team.

“I know today hasn’t been easy for any of us, but we’re only getting started,” I said loudly as I stepped into the centre of the room. “We’ve seen the crime scene, we have Mia’s body, but now we have to put everything we have into finding out what happened. We may get lucky and get something good back from pathology, but considering the body had been left in the lake, I think we have to prepare for the very high possibility that any helpful evidence has long since been destroyed.”

I looked around at the team and took in all of their crestfallen faces. I knew they, like me, had been devastated to know we’d been unable to find Mia alive, but that didn’t mean we could give up. Alive or not, we still had a case to solve and a culprit to locate.

“I know none of us wanted things to turn out this way,” I said understandingly as I pulled my mug closer to my chest and looked around with sympathetic eyes. “We all hoped to find Mia alive, but now more than ever we have to solve this case. For her sake as well as her family’s.”

I hoped my speech would inspire the team, but if anything, they looked more dispirited than ever. It was like looking at several pierced balloons deflating in front of my eyes. I sighed miserably, took a gulp of my coffee, then crossed my arms. “Hello?” I asked sarcastically. “Are you all with me or not?”

“Of course we’re with you, and you know we will stop at nothing to find the sick bastard who did this, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t annoyed with ourselves for not saving her,” Rebecca said bluntly. “That arsehole had her for a day. A whole twenty-four hours, and yet we didn’t find her.” She paused with a dejected sigh. “We didn’t save her.”

I rubbed my face and grimaced. “Aye, I know,” I said flatly as I stepped closer to her. “But did we not try our best to find her during those twenty-four hours?”

Rebecca took a sip of her coffee, then laughed weakly. “Yeah, and it wasn’t enough.”

I looked at Rebecca with concern. Rebecca was always good at being professional and keeping her emotions in check, but I knew this case must have hit her especially hard for her to be talking like this.

“We did all we could for Mia,” I intoned. “I know it feels like we didn’t do enough, but there is a murderer out there. We have to put everything into finding them!”

Elijah stood up hastily from his chair, almost knocking it over in the process. “You’re right, sir! Let’s make sure the prick who killed her is put away!”

“Good lad!” I roared in approval. “Who else is ready?”

Everyone agreed keenly, except for Rebecca, who agreed half-heartedly. I took another sip of my coffee before I spoke again.

“Onto another matter… on our way back here I had a phone call from Karen,” I sighed.

“To tell you about the calls from Sylvia I take it?” Rebecca asked as she put her feet up on her desk and pulled her mug toward her chest.

I looked at her with a slightly ajar mouth, which caused her to smile slyly.

“Smith and I know,” she continued with a small, delicate laugh. “Karen told us when we got in.” She paused and the smile slowly fell from her face. “I can’t say I was surprised to hear it. She’s been ringing here relentlessly since Mia went missing.”

“Wouldn’t you if it was your own child?” Nadia asked with a glum sigh.

“True,” Rebecca replied bluntly.

“Anyway,” I said as I gave Rebecca the side-eye. She seemed less defeated now, at least. “Nadia, Stone, and I were talking on the way here and we think we need to tell her before the end of the day.”

“Before we hear from pathology?” Rebecca asked with a quirked brow.

“Aye,” I replied. “Elijah was confident the vic was Mia, and the body had unique items on it that can help Sylvia and Evan give an ID. I just think the family has been made to suffer long enough. They need to be put out of their misery.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Rebecca said before taking a gulp of her drink. “The sooner we do it, the better, I suppose.”

I was surprised at her swift agreement, but hastily took advantage of it.

“I agree, and there’s no time like the present,” I said boldly.

I casually glanced around the room as I finished my coffee, quickly deciding who to take with me. When it came to delicate matters like informing a family of the death of a loved one, it was always better to go with a small team. One other person would be enough.

And I knew exactly who that person should be.

“Smith, can you be ready to go in five minutes?” I asked him.

“Certainly, sir!” Elijah said enthusiastically.

He grabbed his coffee from his desk and started to drink it speedily. I pulled my eyes away from him and stopped myself from looking around the room, anxious I’d see three disappointed faces looking at me. We may have all been working this case together, but Elijah was the person working late at the station when the call came in. Furthermore, he was the only person so far who’d spoken to both Sylvia and Evan. It would have been foolish to not take someone they’d both be familiar with.

Especially when we were about to deliver such tragic news.

I rubbed my face awkwardly and slowly looked at Rebecca. Her eyes were on her computer screen, her expression unreadable.

“Rebecca, can you call Abigail Wong for me, please?” I asked. “Get the address of Mr. and Mrs. Murray and see if she can meet us there. If she isn’t available, ask her to see if anyone else from family liaison is free. The drive is around forty minutes or so. If she can’t join us today, tell her the address and she can try to figure out who can get there in time.”

“Sure thing, Sean,” she replied without emotion, her eyes still fixed on her screen.

“Ta,” I said appreciatively.

“What should we be doing when you’re gone?” Nadia asked.

“Look into Mia’s family and see what you can find out about them,” I instructed. “They’ve suddenly moved house, and they’ve barely been gone a week before their daughter was taken and killed.” I paused and scratched my chin. “Something seems off about that.”

“Will do,” Nadia said with a small smile.

I smiled back, then went to put my mug on top of the kitchen counter. Once I had gotten rid of my mug, I looked at Elijah. He jumped up from his chair again and moved faster than a cheetah to get to the coat rack. He grabbed his stylish bomber jacket, zipped it up, and nodded at me. He was clearly ready to go. He even keenly held the door open for me. Once downstairs, I saw Karen reading a romance novel at the reception—which she hastily hid behind her back with an embarrassed expression.

“Smith and I are on our way to see Sylvia and inform her about our progress with the case,” I addressed her.

Karen took in our flat expressions and sighed sadly. “From your expressions and the way you all zoomed off earlier… I take it she isn’t about to receive good news, is she?”

“Unfortunately not,” I sighed. “If she happens to ring again within the next hour or so, don’t say or do anything to suggest we are about to give her unpleasant news.”

“Of course,” she said respectfully.

I nodded to her gratefully, then made to leave. Elijah held the door open for me again, so walked through the door, exited the station, then led Elijah to my car. We got in it together, then started the drive back to Ampleforth. The atmosphere in the air was unpleasant. Neither of us were looking forward to what we had to do.

“I knew we’d be returning to Ampleforth today, but I never expected it would be for this reason,” Elijah said as he tapped his knee nervously. “I hoped it would be to question Mia’s workplace, not to tell her family that she’s dead.”

I grumbled unpleasantly. “I know… doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

Elijah nodded, causing his blond bun to bob up and down with his movements. “Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled you asked me to come with you, but it’s never the nicest part of the job, is it?”

“No, it’s the worst,” I agreed bluntly.

For the rest of the journey, we drove in silence. Minutes felt like hours, but eventually we reached the familiar territory of Ampleforth village. Like before, the village was deadly quiet, which only added to my foreboding of seeing Sylvia and Evan. I ignored the minimal amount of people and buildings as I drove, keeping my eyes ahead. I found the road we needed and saw the small white-bricked building with the ivy growing up the side of it. With an unhappy sigh, I parked up a couple of houses down from Mia’s like I did before. Elijah and I got out of the car and my eyes scanned over the house. As I looked at the place, I had the same question on my mind that I did before.

Why on earth had the Murray family moved here?

There was always the possibility that the reason behind their move could have been relevant to Mia’s kidnapping and murder, but right now I had to be sensitive with how I spoke to the family. Their daughter had just been murdered, after all.

I caught Elijah’s eye, saw the determination painted behind his green eyes, and knew he was as ready as he’d ever be. Together we walked toward the old house, both of us as quiet as mice as we stepped. We made it to their front door, and I hesitated for a moment. I chewed my lip anxiously, dreading the unwelcome news I was about to drop on Mr. and Mrs. Murray’s doorstep, then slowly gained the courage to knock loudly on the front door. I hadn’t even finished knocking when the door flung open, causing me to jump in surprise. Once I’d regained my composure, I saw a short woman suddenly standing there, her eyes wide with fear and nervousness. Even as the woman stood there, her body moved wildly with panicky energy. I knew this woman had to be Sylvia Murray.

Mia had clearly taken after her mother. Both women had long brunette hair that was well maintained, large, appealing blue eyes, a slender frame, and a face that looked much younger than its years. Mia had been ghostly white because of her time submerged in the water, but looking at Sylvia told me that Mia must have naturally been pale-skinned. Sylvia’s complexion was incredibly white, as though it hadn’t seen sunlight in years. She looked between Elijah and me with frantic eyes, a sight which hurt my heart immensely.

“Please tell me you’re here with news about my Mia?” she asked us desperately as she lunged for my hand and pulled it toward her, gripping it with an anxious mother’s strength.

“Sylvia Murray, I presume?” I asked softly as I tried to gently prise my hand out of hers.

“Y-yes,” she said in a shaky tone. “Are you here about Mia?”

“We are, yes,” Elijah said in a kind tone.

Sylvia looked at him with narrowed, knowing eyes. “T-that voice, I recognise it,” she said cautiously, leaning closer toward Elijah. She hesitated for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “DC Smith?”

Elijah gave her a warm smile. “That’s right, Sylvia, and I’m here today with my superior, DCI Sean Ellis.”

As he said my name, he gestured toward me. I raised my hand in acknowledgement to Sylvia and gave a half smile.

Sylvia’s shaking intensified as she took us both in. “You wouldn’t have brought a higher-up with you unless you had bad news for me, would you?” she asked tearfully as she raised a hand to her mouth.

“Can we come in, please?” I asked respectfully as I placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. “It might be nice if we were all sitting down.”

“Oh, God!” Sylvia exclaimed as the tears fell freely down her cheeks. “No, not my Mia!”

To my shock, she broke down in tears and pulled me close to her. For a moment, all I could do was stand awkwardly in her doorway with her clinging to my chest. I felt my shirt dampening as she clung to me. I patted her uncomfortably on the back, turning my head to Elijah with wide eyes. Elijah slowly got the hint, opened his mouth in understanding, then stepped forward. With great care, he pulled Sylvia off of me and put his arm around her shoulders.

“I think we should all go inside, yeah?” he said in the gentlest tone I’d ever heard him speak in. “We can put the kettle on, and all have a drink together.”

Sylvia nodded and allowed Elijah to escort her in.

Once I stepped through her doorway, I got a good look inside. It was incredibly small for a place that housed three—now two—people.

It was a good thing that Elijah had gone ahead with Sylvia, otherwise the three of us wouldn’t have been able to stand in the hallway. The hallway itself was no more than a small square with doors attached to three of its sides, and a narrow, wooden staircase attached to its fourth. I stepped ahead and noticed the battered-looking door to the right was open to reveal a kitchen, so I made the decision to go in there and put the kettle on.

It took less than a minute to gaze around the kitchen and take everything in. The house looked old-fashioned from the outside, but the kitchen was incredibly dated. The floor was wooden with a few cracks and loose nails around it, the tiles on the walls were broken and looked as though they’d been designed and fitted in the 1970s, and the worktops were so small you could barely put a few plates on them. I walked around the tiny wooden table, flicked the kettle on, then exited the kitchen.

I then entered the door directly opposite it to find Elijah sitting next to Sylvia on a two-seater settee, his arm still supportively around her shoulders. The living room, like the kitchen, was small. The majority of the room was filled with three sofas, which were awkwardly crammed into the room. In the corner was an old-fashioned television that I was surprised still worked and a small square table.

One thing I noticed as I looked around the house was that there were no photos anywhere. Most families had various photos and memories plastered around the house, but the Murray family didn’t even have a single one. Had they perhaps not gotten around to putting up photos since moving here, or did they not care for such sentimentality?

“Can I get you a tea or a coffee, Sylvia?” I offered politely as I placed my hands on opposite sides of the doorway.

“A tea would be lovely, thank you,” Sylvia replied, her tone so quiet it was hard to hear.

“How do you take it?” I enquired.

“Just a small bit of milk, please,” she said emotionlessly as she clung to Elijah.

I gave Elijah eye contact, and he nodded.

“Where is your husband, Sylvia?” I asked kindly.

“E-Evan is at work,” she said nervously as she lifted her head from Elijah’s shoulder.

“It’s important that he is here, Sylvia,” I said in a commanding, but kind, tone. “Can you call him and get him to come here?”

Sylvia wiped her wet eyes with the back of her hand as she nodded. “I-I don’t know what to say to him,” she said nervously.

Elijah took Sylvia’s hand. “I can speak to him if you want,” he offered kindly.

Sylvia looked at Elijah with wide, motherly eyes. “Thank you.”

I left those two to deal with the phone call while I returned to the kitchen. I opened a cupboard and grabbed the first three mugs I could find, then slowly made our drinks. As I was grabbing the milk, I felt my phone vibrate. I speedily pulled my phone out of my pocket and sighed with relief when I saw a text from Rebecca.

Abigail isn’t available, but she has informed me that her colleague David will be waiting outside when you’re done.

I put my phone in my pocket and finished assembling the tea. When the drinks were all made, I took them through, placed them onto a small table next to the sofa where Elijah and Sylvia were seated, then sat down on a much smaller sofa opposite them.

“I just spoke to Evan. He said he’ll be here in a few minutes,” Elijah said calmly as he relaxed next to Sylvia. She’d now released Elijah from her clutches, and although she was sitting unusually close to him, she seemed slightly more relaxed than she did earlier. Her gaze was to the ground and seemed stuck there, almost like she was too nervous to look at me. I thought she might bombard me with questions, which I’d have had to awkwardly avoid until Evan got home, but she kept silent. It was as though she didn’t dare to find out the truth until her husband returned.

As we all waited for Evan to get back, my stomach twisted more with each passing second. I wanted time to speed up so I could get this unpleasant news formally out of the way. Luckily, I soon heard the sound of an approaching vehicle.

I glanced at Elijah and gave him a curt nod.

Evan was about to arrive, and we were both going to have to give him the most unpleasant news he’d ever heard in his entire life.

13

The front door opened with a loud crash as Evan charged through it. He rushed around the corner and stood in the living room’s doorway, his face red with anger and his brown eyes shining with fire.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked, his voice shaking with rage. “You can’t just call my place of work and demand I leave! This is an outrage! Who do you think you are, trying to bully me like this?”

I stood slowly from the chair and looked at Evan with stern eyes and crossed arms. I looked him up and down, taking in his appearance, which took me by surprise.

Both Sylvia and Mia were conventionally attractive women, but Evan was far from handsome. He looked at least ten years older than Sylvia with his thin, balding hair and lined face. His brunette hair—what was left of it—was wispy and combed in an attempt to hide his bald patches. His gut pushed dangerously against the waistband of his trousers, and his white shirt was badly in need of a good ironing. He was short, shorter than Sylvia, so the way he attempted to square up to me was almost comical.

Considering the house we stood in, the man clearly didn’t have money, so I struggled to see what a woman like Sylvia saw in this small, angry man.

I stepped closer toward Evan, holding back my sneer. His weak attempt at a powerful stance quickly evaporated in my presence. I was here to update him on his missing daughter, and yet he acted like it was a great inconvenience? It didn’t make any sense. If Faye had gone missing, there was no way in hell I’d be at work. It was odd to me that his resolve to find his child wasn’t as strong as my own. Either the man was a fool, or he didn’t care half as much about Mia as Sylvia did.

“We have come here with news of your daughter, Mr. Murray,” I said coldly. “I’d have thought that was more important than any job.”

“M-Mia?” he asked nervously, looking frantically between me and his wife. “Has she been found?”

“Take a seat, Mr. Murray,” I said sternly.

Elijah quickly rose from his seat and gestured politely for Evan to sit next to his wife. Evan nodded to Elijah appreciatively and sat next to Sylvia. The moment he sat down on the faded brown sofa, Sylvia gripped his hands in her own. Evan didn’t grip back, though. Instead, he sat there, his eyes now glued to mine.

“Now that everyone has calmed down,” I said unhappily, which caused Evan’s face to turn crimson in embarrassment. “We have things to discuss. As I said to your wife, my name is DCI Sean Ellis and my colleague here is DC Elijah Smith, who I believe you’ve already spoken to.”

“Yes, I have,” Evan said cautiously. He gave Elijah an unreadable look before looking back at me. “Have you found our daughter, inspectors? Is that why you’re here?”

“Can you tell us what your daughter was wearing when she left here on Tuesday evening?” I asked, ignoring his question.

Evan and Sylvia looked at each other, their expressions a mixture of confusion and concern.

“Y-yes,” Sylvia said timidly after her husband remained silent. “She was on her way to work, so she was wearing her uniform.” She hesitated nervously. After taking a comforting sip of tea, she continued. “A white blouse and blue skirt.”

“Did she wear any form of coat or jacket, Sylvia?” Elijah pressed gently.

To my surprise, Sylvia gave a light laugh. “Yes, she was wearing her yellow coat,” she said warmly as she held Evan’s hand in a firm grip. “Evan always told her yellow wasn’t her color… she loves wearing that coat just to defy him.”

The yellow coat, I thought to myself with regret. I was always pretty certain it was Mia, but that basically confirms it.

“What about any jewellery?” I asked casually, taking a sip of my tea.

“I’m not entirely certain,” Sylvia said nervously, her voice breaking slightly with each word. She looked at Evan for support, but when he shrugged, she turned back to me. “If she was wearing anything, it would have been a necklace I got her for her birthday. A silver one with a butterfly charm on it.”

Definitely Mia, I thought to myself sadly.

As Elijah and I kept quiet, Sylvia started to sob again.

“I know why you’re asking these questions,” she said anxiously. “You’ve found someone wearing that, haven’t you?”

I looked Sylvia in the eyes, my expression even. “Aye, we have.”

Sylvia trembled in her chair. “And were they—” She hesitated with a loud gulp. “Were they d-dead?”

“I’m afraid so,” I said solemnly, maintaining my eye contact with Sylvia as I spoke. “Earlier today, we found a body wearing those exact items of clothing. I’m so sorry.”

Sylvia’s shaking hand, the one not clamped onto Evan’s, let go of her mug, but in her shock and upset she didn’t notice. It crashed to the dirty cream carpet with a loud thump and its contents slowly spilled out. She snuggled into Evan and let the tears flow freely and loudly. Out of respect, I kept quiet for a moment.

Elijah stood up awkwardly from his chair. “Let me go grab a cloth,” he said delicately as he leant down and picked up Sylvia’s spilled mug. He took it away and went into the kitchen.

After a few minutes, Evan spoke.

“And you’re certain it’s her?” he asked timidly as he rubbed Sylvia’s back.

“Pathology is yet to give us their findings, however we identified from photos,” I said confidently. “That, added with the fact she was wearing the clothing and jewellery you described, makes me certain it’s her. I wish it wasn’t, but it is.”

The couple held one another for a moment, both clearly in shock.

Elijah returned to the room and started to clean up Sylvia’s mess with a damp cloth. She looked at him as he cleaned, but I could tell from the vacant expression on her face that she was looking right through him. He left the dirty cloth on the side table, picked up his tea, then returned to his chair. He caught my eye as he moved to the sofa, his expression solemn.

“I just don’t understand how this could happen,” Sylvia eventually said in a quiet, befuddled tone. She looked at me with wide eyes that instantly made me think of her daughter’s, and how they’d stared at me vacantly from the cold, wet ground. “Where was she?”

“Her body was pulled out of the Gormire Lake,” I said candidly.

Sylvia’s thin eyebrows shot up in confusion. “Gormire Lake?” she repeated curiously. “How did she end up there?”

“That is something we aim to find out, Sylvia,” I said with reassurance as I rested my mug on my knee.

“In other words, you don’t know,” Evan said. His tone was cold and blunt as he pulled away from Sylvia and looked at me with a sulky expression.

Sylvia shot him a slightly annoyed look, but Evan’s eyes were fixed in my direction, so he didn’t notice.

I looked at him with an unbreakable stare. “That’s right, we don’t know,” I said flatly. “But we are going to put everything we have into finding out what happened to your daughter.”

“She left here to go to work, so someone must have taken her to the lake, right?” Sylvia asked timidly as she fidgeted with her hands.

“We believe so, aye,” I replied.

“How did she die?” Sylvia asked, her tone quiet and broken.

“Again, we are still waiting on the pathologist’s official report, but at the scene, she told me she believed Mia drowned,” I said matter-of-factly.

Sylvia’s eyes went wide. “So she was swimming in the lake? H-her death was accidental?”

“We may never know the exact details, but the pathologist doesn’t believe her death was an accident,” I continued, keeping my tone as flat and professional as possible. “She believes Mia was forced under the water.”

“Jesus!” Sylvia exclaimed in a whisper as she covered her face with her hands.

I looked at her sympathetically before continuing. “While we wait to hear from pathology, we are doing everything we can to piece together what happened. It would help us if you both told us everything you know… any information.”

“Like what?” Sylvia asked hopelessly as she scratched her knee.

“Like what happened on the day she was taken,” I said with authority. “Take us through that day in as much detail as possible.”

“You already know that,” Evan said with an aggravated huff. He then jutted his chin toward Elijah. “We told your colleague everything. It’s hardly our fault if he hasn’t passed that information on to you, is it?”

I bit back the aggravated sigh I longed to exhale and sat back in my chair instead. “Aye, and DC Smith did an excellent job of relaying that information, but I would much rather hear it all from you both directly,” I said in a tone not to be disputed. “You want to find out what happened to your daughter, right?”

“We will do anything we can, Inspector,” Sylvia said hastily.

I nodded to her appreciatively. “Then please take us through that day,” I said softly before taking a sip of my drink. “Even small details that seem insignificant or not worth mentioning can help more than you realise.”

“Okay,” Sylvia said nervously, the shaking slowly evaporating from her tone. She sat up straight and looked at me with focused eyes. “Evan was out most of the day at work. Mia and I spent most of the day at home, watching television and talking.” She took a loud inhale of breath to compose herself before continuing. “She was feeling a bit sad, I think. The move has been hard on us all… it was obvious she was missing her friends.”

She shot an annoyed look at Evan, then looked toward me with guilt-filled eyes. “None of us wanted to move, but we didn’t have much choice. I kept trying to reassure Mia that things would get better, but it was hard when I didn’t really believe that myself.”

“Do you mind my asking why the sudden move?” I asked curiously.

“We lost a great deal of money,” Sylvia said, shooting Evan another dissatisfied look. “We had to sell our home and find somewhere more affordable.”

I downed the rest of my tea and placed my empty mug on the carpet. “How did you lose your money?”

“Evan can tell you that,” Sylvia said bitterly, folding her arms and sitting back in her chair. She shot Evan a piercing look and didn’t stop staring at him until he spoke.

Evan sighed and rubbed his sweaty brow. “Fine, fine!” he said in exasperation. When he continued, I could tell he was purposely avoiding my eye contact. “I got myself into a spot of trouble, that’s all.”

Interesting, I thought to myself suspiciously.

“What sort of trouble, Evan?” I pressed bluntly. “And please be completely honest. It could help our case.”

“I will be honest, but my financial issues have nothing to do with what happened to Mia!” he exclaimed hastily. He then looked at Sylvia with pleading eyes. “I swear, Sylvia!”

“If your debt is why our daughter is dead, Evan, I swear to God I will never forgive you for this!” Sylvia exclaimed furiously.

I loudly cleared my throat. “Hold on, let’s just talk calmly instead of arguing,” I said with authority, instantly causing Sylvia and Evan to be quiet. I turned to Evan. “Tell us what you mean.”

Evan rubbed his face and put his elbows on his knees. “I got addicted to gambling,” he said in an embarrassed, sorrowful tone. “It wasn’t too bad at first. The odd bet here, the odd bet there, but once I had the taste of a win… I felt so high. I did anything I could to feel that rush again!”

“But you never won, Evan,” Sylvia said angrily. “Never.”

“Yes, I know,” he said shamefully, unable to look at his wife.

“And your gambling issues caused you to get into debt?” Elijah pressed.

“Try hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt,” Sylvia said, looking down her nose in disgust at her husband. “We had no choice but to sell our home to pay it off, but even the money from that wasn’t enough!” She gestured around the living room, her face expressionless. “We moved to this dump, away from the people you still owed money to, and have tried to rebuild our lives.” She rubbed under her eyes and held back the tears. “Not even a week here, and now my daughter is dead. If we didn’t move here, she’d still be alive. It’s our fault!”

“You can’t blame yourselves for what happened to her,” I said compassionately as I moved forward in my seat. “She was taken on the way from work. That was hardly your fault.”

Evan and Sylvia gave one another a sheepish look, which instantly put my back up. Was there a reason they were blaming themselves for their daughter’s death? Had Evan’s gambling related debts put a target on his back?

“Do the people you owe money to know you’ve moved?” I asked passively.

Evan and Sylvia pulled another sheepish look.

That would be a no then, I thought to myself bluntly.

“Do you think someone Evan owed money to could have done this, Inspector?” Sylvia asked with cold dread, raising her hands to her mouth in horror.

“Possibly,” I said honestly. “After Mia was taken, did either of you hear from anyone about the kidnapping? Any phone calls requesting money for her return? Any ransom notes or demands?”

They both shook their heads.

“No, nothing like that,” Sylvia said thoughtfully as she glared at her husband. “Not that I’m aware of, anyway.”

“I swear I haven’t received anything, darling!” Evan said desperately as he grabbed Sylvia’s hand. “This is serious… I never would have kept it from you.”

“Like you did everything else, you mean?” she asked coldly. “You only told me about your debt because we had to sell up! Otherwise you’d have never told me.”

“I know, and I can’t keep apologising for that,” Evan said tiredly as he looked pleadingly at his wife. “I messed up with the gambling, I know that, but I swear on your life that I haven’t received any ransom demands or anything for Mia.” He turned to me with wide, hopeful eyes. “That means it can’t be because of my debts, right? If it was, they'd have contacted me.”

“I hope not,” I said coldly. “But tell me right away if you hear anything. Just because they didn’t ask for money doesn’t mean we can’t rule people like that out as an option.”

Evan nodded glumly.

“Right, so keep taking me through Tuesday,” I continued.

Sylvia looked slightly thrown, but she rubbed her face, then continued. “After we spent the day together, Evan got home just before Mia left for work,” she said in a slow, cautious tone. “Mia left just before six for work, she always does. When time started to tick on after eleven, I knew something wasn’t right.” She sighed. “Mia doesn’t know anyone here except for us, so she always comes home straight after her shift. Always. It wasn’t in her character to be late, so when it had been an hour, I knew I had to call the police.”

I nodded. “Aye, you did the right thing by calling us,” I said with approval. “I know you said Mia had been a bit sad about the move, but could anything else have been on her mind? Perhaps a falling out with a friend or boyfriend?”

Sylvia shook her head with certainty. “No, she would have told me if it was anything like that,” she said confidently.

We always think we know our children better than we really do, I thought sceptically.

“Is that all, Inspector?” Evan suddenly said as he pushed himself out of his chair. “I told my boss I wasn’t going to be long, so I really need to get back.”

You heartless bastard, I thought to myself in shock. Your daughter is dead and all you care about is getting back to work.

I looked at him with disapproval, but nodded. “Aye, that’s all for now,” I said unhappily. “But I think you should be here with your wife right now, Mr. Murray, not at your job.”

“I appreciate your opinion, Inspector, but don’t be offended that I’m ignoring it,” Evan said bluntly.

I chewed the inside of my cheek in aggravation before turning to Sylvia. “I have a family liaison officer outside if you’d like me to send them in?” I offered gently. “They’ll be able to offer you some support during this horrid time.”

Sylvia smiled appreciatively. “Yes, that would be most welcome.”

“I won’t discuss it with you now, but the family liaison officer will be able to set up a time to see Mia’s body whenever you’re ready to do so,” I said kindly.

Sylvia started to cry again, but Evan’s face remained void of emotion.

I turned to Evan with a frown. “DC Smith and I will get going, but please do contact us if you think of anything else.” I took my card out of my pocket and placed it on the small table.

Evan gave a curt nod, then hurried out of the house, not even looking at his wife as he left.

I didn’t know if this was his way of dealing with his grief or if he was simply an arsehole, but I was happier than ever that we had an officer on standby to offer Sylvia some support. I said a warm goodbye to Sylvia, then gestured for Elijah to follow me outside. Once we were back outdoors, I quickly spotted a car parked with a man I didn’t know sitting in the front. The moment he saw me, he got out of the car and approached me. The man was tall and slender, with brown eyes and a shaved head. From a glance, I’d have guessed he was in his late fifties.

“DCI Ellis?” he asked casually.

“David, I take it?” I inquired as I held out my hand.

David shook it. “Yeah, that’s me,” he said with a smile. “I just saw a guy leave here, but is there anyone inside who wants to talk to me?”

“Aye, Mia’s mother, Sylvia, is definitely in need of your services,” I said glumly. “She seems like a nice woman who could do with some kindness right now.”

David nodded understandingly. “Say no more! It was nice to meet you both,” he said respectfully before making his way through the front door.

Once David was inside, Elijah and I continued to my car. As we got settled, I couldn’t help but keep looking back at the Murray home. Although Sylvia was convincing as a grieving mother, something hadn’t felt right. Both of them acted peculiarly when I suggested it wasn’t their fault she’d been taken on the way to work, and Evan had seemed more bothered about his job than the welfare of his own daughter.

I started the car's ignition, ready to start the drive back to Victoria Way station. As I drove, all I could think about were Mia’s parents. Were they both innocent, or had her father’s addiction caused her untimely death? No one had asked for any money, so part of me wasn’t convinced ransom was the motive, but I also knew I couldn’t rule it out either.

Evan had been a fool, and whether he was being blackmailed or not, his debts had caused his only daughter to die. I knew he was going to have to live with that knowledge for the rest of his life.

14

And just like that, he’d lost another sister.

The man couldn’t believe she was dead. How had it gone so wrong so quickly? This wasn’t how he wanted things to end at all.

Mia, the new Alannah, was the best replacement sister he could have asked for. Her hair was the exact shade of brunette, and it was perfectly straight, like Alannah’s had always been. Her eyes were an identical shade of blue to Alannah’s, and almost the exact same shape. Alannah’s eyes had been slightly smaller than Mia’s, but that was a small detail the man knew he could get over in time. Both women were slender, and both had confidence and an attitude that made him smile.

But now another sister was dead and gone, and it was all his fault.

It had been so nice spending that day with Mia. When it was just the two of them in the car, it was peaceful. Yeah, she’d been out cold, but the silence between them had felt comfortable and right. He’d taken her to his cabin and chained her up for her own safety. He hadn’t liked tying her up like she was a dog, but he couldn’t risk her trying to run away from him, not until she grew to trust him. As he chained her up, he realised with horror that one of her boots was missing. For a moment, he panicked and wondered if he should go back to find it, but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself by returning to the scene.

He just had to hope it couldn’t be traced back to him.

It had been devastating for him to see her so frightened when she first woke up. He did everything he could to reassure her that she was safe, but the woman believed he meant her harm. He never meant her harm. Ever. And yet he did harm her in the worst possible way.

He’d never be able to forgive himself for it.

Over the last twenty-four hours, the man had worked so hard to build up Mia’s trust. He’d been honest and vulnerable with her, telling her everything he could about Alannah, and was sincere when he told her how happy he was that she would be the new Alannah. It took Mia time, but eventually she calmed down enough that he felt he could let her out of the cabin and take her out. Alannah had always loved swimming in the lake, so the man knew it would be perfect if they went there together.

Mia seemed rather hesitant as they went to the lake, but she kept by his side, which gave him hope that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. They got to the lake, he gently escorted her into the water, and then told her they’d have a swim together.

That was where everything went wrong.

Mia started to panic, insisted the man was going to kill her, and tried to swim out of the lake. He chased her down quickly, pulled her back into the lake, and told her to calm down. She fought against him, and in his anger at her for not trusting him, he grabbed a rock from the lake and smashed it into her arm. He was shocked and devastated when he saw her start to bleed profusely. She looked down at the blood on her arm, gaped her mouth open in horror, and held it against the side of her coat. He felt sick when he saw the blood covering her sleeve and dripping down onto the coat. The man apologised over and over, but the silly woman just wouldn’t listen!

Why? Why did she have to try to swim away from him? If she’d just accepted his apology and hadn’t tried to escape, he wouldn’t have lost his temper and held her under the water. It was a horrible moment that had gone by so quickly and was too late to take back.

He repeatedly smacked his head in frustration as he watched the body float away from him. He knew the sensible thing to do was to get as far away from the lake as possible, and yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from his new sister drifting further and further away from him. Only once she was out of his line of sight did he look down at himself in horror. He was soaked from being in the lake, but his clothes were also covered in Mia’s blood.

He had to move. He had to get away from here.

He went to run, but stopped himself once he saw the blood dripping down onto the muddy ground. With a deep breath, he quickly went back in the lake and used the water to wash away most of the blood. Once he felt like it was safe to move, he got out of the lake and ran with all of his might.

Time moved slowly as he left the lake and made it back to his cabin. Once he was inside, he chucked his bloodied clothes onto the floor and immediately went into the shower. The blood felt stuck to his skin, and he had to get it off of him right away. After a long, hot shower, the man had finally started to regain composure. With the blood gone from his body, he was able to calm down enough to focus on his tragic loss. His eyes filled with tears as he thought of Mia’s body, but he hastily wiped them away. It was devastating to lose Mia, but he couldn’t give up either.

He'd made mistakes with Mia, that much was clear, but having her in his life—albeit briefly—made him realise exactly how unfulfilled his life was without a sister. Alannah and Mia may have been dead, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find himself a new sister.

Yes. That was what he would do.

He wouldn’t rush things. The new Alannah had to be as perfect as Mia was. He had to work on his temper so he wouldn’t repeat his mistakes, but he could do that. He had to. He wanted a new sister.

He needed a new sister.

15

As I pulled away from the Murray household, I felt irritated.

I was annoyed over Evan’s atrocious attitude, but I was more aggravated because the day had gotten away from us. The light of the day was now gone, and we were left with nothing but darkness. While we were at Ampleforth, it would have made sense to investigate the park and other areas where Mia could have been taken, but now the search would have been futile. We wouldn’t have been able to see a damn thing. As frustrating as it was, I’d have to wait and come back here first thing tomorrow.

As I drove out of the street and into the main part of Ampleforth village, Elijah started to speak. “Well, that was as horrible as I was expecting it to be,” he said as he pushed back in his seat.

I barked a laugh. “You don’t say.”

“What did you think about all of that?” Elijah asked.

I noticed immediately that his tone was edged with scepticism. Either he’d been working with me for far too long and my negativity had rubbed off on him, or he’d picked up on some of the same oddities at the Murray household that I had.

“That was...” I hesitated as I rubbed my stubble and weighed my words. “Interesting, to say the least,” I finished cautiously.

Elijah scoffed. “I hate to speak ill of anyone who has gone through what they have, but that Evan was a right piece of work,” Elijah said in distaste as he tapped his knee erratically. His face then softened. “I feel sorry for Sylvia. She’s just lost her only daughter and now she’s dealing with all the crap Evan’s put her through.”

“Aye, he’s put that family through a lot,” I agreed unhappily as I shuffled in my chair, trying to get my back comfortable. “The debt, the move, the lies. It’s a lot for any family to go through, let alone adding a dead child into the mix.”

“I don’t trust him, do you?” Elijah asked with concern. “He says he didn’t receive a ransom note, but I’m not convinced.”

I pushed back my hair and chewed on the inside of my cheek in contemplation. “It does sound like he’s in a hell of a lot of debt,” I conceded.

“A debt he’s tried to run away from,” Elijah said pointedly as he turned to face me. I glanced at him and was surprised to see earnestness etched across his features. “He wasn’t exactly forthcoming with who he owed money to, but if he felt the need to move into another area of Yorkshire to escape these people, I can’t imagine they’re friendly lenders, can you?”

I snorted. “No, likely not.”

“I think we should get a warrant to search his house and place of work,” Elijah said boldly as he sat up straighter. “We have no idea what that man could be hiding.”

I was silent for a moment as I figured out what to say. “This is the sort of thing we need to be rather delicate with,” I eventually said in a slow voice. “Sylvia and Evan have just been informed that their child has been killed, their only child, and although Evan’s debts sound dodgy as hell, we have no reason to assume they are connected to why Mia was taken.” I rubbed my face. “It might be a wiser idea to have a police presence close to them both. That way, they can see what they’re doing and if someone is watching either of them. Besides, a warrant to search those addresses would likely be denied if we don’t offer a valid reason. Our own speculation won’t be enough.”

Elijah’s shoulders slumped slightly, likely disappointed I didn’t agree with him, but eventually he nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea, sir.”

“Why don’t you call Pickering station or DC Carter and ask them about arranging a subtle police squad to watch them both?” I asked passively as I scratched my face. “If any of them see or hear anything that is cause for concern, we can then try to get a warrant sorted.”

Elijah sat up straighter, a keen look spreading across his face at being given the responsibility. “I will sort it right away, sir!”

“Good lad,” I said gently as I kept my focus on the road.

As I drove, there was nothing but the sound of Elijah talking confidently and animatedly on the phone for a few moments. As I listened to him speak, I felt proud of the DC he’d become over the past few years. Elijah had undeniably shown signs of laziness, particularly in the past—he would turn up either late or just on time, he never used to show any initiative to do things if he was told he wasn’t working out on the field—and yet there was no denying that when he was given a task, he took control and was in his element. He could be overly enthusiastic at times, but he’d really calmed down over the years and showed he could rise to the occasion. Out of the team, Elijah was probably the one I worked with the least. Both Rebecca and Nadia had higher positions than him, so when it came to more important tasks, I’d often go to one of them. If I needed to choose a DC, I often leaned more toward Lylah as she was my fiancée. However, as I thought about how well he’d been doing, I knew from now on I had to give him more of a chance. Elijah had proven himself as a damn good DC, and I was going to make sure he knew that.

