TO CATCH A KILLER

DI ELLIS YORKSHIRE CRIME THRILLERS

BOOK 15

OLIVER DAVIES

Copyright © 2025 by Oliver Davies

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

PROLOGUE

It felt like the world had crumbled under my feet and I was unable to speak, move, or even breathe as my mind played Nadia’s words on repeat. I knew Faye and Lylah were trying to talk to me, but their voices sounded like nothing more than muffled buzzing noises. It wasn’t that I wanted to ignore them... I just felt incapable of anything, swallowed by my disbelief.

I’d run around for the past few days, desperately trying to get evidence to support my theory that the owner of the Wolf and Lamb Pub, Larry Arnold, wasn’t the killer of twenty-six-year-old Lydia Henton, twenty-eight-year-old Angela Lowell, twenty-four-year-old Nadia Manir, and very likely, twenty-three-year-old Marika Dabrowska. Everyone except me was convinced Larry was guilty, and I’d fought tooth and nail to clear his name and get the truth—particularly after Larry had begged me to do so after he was arrested by Detective Superintendent Nadia Begum—and now it seemed like that had all been for nothing.

He had confessed to Nadia to committing the murders, and she had closed the case.

How did I get this so wrong? Was my infamous gut completely broken in my old age? All of the evidence had pointed to Larry, and yet I’d been pushing the narrative that he was innocent. I looked like a fool.

Larry had been adamant he was innocent, staring at me with his wide doe eyes and assuring me he could never hurt those women, and yet hours later he was telling Nadia he was guilty.

None of it made any sense.

Either Larry had played me like a fiddle from the moment I met him, or there was another, potentially darker reason behind Larry’s sudden confession.

“Dad?”

I rubbed my forehead and groaned, feeling unsure what to say. I eventually glanced in Faye’s direction and saw her looking toward Lylah nervously. The two women looked concerned over my silence.

“Sorry,” I muttered, my left hand still pressed to my forehead.

I sensed Lylah moving closer to me. “Is it your head, Sean? Is it hurting again?” she exhaled worriedly. “I knew you shouldn’t have left the hospital so quickly! You were only there for a few hours!”

“No, it isn’t that!” I took my hand off of my forehead and looked between the two most important women in my life, feeling guilty for causing them such concern. “I’m not in pain, I swear.”

“He just feels annoyed because he’s wasted his time defending a guilty man,” Faye said bluntly.

Trust my daughter to say it how it is, I thought. She’s got far too much of me in her.

“I’m so sorry, love.” Lylah stroked my arm sympathetically. “At least you now know the truth.”

I slowly turned to face her. “Do I though?”

Lylah glanced at Faye in confusion before looking back at me. “Of course you do, darling.”

“He’s finally done the right thing and confessed, Dad,” Faye said, her tone slowly softening. “You can put this behind you.”

I kept quiet, not knowing what to think or say. I only spoke when I heard Faye turning the ignition of her car back on. “Where are you going?”

“I’m taking you and Lylah back home,” Faye answered coolly. “You need to get some rest now, Dad. It’s getting late, and your head won’t get better on its own.”

I glanced at the clock in her car and saw it was now almost eight... hardly the late hour Faye was trying to paint it to be. The sky was only just starting to show signs of the arrival of night-time.

“I might be getting on a bit, love, but it’s not exactly approaching my bedtime,” I said evenly.

Faye sighed in exasperation. “I said rest, Dad. I’m not trying to get you into your pyjamas already.”

“She’s just trying to look out for you, Sean,” Lylah added gently. “We both are.”

I shook my head, ignoring the throbbing from my head injury. As much as I hated to admit it, my head was hurting me a lot more than I dared to let on. Particularly as I knew if I so much as mentioned a minimal level of pain, both Lylah and Faye would frogmarch me back into the hospital. I knew the right thing to do was rest, but there was no way I could even contemplate going home until I did one last thing.

“Take me to the station,” I said abruptly.

Faye quirked a brow at me. “Dad, it’s over. You need to let it go now.”

“It isn’t over until I say it is,” I replied stubbornly.

“You still can't think he’s innocent?” Lylah asked in disbelief.

“I dunno,” I answered honestly. “All I know is I’ve spent the past few days believing Larry was innocent, and I have to look him in the eye and hear what he has to say for himself... he told me he never could have hurt those girls. I have to hear his confession with my own ears.”

Faye turned her ignition off again and turned to me with a severe look. “I love you, Dad, but this needs to end now.” She hesitated, her expression softening. “I’m really sorry things didn’t end the way you wanted them to, but what’s important is you did what you set out to do… and you can finally be free of all of this... but only if you let yourself.”

“I have to see him, love,” I answered, my voice shaking with emotion. “I have to know why. I’ve put everything into this case, and if Larry really is guilty, I have to talk to him... and if he isn’t, then I need⁠—”

“Bloody hell,” Faye interrupted. “You really do still think he’s innocent, don’t you? Even after he’s confessed!”

If I was being honest with myself… yes, I did still believe he was innocent, but how could I say that to my wife and child when I couldn’t even explain it to myself? The realist in me knew if this was any other case, with this level of evidence and a confession, I’d never second guess it, but with this one it was all I could do.

He had confessed. He had a whole pile of evidence stacked against him. We had everything we needed to lock Larry away and get a jury to firmly believe his guilt.

And yet, a large part of me wasn’t ready to completely throw in the towel.

“I just need to speak to him one last time, Faye, that’s it,” I answered firmly. “I spent countless hours of my time fighting for him, and I can’t let this case go until I find out why he changed his plea at the last second.”

Faye hesitated for a moment, her eyes filled with sympathy. “Dad... you were removed by the detective superintendent, and you aren’t a detective anymore.” She bit her lip thoughtfully. “I can’t exactly let you go in and speak to a convicted murderer when you have no authority to do so. You know that.”

I looked at her with wide eyes. “And I also know that my daughter knows I’m not the type of man who’s going to drop this until I get all of the answers.”

Faye swore under her breath as she rubbed her face. I hated the fact I was putting her in an impossible position, but there was no way I could just go home and act like this was all okay.

Nothing about this case was okay.

Lylah edged forward and put a light hand on Faye’s shoulder. “I think we should take him to the station.”

I turned to her in disbelief, sensing Faye do the same.

“Lylah, it’s your job at risk as much as my own if we take him,” Faye said seriously.

“I hate this as much as you do, but we both know Sean is a stubborn old mule,” Lylah replied. “If we don’t take him now, he’ll only leave the flat later and find his own way to the station.”

I always knew I was madly in love with Lylah, but in that moment I felt like I couldn’t have loved her anymore if I tried. Even with the insults.

Faye remained silent.

“I know you’re concerned about your job, so take me to the Wolf and Lamb Pub to get my car and I will take him to the station without you,” Lylah said. “You don’t need to be involved in this, but I know your father and I know he won’t drop this. It will be better for all of us if we let him speak to Larry so he can put this behind him... so we can all put this behind us.”

Faye sighed defeatedly, then turned her engine on. “If you are both determined to go you know I won’t let you go without me... we’ve been in this together and that isn’t changing at the final hurdle.”

I leaned toward Faye and kissed her cheek, then gripped Lylah’s hand and pressed my lips to it gratefully. “Ta... both of you.”

Lylah winked at me. “We’re a team, right?”

I smiled. “Always.”

Faye—in spite of herself—smiled weakly as she started to drive. “Let’s hope we end this day with our jobs, eh?”

I winked at her confidently. I had no doubt in my mind that hers and Lylah’s jobs were secure. Nadia would never do anything against them, not with their long history. Still, I was lucky to have them both, and while it was clear they both believed Larry was guilty, I was at least grateful they were coming with me to speak to him.

I’d spent too much time the past few days reliving my golden days, speaking about some of my greatest cases and how they’d shaped me, but I knew now that was over. Whether Larry was guilty or not, I had to focus everything I had on figuring out who the infamous serial killer was, which meant from now on, the only past I could delve into was a past connected to Angela, Lydia, Nadia, and Marika.

No more speaking of old cases. No more getting distracted by them.

My focus had to be on the present and honouring those women. Until I had it completely confirmed who their killer was, they would be all I thought about.

Even if it might be the death of me.

1

It worked. He couldn’t believe it, but somehow his plan had actually worked. All of the time and effort spent over almost two decades had led to that moment. It felt surreal to think it was all over.

He had been sitting near the Victoria Way Station for a few hours now—ensuring he was close enough to see the entrance but not close enough to be spotted by the police. He wanted to be there when Larry was brought in, and he wanted to make sure he never came out. He’d sat there patiently for a while, and as that lummox Larry still hadn’t dragged his miserable arse out of the station, it was really starting to look like the police had followed the man’s trail of carefully placed breadcrumbs and caught themselves a killer.

At least, so they were arrogant enough to believe.

Larry was an awful human being, and he’d done some horrible things in his life. He was self-absorbed, egotistical, rude, and cruel, but as far as the man was aware, he wasn’t a killer. Larry had always been a lover, not a fighter, and the man knew the fool could never hurt a living thing. Yet thanks to the man’s hard work, the pathetic lump was going to end up in prison for crimes he hadn’t committed.

The thought of it couldn’t have been any more delicious.

He’d gotten away with multiple murders and destroyed the life and reputation of a man he despised... all in all, he’d had far worse days.

He smiled to himself at the thought of Larry locked away for the rest of his pathetic life. As he did, he realised it was the first time he had genuinely smiled in a long time. A long, long time. He had happy moments every now and again, but it had been years since anything had painted a smile on his face as real as the one currently there.

Larry had done so much to make his life miserable, and it felt great to be able to—finally—return the favour. Larry and he had a long history—none of it pleasant—and the man couldn’t think about Larry without his skin crawling. He’d spent years acting like he was Larry’s friend, pretending to care as he listened to his stories and drank with him, but now it looked like his years of pretence were finally at an end.

He could finally be free of Larry. Finally be true and honest with himself and not have to spend his life pretending. The only thing that would hurt him now was that he would have to be smart and not kill for a while, but he was a patient man. He always left time between his kills. Besides, the man never exactly went out of his way to kill. He didn’t choose victims with the sole purpose of eventually murdering them, but their deaths had been a means to an end, and the man knew self-preservation would always come before anything else. He gave the women chances to love him, to be loyal to him, but if they were stupid enough to turn against him then... well, what choice did he have?

It was their fault they had died in the end. Not his.

All the man had ever truly wanted was unconditional love. To find a woman who genuinely cared for him and wanted to be with him forever. He thought he’d found that with Angela, Lydia, Nadia, and Marika, but all of them had let him down in their own ways.

The man knew he had the capability of violence and that he didn’t react well to rejection, so he’d always been smart with his choice of love interests. He purposely picked women connected to Larry. That way, if they did end up disappointing him, he could kill two birds with one stone: remove the woman who wasn’t giving him what he needed and build up ammunition that could be used against Larry when the time was right.

It hurt when a woman he cared for let him down, but knowing that their betrayal might lead to Larry’s arrest was well worth it.

The man looked at his watch and saw it was getting late. He could easily sit there all night and wait to see if Larry came out, but as it had been several hours and there was no sign of the idiot, then the man was confident he wouldn’t be out anytime soon.

Likely not for a lifetime.

The man chuckled lightly to himself and went to turn on his ignition, but he hesitated when he saw a car moving speedily toward the station. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself, so he ducked down in his seat. The car doors flew open, and out of them stepped a man and two women. His eyes widened in shock when he realised it wasn’t just any man stepping out of the car... it was the retired detective, Sean Ellis.

How is this possible! the man thought angrily. I left Ellis for dead at Larry’s pub!

The man swore and smacked his steering wheel loudly, unable to contain his frustration. He had worked hard to ensure that every woman he targeted could somehow be linked back to Larry, he had waited for the perfect moment to ensure the police were pointed in Larry’s direction, and yet Ellis seemed unwilling to follow the simple trail the man had set out for him.

Ellis was no fool—not like the rest of the detectives—and he was a big threat to everything the man had worked so hard for over the past two decades.

Why didn’t he just see the connections to Larry and arrest him? Why did he have to go out of his way to try and prove Larry was innocent when literally everything suggested Larry’s guilt?

Ellis had been the one problem in the man’s perfect plan. Ellis was getting too close to the truth, searching too deeply for answers, and the man knew that he would find evidence linking him to the Wolf and Lamb Pub... which is why he’d had no choice earlier but to attack him.

Especially when he saw that Ellis was holding that folder.

The man knew for a fact he was in that folder, so he had to act rashly in order to obtain it. He knew he’d behaved foolishly, knew it was stupid to attack Ellis after Larry had been arrested, but the man had been left with no choice.

He’d hoped that the trail leading to Larry was strong enough for him to be convicted without them questioning Ellis’s attack, but since Ellis was alive and rushing into the building like his life depended on it, the man knew that Ellis was definitely going to be a problem.

The man took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but it was difficult. Could it be that he’d dedicated years to setting up Larry’s downfall all for one persistent ex-detective to see right through everything? Was Larry going to be set free because that annoying ex-detective was going to save him?

He stayed in his car and watched the station like a hawk, knowing he couldn’t leave or give up now.

Whatever happened in that station would ultimately determine his next move. The man had planned on keeping a low profile after Larry’s arrest, but if it became obvious there was still doubt over Larry’s guilt, then he’d be happy to resort to another murder in order to protect himself.

Or send a message to that pesky ex-detective.

He grabbed his phone and started to call his accomplice. He knew they were keen to be involved in a kill. He smirked slightly to himself. They might soon be getting their wish.

Ex-detective Sean Ellis, you have just found yourself a powerful enemy... one you’re going to really wish you didn’t get in the way of.

2

Faye got us to Victoria Way Station quickly, and she’d barely parked up before I was taking my seatbelt off and preparing to climb out of the vehicle.

“Slow down, Sean!” Lylah scolded. “You’ve only just been hit on the head, remember?”

“I know, I know,” I repeated irritably as I started to climb out of the car. “But we have to find Nadia before she takes Larry away!”

I heard Lylah tutting behind me, but both her and Faye soon followed me out of the car and toward the station’s entrance. Faye moved ahead and grabbed the door for us, and both her and Lylah nodded politely to the receptionist as we passed her. I saw her eyes glance at the bandage on my head with a disturbed look, but she quickly recovered and looked at Lylah with a much happier expression.

“So much for a day off, eh, Lylah?” the receptionist asked chirpily.

Lylah jerked her thumb at me. “Not when you’re married to this one.”

The receptionist laughed, sounding fake and forced, and we were soon past her and approaching the department. We reached the door, but I hesitated just outside of it, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion. I mostly felt nostalgia, as there’d been many days when I’d charged through those doors with a similar sense of urgency, but there was also sadness over the fact I’d been forced to leave before my time.