Elijah hung up the phone and turned to face me. “Good news, sir. I was able to talk to DC Carter, and she said she will organise some PCs to keep an eye on both Sylvia and Evan immediately. Hopefully, they’ll be able to notice something.”

“Good work, Smith,” I said proudly. “If Mia was killed based on Evan’s debts, then I highly doubt her death would be the end of it.”

“Agreed, sir!” Elijah said with gusto. “We’ve seen from experience what these loan sharks can be like. They aren’t called sharks without a reason, and can turn vicious if they aren’t getting what they’re owed.”

“Exactly, so they will soon present themselves if they do, in fact, exist,” I said calmly.

Elijah looked at me, his brow furrowed. “You don’t believe that’s why Mia is dead, though, do you? I can tell.”

I sighed as I tapped slowly on my steering wheel. “I dunno,” I said honestly. “Evan is clearly bad news, no denying that, but I think he is more naïve than dangerous. He’s a liar, and yet when he told us he hadn’t received a ransom note, I believed him.”

Elijah didn’t look convinced as he lounged in his seat. “But if Mia wasn’t taken and killed because of Evan’s debts, then why was she?”

I shrugged. “They’re new to the area, so maybe someone took a dislike to them. Mia could have a boyfriend no one knows about who harmed her, she could have made enemies at her new job, or it could even be some sort of freak accident.” I sighed and slowed the car down as I approached a junction. “There are too many reasons to consider, but we have no evidence for any of them.”

“I guess that gives us a lot of options to look into,” Elijah sighed.

I continued to drive, and, for the rest of the journey, we travelled in silence. The silence was far from awkward though, as I knew the two of us were both focused on the task at hand. Eventually Victoria Way station came into our line of sight, and I parked up at the front of it. As we got out of the car and started walking, I glanced at the night’s sky, took in the consuming blackness of it, and knew it was late. I looked down at my watch and grumbled. We still hadn’t heard from pathology, and with the day now gone, we couldn’t go out and investigate any further. The best plan was to catch up, get a good night’s rest, then start fresh in the morning.

Together, Elijah and I entered the station and approached the large double doors that led to our department. I shoved past the doors to find Rebecca, Nadia, and Lylah sitting at their desks. The moment I pushed open the door, they all swivelled around in their chairs to face us.

“Good evening, all,” Elijah said tiredly as he passed me and stood close to Nadia at her desk.

“How did it go with Mia’s parents?” Rebecca asked sympathetically as she looked at me, her dark eyes softening as they met my own.

“Well, for the most part,” I said matter-of-factly as I looked around at everyone. “The good thing is that they’ve confirmed what Mia was wearing the day she went missing, so while they still haven’t gone to formally ID the body, the answers they gave us were enough for me to be absolutely certain that the body is Mia Murray. I know we were already pretty confident it was her, but another confirming opinion cements that.”

Everyone allowed themselves a moment of sorrow and respect, but quickly returned their focus.

“I bet it was hard to do, wasn’t it?” Lylah asked emotionally as she rested her face on the backs of her hands.

I sighed and shrugged off my leather jacket. “It’s never easy, telling a family their child will never come home, but Smith and I dealt with it in the best way we could.”

“How did they react, though?” Lylah pressed, her forehead creasing with concern.

“Sylvia was as devastated as you’d have expected her to be,” I sighed.

“While Evan seemed more concerned about returning to work,” Elijah said coldly as he leaned back casually against Nadia’s desk.

I saw the three women all pulling confused expressions, so I folded my jacket over my arm—there was no point in hanging it up when I didn’t intend to stay much longer—and looked around at them all.

“Aye, he was certainly an odd one,” I said cautiously. “Before we say too much about him, what did you find out about him and his family?”

“Not a huge amount,” Rebecca said as she stretched her arms over her head. “Neither Sylvia nor Evan have any form of criminal record and have mostly lived off the radar. It was only about two weeks ago where things started to get a bit interesting. The first odd thing we noticed was their sudden move, which we couldn’t really find much about.” She paused as she lowered her arms and spread them across her lap. “Sylvia had been working as a Maths teacher at a high school in York, and Evan had been working as a lab technician. Sylvia wasn’t making a huge amount, though her salary was decent, but Evan was making a lot in his career.”

She hesitated, so I gestured with my hand impatiently for her to continue. Rebecca huffed, then spoke again.

“Okay, okay!” she grumbled in annoyance. “Anyway, they both suddenly quit their jobs out of nowhere, put their house on the market and accepted a quick sale, likely a lot less than what the place is worth from what I could see, then moved to their new home.”

“And that was all you could see about the sudden move?” I pressed curiously as I folded my arms. “Nothing indicating why they actually moved?”

“Well, that links us to the second odd thing we found,” Rebecca said with a twisted smile before gesturing toward Nadia.

I turned my back on Rebecca and gave Nadia my full attention. Nadia’s cheeks flushed slightly at the intense way I stared at her, but she quickly cleared her throat and started speaking.

“While Rebecca and Stone were looking into Sylvia and Evan’s lives, I looked into their bank records,” Nadia said in a clear tone that grew in confidence as she continued. “As Rebecca said, Evan was doing better financially than his wife, but about a couple of years ago, he suddenly started losing large quantities of money from his account.” She rubbed her neck, then continued. “Well, it started off small, but then much larger amounts were going, and always to the same place.”

I nodded as I rubbed my stubble. “Evan admitted to having a gambling addiction when we were at his house, so I’m guessing it was to some form of betting shop?”

“Yes. Mostly at different Coral branches around York, but sometimes at places like Betfred or William Hill,” Nadia replied casually. “He started placing a few random bets online too, but it was mostly in person.” She sighed sympathetically. “It looks like his addiction got worse in the last year.”

“Did you see any large quantities of money going into his account?” Elijah quickly asked. “He openly admitted to owing money to people.”

Nadia quirked an eyebrow in surprise. “No, all I saw were losses,” she replied confidently. “There was definitely no money going in.”

“If these loan sharks were smart, they’d have given Evan the money in cash,” I said thoughtfully. “Much harder that way to trace anything back to them.”

“Which means his debt is likely higher than we realise,” Lylah said cautiously as she stood up from her desk and walked closer toward Nadia’s. “We have no way of knowing how much he owes these people.”

“Yes, but the fact he quickly sold his house suggests it must be a huge amount,” Rebecca said as she stood up from her chair. “Otherwise, why the sudden sale and the choice to downsize?”

Lylah opened her mouth to reply, but I held up my hand to silence her and the others.

“Smith and I have obviously just seen them, and they’ve admitted to all of this,” I said as I gazed between the three women. “Sylvia hadn’t known until they were forced to sell their home to cover a lot of Evan’s debts, but they moved away and left their jobs quickly in order to get away from these debt collectors.” I raised my hand again when I saw the three women all looking ready to interrupt me. “Now I know what you’re going to say! Evan’s debts and his avoidance of these collectors gives a clear motive, but we have no evidence to prove this yet.”

“Yet?” Nadia asked curiously as she moved forward in her chair. “So we have a plan in place to find proof that a debt collector may have taken Mia as collateral?”

“Of course,” I said with a smug grin. “On the way here, Smith called DC Carter, and she organised a tail on both Sylvia and Evan. If someone they owe money to has targeted Mia, then it’s likely they’ll still be keeping a watchful eye on the pair until their debts have been paid.”

“A good plan,” Lylah said respectfully, giving me a warm smile.

Nadia held back a yawn, causing her cheeks to go pink. I suppressed a yawn myself and gazed at my watch.

“Anyway, it’s getting late, so I think we should call it a night,” I said with authority.

“One of us should stay here though, sir,” Elijah said quickly as he moved from Nadia’s desk. “Just in case we have any other calls.”

I nodded respectfully as I clenched my jacket tightly. I’d been expecting to go home soon, but I was the DCI, and it was only right if I offered to stay behind.

“Aye, I’ll stay, and everyone can get going,” I said gently, hoping the dissatisfaction in my tone wasn’t evident.

Elijah walked away from Nadia’s desk and stood closer to me. “I’m more than happy to stay, sir. I was the one here when we received the initial call, and I want to see this out till the end.”

“You need to rest too, El,” Lylah said sympathetically as she approached him and squeezed his arm.

“Honestly, I want to be here!” Elijah said passionately. “Besides, Chibuike is getting annoyed with my adrenaline keeping me up, anyway.” He chuckled lightly. “So it’s probably best for the safety of my marriage if I stay here.”

I smiled appreciatively. “Ta, Smith,” I said happily. “I’ll keep my phone on all night, so call me if you hear anything at all. Alright?”

“Sure thing, sir!” Elijah said happily.

Nadia stood up from her desk, walked over to Elijah, and gently touched his wrist. “I’ll stay here with you for a bit, give you some company,” she said with a kind smile.

Elijah squeezed her hand in a gesture of gratitude.

The rest of us started to get ready to leave, but Rebecca soon broke the silence. “So… what is our plan for tomorrow?” Rebecca asked seriously as she grabbed her jacket. “We need to know our next steps before I feel comfortable leaving here tonight.”

“I agree,” Nadia said softly as she went back to sit in her chair. “I doubt I’ll get much sleep if I don’t know how we plan on tackling this case.”

I rubbed the back of my neck stiffly, anticipating everyone’s reactions to my next words.

“The first thing I personally want to do is go back to the park near Mia’s house and search for clues,” I said, not surprised by the sea of befuddled faces in front of me.

“But you and Smith searched there already, didn’t you?” Rebecca asked, pausing the motion of zipping up her jacket to give me an incredulous look.

“Aye, we did, but we still haven’t figured out exactly where and how this killer took Mia on her way to work. I think finding that out is top priority,” I continued as I started to put my own jacket on.

Elijah looked uncertain as he gazed sheepishly at the ground. “I’m up for looking again, sir, but I just don’t know what good it will do,” he replied awkwardly.

“You’re hoping to find that missing boot, aren’t you?” Lylah asked knowingly.

“I can’t deny I am, aye,” I said shamelessly. “I know it could be long gone, but what if it isn’t? That boot can help us in more ways than one, and I refuse to stop looking until we’ve looked everywhere possible.”

The team continued to look a mixture of startled and bemused by my decision, but I knew in my head it didn’t matter what any of them said. Luckily, Lylah stepped forward with a firm expression on her face.

“You’re the DCI here, sir,” she said loudly and confidently. “If you think that’s what we should do, then you have my full support.”

I gave a curt, appreciative nod. “Ta, Stone.”

I looked sharply at the others and noticed they still all had uncertain faces, but that wasn’t going to change my decision. The missing boot could be the key to identifying Mia’s killer, and I was going to put everything I had into finding it.

16

There was a tense silence as Lylah and I drove to work together the next morning. While I’d appreciated Lylah having my back in front of the team, the moment it was just the two of us alone it became apparent rather quickly that she, like the others, thought my hunt for the missing boot was a fool’s errand.

“I just don’t think it’s going to be there, Sean,” Lylah had said to me stubbornly as we made our way back home last night. “Besides, Mia was taken on Tuesday night, right? It’s going to be Friday tomorrow, which means, even if the boot had been left behind—which I seriously doubt it was—the killer would have had over forty-eight hours to retrieve it. It will be long gone by now.”

I knew there was logic in her response. The first few hours of an investigation were crucial, and this killer had a forty-eight hour head start on us. Yet, I couldn’t just give up the search without even trying.

“Elijah and I went to the park early the next day and couldn’t find the boot,” I had replied in an equally stubborn tone as I looked into Lylah’s unamused, pouting face. “Which means the boot has either ended up somewhere difficult to find—”

“Or the killer already went back and retrieved it before you’d even got there,” Lylah had interrupted bluntly, her pout more pronounced than ever. “I know that no matter what I or anyone else says, you’ll go to that park tomorrow. You’re a stubborn mule once you get an idea stuck in your head.” She hesitated, her pout slowly replaced with an affectionate smile. “But just prepare for the worst, okay?”

I gave a half nod as I kept my focus on the road, unable to look her in the eye. It was good that she had respected me in front of the team, but Lylah was my fiancée. It hurt to think that she didn’t believe in me as much as I hoped she did. Lylah was always a realist and tended to look at things as though they were black and white, but I hoped the more she worked beside me, the more she would realise the world was also filled with various shades of gray.

As we got closer to our station, I suddenly felt Lylah’s hand lightly touch my knee. I glanced toward her and saw she was pointedly looking ahead and not in my direction. I smirked to myself and brushed the back of her hand softly with my fingers. Lylah grinned to herself, but kept her face forward. I knew Lylah well enough by now to know this was her version of an olive branch, and I was more than happy to accept it before we got to work. This case was far too important for me to risk being distracted by personal matters.

We arrived at the station—Lylah had kept her hand on my knee throughout the rest of the drive—and made our way leisurely inside. We both greeted Karen, then entered our department. I was surprised, but felt a great deal of respect, when I saw Elijah was already there. He was nursing a coffee, his eyes looking red and puffy. I could tell the bloke must have hardly had a wink of sleep, and yet his determination to honour Mia’s memory had brought him in early. He was dressed in some black skinny jeans and an oversized white t-shirt which looked effortlessly stylish on him. Usually his bleached blond hair was tied back in a tight bun, but today he had it tied half up. It was a look I rarely saw on him, but it suited him well.

“Christ, El,” Lylah said in a slow, concerned tone as she walked up to Elijah and gently touched his face. “Did you even get any sleep?”

Elijah laughed, and I noticed his voice sounded oddly croaky. “I had a couple of hours or so, but I’m fine! If anything, I feel like I’ve got energy for days,” he said with a wide grin.

“How was it last night?” I asked. “Did you get any calls?”

“Nope, it was as dead as a dodo, sir,” Elijah said boredly as he rubbed at the bags under his eyes.

I felt slightly envious as I took in his handsome features. If I’d barely slept, I’d have looked like a zombie, and yet Elijah looked as though he was ready for a photoshoot.

“What time did you and Nadia leave?” I pressed with concern, tilting my head slightly to the left as I looked at him.

“Nadia left at around two, but I stayed for another couple of hours,” Elijah said proudly.

“There’s no shame if you want to go home for a bit, Smith,” I offered gently. “You’ve barely been at home since we started this case and—”

“No!” Elijah interrupted. His cheeks quickly flushed at his impertinence. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you, sir. I just really don’t want to be away from this. This case is too important for me to be napping on work hours.”

I felt bad at the clear exhaustion on his face, but I also knew that if I’d been in his shoes, I never would have accepted the option to leave either.

“I understand, lad. You’ve done some excellent work on this case, and it will be good to see that continue,” I said with respect.

“Thank you, sir!” Elijah said as his neck reddened. “That means more to me than you know.”

I was saved the hassle of replying by the loud opening of the department’s door. Rebecca walked in with Jude Aisling, our tech guy and Rebecca’s long-term boyfriend. They’d been living together for a while now, so I was used to Jude entering the room with Rebecca, but that didn’t mean I welcomed it.

Jude was still as awkward around me now as he was several years ago. He was always keen to impress, which made his behaviour unusual.

“Good morning, everyone,” Rebecca said tiredly.

“Hello all!” Jude said with so much energy, it made me wince.

“Mornin’,” I muttered gruffly as I shoved my hands in my pockets.

Jude kissed Rebecca lightly on the cheek. “Have a good shift, Becs,” he said softly.

Rebecca smiled at him. “You too.”

Jude waved at us all like a man onstage at the Oscars as he walked through our department to get to his own. I longed to sigh in relief once he’d gone, but Rebecca was watching me, so I refrained. Luckily, the awkwardness was broken by Nadia’s arrival. I looked at her and noticed that she too looked tired, only not as tired as Elijah. She wore a navy hijab which I noticed was fitted much more loosely than usual. More often than not, Nadia wouldn’t have a single one of her black hairs on display, but today she had a few strands on each side of her face.

I nodded at her happily then clapped my hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“Great! Now that we are all here, I’m keen to get going to Ampleforth right away,” I said. I gestured with my hand toward Nadia and Elijah. “Are you two happy to come with me?”

“Of course, sir!” Elijah said happily.

“I’d be happy to join you both,” Nadia chirped.

“Excellent,” I said passively before turning to Rebecca. “I think we will have a lot to cover in Ampleforth, so we’ll likely be out most of the day. Are you and Stone happy to hold the fort here?”

“Sure,” Rebecca said with a slight smile. “I can keep an eye out for news from pathology and start my reports.” She turned toward Lylah. “I take it you haven’t started your reports yet either?”

Lylah flushed slightly, but shook her head. “No, ma’am, not yet,” she said in slight embarrassment.

Rebecca brushed her embarrassment away and put an arm around her shoulders. “Good, means we will both have a lot to keep us busy today,” she said with sarcastic joy.

“If you get the time, it wouldn’t hurt to do a bit of social media research,” I said as I gestured for Elijah and Nadia to get ready to leave.

“On who?” Rebecca asked curiously.

“On anyone connected to Mia,” I said with a small grin. “I know you’ve looked into her, her parents, and spoken to some of her friends, but dig into her friends more… or anyone who reacts to her posts. Who knows, it could help us know the girl better and figure out any potential enemies.”

“Good idea,” Rebecca said with approval. “I’ll get Stone on that. She’s better with social media than I am.”

I nodded, said goodbye to both her and Lylah, then followed Nadia and Elijah out of the station. We made our way outside and approached my car. I unlocked it and watched as Nadia climbed in the front seat while Elijah politely went for the back. I got in the car, waited for everyone to get comfortable, then started the drive to Ampleforth.

As I drove, I paid attention to my surroundings and watched the various cars drive past me. I watched families out and enjoying one another’s company without a care in the world, and couldn’t help but feel slightly vexed by all of this. These people were out living their lives like nothing could go wrong, when in reality things could change as quick as the drop of the hat.

You only had to look at the Murray family to know that.

“I know you’re keen on us searching that park, but is there anywhere else we can look too?” Nadia asked, her tone rather sheepish to have broken the quiet.

I could tell from her tone that she was hinting she wasn’t keen on searching the park, but I ignored her scepticism.

“Aye, we will search everywhere we can for any sign of what happened to her,” I said with authority. “It’s more likely she was taken at the park than anywhere else, but we have to consider all possible places.”

Nadia and Elijah kept silent, but a glance at Nadia to my left and a look at Elijah in the reflection of the rearview mirror showed me that their faces were filled with uncertainty and unhappiness. They were both glad to be out on the field, but both clearly wished we were doing something else. I sighed tiredly, then spoke.

“Look, I know neither of you think this is a good idea, but finding out exactly where Mia was taken could be crucial to this case,” I said. “Even if we don’t find the boot, we need to piece together the events of the night Mia was taken. That’s impossible to do if we don’t figure out where the kidnapper found her in the first place.”

Both Nadia and Elijah looked embarrassed by my words.

“Sorry, sir,” Elijah said apologetically as he lowered his head in shame. “Lylah was right yesterday. You’re our DCI and it isn’t our place to question your judgement. I—”

Elijah stopped halfway through his sentence. He cleared his throat awkwardly, then continued.

“I just didn’t like the thought of not using our time wisely, that was all,” he said, red-faced. “Mia has been dead for over a day and the more time that goes on, the less likely it is we will find her killer, but if you believe this is our best way of finding out the truth… I’ll do anything in my power to help.”

“Same here,” Nadia added as she sat up straighter in her seat, her dark eyes filled with passion. “All I care about is finding the truth, and I will happily follow your lead.” She gave me a warm, encouraging smile. “You’re yet to steer us wrong, so I believe in you.”

“Ta, you two,” I said appreciatively.

Elijah rubbed his neck uncomfortably. “I don’t know if it’s just the fact that I was the one to first speak to Sylvia, but something about this case has felt so personal to me. It’s made it hard to separate my emotions and my professionalism,” he said with slight concern. “I want to do right by Mia, but I don’t want my own feelings to jeopardise this case.”

Elijah’s words made me think about Faye. For some reason, Mia’s death had felt so personal to me, too. I kept associating the girl’s death with my own daughter. Anytime my mind went to Mia, her wide, blue eyes and long, brunette hair were suddenly replaced with Faye’s own features. It was hard at times to shut your feelings off completely—especially during emotional, challenging cases—but I knew we all had to keep level-headed if we had any chance of hunting down Mia’s elusive murderer.

“One thing I know, lad, is that you won’t be jeopardising this case,” I said confidently. “You’re one hell of a DC, Smith, and you need to believe that more.”

A red patch grew slowly up Elijah’s neck until it consumed his entire face. He rubbed his cheek awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Thanks, sir. I hope I’ll only continue to prove myself in this case.”

“I have no doubt that you will,” I said assertively.

We then passed a sign for Ampleforth village, and all of us tensed in our seats. We were finally back here, and we knew the gravity of the situation and the hard work we had ahead of us today. Mia’s killer seemed far from an idiot, and if we were unable to identify where and how he’d managed to get a hold of the girl, we were screwed.

“Are we going to park close to Mia's house again, sir?” Elijah asked curiously as he fidgeted nervously in the back seat.

“Aye,” I said bluntly as I rubbed my forehead. “We will do what we did before, Smith. We will follow the trail from her house to her work, only this time we will analyse all potential routes, not just the shortest one.”

“Good idea,” Nadia said keenly as she tapped her knees. “There are more of us this time too, meaning we can cover more space.”

I nodded enthusiastically as we drove through the village. I kept my eyes peeled and noticed, like before, that the village was unusually quiet except for a few older people who were roaming around.

“I can see some of the people Lylah and I spoke to,” Nadia said in a quiet, thoughtful tone as she casually glanced out of the window. “They all seemed nice enough.”

“I can’t say any of these people look like killers.” Elijah said as he looked around the village. “Not to be ageist, but most of these people would have had a hard time forcing a twenty-year-old girl into a vehicle and getting her to the lake.”

I glanced at Nadia curiously. “I know you and Lylah mentioned speaking to some villagers on Wednesday, but did you see anyone younger at all?”

Nadia rubbed her chin thoughtfully, eventually shaking her head. “Thinking about it, no, we didn’t. They were all at least over the age of fifty.”

“Fifty isn’t that old,” I said sharply. “A man around that age would certainly have the strength and ability to do the damage caused to Mia.”

Nadia flushed slightly. “I didn’t mean it like that!” she said awkwardly. “I just meant Lylah and I didn’t get any bad vibes or feelings from anyone we spoke to.”

I nodded with understanding. Nadia and Lylah, like me, had gotten to a point where they were learning to trust their guts. I trusted their judgement.

We eventually made it to Mia’s house, but I purposely parked far away. The last thing I wanted was for either Sylvia or Evan to see us snooping around and come out to ask questions. As I parked up, I smiled to myself when I noticed an old Ford parked up on the other side of the road. A man and a woman sat in it, reading the paper, but I noticed their eyes kept moving away from it. They were clearly one of the tails DC Carter had organised. I just hoped they weren’t as obvious to the family as they were to me.

We all got out of the car and stretched our limbs.

“Are you both ready?” I asked as I looked toward them both.

They both nodded, so we got straight to work. Like before, we followed the trail and felt nothing but annoyance and disappointment along the way. I could see Nadia and Elijah giving each other the odd look when they thought I wasn’t paying attention, which only increased my aggravation.

So much for their little speeches in the car, I thought to myself with an unhappy grumble.

We eventually made it to the park, and I felt my gut reacting strongly.

The park was the only area that was more closed off, so the killer had to have taken Mia from here. There was nowhere else they could have grabbed her away from watchful eyes.

“Right, let’s do this,” I said in a strong, confident tone as we reached the park. “As you looked left before, Smith, I will look left this time. Nadia, you focus on the centre of the park, and Smith, you examine the right. We need to be as thorough as possible, understand?”

Both Elijah and Nadia had started putting on their gloves as I spoke, and they finished pulling them on and nodded when I finished.

I nodded in return and grabbed my own gloves. I pulled them on, then made my way to the left. The left side of the park was closer to the road, and in the opposite direction of where Mia would have gone for work, but that didn’t mean the appearance of the killer hadn’t caused her to change her route.

For fifteen minutes, there was silence as we all searched. I glanced around and the hope in my heart slowly started to fade. I knew I couldn’t give up, though.

As I searched, I suddenly stopped and opened my mouth in surprise when I saw something. Directly in front of me was a small opening in the trees that led away from the park, and as I stared at it, I felt my breathing increase rapidly. I hadn’t spotted this little nook before since I’d been focused on the other side of the park. Now that I could see it clearly, I wondered if Mia had been pulled through there.

Or ran through it when she saw her attacker, I thought to myself coldly.

I didn’t know what it was, but I was certain this entrance held the answers I was desperately in need of, and I couldn’t wait a second longer to search it.

17

“Nadia! Smith!” I shouted as I turned to find them.

As quick as arrows shot from a bow, the two charged over to me with hopeful expressions.

“What is it?” Nadia asked excitedly.

Elijah didn’t speak, but stared at me with large, expectant eyes.

“Look over there,” I said, pointing toward the small gap in the trees. “We need to have a look.”

I quickly gestured for them to follow me, then began to walk. The opening was surrounded by large trees and the ground was mostly dried mud and leaves. I moved closer to look for footprints, but the ground was covered in many different sets with various leaves and debris stomped into them.

I guess that’s what happens when you investigate a scene over forty-eight hours after the event, I thought to myself with frustration.

“We won’t have any luck with footprints, not after so long.” I sighed, frustrated. “But I suggest we search here together. If there is any hope of finding any evidence, it will be around here somewhere.”

The two agreed, and we further investigated the scene. The opening in the trees looked as though it had been gradually made over time, likely by children playing in the playground. There was no clear pathway on the ground, simply a beaten path among the various trees.

I set Elijah to walking down the makeshift pathway to see where it could lead while Nadia and I searched either side of it among the trees. After a few minutes of looking through the trees and the bushes, I hadn’t come across anything. Undeterred, I got down to the ground so I could scan it properly. I had to stop myself from screaming out in joy when I saw something black below one of the bushes. I quickly calmed myself and moved steadily toward it.

Please be the boot! Please be the boot! I thought to myself desperately.

Sure enough, once I reached the bush and tugged at the black object, I saw it was Mia’s boot. It was long, but the bottom was flat. From the position of it in the bushes and the fact I had to use force to get it out, the boot had likely got caught on the bush when she was pulled out of the park. Sure enough, there looked to be a potential drag mark nearby.

“Nadia!” I exclaimed with glee. “I’ve found the boot!”

“You’re kidding me!” Nadia said in shock as she appeared out of one of the bushes. She brushed herself down, then came toward me. When she saw me dangling the boot in her face like a carrot in front of a donkey, she opened her mouth wide.

“Remind me to never question you ever, ever again, Sean,” she said with a joyful smile as she looked at the boot.

I barked a laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll all question me again soon enough, and I’ll be more than happy to prove you all wrong over and over again. Now, come over here and help me look for anything else that could be Mia’s!”

I didn’t need to ask Nadia twice. At my words, she moved speedily into the hedges close to where I pulled out the boot and together we searched. Nadia searched the tops of the bushes, while I got down to the ground again. I was annoyed that we found nothing else after more time searching, but we had the boot and that was more than enough to make me happy. Even if the boot came back with nothing, it proved that Mia had been taken here.

“There’s nothing else here,” Nadia grumbled with disappointment as she stood up and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.

“No, but we have the main thing we came for,” I said as I gingerly raised my body out of the bushes. “That, and there’s what I think could be a drag mark.”

“We can either take pictures ourselves or call for a pathologist to come and investigate the scene,” Nadia said slowly. “I’ll take some photos of it, send them to Rebecca, and she can contact Hannah to see what she thinks would be best.”

“An excellent idea!” I said approvingly.

Nadia beamed as she pulled out her phone and started to take photos of the ground from various angles.

“Sir!” Elijah said loudly as he moved hastily toward us.

“What is it, Smith?” I called to him eagerly as I moved around Nadia and quickened my pace to reach him.

“I followed the trail down to the end. It leads to a small road,” he said breathlessly as he held a stitch at his side. “If Mia was taken here, she must have—”

He stopped mid sentence and gaped at the boot in my gloved hand.

“You found the boot!” Elijah said in surprise.

“Aye, which means Mia was taken here, but continue what you were saying,” I said in a keen haste.

Elijah cleared his throat, then gestured for us both to follow him. I turned to Nadia, who nodded, showing me she was done, and so we charged after him. As Elijah moved quickly through the trees, he continued talking.

“As I was saying, Mia’s attacker must have parked up near the entrance of this pathway,” he said, his tone vibrating with excitement. “If it was dark, it would have been the perfect place. They could have pulled her right out of the gap and into their vehicle.”

We all exited the hole in the trees and looked at the scene Elijah had found. It was a small road, leading to nothing on the left, though the right must have gone toward Ampleforth village centre. I turned with speed toward Nadia.

“Nadia, follow the road down and see where it leads!” I said keenly. “We need to know if it goes from here to the lake.”

Nadia nodded, but quickly stopped after a few steps. “But we don’t know if the kidnapper took her right to the lake, do we?” she asked sheepishly. “They had her for a day before she died. As far as we know, they could have kept her anywhere.”

I swore out loud in aggravation, knowing she was right. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully and quickly recovered.

“You’re right,” I said quickly. “But if we follow the trails from here, we can see if there is any CCTV around that can show us any potential cars that passed around the time Mia was taken.”

Nadia’s face quickly lit up again. “Great idea!” she said keenly before quickly moving off.

Once she was moving down the road, I turned to Elijah.

“Search around this place for any CCTV cameras or anything that can be linked to Mia or our attacker,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Yes, sir!” Elijah said enthusiastically.

We searched the area around the road, but there was nothing. There were no tire marks, which told me the kidnapper must have driven away leisurely. After twenty minutes, I knew there was nothing further we could do. No cameras were found close to the road, and there were no objects that could have belonged to either Mia or her attacker. There wasn’t even a sign of a struggle. The person we were dealing with was far from an amateur, which concerned me.

“Come on, let’s go and find Nadia,” I said impatiently.

“I don’t understand how the boot was there, sir,” Elijah asked me as we continued along. “Why didn’t the killer go back to find it?”

I’d been curious about that myself. Surely the killer must have noticed the boot was missing? Were they perhaps so arrogant that they felt there was no way it could be linked back to them? Or maybe they’d returned for it and struggled to find it? It was only by luck I’d spotted it myself. It was wedged at the bottom of the bush and easily could have been missed.

“We may never know the answer to that,” I said matter-of-factly. “The killer could have been in such a hurry to get her out of here, that they didn’t realise when the boot went missing, or maybe they thought it was more of a risk to come back for it than leave it.” I sighed and rubbed my face. “Who knows, but it worked out great for us.”

“True, let’s just hope their DNA will be on it,” Elijah said hopefully.

We approached the end of the road, where we found Nadia coming back to join us. I saw the way her brow was furrowed, so I knew instantly not to get my hopes up.

“The road ends at a junction—one way leads directly into the village and the other leads out,” she said slowly as she pulled off her gloves. “Unfortunately, the way out has many routes to the lake, so although we could look into CCTV, it’ll be a long job. It likely won’t help much unless we can get a clear image of Mia in the car.”

“We’ll still look into that back at the station,” I replied as I pulled off my own gloves. “It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack, I know, but we could still get lucky. What about the way into the village?”

“I had a quick walk and scan, but I couldn’t see any clear CCTV cameras,” she said glumly. “On the plus side, I sent the photos of the drag marks off to Rebecca and she said Hannah is now on her way to come look at them herself.” She glanced at her watch, then back toward Elijah and me. “She should be here in around half an hour.”

I didn’t relish the idea of waiting around, but I also knew Hannah could find something out from those drag marks, so it was best to wait for her.

“Great, let’s make our way to the main area of the park so she can find us,” I instructed. “As we’ll be here a bit longer, you might as well contact Rebecca and Stone and ask them to start looking into CCTV options.”

As Nadia began her phone calls, we moved back through the trees, all of us having another scan of the area as we walked. I waited impatiently for Hannah to arrive. Once she turned up, I showed her the marks, and we chatted for another twenty minutes while she finished up and prepared to leave.

“Sorry that you’re still waiting on my reports, by the way,” she said apologetically as she took the boot and put it in an evidence bag. “But you’ll receive everything tomorrow morning.”

“Any haste on the matter will be appreciated,” I said gruffly as I walked with her to her car.

“I can assure you I’m working as fast as I can and will get you a thorough report by morning,” she said confidently, her back bristling slightly at my implication that her work wasn’t getting done quick enough. “The analysis of the boot won’t be done by then, but as it’s just the one item… it hopefully shouldn’t take too long.”

I thanked her, then waited for her to get into her car. Once she left, I turned back to Elijah and Nadia.

“Right, let’s get back to the station so we can update the others on our progress,” I instructed. “Hopefully, the reports tomorrow will help us close this case and arrest Mia’s killer.”

Luckily, the drive back to the station was quick, and we made it back to the station in impeccable time. I parked at the front of the station, ushered Elijah and Nadia out of my car, and together we all made our way inside.

“I can’t wait for them to hear the good news!” Elijah said excitedly as he power walked up the stairs.

“Same here,” Nadia concurred, nodding enthusiastically. “We’ve had a successful day thanks to Sean’s good instincts!”

I gave a weak smile of gratitude as I pushed open the doors and gestured for the two to enter the department first. Once we were inside, Elijah climbed keenly into his chair and looked at Rebecca and Lylah with a smug smile.

“So, you’ve had a good day, then?” Rebecca asked sarcastically as she held a mug to her chest and glanced between the three of us with a quirked brow.

“We sure did!” Elijah said happily. “We—”

He quickly stopped himself as he turned to me in embarrassment.

“Well, you should tell her, sir. It was all because of you,” he finished awkwardly.

I smiled at Elijah before turning to Rebecca. I called Lylah over, and as briefly as possible, I informed them of our successes. Both women looked pleased by the time I’d finished explaining.

“Well, that certainly explains why Nadia contacted me about Hannah and the CCTV!” Rebecca replied with a slight chuckle. “And it’s great news that we’re getting her reports first thing tomorrow.”

I nodded as I placed my hands in my pockets. “Aye, let’s just hope we’ve now done enough to find Mia’s killer,” I said gruffly.

“So that’s been our day… tell us about yours?” Nadia asked.

“We got our reports done, and I had another look on social media. It didn’t come up with anything helpful,” Lylah said in disappointment as she leaned against Nadia affectionately. Nadia patted her friend’s arm. “We also looked at CCTV routes from the park to the lake. The cameras were few and far between, but the ones we did look at had no clear imagery to suggest Mia was in one of the cars.”

I nodded disappointedly, then gestured for them to continue. “But we did have an interesting call when you were out,” Rebecca said as she leaned back casually in her chair, a smirk rising on her lips.

“Oh?” I asked curiously, looking at her with crossed arms. “Care to elaborate?”

“DC Carter called to give us an update on how the tails on Sylvia and Evan were going,” she continued, taking a casual sip of her tea after she spoke.

I knew Rebecca loved to build suspense and was all about the dramatics, but right now I was too keen to know what was going on to play her game.

“Well?” I asked impatiently as I tapped my foot. “Spit it out, woman!”

Rebecca chortled as she put her mug down beside her. “Very well,” she said playfully before looking at me with a more serious expression. “From what she was saying, it seems you were right to suggest a tail on Evan.”

“I knew it!” Elijah said smugly as he pushed out his chest. “That man was dodgy from the start!”

I thought about the PCs we saw sitting outside of the Murray household earlier and couldn’t deny I was surprised at this news. The two had looked rather bored, so it was a shock to know things had developed so rapidly after we left.

“So what did the PCs find, exactly?” I asked curiously. “I noticed a couple of PCs outside of the house earlier today, but they didn’t exactly look like they were trailing a criminal mastermind.”

Rebecca snorted. “Because they weren’t,” she said bluntly as she tucked her short hair behind her ears. “The tail on Sylvia, as you’d expect, came back with nothing. She barely leaves the house. She only went out to get something from the shop or to have a quick bit of fresh air.”

That poor woman, I thought to myself sadly. She’s like an empty shell of herself after losing her child.

“But Evan?” Elijah pressed keenly, his face already filled with anger toward the man.

“The PCs didn’t exactly find lenders following him, but it looks like old habits die hard,” she said with an unhappy grimace. “He went to a couple of betting shops, and they found him talking to a dodgy-looking geezer. The man passed him an envelope, so the PCs guess he’s found someone else to borrow money from to feed his addiction.”

I shook my head in dismay.

You stupid, selfish man, I thought to myself coldly.

“Maybe he’s started gambling again as a way to deal with his grief?” Nadia offered diplomatically as she looked around at the team.

“You’re too nice, Nadia,” Elijah said bluntly, though he gave her a warm smile. “The man is absolute scum. He only cares about himself.”

“Plus, we don’t know when he started up again,” I said coldly as I tapped my fingers on my elbows. “If his addiction is that bad, he probably started as soon as they got settled in.”

“Meaning a more local lender could be behind everything that’s happened with Mia,” Lylah, her face a picture of disgust.

“Exactly,” I said bluntly. “One thing’s for sure, first thing in the morning, I’m paying that man another visit.”

18

All of us left the station, eager to get some rest for the next day. Since Lylah and I were riding home together, I waited patiently for her to fetch her things. I held open the door for her, then let her walk downstairs and exit the building first. I was eager to get home, though I was more eager to speak to Evan the next morning. Lylah smiled at me warmly as we slid into the car, and I knew something was on her mind.

“Hopefully we’ll make more progress tomorrow,” I said, hoping to cut to the core of the matter.

“Yes,” she said, biting her lip. She hesitated, then turned to me once more.

“I know we still have a lot of time, but today I was thinking about potential wedding favours,” she said keenly as she placed a loving hand on my knee. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I was—”

“Seriously?” I asked her coldly as I jerked my knee away from her hand. “I’ve been running around trying to identify a killer today and you were more focused on wedding favours?”

Lylah pulled away, her expression full of hurt. “It wasn’t like I wasn’t working too, Sean!” she snapped in aggravation. “But my mind sometimes went to our wedding.”

“We are hunting down the murderer of a girl who is barely an adult!” I said incredulously as I pushed back my hair. “How have you had the time to think about anything else?”

“Don’t make it sound like I don’t care about the girl, Sean,” Lylah said, looking at me like she was a wounded puppy.

“Your mind and thoughts should be completely on this case right now, Lyles,” I said in a cautious, disappointed tone as my fingers tapped on the gearbox. “I want to marry you more than anything, but I can’t fathom thinking about things like wedding favours when a young girl’s dead body has just been pulled out of a lake.”

Lylah opened her mouth, her eyes ablaze with anger. To my surprise, she quickly closed it and turned her body away from me.

For the rest of the journey, and the majority of the evening, we didn’t say two words to one another. We got home, had our evening meal, then got ready for bed without speaking. It wasn’t until we got into bed and I saw Lylah’s body positioned grumpily away from mine that I decided to clear the air.

“Sorry, love,” I said with an apologetic sigh as I looked at her back. “This case has just been getting to me. You know I can’t wait to marry you, but right now… all I can think about is Mia.”

Lylah turned around and looked at me in surprise. “It isn’t like you to get so absorbed over a case.” She hesitated with a small laugh. “Actually, no. It’s very you to get this absorbed in a case. This job is your life, but you don’t usually get so… emotional about a case. The last time you were this emotional was when you were looking into everything with Craig, and that I could understand as it was connected to family.”

I pulled her into my chest and held her close. “I dunno why, but I keep associating Mia with Faye,” I said embarrassedly, feeling glad she couldn’t see my face.

“But why?” Lylah asked in shock. “Faye is okay, isn’t she?”

“Aye, she’s fine,” I said quickly before Lylah could worry. “I dunno if it’s because they’re the same age or what, but I just keep thinking about Sylvia and how I’d be in her shoes if Faye was killed.”

Lylah gently moved from my chest and stroked my stubbly cheek. “But it isn’t Faye, darling,” she said in a soft, reassuring tone. “Faye is perfectly fine, you said so yourself.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek in frustration. “I just wish I knew why I kept thinking of Faye.”

Lylah hesitated slightly as she moved back to lay across my chest. “You don’t think it’s because of her becoming a PC, do you?” she asked cautiously.

I stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“We know how dangerous the job is,” she said in a slow, thoughtful tone. “We deal with danger on a daily basis. Maybe you keep thinking of Faye being hurt because you’re worried about what will happen if she becomes a PC?”

I grumbled under my breath, knowing she was likely right. I’d been so concerned about Faye becoming a PC, that I was now imagining horrific things happening to her.

“Aye, you’re probably right, love,” I said tiredly as I stroked her hair. “I hate the thought of her being hurt, but I need to learn to let my fears go.”

“Yeah, you do,” Lylah replied, her tone soft yet blunt. “Otherwise it’s going to end up destroying you.”

For a moment there was silence as we held onto one another and I continued to stroke her hair, but after a few minutes, Lylah spoke again.

“Are you planning on driving straight to Ampleforth tomorrow, or will you go to the station first?” Lylah asked curiously as she stroked at the hairs on my chest.

“Station first,” I said briskly. “Hannah said her reports should be in first thing, so there’s no point in me speaking to Mia’s parents again until I know what those reports say.”

Lylah nodded against my chest, then let out a soft sigh. Eventually, we fell asleep in one another’s arms. We woke up abruptly to the loud blaring of my alarm. Lylah mumbled in aggravation—like she did every morning—and we slowly got ourselves out of bed and got ready. I thought again about the pathology reports, which spurred me to move quicker. I waited impatiently as Lylah faffed around doing her hair. Once she was finally ready, I dragged her to the car so we could get going.

“Christ, someone is full of beans this morning,” Lylah grumbled tiredly as she put on her seatbelt.

“I’m just keen to see the pathology report, that’s all,” I said hastily as I put on my own belt and reversed out of my parking space.

She looked at me with wide eyes and started hitting my shoulder erratically. “Yes! The reports,” she said keenly. “Let’s get going!”

I rolled my eyes and started driving to the station, my thoughts veering swiftly between Mia, the forensic reports, and Mia’s parents. We made it to the station, and I was surprised but pleased to notice both Nadia and Rebecca’s cars already there.

“I guess everyone is as keen as you are,” Lylah said passively as we parked up beside Nadia’s car.

“Aye, and it wouldn’t hurt for you to have a similar level of enthusiasm,” I said pointedly as I softly squeezed her shoulder.

She looked at me and rolled her eyes before getting out of the car.

“Obviously I’m keen to know, Sean!” she said, annoyed. “It’s not my fault I’m far from a morning person. Besides, it is a Saturday!”

I smirked to myself at her attitude as we charged into the station together. I saw Karen at the reception and quickly approached her.

“Mornin’, Karen,” I said kindly as I leaned on her desk. “I assume it must have been a quiet night since I received no calls?”

“Very,” she said tiredly as she placed her hands on the desk and looked at me. “I received one call from Sylvia Murray asking if I knew anything about how the case was going. She also told me that her and her husband went to see Mia’s body and officially confirmed it was her, but that was it.”

My heart hurt for Sylvia. I nodded toward Karen and gestured for Lylah to follow me up the stairs.

“Poor Sylvia,” Lylah said affectionately as she walked behind me up the stairs. “I seriously hope the report comes back. I want to have some good news when we go see her.”

Aye, so do I, I thought to myself slowly. Otherwise, I’ll just be bringing nothing but more bad news to her doorstep.

I went to say something, but paused on the stairs when I heard the station’s front door opening. I turned behind me to see Elijah coming up the stairs. Today he had opted for his usual bun hairstyle and was dressed as immaculately as ever. He wore fitted denim jeans and a blue shirt. The short sleeves on it had been rolled up several times to show off his arms. It was clear that the only time he’d come in looking incredibly woebegone was a one-off from the long, weary night before.

“Morning, team!” he said positively as he started walking behind us.

“Mornin’, Smith,” I said gruffly. “Sleep well?”

“I did thanks, sir,” Elijah said happily. “It was the best sleep I’ve had in over a week.”

As we reached the top of the stairs, I turned to face him. The bags under his eyes had shrunk considerably, but my gut was telling me he was over-exaggerating his rest. He looked better, so I didn’t want to push him any further and decided to just smile in response. Lylah held the door open for us all and entered the department together. As I entered the room, I saw Nadia and Rebecca chatting animatedly in the kitchen, both nursing a hot mug. They both turned around at the sound of the door opening.

“Morning!” Rebecca and Nadia said in unison.

“Mornin’,” I said without enthusiasm as I entered the room. I glanced toward Rebecca’s computer and was happy to see she’d already turned it on. “Have you checked your emails yet?”

“Not yet,” she said calmly as she walked toward her desk. “Nadia and I agreed to wait until the entire team was here.”

I turned toward Lylah and Elijah. “Hurry up and get your computers on, you two!” I said impatiently.

Both of them moved hastily toward their computers and instantly put them on. I walked toward Nadia’s desk, where she was now sitting with her mug of tea, and saw her computer was already loaded too.

“Come on, you two!” I snapped at the two DCs. “We want to know what pathology had to say at some point today, please.”

“Okay, okay, I’m ready!” Lylah said quickly.

“Me too, sir!” Elijah said, nearly shaking in his chair with nervous energy.

I hovered over Nadia’s shoulder. “I’ll read the report with you if that’s alright, Nadia?” I asked gently. “I don’t want to be alone in my office when we see it for the first time.”

Nadia turned to me with a warm smile. “Of course, Sean!”

I waited with bated breath as Nadia went into her emails and opened the report. For a few moments there was no sound except for the odd slurping of a hot beverage by either Nadia or Rebecca as all of us read the report. The details into Mia’s death were detailed, but I couldn’t deny my disappointment as I finished reading the report.

Mia was clear of all DNA except for that of Alvin, the man who had supposedly pulled her out of the lake. Her death had been caused by drowning due to her being forced under the water. An addition had been added at the end to say the family had officially ID’d the body, but as Karen had already informed me of that, it wasn’t new information to me. The only partly interesting thing was the fact Mia’s wrists and ankles showed signs of restraint, meaning the poor girl had likely been tied up before she was taken to the lake.

Reading Alvin’s name made me think of the man again. Was there any possibility that he was the killer? Was he perhaps connected to the people who had been loaning Evan great deals of money, or was there something else that had caused him to kidnap and murder Mia? Something about his random appearance at the lake had seemed suspicious, even though I had no reason to see him as a suspect just yet. Especially not when Evan’s debts were looking a lot more convincing.

“Has everyone finished?” I asked loudly as I moved away from Nadia’s chair.

Everyone declared they had, so I continued.

“Alright, so that report wasn’t as helpful as we hoped it would be,” I said begrudgingly as I crossed my arms. “It mostly just confirmed all of Hannah’s suspicions on the day, but at least now we have a certain cause of death.”

“And a brutal one at that,” Rebecca said coldly as she picked up her mug and swivelled in her chair to face me. “What sort of sicko does that to a young girl?”

I shook my head in dismay, thinking of what sort of person could have held Mia under the water until she drowned. Again, my mind annoyingly pictured that happening to Faye, so I quickly shook my head and faced Rebecca.

“I dunno, but I won’t rest until I find out,” I said bluntly as I flexed my fingers. “I wanted to come here first to see the report, but after I quickly check my own personal emails, I’ll be going to pay Evan Murray another visit.”

“It’s looking more and more likely that his debts are the cause of all of this, isn’t it?” Nadia said glumly as she held her warm mug to her chest. “That poor girl. Killed because of her own father’s issues.”

“Aye, it does, and that’s what I’m planning on finding out,” I said as I started to walk toward my office. As I walked, I turned to Elijah. “Smith, be ready to go in ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir!” he said keenly.

I moved speedily toward my office, unlocked the door, and entered the room. I walked toward my computer, waited impatiently for it to boot up, then checked my emails. There was a lot of rubbish there I’d need to deal with at another point, but nothing that was urgent right now.

Nothing more urgent than addressing Evan Murray.

I moved out of my office, locked the door behind me, then whistled for Elijah to follow. Like a loyal dog, he jumped from his chair and followed me to the door.

“Wait!” Rebecca shouted after me as I reached the door. “What are we supposed to be doing while you’re out?”

I paused at the door and turned to Rebecca. “Anything you can think of to find Mia’s killer,” I said bluntly.

I left the department, smirking to myself as I heard Rebecca sarcastically shouting the word helpful behind my back, then moved with haste to get out of the station and into my car.

Watch yourself, Evan Murray, I thought to myself coldly as I settled in the driver’s seat. You’ve now got one hell of a target on your back, and I’m aiming for the bullseye.

19

The man was ready, more ready than ever, to find himself a new sister. He’d given himself time to recover over the loss of Alannah—Mia—but now it was time to move on and find her replacement. It had been awful to lose Mia, but he couldn’t mourn her forever. He knew that once he had a new sister, all of his consuming, crippling sadness would go away again. He’d be filled with nothing but joy. They’d be able to create fond memories, grow up together, and make up for lost time.

However, the job of locating a sister hadn’t been as easy as he’d hoped it would be.

The man couldn’t just pick any random woman to be his sister. No, she had to be perfect. Just like Mia had been. Mia could have been a clone of Alannah, and now the man was struggling to find another duplicate of her. Everything with Mia had been incredible, and yet he had to lose his temper and ruin things!

He'd rushed things with Mia, he could see that now. She’d barely been with him a day and he was dragging her to the lake for a swim like old times. He hadn’t given her the time to get to know him, to accept her new role as his sister, so of course she’d freaked out and tried to escape.

Stupid, bloody fool! the man chided himself. This time you’ll have to be patient.

He hadn’t been back to Ampleforth since he’d taken Mia. He wanted to avoid the likely police presence attempting to locate her. Instead, he’d stayed in his family’s old, abandoned cabin not too far from the lake, and tried to come up with a new plan.

The man knew he couldn’t look for another sister in Ampleforth—that would have been foolish. Instead, he travelled around various areas close to both Ampleforth and Gormire Lake to search. Most of these trips had been a waste of time. He’d looked all around Thirsk—the village where Gormire Lake was—and found nothing but pretentious women who were either too old or far too full of themselves. He then went to Thirlby village, an area not too far from Thirsk, and found that place just as much, if not more disappointing, than Thirsk. The women there had a variety of different hair in dyed colors, which they wore like fashion statements, but his dead sister had never tampered with her hair. No. She had appreciated her natural, authentic beauty and never tried to alter it.

He’d have lost hope if he didn’t have so many options.

Lucky him, there were so many villages surrounding the lake. He went to Gilling East and found nothing but a sea of blond women. He went to Oswaldkirk, and lingered outside of their village hall to see nothing but women above the age of forty. In Kilburn, women were in short supply, so it would have been too risky to take someone. From there, the man went to Olstead where, for one shining moment, he thought he’d found his sister when he saw a woman of a similar height with long, straight brunette hair talking to her friends. From the back she looked perfect, but then she turned around and revealed piercing brown eyes.

That had been a disappointment that had set him back a few hours.

He then went to Topcliffe, then to Asenby village, which wasn’t even two minutes away from Topcliffe in the car. In all of these villages, he searched high and low for a woman like his sister, and yet she was nowhere to be found.

Not one woman looked even remotely close to his dear Alannah.

The man then went to Felixkirk, and that was where his luck finally started to change. He walked leisurely around the village and stumbled across Yorkshire Outdoors, a place that offered exclusive experiences on a variety of outdoor activities like driving around on quad bikes, clay pigeon shooting, and 4x4 driving. The man, in a state of deflation, decided to go inside and maybe have some fun. He needed to take his mind off of his ever-growing disappointment for an hour or two.

And that’s where he saw her.

His sister.

He didn’t know how it was possible, but this girl looked even more like Alannah than Mia had.

She wore a beige uniform, so he knew she must work at Yorkshire Outdoors, and on her chest was a name badge that told him her name was Selena. His lip had curled unpleasantly at the name, but once she became the new Alannah, that name would be long in the past. Except for the name, everything else about her was close to perfection. The small height and frame, the blue eyes, the nose that was perfectly central on her face, and long hair that was so straight that each strand looked like it could have been as sharp as a knife.

Yes. There was no doubt in the man’s mind that he’d found the perfect replacement for both Alannah and Mia, and now he just had to get away and figure out a plan. The man started to exit the place, smiling wildly at the thought, but stopped when the girl called out to him.

“Excuse me!” the woman yelled, her Yorkshire accent strong, like Alannah’s.

No! he thought to himself with dread. Not like this. This isn’t how we are supposed to meet. He kept trying to walk, but Selena was fast and quickly cut him off.

As she stood in front of him, he tried with all of his might not to stare at her and freak her out. It was hard, because her resemblance to Alannah was so striking, so he quickly moved his eyes to the ground and hoped she would go away.

“Welcome to Yorkshire Outdoors, sir,” she said in a polite, confident voice. “Can I offer you any assistance?”

Her confidence was just like Alannah’s, and it took all of his self-restraint to not grab her and pull her away to safety. To keep her to himself. To keep her happy forever.

No, he thought to himself sharply. You fucked things up with Mia and you can’t afford to do that again!

“Cheers, but I’m fine,” the man said briskly.

Selena raised a thick, dark eyebrow, but shrugged and returned to her post.

The man put his hand to his heart and sighed in relief as he stepped away from Yorkshire Outdoors. It was unfortunate that she had seen him, but he knew how to keep hidden when he needed to.

He had found his sister, and now he had to do everything in his power to follow her, find out about her, and learn her routine. He needed to find the perfect way to get her to come with him. Mia had screamed and ran away when he’d approached her, and he didn’t want to risk that happening again.

He just had to hope Felixkirk had some dark, hidden areas where he could take Selena without being spotted.

Luckily, his car was parked close to Yorkshire Outdoors, so he sat inside and waited casually for Selena to finish her shift. He didn’t care if it was for another five minutes or another five hours—he would wait here. He needed to see what she did and where she went on a day-to-day basis. Once he knew all of that, he would make his move and take her to their cabin.

It's okay, Alannah, the man thought to himself warmly as he stared at the entrance of Yorkshire Outdoors. Soon we'll be together again and nothing else in this world will matter.

20

As I drove with Elijah to confront Evan, I tried hard to keep calm and not jump to any conclusions. There was still the chance that his debts weren’t connected to Mia’s death, but considering she had been brutally murdered and he was still feeding his addiction, it was hard to see past it.

You cold, selfish bastard, I thought to myself angrily. Your daughter is dead. Your wife is grieving, and you’re out getting her into more and more debt instead of being home to console her.

I knew addictions were awful things that could take over you, but the man had just lost his only daughter. And yet… he was still focused on getting that rush of adrenaline from a win, as though that feeling was more precious than his own flesh and blood. It made no sense to me.

I thought of Faye. Kind, innocent Faye. I knew if it had been her who had been viciously drowned, I wouldn’t be acting the way Evan was.

“Do you know what you plan on saying to the family, sir?” Elijah asked curiously, turning in the passenger seat to look directly at me.

I rubbed my stubble and grumbled. “In all honesty? I dunno,” I said bluntly. “I don’t want to outright accuse him of anything. We still have no proof.” I hesitated and gritted my teeth. “Though from everything we’ve seen, it certainly seems very plausible.”

Elijah scoffed. “It would be one hell of a coincidence if it wasn’t connected, wouldn’t it?”

“Aye, it would,” I conceded. “But stranger things have happened in this job.”

Elijah nodded coolly, but the way he fiddled with his hair and looked out of the window told me he wasn’t convinced. I knew Elijah had been certain that Mia’s death was because of her father from the start. There wasn’t going to be much that would change his opinion on that.

“Don’t get me wrong, Smith, I’m with you on this,” I said supportively as I stretched out one of my legs. “Right now Evan’s addiction seems like a very likely connection, but in our job we have to try to hold back on the emotion, view every angle.”

Elijah flushed slightly. “You’re right, sir,” he said gently. “I just want to find the bastard who killed Mia. That’s all.”

“So do I, lad, so do I,” I said agreeably. “Right now we have to speak to Evan as his debt is the only possible connection we have, but we have to be open to all scenarios.” I hesitated seriously. “The last thing we want to do is end up arresting the wrong person and let the real monster run free.”

Elijah looked away from me but, from the serious way he stared ahead of him, I knew he agreed with me.

Time moved quickly, and soon we were back in Ampleforth. We drove through the small village and found the now familiar turn which led to the Murray house. We parked up outside of Evan and Sylvia’s house, and I looked up at it with a deep breath. I didn’t care about what Evan would think of this visit, but I didn’t relish the thought of hurting Sylvia more than she’d already been hurt.

We approached their front door, and I knocked on it firmly. Before, Sylvia had answered her door with such speed that it had taken me by surprise, but today she came to the door more leisurely. Once she eventually opened it, I looked at her and my heart hurt at the sight in front of me. Her hair looked greasy and knotted. It clearly hadn’t seen a comb in days. Her blue eyes looked red and bloodshot, like she hadn’t had a wink of sleep since I’d last seen her. Somehow, her skin looked even paler than before. It was a ghostly paleness, not too dissimilar from how her daughter had looked when she was pulled out of the lake. Her vacant eyes looked over Elijah and me, her blank expression slowly changing to one of surprise.

“Have you found them?” she asked as she clung to the door, her eyes looking almost hopeful. It took me a moment to realise what she meant. She thought we’d come here to tell her we’d found Mia’s killer. I rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably, but maintained strong eye contact with her.

“Not yet,” I said as I placed my hands in my pockets. “Can DC Smith and I come in?”

Sylvia’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Oh,” she said glumly. “Yes, please come in.”

I nodded to her gratefully as Elijah and I walked past her. She closed the door behind us, then led us into the living room. The living space was small, so with all of us seated it felt cramped and almost claustrophobic. I knew that when Evan joined us, it would feel even worse.

“I’d offer you both a drink, but as you can see from my carpet, I’m a bit nervous around hot drinks right now,” she said emotionlessly, her face looking deadpan as she got comfortable in her seat.

I stared down at the stain on her carpet from where she dropped her drink before and nodded with understanding. Elijah had done a good job of cleaning it, but the stain was strong. It would take a hell of a lot of scrubbing to remove it completely.

“That’s quite alright, Sylvia,” I said kindly as I crossed my leg over my knee. “Is Evan here?”

“No, he’s just nipped out,” she said as she rubbed her face. “I can call him to come back if you want?”

That man is never bloody in! I thought to myself irritably. Probably out in some betting shop, leaving his broken wife to suffer on her own.

“That would be great, ta,” I said appreciatively.

She gave me a weak smile, then stood up and walked out of the room. Once she was gone, I turned to Elijah and saw him chewing the inside of his mouth in annoyance. He caught my eyes and rolled his own irritably before glancing toward the door to look out for Sylvia. The house was small, so both of us had the sense to not speak or say much, as it was likely Sylvia would have heard us.

After a tense few minutes, Sylvia came back into the room. Although she tried hard to hide it, I could see the clear irritation burning in her eyes.

“Evan is on his way back now… shouldn’t be more than a few minutes,” she said in a monotone voice as she sat back down.

I nodded, then we all sat in an awkward silence. After a minute or two, Sylvia broke it.

“Have you made any progress, Inspector?” she asked cautiously as she continued to stare at me.

I awkwardly squeezed my knee, unwilling to divulge information about her husband’s continued debt issues until he was here.

“Aye, some,” I said casually as I pushed against the back of the one seater settee. “We will discuss everything properly once Evan has arrived.”

“Oh,” she said in a flat, disappointed tone. “Okay.”

The minutes passed by at a snail’s pace as we waited for Evan to join us. Sylvia continued to stare at me, which made me uncomfortable, so my eyes darted around the room, purposely looking anywhere but at her.

Come on, Evan! I thought to myself in frustration. Bloody hurry up and get here!

No sooner had I thought it did I hear the front door opening. Before, Evan had charged in all guns blazing, a look of anger on his face, but this time he entered the room more leisurely and looked between Elijah and me with curiosity. He sat down on the sofa next to his wife and bit his nails unattractively before speaking.

“I take it you’re here to update us on Mia?” he asked in a surprisingly soft tone as he fidgeted nervously in his seat.

“Aye, that we are,” I said with authority as I sat up straighter in my chair. “This morning we heard from pathology and got an official cause of death.” I paused dramatically as I glanced between the two. “It’s been confirmed as a drowning. She’d been held under the water.”

Sylvia looked broken as she looked away from me and toward the ceiling. She didn’t cry or make much of a facial expression, which told me she’d likely drained herself of all her tears since we were last here. Evan looked sad, but nodded. None of them spoke or went to interrupt me, so I continued.

“Unfortunately, the report only confirmed things we already knew,” I said matter-of-factly as I relaxed slightly in my chair.

“Forgive my bluntness,” Evan said slowly. “But if you don’t know anything else… why did you come here? Was it just to tell us her cause of death?”

“That was a big reason why we came, aye, but we also have some further questions we’d like to ask,” I said boldly.

Evan rubbed his face, his neck reddening from anger as he glared at me. “Why do I feel like we are being treated more like suspects than victims here?” he asked with a snarl.

Sylvia turned to Evan so quickly I was surprised I didn’t hear her neck click. “No, not we, Evan, just you,” she said unhappily. “You’re the one who got us into trouble.”

Evan looked at Sylvia, his expression instantly softening. “I know that, but we had nothing to do with what happened to Mia and they keep coming here and suggesting—”

Sylvia rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed in annoyance, cutting him off.

“You tell us that these lenders haven’t been after you here or sent you any demands, but how are we supposed to believe that?” I asked casually as I stared Evan down. “If you owe people money, it isn’t the sort of thing most lenders are happy to forget about.”

Evan rubbed his balding head nervously. “Because it’s the truth!” he exclaimed in a panicked tone. “I paid off most of my debt before we’d even moved here.” He turned to Sylvia with desperation. “I did. Didn’t I, love?”

“So you say,” Sylvia replied in a blunt, icy tone.

I shuffled in my seat awkwardly, taken aback by Sylvia’s attitude toward Evan. Before when we were here, Sylvia had clung to her husband as though he were a life jacket saving her from a treacherous sea. She often touched his hands or his legs for support and reassurance, but today was a stark difference. There was a large gap between the two on the sofa, and Sylvia could barely look at Evan. Her body was stiff, as though the closeness between them made her feel physically sick. She’d known about his debts before, but likely our conversation the other day had made her concerned that those debts had cost her the life of her child.

“I’m telling you the truth, love, I swear!” he said meekly as he looked at his wife’s hard profile. “The sale of the house covered most of it!”

Sylvia scoffed and shook her head in dismay. “Not even our beautiful family home was enough to cover the damage you created. I loved that house, and because of you, that’s gone.”

Evan shuffled closer to Sylvia and lightly touched her knee. “I know I messed up, I know that, but I’m doing all I can to make up for it!” he said earnestly. “I’ve been working a lot of hours at the shop, haven’t I? I’ve been doing anything I can to make things right.”

“Have you now?” Elijah asked him coldly, taking me by surprise.

“Of course I have!” Evan said in annoyance. “All I care about is making things right for my beautiful wife.”

“No matter how many hours you work and what you do, it will never bring back our child or our home,” Sylvia said, her eyes gleaming with tears. “Never.”

“I know that, but it wasn’t because of me that she was taken,” he said miserably. “I wish you’d believe me.” He then turned to me with an angry, hateful look. “Why did you have to imply it was because of my mistakes that Mia was taken, eh? Ever since you’ve put that ridiculous idea in Sylvia’s head, it’s all she’s been able to think about! She can barely look at me now.”

“You brought that on yourself,” Elijah said harshly as he bounced his leg irritably on his knee.

Evan turned to Elijah, his features still etched with fury. “What did you just say to me, boy?” he asked menacingly.

Elijah opened his mouth to reply, his eyebrows dangerously close together and his neck reddening, but I quickly interrupted him.

“DC Smith, that’s enough,” I said in a voice heavy with warning.

Elijah instantly turned to look at me, his face slowly showing signs of shame. Without another word, he straightened up in his chair and kept silent.

“What my colleague is trying to say.” I shot Elijah another look, warning him to keep quiet and out of this. “Is that you could easily have brought the wrong attention to your doorstep. People don’t just avoid paying their loans and get away with it.”

Evan sighed and rubbed his face awkwardly. For a moment he was quiet, and simply continued touching his face and shooting Sylvia the odd, frightened glance. Eventually, he swore and started speaking.

“I said we moved away to avoid the loan sharks, but I never actually said I wasn’t paying them back,” he said sheepishly as he gazed at the carpet. “I haven’t given them any information on how to find me, but I have been sending money to them to pay off my debts.” He looked up at me with a red, embarrassed face. “You people can look into bank records and that, right? You’ll see that yesterday I sent a lump sum off to them… enough to pay them off and be free of them.”

I raised my eyebrow in surprise and turned to Elijah. “Smith, go outside and call the station. Get them to verify this.”

Elijah nodded and exited the living room. I heard the sound of the front door opening and closing before I turned back to Sylvia and Evan. The first thing I noticed was the shocked look on Sylvia’s face. From her expression, I couldn’t tell if she was relieved or annoyed.

“So you’ve been working all hours under the sun to pay off your debt?” she asked in a slow, surprised tone.

“Yes, my dear,” he said softly, turning to her and looking deeply into her eyes. “I didn’t want to risk them coming here, and after what happened with Mia… I knew I couldn’t handle the thought of losing you, too. I did what I had to do to pay them off. These people don’t let things go and I knew I couldn’t run and hide forever, so I made sure they had no reason to look for us.”

Sylvia was silent and turned her face away from Evan. The awkward silence was broken after a few minutes as Elijah returned. He looked at me and gave a curt nod of his head.

“His story holds out, sir,” Elijah said begrudgingly as he sat down with a curled lip. “I spoke to Nadia, and she said a large amount of money came out of his account. When she looked into the source, it came back to a well-known lender in York.”

“A dangerous one?” Sylvia asked curiously, gripping her knees tightly.

“They’ve been known to be, yes,” Elijah said honestly, shooting Evan another unhappy look. “But if the debt well and truly has been paid off, then they usually behave themselves.” Elijah turned back to me. “The rest of the team is looking into contacting the lender to verify Evan’s debts are clear.”

“Excellent work,” I said approvingly before turning back to Evan. I went to open my mouth, but Sylvia spoke again.

“What was the amount he paid?” Sylvia asked bluntly, her eyes fixed firmly on Elijah.

Elijah glanced at me anxiously, saw my quick, subtle nod of approval, then turned back to Sylvia. “He paid over forty thousand pounds.”

Sylvia jumped from the chair, looking down at her husband in shock. “Forty grand!” she exclaimed in horror. “Where the hell have you got that money from? And don’t you bloody dare tell me it’s from working in the shop! I have a feeling they don’t pay you one thousand pounds an hour, Evan!”

“I still had some money to the side, love,” he said nervously. “I added that to the money I’ve made recently and… and that covered it.”

Sylvia scoffed and slowly sat back down as I crossed my arms and glared at Evan.

“Let’s not lie, Evan,” I said with a snarl. “Remember who you’re talking to here. It’s a felony to lie to an officer, and as you rightly pointed out, we have full access to your bank records.”

Evan put his elbows on his knees and shoved his face into his hands. He groaned unpleasantly before slowly rubbing his face and looking up at us. He kept quiet, so I huffed impatiently and moved forward in my chair.

“Tell her the truth, Evan, or I will,” I said threateningly as I leered at him.

Evan swore in aggravation and threw his hands up in the air. “I borrowed it! Okay?” he said angrily. “I found a local guy who loaned me the money and gave me plenty of time to pay it back.”

Sylvia looked like she was fighting the urge to slap Evan. “You bloody idiot, Evan!” she said in horror. “All you’ve done is continue your debt! You haven’t paid it off at all!”

“I know, but at least I’ve paid off the one who could have done us harm!” he said pleadingly. He put his hand on Sylvia’s knee, but she instantly slapped it away.

“Or paid a massive amount of money to a person who could have murdered our child!” she said, her voice breaking as the tears poured down her face.

Evan shook his head. “No, there’s no way they could have been here, Sylvie!” he said confidently. “We were so careful, it’s impossible they hunted us down.”

The two looked like they were going to continue arguing, so I cleared my throat loudly. “Our investigation will determine whether or not this lender has been here, but rest assured we will be contacting you both to let you know what we find,” I said threateningly as I rose from my chair. “How many times have you visited and borrowed money from your new lender?”

“Just the once, I swear!” Evan said hastily.

“We shall soon see,” I said curtly before turning away from him. Elijah also stood from his chair, taking my cue. Sylvia also jumped out of her chair and looked at me with desperation in her eyes.

“All I want is to know the truth, Inspector,” she said pleadingly as she grabbed my hand. “Please find out who did this.”

“I will, don’t you worry,” I said as I gripped her hand back.

I pulled my hand away and turned to Evan with a sharp look. “Just so you’re both aware, for your own safety, we have had a police presence subtly following you both. If either of you were planning on doing anything foolish like gambling or leaving this village, I’d insist you don’t be so bloody stupid while we continue our investigations.”

Evan went bright red as Sylvia shot him a look.

“I’d like to think my husband wouldn’t be that stupid, but considering he was moronic enough to take out yet another loan, then God only knows what he’s capable of,” she said angrily.

She gave him one last look of disgust before showing Elijah and me to the door. We both thanked her for her time, then exited and approached my car. As we walked together, one thought kept running through my mind.

If Mia’s death wasn’t connected to her father’s debts, then why was she dead?

21

Igot in my car and felt more deflated and confused than ever.

Despite everything we’d seen and been told so far, I genuinely believed Evan when he insisted he hadn’t received any ransom notes from his loan shark. His addiction was bad, and he needed to get some serious help, but I didn’t think he’d received any demands for money. There was always the possibility that his debt collector hadn’t asked for ransom and instead simply taken and killed Mia out of sheer revenge, but why had they waited a day before killing her? What was the point if they weren’t waiting to get something?

No, that made no sense. Loan sharks were driven by money, and if they weren’t asking for it, then they couldn’t be involved. Besides, if Evan was being truthful, it sounded like the sale of his house had paid off a major percentage of the debt, and I highly doubted any lender would kill a young girl over forty grand. Plus, if he’d only seen the new lender once, they couldn’t have hurt Mia. Evan had seen them after her death.

Looks like we are back to square one, I thought to myself irritably. Again.

I’d always known there was a potential Evan’s debts weren’t connected to Mia’s murder, so I’d been brainstorming ideas about where to go next with this investigation. There was still one thing we hadn’t done that had been on my list for a while. We had to go to Mia’s place of work and ask them some questions.

“I still think he’s lying,” Elijah said petulantly as he crossed his arms and huffed, his eyes still on Evan’s home.

“Aye, I know you do,” I said with a sly smile.

Elijah turned his face toward me, his eyes bright and curious. “Why didn’t you tell Sylvia that Evan’s still gambling, sir?” he asked. “You could have really dug the knife into him, shown Sylvia what he’s been up to, but you didn’t.”

I pushed back my hair and met Elijah’s gaze. “Call me naïve, but I hoped the warning would help sort him out and step up for Sylvia,” I said bluntly. “That woman has been through a lot. I didn’t want to add insult to her already copious number of injuries by telling her he’d been spotted in betting shops, too.” I mumbled as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Sylvia is far from a fool. She’ll keep a close eye on him now. I do hope he gets help so he can look after himself… as well as Sylvia.”

Elijah raised a well-groomed brow. “That’s unusually considerate of you, sir.”

I barked a laugh. “Aye, I suppose it is. Sylvia is a good woman and telling her about Evan’s continued gambling doesn’t help the investigation. I spared her that.” I hesitated. “At least for the moment. If it comes to light that it is relevant, I will inform her immediately.”

Elijah nodded, his features still etched with suspicion. “You did right by protecting Sylvia, but that man is scum. I still think he’s guilty as sin.”

“I know, but we need to look elsewhere. At least for now. Rebecca and the others will look into that loan shark and see if Evan’s story holds out, then we can decide what to do with him.”

“We aren’t exactly swimming in leads, sir,” Elijah said dejectedly as he put on his seat belt.

“True, but we haven’t spoken to Mia’s workplace yet, and that’s a good place to start,” I said matter-of-factly as I put my own seatbelt on.

I began driving toward Shallowdale House Bed-and-Breakfast. Within a few minutes, I’d driven through a large quantity of Ampleforth and was parking up in front of Mia’s old workplace. I hadn’t looked at the place properly when we were last here as I was too consumed in my frustration that it had been closed, so I took it in properly as I stepped out of my vehicle and walked toward it. The facility was small, and like most places in the village, appeared old-fashioned. The brickwork was dated, and in the window were several floral plates that looked as though they hadn’t been desirable since the late fifties. The front door was peeling slightly and the sign declaring it was open was as appealing as the door itself. I turned away from the building and looked at Elijah, then pushed the door open and ushered him inside.

When we were inside, I frowned in displeasure as I took in the décor. The outside looked incredibly dated, but compared to the inside, it was stylish. The first thing I saw was the garish red carpet, which was so bright it hurt my eyes to look at it. The yellow, faded walls were covered in wooden cabinets that looked as though they were close to collapse. I pulled my eyes away from them and saw a small counter to the left where an open book was placed, so I knew it must have been the reception. I gestured with my head for Elijah to move forward and I followed him toward it.

The woman standing behind the counter looked somehow even older than the décor. She looked to be in her late eighties. Her white hair was either curly or frizzy, I couldn’t tell, and her white eyebrows were so overgrown they were dangerously close to her blue, milky eyes. I held back a grimace when I spotted several obvious, long, white hairs dangling down from her chin. The woman noticed us in front of her and jumped in surprise.

Clearly they don’t get a lot of guests here, I thought to myself without surprise.

“Good afternoon,” I said to her gently. “My name is DCI Sean Ellis, and my colleague here is—”

“Who?” the woman interrupted me in a loud, high-pitched tone.

I flinched slightly at her voice, as it was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. The woman must have been rather deaf, so I increased my tone and started again.

“I’m DCI Sean Ellis,” I said loudly. I took out my badge and showed it to her. She moved until her nose was barely a centimetre from my badge before she accepted it. “And my colleague here is DC Elijah Smith. We would like to ask you a few questions, if that’s alright?”

The woman smiled, showing her lack of teeth, and nodded as I put my badge away.

“Of course!” she said, her voice still painfully shrill. “How can I help you both?”