My health had started to slowly decline during my last few years working at the station. I knew it was happening, and I hadn’t been a fool about it, even going so far as stepping back down to a DI so I had less stress and responsibility for my last few years in the job. I did everything I could to keep working as a detective, but once I suffered a heart attack when chasing a perp, I knew I was going to find it difficult to keep doing the thing that I loved the most.

I fought hard to stay on as a DI, argued with my superiors over the fact I’d been instrumental in solving multiple cases, but even Nadia in her high role couldn’t save me from being forced to make the choice to retire.

In my superiors’ eyes I’d passed my level of usefulness and was now more of a hindrance than a help, so I was chucked out like a loaf of out-of-date bread... it had been humiliating, upsetting, and frustrating, but I’d accepted it and left.

It was all I could do.

I stared at the door with a feeling of misgiving. That wasn’t my department anymore, and yet there I was about to push my way in like I was still a lead detective. While I knew it wasn’t right, it was also necessary.

“Dad,” Faye muttered.

I turned to face her and watched as she gently stepped in front of me. “What?”

“We can still go back,” Faye said candidly. “There would be no shame in that.”

I could tell Faye was reading my hesitation as uncertainty. I shook my head and ignored the instant pain that throbbed from the movement. “No, love, I have to do this.”

Before either Faye or Lylah had the chance to argue, I pushed open the door and glanced around at my old department. It felt both familiar and completely different at the same time. The overall layout was exactly the same—except for some more modern desktops that now sat at the desks—but the faces weren’t the ones I was used to seeing on a daily basis.

They were all practically strangers to me, which was odd considering I’d only left a year ago. I knew Nadia told me the turnaround had been severe, but I didn’t realise it was to this extent.

“Christ,” I muttered. “The entire team is different.”

“I know.” Lylah stepped closer to me and lowered her voice. “There was a big shake up after you left. Nadia wanted to bring in some fresh blood, hoping to find someone at your level, but so far only her new DI has impressed her.”

I was surprised but oddly flattered by Lylah’s words. I’d always known Nadia thought a lot of me, but to know she’d basically changed an entire team in order to see if someone could compare to my standard touched me.

I heard rushed footsteps and looked to see DI Victoria Humes—the woman who’d replaced me and the only slightly familiar face there—moving toward us with a concerned expression.

“Is everything alright? You all look rather serious.” Her green eyes fell on my bandaged head and widened. “Christ! Are you alright, Sean? DSI Begum mentioned you’d been hurt, but that looks bad!”

I waved my hand through the air. “Aye, I’m fine. Where is Nadia?”

“Hold your horses, Sean. Tell me why you’re here first?”

“I have to speak to Nadia.”

“Well, I’m sure you can talk to me first, Sean.” Victoria smirked. “If you felt I was good enough to be your replacement, I’m sure I’m good enough to handle whatever you’ve got going on.”

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, I couldn’t help but release a dry laugh. When I’d retired I was asked by Nadia if I could go through some files she had and pick my replacement. At first, none of them seemed the right fit for my old team, but then I found Victoria’s file. She had an impeccable record, had shown bravery and loyalty on numerous occasions, and was highly respected by everyone she worked with. After speaking to her and several people who had worked with her, it had been an easy choice to pick her as my replacement.

And, from everything Nadia had told me since I’d left, I was confident I’d made the right choice.

“Is Nadia still here?” I asked quickly.

“No, she just left to get some reinforcements,” Victoria answered cautiously. “What’s going on here?”

She must have gone to get some PCs to take Larry away, which means he’s likely still in one of the interview rooms!

“The guy she was questioning, is he still here?” I inquired.

Victoria grimaced, running her fingers through her wavy ginger hair. “You know I can’t talk to you about cases now you’re retired, Sean.”

But this is my case! I thought unhappily.

“Please, Victoria,” I responded pleadingly. “This is important.”

Victoria scratched her freckled face. “I know you were originally helping DSI Begum with this case, but she’s given me specific instructions to not talk to you about this... she thinks you’re too close to it.”

“That isn’t true,” I said hastily. I hesitated, knowing I needed to keep calm if I had any chance of finding anything out. “Larry... which room is he in?”

“You know I can’t just⁠—”

Victoria stopped speaking when she saw Faye step forward. She approached a young man who was closest to us and looked down at him with a serious expression. “DC, which room did DSI Begum speak to our person of interest in?”

“Interview room one, ma’am,” the DC answered quickly.

“Christ, DC Kebby,” Victoria muttered unhappily. “Can’t you see I was trying to—hey, wait!”

The moment DC Kebby finished speaking, I moved around Victoria and started to make my way toward the interview rooms. I didn’t know how long Nadia had been gone for, but I knew she would soon be returning with some PCs. I had no time to lose.

I had to speak to Larry, and I had to speak to him right away.

3

“Lyles, Faye, I need you to both keep a lookout and make sure I don’t get interrupted,” I said boldly as the three of us continued walking hastily toward the interview rooms. “I’m going to speak to Larry quickly before Nadia gets here.”

Faye scoffed in disbelief. “Dad, this really isn’t like you! I was finding the room number so we could wait for Nadia and all talk to him together, but you’re seriously going to go in without her!” She gestured between her and Lylah. “Without us!”

I grimaced uncomfortably, knowing she was right. After being accused of misconduct early in my career, I always did things by the book as I didn’t want to risk going through that stress again. It had been awful watching all of my colleagues doubt me, looking at me as though I was a selfish liability. It took a long time for me to get others to trust that I was a good man who did things right. Rebecca had been one of the ones who’d instantly disliked me based on my previous mistakes, and I’d worked long and hard to win her over. However, I wasn’t officially a detective anymore, so who cared if I bent the rules slightly? I knew Nadia wouldn’t let me speak to Larry—she felt I was too close to him—so I had no intention of waiting just for her to tell me no.

I glanced at Lylah and my heart felt heavy when I saw her eyes shining with worry. “I see her point, Sean... maybe it’s not a bad idea to wait until Nadia arrives.”

“If we wait for her, I’ll never get the chance to speak to Larry!” I exclaimed. “We all know she doesn’t want me involved anymore. She isn’t exactly going to let me in.”

“Sean, we still have our jobs to consider here,” Lylah answered hesitantly. “We aren’t retired like you, so we need⁠—”

The rest of her words fizzled out as Victoria and other members of the team approached to stop me.

“Stop!” a DC shouted as he moved toward us. “DI Humes said you can’t go in there!”

I looked back at Lylah and Faye. “I don’t have time to argue. I just need you both to stop them from interrupting me.”

“But—” Faye started.

I pushed open the door and shut it behind me rapidly, turning the lock so the others couldn’t easily force their way in. Once I felt confident we couldn’t be disturbed, I turned around to face Larry. The moment I saw him, I was filled with shock.

He was crying.

His large hands were covering his face and shaved head, but there was no denying the fact that he was sobbing loudly into them. He was releasing a booming, pained sound, which instantly went through my heart like an arrow shot from a bow. The sound reminded me of a severely injured animal, crying out in pain and knowing it was soon approaching death.

I may not have known Larry well, but I was relatively certain he wasn’t the type of bloke who usually cried or showed any emotion publicly.

Was he crying because he was consumed with guilt over the horrible things he’d done, or was he upset because he was facing a prison sentence for crimes he hadn’t even committed?

Larry lowered his hands to wipe his eyes and nose, but he hesitated at the sight of me. “Sean?”

I moved and took the seat opposite him. “Aye, mate, it’s me.”

Larry looked at me like I wasn’t real. “What are y’doing here? That detective woman said you weren’t on this case anymore.” His eyes moved to my bandaged head, and he gasped. “You’ve been hurt! What happened?”

“Aye, I was pulled off of the case because I believed you when you told me you were innocent,” I answered bluntly. “But now I’ve heard that isn’t true?”

“What happened to you?” Larry asked again, his voice shaking with concern. “Tell me!”

I was surprised and confused by Larry’s concern over my welfare. The man had told Nadia he was a ruthless killer, and yet he couldn’t look at my head injury without his face going as pale as snow. Why would a serial killer care if I’d been hurt? In my experience serial killers had no empathy or sympathy, yet Larry was as considerate as they came. Try as I might, I just couldn’t see him capable of doing vile things to those women. Why was he saying he did?

“I was attacked in your pub when looking for evidence to help free you,” I said coolly. “I found a folder, but I was smacked in the back of the head before I had the chance to look at it.”

Larry rubbed his stubble awkwardly, unable to meet my eye. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, mate.”

“Are you?” I inquired coldly.

Larry looked at me again, his eyes shining with both guilt and surprise. “Of course I am!”

I edged closer to him. “Just tell me straight, Larry. Are you guilty?”

Larry rubbed his face nervously. “I’ve confessed to your detective woman.”

I huffed impatiently. “That isn’t exactly a straight answer.”

Larry kept quiet, his eyes fixated on the table like he didn’t dare look at me.

“Do you know what I’ve spent my last few days doing, Larry?” I asked bitterly.

Larry’s large shoulders drooped. “You looked for who hurt those girls.”

“Aye, that, and I’ve moved heaven and earth to try and clear your name!” I exclaimed. “I’ve been here, there, and everywhere, doing everything I can in order to prove that you weren’t the one responsible for hurting those girls... and how do you repay me?” I hesitated, but Larry avoided my eye contact. “You bloody confess to my old colleague that you did it!”

“I’m sorry,” Larry mumbled.

“Sorry for what, Larry? Sorry for lying to me and telling me you didn’t do it, sorry that you’ve been caught, or sorry that you’re protecting the real killer?”

Larry shook his head. “Just sorry. That’s all.”

I rubbed my face irritably. “Why did you go to the trouble of asking me for help if you knew you were guilty? That’s the main thing I’m struggling to understand.”

Larry slowly looked at me, his lip quivering. “I’m sorry I wasted your time, Sean.”

“Why did you do any of this if you knew we’d end up finding the truth?”

“I did what I thought was right,” Larry responded sincerely.

“It was right to help me, but why if you knew it would end up exposing you?” I asked desperately. “It makes no sense.”

Larry shrugged. “Some things in life don’t make sense.”

I bit back a swear word as I looked at him irritably. “Were you this vague with DSI Begum?”

“I confessed, that’s all that matters,” Larry answered glumly. “Now we can all just leave this, alright?”

I felt a mixture of emotions as I looked at him, but the main thing I felt was disappointment in myself. I’d believed him—really believed him—and now it seemed like the whole time he’d been lying to me.

Lylah... I thought guiltily. I’m so sorry. I’ve put you, Faye, and Nadia through so much rubbish and it was all for nothing... I was wrong.

My gut had failed me, and that was a massive punch to my pride... especially now that I knew my superiors were right to tell me to retire.

Clearly, I wasn’t the detective I once was.

“Did you tell Nadia everything?” I asked emotionlessly.

“I told her what she needed.”

“Did you tell her about Marika?”

Larry furrowed his thick brows. “Marika?”

I pushed back in my chair, looking at him in surprise. “Aye, did you tell her where Marika is?”

“I don’t know what you’re on about, mate,” he answered in confusion. He was silent for half a second before his eyes widened. “Wait, Marika Dabrowska? The Polish woman who worked with me for a bit? I remember seeing her name on the list I gave you.”

I tapped the table as I gathered my thoughts together. I was surprised that Nadia hadn’t mentioned Marika to him, but I was more shocked by Larry’s clear confusion over her name. I hadn’t mentioned Marika to him when we met—I didn’t yet realise she was connected—but if Larry was guilty of killing those girls, then surely he’d have known she was a victim too?

“Aye, her,” I answered. “She went missing six years ago. We have every reason to believe she is dead, just like Angela, Lydia, and Nadia.”

Larry swore. “Jesus... I can’t believe she’s dead too.”

“Are you telling me you didn’t kill her, Larry?”

“Of course not!”

“Yet you killed the others?”

Larry rubbed his face awkwardly. “I didn’t know anything had happened to Marika, I swear.”

“Just like you swore you were innocent of the others, you mean?”

“I’m sorry about that, alright? I’ve done what I have to do for the sake of everyone.”

“Why the wedding fingers, Larry?” I asked. “I’ve never understood that part.”

Larry looked confused again. “What do you mean?”

“Why did you cut off the girls’ wedding fingers?” I pressed. “Did you keep them as trophies?”

Larry’s complexion turned green, and for a second I readied myself to move at a second’s notice before he was sick. Eventually he put a hand to his mouth and his colour slowly returned. “Erm, yeah, that was why.”

I rubbed my stubble and watched him.

Something was wrong. I knew it.

How could a killer not know why he collected particular trophies? I’d met many killers in my long career, and none of them looked close to projectile vomiting at the mention of what they’d done.

Larry couldn’t even hear about what happened to those girls, so how could he have done it to them? Either he had an accomplice that did the more gruesome bits for him, or he was—for whatever reason—lying by claiming he was guilty.

“And the small toes, I assume you collected them for the same reason?” I asked.

Larry took a few seconds before he was able to nod. “Yeah, same reason.”

I smacked my fist loudly on the table, causing Larry to jump in his seat. “Now I know you’re lying, Larry! I made that last part up!”

Larry moved back in his seat and looked toward the door desperately as though hoping someone was about to come in and save him. “I’ve confessed, man, alright? I’ve confessed, so let’s just drop this.”

I could hear loud noises coming from outside and knew my time was practically up.

Damn it, I thought irritably. I was getting somewhere!

“I can’t figure out why you’re lying to me, but I know you are,” I said confidently. “Are you protecting someone, Larry? Or has the real killer gotten to you and threatened you?”

“Sean, mate, just stop.”

“I dunno what this killer has said to you or threatened you with, mate, but we can protect you here, alright?” I asked gently. “Just tell us the truth and we can catch the real killer and keep you and those close to you safe.”

“Sean!” Nadia’s voice shouted as she smacked her fist on the door. “Open this door immediately!”

Larry looked at me solemnly. “Time is up, mate.”

I shook my head. “Just tell me!”

The knocking on the door grew louder and more persistent. Larry kept quiet, and I knew he had no intention of telling me anything else.

“I won’t drop this,” I said boldly. “I don’t know why you’re lying, but I can assure you I won’t be leaving this until I catch the real killer.”

Larry moved his large hands across the table toward me, his eyes staring deeply into my own. “I’m begging you, mate, if you care about me at all you will drop this.”

“Let me help you, Larry, please.”

“There is no helping me, mate,” Larry responded glumly. “Trust me, you’re doing more harm than good if you don’t let this go.... please, mate, you need to drop this.”

“I can’t.”

Larry sighed. “Then you’ve doomed us all.”

“What does that even⁠—”

My words were interrupted when the interview room door flew open. Nadia had gotten one of the DCs to break down the door, and he was rubbing his arm with a pained wince. Nadia stepped into the interview room, her face filled with a fury I’d never seen before.