“We are here to ask about Mia Murray,” I said as I leaned closer. As I did, I suddenly received an odd whiff that was almost like Werther’s Originals.

“Oh, Mia!” she said loudly as she nodded shakily. “Usually a good worker, but the naughty girl hasn’t turned up for any of her shifts all week!”

Aye, it’s hard to turn up to your shifts when you’re dead, I thought to myself bluntly.

“I’m afraid I’m about to give you some bad news then—erm, sorry I didn’t catch your name?” I asked hesitantly.

“Harriet, dear,” she said with a gummy smile.

“Aye, well, I have some bad news for you, Harriet,” I continued. “We found Mia’s body a couple of days ago and are now looking into her death.”

Harriet’s chin dropped in horror. “I can’t believe it!” she said sadly. “The girl was barely more than a child and oldies like me are still standing. How fair is that, Inspector?”

I rubbed my neck uncomfortably, unsure what to say to her comment. “Aye, it’s terrible,” I said matter-of-factly, shuffling slightly to the side so there was more room for Elijah. “But it’s why we are here today. What can you tell us about Mia?”

Harriet rubbed her head thoughtfully. “Not a huge amount if you want the truth, dear,” she said honestly as her milky blue eyes moved slowly between Elijah and me. “She’d barely been here a week, but she seemed a good worker. She cleaned well, always made it to her shifts, but mostly kept to herself.” She sighed sadly. “A young woman like her probably didn’t have much to say to a woman of my age, now did she?”

I nodded understandingly. “How many workers do you have here, Harriet?”

“Not many, dear,” Harriet said briskly as she moved her body away from the desk and rubbed at her back. “Now Mia is gone, it will be just me, my cook, Henry, and my other cleaner, Ellie.”

“Are either of them here for us to speak to?” Elijah asked hopefully.

“Henry doesn’t start for another hour, but he and Mia never saw one another, anyway. Ellie is cleaning upstairs if you want to go and speak to her?” Harriet offered politely.

I tapped my hand on the desk and smiled at her. “That would be great,” I said appreciatively. “Ta for your time, Harriet.”

“You’re welcome, my dears!” she said loudly as she moved to sit down in a chair behind her, her body looking frail and exhausted as she did. “I hope you find out what happened to the dear girl.”

I nodded, then gestured for Elijah to follow me. Together we walked deeper into the building and along the horrific red carpet until we found the thin staircase at the end of the hall. We walked up it, huffing over the way it winded upward, then made it to the next floor. Luckily, the building only had two floors, so we knew Ellie had to be on this floor somewhere.

The vile red carpet continued up here, so we walked along it and looked to see which of the doors were open. We quickly spotted a cleaning cart at the far end and walked toward it. As we drew near, a woman who looked to be in her late thirties came out of a room. She turned at our approach and looked at us in surprise.

“Good afternoon, do you need help finding your rooms?” she asked politely. “Or your shared room, perhaps?”

Elijah looked as though he was holding back a laugh at the thought, so I shot him a glare, then looked back at Ellie. She wore a traditional cleaner’s apron, hers a shocking aqua blue, and some yellow marigolds that looked incredibly well used. I bit back an inhale when I saw that apart from the apron, she was dressed exactly like Mia had been when we’d found her body. Ellie wore black tights that weren’t as sheer as Mia’s, but the same tartan chequered skirt and white blouse. She had strawberry blond hair, which was tied back in a tight ponytail, thin eyebrows that were so light they were practically invisible, and small blue eyes. Her frame was incredibly slender, and it looked like her uniform drowned her.

“Actually, we are here to speak to you,” I said as I pulled my badge out of the inside pocket of my leather jacket. “I’m DCI Ellis, and my colleague is DC Smith.”

Ellie pulled off her gloves with shaking hands and looked between the two of us nervously. I noticed her gaze lingered on Elijah before she looked back at me. “What do you need to speak to me about?” she asked worriedly.

“As I’m sure you’ve noticed, your colleague Mia Murray hasn’t been in for her last few shifts,” I said as I put my badge away. “I regret to inform you that we have recently found her body, and so we are trying to piece together what happened to her.”

Ellie put a shaking hand to her mouth and looked horrified. “How did she die?”

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. I didn’t want to give too much about her death away, but the girl needed to know it was foul play. We still didn’t know the motive behind Mia’s death. As far as we knew, perhaps someone had a grievance with this place and was slowly targeting the workers.

“She was murdered,” I said bluntly, my eyes fixed on her small ones to see her reaction.

Ellie looked genuinely shocked at the news, and had to hold on to her cleaning cart for support. I had my arms out ready in case she was about to faint, but after a minute or two she shakily stood up straighter with her hand to her chest.

“I can’t believe it,” she said quietly as she rubbed near her chest. “That’s awful.”

“I know Mia hasn’t been here very long, but did you speak much to her?” Elijah asked curiously as he stepped closer toward her.

Ellie took in Elijah’s handsome features again and flushed slightly. She quickly turned her eyes away from him and replied to the ground. “Yes, I was training her, so we worked every shift together,” she said anxiously. “When she hadn’t turned up on Tuesday night, I knew something had to be wrong.”

“Why is that, Ellie?” I asked her gently, hoping the curiosity and eagerness for answers wasn’t evident in my tone.

“Mia hadn’t been here long, but every shift she was a complete stickler for time keeping!” Ellie said approvingly as she lowered her hand from her chest and placed it on her cart. “She wasn’t exactly keen to be here, but she took the job seriously and that’s all you can ask for in a worker.”

“What makes you think she wasn’t keen to be here?” Elijah pressed.

Ellie seemed to have recovered from her initial attraction to his good looks and could now look him in the eye as she spoke. She laughed weakly before speaking. “Because she was a twenty-year-old girl spending her evenings cleaning rooms instead of socialising, I expect,” she said in amusement. “Do you know many girls that age who want to be working?”

Yes, my Faye, I thought to myself proudly.

My thoughts shocked me. For the first time, I thought about Faye’s desire to join the police without feeling dread or worry. Ellie was right. How many girls of Faye’s age had done what she had? She was renting with her girlfriend and working hard to kickstart a career she was passionate about. Part of me felt ashamed for thinking of her career path so negatively before now, but I quickly shook those thoughts from my mind so I could focus on the task at hand.

“Since working here, did Mia give you any indication that she was in any trouble?” I asked gently. “Did she say anyone had threatened her or done anything that caused her to feel uncomfortable?”

Ellie shook her head as she caressed her ponytail. “No, nothing like that,” she said softly. “The girl had barely been here a week! What sort of enemies could she have made in that time?”

I dunno, but she obviously caught someone’s attention, I thought coldly.

“A good question, and yet someone obviously ended up targeting her,” I said matter-of-factly as I stroked my stubble. “Have you had any unusual customers here?”

“No,” Ellie said bluntly.

“Any customers that seemed to show a particular interest in her?” I pressed.

Ellie hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. “No,” she said passively, then gestured around the hallway. “Look at this place. It isn’t exactly busy! Don’t get me wrong, I love working here. Harriet pays well and always keeps me busy, but we don’t get much in the way of people staying here.”

“Then how is this place still afloat?” Elijah asked as he tilted his head to the side curiously.

To my surprise, Ellie laughed. “Our cook is fantastic,” she said warmly. “We are really popular for breakfast and dinner. If anything, I end up waitressing more than cleaning these days! This place is much more breakfast than bed, if you catch my meaning.”

“You and Mia worked together every shift you said, right?” I asked passively. “What did she talk about with you?”

Ellie moved away from her cart and stood up tall, which for her wasn’t very effective, as she couldn’t have been much taller than five feet. She looked into the distance thoughtfully for a moment before finally replying. “She mostly spoke about her move, to be honest,” Ellie said gently as she turned her gaze in my direction. “I was sympathetic to her. I could tell she was struggling a lot with it.” She paused as she shook her head. “I don’t mind it here, but for a young woman trying to make friends, there aren’t exactly many options!”

“Was that all?” Elijah asked, the disappointment in her tone evident.

“Yeah, mostly,” Ellie said honestly. “Either that or Jasper.”

I raised a thick brow at the obvious look of displeasure on her face.

“Jasper?” I asked enthusiastically as I moved closer to Ellie, causing her to jump at my quick movement. “Who is Jasper?”

Ellie scoffed. “Some guy she’d been chatting to on Tinder.”

I sensed Elijah looking at me hopefully, but I kept my eyes fixed firmly on Ellie. “What can you tell me about Jasper?”

“Nothing good,” Ellie said with distaste as she crossed her arms and huffed. “Mia started talking to him as soon as she moved here, but it was clear he was bad news.”

“What made you think that?” I pressed expectantly as I leaned against the wall.

“She would get upset at times, telling me he hadn’t replied to her in hours, and this was before they’d even met, mind you!” she said in a quick, eager voice as though the idea of gossiping had brought a new lease of life to her. “I told her she shouldn’t waste her time on someone who didn’t value her, but she was besotted with him.” She curled her lip unpleasantly. “He looked like a drug dealer to me. Greasy hair, always sporting the same, ugly leather jacket.” She paused awkwardly, her cheeks going pink as she gazed up and down at my attire. “Erm, no offence.”

I chuckled. “None taken. Go on?”

It took her a second to recover from her embarrassment, but she continued. “Right, anyway, I just didn’t get a good vibe from the bloke, that’s all,” she said matter-of-factly.

“You said before they met, so does that mean they ended up meeting?” I asked.

“I believe so,” she said with uncertainty as she bit her lip. “Well, I know they’d arranged to meet up on either Monday or Tuesday night, anyway.”

My eyes went wide, and I grabbed Ellie’s shoulder. She looked shocked, but I was so absorbed in what she said I didn’t notice. “I need you to think and be really precise here, Ellie,” I said boldly. I quickly realised what I was doing and let go of her shoulder, grinning at her apologetically as I continued to stare at her intently. “Was it Monday or Tuesday they met up?”

“I-I honestly don’t know,” she said guiltily as she took a step away from us both. “She told me over the weekend that they’d be meeting on one of those days, but she never told me what day they decided on.”

I couldn’t deny my disappointment that she didn’t know, but her words had given me more hope than I’d had for days.

Mia had a mystery man in her life, and if he was as dodgy as Ellie thought he was, there was every possibility he had arranged to meet up with Mia purely to hurt her.

“You’ve been a great help so far, Ellie,” I said gently as I placed my hands in my pockets. “But I need you to help us a bit more, alright?”

Ellie looked proud of herself and nodded confidently. “Of course,” she said happily. “Mia seemed like a good kid. If I can help you figure out what happened to her, then I will!”

“What else can you tell us about Jasper?” I asked hopefully, glancing toward Elijah. He was trying and failing to stop himself from vibrating in eagerness for information.

“Not a huge amount, to be honest,” she said slowly. “All I know is what Mia told me and what I saw on his Tinder profile.”

“If only we’d found Mia’s phone,” Elijah said glumly. “Then we’d be able to see his profile! Maybe we could get one of the women at work to make up a fake profile to find him?”

I was quiet as I considered the idea, but the silence was broken by the sound of Ellie clearing her throat.

“You don’t need to,” Ellie said embarrassedly as she looked to the ground. “I matched with him on Tinder myself.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been talking to him?”

“Christ, no!” Ellie said hastily as she dramatically shook her head. “When Mia was telling me about him, I grew worried. I-I changed my setting so I could find and match with him.” She rubbed her neck nervously. “I just wanted to look out for her.”

“Well, it’s a bloody good thing you did!” I said keenly as I pulled my hands eagerly out of my pockets. “Can you show us his profile?”

Ellie nodded as she went into the front pocket of her apron and pulled out her phone. I waited impatiently as she went on her phone and found his page, but when she passed it to me, I tried to keep my hope down as I didn’t want to be disappointed. With her phone in my hand, I shuffled closer to Elijah so we could look at the profile together. The more I read his profile, the more I couldn’t understand what Mia had seen in the bloke. Ellie was right. He looked a right arsehole.

He didn’t smile in any of his photos, and he always wore the same leather jacket. All of his photos were overly posed, and he was smoking in most of them, likely because he thought it made him look cool. In reality, I felt like it made him look a complete dickhead. Ellie had been right to describe the man as greasy. His long, brunette locks looked wild and as though they hadn’t seen shampoo in years. His face was thin and gaunt, his bright green eyes stood out against his features, but he looked to be in great shape. One of his photos was simply a close-up of his torso, which showed off his impressive abs. I rolled my eyes at the photo. His section with information was limited and simply said the words ‘here for a good time, not a long time,’ which instantly made me think the man was a likely player, or was purposely keeping information about himself limited.

“I don’t usually comment on an age gap, but he’s a bit older than Mia, isn’t he?” Elijah asked with dread.

I looked at his age and was shocked to see it said he was almost thirty, nearly a decade older than Mia. Was the man purposely preying on younger women? Ellie was older than him and they’d matched, but he never messaged her, which suggested he felt she was too mature and therefore wouldn’t be easy to manipulate.

“I said the exact same thing when Mia first showed him to me,” Ellie said as she rubbed her neck and grimaced with displeasure. “She said she wanted someone mature, but you only have to look at his photos to know he is far from that.”

“Aye, he certainly looks like a piece of work,” I said bluntly as I stared at his face.

“He seemed a bit possessive too,” Ellie said nervously as she played with her ponytail. “I remember I once saw some of their messages during a shift and he was basically telling her she couldn’t talk to any other men when they were talking.” She let go of her hair and sighed. “I really didn’t know what she saw in him.”

And now she’s dead, I thought to myself in horror.

It was textbook that a possessive boyfriend could often become a killer, but was this man on another level? Had he met Mia once and was so consumed by her that he took her away, then killed her when she wouldn’t comply with him?

I didn’t know if Jasper was her killer or not, but with the evidence in front of me, he was now my top suspect. I knew what we had to do.

I turned to Elijah. “Smith, get photos of his profile and photos,” I said with authority.

“Right away, sir!” Elijah said keenly as he speedily pulled out his phone.

As he was taking photos, I turned back to Ellie.

“You’ve been a great help,” I said respectfully.

Ellie smiled slightly, but her forehead was creased with concern. “You think he killed her, don’t you?” she asked with a crestfallen look.

“It’s impossible to tell at this stage, but we won’t be ruling the possibility out,” I said honestly. “This man could be dangerous, so don’t correspond with him in any capacity. Is that clear?”

Ellie nodded speedily. “Of course! I want nothing to do with him.”

Elijah finished taking his photos, so I passed the phone back to Ellie and thanked her again. I turned to Elijah, and together we moved quickly out of the bed-and-breakfast and back toward my car. Once I unlocked the door and we got in our seats, Elijah turned to me.

“What now, sir?” he asked enthusiastically as he put on his belt.

“Send that information to Rebecca immediately and get her to send it all to Jude,” I said quickly as I started to put my seatbelt on. “Hopefully he can get access to his profile, and we can find out this bloke's full name and address.”

“Yes, sir!” Elijah said happily as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

I started up the car and began our drive back to the station. As I drove, all I could think about was Jasper. The thought of the man made my skin crawl. Was this man Mia’s killer?

22

Iwas silent as we travelled back to the station. My mind was buzzing with thoughts and theories, which made conversing with Elijah impossible. After days of following a trail which seemed to take us only to Mia’s father, we finally had another lead. This one felt more promising than our initial suspect by miles.

Jasper, Mia’s online date, had arranged to meet with her either the day before or on the day she was taken. Either option gave Jasper the motive and opportunity to take her. He was now my top suspect, and I hoped that Jude would be able to work his magic and give us more information on this virtual stranger. I just prayed he could use his expertise quick enough that I could find and confront Jasper before the day was out. I wasn’t willing to wait another day to speak to this jerk.

“Are you feeling okay, sir?”

I turned to my left and saw Elijah looking at me, his features etched with concern. My frustration must have been more evident than I realised.

“Aye, I’m alright,” I said slowly as I tapped my knee methodically. “Just keen to get back.”

“Me too,” Elijah said as he nodded understandingly. “Do you think Jude will be able to find information just from those images?”

I gave a curt nod. “I’d never say it to his face… the guy winds me up just by existing.” Elijah snorted, but I continued. “But he’s bloody good at what he does, so I have every faith he can give us what we need to track this Jasper bloke down.”

Elijah rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “But what if he can’t, sir?”

That’s something I can’t afford to think about, I thought nervously.

“We may just have to do what we did with Thomas Moore,” I said casually as I stretched out my back.

Elijah’s eyes widened in excitement. To catch Moore, the serial killer who had been targeting homosexual men, we’d lured him out by having Elijah create a fake dating profile. The plan worked, and Moore took the bait. He was all too eager to meet Elijah, and we’d been able to catch the killer.

“I could help one of the girls make a fake profile! No problem,” Elijah said energetically as he rubbed his hands together.

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that. We both know what happened last time,” I said with a grimace.

“Of course,” Elijah said solemnly, reminiscing.

The plan had worked, but it hadn’t been without risk. Although setting Moore up with Elijah had resulted in an arrest, Rebecca had been badly injured and still had some facial scars to prove it. While Rebecca was fine now, it had taken her time to recover mentally and physically from the ordeal. I wouldn’t risk another member of my team like that. Not if I could avoid it.

The rest of the journey to the station was in silence, and when I was finally parking up outside I was keen to see Jude—something I never thought I’d say. I ushered Elijah out of the car, locked it up, and power walked into the building. Elijah moved behind me, but struggled to match my ever-quickening pace. I entered the station, raised a hand in a gesture of welcome to Karen without looking in her direction, then charged up the stairs at a speed Usain Bolt would have been proud of.

Inside our department, I saw Rebecca, Lylah, and Nadia all sitting at their desks. Rebecca’s dark eyes moved quickly over her computer screen, but Lylah and Nadia had their backs to me. I made a beeline straight to Rebecca.

“Have you passed those photos to Jude?” I asked hastily as I approached her.

Rebecca snorted. “Great to see you too,” she said sarcastically, like she always did when I was straight and to the point. “Yes, he should be looking into everything as we speak.”

“Great,” I barked as I continued to walk. “I’ll go see him right away.”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow and waved her hands in confusion. “So you aren’t even going to chat with us first?” she asked irritably. “We want to know how everything went! We want details!”

I turned to Elijah. “Smith, stay here and catch the women up on our progress,” I said with authority as I continued moving. “I want to see Jude now, and I’m not willing to wait around.”

Elijah stopped his steps with such haste that he had to balance himself from toppling over. “Sure thing, sir!” he replied, his face looking as confused as Rebecca’s had been moments ago. I continued to walk, not even allowing myself a moment of guilt over speeding away from the entire team. Mia had been dead for almost three days. The thought of allowing her killer to continue roaming free was torture.

The tech department wasn’t too far from our own. I went up one flight of stairs, then pushed the door open to the tech squad’s much smaller department. The tech team always seemed busy, but Jude was the main person I corresponded with, mostly because I trusted his work and knew Rebecca would be annoyed if I chose someone else. I glanced around the room, which was constantly hot due to the number of computers that occupied it, and quickly located Jude eating crisps while staring at his screen.

I swear that bloke is always eating, I thought to myself irritably as I moved hastily toward him. I hope for his sake he’s a good multitasker!

I moved through the packed desks and loud, annoying computer fans to get to Jude. Some of the team gave me polite nods as I passed, some looked terrified to see me, but I ignored them all and kept my eyes glued to Jude. Jude, hearing my fast footsteps, turned around and hastily dropped his crisp packet the moment our eyes met. He looked at me with a nervous expression and jumped from his chair.

“Good to see you, DCI Ellis!” Jude said anxiously.

I sighed irritably. When I first met Jude several years ago, he had a nonchalant attitude. I’d asked for his help to find out information from Eamonn Harker’s phone, and some of his responses had been crude, and on occasion, bored, like he couldn’t be bothered to work. Now, since Rebecca and I had become closer, he was always either terrified around me or overly keen to impress. Both were annoying traits, but I put up with them for Rebecca’s sake.

“Rebecca sent you some photos of a man’s dating profile?” I asked abruptly, giving no time to pleasantries.

Jude slowly sat back in his chair as he nodded, rubbing crisp grease on his jeans as he did so. “Yes, she did,” he said casually.

“And?” I asked bluntly, looking down at him with crossed arms and an impatient expression.

Jude coughed nervously. “It was a more difficult job, what with only having photos and not having access to anything on his profile such as—”

I cleared my throat loudly to interrupt him.

Jude went bright red and sat up straighter in his chair. “Right, you don’t care about any of that,” he said embarrassedly. “Short version, I was able to find your guy. He goes by Jasper on his dating profile, but he’s actually Connor Nunn. I’ll print off his address and information for you to go through yourself.”

Of course the prick uses a fake name, I thought coldly. He’s dishonest with women right from the start.

I nodded appreciatively and watched as Jude focused on his computer. As I stared at the back of his light hair, I thought about the numerous times Rebecca had scolded me for my attitude toward the bloke. Jude may have annoyed the hell out of me, but he was good at his job, and he made Rebecca happy. I knew I had to try to throw the guy a bone every once in a while.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. “Ta for this, Aisling,” I said passively. “I appreciate your haste on the matter.”

The printer whirred to life, and as the document printed Jude turned his chair slowly to face me. His eyebrow was quirked, and he looked slightly suspicious of the compliment.

“Erm, thanks, sir,” he said cautiously.

I nodded again and waited for the printer to finish. As we waited, I decided to ask him more questions about Connor. “You were obviously able to find his profile, but were you able to gain access to it?” I asked hopefully. “It would be good to see some of his correspondence with Mia if possible.”

Jude mumbled irritably. “Unfortunately not, sir.”

I nodded and turned to the printer once it stopped making a noise. Jude grabbed the sheet of paper before passing it to me.

“Ta, Aisling,” I said with as much respect as I could muster.

Jude opened his mouth to reply, but before he had the chance I speedily moved through the desks and toward his department’s front door. Once I pushed it open and had more space to move, I looked at the paper as I walked back toward my own department. Connor had lived a mostly quiet life, but I wasn’t surprised to see his record wasn’t exactly clean either. The police had called him in once on a DUI, and a couple of times for unruly behaviour, but nothing that seemed overly serious or had resulted in a prison sentence.

I lowered the paper once I made it down the stairs and held it tightly in my fist as I pushed open the door to my department. I entered the room and saw Nadia, Lylah, and Rebecca all loitering around Elijah’s desk. The three women were sitting down, and Elijah was standing, gesturing over them all as though they were students and he was a lecturer. Once I pushed open the door, the entire team turned to face me, and Elijah abruptly stopped speaking.

“Everyone all caught up?” I asked Elijah quickly.

“Yes, sir,” Elijah said as he tightened his man bun.

“Excellent,” I said with haste as I threw the paperwork down on Elijah’s desk and gestured for the team to look at it. As the team read the paperwork, I continued speaking.

“It turns out our Romeo is a bit of a liar,” I said with distaste. “He goes by Jasper on Tinder, but he’s actually called Connor Nunn. He lives in a village called Felixkirk, which is only a twenty-minute drive from Ampleforth and less than ten minutes from the lake, so he’d likely know the area well.” I grumbled and rubbed my face. “As much as I’d love to discuss this with you all further, Felixkirk will probably be another long drive, so I want to get there as soon as possible.”

“Understood, it’s getting late,” Rebecca said with a nod.

I turned to Lylah. “Want to come with me, Stone?”

Lylah looked surprised, but quickly smiled keenly. “Certainly, sir!”

I turned to the rest of the team. “Depending on how things go with our Casanova, by the time we’ve spoken to him we will likely call it a night. The rest of you should look into this Connor bloke, find out as much as you can about him, then get yourselves home.” I turned directly to Rebecca. “Get Karen to forward any calls tonight to me again, that way the entire team can go home and try to get some rest.”

“Will do, Sean,” she said with authority as she rose from her chair and started to push it back toward her desk. “I’ll stay here until I’ve heard from you though.” She checked her watch then pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

Rebecca swore under her breath, then jumped out of her seat. “I can’t just keep sitting here, doing nothing,” she said briskly. “When you and Smith were out, I researched Evan Murray and his lender. I have the details of the lender, and I’m going to go speak to them now and check them out, see if I can confirm Evan’s version of events.”

I nodded approvingly. “Aye, that sounds like a great idea!”

Rebecca looked over at Nadia. “Happy to come with me? Elijah can hold the fort here while he writes his reports,” she said passively.

Nadia stood up from her seat, a determined expression plastered all over her face. “Of course! Let’s go as soon as possible.”

Rebecca turned to me. “I’ll let you know what we find out.”

“Ta, we will do the same,” I said before turning to Lylah. “Go on, grab your coat so we can get going.”

Lylah climbed out of her chair and made her way to the coat rack. She quickly put on her coat, then smiled at me to let me know she was ready. Together, we left the department and started toward my car. As we walked, Lylah looked toward me happily.

“I’m glad to be going out on the field with you!” she said as her feet moved speedily to match my pace. “I was starting to get itchy feet being stuck behind that desk.”

I glanced at her guiltily. “Sorry, love,” I said softly. “But Smith started this case, so I want to include him as much as possible.”

Lylah nodded gently as we walked. “I understand,” she said respectfully. “But I’m not complaining about finally getting out. Now, let’s go find this prick and see what he has to say for himself.”

I turned to her with a sly smile. I was happy to see Lylah was moving as quickly and eagerly as I was. We jumped into my car and set off to Felixkirk instantly. Lylah was silent as we set off, and I knew she was also wondering what we were about to get ourselves into with Connor.

Was this man just an idiotic serial dater who didn’t want women to know his true identity so he could avoid them after he’d gotten what he wanted? Or were his intentions with young women a lot more devious than they’d ever believe?

Get ready, Connor, I thought to myself bitterly. Mia is dead, and right now, you’re looking like a lady killer… in more ways than one.

23

The drive to Felixkirk was just over forty minutes. Although Lylah was initially silent as she sat in my car, that silence was short-lived.

“How do you think Rebecca and Nadia will get on with the lender?” she asked excitedly as she stroked my knee affectionately.

“Hopefully well,” I said as I scratched at the scar on my lip. “As much as Evan has his issues, I believed him when he said he’d paid the lenders off and that they didn’t know he’d moved. I think Rebecca will only confirm that.”

Lylah nodded, nearly vibrating with eagerness in her seat. “So you think Mia was killed by some online predator then?”

I sighed. “It’s hard to tell, but it certainly seems like a workable theory, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Lylah agreed as she turned to look out the window. “Unfortunately, you get a lot of creeps who target people online.” She sighed. “We will see what he has to say when we get there.”

I made a gruff noise of agreement as I kept my eyes on the road. I welcomed the silence as I wanted to prepare potential questions in my mind for Connor, but the moment Lylah had received an answer to a question she prepared another one to shoot at me.

“Do you think he could be using his dating profile to target other women?” she asked nervously as she rubbed the bottom of her lip.

My face darkened. “Aye, it’s possible, likely probable,” I said unhappily. “We know what these people can be like. You’ve only got to look at Thomas Moore to know that cowards who prey on people online don’t tend to stop at the one victim.”

Lylah looked at me with a furrowed brow and wide eyes. “You don’t think we’ll be dealing with another serial killer, do you?” she asked in horror.

I sighed and grabbed her hand affectionately. “I really hope not, love,” I said sincerely.

“Me too,” Lylah said in a low, quiet voice as she squeezed my hand back. “It was hard enough dealing with all of those poor men being killed, let alone young women.”

My mind suddenly went to the image of a large pile of bodies, all women the same age as Faye. Their eyes were all wide and unblinking, their faces pale, and their bodies cold. I held back my own shudder at the thought. Faye was barely starting her life, and to think of more girls meeting vicious ends was too gruesome to think about.

I shook the horrid thought from my mind and pulled my focus back to the road. My car’s headlights suddenly shone on a large sign declaring the word Felixkirk in large, peeling letters. I sighed in relief. We’d been driving so long the sky had very quickly gone from a clear, open blue, to a dark, uninviting black, and with the day approaching an end it was more important than ever to confront Connor.

“This place looks nicer than Ampleforth at least,” Lylah said casually as she glanced around at the village.

I nodded in agreement.

Although it was dark so we were relying on the lights from the street and my car to aid our visuals, we could still get a good view of the place. Felixkirk was a quaint village that looked a lot more modern than Ampleforth. While some of the buildings still had an older, more traditional look to them, it was clear this village had at least tried to move into the twenty-first century. We passed a sign directing us to a place called Yorkshire Outdoors that offered a variety of fun activities, there was what looked like a small arcade in the village centre, and a couple of pubs that looked surprisingly empty, particularly for a Saturday..

“Again there’s no one about,” Lylah pointed out suspiciously. “These villages seem dead, don’t they?”

“Aye, either that or no one lives here,” I thought to myself out loud as I continued to take in the surroundings.

The one positive about smaller villages was that, if anything was suddenly out of the ordinary, people would tend to notice. Small villages on average were either filled with people who were tight-knit or incredibly nosey, meaning any change was picked up on quickly. The Murray family were noticed right away by the villagers of Ampleforth since they weren’t used to new people—though annoyingly no one seemed to have noticed anything that could have indicated what happened to Mia—so I couldn’t help but wonder if we spoke to some of the locals if they’d be able to confirm whether or not Mia had been here.

We still didn’t know where she’d been during the twenty-four hours before her murder. Being with a new potential boyfriend seemed as good an option as any.

“Odd that they have an outdoor activities centre when there’s likely less than a hundred people living here,” Lylah mused out loud as she played with her hair.

“Aye, I doubt they receive much custom,” I agreed quietly as I continued to follow the satnav. “Some small places add these new things as a way of bringing in new people.”

Lylah snorted as she glanced around the empty streets. “It looks like that was a success, doesn’t it?” she asked sarcastically. Despite the serious reason we were here, I couldn’t help but bark a laugh at her humour.

A couple of minutes later, the satnav declared that we had reached our destination, so I pulled up to the side of the road and parked up. The village had hardly any houses, but I couldn’t help but notice that the street where I parked up had the most unappealing looking homes in the entire village. It looked like a council estate that hadn’t been touched or looked at in years. The paint on the outside of each house was peeling horrendously, many of the windows looked as though they’d been boarded up, and most of the front doors looked chipped and weathered. I quickly identified Connor’s house and wasn’t shocked to see it was the most unattractive house in the block. The white paint that had once covered the walls was barely there now, and the black front door was more old wood than black paint. Although the windows all appeared to be intact, they were misted up and looked as though they were desperately in need of new glass. I pointed the house out to Lylah, noticing she was grimacing uncomfortably.

“That’s Connor’s address, I take it?” she asked through pursed lips.

“Aye, according to Jude,” I said bluntly as I started to step toward it.

“I wonder if Mia was here,” Lylah said in a tone so quiet I had to lean closer toward her to hear it.

“We will see how accommodating Connor is,” I replied in an equally low tone. “If he isn’t willing to allow us in, we’ll get a warrant and search every inch of his house for anything with her DNA on it.”

Lylah’s face remained passive, but she nodded with approval as we reached the decrepit door.

I knocked on it loudly. There was silence for a minute or two before the door eventually opened. A body slowly moved into the frame, and I was relieved to see the person standing there was a man who looked identical to the images on the dating profile. His long brunette hair somehow looked even greasier in person, and he was wearing the leather jacket he showed off in the majority of his photos. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and the open jacket revealed his thin, bony chest. His face looked more drawn in person, his cheekbones prominent, but his green eyes shone brightly and added some appeal to his face.

“What?” he asked grumpily, leaning against the doorframe and sneering at the two of us. I stood up tall and pulled my badge out of my pocket. “I’m DCI Sean Ellis, and I’m here with DC Lylah Stone,” I said with authority, staring him down. “Can we come in?”

“Cops?” Connor asked with revulsion as he pushed his fingers through his greasy mane of hair. “What do you want with me? I haven’t done shit.”

A bit defensive, I thought curiously. This guy clearly doesn’t want the police snooping around his home.

“I’ll be the judge of that, lad,” I said unhappily as I put my badge away. “I will ask you again. Can we come in? Or have you got something to hide?”

Connor gave a weak laugh and shrugged. “Yeah, whatever man,” he said casually. “Come in. I ain’t got shit to hide from anyone.”

I nodded curtly and gestured for Lylah to go ahead of me. Connor gave me the creeps, and considering I already knew he lied to women online, I wanted to keep an eye on him around Lylah. Once we entered his hallway, I wasn’t surprised to see his house was in worse condition than Mia’s. Mia’s family had a small house, but Connor’s was small and filthy. I bit back a grimace when I saw clear mould patches across the walls and the ceiling. Plus, the more I entered his home, the more I got the unmistakable whiff of marijuana.

No wonder the bloke’s face and torso are so skeletal, I thought with revulsion. The guy probably spends his life sitting around his grotty house smoking weed and doing nothing else.

We followed Connor through the small hallway and into what appeared to be a dark, dank living room. He had the blinds closed and not a single light was on.

“Mind if I turn a light on?” I asked as I lingered by the door and gestured to a nearby switch.

“Whatever,” Connor said grumpily as he slumped into one of his chairs.

I turned the light on and was able to get a better view of the living room. The walls in here were as mouldy and unappealing as the ones in the hallway. He had some old, peeling leather sofas, a surprisingly large television, and a chipped wooden table that had a lot of rubbish and old food left on top of it.

Christ, how do people live this way? I thought to myself in dismay. If I’d been Mia and had one glance at this place, I’d have gotten the hell out of here as fast as my legs could take me.

I glanced at Lylah and gestured toward the larger brown leather sofa, which she sat on. I then sat next to her and both of us turned to face Connor. Connor was sitting in a relaxed, comfortable position in his one seater chair. I tried to read his expression, but the only vibe I got was that he was keen to get us out of here. He caught my eye and sneered at me unpleasantly, instantly putting my back up. I knew I couldn’t let him get to me, so tried to relax as much as possible, even though the place was disgusting.

“So, what should I call you, lad?” I asked Connor nonchalantly.

Connor raised an eyebrow, the same sneer still stretched across his face. “What do you think?” he asked sarcastically as he threw his hair back. “Connor, obvs.”

I crossed my leg over my knee, my eyes glued to his. “Connor, is it?” I asked casually. “Not Jasper?”

Connor’s cocky façade dropped instantly the moment he heard that name. His face looked panicked for a moment and, although he tried to recover, the attempt was pitiful. “W-what do you mean?” he asked quickly.

“You go by Jasper online, right?” Lylah asked passively as she leaned forward in her chair. “So shall we call you Jasper or Connor?”

Connor rubbed his hair awkwardly. “It’s not a crime to lie about your name online, now is it?” he asked bluntly. “Is that why you’re here?”

“How would you feel about giving us your phone and letting us look at your dating profile?” I pressed.

Connor scoffed. “No chance, mate. Legally you can’t look at my phone without my permission either. I know that much.”

Cocky shit, I thought to myself.

I kept my face still, hiding the annoyance boiling up inside of me. I knew he was right—I couldn’t see his phone without a warrant—but I hoped he was going to buy into my bluff. He’d clearly dealt with the police enough to know better.

“We’re here about one of the girls you’ve been talking to,” I continued.

“Which one?” Connor asked, looking at Lylah and winking arrogantly. I glanced at Lylah, saw her grimacing with disgust at Connor, then turned back to him.

“So you’re talking to a few women then?” I asked, hiding the contempt from my tone.

“Of course,” he said bluntly as he relaxed in his chair again. “I don’t think it’s illegal to get around a bit, is it?”

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from getting angry at his sarcastic attitude. “No, it isn’t, but it is illegal to assault someone,” I said bluntly.

Connor fell back slightly in his chair from shock. “Woah! I haven’t touched anyone!”

“Can you tell us what you were doing Tuesday evening around six pm?” I asked, keeping my tone civil.

“Wait, Kelly told you I hurt her?” he asked in shock. “That bitch is lying! I don’t know why she’d tell you that, but it isn’t true.”

Who the hell is Kelly? I thought curiously.

“Kelly?” Lylah asked. “Kelly who?”

Connor shrugged. “No idea, babe. People don’t exactly give their surnames online.”

“Or their real first names, apparently,” I said coldly. “And it’s DC Stone to you, pal, not babe. She is an officer, so speak to her with some goddamn respect.”

Connor shrugged again. I expected him to feel some form of embarrassment, but he didn’t seem bothered at all. His face kept still, he never went red or flushed, and he never shifted nervously in his seat either. The prick was far too calm.

“Look, that’s how online dating is these days,” he said with a smirk. “Maybe you’re too old for dating apps, but everyone lies about themselves on them.”

Cheeky bastard, I’m barely a few years older than you.

“We’re going to need Kelly’s details to confirm you were with her,” Lylah said unhappily as she stared Connor down.

Connor raised an eyebrow. “Surely you have them if she’s accusing me of shit?”

“We aren’t here about Kelly. We are here to talk about Mia,” I said seriously as I sat up straighter on the sofa.

“Mia?” Connor asked confusedly as he scratched at his head. “I never saw her on Tuesday.”

“So you say,” I said coldly as I crossed my arms.

“I say that because that’s the truth,” Connor said with annoyance. “I did see her on Monday though, so if she’s going to lie to you about shit tell her to at least get her days right. The stupid cow.”

I felt Lylah stiffen in the chair next to me. I shot her a subtle look to get her to calm down before looking back at Connor. “It’s hard for her to lie about anything considering she’s dead,” I said matter-of-factly.

Connor’s mouth gaped open in surprise. “Wait, Mia’s dead?”

“Aye, like I just said,” I replied bluntly. “And you’ve just admitted to being one of the last people to see her alive.” I smirked slightly. “It’s not looking good for you, is it?”

“Yeah, I saw her on Monday, but she was alive when I left her!” he said hastily. “We met up for a coffee date, but the bitch—the girl, I mean, was super fussy, and we weren’t together that long.” He rubbed his pale face thoughtfully. “I took her to a coffee shop in Ampleforth. Go there and speak to the staff, they’ll tell you how she pissed off and left me there looking like a right knob on my own.”

“We will be talking to the staff there, don’t worry,” Lylah said sternly.

“They may be able to confirm she left you, but they won’t exactly be able to confirm what you did after you left, now will they?” I asked bluntly as I tapped my fingers on my knee. “You easily could have gone after her because of how she treated you.” I hesitated and leaned forward in my chair. “It must have felt horrible, her embarrassing you like that. I can see why you’d want to teach her a lesson.”

Connor shrugged again and threw his legs over one of the arms of his chair. “It was annoying… I hoped I was going to get something for buying her a coffee, but dating profiles have a mad number of women on them, so I wasn’t bothered. It was her loss, not mine.”

“Mia was only twenty, did you know that?” Lylah asked, trying and failing to keep the judgement out of her tone. “Do you make a habit of going after younger women?”

Connor smirked at Lylah. “That’s not illegal, is it?” he asked playfully. “Most men desire younger women. Everyone knows that. A lot of women prefer older men too.” He swung his legs around and sat up straighter. “Besides, it isn’t like I lied to her about my age or forced her to meet me. She made her choice.”

“Aye, and those choices resulted in her death,” I said coldly.

“Look, I’m sorry the chick is dead and all, but you’re completely barking up the wrong tree here,” Connor said passively. “We met for barely an hour and didn’t contact one another after that.”

“If you don’t want us returning here with a warrant, I suggest you give us any information you have on Kelly so we can contact her,” I said with authority. “We will need to confirm your alibi for the time Mia was taken.”

Connor grumbled unpleasantly and pushed back his hair. After a few moments of hesitation, he swore in annoyance and got out his phone. He went on it, stood up from his chair, then passed me his phone.

“There, that’s Kelly’s profile,” he said grumpily. “We only spoke to one another through Tinder, so I don’t have her number or anything.”

I looked at Lylah and gestured for her to grab her own phone. She quickly went into her jean pocket and started to take photos of Kelly’s pictures and profile. Once she was done, I went into their messages. Connor went to grab the phone, but I gently pulled it away.

“By all means take it back and I’ll stop looking, but if you refuse to let me look now, I’ll simply get a warrant for your phone,” I said coldly. “You can spend your time deleting everything you want, but our tech team will recover anything you try to dispose of. If I were you, I’d stop being a prat and just let me look now and save everyone the hassle.”

Connor’s hand hesitated awkwardly in the air, but eventually he swore again and lowered his arm. “Fine, whatever,” he said petulantly as he crossed his arms and glared at me. “But I know my rights.”

I stood up from my chair and looked into his bright green eyes, which didn’t flicker, even under my intense stare. “Aye, I bet you do lad,” I said confidently. “I’ve seen your record. You aren’t a stranger to the police.”

Connor rolled his eyes. “I didn’t do shit, but some coppers will do anything to make someone look bad,” he said bitterly. “I got pulled over, and I’d barely had one beer, and those fights were all self-defence. A man has every right to protect himself, y’know.”

I shook my head irritably and started to read the messages between him and Kelly. The more I read, the more my lip curled. Connor was trying hard to be a gentleman, but his message tone didn’t match the real man. I then scrolled through his matches and raised an eyebrow when I couldn’t find Mia.

“A bit suspicious that Mia is no longer on here,” I said bluntly as I walked over to Connor and passed him back his phone. “Thought you’d delete all traces of her, did you?”

Connor pocketed his phone. “Nah, not even,” he said coolly. “After we met on Monday, she sent me a message saying she wasn’t interested in seeing me again, then removed me as a match.”

I didn’t know anything about dating apps, so I turned toward Lylah for her opinion. She subtly nodded her head, showing me that what he was saying could have been true.

I turned to Connor with a scowl. “You likely will be hearing from us again. We will be confirming your alibi, and if it turns out you’re lying, expect to be dragged to a prison cell.”

Connor continued to look unbothered. “I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said without emotion.

“Let’s hope not,” I said coldly as I gestured to Lylah that we were leaving. Together we walked toward Connor’s front door. When I reached it, I turned around to see him standing at the living room doorway with a scowl on his face.

“Hopefully, I won’t be seeing you again,” he said unhappily before turning to Lylah. “Though I’d happily see you again.” He winked.

I put a protective hand on Lylah’s back to stop her from getting angry and gently guided her out of the front door. Once she was outside, I turned back to Connor.

“Say anything disrespectful to her again and I’ll make sure you spend a night in a cell,” I said through gritted teeth. “Is that clear?”

Connor simply shrugged again, then waved at me with a smirk. I bit back my anger as I walked quickly out of his house and followed Lylah to my car. We got in it together and, once we were settled, I turned to her.

“You alright, love?” I asked softly as I ran my hand over her cheek.

Lylah looked at me unhappily. “I can’t stand sexist pigs like him,” she said angrily before gently touching my hand. “I heard what you said to him though.” She smiled. “Thanks for having my back.”

“Always,” I said passionately as I slowly took my hand back.

Lylah sighed. “Now what?”

“Now we send those photos to Jude and see if he can get us Kelly’s contact details,” I said as I turned on the car’s ignition. “We need to speak to her and confirm his alibi.” I glanced at the clock on my dashboard. “It’s getting late so, depending on how long it takes for Jude to get back to me, we may need to speak to Kelly tomorrow.”

Lylah nodded as she pulled out her phone. “I hope he’s lying,” she said bitterly. “That creep doesn’t deserve to be roaming the streets.”

I stroked her back sympathetically as I started the drive back to York. As I drove, I thought about Connor and the messages I’d seen on his phone. While there was no doubt in my mind the guy was an arsehole, the messages between him and Kelly did suggest they were meeting on Tuesday could mean he wasn’t our guy. I tapped the steering wheel in annoyance, hoping tomorrow we weren’t back to square one all over again.

24

Icould barely contain my frustration and disappointment as I climbed out of bed the following morning. The day before, I’d been so full of hope when I’d heard about Mia’s online mystery man, but within less than a few hours I’d identified him, met him, and confirmed his alibi for the time Mia was taken.

Lylah had sent Jude the photos, and he’d replied to her with Kelly’s full name, address, and number before we got home. Lylah had suggested it wouldn’t hurt to call Kelly. Luckily, Kelly answered and was willing to talk to us, and she did confirm that she was with Connor for a couple of hours on Tuesday night. That meant he couldn’t have been the one to take Mia. First the hunt into Mia’s father’s debts had come back with nothing, and now Mia’s date.

Although it was a Sunday, the team was keen to get to work and figure out what our next move should be. I got ready quickly, and soon Lylah and I were travelling to the station together.

As I drove to work, I felt Lylah’s hand touch my own, and I turned to her with a wry smile.

“We will find out who did this, Sean,” Lylah said with determination as she stroked my hand. “I know we will.”

“We better, love,” I said with a sad sigh. “But we have no leads again. Connor has an alibi, and Rebecca called us last night to confirm that the lender had nothing to do with Mia’s death.”

Just as we were getting ready for bed, Rebecca had called me to say that her and Nadia had met with the lender, spoken to him in great detail, and both were confident he had nothing to do with Mia’s death. Although part of me was happy, since that meant less bad news for Sylvia, it equally meant we were now out of suspects.

Lylah looked just as disheartened as me, but she continued to stroke my hand supportively. “We’ve solved cases with even less than this,” she said confidently. “It might just take a bit of time.”

I grumbled irritably. “Time is something we can’t afford,” I said bitterly. “The longer it takes for us to solve this, the more time the killer has to get away with it.”

We drew closer to the station, and as Lylah opened her mouth to reply, I jumped slightly in my seat when my phone started to ring loudly in my pocket.

“Christ alive!” I exclaimed in surprise.

I moved my hand away from Lylah and fished my phone out of my pocket. As my eyes were on the road, I passed my phone to Lylah.

“It’s Rebecca,” Lylah said in surprise as she stared at the name flashing on my phone.

“Answer and put it on speaker,” I said impatiently.

Lylah quickly did as I asked and spoke into the phone. “Hey, it’s Lylah. Sean is driving, but I’ll put it on speaker so you can talk to him.”

“How far away are you both?” Rebecca asked hastily, her tone sounding anything but relaxed.

I glanced at Lylah nervously. “Barely five minutes away, why?”

“Just hurry up and get here, yeah?” she asked bluntly before hanging up the phone.

Lylah passed me back my phone, and I struggled to put it in my pocket as I drove.

“What on earth was that about?” Lylah asked bluntly, pouting unhappily as she spoke.

“God only knows,” I said slowly, my mind consumed by Rebecca. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Lylah nodded nervously. “So do I.”

We made it to the station, and I parked up outside of it. Together Lylah and I moved speedily inside and toward our department. Once we pushed open the doors, I was surprised to see the entire team was already there, all of them pacing and looking anxious.

“What’s going on?” I asked, stepping powerfully toward the three of them.

“No idea,” Nadia said nervously as she wound a strand of her hair around her finger. “I’ve been asking Rebecca, but she refused to say anything until you got here.”

I crossed my arms and glowered at Rebecca. “Well? What is it?” I asked irritably.

Rebecca rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I think everyone is going to want to sit down for this,” she said passively.

I glanced at Lylah, who shrugged at me, then all of us grabbed a chair and pulled them over so we were all facing Rebecca.

“Right, now that we’re seated can you tell us what’s going on?” Elijah asked with concern, his leg bobbing anxiously on his knee.

Rebecca nodded as she hugged herself. She turned to me. “I know you said to have Karen forward calls to you, but since you offered the night before too, I thought I’d volunteer this time,” she said in a slow, cautious voice. “It was a Saturday night, so I thought you’d appreciate the rest and I’d deal with the weekend callers.” She hesitated as she tucked her short, dark hair behind her ears. “Anyway, the night was rather quiet, but when I was getting ready this morning I received a phone call from Karen saying DC Carter was on the other line and wanted to speak to us.”

“Has she found who killed Mia?” Elijah asked quickly, edging forward in his seat with wide, hopeful eyes.

Rebecca sighed. “I really wish that was why she rang,” she replied forlornly.

“So what did she want?” I pressed impatiently. I was keen for Rebecca to get to the point.

“She told me she received a call this morning from a young man called Warren Kirby,” she continued in her slow, measured tone. “He said when he woke up this morning he realised his girlfriend, Selena, wasn’t home and hadn’t come back last night. He called her workplace, and they said that she never made it to her shift that afternoon.” She hesitated as she placed her hand on her chin. “Sound familiar?”

“Aye, scarily so,” I said, rubbing my stubble thoughtfully. “It sounds like our killer has found themselves a new victim.”

“It could be a coincidence?” Elijah asked quietly. “Maybe she’s just avoiding her boyfriend.”

I shook my head. “No, all we’ve had in this case are coincidences. I don’t believe this can be another one.”

“Nor do I,” Rebecca said sadly.

“What else did DC Carter say to you?” Nadia asked seriously, her back straight and her face void of expression as she stared at Rebecca.

“Not a huge amount,” Rebecca said honestly. “She was just keen for us to make our way to Felixkirk to meet her and the boyfriend to discuss everything.”

“Felixkirk?” I asked in shock, my eyes turning to meet Lylah’s. “That’s where we were last night! That’s where that idiot Connor lives!”

Nadia turned toward me, her forehead furrowed with worry. “You don’t think he’s got Selena, do you?”

I thought about Connor, and, for a scary moment, I wondered if he’d had the girl locked away somewhere in his home the whole time we were there. Should I have tried to search the whole place? Was I naïve to trust his and Kelly’s word that he had an alibi for the time Mia was taken?

No. She couldn’t have been there. Connor was far too calm and collected for someone who potentially had a girl locked up in his home.

I shook my head thoughtfully. “No, I don’t. He has a confirmed alibi for the time Mia was taken and, although this girl was taken in the village where he lives, I doubt he’d have taken someone in an area with a strong connection to him.”

“Me neither,” Lylah agreed begrudgingly as she crossed her arms and pouted at the thought of Connor.

“Which means we need to work quickly to get to Felixkirk, speak to Warren, and hope we can find Selena!” I said with authority as I stood quickly from my chair. “The quicker we work on this, the more likely it is we can find her.”

I wanted to add the word alive, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Agreed,” Rebecca said bluntly as she lowered her arms. “We don’t know what’s going on just yet, so I don’t think the entire team should go.”

I nodded as I glanced around the team. Elijah had been heavily involved in field work and I’d chosen Lylah yesterday, so it was only fair I didn’t choose either of them today. The case was getting serious now, and I knew I needed the best people with me.

“Rebecca, Nadia, I think us three should go,” I said emotionlessly. “Rebecca, you've already spoken to DC Carter, so it makes sense if you’re with us. Nadia, I know you’ll be a good person to have by my side when we speak to the boyfriend.”

“Happy to join you both,” Nadia said with a small, flattered smile.

“Sounds good to me,” Rebecca said determinedly.

“Right,” I glanced at my watch and saw it was now nearly nine. “We will leave here in a few minutes.” I turned to Elijah and Lylah. “You two are the best with social media. Look into Selena and find out everything you can about her. It wouldn’t hurt to look into the boyfriend too.”

“Yes, sir!” Elijah and Lylah said in unison as they climbed out of their chairs and pulled them toward their desks.

As Rebecca and Nadia readied themselves to leave, I quickly went into my office and signed onto my computer. I still hadn’t heard anything else from Hannah, so I was keen to check my emails to see if I’d received anything important. I bit my lip hopefully when I saw a new email from Hannah declaring her analysis of Mia’s boot was finished, but once I read the report, I swore and pushed my keyboard away angrily. There was no DNA or prints left on the boot.

I left my office speedily, smiled when I saw Rebecca and Nadia waiting near the department’s main entrance, and ushered for them to leave.

As we exited the department together, all I could think about was Selena. Was there potentially an innocent, explainable reason for her absence, or was Lylah right when she wondered if we could be dealing with a potential serial killer? After all, we had already found the body of one missing girl.

There was no way I was going to allow there to be another one.

25

As we all exited the front door of the station, I fished in my leather jacket to find my car keys, but Rebecca grabbed my wrist to stop me.

“You’ve done enough long drives this week, let me do this one,” she offered in a tone that wasn’t to be argued with.

I nodded gratefully as I pulled my hand out of my pocket and veered toward Rebecca’s car. The three of us walked there together in silence and quickly got inside. Nadia offered for me to take the front seat, but I insisted that she sit in the front, so I lounged in the back on my own. It wasn’t long before the three of us were discussing the case.

“Two girls going missing in villages close to one another, both taken on their way to work,” Nadia said contemplatively. “They’ve got to be connected, right?”

“I’d bet anything they are,” Rebecca replied confidently as she tapped methodically on her thigh. “I hate the thought of someone else going missing, but our leads on Mia have gone dry so who knows, maybe Selena being taken will be a blessing in disguise.”

“A bit harsh, Becs,” Nadia said with a slight grimace.

Rebecca turned to her and quirked a brow. “What? Obviously I want Selena to be okay! But this could help us find Mia’s killer, right?”

“Hopefully,” I said emotionlessly as I flexed my knuckles. “Did DC Carter say much about this boyfriend?”

“Not really,” Rebecca replied matter-of-factly as she glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Just that he was worried and feeling guilty.”

“Guilty?” Nadia asked with intrigue.

“He went to bed early, so he didn’t notice his girlfriend wasn’t back until first thing this morning,” she said casually as she ran her fingers through her hair. “And when her workplace said she didn’t make it to work, he felt even worse for not realising she’d been missing all that time.”

Nadia pulled a sympathetic expression. “That’s hardly his fault though, is it? You don’t exactly expect your partner to be taken on their way to work.”

“True,” Rebecca replied quickly. “But if anything happened to Jude, I think I’d blame myself. It’s only natural when you care about someone.”

“It’s odd she was taken on her way to work,” Nadia said curiously, glancing at me to gauge my reaction. “I get that Mia was—she works at night—but Selena was starting in the day, and on a Saturday too.” She hesitated and rubbed her face. “It must have been rather risky to take her.”

“The village wasn’t exactly bustling when Lylah and I were there,” I said honestly. “It was a Saturday night, and we didn’t see anyone wandering around. We even passed two pubs, and they both looked closed. If the village is always as quiet as that, then it probably wouldn’t matter what time of day it was. No one would have seen what happened.”

Rebecca muttered a variety of swear words under her breath while Nadia nodded unhappily.

“Do we know where the girl works?” I asked.

Rebecca scratched her chin. “I think DC Carter said it was some kind of outdoor activity place, but I’m not entirely certain.”

I remembered passing the sign that pointed out where that place was. The sign pointed to a small road away from the village, which made me think the girl’s workplace was tucked away in a quiet area. It would have worked perfectly for the kidnapper.

“If it’s where I think it is, it isn’t exactly in the village centre,” I replied unhappily.

“Meaning it likely provided a blind spot,” Nadia said glumly.

We eventually made it to Felixkirk, and as we passed the main sign for the village, I pointed out the sign for the outdoor activities centre.

“There it is,” I said loudly as I moved forward in my seat until my head was between the two women. “It points off to the left, which takes you in a different direction from the village.”

“We will see what DC Carter and Warren have to say. If she does work there, we’ll have to pay the place a visit,” Rebecca said with authority.

We made our way through the village and the satnav took us in the opposite direction from Connor’s place. Before the sat nav had pulled us to the right, but this time it told us to take a road to the left. Rebecca followed it, and I noticed right away that this area of the village was much nicer than the part where Connor resided. Although there weren’t many houses in this part, they seemed to be of a much better quality than the others I’d seen. The paint wasn’t peeling or faded, the windows all looked well taken care of, and the atmosphere seemed much more peaceful and pleasant.

“Ah, there she is,” Rebecca said loudly, pulling my focus forward.

As I looked ahead, I saw Sarah Carter standing with a short female PC close by a panda car. Rebecca parked up behind them and we got out of the car. I nodded politely to the PC—a red-haired woman with surprisingly dark eyes—before glancing at Sarah. Similar to before, her brunette hair was tied up, only this time it was in a small ponytail, but her blue eyes looked less emotional than before. If anything, her expression and posture looked severe, and I could tell she was filled with determination. She was wearing black, fitted work trousers that highlighted her toned legs and a pale blue button-up shirt that was slightly oversized.

“Good morning,” Sarah said, nodding to us all. She then gestured toward the woman beside her. “This is Jade Proctor. She’s a PC I’ve worked with on several occasions.”

Jade smiled nervously at us all, and we smiled back.

“Have you spoken to Warren yet?” I asked as Sarah started walking, gesturing for us to follow her.

Sarah shook her head, looking over her shoulder to address me as she continued moving. “We spoke on the phone, but I wanted to wait until you were all here before I went in to see him,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m sure you’ve all thought the same, but I’m thinking this missing person’s case must be connected to Mia, so I wanted you all here for this.”

“Aye, that’s much appreciated,” I said respectfully as we started to approach what I assumed must have been Warren’s house.

“I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Mia, so let's all work together to find this creep, yeah?” Sarah asked softly as she stopped near a brown front door.

“Trust me, none of us want that,” I said as I stood back and allowed Sarah to knock on the door. As we waited for someone to answer it, Sarah turned to Jade. “Keep an eye on things out here and contact me immediately if you see anything suspicious.”

“Of course,” Jade said keenly before turning away from us and walking casually down the street.

I was pulled away from her movements by the sound of the door opening. At the door stood a young man who couldn’t have been much older than twenty. He had short, wavy black hair that he’d tucked behind his ears, small blue eyes, and a few dark freckles on his face. He looked overly slender, and his jeans seemed to hang off of him. He glanced between us all nervously.

Sarah moved closer to the door, her expression softening. “Warren?” she asked kindly. “I’m DC Sarah Carter. We spoke on the phone this morning.”

Warren nodded nervously and stepped aside. “Yes, please come in,” he said in a shaky tone.

We all thanked him and made our way inside. Although his home was slightly bigger than Connor’s was, it wasn’t massive, so with the five of us standing in the hallway it quickly felt cramped.

“I hope you don’t mind, Warren, but I’ve brought some of my colleagues with me,” Sarah said gently as we followed Warren through the hallway. “They’re an excellent team. If anyone can help us find Selena it will be them.”

I felt my neck reddening at the compliment, and I knew Nadia and Rebecca likely felt as embarrassed by it as I did. Warren led us into the living room and turned to face us all. I approached him and held out my hand, which he took with an uncertain expression.

“It’s good to meet you, Warren,” I said gruffly. “I’m DCI Sean Ellis, and my colleagues here are DI Rebecca Tumber and DS Nadia Begum. I can assure you all we want to do is help, alright?”

Warren’s hand felt sweaty in my own, and as he pulled it away, I fought the urge to wipe my hand on my jeans. Once he pulled his hand away, he moved to a small wooden chair and gestured for us all to take seats. There was only one large sofa in the room, a cream colored one which was surprisingly clean for the color, so I gestured for the three women to sit down while I remained standing. I moved closer to the sofa and leant against the arm of it.

Warren looked nervous, so I relaxed my pose and decided to speak to him first.

“I know you’ve already spoken to DC Carter here, but can you please go through everything with us from the beginning?” I asked kindly. “It will help us a lot if you can.”

Warren rubbed his hair nervously but nodded. The poor bloke was so anxious he was practically leaning off of his chair. “Well, erm, I woke up this morning and was surprised to see Selena wasn’t here, so I rang her workplace, and they told me she didn’t make it to her shift yesterday.”

“Where does she work, Warren?” Nadia asked softly.

“Yorkshire Outdoors,” he said anxiously. “It’s only a twenty-minute walk from here.”

“When did you last see Selena?” I pressed.

“Just before she left for her shift,” he said in a sad tone as he gripped his knees, as though to support himself. “She left here around half eleven. Her shift started at twelve.”

I glanced at a clock on the wall just behind Warren and saw it was now ten in the morning. Selena had likely been taken almost twenty-four hours ago now. Although it was far from Warren’s fault, we’d lost a lot of valuable time. The first day was crucial when we came to finding someone, and we had lost that. The thought was far from pleasant.

“And you said to my colleague that you hadn’t realised she hadn’t made it to work until you contacted the place earlier?” Rebecca pressed flatly.

Warren nodded.

“How come you didn’t realise sooner?” Rebecca asked, her tone avoiding accusation. “Do you two not text during work?”

Warren went bright red and rubbed his ear nervously. “Sometimes, but not always,” he said in a quiet voice. “Her job has her outdoors and doing a range of activities, so she doesn’t often have her phone on her.” He hesitated, his lip quivering uncontrollably. “If I’d realised sooner... I could have called you here much faster.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Sarah said supportively as she leant forward in her chair. “You did the right thing by calling us. We’re going to do all we can to find her, okay?”

Warren nodded, then proceeded to run his hand through his hair anxiously.

“Had Selena told you about anything out of the ordinary recently?” I pressed as I tapped my fingers slowly on my elbows. “Either someone new lurking around, or someone giving her a hard time? Maybe someone was following her?”

Warren kept quiet for a moment, continuing to rub his hair as he thought. After a minute or two, he spoke.

“No, not that I can think of,” he said glumly. “If someone was following her, she’d have likely noticed it too. This village isn’t exactly teeming with people.”

I rubbed my chin, glanced at the women and saw they weren’t ready to jump in, so I turned back to Warren.

“It would really help with our enquiries if we could have a photo of Selena,” I said. “Do you have one we could use?”

Warren nodded and slowly climbed out of his chair. “Sure, I have one I can lend you,” he said, his voice sounding hesitant. “But I’d like it back. It’s one of our only physical photos together.”

“We will return it when we are done,” Nadia said with a warm smile.

Warren smiled weakly back as he grabbed his wallet out of his pocket. He rifled through it before grabbing a photo, which he smiled at warmly for a moment before he passed it to me.

“Ta,” I said appreciatively as I took it. I took one look at it and almost dropped it in shock when I saw Selena’s face.

She looked nearly identical to Mia.

I kept my face passive as I stepped back toward the others. I gave Rebecca a wide look with my eyes, hinting at her not to react. When I passed her the photo, I was impressed at her acting skills as she kept her face void of emotion. Nadia also kept a mostly expressionless face, though her eyebrow did jump slightly, but Sarah struggled more to hide her shock when she gazed at the photo. Warren likely wouldn’t have picked up on her reaction, but I noticed her pupils dilating and her lips pursing a fraction as she gazed over Selena’s face.

“Does Selena only ever work and do things in this village?” I asked casually as I leant back against the arm of the sofa. “Does she ever spend much time at any of the other villages in this area?”

Warren scratched his head in confusion. “No, why do you ask that?”

I gave a half shrug. “I’m just trying to get an idea of her routine, that’s all.”

Warren relaxed slightly. “There isn’t much to say there to be honest,” he said glumly. “Her life is literally work and being here with me. She sometimes goes out with her friends, but our rent has recently gone up so we’ve both been working extra hours to cover it.”

I nodded with understanding. “So were her work hours consistent?”

“Yes, she always started at twelve and finished around nine,” Warren said.

I rubbed my chin as I glanced at the others. When I saw that they, like me, had asked all of their questions, I stood up straight.

“Ta for your time, Warren,” I said gratefully. “We will do everything we can to find Selena, and will contact you if we have any further questions.”

Warren stepped closer toward me. “What can I do, Inspector?” he asked hopelessly. “I could wander around the village and ask people if they saw anything. They know me, so they might be willing to talk to me.”

I sighed sympathetically. “I know it’s hard, lad, but the best thing you can do right now is stay here and keep out of our way,” I said as respectfully as I could. “Someone could always try to contact you with a ransom or a form of demand, so it’s best if you keep at home in case anyone tries to do something like that.”

Warren looked frightened, but nodded his head slowly. “If I hear anything from anyone, I will call you all right away.”

“Good lad,” I said with a slight smile.

Warren politely showed us out of his home, holding the door open for us. We all thanked him as we left, then walked toward our cars together. As I stood outside with the three women, I saw them giving one another curious glances. Once we were all certain Warren wasn’t watching us, we began to speak.

“So clearly our kidnapper is targeting women of a particular look and age,” Rebecca said bluntly as she crossed her arms and looked between us.

“Aye, it would appear so,” I replied. “It seems we have our link, but now we just need to find out why.”

“If this person is targeting particular women, I suggest we look on the database for any other missing women who match that age and appearance,” Sarah said thoughtfully as she stroked her ponytail.

I nodded approvingly. “An excellent idea,” I said proudly, causing Sarah to blush. I turned to Nadia and Rebecca. “I suggest we return to the station and look into that after we inquire around town and speak to Selena’s work.”

“I can’t believe there might be others,” Sarah said coldly as she shook her head. “We have to find Selena and anyone else who could have been targeted. We can’t let another innocent young girl die at the hands of this monster.”

I looked at her passionately. “We won’t, now let’s get to work!” I said with authority as I gestured for us all to get moving.

Jade approached us, and Sarah handed her the polaroid image. “This is a photo of the missing girl. Her name is Selena. While we investigate further, I want you to wander around the village, show people her photo, and ask them questions.”

Jade nodded happily and together we all set off.

I turned to my side, saw the group of powerful women walking beside me, and felt confident that with this team by my side we’d be able to find the bastard who had taken Selena before it was too late.

26

The five of us—including Jade—spent a few hours in Felixkirk before we were ready to leave. Jade was mostly on her own interviewing various villagers while the rest of us spent a couple of hours analysing the twenty-minute walk from Selena’s address to her workplace. Rebecca, Nadia, Sarah, and I hunted high and low for any potential clues as we leisurely walked routes Selena would have taken to work, but this mostly provided us with nothing. The majority of her route, similar to Mia’s, was in public, open places which would have made the job of kidnapping her difficult, even in a village as quiet as Felixkirk. It wasn’t until we reached the road that turned toward her place of work did we finally find where it was likely Selena had been taken. While there were no closed parks or anything similar, the small road didn’t face any buildings until it curved around to the left, and there were no cameras, meaning it was the perfect place for a kidnapper to take her if they knew her routine and acted quickly.

None of us succeeded in hiding our frustration when we found nothing to indicate Selena had been there. There were no personal belongings left behind, no signs of a scuffle taking place, nothing.

After this disappointment, we all entered Yorkshire Outdoors, ready to speak to some of Selena’s colleagues in the hopes they could provide us with some answers. As soon as we stepped foot inside the place and approached the reception, I gazed around at the staff and noticed two things: they were all at least a decade younger than myself, and all of them wore the same uniform. The uniform was a beige all-in-one with various badges on it depicting images of vehicles and animals.

There weren’t many staff members in the reception hall and I wondered if that was because they were outside doing other things or if they simply just didn’t have a lot of people here. Considering the size of the village, I leant toward the latter.

I turned to Rebecca, Nadia, and Sarah and noticed they all looked eager to keep moving, so I stepped ahead toward the reception. Once we reached it, I saw a young woman standing there with long, wavy red hair that continued past the desk and likely down to at least her waist. Her eyes were large and blue, and I noticed that her skin was oddly tanned for someone with red hair, but as she worked outdoors, it was likely she was used to standing in the direct sunlight. Once she saw us coming over, she eyed up our group curiously.

Probably not used to people in their thirties coming in here, I thought to myself bitterly.

“Good afternoon,” she said in a pleasant voice. “How can I help you all?”

I leaned casually against the desk with one arm as I grabbed my badge with the other. I pulled it out of my pocket and smacked it on the desk.

“Afternoon,” I said gruffly. “My name is DCI Sean Ellis and my team and I are here to talk about Selena.”

The woman put a shaking hand to her full lips. “I knew something wasn’t right when she didn’t turn up here yesterday!” she said in horror. “Sellie never misses a shift, and she never ignores my texts either.”

“So you tried to contact her when she didn’t arrive?” Nadia asked gently as she stepped closer toward the desk.

The woman moved her focus toward Nadia. “Yeah, of course!” she said energetically. She then looked between us all nervously. “H-Has something happened to her?”

“That’s what we are trying to establish,” I said coolly as I put my badge away. “We are working under the theory that someone may have taken her yesterday when she was on her way to work.”

“Christ,” the woman said, her voice no louder than a whisper. She put her elbows down on the table and leaned toward me, her mouth open and her eyes wide.

“You obviously know Selena well?” Rebecca asked as she pushed back her hair. “Has she been herself recently? Or said anything out of the ordinary?”

The woman shook her head. “No, she was her usual, happy self! Come to think of it, she was complaining about feeling queasy when I last saw her.” She looked between us all. “Could that be connected? Could someone have been making her ill?”

“Potentially, but unlikely,” Sarah said passively as she folded her arms.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” I pressed hopefully.

The woman’s shoulders slumped unhappily. “No, I’m sorry,” she said with regret. “Our manager is in today… maybe you could chat to him?”

I turned to the others, saw them all nodding at the idea, then turned back to the woman. “Aye, that would be great, ta.”

The woman smiled at us weakly, showing off her shiny lip gloss, then turned away from the desk. As she walked away, I turned back toward the others.

“Nothing helpful so far,” Rebecca said curtly, not even attempting to hide her aggravation.

“No, but it was always a long shot,” I said begrudgingly. “The girl was taken over twenty-four hours ago, and the kidnapper easily could have been back to the scene and sorted it since then.”

The others didn’t have the chance to reply as we all turned at the sound of approaching footsteps. I looked behind me and saw the redhead returning with a guy who barely looked older than eighteen. He had short greasy hair that was stuck to his scalp, and spotty skin. As he stepped in front of us, I held back a grimace when I smelt the unmistakable stench of strong body odour. I could tell, regardless of his age, that he must have been the manager. He was the only one not dressed as though they were about to go out on safari.

Although the guy physically looked like a teenager, he dressed like a middle-aged man. He was wearing a crisp, ironed white shirt, brown trousers, and a matching colored tie. His shoes were black and had such a shine to them I was surprised he wasn’t slipping across the floor.

“You wanted to speak to me?” the man said, his tone surprisingly authoritative. “I’m Stanley, I run this place.”

I took in his powerful stance and felt further surprised.

I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover, I thought to myself.

“Aye, that we did,” I said passively as I took a step closer toward him. “I’m DCI Sean Ellis. My team and I are here to talk about Selena.”

The man went red in the face at the mention of her name. He waved his hand in the air and gestured for us to follow him. As he walked, he turned his head toward the girl behind the reception.

“I’ll just be at the back if you need anything, Helen,” he said curtly.

Helen, who was watching us all with interest, blushed slightly and nodded before looking at some paperwork on her desk as though it was suddenly incredibly interesting.

Stanley pushed open a large door to the right of the reception room and held it open for us all. We all stepped through the door then awkwardly stood there while we waited for Stanley to lead the way. He hastily kept moving, and we followed him to the third door on the right. He unlocked it with a key he pulled out of a pocket from the front of his white shirt, then gestured for us all to go inside. It was a small office that barely had enough room for the five of us to stand. Stanley awkwardly pushed past us all to stand behind his desk with folded arms and a serious expression.

“What’s happened to Selena?” he asked with concern.

“We don’t know quite yet,” I said honestly. “It seems likely she was taken on her way to work yesterday, so we’re trying to find out as much information as possible.”

“Okay, so how can I help?” Stanley asked confidently as he stared between us all, his eyes aflame with determination.

Either you’re a bit in love with Selena or you’re one hell of a caring manager, I thought to myself curiously.

“How has Selena been recently?” Sarah asked, moving slightly away from us all to get a bit of air and space. “Any different to usual?”

Stanley shook his head. “No, she’s always been a good worker, and that hasn’t changed.”

“Have there been any changes recently?” I asked bluntly as I placed my hands on his desk. “Had you seen or had Selena mentioned any change out of the ordinary?”

Stanley rubbed his greasy face. “The only thing would be that guy who came here a couple of days ago,” he said slowly.

I clenched my fingers on his desk keenly. “What guy?” I asked abruptly.

“We always get the same people coming here, what with being in a small village and all, so when someone new comes in let's just say they stick out like a sore thumb,” he said seriously. “What was even stranger was that he left just as quickly.”

“Did he speak to Selena at all?” Rebecca asked with interest.

“A bit,” Stanley said thoughtfully as he leaned against his chair. “He started to leave, and I saw Selena approach him. I don’t know what they said to one another, but the man brushed her off quickly and got out of here.”

“Did it look like they knew one another?” I asked, hoping my tone was casual and not filled with hope.

“I couldn’t tell to be honest, the interaction happened so quickly,” he said sorrowfully, staring into the distance as though blaming himself for not doing more. “I could be wrong, but Selena didn’t look like she knew the guy. It looked more like she was doing her duty and seeing if he needed help.”

“Do you have any CCTV footage here so we can see this interaction?” Nadia asked hopefully as she squeezed her hands together.

Stanley bit his lip as he shook his head. “We do, but that’s only inside of the building and at the back,” he said in annoyance. “I’ve requested a camera for the front for ages, but no one has hurried to set one up for me.”

I felt disappointed, but I tried to keep faith.

“What did this man look like?” I asked. “Can you describe him?”

“Young, likely around my age or a bit older,” Stanley started, listing off traits as though he were reading them from a list. “Brunette, short hair, I think his eyes were light, but I wasn’t close enough to see. He was dressed casually, almost like exercise clothes.” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, I can’t remember anything else.”

I waved my hand in the air casually. “Don’t apologise,” I said kindly. “You’ve been a great help.”

“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked as he moved away from his desk.

I shook my head. “That should be all, ta,” I said bluntly.

“Shall I see you all out?” he offered politely.

I quickly held out my hand to stop him. “Ta, but that shouldn’t be necessary. We can see ourselves out.”

We walked leisurely out of Stanley’s office, through the reception hall, and away from Yorkshire Outdoors. Once we were a safe distance away from the building, I turned to the three women hopefully.

“Well?” I said eagerly, my keen face slowly dropping when I saw they didn’t look as excited as I did.

“That was somewhat helpful, but not completely,” Sarah said with disappointment. “Without CCTV it’s hard to figure out who this guy could be.”

I smirked as I looked between them all. Sarah and Nadia looked confused, Rebecca looked annoyed.

“What’s got you looking like a Cheshire cat?” she asked bluntly as she scowled.

“I think I know who that guy was,” I said keenly, moving up and down on the balls of my feet.

The three looked at one another in confusion.

“How?” Nadia asked in a slow, cautious tone. “Stanley didn’t exactly give much away or say anything overly descriptive.”

“Actually, I think he described the guy really well,” I said smugly.

Rebecca huffed and crossed her arms. “Well? Spit it out then!” she exclaimed in annoyance.

“Think about it!” I said impatiently as I looked between them all. “Brunette, exercise clothes.” I hesitated. “Who have we seen who looks like that?”

Rebecca and Nadia looked confused, but Sarah opened her mouth and inhaled dramatically.

“Alvin!” she exclaimed loudly.

I nodded approvingly. “That’s right!” I said boldly. “Alvin. Our apparent saviour.”

Rebecca and Nadia opened their eyes wide in shock.

“It can’t be, can it?” Nadia asked cautiously as she rubbed her chin.

“I dunno, but I think we need to find out,” I said with authority.