“Nadia, wait a minute,” I said calmly. “I need⁠—”

“I don’t care what you need, Sean,” Nadia interrupted coldly, beckoning with her hands for some PCs to come forward. A group of four charged past her and moved toward Larry. “Just consider yourself lucky I’m only getting these PCs to take Larry to a cell and not you too.”

Larry stood up willingly, then gave me one last pleading look before following the PCs out.

I watched him leave, feeling frustrated that we were interrupted before he said anything else to me. My gut was telling me it was unlikely he was going to say anymore, but my informal interview with him had shown me one thing.

I was right... Larry was innocent.

Meaning I still had to catch a killer.

4

Istood up and approached Nadia, but she turned her back on me and exited the room. She pointed to one of the DCs who quickly stepped forward.

“DC Jones, call someone to come and fix this door right away.”

A man with light brown skin and dark features stepped forward. “Yes, ma’am!”

I stepped out of the room and followed her, hesitating once I reached the doorway to see a sea of faces staring at me. Lylah was looking apologetic—a look which instantly filled me with guilt—and Faye was looking as furious as Nadia did. The group of detectives looked shocked by my defiance, and a couple of PCs avoided looking at me, as though they feared Nadia’s wrath if they so much as acknowledged me.

I turned away from them and looked at Nadia, who was still pointedly avoiding me. I opened my mouth to speak, but she was too quick for me and moved toward Victoria.

“DI Humes, I will be commandeering DCI Smith’s office to have a private conversation with these three.”

Victoria nodded. “That’s fine, ma’am. I have no intention of interrupting DCI Smith’s holiday by telling him that.”

Nadia thanked her, then turned to the other detectives, her expression anything but pleased. “Don’t just stand there gawping! Go get some work done!”

Victoria sauntered away slowly and calmly, but the others moved away with urgency before Nadia had the chance to say anything else. I still found it odd to think of Nadia as someone with an intimidating presence, but after seeing her look of rage in that interview room, I could now see why she was able to command such respect and discipline from her team.

It was a look I never would have expected from her, and it made even me nervous.

Nadia didn’t look at or speak to any of us as she walked toward what was once my office. She pulled a key out of her pocket, unlocked the door, then stepped inside without a word. Once we were all inside, Faye closed the door behind us.

Although I knew I was about to get my arse handed to me by Nadia, I couldn’t help but quickly gaze around the room. The room had been my office for many years, and it served me well during my time as a DCI. While I would often leave the room and work in the main department—purely to keep with the team—it was still a place that held many fond memories for me.

My son, Craig, had practically grown up in that room. It hadn’t been easy being a DCI as well as a father, so there had been many occasions where I’d looked after Craig in that office while doing some work. I had written countless reports there, taken numerous phone calls, and spent time with my colleagues, creating memories that would last a lifetime. Even after I stepped down as DCI, I’d spent many hours there talking to my replacement, a woman from Bristol who had originally taken the role on a temporary basis but ended up staying until shortly before I left for good.

She had kept the office exactly the same, but as I looked around, I held back an irritated grimace when I saw that the new DCI had changed it completely. There were various pieces of art along the walls—each more pretentious than the last—the office chair had been replaced with an armchair, and the computer was half the size of the one I’d grown used to, and three times as thin. It no longer looked like my office, but I knew I had to respect the fact that it wasn’t my office anymore. DCI Smith was free to do with it what he wanted.

Eventually, I lowered my gaze toward Nadia, who was sitting in the DCI’s chair, her arms crossed and a furious expression on her face. Her eyes were glued to me, and I could tell she was waiting for me to speak first.

“I’m sorry, Nads.”

Nadia’s nostrils flared. “Don’t Nads me right now, Sean.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Nadia raised her hand to stop me. There was silence for a minute or two and I knew Nadia was trying to calm herself down. She exhaled deeply a few times before looking back at me, only now her look of fury was replaced with one of disappointment. I found that expression harder to stomach. I’d have much rather she yelled at me than looked at me with such hurt etched across her features.

“You know you completely overstepped the line, don’t you?” Nadia asked.

“I do,” I answered earnestly. “And I’m sorry for that, but I know Larry is innocent and I just couldn’t stand back and⁠—”

Nadia interrupted me with a loud whistle. “Wow, Sean. You are unbelievable.”

I smiled impishly. “Ta.”

Nadia crossed her arms. Usually she enjoyed my sense of humour, but her face didn’t even crack. “You know damn well that wasn’t a compliment.” She sighed. “Larry has confessed, Sean, that is it. I get that you’ve always followed your gut, but you just completely undermined me in front of one of my teams.” She paused, looking at me and giving me a moment to feel ashamed. “I arrested Larry, and to have you come charging in and challenging me isn’t a good look.”

“I can assure you that’s the last thing I wanted⁠—”

“And yet it’s what you have achieved,” Nadia interrupted coolly. “I know it might be hard for you to accept, Sean, but I’m in charge here and I can’t have you just doing whatever you feel like. I might have allowed you to open this cold case unofficially, but you aren’t a detective anymore. You need to respect the chain of command.”

“I do respect that, Nads,” I responded hastily. “I never wanted your job, and you do a far greater job of being a detective superintendent than I ever could, but I owe it to Larry to ensure he isn’t arrested for something he didn’t do.”

Nadia squeezed the bridge of her nose. “He has confessed, Sean. What more do you want? He says he killed those women, all of the evidence points to him as a killer, so that's the case closed in my eyes.”

“But I⁠—”

“Think about the families of the victims, Sean,” Nadia interrupted. “If you refuse to accept Larry’s confession, then you are denying them the opportunity to finally have closure.” She looked toward Lylah and Faye. “I must say I’m surprised at you both for allowing him to go on like this. I thought you’d both have more sense than to let him charge into an interview room when he’s no longer an acting detective.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Faye answered, bowing her head respectfully. “I suggested Dad go home, but he refused until he’d spoken to Larry. I might not have agreed with his decision, but I respected what he wanted.” She paused, and I felt guilty when I saw one of her legs twitching nervously. “I take full responsibility, but I had to support my dad. He’s always supported me.”

“I’m sorry as well, Nads, but Sean is my husband. I will always support him too,” Lylah said confidently.

My eyes felt hot, and I blinked them rapidly to stop the tears from forming. Faye had made it clear to me she was annoyed about what I’d done, and yet she was willing to risk her job by having my back.

I really didn’t deserve her or Lylah.

I put a hand on both Lylah’s and Faye’s shoulders. “This has nothing to do with either of them, Nadia. Please don’t punish them because they were being loyal to me.”

Nadia grimaced weakly. “We all know I have no intention of punishing anyone here... not even you.”

Faye sighed with relief, and I gripped her shoulder reassuringly. Although Faye didn’t work for this station, I knew Nadia had the power to punish her. I was glad to see she wasn’t using it.

“Ta,” I said appreciatively.

“All I ask is that you all just… leave this alone now. You set out to catch one last killer, Sean, and that’s exactly what you have done.”

“I’m sorry, but that isn’t something I can do,” I replied earnestly.

Both Faye and Lylah turned to look at me.

“Dad, you have to listen to Nadia,” Faye said calmly. “She’s not punishing us for what we’ve done, and she’s just asking for something small in return.”

Lylah kept quiet, her expression unreadable.

I turned to Nadia, my eyes filled with determination. “Can you remember what you said to me when I called you about this case the other day?”

Nadia looked at me shrewdly. “I said many things, Sean. Care to be more specific?”

“You told me that you wouldn’t be where you are today without me.”

Nadia frowned. “I know that, Sean, and I will appreciate everything you’ve done for me for the rest of my life... but that doesn’t mean I can allow you to continue a case which has now been closed.”

“You haven’t officially closed it yet though, right?”

Nadia tapped her elbows impatiently. “What are you getting at here, Sean?”

“I just want a bit of time.”

“I have given you time, Sean,” Nadia responded exasperatedly. “I didn’t agree with you going to that pub based on a note, but I still never stopped you.”

“Exactly, and in that time I proved to you I was right to look into things, didn’t I?” I asked hopefully. “So, please, give me the chance to prove that to you again.”

“Give me at least one reason why I should question Larry’s confession,” Nadia said impassively. “And it has to be good.”

“First, I was attacked in the pub after Larry’s arrest,” I answered quickly. “If Larry is our killer, then why did that happen?”

“There are many reasons why that could have happened,” Nadia replied calmly. “Ever since I heard about your attack, I’ve given it a great deal of thought. Maybe it was a robbery gone wrong, a disgruntled punter or someone loyal to Larry who was angry at the police, or someone angry at Larry who attacked you believing it was him.” She hesitated. “There isn’t anything solid to suggest that the person who attacked you was the person who killed those girls.”

“The folder!” I exclaimed. “They attacked me and took the folder I found.” I gripped Faye’s arm. “Faye called her team, and they went to the pub as soon as I mentioned the folder and it wasn’t there anymore.”

“That’s true,” Faye muttered cautiously.

“So, a robbery,” Nadia responded emotionlessly.

“Who would steal a folder unless they knew it had something incriminating in it?”

Nadia shrugged. “Maybe they took several things. Maybe they thought there could be something of worth hidden in the folder... again, Sean, this isn’t concrete enough for me to consider keeping the case open.”

I looked at Faye. “Did your team suggest it looked like a robbery?”

“They said the place looked as though it had been trashed, but they didn’t say if anything had been taken,” Faye responded.

“So it easily could have been a robbery,” Nadia replied.

“And it easily could have been the killer searching for evidence,” I added petulantly.

Nadia sighed. “Is that all you’ve got?”

“No. What about Marika… You didn’t mention her to Larry, did you?”

“No, I didn’t,” Nadia answered as she adjusted her hijab. “He confessed to the murders early into our interview, so there was no reason to bring her up at that time.”

I couldn’t deny I was still shocked by the quick timeline. When Larry was pulled away from his pub, he pleaded his innocence to me, and yet a few hours later he was confessing to multiple murders. What had happened during that time for him to change his plea?

“Did he make or receive any phone calls since you arrested him?” I inquired.

Nadia shook her head.

I swore under my breath. If he hadn’t spoken to anyone, then I couldn’t figure out what had caused him to change his mind. He clearly hadn’t received a last-minute threat, so why did he confess?

“What about Marika, anyway?” Nadia questioned.

“When I spoke to Larry just now, I mentioned her and he was clearly confused. He didn’t even register who she was for a few seconds.”

“What’s your point, exactly?”

“My point is surely he would remember if he’d killed her?” I asked hastily. “You don’t murder a woman then have it completely slip your mind.”

Nadia paused thoughtfully, resting her chin on her fingers. I waited patiently, hoping this was enough to convince her.

“It’s odd, I will give you that, but it still isn’t enough for me to consider letting you look for an alternative killer,” Nadia said cautiously. “Marika worked at Larry’s pub, but apart from that, what reason do we have to believe she was killed by Larry? The other victims were all left in public places, but Marika hasn’t been found. Surely if Larry’d killed her too he’d have done it the same way as the other three?” She shuffled in her seat. “I still intend on questioning him about Marika, but I’ve never fully been confident he was responsible for her disappearance.”

I hesitated, hating the fact I could see logic in her argument.

She’s good, I thought with a mixture of pride and irritation. Too bloody good.

“Maybe, but it would be a big coincidence if she wasn’t connected to the others, wouldn’t it?” I pressed.

“Marika was a foreign immigrant in this country, Sean,” Nadia answered, pursing her lips slightly in disapproval. “As an immigrant myself I know how badly immigrant women get treated here. As much as I hate it, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was killed by some racist arsehole who saw an opportunity to hurt her and took it.”

“But Marika’s sister said she saw her with someone!”

“A man who looked a lot like Larry, yes,” Nadia answered bluntly.

Damn it, I thought unhappily. I’m not arguing a good case here!

“Alright, forget Marika for now,” I replied hastily. “I also asked Larry why he collected the women’s wedding fingers as trophies, and he was almost sick at the mention of it.”

“Understandable, it’s a bloody sick thing to do to the victims,” Faye muttered darkly.

“Aye, but what sort of killer can’t stomach the thought of something they’ve done themselves?” I asked shrewdly.

Lylah made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. “That’s a good point.”

“Exactly!” I beamed at Lylah, suddenly feeling more confident. I looked back at Nadia. “He was sick at the thought of it, and when I tried to catch him by asking if he cut off the toes as trophies too… he said he did!”

“Toes?” Faye asked in confusion.

“Aye, toes,” I replied. “I lied to him to see if he would agree, and he did. If he was the real killer, he would know that the victims’ toes were never touched. He’d have corrected me, but he didn’t! The specifics of what happened to the victims was never public knowledge.”

Faye looked nervously at Nadia. “That has to mean something, right?”

Nadia abruptly stood from her chair and walked toward the window, gazing out of it like I’d done many times before. I gripped both Faye and Lylah’s shoulders hopefully, but when Nadia turned around, I could tell before she even opened her mouth what she was going to say.

“I’m sorry, Sean, but none of this is enough,” Nadia said remorsefully. “Larry has seen your commitment to him from the start and has played on it, and I’m not convinced that he isn’t still playing on that in order to mess with our heads. We have his confession on tape, and enough evidence to ensure a jury won’t bat an eyelid over convicting him... I can’t just let him go while you work on a hunch.”

I didn’t even attempt to hide the devastation from my face.

“This is a mistake, Nads,” I said cautiously.

Nadia’s face was void of emotion. “Maybe... but my hands are tied here.”

I wanted to argue more with her, but before I opened my mouth, I felt Lylah pinch me on the back of the leg. I turned to look at her, saw her immoveable face, and knew she was warning me to keep my mouth shut. With difficulty, I turned away from her and looked back at Nadia.

“Very well,” I grumbled.

Faye stood up quickly from her seat and held her hand out to Nadia. “Thank you for your time, ma’am.”

Nadia smiled at her weakly as she shook her hand. “I’m sorry this hasn’t turned out how any of you wanted.”

Nadia held her hand out to me and, although I wasn’t happy, I politely took it.

We all said our goodbyes, then I walked with Faye and Lylah out of DCI Smith’s office and through my old department. As we walked, I felt the lingering eyes of the new team, but I avoided their eye contact and kept my eyes focused ahead. We made it out of the department and through the station’s front door before anyone dared speak.

“I can’t believe you, Dad,” Faye said sharply, folding her arms and glaring at me. She looked so like me at that moment, it was hard to look at her and take her seriously. “You put me and Lylah in such a difficult position back there!”

Lylah rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “She’s right, you know. You just charged into that room with no thought over the fact you were leaving us to deal with the wave of mayhem you’d left behind.”

I lowered my head guiltily. “I’m really sorry, but I had no choice but to talk to Larry and I’m glad I did!” I looked up at them both. “I’m more certain than ever that Larry is innocent.”