Alvin had tried to play himself off as the hero, but now it looked like all along he’d been the villain.

27

Selena opened her drowsy, groggy eyes and gazed around the room in confusion. For a moment she panicked, thinking she’d gone blind. She couldn’t see a damn thing, but as she continuously blinked, she realised her vision was slowly coming back. She just needed to calm her breathing before she hyperventilated. Her memory had gone hazy, and she was struggling to remember what had happened or how she had got wherever the hell she was now.

She remembered kissing Warren goodbye, like she did every day when she left home, and making her way to work, but then everything went black. She thought she could remember a force grabbing her, but it was hard to tell. Selena’s head felt dizzy, but as she moved her hand to touch her forehead, she suddenly felt a restriction. Slowly the blurriness left her eyes, and she was able to see. What she saw made her feel like she was suddenly the final girl in a horror film.

Her hands had been chained to the wall, and her feet had been chained to the wooden floor. She looked around in a panic, desperately trying to figure out where the hell she was. It was clear she was in some kind of cabin, but apart from that it was impossible to tell.

What should she do? Should she scream as loudly as her lungs would allow and beg for help? Or would that risk upsetting whoever the hell had done this to her? Her thoughts went wild over who could have done this. As far as she was aware, she was well liked and hadn’t done anything that could have hurt or annoyed someone.

Clearly not or you wouldn’t be here! she thought to herself in an annoyed panic.

She’d tried to live a good life. She was always fair to people, consistently went above and beyond at work, and never shied away from helping her friends and family, and yet somehow she still ended up locked away somewhere.

She started pulling her arms, trying with all of her strength to break her chains, but it was no use. The only thing her tugs were achieving was a shooting pain through her arms and a sharp stinging around her wrists as the chains tightened. For a few minutes she continued in vain, eventually stopping as she held back the tears that longed to escape her.

Okay, just try to relax and think for a second! Selena thought desperately. You’ll get nowhere if you don’t keep calm.

She took a slow, deep breath then closed her eyes. With her eyes closed, she opened up her other senses and tried to figure out where she was. There was a smell of dampness in the air, possibly of mould too, but the scent wasn’t overly pungent. She turned her head slightly and listened to an odd tinkling noise. For a moment she kept still and listened to it. After a while, she was convinced the sound was running water.

Was she perhaps near a lake or some sort of stream? Did the smell mean she was potentially near some form of drain or sewage pipes? It was impossible to tell, but any of those places were far away from her home and likely where no one could find her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening in front of her. She turned around, startled, and saw a man standing there holding a full plastic bag. For a moment she took the guy in and tried to figure out where she’d seen him before. He had short brunette hair that was pushed out of his face, blue eyes, and he was dressed in a tracksuit. The tracksuit was navy and had an emblem on it which she didn’t recognise. The man looked at her with a smile, and she suddenly remembered why he looked so familiar.

She’d seen the man less than a couple of days ago at her work. She’d tried to speak to him, but he’d made excuses and ran away quickly.

Is that why he’d been there that day? Was he out hunting for victims?

Clearly he’d found one.

“Glad to see you’re finally awake, Alannah!” he said with a slight laugh. “I got us some grub. You must be starved.”

Alannah? Selena thought to herself curiously. Who is that?

Selena didn’t dare to speak. Instead, she continued looking at the man and tried to figure him out. The man pulled out a ready meal from Boots and started to open it. He’d gotten her some chicken and stuffing sandwiches and some cheese and onion crisps.

He saw her looking at the food and beamed. “See? I told you I’d never forget your favourites!”

He grabbed a key from a zip pocket on his tracksuit bottoms and unchained one of her hands. He continued to smile, but the look in his eyes was one of warning, so she didn’t dare to try to attack him. The man looked overjoyed she didn’t move, and he placed one of the sandwiches in her now free hand.

“Eat, Alannah!” he said with a wide smile. “I know what you’re like when you’re hungry.”

Selena felt terrified as she looked at the man. She’d seen him open the food in front of her, so she knew it couldn’t have been poisoned, but why was he talking to her so familiarly? Who was this Alannah and why was he convinced that she was her? It made no sense.

The man started to eat some sandwiches himself, and in her hunger she slowly started to chew hers. She didn’t know how long she’d been out cold for, but the sandwich tasted amazing, and she devoured it like she hadn’t eaten in days.

The man looked at her and laughed. “Christ, Al!” he said with a dry chuckle. “You still eat like a woman possessed I see.”

Selena kept quiet. The man seemed positive and kept joking and laughing, but somehow this terrified her more. Was he some psycho who could flip quicker than a light switch? He couldn’t be sane, otherwise she wouldn’t be here, being referred to by the wrong name.

The man sighed and looked at her with pity. He put down one of his sandwiches, wiped the crumbs on his trousers, then addressed her.

“I’m sorry you’re chained up, sis, but I promise it’s only temporary,” he said in a glum tone. “I just need you to have a bit of time to remember how things were, you know? I just can’t risk losing you again.”

Again, she kept quiet, but her silence didn’t seem to bother the man. He simply continued talking.

“We’ll get to know one another again, then when I know I can trust you, we can go swimming.” The man’s eyes lit up at the thought. “Remember how we always did that as kids. Didn’t we, Al?”

Selena didn’t know what to do, so she continued eating her food and watching him.

For around half an hour the man spoke to her—at her would have been more appropriate—telling her about things they’d apparently done together when they were younger. Things she knew nothing about. Random trips to Gormire Lake, adventures at different zoos, long walks in the woodlands. They all sounded like they could have been lovely memories, but it wasn’t her childhood he was describing. The more he spoke, the more frightened Selena grew. The man was clearly deranged, and she didn’t know what he was capable of. He had painted an entire fake life for them in his head, so what would he do when she made that life crash down around him?

Nothing good.

The man suddenly rose to his feet, and Selena stiffened at the sight of him moving, fear clutching her heart in its vice-like grip. He approached her and she held her breath in terror, but luckily all he did was grab her hand and chain it up again.

“Sorry about this, sis,” he said apologetically as he stroked her hand. “But this will all be over soon. I promise.”

She didn’t say a word in response. She hadn’t said a word since he’d entered the room out of fear over how he’d react.

For a moment he simply stared at her with a warm, happy smile.

“I’m so glad you’re back, Alannah,” he said softly. “I really missed you, you know.” He looked at his watch, grumbled, then looked back at her. “I’m going to have to go for a bit, sis, but I swear I’ll be as quick as possible. We’ve got so much time to catch up on and I don’t want to waste a second!”

He gave her a manic grin before grabbing his bag and exiting the room.

She watched the man leave. She couldn’t help what happened next.

She burst into agitated, terrified tears.

Selena didn’t even try to control them, she just let them flow freely and thought about how hopeless her situation was. She was likely in the middle of nowhere where no one would find her, and by the time they did, it would probably be too late. She’d either be dead or—worse to her—an empty shell of her former shelf. She wanted to be brave, but she’d always been a realist, and that part of her was screaming that she was soon about to die.

She looked down at her stomach and cried even more.

That morning when she left for work had been the best morning of her life, and she couldn’t believe how terribly that beautiful day had ended. Selena had been feeling nauseous at work the past week or two, so like any woman with those symptoms, she decided to take a pregnancy test. She was over the moon when it came back positive.

She’d been so excited to finish work, get home, and tell Warren the glorious news, and now it looked like she would die without getting the chance to tell him.

She’d been so close to having everything she’d ever wanted. The perfect man, a gorgeous baby to hold, spoil, and love, and now the fairytale life she’d desired since childhood was going to die along with her.

The thought was horrible and all-consuming, and she couldn’t get it out of her head. She didn’t want to give up hope, she wanted to believe there was a chance her and her baby would make it out of this alive, but as she tugged weakly at her chains, she knew there was no one out there to save them.

All she could do was hope her death would be quick and painless.

28

We all reached our cars, and I was determined to see Alvin immediately. I was ready to jump in Nadia’s car and charge straight to his address, but I hesitated when I saw the look on Sarah’s face. She had a quick catch up chat with Jade, then she turned to me.

“PC Proctor spoke to several people,” Sarah said in a confident, loud tone as she addressed us all. “All knew Selena, but none saw her on the day she was taken. One man did tell Proctor that they saw a car they didn’t recognise driving through the village the other day, but all he could say was that it was blue, and it was a dark-haired man driving it.” She hesitated as she shuffled her foot. “A new car in the area could be seen as suspicious, but it could also be nothing.”

“It must have been Alvin,” I said, looking around the team stubbornly.

“Maybe,” Rebecca said cautiously, keeping her face forward to purposely avoid looking in my direction.

I turned to her hastily. “What do you mean maybe?” I asked in shock. “It has to be him!”

“Yeah, because he’s the only man in existence with dark hair who exercises,” Rebecca said sarcastically, turning to face me with a pout on her lips and a serious look in her dark eyes. “I didn’t want to say anything before, but I don’t think we can jump to any conclusions simply because the guy likes to go for a run.”

I scoffed. “Come on, Rebecca!” I exclaimed passionately as I inched closer toward her. “It’s got to be him! He was exactly where Mia’s body was, and now it sounds like he was loitering around Yorkshire Outdoors to see Selena!”

“Potentially, yes, but we have no proof, Sean,” Rebecca said snappishly.

I rubbed my face and turned away from her in frustration, knowing she was right. I wanted to speak to Alvin, but if we weren’t careful, we could risk the entire investigation if we charged into his home and questioned him without any evidence of his wrongdoing.

I turned back to the team with an annoyed sigh. “Alright, maybe you’ve got a point,” I said begrudgingly. “So what should we do?”

There was silence for a minute or two, but Nadia soon broke it.

“It’s not connected to Alvin, but we do still need to get back to the station and look through the database to identify any other missing women,” Nadia said thoughtfully as she pushed some of her dark hair under her black hijab.

“Aye, that’s true,” I said agreeably as I scratched my chin. “God only knows how other women could be part of his sick game. Maybe we should get back to the station and do that while we try to figure out a plan.”

Rebecca and Nadia nodded. I turned to Sarah and saw her staring thoughtfully into the distance.

“DC Carter?” I asked cautiously, tilting my head to the side to look at her.

Sarah turned to look at me. “Sorry, sir, I was just thinking,” she said slowly as she tapped the fingers of her right hand against her thigh. “While you three look into the missing women, I could try to contact Alvin and see if he can answer a few more questions about Mia. I could casually bring into conversation the new missing girl, just to see how he reacts.”

I nodded approvingly. “Aye, that’s not a bad shot,” I said with pride. “If he seems to want to give anything away contact me immediately though, alright? I don’t want to miss out on any of the fun.”

Sarah chortled lightly. “Of course, sir.”

I gave her a smug smile before turning back toward Nadia and Rebecca. “Are you both ready?”

The two confirmed they were, so we made our way toward Rebecca’s car and got in. As we travelled, there was silence as we were all consumed by our own thoughts. My thoughts were wild and kept jumping from Mia, to Selena, to Faye, to Alvin.

Something about Alvin that day had seemed strange to me, and yet I’d brushed it off as nothing. If my gut had taught me anything over the years, it was to always listen to it. It very rarely steered me wrong.

The drove moved at what felt like a snail’s pace—which was saying something as Rebecca drove like she was in the Fast & Furious films—but eventually we finally made it back. Together, the three of us walked eagerly up toward our department and greeted a bored-looking Lylah and Elijah. Elijah’s face dropped in embarrassment the moment he realised we’d seen him, so he eagerly got to his feet and approached us.

“All my reports are finished, sir!” he said happily as he stood to attention.

“Excellent,” I said briskly as I took off my leather jacket.

“And we also looked into the social media accounts of both Selena and Warren,” he continued. “Unfortunately, that didn’t come up with much. It just showed how loved up they are, if anything.”

I felt an oddly emotional tug at my heart at those words. From meeting Warren it was clear he was head over heels in love with Selena, and I knew I’d stop at nothing to find her and reunite them both.

“Unfortunate that it came up with nothing, but good work nonetheless!” I said hastily as I threw my jacket onto the coat rack. “Us lot, however, had a rather successful time, but I have no time for questions!” I added hastily as Elijah opened his mouth keenly. “We need to work now on a task.”

Lylah moved over toward us with bright, excited eyes. “Sure thing, sir! What is it?” she asked as she jumped up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Selena was a dead ringer for Mia, so we are working under the impression that Mia’s killer is targeting women of a certain age and appearance,” I said with speed as I gestured for Elijah and Lylah to make their way to their desks. “All of us need to look in the database and search for any missing women who demonstrate any similarity to the two women. Who knows, this creep might have more than one woman he’s trying to hide right now.”

I snapped my fingers suddenly and turned to Elijah. “Smith!”

He turned to me curiously. “Sir?”

“Scratch what I just said,” I said with authority as I walked toward him. “We will all look into missing women, I want you to look into Alvin Bayron.”

“The guy who found Mia?” Elijah asked, clearly confused as he swivelled his chair around to face me.

“Aye, the very same,” I said with a nasty grin. “I have reason to believe he’s not the helpful bystander he’s made himself out to be.”

Elijah’s mouth gaped open slightly in shock, but he quickly recovered and nodded. “Sure thing, sir!”

I tapped his shoulder in a rough, appreciative way then made my way to my office. After watching the door shut loudly behind me, I made my way toward my desk and climbed into my chair. I sank into it with an appreciative sigh, then turned on my desktop. As I waited for it to load, I impatiently ran my fingers along my desk. Several long, annoying minutes passed before my computer buzzed to life and allowed me to log in.

“Finally,” I muttered under my breath as I got to work.

As soon as I started looking into missing women, my stomach dropped when I saw the database declared that hundreds were missing.

These poor women, I thought to myself solemnly. I dread to think what small percentage of them actually make it back home.

The task ahead of me was big, so I knew I had to do all I could to narrow down the search. I started to put filters into my searches, but even with those in place numerous missing women still kept popping up on my screen. After twenty minutes of looking, my eyes were feeling sore from the speed they were zooming through photos on the screen. I was suddenly allowed a moment to pull them away by the work phone ringing loudly. I stared at it for a second on my desk, then mumbled irritably under my breath.

This distraction better be something important! I thought with aggravation.

I picked up the phone and roughly pulled it toward my ear. “DCI Sean Ellis speaking,” I said in a gruff tone which I hoped told the caller that I was busy.

“Hello again, sir, it’s DC Carter,” Sarah said softly.

I almost fell out of my seat in my surprise at hearing from her so quickly. “Hello, Carter,” I said cautiously. “What can I do for you? Don’t tell me Alvin has confessed?”

“Not quite, sir,” Sarah said in a slow, contemplative tone. “That’s actually why I’m calling you.”

“Oh?” I pressed curiously.

“Basically, I’ve tried on several occasions to call him since I left you, but he’s ignoring my calls and voicemails,” she said with worry. “I even tried to go to his address, but the house was empty. Looks as though it’s been empty for a while.”

Don’t tell me the sick bastard has taken Selena and done a run for it? I thought with cold dread.

“Don’t worry, Carter,” I said smoothly as I pushed myself out of my chair. “I’ll make my way back to you now.”

“Thanks, DCI Ellis,” she said appreciatively. “I’m in Great Thirkleby, so I’ll meet you there.”

I agreed, hung up the phone, then leisurely exited my office. I was annoyed that I hadn't finished my search, and that it felt like I’d barely been back at the station for five minutes, but my gut was reacting wildly. Alvin was ignoring Sarah, and I knew I had to help her find him quickly. I had only just stepped my toe into the main area of our department when I stopped myself from crashing into Elijah, who was moving speedily around the corner toward me.

“Christ, Smith!” I said in shock as I steadied myself. “What’s your hurry, lad?”

Elijah grinned sheepishly but gestured for me to follow him. “Sorry, sir! But I had to see you right away,” he said imperatively as he power walked back to his desk.

From his urgency I knew he must have found something important, so I hastened my steps to reach his desk. As I approached it, Elijah looked around the room.

“Everyone, gather round quickly!” he said, exuding excitement.

Quick as a flash, the three women rose from their desks and stepped closer to Elijah and me.

“What is it?” Nadia asked curiously as she put her hands on her hips.

“It better be important,” Rebecca said, her tone oozing a bit of warning as she crossed her arms hurriedly.

“It is, believe me!” Elijah said keenly, his arms moving madly in the air.

“Get on with it then, lad!” I said impatiently.

“You asked me to look into Alvin Bayron, right?” Elijah said with an excited grin.

“Aye, I remember,” I said sarcastically. “I’m older than you but not that old.”

Elijah’s cheeks flushed pink, but he quickly recovered from his embarrassment. “Anyway, when I looked into his history, I found something really interesting.” He hesitated for dramatic effect, but after receiving a stern glare from both me and Rebecca, he continued. “Apparently a few years ago he had a sister who died.”

He continued to look excited, but the rest of us glanced at one another with confused faces.

“And that is cause for celebration, is it?” Rebecca asked bluntly. “I’m all for being insensitive, I’m practically the queen of it, but even that would be a step too far, even for my humour.”

Elijah rubbed his hands together and continued to smile. “Obviously it’s awful that she’s died, but guess how she died!”

We all kept quiet, so he continued.

“From drowning!” he said with gusto.

I raised my thick eyebrows in surprise. “So she died the same way as Mia?”

“Not just in the same way, sir, but in the same place too!” Elijah countered.

The team all looked at one another in shock. I’d started to feel certain of Alvin’s guilt, but now there were too many similarities and coincidences to ignore. Alvin was reenacting his sister’s death, and I had to know why and stop him before more women died.

“Do you have a photo of his sister?” I asked cautiously.

“I sure do!” Elijah said with a flourish as he turned back to his screen and clicked on a link to open it. Once the image of the girl came onto the screen, the entire team moved closer to look at it.

The young woman, Alannah, looked identical to both Mia and Selena.

Wow, I thought to myself in horror. He really is recreating his sister’s death. Even going so far as matching their appearance.

“So Alvin’s been taking women that look like his dead sister?” Lylah asked as she shook her head in confusion. “Talk about creepy!”

“It’s odd, aye,” I said in agreement. “But grief can do terrible things to a person.” I stood up tall and stepped away from Elijah, my eyes still on the team. “I just had DC Carter call me. She’s been unable to get a hold of Alvin, and I think now we know why.”

“He’s held up somewhere with Selena!” Nadia said as she pulled her hand to her mouth in horror, her dark eyes gleaming with concern.

“Aye, and we have to find them both before it’s too late!” I said with urgency. I turned to Rebecca. “Ready to roll?”

Rebecca nodded, her dark eyes swimming with fortitude. “You know it!”

29

As soon as Rebecca set off, I knew I had to quickly ring Sarah with an update. She was near Alvin and had no idea how dangerous he could be. I quickly hit her contact details and pulled my phone toward my ear. I was impressed by how quickly she answered.

“Everything okay, sir?” she asked with concern, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Carter, are you still near Alvin’s address?” I asked hurriedly as I gripped my knee.

“Yes, sir, but I’m a safe distance away, so I won’t spook him if he returns!” she said with pride, her tone still deadly quiet.

“Good, keep it that way,” I said bluntly. “DC Smith just looked into Alvin, and it turns out several years ago his sister died from drowning at Gormire Lake!”

“Bloody Hell!” Sarah exclaimed in shock, her voice slightly louder which caused her to hesitate nervously for a moment.

“Aye, and it gets worse,” I said quickly as I watched Rebecca’s speedy driving. “We looked at photos of her and it turns out she looks just like Mia and Selena!”

“He must be our guy then!” Sarah said keenly. “There’s far too many connections here to ignore.”

“Aye, I agree, but he could be dangerous, so keep hidden and wait for us to get there,” I said seriously. “I mean it, Carter. Don’t rush in without support and try to be a hero.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” she promised in a sincere tone. “We started this together and we’ll take him down together.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said fiercely as I clenched my fist. “I’ve got my phone on me, so if he turns up let me know.”

“Will do, sir!” she said in an excited but still quiet tone.

I hung up the phone, suddenly noticing Rebecca had turned to me sheepishly.

“I know I’m driving like the clappers here, but where exactly am I going?” she asked, her eyes now fixed back on the road.

“Shit, sorry, Rebecca!” I said apologetically. “DC Carter said Alvin lives in Great Thirkleby, so make your way in that direction and I’ll find Alvin’s exact address.”

Rebecca nodded thoughtfully. “Ah, yes, I remember him mentioning it now when we interviewed him,” she said curtly, her face dropping. “If only we knew then who we were dealing with… maybe Selena never would have been taken.”

“We can’t think like that, Rebecca,” I said sharply. “We now know and that’s all that matters!”

“Let’s just hope it’s not too late,” she said glumly.

I found Alvin’s address and typed it into Rebecca’s satnav. As she drove, I continuously either flexed my fingers or tapped my legs for something to do. I was filled with anxious energy, and it was practically pouring out of me. Every few seconds I turned my phone over to see if Sarah had texted me, but each time I saw a blank screen, I huffed and flipped my phone back over.

“You know what they say, a watched pot never boils,” Rebecca said sarcastically.

I turned to her with a furrowed brow. “How can you joke when everything is so intense?”

“Call it a gift,” she said with a casual shrug.

I snorted and shook my head. While I couldn’t find it in me to laugh, I was glad I’d chosen Rebecca to come with me to confront Alvin. Not only was she the most qualified member of the team after me, but she had the ability to make everything seem a bit better too. As I watched her drive, it was one of the many moments in our career that I looked at her and felt happy that we’d managed to overcome our rocky start and become close friends.

After some silence, Rebecca spoke again, only this time her tone was completely serious.

“Are you thinking he’s got Selena locked in his house?” she asked with concern as she swept her hair out of her face.

I shrugged. “It’s impossible to tell. I hope so, though. Then we can get this all over and done with.”

Rebecca gave me an awkward look. “Do you think she’s still alive?” she asked nervously. “Mia lasted twenty-four hours, right? He’s already had Selena for that long.”

I sighed and rubbed my hair. “We don’t know the circumstances over what happened with Mia,” I said thoughtfully. “It’s awful that she’s dead, but we just have to hope she did something that made Alvin flip on her. Hopefully Selena won’t make the same mistake.”

Rebecca nodded boldly, her foot pressing down a bit more firmly on the accelerator as she did so.

I felt my phone buzz, so I grabbed it hastily. I saw a quick text from Sarah informing us Alvin had arrived back home.

“Alvin is home,” I said hurriedly as I grabbed her arm. “Let’s hope we make it there before he leaves.”

Rebecca glanced at the satnav. “Just ten more minutes, Sean,” she said hopefully as she continued to drive like an F1 driver.

I grunted and kept my eyes straight ahead. All of my anxious energy had evaporated and now all I could do was sit and watch the road stiffly in my seat. It felt like the past several days had all been leading to this moment, and as we approached Alvin’s address, I clenched my fist harshly and thought about the women he had wronged.

Women who could have been my own daughter.

The thought filled me with fury, but that anger spurred me on and gave me a sharp focus as we approached a sign for Great Thirkelby. Oddly enough, the sign for the place had been attached to the end of a cut down tree. It was unique, but oddly effective and had a nice, picturesque look to it. Although my focus was on Alvin, I glanced around the village to get a feel of the place.

The village had an older look to it, mostly due to the various thatched cottages I noticed as we drove through. It was just as quaint as the other villages in the area, only this one seemed to be bigger and had more houses. The village was much more open and lit up than either Ampleforth or Felixkirk had been, so I could see why Alvin had avoided trying to take anyone here.

Plus elsewhere he’d be unknown and therefore not easy to identify, I thought to myself with disgust as I gritted my teeth.

“Almost there,” Rebecca said, keeping her eyes on the road.

She was right as, no sooner had she spoken, she took a turn and approached a street which featured a row of houses. Unlike the ones in the main part of the village, these weren’t cottages and looked slightly more modern. The houses weren’t in perfect condition, but they were far from Connor’s level. They all had red-tiled roofs, pale red bricks, and each had a white front door. The majority of the houses looked identical, only each one alternated the side of the house where the front door was situated. Rebecca cleverly kept driving, then parked in an area a few doors down from Alvin’s address in order to not draw attention to ourselves.

We got out of the car slowly and quietly, glancing at one another with serious, focused expressions as we made our way toward Alvin’s house.

As we drew closer to Alvin’s, I spotted Sarah lurking in some nearby bushes and gestured with my hand for her to join us. Sarah moved from her hiding place like she was auditioning for a James Bond movie, moving subtly and swiftly. She kept her body close to the ground as though she feared being spotted or attacked at any moment. If the situation we were in wasn’t so serious, I’d have laughed at her behaviour. Once she was with us, she gave a curt nod of her head.

“Glad to have you both here,” she said in a quiet, cautious tone as she glanced over her shoulder and toward Alvin’s house.

I noticed a light on in one of the windows and stared at it for a second before turning back to Sarah. “I take it he’s still inside?” I asked seriously.

“Yes, sir,” Sarah said as she gestured toward the house. “I’ve kept in position while waiting for you and I haven’t seen him try to leave.”

“If you’ve kept in position at the front he could have left through the back?” Rebecca asked with concern as she rubbed her neck.

Sarah shook her head. “He’s definitely still inside, ma’am,” she said confidently as she pointed back to the house. “I’ve kept a close eye on it, and I’ve seen regular movement.”

“He did say he lived with a partner though,” I said thoughtfully as I placed my hands in my jacket’s pockets.

“She didn’t turn up with him,” Sarah said with consideration as she rubbed her face. “I’m pretty certain she’s not there.”

There was always the potential he’d lied about the girlfriend to make himself look less suspicious, but there was only one way to find that out.

“Look, the day is getting away from us, so I suggest we go in there together and feel him out a bit,” I said in an authoritative tone as I pulled my hands out of my pockets and held them together. “We have our theories, but Rebecca wasn’t wrong before when she said we don’t have evidence. I suggest we follow DC Carter’s advice and ask him questions about Mia first, then we will go from there.” I glanced at Rebecca and Sarah. “Are we all in agreement?”

“Yes,” the two said in unison.

I gave them both a confident smile then together we approached Alvin’s house. As we assertively stepped toward the house, I instantly felt suspicious as my eyes moved toward the one lit up window. Although the last light of day was still piercing through the windows, I was curious as to why Alvin was keeping the majority of his house in darkness.

Likely because he’s got Selena locked away in there somewhere, I thought to myself darkly.

It wasn’t until we got closer to his house that I noticed his car. A blue car.

I poked Rebecca’s arm, then jerked my head toward it. Rebecca must have looked at it, as she suddenly gave my wrist an excited squeeze. From that action I could tell she, like me, was thinking of what the man who Jade had spoken to had said about the stranger driving through Felixkirk in a car of that color.

We all reached the front of Alvin’s house, and I knocked loudly on his white door. I then waited impatiently between Rebecca and Sarah for him to answer. My level of suspicion only rose when it took him several minutes to open the door. When he finally did, he peered sheepishly around the doorway as though worried about who could be there.

“Oh, hello again,” he said in surprise.

I noticed he made no effort to open the door any wider, so I stepped closer toward it.

“We have a few more questions for you, lad,” I said casually. “Can we come in?”

Alvin’s eyes darted speedily around him, almost as though he was looking for escape routes. To my surprise, he eventually sighed deeply and stepped aside.

“Come in,” he said in a low, almost defeated tone.

As I walked past him, my mind was running wild with thoughts and questions. Was he ready to give up? Did he know we were onto him? Or was there a possibility we’d gotten this completely wrong?

No. There were too many connections between him and the two kidnapped women for this to be yet another coincidence in the case.

Once the three of us were inside, I loitered awkwardly in the hallway while I waited for him to close the door behind us. As he did, I subtly darted my eyes around to see if I could spot any signs that Selena was here, but I couldn’t see any strong indications. He closed the door and walked past us, his face down as though he were keen to avoid our eye contact. We followed him through the open door to the right, the only room with a light on. I continued to glance about and kept my ears open for the sounds of Selena’s muffled screams, but there was nothing.

She either wasn’t here or she was locked somewhere soundproof.

As I approached the open doorway, I noticed he’d led us into his kitchen. The kitchen was medium size and had some outdated pink tiles along the floor. The cream worktops looked more modern and as though they’d recently been changed, but the kitchen had an odd, almost unfinished look to it. Some of the appliances were hanging off the walls dangerously and there was a rather sizable dent on the fridge. I wondered immediately if it was a sign of Alvin’s aggressive behaviour. To the far left of the room was a rectangular table with several brown stools in front of it. I gestured for the two women to take a seat, but I remained standing, my eyes glued to Alvin and taking in his nervous disposition.

He was a far cry from the man I’d met several days ago at Gormire Lake.

While he didn’t exactly exude confidence then, he now looked a mess. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, but Sarah quickly broke it.

“You’ve been a hard man to get a hold of, Alvin,” Sarah said, her voice cool as she sat down on the stool. “I’ve called you a few times today, left you a couple of voicemails, but you never got back to me.”

Alvin fidgeted with his hair, a bemused expression on his face. “Yeah, sorry about that, I’ve just been busy,” he said in an overly slow tone, his eyes still darting from us to the doorway, to the window. “I thought I’d answered all of your questions at the lake.”

“Aye, but we have a few more now,” I said seriously as I folded my arms and continued to stare at his nervous face.

“L-like what?” he asked anxiously.

I made a show of looking around the room and toward the door. “You said you lived with a girlfriend, is she not in?” I asked boldly.

Alvin scratched his ear with a grimace. “She’s staying with her parents for a few days,” he said glumly.

Either you kicked her out while you fulfilled your murderous fantasies, or she saw you for who you really are and got as far away from you as humanly possible.

“You said you didn’t recognise Mia, right?” I asked boldly.

“Right,” Alvin said, though I noticed his eyes didn’t quite meet my own.

“Are you sure about that?” I pressed, making sure my tone was free of any form of accusation.

Alvin rubbed his face, his eyes darting between us all. “What is this all about?”

The man was too anxious, so I knew we couldn’t keep trying to play it calmly with him. I hoped speaking about Mia would be a good way of gently easing into the conversation, but it clearly wasn’t working.

“We received some news that another woman has been taken,” I said, changing the topic. I kept looking at Alvin and noticed he didn’t look surprised by this news. “This one from a nearby village called Felixkirk.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said slowly, his voice genuinely sounding upset.

I rubbed my stubble and looked Alvin over. His sorrow sounded sincere, and yet he wasn’t giving me any indication that any of this was a shock to him. Was it possible he was taking these women but genuinely felt some remorse over it? It was hard to tell.

“Have you been to Felixkirk recently, Alvin?” Rebecca asked casually.

Alvin raised an eyebrow. “No, why would I have been?” he asked suspiciously.

Rebecca shrugged. “We were just hoping you might be able to aid our inquiries if you had been,” she said coolly.

Alvin nodded as he scratched at his elbow. “I really do wish I could help you,” he said quietly, his head gazing toward the ground.

I sighed and scratched the bridge of my nose. “See, the thing is, Alvin, I think you can help us,” I said bluntly, taking a step closer toward him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked defensively as he took a step away from me.

“That I think you know a hell of a lot more than you’re admitting to,” I said with authority as I crossed my arms and stood up straight and stern.

Alvin kept quiet, so I bit my lip in frustration before continuing.

“Do you always go running at Gormire Lake, Alvin?” I pressed loudly.

Alvin gave a noncommittal shrug. “It depends, I jog in a lot of places really,” he said cautiously.

I leaned my shoulder against the wall and crossed my legs as I stared down at him. “I’m surprised you chose Gormire Lake as a running point to be honest,” I said casually.

Alvin raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“That’s where your sister drowned, isn’t it?” I asked seriously as I tilted my head to the side.

The color quickly vanished from Alvin’s face. His eyes were on me, but he continued to step backwards until he accidentally smacked into the fridge. He then stopped and rustled his hair wildly.

“Alannah was her name, right?” I pressed, taking a couple of steps closer to Alvin.

I didn’t look back, but I heard the unmistakable noise of Sarah and Rebecca climbing off their stools and stepping into position behind me. Alvin looked between us all frantically and I could see the clear panic in his eyes.

“Just tell us where she is, Alvin,” Rebecca said in a firm voice as she stepped to my left. “Don’t make things worse for yourself.”

“Where who is?!” he asked, his voice breaking from the stress.

“The girl from Felixkirk. Selena,” I said, readying my stance in case he tried to run for it.

“I don’t know a Selena!” he said desperately as he gripped the back of his neck with both hands.

“Like you didn’t know Mia?” I asked coldly. Alvin kept muttering to himself frantically, so I took another step toward him.

“She looked remarkably like Alannah,” I said cautiously. “Mia, that is. And Selena.”

“Is that why you targeted them both, Alvin?” Sarah asked slowly as she stepped closer to my other side. “Did they bring back painful memories?”

Alvin lowered his head and shook it madly like he was a dog with something stuck in his ear. “No, this can’t be happening,” he muttered to himself loud enough for me to hear him.

“You need to start talking now, Alvin,” I said sternly as I stopped moving. “DI Tumber is right. Being honest with us is the only way to help yourself now.”

Alvin continued to shake his head and avoid looking at us.

“Why are all of your lights off, Alvin?” I asked fiercely as I glanced out of the room. “Is it because you have Selena locked away here somewhere?”

Alvin turned to me in horror. “No!” he exclaimed angrily. “Have a look around yourself if you don’t believe me!”

I turned to Rebecca, gave her a curt nod, and she left the room.

“My DI is going to look around your house now, Alvin,” I said coolly as I glared at him. “You better hope you aren’t lying to us, and that she’s still alive.”

Alvin kept quiet, his face looking toward the ground again.

For a few minutes I kept an eye on Alvin while Sarah stood protectively near the kitchen door. Rebecca soon returned and shook her head, her forehead wrinkled in aggravation.

“See, I told you she isn’t here!” Alvin said smugly, though his face soon dropped the moment he saw the anger on my own.

“Just because she's not in your house doesn’t mean you don’t have her, Alvin! Now do us all a favour and tell us where you’re keeping her?” I asked angrily as I clicked the fingers on my right hand.

He merely shook his head.

I sighed sadly. “Then you leave me with no choice. Alvin Bayron, I’m arresting you for the murder of Mia Murray and the kidnapping of Selena—”

“No!” Alvin roared over me, lifting his head up with a snap and stepping away until he was clinging to the fridge. “You’ve got this all wrong!”

Rebecca’s phone started to ring, and I half turned my head to look at her. She grabbed her phone, widened her eyes to tell me it was important, and answered it as she stepped out into the hallway. No sooner had she left that Sarah sprang into action and filled the space to stop Alvin from trying to charge past us.

“What have I got wrong?” I asked curiously.

“I never hurt those women!” he said desperately as he looked between Sarah and me with pleading eyes. “I swear!”

I scoffed. I kept my eyes on him as I pulled out my phone and found the article on his sister’s death.

“We have everything we need right here, Alvin,” I said bluntly as I waved my phone at him. “Your own sister drowned at the very lake that you killed Mia at, and both Mia and Selena could be clones of Alannah.” I pulled the phone back to me and started to read the article out loud. “Alannah Bayron, sixteen, was found dead at Gormire Lake. Her death has been described as a tragic accident and left Alvin Bayon, seventeen, and—”

I hesitated as I read the article in my head. I felt Sarah glance at me in confusion for stopping, but I turned to Alvin. I saw the dead, defeated look in his eyes and the horrible truth hit me quickly.

“Alvin, where is your brother?” I asked slowly.

Sarah gripped my arm and looked in shock, but I kept my focus on Alvin.

Alvin’s eyes teared up as he looked to the ground in shame. “Drew isn’t a bad guy, you have to believe me,” he said in a slow, guilty tone. “When Alannah died, it destroyed him. H-He hasn’t been the same since.”

Before I could speak, Rebecca returned to the room. “Sean, have you got a moment?” she asked in desperation. “I’ve just heard something important.”

I turned to her and shook my head. “I think I know what you’re going to say, and it can wait,” I said bluntly before turning back to Alvin. “I will ask you again, Alvin, where is Drew?”

I felt Rebecca nod with understanding beside me, and she turned her focus back to Alvin. I knew she must have just been told about Alvin’s brother, and now I had to figure out which brother was the guilty one.

“I honestly don’t know,” he said nervously as he rubbed at his elbow.

I continued to take in his nervousness and a wave of anger hit me. “You knew your brother killed Mia, didn’t you?”

Alvin kept his eyes on the ground, though from what I could see his features were etched with guilt. “Yes,” he said slowly.

Sarah’s mouth gaped open in shock and a vein of anger protruded out of Rebecca’s forehead.

“Tell us the truth and tell it to us now,” I said coldly as I hit my fist against the wall. “We are out of patience and running out of time!”

Alvin started to pace a few steps repeatedly in front of the fridge, his hands stuck to his hair as though they were glued there. After a few moments of this, he stopped moving and looked at me and the others with a vacant expression.

“The night Mia died, I got a phone call from Drew saying something bad had happened,” Alvin said in a slow, broken voice as he continued to move his eyes between the three of us. “But it wasn’t until I met him at the lake did I realise what he’d meant.” He hesitated as he gripped his hair tightly. “He told me he’d killed her… when I saw the blood on her body and in the water I thought he must have attacked her, but he said that had been an accident.”

“But holding her under the water wasn’t one,” Rebecca said coldly as she cuddled herself.

Alvin sighed. “No, that wasn’t,” he admitted begrudgingly as he looked at the floor. “He never wanted to kill her, I know that, but he lost his temper.”

“What makes you think he never intended on killing her?” I asked curiously.

“Drew wants Alannah back,” Alvin said matter-of-factly as he finally dropped his hands from his hair and crossed them over his chest. “That’s all he’s ever wanted. I don’t know for certain, but I think he must have seen Mia, and it pushed him to believe Alannah was back.”

On the plus side, it sounds like Selena easily could still be alive, but on the negative side this guy sounds like he’s got some serious mental health issues, I thought anxiously. He lost it with Mia and that resulted in her death. I can’t allow the same fate to befall Selena.

“Wait, so he thought Mia was his dead sister?” Rebecca asked in disbelief.

“Yes and no,” Alvin said slowly. “I don’t quite get it myself. When he showed me the body one moment he called her Alannah then the next Mia. I don’t even think he knows.”

The man sounded incredibly dangerous, and I knew the longer we were here the less likely it was that we’d be finding Selena alive.

“So you’re telling me that you knew who killed Mia, and you blatantly lied to our faces at the scene?” I said coldly as I stepped closer and towered over him.

Alvin, to his credit, looked me in the eye. His face looked pained. “He’s my brother, Inspector,” he said solemnly. “And the only sibling I have left. If it was your brother what would you have done?”

I felt Rebecca stiffen next to me and knew she feared my reaction. I gritted my teeth and glared at Alvin.

“My brother wouldn’t have hurt a fly!” I said in a quiet, venomous tone. “And if he had done what yours had done, I wouldn’t have been so selfish.” I hesitated as I moved my face closer to Alvin’s. “It would have broken my heart to do it, but I’d have told the police and made damned sure no one else was at risk of getting hurt.” I scoffed. “You tried to protect your brother, and all you’ve done is put another innocent woman’s life at risk!”

Alvin looked at me with wide, desperate eyes. “I swear I didn’t think he’d do anything like that again!” he said through sobs. “Mia was new to his village. I-I thought the shock of seeing someone with such a likeness to Alannah was what pushed him, but I didn’t think he’d go out of his way to try to find her again!”

So clearly Drew lives in Ampleforth, I thought to myself unhappily.

“And yet he did,” I said in a blunt, cold tone. “You’ve made everything worse by lying, so now you have to try to make everything right.” I hesitated and glared at him. “I will ask you this one more time and, if you refuse to answer, I will drag your arse down to the station and force an answer out of you!” I gave him a stern look. “Where is your brother?”

Alvin wiped the tears from his eyes and looked torn. He was silent for a few moments, but when I prepared myself to yell at him, he finally spoke. “My family owned a cabin not too far from the lake,” he said in a quiet, upset tone. “It’s been abandoned and empty ever since Alannah died, but when he showed me Mia’s body I suspected he was using it as his hideout.”

“You’d better take us to this cabin and hope that young girl hasn’t died because of your lack of judgement,” I said with a scowl.

To my surprise, Alvin nodded and looked almost keen. “Yes, please let me come!” he exclaimed desperately. “I know my brother, and I think if I’m there I can help calm him down.”

“Very well, but you best not get in our way!” I said in a voice filled with warning.

“I won’t, I swear,” he said earnestly as he placed his hand on his chest.

I grumbled unhappily, then turned toward Rebecca and Sarah.

“It’s probably best if we all travel together,” I said with authority as I grabbed Alvin’s arm and harshly pulled him forward. “Rebecca will drive and I’ll keep in the back with you, boy.”

“I’ll keep in the back too, sir,” Sarah said with confidence as she stepped forward. “We can both watch him then.”

I nodded, then gestured for us all to leave. As soon as Alvin had locked his house, I gestured for him to give me his hands.

“Wait, you’re going to cuff me?” he asked in horror.

“You have lied and hindered a murder investigation,” I said coldly as I pulled my cuffs off of my belt. “You’re lucky we aren’t dragging you straight to a cell.”

Alvin looked frightened, but had the sense not to argue with me. He held out his hands in front of him and allowed me to cuff them. Together we all walked to Rebecca’s car, and I kept my hand under Alvin’s elbow the entire time. There was a sense of tension in the air and I knew all of us, even Alvin, were worried about what condition we’d find Selena in. As I shoved Alvin in the back of Rebecca’s car, I just hoped and prayed that we’d be finding Selena alive.

I’d already had to tell one family that a young girl was brutally murdered. I didn’t think I could do that again.

30

As the man finished packing his bag, he was filled with optimism. He’d been negative and lonely, an empty shell of a man for so long and now that all seemed to be in the past. He was like a long, long night that had slowly transformed to day. He didn’t know what it was about Selena—Alannah—but he just knew he finally had his sister back after so many long, excruciating years without her by his side.

When they’d shared lunch together, she didn’t try to run away from him. She didn’t try to fight him off when he unchained her hand. No, she’d accepted everything because she knew what he was saying was right. She knew. They were brother and sister now, and that bond was more powerful than anything.

The man smiled to himself as he pulled his backpack on and returned to his car. He hadn’t been home long and knew he had to get back to the cabin quickly. Mia had been dead for a few days now, but that didn’t mean a heavy police presence still wouldn’t be around Ampleforth. He hadn’t seen any when he’d arrived, but he didn’t want to hang around and push his luck. He had a sister to be with, and that wouldn’t be possible if he were locked away in a prison cell.

As he got himself settled inside of his blue Ford, he couldn’t help but think about how Selena had listened to him during their lunch together. She was quiet the whole time he spoke, kindly taking everything in. She really listened to him, and he knew that could only be a sign of how great their future would be together.

As he drove back to the lake, he hit his knee in impatient frustration. He’d hated leaving Selena, but at least now he’d picked up enough supplies so he wouldn’t need to leave her again for a long time. The two could keep in the cabin together, really building up that trust. In time, he could unchain her, and they could do fun things together without the fear that she’d leave him. Even though swimming in the lake had ended disastrously last time, he was desperate to go back there with Alannah.

So much of their childhood had been spent swimming in Gormire Lake, and he was keener than anything to do that again. The man knew he had to be smart, though. His eagerness before had ended horrifically, and he couldn’t risk history repeating itself.

Not for a third time.

He reached the lake, ignored the main car park where everyone parked, and continued onwards. His family had once owned the cabin where Selena was, so he knew there was an area he could park away from prying eyes, closer to the cabin. While the cabin wasn’t a far walk from the lake, it wasn’t directly on it, so he had to avoid areas near the busier shoreline and lots to protect himself.

He parked up on the side of the hidden road and started the short walk from there to the cabin. Luckily, the walk was a relatively direct route, so he made it there in just over ten minutes. Once he saw the cabin, he had to stop himself from jumping up and down with excitement. The cabin was nothing more than old, black bits of wood attached together, but to him it meant so much more.

Alannah was there, waiting for him.

Once he stepped inside, the smile on his face remained, but his heart ached at the sight of his sister. She looked tired and weak, chained up like nothing more than a common criminal, but he’d had no choice but to bind her. Selena needed time to accept that she was Alannah now, and that she had a new life. That sort of thing wouldn’t happen overnight.

The new Alannah looked at him with wide, thoughtful eyes. The man couldn’t tell if her expression was curiosity or genuine fear, but he hoped it was the former. He approached her and stroked her hair. As he touched her, she flinched. It caused a pain in his chest, but he knew with time she’d grow to understand. She would know that everything he’d done had always been for her as much as it was for him.

“Sorry that took so long, Alannah,” the man said warmly as he kneeled down in front of her. “I was getting some provisions so we can stay out here for a long time.” He shrugged off his backpack and showed it to her with a grin. “We have enough food in here to last us at least a week, and I got us both some clothes, too. It’s a good thing I’d kept some of your old stuff, isn’t it, Al?”

To the man’s surprise, his sister sighed and looked at him. Her brown eyes looked small, but they shone with a fire he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“My name isn’t Alannah,” she said boldly. “My name is Selena.”

The man chuckled, causing Selena to purse her lips at him in shock.

“You were Selena, but not anymore,” the man said matter-of-factly, looking at her as though this information was obvious. “You’re now Alannah, and you’re my sister.”

“Who is Alannah?” Selena asked in a quiet, nervous tone. She tried to push herself away from the man, but the effort was pointless. “And where is she?”

The man sighed tiredly as he sat down in front of her. “I suppose if you’re going to be her, it’s only fair you know all about her,” he said with composure as he placed the bag on the floor.

He opened the bag, pulled out his wallet, and started fishing in it. Eventually he found an old photograph, which he held in front of her face. When Selena saw the girl, she gaped at her in surprise. Her forehead crinkled, and she looked nervous again.

“You can see the similarity, can’t you?” the man asked proudly.

“Y-yes,” Selena said anxiously as she tried once more to push herself slightly away from him. “But I can’t be someone just because I look like them.”

The man ignored her completely. He put the photo away, giving it one last smile before he closed the wallet, and continued speaking. “Alannah was my sister and my best friend,” he said wistfully. “I was her older brother, and it was my job to protect her, but I didn’t.” His lip twitched slightly, but he rubbed his face roughly and quickly recovered. “I’ve lived with that guilt for almost four years.”

He was quiet for a moment, hoping she would say something to comfort him. When she didn’t speak, he continued. “I’ve been miserable since then, thinking all hope was lost. Then the most amazing thing happened!” he paused for a moment, his face lighting up with joy. “I was walking home, and I saw her! I saw Alannah.” He laughed lightly. “I couldn’t believe it! For years I’d been without her, then suddenly I was given the opportunity to have her back! But I knew I had to be careful. I knew the girl could be my sister, but she didn’t know that, so I had to give her time to adjust to the idea.”

He got up from the floor and ran his hands over his face with a sad sigh. He turned to face Selena, his face now full of sorrow. “I didn’t give her the time she needed, and that was a horrible mistake. A mistake that cost both of us dearly.”

Selena raised her eyebrow in confusion. She ran her tongue over her dry lips, then spoke. “Do you mean m-me?” she asked in uncertainty.

The man gave her a small smile. “No, not you, sis,” he said lightly. “Another girl. Mia, was her name.” He hesitated as his face darkened. “I was convinced she was the new Alannah, but that wasn’t to be. I tried to move things too quickly with her and I scared her away.”

Selena started to look frightened, and she moved her hands close to her face in a protective stance. “W-where is Mia?” she asked in terror.

The man looked at her. His face was void of emotion and he didn’t speak. Selena clearly didn’t need him to say another word. His expression was enough. She screamed out in horror and started struggling against her bonds.

“Get away from me!” she exclaimed, trying with all of her might to pull her hands and legs out of their chains. “Just get away!”

The man put his hands up defensively. “I need you to calm down, Al, yeah? I really regret what I did, you’ve got to believe me! I never wanted to hurt her, but don’t you see?” he smiled widely. “That had to happen, Al! That girl’s death is tragic, but she had to die because she was an imposter! She wasn’t the real you, was she? Because I’m now looking at the real Alannah!”

Selena was shaking her head in dismay, her arms and legs still flaring manically to break away. “You’re a monster!” she exclaimed in fear. “A murderer!”

The man lost his composure. He smacked his fist against the wall Selena was chained to, which instantly stopped her movement. She fell to the ground, her eyes filled with terror and her body deadly still.

“Please don’t call me a monster,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.

He walked away from her, kicking the ground in frustration as he started pulling at his hair. “Why can’t you see that everything I’m doing is for you!? For us!”

Selena looked frightened, but she slowly calmed herself and spoke to him. “I’m sorry, okay?” she asked, her voice shaking with nerves. “I understand now.”

The man scoffed. “Yeah, right,” he said in disappointment as he harshly rubbed his face. “You’re keen to get away from me, just like Mia was.”

Selena gulped slightly at the sound of Mia’s name. “No, I swear!” she said pleadingly. “You said it yourself… I needed time to get used to the idea, right? Well, I’m understanding it now.”

The man moved and sat down in front of her, his eyes wide with hope. “Really, Al?” he asked keenly.

“Y-yes,” she said nervously as she nodded her head. “I-I’ll prove it to you.” She looked around anxiously. “If you unchain me, I won’t try to run. We can sit down together and eat something.”

The man looked keen at the idea, but he watched Selena with uncertainty as he rose to his feet and grabbed the chain around her wrist. “I’m trusting you here, Al, okay?” he asked, his eyes filled with warning. “Don’t try anything stupid. I don’t want to hurt you… I never wanted to hurt anyone, but I will hurt you if you try to leave me.”

“I-I won’t, I promise you!” the woman said, trembling uncontrollably.

The man’s eyes were glued to hers as he unlocked each of her chains. To his surprise and joy, the moment the last chain was off, she casually sat on the floor and gestured toward the bag for some food.

The man was hesitant and kept his eyes locked on hers, even as he unzipped the bag. He never dared to look away for more than a second, so the act of getting the food out of the bag and ready for them both was made longer and more difficult than it needed to be. Eventually, they both had their ready-made pasta pots in front of them and ate them. The pasta came with a wooden fork which, although unable to cause a lot of damage, could still hurt him if she decided to lash out.

Again, the man was left surprised when she didn’t once try to attack him. Instead, she slowly and cautiously ate her food while taking him in.

“You okay, Al?” he asked slowly.

“Yeah, I’m good, are you?” she asked nervously. Her tone was shaky but pleasant at the same time. The man’s heart grew warm with joy at the sound.

“Never better!” he said keenly as he rocked on the floor with energy. “Now that you’re back in my life, anything is possible.”

“I agree,” Selena said coolly, her eyes firm on his face.

The man noticed her movements were incredibly stiff and shaky, but he could tell she was trying. Mia had never wanted to try. At the first opportunity she got, she tried to escape him, but Selena could try to escape now if she wanted to, but she wasn’t.

“If you like, maybe we can go somewhere together once we’ve finished our food?” the man offered shyly.

“I’d like that,” Selena replied with a slight smile.

The man beamed at her. “Great!” he said keenly.

“So, where are we exactly?” Selena asked hopefully as she played with her food.

The man glared at Selena suspiciously, so she quickly spoke again.

“I-I just mean… are we near anything fun?” she asked quickly, her cheeks burning beetroot red.

The man relaxed slightly. “Oh, right!” he said with relief as he put down his empty pot of food and wiped his hands together. “We are near Gormire Lake. Have you ever been?”

The woman’s eyes lit up. She coughed, then spoke. “Yes, a couple of times,” she said cautiously. “It’s nice… from what I can remember of it.”

The man moved quickly in his excitement, causing Selena to move backward in fright. He quickly realised he’d scared her, so he moved backward, the big smile still lighting up his face.

“We can go there, if you want?” he asked excitedly. “We can go swimming, like we used to as kids!”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Selena said casually as she clutched her stomach protectively.

The man fought back the urge to literally jump for joy.

He was still filled with sorrow over Mia’s death, but now he was more certain than ever that she was just a way for him to practice before his true sister came along. Soon, he and Alannah would be swimming in the lake together. It would feel like no time had passed. They had so much catching up to do, and now the fun was really about to begin.

31

As we all sat in the car together, I pictured many possible scenarios in my head and hardly any of them were good. I had no idea what we were about to walk into, so I knew I had to make sure we were prepared for all eventualities.

“DC Carter,” I said, looking around Alvin to address her. “Call your station and see what PCs are available. Ask them to send as many as they can spare.”

“An excellent idea, sir,” Sarah said approvingly as she searched her coat pockets for her phone. “I’ll call them now.”

“Is that really necessary?” Alvin asked in shock. He turned to me, his eyes looking almost frightened. “We won’t need a lot of people! That’s just going to spook him!”

I shot him an angry look, which he cowered under like a frightened puppy.

“With all due respect, lad, your opinion is far from one I trust right now,” I said coldly as I fixed my piercing glare on him. “My loyalty is to my team and the girl, not to your brother, and I’ll do anything I can to keep those people safe.” I moved my face closer to his. “Even if that means bringing dozens of reinforcements with me.”

Alvin lowered his head solemnly. “I get that, Inspector, but he’s still my brother.”

“Aye, lad, and look where your loyalty got you,” I said sharply, turning my gaze away from him and clicking my tongue in revulsion. “We are rushing to find a girl who may or may not be dead because you hid the truth from us.” I shook my head irritably. “Pray she’s still alive… you don’t want that on your conscience.”

Alvin swore under his breath. “I get it! Okay?” he said angrily, shaking his cuffed hands. “I fucked up before, but I’m here now and I know my brother. If he sees a lot of people in uniform, he will panic. When he panics, he’s unpredictable! If you want to ensure he doesn’t react and hurt the girl, then keep them away.” He hesitated dramatically. “I’m saying this for the girl’s sake as much as for Drew’s!”

I looked at him and grumbled irritably. “I don’t trust you, but we’ll make sure the PCs keep a safe distance away,” I said unhappily. “But this is for Selena, not for your brother.” I added bitterly.

Alvin sighed and put his hands close to his chest. “Thank you, Inspector,” he said with relief.

“Now tell us where we should park and where the PCs should go,” I asked with authority. “And don’t even think of lying to me.”

Alvin looked hurt at the lack of trust, but scratched his head and spoke. “There are two main car parks to the lake, but Drew won’t have parked in either of them,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Aye, I gathered that, but where will his car be?” I asked, tapping my knee impatiently.

Alvin sighed. “If you ignore the turn for the car park to the south of the lake and keep driving, you should eventually see his car parked on the side of the road.” He paused, his face looking glum. “It’s where our dad always parked when we stayed in the cabin as kids.”

“How will we know it’s his car?” I asked, ignoring his emotional, nostalgic moment so we could stick to the facts.

“Because no other car ever parks there,” he said candidly as he awkwardly scratched his ear. “No one would think to park there. There’s really no reason to, but the spot is close to the cabin.”

Which is exactly where we need to go, I thought sternly. And quickly.

I turned to Sarah, who had held back on calling the station while Alvin and I finished our conversation. I nodded for her to go ahead and call, and she obliged. After a few minutes, she hung up the phone and let me know everything would be in place.

After several tense, uncomfortable minutes, we finally passed the entrance to the car park. As Rebecca continued to drive, I rubbed my knees anxiously and kept my eyes open and alert for any parked vehicles. We approached the area Alvin told us about, and he was being truthful when he said the area revealed nothing interesting. All you could see were trees and woodlands on both sides of the road. Sure enough, there was a dark blue vehicle right where Alvin said it would be. If anyone saw the car here, they’d likely assume it was abandoned.

“That your brother’s car, I take it?” I asked Alvin, prodding his arm.

“Yes, Inspector,” Alvin said passively.

I grumbled as I stared at him. “You two put me on a right merry dance with those damn cars, you know,” I said irritably as I pushed my hair back. “A car of that description was seen in Felixkirk, and after I saw yours—”

“You assumed it must have been me,” Alvin finished flatly as he looked sadly at Drew’s car.

“Aye, I did,” I said matter-of-factly as I waited for Rebecca to park her car up in front of it. “And can you blame me? You already seemed suspicious enough. That car only cemented that.”

Alvin looked at his feet. “Drew always loved and respected Alannah when we were growing up,” he said, his tone almost jealous. “But for me it was always Drew. He was my big brother, so I was keen to impress him, you know?”

He hesitated, almost like he was expecting me to answer. The truth was, I knew more than anyone about the complex relationship between two brothers, but I wasn’t going to confide that in him. After a few seconds of silence, he continued.

“I always thought he was the epitome of cool, so I copied him on so many levels. He got into exercising, I got into it soon after. He bought a blue Ford, so naturally I got the same car.” He sighed. “It took me a long time to see how pathetic it was.”

If it wasn’t for the fact I placed a whole heap of blame on Alvin for hiding the truth from us and hindering our investigation, I’d have almost felt sorry for him, but right now I couldn’t look at him and feel any form of positive or sympathetic feeling. There was only anger and frustration.

Rebecca parked up, and I roughly grabbed Alvin and pulled him out of the car. I noticed the PCs weren’t there yet, so I turned to Alvin.

“Is the route to the cabin simple?” I asked. “And don’t try to bullshit me.”

Alvin gulped nervously and nodded. “Y-yes,” he said anxiously, pointing directly ahead of us. “You just keep going straight until you see it. It’s impossible to miss if you keep walking.”

I stared at him for a moment, realised he was being honest, then turned to Sarah. “DC Carter, are you alright to wait here for your team to arrive? You can show them the way when they get here.”

“Certainly, sir!” she said confidently. “Hopefully, they won’t be much longer.”

I nodded to Sarah gratefully. Sarah had been on this case from the start, and although her superior had told her to leave the case to me and my team, I was glad I’d been able to get her help on it. She was a good worker and always connected well with us all. I just hoped her superior wouldn’t give her a hard time for sticking to the case when they’d told her not to. If they did, I’d have words with them.

I turned to Rebecca, who was gazing at the route through the trees. After a few moments, she stepped over toward us with an expressionless face. I knew this was her way of saying she’d checked out Alvin’s apparent route and thought it seemed safe.

“Right, we better get going then!” I said in a tone not to be argued with as I kept hold of Alvin’s arm. “The daylight’s gone, so let's hope the moon and you will be enough of a guide for us, boy.”

“I swear to you all we do is walk straight,” he said sincerely.

“We shall soon see, won’t we?” I asked as I shoved him forward. “Lead the way, Alvin, but keep close to us. If you try to warn your brother in any way, you’ll be on the ground so quickly even gravity couldn’t have beat you there.”

Alvin nodded nervously and approached the trees. Rebecca quickly moved in place beside me, and together we slowly trailed Alvin. There was silence for the first minute as we walked easily through the trees, but I soon broke it.

“How far of a walk is this, lad?” I asked quietly.

“No more than ten minutes,” Alvin replied, his own voice barely more than a whisper as he stumbled onwards.

“And you’re confident Drew will be there?” I asked with slight warning as I accidentally stood on some loud, crunchy leaves. I grimaced unpleasantly, then kept looking toward the ground as I continued, unwilling to risk any more loud sounds that could warn Drew of our arrival. “I don’t want us running around on a wild goose chase.”

“I’m positive,” Alvin said softly, stopping for a moment to turn and address me. He held out his hands and pointed them toward me. “Can you take these cuffs off now, please?”

I scoffed. “No chance, lad.”

Alvin huffed. “Please?” he asked quietly. “Drew is going to react badly when he sees me like this.”

“I couldn’t care less how he reacts to it,” I said in a blunt, angry tone. “You’ve committed a serious offence, so I can’t allow you to run around freely. Now turn around and lead the way. The more time we waste, the more Selena is at risk!”

Alvin looked annoyed, but he did as he was told. For a few more minutes we walked, and as we followed Alvin’s steps, I kept an eye on our surroundings. I knew we must have been near the lake—I could hear the unmistakable sound of water—but I couldn’t help but notice the lake wasn’t in sight from here.

No wonder none of us found this place before, I thought to myself in aggravation. If only we’d stepped out further, maybe then we’d have found this place and could have stopped Selena from ever being taken.

I quickly shook the thought away and glared at the back of Alvin’s neck. Alvin had known when we interviewed him at the lake what had happened to Mia. If he hadn’t been trying to play the protective younger brother and been honest, then he could have shown us the cabin himself. Instead, another innocent woman had fallen victim to Drew’s twisted games.

“We’re getting close now,” Alvin said quietly as he awkwardly pointed ahead with his cuffed hands. “Look.”

I looked ahead and noticed a decrepit looking black cabin standing on its own in the middle of the grass. There was an eeriness to the place, which wasn’t helped by the black night sky. I knew that even if I saw it in the light of day, it still would have given me the creeps.

“It doesn’t look the best, but it was my dad who built it,” Alvin said quietly, his voice tinged with pride. “We all loved Gormire Lake so much.”

“Speaking of your father, where is he?” I asked bluntly, stepping slowly behind Alvin. “Does he have any idea about any of this?”

Alvin sighed sadly and lowered his head. “My mum died just over a year ago from cancer. I think the loss of her and my sister was too much for him. He ended up moving away. I haven’t heard a word from him since… neither has Drew as far as I’m aware.”

I bit my lip uncomfortably at the thought. While I could understand that Alvin’s father must have struggled with all of that grief, I found it hard to fathom how he could have just forgotten about his two sons. They’d clearly had grief and upset of their own to contend with without losing their father, too.

I can’t condone what Alvin has done, but I can understand it, I thought to myself begrudgingly. Drew was all he had left, and he didn’t want to lose that.

As we stepped closer, Alvin stopped in his tracks at the sound of movement from the cabin. I quickly grabbed Alvin and pulled him toward the ground, gesturing for him to be quiet. Rebecca quickly followed my lead and was soon on the ground with us. We all kept our eyes on the cabin, and I noticed the front door opening and a figure walking out of it. From the distance, I could tell the figure was male, but I wasn’t close enough to see with certainty if it was Drew or someone else.

Soon after the male figure had stepped out, he put his arms back in the cabin and pulled out a woman.

A woman with long, brunette hair that flowed in the night’s breeze.

That has to be Selena, I thought to myself hastily. Either that or the sick bastard has multiple Alannah lookalikes hidden in that place.

I felt Rebecca readying herself to get up, but I quickly grabbed her.

“What are you doing?” she hissed at me in surprise as she tried to tug her arm out of my strong grip. “Let’s go get him!”

“He has Selena!” I said back in an angry whisper. “Alvin said he spooks easily, so I’m not risking him hurting her when we aren’t close enough to help her.”

The two started to walk away from the cabin, so I put my finger to my lips to keep everyone silent and still. We watched them move for a few moments before I slowly rose from the ground, gesturing for the others to follow my lead. Alvin struggled with his bound hands, so I pulled him up slowly.

“What’s the plan?” Rebecca asked me impatiently, her eyes fixed on Drew.

“We follow them slowly and at a distance,” I said quickly, pulling Alvin along and gesturing for Rebecca to start moving. “Once we figure out what’s going on and we’re close enough, then we will intervene.” I turned to Alvin, pulled him close to my face, and gave him a fierce look. “Don’t even think of trying to get your brother’s attention, alright? If that girl gets hurt, then so will you.”

Alvin nodded fearfully. “I promise, I’ll keep quiet!”

I nodded to him curtly, then pushed him forward.

The three of us slowly followed the two, and I was surprised to see how calm Selena seemed next to Drew. She walked beside him, and although I saw her head looking around every now and again, she didn’t appear to be trying to get away from him.

Either she’s playing it smart and doing all she can to keep herself alive, or that sicko has somehow gotten into her head and she’s formed an attachment to him, I thought with dread.

For a minute or two more, we followed them, but eventually I smacked Alvin’s arm impatiently. He winced as I hit him, but turned to me.

“What was that for?” he asked in confusion.

“To get your attention,” I whispered, holding back the smirk that longed to escape from me. “Where do you think he’s going?”

Alvin avoided my eye contact. “This is our route to the lake.”

Rebecca turned to me sharply. “We have to hurry then!” she exclaimed in quiet anger. “If he’s taking her there, then he’s probably going to kill her! I don’t want to go from one body in the lake to bodies in the lake!”

“We can’t do anything to put her at risk, understood? We have to get closer,” I hissed.

Rebecca huffed, but agreed. “Let’s move then!”

We moved quicker as we watched Drew and Selena reach the lake, his hand gripping her arm the entire time. As we sped up, my mind was going wild with different worries over what could happen. I swore as they dipped out of sight. We drew closer to the lake, and my heart stopped in my chest as I heard an unmistakable sound.

Selena was screaming out in fear.

The time for worrying about risking her safety had now passed. I didn’t care about watching Alvin, and I didn’t care about being heard. Instead, I ran with all of my might in the direction of the scream, repeatedly praying to myself that Selena would be safe. I knew my feet must have been smacking the grass and mud loudly, but my focus was on getting to Selena as quickly as I could. As I drew closer, I realised with horror that I could hear loud splashing. I knew she was fighting for her life in the lake.

Sure enough, as soon as they were in my line of sight, I saw Selena swimming madly to get out of the lake, Drew close at her tail.

“Selena, keep swimming!” I roared as I hurled off my leather jacket, kicked off my shoes with a flourish, and charged into the water. I got to Selena quickly and pushed her behind me. I kept my eyes on Drew as I shouted.

“Rebecca! Get Selena and get her somewhere safe!” I shouted desperately as I faced Drew.

I heard noises behind me, but my focus was on Drew. His eyes were locked on me, and although in many ways he looked similar to Alvin, I was more drawn to the differences between them. The main difference was their eyes. Both had big eyes, but Alvin’s were very expressive. A single look into them conveyed every emotion he was feeling. The look in Drew’s eyes couldn’t have been any more different.

Drew’s eyes simply looked wild and panicked. He stood in the water, which was now waist deep on both of us, and those wild eyes continued to pierce into my own. He showed his teeth like he was a feral beast and started to splash in the water toward me.

“You’re ruining everything,” he said in quiet anger as he continued to step and splash toward me. “I’m trying to spend time with my sister!”

“It’s over, Drew,” I said in a commanding tone as I stood up tall, feeling the water splash against me the more he stepped toward me. “Your sister is dead and you’re about to spend the rest of your life behind bars.”

“Never!” Drew hissed.

Drew had barely finished uttering that word before he jumped. He lunged at me so quickly that he tackled me and knocked me under the water. He was strong, and he did everything he could to hold me under the water. I kept fighting back, managing every few seconds to overpower him and get my face out of the water so I could get some air, but no sooner had I taken a breath that he was forcing me back under the water. I started to feel dizzy, so I knew I had to hurry and overpower him completely. Drew was so focused on holding my top half that he wasn’t focused on my bottom half, so I stopped struggling for a second and raised my right foot upward. I kicked him in the groin, and in his shock and pain, Drew let me go. I then shoved him forward, and he fell under the water. I got myself quickly back on my feet.

I suddenly heard some splashing behind me, and I turned around to see Alvin running toward me. I prepared myself defensively for his attack, but to my surprise he simply stood there looking worried as Drew raised his head out of the water.

“Drew, stop it!” Alvin said desperately.

Drew stopped dead, staring at Alvin in shock.

“Alvin, you’re in the water!” he said in surprise as he watched Alvin move closer. “You always said after Alannah you’d never go in the water again.”

“And I never wanted to, but that’s twice this week I’ve got in this miserable lake!” he said desperately. “Once to pull out Mia, and now to come and save you.” He sighed miserably. “But it’s over now, Drew. It’s over.”

As Alvin spoke, I kept my eyes on Drew, unsure as to what he’d do next. He turned to me angrily and readied himself to attack, but he suddenly stopped at the sound of several loud noises.

“This is the police! Come out of there with your hands up!” Sarah roared loudly.

I looked at Drew and saw him cautiously putting his hands up, his eyes darting behind me like a frightened rabbit. I turned around and saw a team of PCs now standing at the edge of the lake. Some of them held guns, some of them held other weapons, but the effect was enough to make Drew see sense. As Drew stepped forward, I went behind him and pinned his arms behind his back. I didn’t have my cuffs on me—Alvin was wearing them—so I escorted him out of the water. Sarah moved forward, grabbed her cuffs, and quickly placed them on Drew. As she restrained him, her eyes met mine.

“Are you okay, sir?” she asked with concern as she helped me get him out of the water.

“Aye, never better,” I said sarcastically as I pushed my sodden hair out of my face. “Great work, DC Carter.”

Sarah nodded in an embarrassed sort of way as she urged Drew forward with me.

Once we were out of the lake, I saw Alvin was now being restrained by some PCs. I looked around worriedly, but sighed in relief when I saw Rebecca stepping forward with Selena. One of the PCs must have brought towels, as Selena had one draped around her shoulders and Rebecca was holding another one, which she quickly threw over me. She also passed me my shoes, which I quickly slid back on. She held my leather jacket over her arm protectively.

My eyes met Selena’s. “You alright, Selena?”

Selena nodded. Her face was damp and I couldn’t tell if that was from her tears, the lake, or both. “Thanks to you,” she said in relief as she cuddled herself.

I nodded to her, then looked back toward Alvin and Drew.

“DC Carter,” I said loudly. “You and your PCs take Alvin to your station and question him. We’ll take Drew with us. And get someone to take this young lady home. She’s been through enough for one evening.”

Sarah nodded and gestured for a couple of PCs to go to Selena. I recognised one of them as the guy Elijah and Lylah had insisted was flirting with Nadia the last time we were here together. They gently escorted Selena away, who looked at me nervously as she went. I nodded to her encouragingly, which appeared to relax her slightly.

Alvin and Drew gave one another an intense look. Their eyes met, and although Drew’s seemed cold and unreadable, Alvin’s looked full of regret and guilt as they were pulled away from one another.

I grabbed Drew myself, and together Rebecca and I dragged him to her car. I looked at him, and in spite of everything, couldn’t help but feel shocked at how young he was. The guy could only have been a couple of years older than Faye, and yet he was responsible for such murder and mayhem. It was always impossible to know the face of a killer, but seeing one so young was always difficult and surprising.

Usually with younger people, I felt sympathy for the fact they’d thrown their lives away, but I felt nothing of the sort for Drew. On the contrary, I gritted my teeth as I looked at him, knowing I couldn’t wait to get him to the station. I was eager to see him locked away for the rest of his pathetic life.

32

As keen as I was to get back to the station, I knew we had to check out the ominous-looking cabin Drew had been hiding out in. Although we’d found no reports of possibly related missing women, that didn’t mean Drew didn’t have someone else locked away. The cabin would be teeming with evidence too, and I knew it was better to look at it as soon as possible.

Once Drew was locked in Rebecca’s car with two PCs standing by, we walked toward the cabin. The cold from the lake had seeped into my bones, and I still had the towel draped over my shoulders. I was mostly dry now, but my clothes were still damp, and the towel offered me a bit of extra warmth.

As we walked, I felt Rebecca continuously glancing at me.

“Aye?” I asked pointedly, my eyes still looking ahead as we walked.

Rebecca coughed awkwardly. “Sorry, just wanting to make sure you’re okay,” she said softly.

“I’ll be fine once we check that cabin and get the hell out of here,” I said matter-of-factly, pulling the towel tighter around my shoulders.

Rebecca nodded before speaking again. “You did a great job back there,” she said proudly, placing a kind hand on my shoulder as we walked. “You protected Selena and stupidly put your own life at risk, but at least it paid off.”

I snorted. “Aye, I’m glad it did,” I said bluntly, turning my head to look at her for a moment. “Great job too, by the way. You got Selena away from that creep quickly and protected my prized possession.”

Rebecca gave a half smile and laughed slightly as she took her hand back. “Just doing my job, and I know you love that jacket more than life itself. I couldn’t risk it being on the ground for too long.”

We reached the black cabin, and I gritted my teeth at the sight of it. I readied myself to enter the place, but soon grumbled in annoyance when I remembered my leather jacket was now folded up in the boot of Rebecca’s car. My jacket always had my forensic gloves in it, so now I was without them. Luckily, Rebecca turned to me, wiggling her eyebrows playfully as she passed me a pair of extra gloves from her coat.

“Ta,” I said gratefully as I wrestled them onto my icy hands.

Rebecca pushed open the cabin door, holding it for me so I could enter it first. I walked into a sickening scene, lit up by a single lightbulb that was more than enough for me to see exactly what the poor women had gone through.

The majority of the cabin was one room, and I could see a table which had a backpack on it. On the wall were some thick gray chains that I knew instantly had been used to restrain both Mia and Selena. Especially as Mia’s postmortem had demonstrated that her wrists and ankles had been restrained. The chains looked powerful and thick, and I knew they could easily restrain a large animal, let alone a small young woman.

“Jesus,” Rebecca uttered in horror, her voice deathly quiet as she stepped next to me. “That guy left those poor women chained to the wall like animals!”

As I looked around the rest of the cabin, Rebecca called pathology for a full crime scene investigation. Luckily, pathology had already been on standby, as they were unsure whether they’d be needed for a murder scene. They said a team of PCs could lead them to the cabin once we were done. It didn’t take long for us to peruse the main room for anything else. There wasn’t much, but the chains were evidence enough.

Rebecca and I quickly returned to her car, and I threw my towel in her boot with my jacket before entering the back seat. We were keen to get back to our station and speak to Drew, especially after what we’d seen. There was an unmistakable awkward tension as Drew sat in the back of Rebecca’s car with me, but the guy simply stared at his hands the entire journey without moving or saying a word. Rebecca and I travelled in silence, too. I couldn’t speak for Rebecca, but I assumed she was also focusing her mind on the questions we’d be asking Drew.

Throughout the drive, I watched Drew constantly, not knowing what to make of him. He’d kidnapped two women, murdered one of them, and even tried to murder me, and yet the guy was barely an adult. Had he become so unhinged by his grief? Or was he simply a monster who had been left unchained for far too long? I felt no pity for the guy as I stared at him. He may have had his issues, but his crimes were unforgivable.

Despite the tension, it felt like it wasn’t long before Rebecca parked up at the station. I grabbed one of Drew’s cuffed hands and gruffly tugged him out of the vehicle.

Drew didn’t speak, nor did he resist me as I forced him into the station. Once we made it to our department, I saw Lylah, Elijah, and Nadia all stand up at our arrival. Lylah and Nadia kept their faces passive as they watched us move by with Drew—though I did see a shimmer of triumph shining in Lylah’s eyes—but Elijah couldn’t hide the look on his face as he glared at Drew.

“Take him into interview room one,” I told Rebecca, and she quickly moved to escort him. “I’ll sort out a tape and meet you there in a few minutes.”

Rebecca nodded, and I stood back as she dragged him into the room. I turned to the others and saw they all looked ready to explode with questions, so I hastily put up a hand to stop them.