“It’s a shame the case is closed then,” Lylah sighed.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Faye said sympathetically. “But you have to see Nadia’s in a difficult situation here.”

“She’s made a bad decision, but I understand it,” I scoffed. “That doesn’t mean I have to accept it though.”

Faye and Lylah glanced at one another in confusion.

“What do you mean, Sean?” Lylah asked worriedly.

“I might not be getting help from the station, but that doesn’t mean this is over,” I explained. “I know for a fact that Larry is innocent. I’m not going to give up until I find out exactly who the real killer is.”

Faye rubbed her face in exasperation. “Is this ever going to be over, Dad?”

“Aye, once I catch the killer it will be.”

Lylah folded her arms and looked away from me. I waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. Her silence worried me more than any words could have.

“If you’re determined to continue on this fool’s errand then so be it, Dad, but don’t expect me or Lylah to risk our jobs for you again,” Faye said candidly. “We got lucky back there, but I know for a fact Nadia won’t be as forgiving if we continue to go against her.”

“I will do this on my own, love, don’t you worry,” I responded. “You know I would never ask either of you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with.”

Faye patted my arm, unable to look me in the eye. “Thanks, Dad... but you know as well I do that I won’t exactly leave you on your own either.”

I pulled her into a hug, then smiled when I felt Lylah’s arms enveloping us both.

“We are always going to be a team, Sean,” Lylah muttered into my arm. “Even if you are an infuriating prick at times.”

I chuckled dryly as I kissed her head.

“We’re an unstoppable team. We will find out who Larry is either protecting or being threatened by.”

For a few seconds, we all just enjoyed the hug. As I held Lylah and Faye, I knew I should have felt dejected after Nadia refused to hear me out, but I didn’t. I had my wife and daughter by my side, and I knew as long as I had them I was capable of doing anything.

Angela, Lydia, Nadia, Marika, and Larry would get justice... no matter how long it took.

5

The man had grown impatient in his car as he stared at the station. He felt useless sitting in his car. It was a big risk to try and get closer to the station, but the man knew he had to chance it. If there was even the smallest chance he would get some information by getting closer, he knew he had to do it. He wasn’t one to take unnecessary risks, but he’d already assaulted Ellis. How much worse could this be?

The man opened his glove box and pulled out a dark baseball cap and shoved it onto his head. He quickly made sure he was as covered as possible before he exited his car and walked toward the station. Luckily, the light of day was mostly gone, which meant he could blend into the shadows. The man knew he couldn’t exactly just hang about near the station’s entrance, so he walked toward the side of the building and pressed his body against it. As he hovered there, he felt his anxiety growing more and more with each passing second.

What if a police officer turned up and saw him loitering outside of the station and started asking him questions? What if Ellis and his pathetic little motley crew ended up walking this way for whatever reason? He knew it was unlikely since their car was at the front of the building, but the risk he was taking made him imagine every possible worst-case scenario.

He was dragged from his negative thoughts by the sound of the station’s door opening. He peered around the wall and noticed it was Ellis, and who he now knew were his daughter, Faye, and his wife, Lylah. While waiting for them to come out, the man had decided to do a bit of research into ex-detective Ellis, and it had only been too easy to find out about his family.

For a man who spent decades as a detective, he sure didn’t know a thing about protecting himself online. While his social media pages were either private or non-existent—showing he wasn’t a complete fool—there were numerous articles published which discussed him and various people connected to him. They openly discussed his wedding, his daughter’s rise in the Yorkshire police force, and his sudden dismissal from the force based on his ill health.

The article on Ellis’s poor health helped the man relax slightly. Ellis may have been a persistent pain in his backside right now, but if the ex-detective was unwell, his health would make him an easy adversary to destroy if it came to it.

The man gazed at the three of them for a split second before quickly hiding behind the wall, but that second was all he needed. He’d only been able to see Ellis’s profile, but it was clear the ex-detective was fuming, which made the man relatively certain he’d been unable to save Larry.

Thank Christ for ineffective detectives who are happy to take an easy out! the man thought joyfully.

The man knew from that look that he’d successfully framed Larry. He thought about his accomplice and how disappointed they’d be about sticking to the original plan and not harming anyone else. But, if it meant that Larry was behind bars and his years of careful planning worked, that was all that mattered.

The man kept against the wall, knowing he couldn’t walk away until the coast was clear. As he waited, he put all of his focus into his listening to Ellis and his family talk. While it was obvious Larry was staying locked up, the man was still desperate to find out as much as possible about what had happened.

“It’s a shame the case is closed then,” one of the women said emotionlessly.

Her voice sounded slightly older, which made him think it was likely Ellis’s wife, Lylah, talking.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Ellis’s daughter said sympathetically. “But you have to see Nadia’s in a difficult situation here.”

“She’s made a bad decision, but I understand it,” Ellis scoffed. “That doesn’t mean I have to accept it though.”

The man froze where he stood, his blood running cold like he’d just been doused in freezing cold water.

What the hell did Ellis mean by that? Surely he wasn’t so pig-headed that he was still going to try and save someone as insignificant as Larry Arnold? Not when the real detectives were so against it.

“I might not be getting help from the station, but that doesn’t mean this is over,” Ellis explained arrogantly. “I know for a fact that Larry is innocent. I’m not going to give up until I find out exactly who the real killer is.”

The man clenched his fists angrily as he gritted his teeth. He wanted to unleash his anger on the walls, but he knew he couldn’t do anything to draw attention to himself.

He’d been close... so close to finally getting rid of Larry, but it was clear that Ellis had no intention of letting this all go.

Just think logically for a second, the man thought calmly. Ellis is just one man. Everyone else has fallen for your trap. You just have to wait for the stubborn idiot to give up... then everything will be okay.

Yes. Patience, that’s what the man needed. He’d never been a patient bloke, but the fact remained that Larry was being convicted. Once Ellis gave up, there’d be no one left to oppose him.

Ellis’s own family were now saying they wouldn’t risk their jobs for him, and the man knew a lone ex-detective was no threat to him. Ellis could look into things as much as he wanted, but with no support or back-up plan for Ellis, this would all be nothing more than an irritating blip in the man’s plans.

“Thanks, Dad... but you know as well I do that I won’t exactly leave you on your own either,” Ellis’s daughter said kindly.

The man gritted his teeth. The woman had gone from refusing to risk her job to stupidly supporting her father within the space of a few seconds. It was enough to give the man a migraine.

Ellis on his own wasn’t a problem... but his daughter was still a detective. If she was helping her father, then Ellis would have access to a lot more resources. That was going to be much more of a problem.

“We are always going to be a team, Sean,” Ellis’s wife said lovingly. “Even if you are an infuriating prick at times.”

Ellis laughed happily, a sound that went right through the man and made him nauseous.

“We’re an unstoppable team, and I know together we will find out who Larry is either protecting or being threatened by.”

The man had heard enough.

He thought he’d be dealing with a has-been ex-detective way past his prime, but now that the man knew he was dealing with a trio of experienced detectives he felt concerned.

Very concerned.

There was silence for a minute or two, so the man risked another look. He saw they were all still there, embracing one another fondly, the image of the perfect family.

It was revolting.

He waited, his body shaking with rage, until he heard them approaching their car. As they moved, the man thought to himself over how torn he felt. He wasn’t sure how to proceed. Could he just leave things as they were and hope he’d done enough to see Larry arrested? Or was Ellis and his family going to be an annoying thorn in his side that he'd never be able to pull them out?

When the man had left the anonymous note at the station, he never thought he’d be dealing with all of this. He’d—possibly naively—been so sure of himself, confident the trail would lead straight to Larry. Perhaps he hadn’t been careful enough if Ellis and his family were still wanting to snoop around.

The man never thought he’d hate anyone as much as he hated Larry... but now that he’d met Sean Ellis he realised there was still plenty of room in his heart for hatred to grow.

Ellis had been stupid to continue this, and the man was going to punish the fool for doing everything he could to challenge him...

And he knew just how to do that.

The man needed to find a new victim and kill them, just to show Ellis he still could. He had to show Ellis that the war was now between the two of them and no one else. It was the perfect way for the man to put his middle finger up at Ellis. He had to show him that because of his foolish desire to continue things, another woman had to die.

He knew he’d be smart and show similarities between the new kill and the old ones... just enough for Ellis to be certain the killer was delivering a message to him. He also had to create enough confusion and distrust among the detectives to keep Larry locked away. As much as his focus and anger was now directed at Ellis, the man still didn’t want to do anything that could see Larry released.

The man heard the sound of an engine, and he kept close to the wall as Ellis and his family drove off. As the car passed, the man leered at the car and thought about the two women sitting in it.

The anniversary of Lydia’s death was in a few days’ time, and the man knew that was the perfect day to reveal his latest victim. As the man watched the car pass by, he knew exactly who the victim was going to be.

The man pulled out his phone and called his accomplice, who answered immediately.

“Well? Are we in the clear?”

The man smirked. “There’s been a slight change of plan... we’re going to find a new victim.” The man hesitated as he watched Ellis’s car disappear from view. “And I know exactly who it’s going to be.”

6

Two days.

It had been two days since I had left the station, and I was no closer to identifying the true murderer of Angela, Lydia, Nadia, and Marika.

I had tried hard to go through everything again, but the injury to my head had debilitated me more than I thought it would. After leaving the station, I woke up the next day, dizzy and in pain. I tried to hide this from Lylah, but she could read me like her favourite book and was instantly able to see something wasn’t right. She called Faye to pick us up and take us to the hospital, and I ended up there for a full day.

While it was good that the time at the hospital helped me to recover, and the staff even replaced my large, ridiculous bandage with a much more discrete one, it also meant I was losing precious time. I had to find out the truth before Larry ended up arrested for the rest of his life.

“You’re no good to anyone when you aren’t your best self, Sean,” Lylah had told me as she stayed with me in the hospital. “If you’re so determined to help Larry, then you need to give yourself time to heal.”

I grumbled as I sat in my hospital bed. “I know that, love, but I feel like I’m wasting time.”

Lylah didn’t reply, but as I watched her look through her phone, I could tell something wasn’t right. I could tell she had something on her mind that she wasn’t sharing with me.

I sighed. “Go on. Spit it out.”

Lylah turned to me, quirking her brow as she did so. “What?”

“You know what, Lyles. You’ve been quiet since yesterday.”

“I’m fine, Sean, I’m not the one sitting in a hospital with a head injury, remember?”

“I know you, Lyles, so just tell me what’s wrong and save the pointless back and forth.”

Lylah huffed as she put her phone away. “You really want to know what’s wrong?”

“Aye, obviously.”

She pointed her body toward me in her chair, her eyes watering and her legs shaking. “I love you, Sean, but I’m so drained from all of this!” she gestured her hands toward me and around the room. “I know you hated retiring, but I was so happy. I thought we were finally going to get some quality time together!” she paused as she wiped her eyes. “And we did… until you heard about that bloody note.”

“What was I supposed to do? Just ignore it?”

“God forbid you leave something for other detectives to do for once.”

“Innocent girls were murdered, Lyles!” I answered, my voice shaking with anger. “How could I enjoy my retirement knowing that the sicko who did that to them is still out there somewhere, mocking me with that note?”

Lylah pushed back in her chair, her features gradually losing their harsh edge. “I get that, really I do, but look at you, Sean.” Tears fell freely down her cheeks. “I thought you’d be safe once you retired, but I’m more terrified of losing you now than ever.”

I edged my body toward her and held out my hand, feeling grateful when she moved closer and placed her delicate hand in my own. “I’ll be fine, darling. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“But I do, Sean.” Lylah wiped her face with her free hand. “I just hate how you are when you get fixated on a case like this... you become reckless, stubborn, and get so impatient and snappy with everyone around you... especially with me.” She sighed. “Before that note you were so much more relaxed, and it felt so nice to be around you... but now you’re back to a version of yourself that isn’t as nice to be around.”

Her words hurt me more than my head injury, particularly as I knew I couldn’t disagree with her. I’d always known I could be a grumpy arsehole, and that had only gotten worse with age, but knowing Lylah felt hurt by my attitude and behaviour was a bitter pill to swallow.

“I really dunno what to say, Lyles,” I muttered, using my thumb to stroke the back of her hand. “You know I’d never want to be off with you, don’t you?”

Lylah nodded weakly. “Of course I do, but that doesn’t mean it feels nice when you are.”

“I really am sorry, my love,” I answered sincerely. “The last thing I ever want to do is upset you.”

Lylah sighed as she gently pulled away from me. “I just wish I could say that when this case is over, things will be different, but I know they won’t be.”

“What do you mean?”

Lylah bit her lip awkwardly for a few seconds. “After this case is done, you’ll look for another one, then another one, and you won’t be able to stop yourself from finding more and more crimes to get involved with.”

“That isn’t true, Lyles.”

“Isn’t it?”

I hesitated before I answered, knowing a small part of me couldn’t completely disagree with her. I’d always been a detective, so could I really feel satisfied with my life if I wasn’t doing that? As dangerous as this cold case had been, I couldn’t deny it had also given me a sense of purpose. I’d enjoyed being a detective again.

Even if I knew it was short-lived.

“I can’t sit here and tell you I don’t enjoy being a detective. We both know damn well that it’s been my entire life.” I paused, looking at Lylah with a serious expression. “But you are also my entire life, Lylah, and I would do anything to make you happy... I give you my word once I find out who killed those girls… that’s it. No more cases, no more solving crimes. It will be just me and you, and I’ll finally take you on that holiday I’ve been promising for the last ten years.”

“Try fifteen,” Lylah answered quickly, though I couldn’t help but notice she was fighting the urge to smile.

“Alright, fifteen.” I chuckled. “I had no idea this meant so much to you, but we both know I can’t drop this one... not when I’m convinced I’m right.”

“As much as I don’t like it, you know I’m going to support you,” Lylah answered. “I’ll do anything I can to help you with this, but once it’s done… that’s it.”

“That’s it.”

Lylah didn’t look completely convinced, but the doctor arrived just then and pulled our focus. Annoyingly, he was determined that I stay there overnight for observations, so I ended up losing over twenty-four hours of time.

The next day Lylah took me home—Faye had taken her to get her car from the Wolf and Lamb Pub when I was in the hospital—and she filled me in on Faye’s progress on our journey home.

“You’d have been so proud of Faye, dear,” Lylah said, simmering proudly. “She got her team to look around the pub to see if anything else was missing and checked the entire pub for any evidence.”

“And was there any evidence or anything missing?” I asked hopefully.

Lylah pouted, which gave me my answer.

“I know Nadia won’t see it, but if nothing else was missing then it means whoever attacked me must have done so to get that folder! I can’t believe I let them take it! It must have been important!”

“You didn’t let them take it, Sean, you almost got killed over it!” Lylah exclaimed. “I’m sorry the folder is gone, but if it came to you leaving that place with either the folder or your life, then I’m glad you survived.”

We made it home, and with Lylah by my side, we went through everything I’d gone through over the past few days. We visited the Sandthorpe hotel, we went back to the Bucking Bronco and spoke to Nessa, Bill, and Samuel, and we called people like Rosie and Andrea to see if they had any more information for me. I informed both women about Larry’s arrest, and while Rosie seemed unsurprised by how events had unfolded, Andrea was dismayed. I was grateful to know there was at least one other person besides myself who believed Larry was innocent.

It took the entire day to do all of that, so I went to bed feeling exhausted and disappointed over my lack of progress. Lyla wasn’t there—I had dropped her off at her friend’s house shortly after we’d finished—and when I tried to call Faye to discuss things she didn’t answer her phone.

Useless girl, I thought irritably. What’s the point in having a pissing phone if you never answer it?

I tossed my phone to the side and tried to get comfortable, knowing I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep even if I wanted to. My mind was consumed by the fact that the following day was the twentieth anniversary of Lydia’s death... a date that had plagued me ever since I’d seen the note discussing the case. While the realist in me knew nothing was going to happen on that date—not when the killer was likely aware of Larry’s arrest and wouldn’t want to risk drawing attention to themselves—I still couldn’t help but worry.

I knew how killers’ minds worked, how they liked to honour moments in their sadistic history, so I feared the killer would be only too tempted to do something to celebrate their first kill.

I just hoped I was wrong.

After a short and fitful night’s sleep, I got myself out of bed, grabbed my phone, then grumbled irritably when I saw that Faye still hadn’t tried to call me back. Lylah was still out with friends, and must have crashed with one of them for the night. It wasn’t something she did often, but it wasn’t unheard of. I huffed as I got myself dressed, then went downstairs to start making some breakfast, hoping Faye would have the decency to call me back soon.

I put the kettle on, and as I went to grab a mug, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Finally! I thought unhappily. My daughter has deigned to honour me with a phone call.

I pulled it out of my pocket, but I was surprised to see it wasn’t Faye’s name flashing on the screen, but Nadia’s.

Nadia and I hadn’t said a word to one another in the last two days, and I feared she’d received word of my continued interest in the case and was calling to try and stop me. My thumb hovered over the decline button, but as I readied myself to push it, I quickly scolded myself for being stupid.

Nadia was my friend, and I had to remember that. She was a woman I’d worked with for years, who I’d grown incredibly close to. I had to show her kindness and respect and not let this case come between us.

I answered the phone and pulled it to my ear. “Mornin’, Nads.”

Nadia didn’t reply right away, her silence making me realise I was right, and she was unhappy with me.

I sighed. “Let me guess, you’re calling to give me another telling off?”

“N-no, Sean.”

At the sound of her upset voice, the differences between us were quickly forgotten. All I cared about was making sure she was okay.

“What’s going on, Nads?” I asked hastily. “It’s alright, I’m here.”

“It i-isn’t a-alright, Sean,” Nadia answered, struggling to utter each word as it came out. “I-it’s far from alright.”

“What’s happened?” I asked urgently.

“I’m a-at a crime scene and I n-need you t-to get here right away,” Nadia answered, her voice still vibrating with emotion.

“A crime scene?” I repeated in surprise. “I’m not a detective anymore, Nads.”

“N-no, but y-you really need t-to be here for this one,” Nadia answered solemnly.

Her words caused me to stiffen with both fear and anxiety. There were only two possible reasons Nadia would want me to attend a crime scene. Either it was connected to the serial killer case or it was because the crime involved someone I knew.

And from the emotion vibrating through Nadia’s tone, I feared it was the latter.

Christ... Lylah and Faye! I thought in a panic. I haven’t heard from either of them in quite a few hours now! What if...

I shook my head, knowing I couldn’t let my thoughts run awry.

Lylah was with her friends and Faye was just busy... that was it.

There was no way anything could have happened to them.

“What’s happened, Nads?” I answered, hoping the fear I felt wasn’t obvious in my tone.

“I will s-send you my location and you just get here r-right away, understood?”

My fear only increased when she refused to give me information over the phone. I wanted to believe it was because she urgently wanted me there, but what if she was unable to tell me over the phone because she couldn’t get the words out?

I rubbed my tired face, knowing there was no point in speculating. I had to get to the crime scene, and I had to get there immediately.

“Alright, send it and I’ll leave now.”

Nadia hung up, and I fidgeted nervously with my hands, my eyes glued to my phone. I waited for Nadia to message me, but my anxiety got the better of me, so I tried to call Lylah. The phone rang once before it immediately went to voicemail.

My body started to shake, and I held onto the kitchen counter to support myself. Lylah never turned her phone off... never.

A text came through my phone, and I saw Nadia had sent me a location. I clicked on it and saw it was an abandoned carpark on the outskirts of York. I memorised the location, pocketed my phone, and grabbed my leather jacket and the keys to my motorcycle. I went to rush out the door, but hesitated. If I was on the motorcycle, I’d be unable to answer a call if Faye or Lylah tried to ring me, so I grabbed Lylah’s AirPods so I could use my Bluetooth if need be.

I then rushed out of the flat and jumped on my motorcycle. As I travelled, my eyes felt hot, and I tried to keep my mind off of my wife and daughter.

Today was the anniversary of Lydia’s murder, and I had a horrid feeling the killer had commemorated it by hurting the two women I loved.

7

Irode my motorcycle as quickly as it could go, not caring about the fact I was going way above the speed limit. All I cared about was getting to the crime scene and making sure the two women I loved were okay.

I’d been travelling for ten minutes when my phone started to ring in my pocket. I quickly tapped the AirPods to accept the call.

“Hello?” I shouted snappishly.

“Christ, Dad!” Faye exclaimed in my ear. “There’s no need to bloody yell! How many times do I have to tell you that?”

I felt like I could have collapsed or cried in relief at the sound of her voice. “Don’t scare me like that, girl! You bloody answer me when I call you!”

“I’m not the one yelling, Dad! You almost gave me a heart attack when you answered!”

“I’m just glad you’re alright, love,” I answered, hoping my voice still wasn’t too loud to her, but as I was driving, it was impossible to tell over the sound of my engine and the wind. “Nadia just called me. I’m driving to a crime scene… and as I hadn’t been able to get a hold of you… I was fearing the worst.”

“Sorry, Dad, I was swamped yesterday, and by the time I’d got back from work it was late,” Faye answered guiltily. “Then I woke up early because a body was found in a carpark but I haven’t even made it there...” She hesitated. “Wait. That’s not where you’re going, is it?”

A body, I thought with dread. Lylah!

“Aye, love, it is,” I answered quickly, trying to keep my tone steady so I didn’t scare her. “Have you heard from Lylah? I’ve not seen or spoken to her since yesterday evening.”

“I told you I’ve been busy, Dad, I’ve barely had a chance to talk to Becky, let alone anyone else,” she answered worriedly. “What’s going on?”

Usually my paternal instinct would make me want to protect her, but I needed her help. She may have been my daughter, but she was also one hell of a DI. There wasn’t anyone I trusted more than her.

“I’ll be honest with you, Faye,” I responded. “Nadia said I had to get to the crime scene, and from her tone I knew it was personal. Today is the twentieth anniversary of Lydia’s death, and when I couldn’t get a hold of you or Lylah, I feared the worst. I still can’t get a hold of Lyles…” My voice trailed off.

Faye swore. “I’ll speak to my superior and get to the scene right away. I’ll meet you there soon.”

Faye hung up quickly before I could say another word.

I could tell from her tone that she was just as terrified as I was, and a large part of me was glad to know Faye would be joining me at the scene. If anything had happened to Lylah, I knew I couldn’t deal with it on my own.

I soon made it to the scene. The road had been cordoned off with police tape and there were some PCs ushering vehicles to turn around. I approached the tape and slowed down, waiting for some PCs to come over and let me through. As two PCs approached me, I held back a groan when I realised half of my wardrobe was probably older than they were.

One of the PCs—a scrawny man who didn’t look dissimilar to Harry Potter—looked at me dubiously. “Sorry, but this area is off limits. I’m going to need you to turn around.”

I pulled off my helmet and shook out my hair. I then put it on my lap and went to put my hand in my jacket pocket, pausing when I realised I was no longer a detective and therefore didn’t have my badge.

Bugger it, I thought tiredly.

“I’ve just been called by Detective Superintendent Nadia Begum,” I said hastily. “She told me to get here right away.”

The guy shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t just let⁠—”

The other PC, a woman, tutted and stepped forward. “Are you an idiot, Mark? Don’t you know who this is?” She rolled her eyes, then looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, sir, we’ll let you through now. Just park your motorcycle on the side and come back here.”

I thanked her, surprised she knew who I was. I shoved my helmet on and moved my motorcycle so I could park it on the side of the road, then left it and rushed back to the two PCs. As one of the PCs was lifting the tape, I heard a car horn beep behind me. I turned around and smiled at the sight of Faye’s car approaching. She parked her car behind my motorcycle, then flashed her badge at the PCs.

“He’s with me,” Faye said confidently.

I looked at her gratefully. “I’m glad you’re here, love, I didn’t expect you so quickly.”

The PC held the tape out of the way, and Faye and I ducked under it. The carpark wasn’t directly behind the tape, so we walked a few minutes down the road, then took a turn before reaching the crime scene.

“I’m sorry for doubting you, Dad,” Faye said guiltily. “You said the real killer was still out there. I shouldn’t have questioned that.”

“You’ve had more faith in me than most, love, so don’t apologise. Besides, we still don’t know what we are dealing with here.”

I pulled out my phone, then groaned when I saw I hadn’t received a message or phone call from Lylah.

Faye grimaced. “I’ve been checking my own phone too… I’ve called and texted her a few times, but it went straight to voicemail.”

“Aye, same here.”

Faye rubbed her face nervously. “You think she’s been targeted by the killer, don’t you?”

My eyes grew wet, and I wasn’t ashamed when tears started to fall down my cheekbones. Lylah was my wife—my beautiful, perfect wife—who had told me that my obsession with cases was my downfall. She had told me to let this one go, told me to just focus on her, and I hadn’t listened. I had put everything into this cold case, and if she was dead because of it, I’d never forgive myself.

“I dunno what to think,” I said emotionally. “She’s not answering, I haven’t seen her in hours, and Nadia was practically crying on the phone.” I stopped walking and turned to face Faye, my tears becoming more pronounced at the sight of her own emotional face. “If something has happened to her because of me, Faye, I swear I’ll⁠—”

Faye pulled me into a tight hug. “No! Stop that right now, Dad! None of this is your fault!”

I sobbed on her shoulder and Faye pulled me in even tighter. “L-Lylah told me to drop this, love. She t-told me to let it go... and I didn’t.”

Faye pulled away, giving me a stern look as she shook my shoulders. “We have to pull ourselves together, Dad. Alright? We don’t know what we are going to find. As far as we know, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why we can’t get a hold of her.” She wiped the tears from my face, then gripped my shoulders again. “We are Ellises, right, Dad? And Ellises stick together!”

I stood up tall and nodded. “Aye, love, that we do.”

Faye squeezed my hands, then jerked her head toward the carpark in a gesture for us to keep going. I turned away from Faye and led the way, knowing I needed to be a beacon of strength right now. While I wasn’t ashamed of crying in front of Faye—showing emotion in itself was a form of strength—I knew she wasn’t used to me being like that.

After a tense few minutes that felt like hours, I eventually saw a wave of PCs and detectives scurrying around and knew we were close to the body. I was shocked when I saw that everyone seemed to be in forensic suits, which told me there was an abundance of evidence around the scene that couldn’t be disturbed. I quickened my pace, knowing I couldn’t wait another minute without knowing who the victim was.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice.

“Ma’am, Sean and DI Ellis are here!” shouted Victoria.

I turned and saw Nadia making a beeline for us. She walked with urgency, and I suddenly realised she was trying to speak to us before we saw the body.

Once she was in front of me, I could tell she’d been crying. Her cheeks looked puffy, her eyes were bloodshot, and her nose was red.

“DI Ellis, this is a nice surprise,” Nadia said kindly.

Faye nodded. “I heard about the body when I spoke to Dad... I hope it’s okay that I’m here?”

“Of course,” Nadia answered before looking at me. “Thanks for getting here so quickly, Sean.”

I nodded, my mouth suddenly too dry for me to speak.

Nadia looked behind her—likely to where the body was—then sighed before returning her gaze to me. “I must warn you both that the scene is gruesome, so prepare yourselves for that.”

She beckoned someone over, then pointed to me and Faye. The person ran to a nearby van to get us what I assumed were forensic suits. The whole time, I studied my old friend. She was hiding something from me... there was no denying it. It was written clearly in her body language and on her face.

“What are we dealing with here?” I asked shakily.

“Something I really hoped we wouldn’t be, Sean.” She glanced to her side as a woman carrying two suits arrived. She passed them to me and Faye, and we quickly started to put them on. “Once you’re dressed… I’ll take you both to the body.”

“Who is it, Nadia?” I asked once my suit was on.

Nadia avoided my eyes as she put her mask back on. “Follow me, you two.”

Faye looked at me worriedly, but she found my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before gesturing for me to go ahead. Part of me felt like I didn’t dare move, but I took a deep breath and started to follow Nadia.

I walked cautiously behind Nadia and within seconds I realised, to my surprise, the road was covered in rose petals and several small tea light candles. From the look of them, I could tell they’d all been lit at some point, but they were now down to nothing but a small amount of wick. It was as though I’d stumbled upon a wedding or some form of romantic scene, and the rose petals and tea light candles travelled all the way along the road and into the middle of the carpark…

Where the body was lying.

“You can see why we need the suits,” Nadia said as she pointed toward the ground. “It’s impossible not to stand on things, so we need to try and preserve the scene as much as possible.”

I didn’t speak. I was struggling to breathe as we drew closer to the body. Since the forensic team was surrounding it, I was unable to see anything. I moved my head from side to side, trying to find some angle where I could see something, see anything, but it was impossible. However, I soon noticed with horror that the area around it was drenched with blood. I still couldn’t see the body, but it was clear they were killed brutally. Rose petals floated on the congealed blood and I felt bile rising in my throat from the anticipation of what I was about to see.

“You called me here because it’s someone I know, isn’t it?”

Nadia kept walking and didn’t look back, but I sensed her body tensing up. “Yes.”

I heard the sound of Faye holding back a sob. I was close to tears again myself.

Damn you, Sean! I thought angrily. You never should have put Lylah in harm’s way!

We reached the car park, and it wasn’t long until the forensic team were in front of us. Nadia was directly in front of me so I couldn’t see around her, but I waited nervously as she spoke to the forensic team and asked if we could see the body. They all slowly moved out of the way, and after a tense few seconds Nadia stepped to the side so I could see it.

It wasn’t Lylah, but it was still someone I knew.