“We can debrief after I’ve spoken to Drew,” I said boldly as I looked into their faces. “But for now, yes, Selena is alive. No, the kidnapper wasn’t Alvin, and yes, the guy we brought in is our guy. He is Alvin’s brother, but we will discuss it properly later.”

I left them hurriedly to grab a tape and soon joined Rebecca in the interview room. I wasn’t surprised to see that Rebecca had taken extra security measures by binding Drew to his chair. Although he’d been quiet and relatively well behaved since his capture, he had tried to kill me in the lake. We had to assume his behaviour could be unpredictable.

I set up the tape, placed it in the middle of the interview table, turned it on, then sat down next to Rebecca. I glanced at the clock on the wall, then looked back toward Drew.

“Interview with Drew Bayron commencing at twelve thirty-two am,” I said in a loud, clear voice. I tapped my fingers on the table. “Do you have anything to say for yourself, Drew? If you do, now is the time.”

Drew remained silent, his dark, wild eyes piercing into my own. I longed to look away from them as they made me uncomfortable, but I knew I couldn’t break my hold. I felt like Mowgli in The Jungle Book, wanting desperately to look away from the eyes of the snake but being physically unable to.

“You know why you are here, Drew,” Rebecca said loudly as she folded her arms and glared at him. “We have seen your cabin, your brother has told us everything, and we witnessed first hand you attempting to kill Selena, so if I were you I’d stop the silent act and—”

“I wasn’t going to kill her,” Drew said in a surprisingly calm voice that conveyed his anger, his unblinking eyes still fixed on mine. “I was just trying to get her back in the water.”

“And why was that?” I asked passively.

“Because she promised me we’d swim together,” he said in a voice that resembled a sulking child who hadn’t gotten their way. “She promised me… then broke that promise right away!”

I shook my head in dismay.

The poor girl probably lied through her teeth in order to get out of that awful cabin, I thought to myself coldly.

“So what, Drew?” I asked harshly. “Someone changes their mind and your immediate reaction is to attack them?”

“No,” Drew said petulantly, flexing his arms against his bonds as he looked at me.

“That’s what happened to Mia though, isn’t it?” I asked. “And don’t lie. Alvin already told us you called him after you killed her. He even pretended to find her the next day. All to cover your arse.”

Drew shrugged with difficulty. “We are brothers,” he said matter-of-factly. “That’s what brothers do.”

I scoffed. “No, Drew,” I said harshly. “You murdered a woman, and due to his idiotic actions, you were left free to harass another young woman.”

Drew clicked his tongue. “I didn’t harass her,” he said passively.

“We know how you found Mia,” I said loudly, moving my body slightly closer to the table. “Alvin explained you live in Ampleforth and just happened to come across her, but what about Selena?”

Drew kept his shining eyes on me, his face unmoving.

I sighed impatiently, then placed my hands on the table. “I’ll tell you what I think happened,” I said boldly, looking at Drew with distaste. “I think you were so happy when you saw Mia. You thought you could force her to be your sister. You then lost your cool with her after she refused to submit to your twisted fantasy, which resulted in her brutal murder.” I hesitated as I took in Drew’s body language, but it was like trying to analyse a brick wall. “I don’t know if you felt any sorrow for Mia’s death or simply shrugged it off as a bad attempt, but seeing her made you realise you could find another Alannah look alike. You then went out of your way to find one, resulting in meeting Selena.” I scratched the scar on my lip, my eyes glued to Drew’s own. “Am I wrong?”

Drew kept still, refusing to speak or move. It was like he had been frozen to the spot. I smacked my fists on the table in impatience. I felt Rebecca flinch slightly next to me, but Drew kept still, as though I hadn’t even moved.

The guy was a stone pillar, but I knew I had to break into him.

I moved my clenched fists off of the table. “You know, we don’t need you to say anything. We already have the evidence to lock you away, but if you wanted to admit to what you’ve done, a jury would look at you much more kindly.”

Drew continued to look at me. His eyes and expression were void of any emotion, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking or feeling.

“Why were you so keen on replacing your sister, Drew?” Rebecca asked, dragging her chair closer to the table. Drew’s eyes, for the first time, left my own and looked toward Rebecca. “I wasn’t replacing her,” he said flatly. “There’s only one Alannah.”

“And yet in the space of less than a week there’s been three of them,” I said coolly as I relaxed my posture.

Drew’s eyes moved back to my own as quick as lightning. “That isn’t true,” he said with barely contained rage. “There’s only one Alannah, and she was going to be with me forever until you took her away.”

“What happened to the real Alannah, Drew?” I pressed. “She died from drowning in Gormire Lake, right?”

Drew’s dark eyes seemed to grow darker. He didn’t move or speak, but I could tell he was getting angrier by the second.

“That’s what I find so hard to understand,” I continued. “Your own sister died in that lake, so why would you want to take Mia and Selena there?”

Again, Drew was silent, but his body started to shake in his chair, so I knew he was close to exploding.

“See, I think there is more to Alannah’s death than what was released at the time,” I said softly, tilting my head to the side. “Her death was recorded as an accident, wasn’t it? But if that were the case, why would you take girls to the lake and drown them?” I hesitated and moved my body closer to Drew’s. “It’s almost like you were reliving what happened that day.”

Drew moved slightly closer, too. Luckily, the binds prevented him from moving too close, but it was close enough for effect. “You think I wanted to kill my own sister?” he asked emotionlessly, his dark eyes like storm clouds.

“Not at all,” I said casually as I held my position. “I think you loved your sister very much and her death was in many ways an accident, but I think you know more than the reports declared.”

Drew bit his lip so harshly that a drop of blood appeared there. Although he was looking in my direction, his eyes were glazed over as though he was looking straight through me. “She was my sister, and I didn’t protect her,” he said robotically.

“You saw her go under the water, didn’t you, Drew?” I pressed emotionlessly as I slowly started to move my body away from the table.

“I couldn’t have saved her, even though I wanted to,” he said quietly, his eyes continuing to stare through me. “I swam to get to her, but she was too far away.”

“That must have been awful for you,” I said sympathetically. “I can understand why you tried to relive that moment with both Mia and Selena. You wanted it to play out differently.”

Drew gave a half nod.

“You didn’t mean to kill Mia, did you?” I pressed casually, my hand gripping my knee hopefully under the table. “Alvin even said as much. You just wanted to be in the water with her like you were Alannah, but she didn’t do what she was supposed to.”

Drew licked the blood from his lip. “All she had to do was stay in the water,” he said in a quiet, calm tone. “That was all she had to do.”

“But she didn’t, so you lost it with her,” I said matter-of-factly as I flicked some dust off of my sleeve.

“Yes,” he said passively. “I didn’t want to, but she just didn’t swim with me like she was supposed to.” He hesitated and drooped his head. “She tried to escape. I-I was just trying to get her to stay with me.”

By forcing her head under the water until she stopped resisting, I thought coldly.

“She tried to escape because you were holding her against her will, Drew,” I said, trying hard to keep the judgement and anger out of my tone.

“That’s not true,” he said sulkily, pouting once more like a spoiled child. “She wanted us to be together.”

“Which is why you chained her to the wall like an animal, right?” I asked with a grimace. “Because she wanted to be with you.”

“She just needed time, that’s all!” he whined as he struggled pointlessly against his bonds.

I sneered at his attempt. “It isn’t nice being tied up against your will, is it, Drew?” I asked smugly. “Now you know exactly how those girls felt!”

Drew shook his head as he continued to resist. “No! They needed time! They just needed time!”

He repeated it three more times. I could tell he’d finally lost it, and since Rebecca and I had what we needed, I knew the best move was to stop the interview and get him to his cell. I terminated the interview, got Rebecca to grab some PCs, and she returned ten minutes later. The two of us stood together as we watched Drew get escorted away, the whole time repeating the same phrase.

33

It was late, so Rebecca and I tried to quickly give the team all the information they needed. Unfortunately, there was a lot to discuss, so by the time we’d gone through everything and left, it was almost half two in the morning when Lylah and I were finally able to roll into bed. We were both exhausted and needed to rest, but we’d both have to be up early. There were still a few things left to do before we could close this case for good. We had to ensure Selena was okay, and we had to update Mia’s parents.

After what felt like only an hour of sleep, my alarm started blaring, so I smacked it with a tired grumble and pulled myself out of bed. Lylah was still sleeping, so I decided to leave her to rest. We didn’t need the entire team to close this, so she could stay sleeping. She deserved it after the busy week we’d had.

As I showered, I thought about the best order to do things once I got to the station. While I was keen to know Selena was okay, Mia’s parents had been agonising for the majority of the week. It was only fair to see them first and put them out of their misery.

I got out of the shower and jumped in surprise when I saw Lylah standing in the bathroom, brushing her teeth at the sink.

“Christ, Lyles!” I said in shock as I clutched at my chest. “A bit of warning would have been nice!”

Lylah shrugged as she continued to brush her teeth loudly. She stepped backward, grabbed a towel, and passed it to me without looking. “I did say I was coming in, but clearly you couldn’t hear me over the sound of the water,” she said matter-of-factly. She looked at me and winked. “Besides, it’s not like I haven't seen it before.”

I grumbled as I dried myself, then wrapped the towel around my waist. “I’d purposely left you in bed so you could catch up on some sleep.”

Lylah put her left hand on her hip and pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth to speak again. “And miss out on the final day of this case?” she asked in annoyance. “I don’t think so! I’m seeing it through till the end, just like everyone else.”

I nodded with understanding, knowing nothing would have stopped me either. The two of us quickly got ready, then made our way to the station. Once we got there, we charged into the department, and I moaned in aggravation when I saw that we were the first two there.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, throwing my hands up in frustration. “I want to get going!”

Lylah rubbed her neck thoughtfully. “We could always leave a note saying where we’ve gone?” she suggested cautiously. “They can ring us once they get here.”

I imagined Elijah’s face and felt guilty. I knew he’d want to be there, but he was notorious for being late. We had a forty-minute drive ahead of us, after all.

“Alright,” I said in defeat as I pushed my hair back. “Write a note and we will get going.”

Once Lylah finished her note and left it in position, together the two of us left the station and got into my car. I grumbled in annoyance as we began to drive, my mind still focused on Elijah. The guilt of him not being there when we spoke to Mia’s parents was slowly eating me alive.

Lylah looked at me, her eyes sparkling knowingly as she clutched my hand. “I know you wanted Elijah to be with us today, but it’s not our fault he wasn’t at the station,” she said sympathetically. “If it will make you feel any better, I can call him now?”

I rubbed my stubble in contemplation before eventually agreeing.

Lylah got out her phone and called Elijah. He answered the phone quickly, and the two had the speediest phone call I’d ever known Lylah to have. Within less than a minute, she was hanging up the phone.

“He’s in his car and said he’ll just drive straight to the Murray household,” she said with a smile as she put her phone away.

I sighed in relief and nodded. “That’s good,” I said happily.

After a slow drive, we eventually made it to Ampleforth, and I parked up close to Sylvia and Evan’s home. I knew we couldn’t go in without Elijah, so I sat impatiently in the car waiting for him. I tapped my leg and various parts of the car in my impatience, causing Lylah to smirk and giggle every now and again.

“He won’t be long,” Lylah said for what felt like the fifth time as she stroked my hand. I grumbled in response.

A few minutes later, Elijah finally turned up and parked his car behind my own. As soon as he started parking, I climbed out of the car and glared at him. The look did the trick, and Elijah hurried himself out of the car and gave me an apologetic grin.

“These two have been waiting long enough for the truth, let’s not leave them waiting any longer,” I said in annoyance as I gestured for the two DCs to follow me.

I walked just in front of Elijah and Lylah, but they tailed me closely as we approached the front door. I knocked on it, and to my surprise, Evan answered. Any other time we’d been here, he’d been out of the house and had to be called. I was relieved we wouldn’t have to wait further for his arrival.

“DCI Ellis,” Evan said nervously. He glanced over my shoulder and saw the others. “Wow, there’s a lot of you today!”

“Aye, there is,” I said passively. “Can we come in?”

Evan rubbed his balding head anxiously, but nodded. “Yes, of course,” he said shakily as he stepped aside so we could come in.

“Is Sylvia around?” I asked as I stepped through the door.

Evan waited until we were all inside, then shut the door behind us before responding. “Yes, she’s upstairs,” he said in a sorrowful tone. “Go make yourselves comfortable and I’ll go get her.”

“Ta,” I said, gesturing for Elijah and Lylah to follow me to the living room.

We settled into the small, cramped living room. After a few painful minutes, I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned to the doorway and stopped myself from inhaling loudly at the sight of Sylvia.

She had slowly been looking worse each time I’d seen her, but today she was barely recognisable. She was skinnier than before, her face was drawn and void of emotion, and she shuffled her feet across the carpet as though she didn’t have the energy to lift them. It was unbelievable to think that her body had changed so drastically in the space of less than a week, but I knew from experience what grief could do to a person. Evan was walking beside her, his arms supporting her as they entered the room. He guided her to the sofa and helped her sit down. They both got settled, then looked toward us.

“It’s good to see you two again,” I said, looking between them both. “You obviously know myself and DC Smith, but I’ve also brought DC Stone with me today.”

I gestured toward Lylah, and both of them gave her a polite nod of acknowledgement.

Evan looked away from Lylah and back toward me. “What can we do for you, Inspector?”

“We have come with news,” I said as I gazed at them both. “We’ve been able to apprehend and arrest your daughter’s killer.”

Sylvia looked up, her eyes wide and almost hopeful. “Truly?” she asked in quiet disbelief.

I gave her a small smile. “Aye, I mean it,” I said confidently. “I told you I’d find who did this, and I always keep my promises.”

“W-who was it?” Evan asked with uncertainty as he chewed his lip.

“A man called Drew Bayron,” I said quietly.

Evan and Sylvia glanced at one another in confusion.

“Is he—” Sylvia started speaking but hesitated, shooting her husband an unhappy look. “Is he connected to Evan’s debts?”

I shook my head and glanced at Evan, expecting him to become cocky or assert his dominance over Sylvia in some way. He’d certainly been unpleasant and defensive on our previous visits. Instead, he surprised me by pulling Sylvia close and continuing to comfort her. Maybe the guy wasn’t as much of an arse as I thought he was.

“Unfortunately, it sounds like Mia’s death was tragic and random,” I said matter-of-factly. “Drew Bayron’s sister died a few years ago, and he targeted Mia because she resembled her.”

Both Evan and Sylvia gripped one another, their faces filled with shock.

“So you’re telling me some crackpot killed our daughter because she looked like someone else?” Evan asked in a quiet, angry tone.

I sighed sadly. “Aye, I’m afraid so. Drew is a troubled young man who suffered greatly after his sister died, and when he saw Mia… he convinced himself that she was his sister. He was trying to rebuild their relationship.”

“I-I don’t understand,” Sylvia asked slowly. “If he thought Mia was his sister, then why did he kill her?”

I pushed my hair back. “Drew and his sister used to swim in Gormire Lake as kids—it’s where his sister died,” I said candidly, moving my eyes between them both as I spoke. The two opened their mouths in horror at the revelation. “We will never know completely what happened, but from my understanding it sounds like Drew took Mia to the lake in order to relive those memories. When he tried to recreate their relationship, it frightened Mia, and she tried to escape. When she tried to run away, he grew angry and lashed out.”

Sylvia’s shoulders slumped as she leaned closer to Evan.

“So Mia died because she was trying to escape the lunatic who took her?” Evan asked in quiet anger as he rubbed his hand softly over Sylvia’s arm.

“Aye, so it would appear,” I said, lowering my head respectfully. “I’m so sorry.”

Sylvia held Evan’s hand, looking at him with wet eyes. “I’m so sorry, Evan,” she said sorrowfully.

Evan raised an eyebrow in shock. “Don’t apologise to me, love, none of this is your fault,” he said supportively as he stroked her hand.

Sylvia shook her head. “For days I’ve made your life hell, blaming you and your debts for Mia’s death,” she said guiltily, looking to the ground as though too ashamed to look at him. “You’ve been dealing with your own grief and my constant accusations.” She sighed. “How can you ever forgive me for all of this?”

Evan gently grabbed Sylvia’s face and turned it to face him. “There is nothing to forgive, darling. I was the one who messed up. I got into trouble, made us move… if I hadn’t done all of that then Mia–-” He paused and gulped, his own eyes going red and emotional. “Mia would still be alive.”

“Some unsolicited advice for you both,” I interrupted, clearing my throat loudly for good measure. “Blaming yourselves won’t change anything. What happened to Mia was tragic, but there’s no way to turn back the clock. All you two can do now is be there for one another.”

Evan sighed sadly. “He’s right, Sylv,” he said quietly. “And I promise I’ll be here for you, okay? All of that gambling and stupid shit I was doing before is in the past. All that matters now is you. Is us.”

After an awkward moment of watching the two embrace, I finally stood up to leave. Lylah and Elijah stood up as well. It was time to give these two privacy.

“I’m so sorry again for your loss,” I said once more with a curt nod. “But I do hope the truth will be able to provide you both with some closure.”

“Thank you,” Evan said glumly, still holding his wife tightly. “For bringing our daughter back and giving her justice.”

I squeezed Sylvia’s shoulder, gave another curt nod, then gestured to the others to leave. We started to exit the living room when Sylvia stopped Elijah.

“Thank you, DC Smith,” she said through her tears. “You were there with me from the start, and I’ll never forget what you’ve done for us.”

Elijah’s cheeks went red, but he shook Sylvia’s hand and smiled at her. “It was my pleasure to do my duty for you, Sylvia.”

We all exited their house together, and once we were close to our cars, I turned to Elijah.

“Smith, Stone and I will go visit Selena in Felixkirk,” I said thoughtfully as I unlocked my car. “You get back to the station, fill in Rebecca and Nadia, and finish your reports. We shouldn’t be long.”

Elijah looked slightly put out that he wasn’t joining us, but he kept his face mostly free of expression as he nodded. “Will do, sir,” he said as he got into his car.

Lylah and I watched him leave, then got into my car. I turned to Lylah with a serious look.

“Are you ready to go check on Selena?” I asked.

Lylah nodded keenly as she put on her seatbelt. “Ready as anything!”

I smiled at her, then started driving toward Felixkirk, my mind filled with thoughts of Sylvia and Evan. Although I would always feel awful over the loss of Mia, I was glad those two now knew the truth. I felt confident that it would only help strengthen their relationship. Evan swore he would put the gambling behind him, and while I knew addictions were complicated, I couldn’t help but trust he meant what he said.

I just hoped, when we left Selena’s, I’d still be feeling this positive.

34

Lylah and I arrived at Warren and Selena’s house less than fifteen minutes after leaving Sylvia and Evan’s. The short journey only highlighted just how easy it was for Drew to travel around and search for new targets. In my mind I could see Drew sitting in his blue Ford, casually circling nearby villages and hoping to find an unsuspecting young woman to stalk and kidnap.

The thought made me swallow back some bile.

Both Mia and Selena had been unfortunately chosen based on their appearance, and I knew that if we hadn’t caught Drew, he’d have likely kidnapped and killed many more young women in pursuit of his psychotic desire to have his sister back. God only knew how high the death toll would have risen if we hadn’t found him as quickly as we had.

As we walked to Warren and Selena’s front door, Lylah’s hand was in my own. She gave me a reassuring squeeze now and then, clearly sensing I was lost in my negative thoughts. She knocked on the door, and Warren answered after only a minute or two. He looked around the frame cautiously, but the moment he saw my face he smiled. He looked like a brand new man compared to the first time I’d met him. He was no longer disheveled or distraught.

“Inspector, it’s good to see you!” he said happily, his tone and attitude much more positive than before. “Please excuse the caution, Selena’s been through a lot. I’m trying to keep most people away, but please come in.”

I nodded understandingly, then gestured to Lylah. “You met my other colleagues before, but this here is DC Stone,” I said matter-of-factly as we stepped inside. “She helped a lot with this case.”

Warren held out his hand to Lylah, and she shook it.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Warren said politely, his blue eyes shining brightly.

“And you,” Lylah said with a respectful nod as she took her hand back.

Warren then led us into the living room where I was happy to see Selena seated on the sofa. Warren politely gestured for Lylah to sit on the sofa beside her, and she respectfully accepted. Selena saw me and gave me a half smile, her face still looking exhausted. I felt anger boiling in my stomach when I noticed that she was repeatedly rubbing her wrists. Thick red marks still encircled them from the chains.

Poor girl, I thought sorrowfully. Those physical wounds will go with time, but I doubt the mental ones ever will.

“Hello Selena,” I said kindly. “I’m here today with DC Stone to check up on you. Do you mind if we have a word?”

Selena looked as though she was in desperate need of a good sleep, but she politely nodded. I thanked her, then took a few steps into the room until I was standing directly in front of her. I didn’t want to intimidate her by towering over her, so I attempted to relax my stance as much as possible.

“Did you get back here okay last night?” I asked softly as I placed my hands in my trouser pockets.

“Yes, thank you,” she said quietly. “Your colleagues were very kind.”

Warren sat down on the arm of the chair next to Selena and stroked her shoulders. “I can’t praise them enough, Inspector,” he said warmly. “The officers were very thorough and refused to leave until they saw that she was okay.”

I smiled slightly and nodded. “That’s good to know,” I said gently, then turned back to Selena. “We would like to ask you some questions about what happened, but if you aren’t feeling up to it, I can speak to DC Carter to organize another time.”

Selena bit her lip as she shook her head. “N-no, I’d rather get it over with,” she said anxiously, her fingers still tracing the marks on her wrists.

Warren shifted his body close to Selena’s. “Please tell me that guy’s going to be locked away for the rest of his life.”

I rubbed my stubble contemplatively. “I’ll be honest with you both… you deserve it. Especially you, Selena,” I said authoritatively as I nodded at Selena. “He’ll face a trial, and he will definitely be locked away, but due to his mental state he may get a lesser sentence. He could also be put in a mental facility as opposed to a prison cell.”

Warren’s mouth gaped open in outrage. He moved his hand to his leg and clenched his fist. “That’s not right,” he said in a quiet tone that shook with anger. “That man kidnapped my girlfriend and tried to kill her!”

I nodded with understanding. “Aye, and I agree with you,” I said seriously as I pulled my hands from my pockets and crossed my arms. “But I’m just being honest and letting you know about what could happen.”

Warren smacked his fist on his leg, went to open his mouth, but to my surprise, Selena turned to him, grabbed his hand, and stopped him.

“Warren, stop,” she said softly. “I’m lucky to be alive, Warren. The other girl he took was killed.” She sighed and rubbed her face. “She will never get to go back to her family, never get to see another day. Of course I want him arrested, but right now all I can think about is that I could be dead too. I-I’m so relieved I’m not.” She touched her stomach and smiled. “Especially since our family is expanding.”

Warren kissed her hand, then caressed her face. “Of course, my love,” he said affectionately. “All that matters to me is you two.”

I looked between them with a raised brow. I went to speak, but Lylah beat me to it.

“Congratulations,” Lylah said kindly as she touched Selena’s shoulder. “That’s wonderful news!”

Selena turned to her and smiled. “Thank you. I couldn’t be any happier. I-I found out just before I was—” her voice trailed off, but none of us needed her to speak to know what she meant. She rubbed her stomach and smiled softly. “The baby was the only thing that got me by.”

“You found out you were pregnant on the day you were taken?” Lylah asked in shock as she shifted her body to face Selena.

Selena nodded. “Yes, I’d taken the pregnancy test that very morning,” she said candidly. “I’d planned on telling Warren when I got back from work.”

But that twisted bastard took you instead, I thought to myself coldly.

I cleared my throat, hoping to sound as sympathetic as possible. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, especially after talking about such a positive thing, but I need you to talk me through everything that happened from the moment you were taken to the moment we found you.”

Warren continued to cling to Selena, his expression nervous, but I felt nothing but respect for Selena as she sat up stiffly with a serious look in her eyes and started to speak. “I was on my way to work when suddenly everything started to go dark,” she said evenly. “I’m guessing he must have used something to knock me out. One moment I was walking to work, and the next I was waking up in that awful cabin.” She hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, then continued. “I tried to get up and away, but I realised I’d been chained to the wall.”

She stopped again, this time to rub at her wrists once more. Warren continued to look supportively at Selena, only now his chin was jutted out. I could tell he was trying hard to hold back his outrage over what Drew had done to her. Eventually, Selena placed her hands on her lap and continued.

“I was on my own when I first woke up, but that guy turned up soon after,” she said. “I didn’t know what to make of him at first. He was trying hard to be kind and kept smiling, but if anything… that familiarity frightened me more. He kept calling me Alannah and acting as though we knew one another.” She gulped and took a moment to recover. “Part of me wanted to correct him, but I was terrified that if I did, he’d turn on me.”

Smart girl, I thought to myself with respect.

“I didn’t speak, just listened as he told me all of these memories of him and Alannah. After a while he left,” she recalled. “I don’t know how long he was gone, but he eventually came back and gave me some food. I lost it for a moment and told him I wasn’t Alannah, but he simply laughed it off. I just wanted to get away, so I tried to go along with what he was saying. He started to trust me, and he even uncuffed me so we could sit together before going to the lake.”

She hesitated again, her eyes growing wide and wet. I allowed her a moment to dry her eyes before she continued. “As we walked to the lake, I tried to check out my surroundings, find a route to escape, but it was dark and I didn’t know where to go or what to do. We reached the water, and the moment he started to swim away from me, I decided to swim for it.” She paused as her eyes found my own. “And that’s when you found me.”

I nodded gently. “Ta for that, Selena,” I said gratefully as I uncrossed my arms. “If it came to it, would you feel comfortable saying this all again in court?”

Selena nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek before agreeing. “Yes, I’d do anything to help him get locked away,” she said candidly.

Warren looked at me. “How did you find her?” he asked curiously. “Selena said she was at Gormire Lake. How did you know to go there?”

“Drew’s brother, Alvin, told us everything,” I said bluntly, hoping the anger I felt at saying his name wasn’t obvious. “Alvin had been the one at the scene when Mia’s body was found, and when we spoke to Selena’s manager he described a man at work who resembled Alvin.” I rubbed my neck thoughtfully. “We decided to question Alvin, and that’s when it all came out that he’d been withholding information to protect his brother.”

Selena lowered her head sadly as Warren shook his head in disgust. “What a prick,” he said unhappily. “If he’d been honest from the start, Selena never would have gone through any of this!”

“Aye, I know,” I said supportively.

“Do you have any other questions for me?” Selena asked cautiously as she put her hand on her stomach as though for comfort.

I shook my head. “No, that should be all for now,” I said confidently as I glanced at Lylah and gestured for her to get to her feet. “We’ll keep in touch and let you know how everything goes.”

Selena went to stand up, but I politely threw out my hands to stop her. “You just rest, alright? DC Stone and I can see ourselves out.”

Selena looked like she was considering objecting, but she then sighed and nodded. Lylah and I shook both of their hands, then together we left the house and got in my car. After driving in silence for a few minutes, Lylah spoke.

“I have to admit, this has been one of the most difficult cases I’ve had to work on so far,” Lylah said matter-of-factly as she pulled her blond braid over her shoulder. “One young girl was brutally killed and another one narrowly avoided the same fate.” She shook her head in disbelief. “It’s too upsetting to think about.”

I gripped her knee affectionately. “Same here, love,” I said earnestly. “Mia and Selena are both the same age as Faye, so it’s been near impossible not to think about her.”

Lylah sighed sadly. “I can’t believe Selena was going through all of that when pregnant.” Lylah turned away from the window and toward me. “Can you?”

I scratched my chin and grimaced. “Nah, I can’t,” I said sincerely. “That poor girl really went through it.”

“Do you think you’d ever want another child?” she asked casually, her body going stiff in her seat. “Or are you happy with just Faye?”

I blanched and turned to her in surprise. Lylah looked hurt by my reaction, so I quickly coughed to recover. “Random question, love,” I said bluntly.

Lylah laughed slightly. “I know… it’s just hearing about Selena’s pregnancy, seeing how happy they both were.” She paused and sighed blissfully. “It just made me think that maybe I’d like that for myself one day.”

I didn’t reply right away, and I could tell from how Lylah continued to sit rigidly in her chair that she was nervous about what I was going to say.

I’d had Faye at a young age and always told myself that I would never want another child. I suddenly thought of Selena and how happy she was about it. She wasn’t showing signs of fear about having a child at a young age, or worrying about how expensive it would be. She was simply happy.

I turned to Lylah, imagined us having a baby, and was shocked that it was something I suddenly wanted. For a long time I thought I’d never have another child, but since meeting Lylah, I was certain that she was my future. The thought of us raising a child together was nothing but a happy one.

“I think we could handle a baby, don’t you?” I asked casually. I smirked as soon as I saw Lylah looking at me in happy shock.

“Are you serious?” she asked, her voice trying not to be hopeful as she moved closer toward me.

“Aye, I am,” I said before turning to her with a slight smile. “But not until we’re married.”

Lylah grinned and squeezed my knee. “That’s something I can agree to,” she said warmly.

As we continued back to the station, the mood in the car was lighter and happier than it had been in a long time. Although I knew we still had heaps of paperwork to contend with once we got back, the two of us were truly happy and there was nothing that could take that away.

Lylah was the love of my life, and soon I’d not only be calling her my wife, but hopefully the mother of my child, too.

EPILOGUE

It had been a long, long time since I’d thought about that case. At the time, it had felt so personal to me. Now when I looked back on it, I felt almost foolish for being so fixated on Faye. Faye had always been a strong-willed girl, and I should have known, even then, that if anyone could have handled themselves in such a horrific situation, it would have been her.

Drew had been a damaged soul, and it wasn’t surprising when he was arrested with diminished responsibility. It had been hard for the families who longed to see him arrested, but Drew was still locked away and placed in a mental facility—as far as I was aware he was still there now—so, although it may not have been the ending many wanted, justice had still been served. Drew was unable to hurt another woman.

I shook Drew, Faye, and those families from my mind and put my focus back on Larry. Those other names weren’t important right now. What was important was getting to Larry as quickly as I could. I had to figure out a way to spare him. The evidence against him was overwhelming, I knew that, and yet my possibly naive heart was unable to see him as a villain.

I had to get to the pub and stop Nadia from arresting Larry. I knew we had to speak to him, the evidence demanded that, but we could bring him in gently and question him with his consent. Larry would be okay with that. I knew he would. That way, we’d get our answers and Larry could keep his reputation and dignity.

I eventually made it to the pub and swore repeatedly when I saw Nadia’s parked car was empty. I hastily parked up behind Nadia’s car and jumped out of my own. I charged like a bull toward the Wolf and Lamb Pub’s front door, but just as I got close to it, I saw Larry’s large bulk coming out of it. His head was subdued, and his hands were cuffed behind his back. My chest felt tight at seeing him looking so forlorn and broken.

I’m too late, I thought to myself in dismay.

He stepped out of his own pub, his face looking defeated and almost frightened. Larry was a giant of a man, so to see him looking so fearful was difficult to witness. Walking just behind him was Nadia, who was shoving him along with a satisfied expression on her face. As they came out of the front door, I wasn’t surprised to see they were being followed by a few unhappy customers. I quickly recognised a couple of the men who I’d spoken to on my first ever night here. First, I saw the shocking red hair of Henry Cook, who was getting dangerously close to Nadia, his face filled with outrage. I prayed for him to not get any closer or do something he’d regret. Before he seemed twitchy and nervous, but now he was focused and hurling all of his outrage in Nadia’s direction. With him was Derrick, who I recognised from his raven black hair. He was shaking his head in dismay and offering Larry words of encouragement.

“Don’t worry, they can’t hold you for long!” Derrick roared behind Nadia’s back. “You’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Everyone, just back off!” I said loudly as I drew closer.

Larry looked at me with wide, frightened eyes. Both Derrick and Henry looked at me in shock.

“You can’t be okay with this?” Henry asked in confusion as he gestured toward Nadia and Larry.

I went to reply, but Nadia turned and faced the men. Her nostrils were flared, and her face was lined with anger. Nadia wasn’t the type to get angry easily, so I knew the disrespect they were showing her must have affected her greatly for her to react so strongly.

“I’m a detective superintendent and I will not stand for any more of this behaviour!” she snapped angrily. “Either you all get inside and let me do my job or I will have no choice but to arrest all of you!”

Henry opened his mouth, but he glanced at Larry and saw him shaking his large head.

“Listen to her, please,” Larry said desperately. “Just get inside and behave. Don’t make things any worse than they already are.”

Henry closed his mouth with a sigh and rounded up the male punters. He quickly ushered them inside, leaving just me, Nadia, and Larry out in the open street. Larry looked at me, and I hated the hurt that was painted in his eyes. The soft giant clearly thought I’d turned against him, and it was difficult to stomach.

“Sean, I didn’t hurt those women,” he said in a slow, solemn tone. “You know I didn’t. I’ve done nothing but try to help you from the moment we met! Those women were my colleagues, my friends… how can you for one second think I’d be able to murder them like they meant nothing to me?”

I sighed as Nadia pushed him toward her car. “This is out of my hands right now, Larry,” I said apologetically. “I believe you’re innocent, but we followed a trail of evidence… and now have to question you over it.” I shot a glare at Nadia. “Did you have to make such a scene? You could have waited until I got here. We could have spoken to him together.”

Nadia opened the car’s back door and gestured for Larry to climb inside. He did so without complaint. As he was getting into the car, she turned to me with an annoyed expression.

“Yes, Sean,” she snapped as she shoved her hands on her hips. “Yes, I did! We have been pushed from pillar to post and the information has always been the same.” She shot Larry an unhappy look before glancing back at me. “All evidence is pointing to him, and you know I have to question him.”

“You mean we have to question him,” I said in confusion as I crossed my arms.

Nadia sighed and looked at me guiltily. “No, Sean,” she said slowly. She shut Larry in her car, then gestured for us to step away so we could speak without being heard. “You’ve gotten yourself too close to this. I can’t allow you to question him when it’s clear you have a bias.”

I gawked at her in disbelief. This was my case. Mine. When the anonymous letter had arrived at the station, I was the only one who had taken it seriously. Everyone else shrugged it off as unimportant, but I was the one to use my initiative and search for answers. For days now, I’d been chasing leads, and I couldn’t accept being cut off from the case when I’d invested so much time and emotion into it.

Not when Larry’s innocence was at stake.

“You can’t remove me from this, Nadia,” I said pleadingly as I stepped closer to her. “Please. We are friends, aren’t we?”

Nadia nodded, her eyes getting tearful. “Yes, we are friends, and that is exactly why I’m removing you from the case,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion and guilt. “You are a civilian now, Sean. You retired from the force. I am perfectly within my right to step in and take over.” She sighed. “We both want justice for those women, but you’re too close to Larry. I can’t risk your personal feelings jeopardising this case.”

“Nadia, please,” I said desperately as I grabbed her hand. “You can’t do this to me.”

“I’m doing this for your own good, Sean,” she said softly before gesturing to her car. “I will allow you a minute to say goodbye to Larry, but once we drive away from here, you will have no more involvement in the case. That is final.”

I shook my head in disbelief as I stepped toward her car. How could Nadia do this to me? This case meant everything to me, and quicker than blinking, it had been ripped out of my hands. I opened the door and leant down to look at Larry. Larry turned his sad eyes toward me, his shoulders hunched and his left foot twitching wildly.

“I’m innocent, Sean,” he said in a quiet, upset tone. “I’m innocent!”

I nodded as I rubbed my stubble. “Aye, I believe you, mate, but there’s a lot of evidence racked up against you,” I said solemnly. “You worked with the women, I was given a note that led me to your door, and now we’ve found evidence to suggest you were seen with Nadia at the Bucking Bronco Pub around the time she was killed.”

Larry raised his eyebrows so high they almost touched his hairline. “I’ve never even been to that pub!” he exclaimed fearfully. “Whoever told you that is lying.”

I sighed. “The person who told us is a very reliable witness. They had a list of delivery drivers with your name on it.”

Larry scoffed in disbelief as he placed his face in his hands. He looked like he was fighting the urge to scream. Eventually, he turned back to me. “I’ve never delivered a day in my life,” he said glumly.

I raised one of my gray eyebrows in surprise. My gut was screaming at me that he was telling the truth, but if he was being honest, then how had his name got on there? Why was he recognised? None of it made any sense.

Larry moved his face closer to mine. “You have to prove my innocence, mate!” he said desperately. “You just have to.”

I sensed Nadia walking toward me and knew my time was up.

“I will, Larry. I swear to you,” I said sincerely as I gripped his shoulder.

He pointed to his shirt pocket, and I grabbed a key from it.

“The key to the pub,” he said hastily. “You have my permission to search every inch of it. There must be something you can find which will help me.”

I subtly pocketed the key before Nadia could see and nodded.

“I’ll do everything I can,” I promised as I stepped aside.

All I saw was his wide, hopeful eyes as Nadia slammed the door between us. She then turned to me with crossed arms.

“I’m sorry again to do this to you, but I promise I’ll keep you up to date with my inquiries,” she said confidently.

Her tone was full of authority and bravado, but her body language was the opposite. Her body was slightly turned from me, and she couldn’t bear to look me in the eye.

I nodded and took a step back.

As I watched Nadia’s car drive away, my hand clutched the key in my pocket. Larry had given this to me with the hope that I could use it to prove his innocence, and I knew I’d stop at nothing to do so.

Larry Arnold was not our killer, and it was my job to find the real one.

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR

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