It was Nessa, the kind barmaid from the Bucking Bronco Pub who I’d spoken to frequently over the past week.

Christ, I thought despondently. I only spoke to her yesterday afternoon!

As much as I was glad the body wasn’t Lylah’s, I could see why Nadia had been so affected by the death. Nessa was a nice girl who we’d both spoken to a lot, and it felt awful to know that a kind, young woman who did everything she could to help us had paid a hefty price for it.

“I can imagine you’re as shocked by this as I am,” Nadia muttered emotionally. “When I got here and saw who the victim was… I couldn’t help but blame myself over her death.”

I shook my head. “You weren’t the one to bring her into this, Nads... that was me.”

On my way to the crime scene I’d been consumed by guilt, thinking my dedication to this cold case had caused someone I knew to die... I hated being right.

I felt Faye looking in my direction. “Who is she, Dad?”

“Her name is Vanessa, and she works.” I hesitated, fighting the urge to gulp. “Worked at the Bucking Bronco Pub,” I answered glumly, unable to take my eyes away from her pale face and open green eyes. There was clear terror painted in them, which was hard to look away from. “I’d spoken to her a lot about the case. She’d been trying to help us.”

“Jesus,” Faye muttered. “So you think the killer targeted her for helping you?”

I barely nodded, so absorbed with looking at Nessa. She was dressed in nothing but her underwear and her skin—usually pale and freckled—was now covered in various shades of brown and yellow from the severe beating she’d received. There were random long slashes on her arms, torso, and legs, likely from a sharp blade, that had bled freely and caused the vast puddle of blood that surrounded her. I glanced at her hands and—like I was expecting—her wedding finger had been removed.

The finger that was supposed to wear a ring once she married Jason.

In my mind I pictured her warm smile as she excitedly told me about her upcoming wedding, and a stray tear fell down my face at the realisation that she would now never get married.

She would never do anything ever again.

“I’m sorry to have called you here, Sean, but I felt you should see her,” Nadia muttered.

I rubbed Nadia’s arm. “I’m glad you did.” I glanced around the body and took in the scene, trying to figure it all out. “There are a lot of similarities to our serial killer here.”

“Yes, but differences too,” Nadia replied thoughtfully. “The rose petals, the candles, the cuts with the knife... none of that happened with any of the others.”

I noticed the differences too, but I was still certain that our killer had struck again.

“Do you know what today is?” I asked Nadia. She shook her head in confusion. “It’s the twentieth anniversary of Lydia’s murder.”

“Bloody hell,” Nadia muttered.

There was silence for a few seconds as we examined the body.

“Do you think this proves that Dad was right about Larry?” Faye asked cautiously. “Does this mean our serial killer is still out there?”

“It suggests we may have more than one killer to contend with, but it doesn’t take away Larry’s guilt either,” Nadia answered. “If he hadn’t confessed I’d be inclined to let him go, but I can’t release someone who told me they’re a murderer.”

I sighed. “I get that... as much as I want to see Larry free, right now we need to prioritise finding the sicko who did this to Nessa.”

“Agreed,” Nadia responded. She looked at Nessa for a few seconds, then sighed. “I just really hope this isn’t because she spoke to us.”

I looked at her pointedly. “You don’t believe that, do you?”

Nadia shook her head. “Do you?”

I looked at Nessa with wide, guilty eyes. “No... I know she was chosen because of us. It would be too bizarre if she wasn’t.”

“It’s going to be hard to tell the men from the pub about this, isn’t it?” Nadia asked solemnly. “I didn’t see them as much as you did, but anyone with eyes could tell they were practically a family.”

My heart ached at the thought of Sam and Bill and how devastated they’d be when we told them. I thought of Bill in particular, as he’d always looked at Nessa as though she were his granddaughter. He’d been fiercely protective over her.

The killer best hope I find him before Bill does…

“I think we should let the pathologists continue their work,” Nadia muttered as she gestured for me and Faye to step aside. “The sooner they can work their magic, the sooner we can figure out what monster did this to her.”

I took another look at Nessa and mentally apologised to her before looking toward the pathology team. There were three of them, but one of them seemed to be in control, and once they caught me looking, they approached me and slowly took off their mask. Once their mask was removed, I held back a smile when I realised I was staring at a face I knew well.

8

It was Sam Davies.

I’d worked with Sam on numerous cases over her long career, starting with Gail Ruskin, and the young, tattooed woman I’d first met who was barely in her twenties was now just as attractive in her early fifties. Her hair was cut shorter now, but she still oozed the same alternative flare that she did in her younger days. Her ears were still more metal than skin and, although I couldn’t see them with the suit on, I knew her tattoos had now spread out across the majority of her body. Apart from her hair, age hadn’t changed her at all.

“Well, well, well...” Sam smiled cheekily. “Sean Ellis. The man who can’t retire.”

I stepped toward her and shook her hand. “It’s good to see you, Sam.”

“You too, Sean.” She looked at Faye and took her hand too. “Faye.”

I couldn’t deny I was happy to see that Sam was in charge of the forensics’ team, but I wasn’t surprised either. When Angela, Lydia, and Nadia had been killed, Sam had been the lead pathologist on all of those cases, so I was glad to see an expert on our killer was with us to deal with Nessa’s murder.

Sam put her mask back on then jerked her thumb toward the body. “Did I overhear correctly that the vic is known to you all?”

“Aye, when I was looking into Angela, Lydia, and Nadia, I ended up crossing her path,” I muttered sadly, unable to look in Nessa’s direction again.

Sam sighed sadly. “It feels like a full circle moment, doesn’t it? The first case I worked on with you involved a serial killer and now it seems as though it’s the same for our last.”

I looked at her hopefully. “So you think the same killer is behind this?”

“I wouldn’t want to say for certain... there are clear similarities between the cases, but also some very striking differences.” Sam chewed her lip thoughtfully. “I’m more inclined to say the killer is the same though, but don’t quote me on that until I get the girl to my lab.”

A bubble of hope started to grow inside of me.

If even Sam was saying Larry wasn’t our killer, then surely that would be enough to see him released?

“Let’s start with the similarities,” I replied hopefully.

“The beating, the removal of the wedding finger, the vic being left in nothing but their underwear, these are all patterns our serial killer followed,” Sam answered cautiously.

“Are the differences significant?” Nadia inquired.

“Somewhat,” Sam responded diplomatically. “Although this woman is in her underwear, there is a slight variation in colour. The previous vics were dressed in white lingerie, but this woman has been dressed in ivory.”

“Both are traditional colours for wedding dresses though, right?” Faye asked.

“Yes, they are, but why would the killer change it?” Sam pondered out loud. “Most killers wouldn’t change their pattern like this.”

Unless they were a manipulative prick who wanted to play games with us and make us question whether it’s really them or not, I thought coldly.

“What else have you got?” Nadia queried.

Sam gestured around us. “Obviously the scene is very different. Our serial killer wasn’t quite as... theatrical with their displays, but this time they’ve really gone all out.”

I looked around at the rose petals and the candles. I’d been thinking the same thing. Before, the killer had simply dumped the body in random public places, but this time they’d created a scene. Was our killer purposely creating shades of similarities and differences to make us question ourselves? Or was it possible that Larry was involved, but had an accomplice who was trying to copy the initial kills?

“Why would our killer change anything?” Nadia asked. “Unless we’re dealing with a copycat who is adding their own flare to things.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a possibility I’m considering too, but right now everything is conjecture until I’m able to obtain solid facts.” She hesitated, then frowned as she glanced down toward the blood. “To me the cuts, the blood, and the severe bruising are the most significant changes. The initial killer didn’t have any interest in blood, so the fact that this body has been viciously slashed is the main thing that makes me wonder if we’re looking at a new killer.”

Faye looked at us with confusion. “The original victims were bruised though, right?”

“Right, but not like this.” Sam pointed to various parts of Nessa’s body. “See the colouring of the bruises? They’re all fresh, barely more than a few hours old, half a day at the most, yet our other victims all showed signs of historic bruising.”

“Meaning this probably isn’t the same killer,” Nadia replied.

“Or it’s the same killer and they felt rushed,” I added.

Nadia turned to me. “If they were rushed, how did they have time to set a scene here?”

“It wouldn’t have taken them long to do this if they already had the stuff,” I answered.

“So, what, the killer had been planning the kill and yet only started it at some point yesterday?” Nadia queried. “Why wouldn’t they have started sooner, like in the past?”

“They likely knew Larry was arrested for their crimes, and they put so much into assuring he looks guilty… maybe they probably hadn’t planned on killing again as quickly as they did.”

“So why did they kill again after Larry’s arrest?” Faye asked cautiously. “Surely they must have known it could potentially cause Larry to look innocent?”

We were all quiet as we pondered Faye’s question. It was what confused me the most... the killer had put so much time and effort into framing Larry, so why put that at risk?

Since the killer had chosen Nessa as a victim I was certain this kill had been personal. The only reason the murderer would try and get to me was because they knew I was looking into the cold case and trying to prove Larry’s innocence. That thought scared me because it meant it was extremely likely that I’d come across the killer over the past few days and not even realised it.

And I’d opened my big trap and told them exactly what I was doing, I thought with horror.

Nessa’s death was more rushed compared to the others, more frantic and bloodthirsty, and that showed me that the killer was angry and acting rashly. My years of experience had proven to me that when killers acted like this, they could become unpredictable and dangerous.

Very dangerous.

And I still didn’t know where Lylah was.

“Unfortunately, I can’t answer that question,” Sam responded. “I’m here to check out the body, but I’ll leave the detective work to you lot.” She glanced at Nessa’s body, then looked at Nadia. “Am I able to continue?”

“Yes, please do,” Nadia answered. “I would never ask you to rush, but do all you can to get us some results as soon as possible.”

“Trust me, this is my highest priority,” Sam answered passionately.

“Thank you, Sam,” Nadia replied gratefully. “You’ve never let me down before, and I know you won’t now.”

“No pressure then,” Sam answered with an impish smile. She then looked at me and shook my hand again. “I’m never happy to see a dead body, especially a girl so young with their life ahead of them, but I’m glad it’s given me the opportunity to work one final case with you, Sean Ellis.” She smiled at me warmly. “I just hope I can do your final one justice.”

I felt my cheeks redden from the flattery and was glad my mask hid most of my embarrassment. I shook her hand and nodded. “You always do a good job, Sam. You’re one of the best.”

She took her hand back and sighed sadly as she looked at Nessa. “For this girl’s sake I need to be the best.”

Sam said goodbye, then turned and went to address her team. After she left, I looked at Nadia as she began to lead us away from the body. Before I followed her, I took one last, long look at Nessa. It felt like I was punishing myself by looking at her corpse, but I knew I owed it to her to really look at her.

It was my fault she was dead—I knew it was—and it was something I was going to have to live with for the rest of my life.

I’m so sorry, Nessa, I thought solemnly. If I never turned up at the Bucking Bronco, you’d still be alive... I promise you, I’ll stop at nothing to find the prick who did this to you.

With difficulty, I turned away from her and caught up with Nadia and Faye. Once we were a safe distance away from the body, Nadia stopped and pulled off her mask again.

“I don’t know what to think right now, Sean,” Nadia said tiredly. “I have to go with Larry’s confession and can’t release him, but I’m also not ignorant enough to ignore Nessa’s death either.” She rubbed her face, and I hated seeing her looking so lost. “Either our killer is still out there or someone close to them is taking up their mantle.”

“I think it’s them, Nadia,” I said confidently. “I think they’re twisted and they killed Nessa to get at us. They’re purposely playing games.”

Nadia nodded slowly. “The specifics of how the others were killed was never public knowledge, so if it is a copycat then it can only be someone close to the actual killer.” She bit her lip as she looked me in the eye. “But I don’t want to keep challenging your gut, Sean, not when it seems you’re likely right... again.”

“None of this is about one of us being right and the other one wrong, Nads, it’s all about doing justice for those girls and working as a team.”

Nadia smiled at me weakly. “I agree. We don’t know who killed any of these girls, but we have to keep Larry at the station until we get solid evidence to prove he didn’t do it.” She paused awkwardly. “But even if we do, it’s very likely we’ll still need to arrest Larry for aiding and abetting a murderer by making a false confession.”

“Let’s just find out why he even confessed before we make any rash decisions, alright?”

“Of course,” Nadia replied.

I felt my phone vibrating and hastily went to grab it.

“It better be Lylah,” Faye said worriedly.

Nadia’s eyes shot to Faye, her mouth dropping open with concern. “What about Lylah?”

“Dad and I haven’t been able to get a hold of her, and no one has seen her since yesterday evening,” Faye responded nervously. “The whole way here we were concerned it was Lylah we were about to see.”

Nadia mumbled a swear word under her breath.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sighed with relief when I saw that Lylah had texted me.

Sorry, love, I stayed at Meghan’s last night as I’d had a few and left my charger at home! Are you still coming with me to help Craig pick out an engagement ring for Lucy? I take it you’d called to say you now can’t? If you need my help with anything let me know, and I will tell Craig I’ll help him another day. I love you xx

I read the message, and a suspicious thought crept into my mind. What if someone had her phone and was texting on her behalf? What if she still wasn’t safe?

I had to know for certain.

“I’m going to call her quickly.”

Faye and Nadia kept quiet, looking at me nervously.

The phone answered right away. “Hey, love!”

I held back tears at her familiar voice, then put her on speakerphone. “Lylah, I love you, but don’t ever do that to me again!”

“What’s wrong, Sean?”

Faye and Nadia hugged each other at the sound of her voice.

“Nadia called me to a crime scene, I’m there with Faye now,” I answered. “You know that girl Nessa from the pub, the one we saw yesterday? Her body was found this morning.”

“Christ!” Lylah exclaimed. “Sean, I’m so sorry.”

“Aye, so am I, love,” I said glumly. “I’m going to be busy for a while, so won’t be able to join you. Please tell Craig I’m sorry.”

“I’ll call Craig right away and tell him we will reschedule,” Lylah said hastily. “Text me where you are and I’ll come meet you.”

“No, love, family is the most important thing!” I exclaimed instantly. “Help Craig and we’ll keep in touch, alright? I’ve got Nadia and Faye with me, so I’ll be alright.”

Lylah was silent for a few seconds. “Alright, love, just keep me informed, please.”

“Aye, I will, I love you,” I answered.

Lylah chuckled lightly. “Christ, you must have been worried. I love you too, Seany.”

We both hung up the phone, and I turned to the others. To my surprise, Nadia pulled me in for a hug and I gratefully accepted it.

Nadia pulled away. “Now that we know she’s okay, let’s focus.”

I quirked a brow. “Does this mean you want me on as an acting detective?”

“I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have helping me with this,” she answered warmly.

“Right, so what do you want me to do, ma’am?” I asked respectfully.

Nadia smirked slightly, but her smile soon faded to an impassive expression. “We need to alert Nessa’s loved ones before this becomes public knowledge.”

I frowned solemnly, thinking of her fiancé, and Sam and Bill from the pub.

“Who do you want me to speak to?” I asked.

“Go to her parents first, then speak to her fiancé, then get back to the station,” Nadia answered with authority.

“What about her place of work?” I inquired, unable to say either Sam or Bill’s names.

“I’ll get someone else on that, Sean,” Nadia responded. “You were too close to that place before and there’s always the chance they’ll take the news badly.” She sighed guiltily. “We’re already blaming ourselves, so we have to expect others will too.”

While a small part of me hated the fact I wouldn’t be giving them the news myself, I respected Nadia’s choice and knew—especially after I’d disrespected her at the station—that I had to prove to her that I respected her command and would do what she said without question.

“Understood, I will get on that now,” I responded before looking at Faye. “What about Faye?”

“If you’re happy to help your father, Faye, I’ll call your superiors and inform them that I am commandeering you for this case,” Nadia said to Faye gently.

“I’d be honoured to help, ma’am,” Faye responded dutifully.

“Then it’s settled,” Nadia replied. “You two get going, I’ll keep here and help this team search the area. Who knows, we might get lucky with some cameras or clues that can help us figure out who did this.”

I nodded politely, even though I secretly thought that was unlikely.

Our guy was far too good to make any mistakes.

We said our goodbyes, then together Faye and I walked side by side toward our vehicles. As we walked, I felt my eyes growing hot again, and I had to use all of my strength to stop the tears from freely flowing. Christ, I was going soft in my old age.

I didn’t know if my tears were from relief that Lylah was safe, from sadness and guilt over Nessa’s death, or anger over the fact I’d allowed the killer to take yet another victim. Whatever the reason, I knew the killer was out there and purposefully messing with my head. I had to pull myself together.

The killer was convinced they were going to beat me, but they’d chosen the wrong man to mess with.

9

As we walked to our vehicles, Faye went through the police database on her phone to find the addresses for Nessa’s parents and her fiancé, Jason. There I was being consumed by my emotions, yet Faye was ever the professional and working hard to get things done. She reminded me of me in my DI days, and I couldn’t have been any prouder of her.

I thought about the child I’d brought up—the one who’d struggled with an eating disorder because they were too afraid to be who they really were—and compared her to the adult woman in front of me who was more confident and surer of themselves than I ever could have imagined. She’d come a long way and proven herself to be a magnificent detective, and I knew with her by my side our chances of figuring out the truth were high.

“Right, so it looks like Nessa’s parents, Stacey and Arthur Reed, live in Skelton which is half an hour away,” Faye said calmly. She pocketed her phone then looked at me. “The route we go should take us close to yours, Dad, so it might make sense for you to leave your bike at home and for us to travel together.”

Reed, I thought sadly. I saw Nessa several times and never even knew her surname.

“Sounds good to me, love. I’m happy to follow your lead on this.”

Faye’s eyebrows rose, and she looked at me suspiciously. “What’s gotten into you, Dad? It isn’t like you to relinquish control?”

I snorted. “Let’s just say Lylah has shown me what a grumpy arse I’ve been lately and I’m trying to make a change.”

“So much for a leopard never changing its spots,” Faye replied, her tone filled with awe. “Good on Lylah for bringing you down a peg too.”

I held back a dry laugh. “Aye, she’s a good woman.”

We made it past the police tape, back to mine, and it wasn’t long before I was in Faye’s car and she was leading us to Nessa’s parents’ house in Skelton. I hadn’t known Nessa well, but I had never heard her mention her parents, so I found myself wondering how close they were.

Close or not, it’s very rare to deliver news to parents about the death of their child without them breaking down, I thought unhappily.

The half an hour drive went by surprisingly quickly. Faye parked up outside of a modest house that had a beautifully tended garden in front of it. Although the house was in decent condition, it looked as though the family cared more for the garden than anything else. I could tell that Nessa’s family didn’t come from money, but they got by and made the most of what they had.

I turned away from the house when I felt Faye’s hand lightly touch my own.

“Ready, Dad?”

I nodded.

I followed Faye’s lead toward the house and waited patiently as she knocked. I looked around and saw there was no car parked near the house, which made me wonder if the family were out, but after a few minutes the door opened. I had to blink rapidly at the sight of the woman standing in the doorway.

For a second it felt like I was looking at Nessa, and I was momentarily shocked to see her alive, but when I took in the crow’s feet near her eyes, the slightly dumpier frame, and a light scar near her lip, I quickly realised I must have been looking at Nessa’s mother. The similarities between them were uncanny. No one would have doubted for a second that the two women were related.

“Hello?” she asked dubiously as she looked between us both. “Can I help you?”

Faye took out her badge. “Good morning, I’m DI Faye Ellis, and I’m here with Acting Detective Sean Ellis.” She put her badge away after Nessa’s mother scanned it suspiciously for a few seconds. “Are you Stacey Reed?”

“Yes,” Stacey muttered cautiously.

“Is your husband in, Mrs. Reed?” I asked politely.

“He’s around here somewhere… What’s this all about?”

“Would you mind if we came inside, Mrs. Reed?” Faye asked gently.

Stacey bit her lip worriedly. “Has something happened?”

“I think it would be better if we spoke inside,” I answered.

Stacey trembled as she stepped aside and allowed us to enter her home. Faye and I thanked her, then we walked through the doorway. I was immediately assaulted by an entire hallway full of framed photos of Nessa. Family holidays, barbeques, day trips out, photos in restaurants, baby photos... it was like I was walking through a shrine for Vanessa Reed.

Christ... I thought guiltily. These two completely dote on their daughter... this is going to be a difficult conversation.

The nervous energy Stacey carried seemed to vanish once she saw my eyes scanning the photos. “That’s our pride and joy, Vanessa,” Stacey said proudly, her eyes lighting up as she touched one of Vanessa’s baby photos. “She moved out almost three years ago now, and we miss her every day, but she got herself a job in a pub and works hard!”

“Good, honest work, that,” a male voice said.

I turned to my side to see a man entering the hallway where we stood. He, like Stacey, showed various physical similarities to Nessa. He had green eyes and ginger hair—though it was balding—and seemed to tower over his wife as he stepped in place beside her.

“It is,” Stacey agreed, giving Arthur a warm look as she put her hand on his waist. “She works long hours, and we don’t get to see her as much because of them, but she’s really done well for herself! She’ll be running that place before we know it!”

“Aye, and she’d better be giving her old man some free drinks when she does!” Arthur chuckled.

I started to feel warm and sick, like I was suffocating from their love and admiration for their only child.

“Perhaps we can all sit down somewhere?” Faye asked gently.

Arthur and Stacey glanced at one another, but Arthur returned his gaze to Faye first. “Sure, we can go sit in the kitchen.”

Arthur stepped ahead, and we started to follow him.

“Did I hear you telling my Stacey that you’re both detectives?” Arthur inquired as he stepped through the kitchen door.

“That’s correct,” Faye answered.

Arthur gestured for us to take a seat, and we all crowded around a small dining table that took up the majority of the kitchen. Once we were all seated, Arthur looked at us both shrewdly.

“So, what is this all about?”

I felt Faye glancing at me, but I kept quiet. I had promised her that she could take the lead, and I was going to honour that promise. As much as I was used to being in control, I had to remember that Faye still had a career ahead of her whereas mine was over now.

She deserved the opportunity to shine.

Faye’s eyes left me and returned to Arthur and Stacey. “I don’t know how to say this, but I’m afraid we are here with some bad news.”

Stacey squeezed Arthur’s knee. “What sort of bad news? Is it my father-in-law?”

“Your father-in-law?” I inquired curiously.

“Aye, he’s been in prison the past few years for theft.” Arthur shook his head as though he was still embarrassed by the thought. “Has he done something stupid in prison?”

“No, it isn’t that,” Faye answered. “I don’t know how to say this... This morning we were called to a crime scene where we found the body of a young woman. I’m sorry to say that the body we found was that of your daughter, Vanessa Reed.”

I jumped slightly when Stacey hastily pulled herself out of her seat and started frantically pacing around the kitchen. “No. No.” She kept repeating. “I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken.”

Arthur kept still in his seat, but his pale skin had grown even paler. His mouth had gaped open, and he was barely blinking or moving.

It was clear the man was in a complete state of shock.

“I really wish we were,” Faye said solemnly. “But unfortunately we are certain the body is hers... I truly am sorry.”

Stacey kept pacing and mumbling the word ‘no’ while Arthur continued to sit there in despair.

Faye glanced at me sadly, so I edged forward in my seat.

“I know this must come as quite a shock to you, and we will need one of you to come and identify the body at some point, but for now we⁠—”

Stacey moved back into her seat so quickly I almost jumped again. “So… you aren’t sure it’s our Vanessa if you need us to ID her then?”

My heart ached at the hope etched in every word.

“I’m afraid that is just a formality... there is no doubt the body we found is Nessa’s,” I answered.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute or two.

Arthur eventually pulled himself out of his stunned silence. He cleared his throat and moved anxiously in his seat. “H-how did she die?”

“She was murdered, Mr. Reed,” Faye answered. “Which is why we’d like to ask you some questions so we can figure out who did this.”

I opened my mouth, ready to ask my first question, but stopped when Stacey spoke first.

“It’s Jason, it has to be Jason,” Stacey said to Arthur as she gripped his hands.

“Why do you say that, Mrs. Reed?” Faye asked in surprise.

“I only spoke to Vanessa yesterday before she started her shift,” Stacey said cautiously. “I could tell she wasn’t herself and when I pressed her to see what was wrong, she burst into tears and told me that she and Jason had argued. He was getting cold feet and was starting to wonder if they were rushing into looking at wedding venues.” Stacey paused as her eyes started to water. “She was devastated. I told her she had to speak to him, and she told me she was going to go to his house when she finished work so they could sort things out.” Stacey pulled Arthur’s hand toward her. “What if he killed her, Arthur? It would be my fault! I told her to go!”

My body twinged with guilt as I thought of Nessa. I’d noticed she’d been on the quieter side when I saw her yesterday, but I took that as her just being tired of dealing with police questions.

Although Arthur still seemed a bit shellshocked, he pulled Stacey into his chest and embraced her. “None of this is your fault, Stace.”

“Has Jason ever shown violent behaviour in the past?” Faye inquired.

“No, he hasn’t,” Arthur answered thoughtfully.

“But who else could have done it?” Stacey asked. “She was going to see him after work, so it has to be him!”

As much as I was certain our serial killer had killed Nessa, I couldn’t deny the logic in Stacey’s thought pattern. We’d planned on seeing Jason after this, but now it seemed as though we’d be discussing things with him as a potential suspect and not just a victim.

“Do you know if your daughter had any enemies or any fall outs recently?” Faye inquired.

Stacey looked at Faye in shock. “Of course not! Nessa was loved by everyone!”

My heart hurt at her words. I didn’t find that hard to believe after meeting her. Nessa had been a sweet girl who’d been very loved by everyone at the pub, and to know I would now never see her again felt awful.

“Did Vanessa ever tell you about an incident at work?” I asked. “It was around two years ago and involved a man coming in and asking her some disturbing questions?”

Stacey pulled a worried face and Arthur’s expression darkened, which instantly told me that Nessa had confided in them about it.

“Oh, aye, she told us about that alright,” Arthur said, his voice laced with venom. “The moment she told me about it I told her to hand her notice in. I didn’t want to think of my little girl being around someone like... someone like that! But she didn’t listen.” He looked at me with wide eyes. “Do you think it was that man who hurt our girl?”

“We don’t know, Mr. Reed, but we’re considering all options here,” Faye responded diplomatically.

“It has to be Jason,” Stacey said stubbornly. “That man bothered her over two years ago now… it can’t be him.”

“Maybe, but do you have any other potential suspects for us to consider?” Faye inquired.

Stacey shook her head.

Arthur glanced between me and Faye shrewdly. “No... but do you? You’re the detectives after all.”

Faye looked at me, clearly unsure whether she should say anything about the serial killer. I appreciated her hesitation in order to protect me, but I knew Nessa’s parents deserved to know everything.

“Over the past few days I’ve been working on a cold case where three, potentially four, young women were murdered,” I answered candidly. “Looking into that, I heard about the man who spoke to Nessa at the pub. I’d gone there to speak with the people who worked there in order to find out more about him.” I paused. “The manner of Nessa’s death was very similar to that of the other women, so we are working under the assumption that the deaths are linked.”

Stacey put her hand to her mouth, and Arthur went as pale as paper again.

“W-who is this killer?” Stacey asked nervously.

“We don’t know, but I can assure you we are putting together all of our resources to find out,” Faye answered confidently.

There was a tense pause as Stacey and Arthur comforted one another. For a few minutes, all I could do was sit there and watch as the couple sobbed on one another’s shoulders.

“That w-was our l-little girl, Arthur, our l-little girl!”

“I k-know, I k-know!”

After another couple of minutes, I caught Faye’s eye, and she gestured for us to leave. I nodded instantly, knowing I couldn’t stand watching anymore of their heartache.

“We have a family liaison officer waiting outside,” Faye said gently. “Do you want me to get them to come in here and speak with you both?”

The couple nodded, and I watched as Faye left the room. I didn’t know she’d already sorted an officer on standby, so I was impressed at her organisational skills.

I stood up from my chair. “Ta for your time, and I’m sorry again for your loss.”

The couple continued to cry and comfort one another, barely acknowledging my existence. I stepped away from them and greeted the officer who passed me politely.

As I went to meet Faye outside, I felt my heart grow heavy with grief. I’d barely even known Nessa, and yet her murder had hit me like a tonne of bricks. She’d been a well loved girl, and I knew her death was going to leave behind a wave of devastated people.

I got into Faye’s car and my thoughts went straight to Jason. While I knew he wasn’t a likely suspect, the timing of Nessa wanting to speak to him about their relationship difficulties couldn’t be ignored.

Were we truly dealing with the serial killer? Or had Nessa’s fiancé found out what we were dealing with and decided to stage a similar death to make us think it was them?

10

I’d had a long career of hardening myself to emotion when it came to cases. I’d spoken to numerous families about a murdered loved one without batting an eyelid, I could look at a dead body without feeling a sense of sorrow, and I could speak to suspects without becoming enraged.

Yet Nessa’s murder pierced my heart as much as if it had been my own daughter… mostly because I knew she had died because of me.

“Dad?”

I glanced at Faye. I’d been so lost in my own thoughts I hadn’t registered any of her words. “Sorry, love, what did you say?”

“I asked if you could use my phone to get Jason’s address for me, please?” Faye asked patiently.

“Aye, sorry, love.”

I grabbed her phone out of her outstretched hand and saw she was already on the police database. Once the address came up and I was confident I had the right man, I held back a surprised gasp when I saw that Jason lived incredibly close to the Bucking Bronco Pub. It would take no time at all to walk from the pub to his address on Murton Way.

“He lives at 8 Murton Way,” I said calmly as I passed Faye her phone. “Do you know where that is?”

Faye smiled as she took her phone out of my hand and pocketed it. “Yes, I won’t need a satnav.” The smile fell slowly from her face when she took in my expression. “What is it?”

“I know that address too, and it’s really close to the pub where Nessa worked,” I answered thoughtfully.

Faye pursed her lips. “And that’s where she was yesterday before she went missing?”

I nodded.

Faye started to drive. As she pulled away from Stacey and Arthur’s house, I noticed her glancing back in her wing mirror. “Do you think there could be some truth in what Stacey was saying? Do you think maybe Jason killed Nessa?”

“We always have to consider the possibility, aye, but I’d be surprised,” I answered earnestly. “Though I admit, knowing he’s so close to her workplace makes me consider him as a suspect a bit more seriously.”

Faye nodded shrewdly. “I guess there’s only one way to find out, eh?”

Faye continued driving, and for a while we travelled in silence. As Faye drove us toward Nessa’s fiancé’s place, I tried to focus on Jason and push the image of Stacey and Arthur’s devastation out of my mind... but it was an impossible task. We’d turned up at their house and turned their world upside down, and I knew the image of their tears and heartbreak would stay with me for the rest of my life.

As we pulled in front of Jason’s house, I wondered once more if he could be our killer. My gut didn’t think so. It was almost as though our killer had known the places I’d been to, the people I’d spoken to… they knew exactly who to target to let me know they were watching me.

And they were unhappy with me for challenging them by looking out for Larry.

Nessa’s murder was a message to me, but I couldn’t tell exactly what the message was. Was it that they were always going to be one step ahead of me? That they were watching me? Or were they warning me to drop my crusade to save Larry, or they’d continue killing innocent victims?

I looked at Faye and debated on voicing my concerns to her, but one look at her serious, focused expression convinced me that was a bad idea. As much as I loved my daughter, I wouldn’t put it past her to call me an egotistical old fool for making Nessa’s death all about me. I kept my lips sealed and my thoughts to myself, at least until I had a stronger reason to voice them than my own intuition.

I pulled my focus away from my thoughts and back on the outside world. Faye had parked up alongside the road near some small houses that all looked in a relatively poor state. The brickwork on them all was crumbling, the windows looked as though they were older than me, and the paintwork on most of the garages was completely chipped off.

Once Faye had parked up, she pointed to a house that, compared to the others, wasn’t in the worst shape. “Let’s go see what Jason has to say for himself.”

I agreed and followed her out of the car. I walked alongside her with long strides until we reached the front door, and she knocked loudly on it. The door opened with a loud creak, and I found my eyebrows raising in surprise at the sight of the young man who opened it.

He looked like an extra from Grease who had tried hard to get the lead role of Danny Zuko but failed.

His black hair was slicked back with so much hairspray, mousse, and oil that it looked shockingly greasy, his expression was sullen, his blue eyes were narrowed with disdain, and the skin that peeked out from his clothing was covered in a variety of black and grey tattoos.

He eyed me and Faye up and down before his lip curled unpleasantly. “What?”

Charming, I thought. I can’t believe this is the bloke you were planning on marrying, Nessa... you’re worth a thousand of him.

“Jason Kenneth?” Faye asked.

Jason shrugged. “You tell me.”

Faye took out her badge and thrust it under Jason’s nose, but the young man didn’t so much as flinch. “I’m DI Ellis here with Acting Detective Sean Ellis.”

Jason didn’t bother to look at Faye’s badge. Instead, he turned to me with a sneer. “Acting detective? Are you so shit at your job that you have to play pretend?”

I bit my cheek to stop myself from responding that he was playing the part of a 1950s reject. We’d barely been in Jason’s presence for a few seconds and I already seriously disliked the man.

“Are we able to come in and speak to you, Mr. Kenneth?” I asked.

Jason folded his arms unhappily. “Why? I’m a busy man.”

“We need to speak to you about Vanessa Reed,” I answered.

Jason’s tough act melted as quickly as ice under the scorching sun. “Vanessa? What about her? Is she alright?”

“Can we please come in?” Faye asked.

Jason stepped aside and nodded so rapidly some of his slicked back hair started to bounce. “Yes, come in.”

I thanked him as I entered his home, surprised by his quick change of behaviour. Was this a man who knew he had to play nice with the police since he’d just killed his fiancée? Or was he someone who genuinely disliked everyone, but loved Vanessa and wanted to ensure she was okay?

We’d both barely entered his house before he was closing the door behind us and looking at us with concern. “Why do you need to speak to me about Ness?”

I jerked my head in the direction of his living room, but Jason remained where he stood. As it was evident he didn’t want to move, I pressed my back against one of his hallway walls and looked at him. “Can you please tell us when you last saw Vanessa?”

“Why are you asking me that?” Jason asked frantically. “Has something happened to her?”

“Why would you assume that, Mr. Kenneth?” Faye inquired.

Jason furrowed his thick eyebrows and rubbed them like he was suddenly getting a migraine. “Because I’ve got two detectives at my door asking about her, that’s why!” He slowly closed his mouth, looking guilty for snapping. He eventually opened it again, but when he spoke his tone was much more patient. “Sorry, just tell me what is going on, please. I know something must have happened if you’re asking me these questions.”

Faye subtly glanced at me, and when she saw I was remaining quiet, she put her full focus on Jason. “I’m sorry, Mr. Kenneth, but we found her body this morning.”

Jason suddenly looked unsteady on his feet. His features went pale, and I quickly moved forward to grab him before he could fall. After a few seconds I was able to step away from him, but he continued to look shocked.

“I’ll put the kettle on, lad,” I said kindly as I squeezed his shoulder. “Some sugar might help with the shock.”

I went to take my hand back, but Jason moved closer, as though he found my touch reassuring. I kept my hand on his shoulder and gently ushered him toward the kitchen. He put up no resistance. Faye followed us, then quickly moved ahead to pull out a chair. Jason slumped into it, and I noticed his eyes were still wide and the colour wasn’t returning to his face. I quickly made us all a drink—carefully watching Jason to ensure he was still okay—then placed them on the kitchen table. I made sure Jason grabbed his own before I took a seat next to him.

“Are you alright, Jason?” I asked.

Jason flinched, looking surprised to hear his name. “N-no, how can I be?”

I grimaced sympathetically. Although we’d come here thinking Jason was a potential suspect, after seeing his strong reaction I felt certain he wasn’t the killer. He was just a young, rash man who’d just found out the girl he loved was never going to be with him again.

“I understand that, Jason,” I responded, continuing to use his first name to help him feel relaxed. “I’m just sorry we came here with such bad news.”

“I just d-don’t understand how this has h-happened,” Jason muttered as he gripped his mug tightly. “I saw her over a day ago, and I was m-meant to see her last night.”

“So you didn’t see her yesterday?” Faye asked.

Jason shook his head. “She was meant to be here last night, but when she didn’t turn up… I wasn’t that surprised.” Jason took a shaky gulp from his mug. “I’d been a right prick, and I wanted to see her to sort things out, but when she didn’t come I just assumed she was too pissed at me to talk.”

“Why was she annoyed with you?” I inquired.

“We’ve been sorting out a wedding venue, and I found a place that I thought looked perfect,” Jason answered, his tone slow and considered like he was putting a lot of thought into every word he spoke. “I told Ness about it and I thought she would love it, but when I saw her she told me that place wasn’t an option. Some idiot apparently told her people got killed there, and she thought that was a bad omen.”

I felt my cheeks going red, knowing I was the idiot he was talking about.

“Anyway, I was annoyed that she was taking into consideration some punter she didn’t even know over her own fiancé, so I told her maybe we were rushing into things and shouldn’t look at venues at all.” Jason stopped, his head lowering in shame. “I didn’t even mean it... it was just my stupid bloody pride getting in the way.”

He was silent for a few seconds, so I gently pushed him to continue.

“She texted me yesterday saying she’d see me after work so we could talk about things. I was so happy when I saw that message,” Jason continued. “I readied myself to apologise to her over being so stupid, to tell her I didn’t give two shits where we got married as long as we were together... but then she didn’t show up.” He sighed. “I was angry and sent her some texts about her standing me up, but now it seems as though she didn’t come because she was already dead, right?”

“Potentially,” I answered truthfully.

“Can I see your phone, please?” Faye asked.

Jason looked annoyed. “Why?”

“If you have nothing to hide, you won’t object to me looking,” Faye responded coolly.

Jason clicked his tongue, but eventually he pushed the phone over to Faye. “Fine, it’s unlocked. Have at it.”

Faye thanked him, then started to look through it. As she did, I turned back to Jason. “We’ve just informed Nessa’s parents, and when we mentioned she was dead… Stacey suggested you could have hurt her.” I paused. “Why do you think she would have thought that?”

I was surprised to see a flicker of hurt across Jason’s face. “She really said that?”

“Aye, but she informed us that Nessa told her about your disagreement,” I continued. “I think she was just concerned. She knew you’d changed your mind about the wedding and she feared you may have lashed out in an argument.”

“I never changed my mind!” Jason exclaimed quickly, his shoulders drooping. “I just... was an idiot, that’s all.”

“And I believe you, lad, but from Stacey’s point of view you were the last person her daughter saw before she turned up dead,” I responded bluntly.

Faye passed Jason back his phone. “Thank you.”

“See? There’s nothing on there, is there?” he snorted. “I told you there wouldn’t be.”

“We are simply trying to figure out what caused Vanessa’s death, Mr. Kenneth, that is all,” Faye replied impassively.

“I would never hurt my Ness, ever!” Jason exclaimed.

And I believed him.

I looked at Faye and saw that she also looked like she didn’t have much more to ask him. We finished our drinks and pushed them away.

Jason, seeing we were readying ourselves to go, hurriedly jumped out of his seat. “Wait! Aren’t you going to tell me what happened to her?”

“I’m afraid this is a murder inquiry, Mr. Kenneth, so we can’t divulge⁠—”

“Murder!” Jason roared angrily. “You mean some bastard killed her?”

“I’m afraid so,” I responded solemnly.

Jason put a shaking hand on his forehead. “When you said you’d found her body I didn’t realise that meant that... that...”

He couldn’t say the words, so I spoke. “What did you think happened?”

Jason’s eyes started to stream, but he hurriedly wiped them. “I don’t know... you just said her body, so I thought maybe she’d hurt herself because she thought I was calling off the wedding.” He paused, taking a deep breath to stop more tears. “I thought maybe Stacey was right, and it was my fault, but now I don’t know what to think.”

“This is an ongoing investigation, so we can’t say much, but it would appear someone killed Vanessa at some point late last night,” I answered cautiously, not wanting to tell him too much.

Jason pressed his palms against his eyes as he repeatedly swore to himself. “I can’t believe someone did this to her!”

I stood up from my chair, and Faye copied my action. “Me neither, Jason, but I can assure you we will find the person who did this and make them pay.”

“You think you know who did this, don’t you?” he asked.

I cocked my head at Jason, stopping in my tracks. “Why do you say that?”

Jason crossed his arms and looked at me seriously. “I know you lot, and what you ask... you haven’t even asked me who I think could have done it or anything like that, which makes me think you don’t need to ask. You already know.”

Wow... he really isn’t as stupid as he looks, I thought with disbelief.

I considered lying, but as I looked into his wide, blue eyes, I felt guilty for my first opinion of him. While he may have initially painted himself as a blunt, rude arsehole, I could see he truly did love Nessa. Since I was the one that let her down, she deserved my honesty with the man she loved.

“I do, aye, and I will stop at nothing to ensure they’re made to suffer for what they’ve done to not just Nessa… but multiple women,” I said earnestly.

Jason held my eye contact for a few seconds before he nodded curtly. “Let’s just hope you’re a man of your word.”

11

“So, he isn’t guilty then,” Faye said as we got into her car, her tone suggesting her words were fact.

“I thought as much, but at least now we know for certain.”

In no time at all, Faye turned the corner that led toward the Bucking Bronco Pub. As she made the turn, I held out my hand in front of her.

“Slow down a bit, will you?”

“Why, what’s going on?”

I pulled my phone out of my jacket. “I’m going to call Nadia... I think I have to go and speak to Sam from the pub, it would be wrong of me not to.”

To my surprise, Faye listened to me without question. I was happy when Nadia quickly answered the call, and even happier when she respected my wish to speak to Sam.

“From what we know so far, he easily could have been one of the last people to see her alive,” Nadia said impassively. “Try and find out as much information from him as possible.”

“I will, Nads, speak soon.”

I pocketed my phone and looked at Faye. “I take it you got the basic gist of that?”

Faye nodded. “You’ve got your way, as usual.”

Usually I’d have smirked at her comment, but I was in no mood to smile as the pub came into our line of sight.

I’m about to talk to the people who tried their best to help me, and it only resulted in the loss of one of their own... I thought nervously. I’ll be lucky if they don’t immediately try and kick me out… or worse.

We reached the pub, and I immediately noticed a large group of rowdy looking football fans approaching the pub. They were all dressed in England shirts and obnoxiously chanting support for their team. I’d been so distracted by the case I’d completely forgotten about the Euros, and I just hoped the crowd weren’t going to be a pain in my backside while I tried speaking to Sam.

As we started to get out of the car, I saw two PCs blocking the entrance of the pub from the group. I assumed they were instructed to keep an eye on the pub, which meant Sam and Bill had already been informed of Nessa’s death.

“Sorry, lads, but this pub is closed for the rest of the day,” one of the PCs said in a surprisingly confident tone. “You’ll need to go to another pub to watch the match.”

The men started groaning.

“Come on, man, the match starts in ten minutes!” one complained.

“Don’t tell us we’ve walked all of this way for nothing!” another whined.

The PC pointed behind them. “There are many pubs closer to the city, gentlemen, so I suggest you walk quickly if you don’t want to miss anything.”

They groaned, swore, and made rude gestures as they walked off.

The PC watched them for a few seconds before turning his attention to us. He nodded warmly at Faye—a look of recognition in his eye telling me he knew her—before looking at me.

“What are you both doing here?” he asked.

Faye nodded her head toward the pub. “We’re here to speak about Vanessa.”

“We’ve just informed the owner of her death,” the PC responded with a grimace. “He took it badly… to say the least.”

“We just want to ask him some questions,” Faye answered. “It would seem this is the last place the girl was before she died.”

“Good luck,” the other PC said dubiously. “They’re pretty devastated. You might not get much out of them.”

“We’ll keep out here while you talk to the owner,” the first PC asked.

“That would be appreciated, ta,” I replied.

I refrained from taking a deep breath, then stepped toward the pub’s front door. I pushed it open, and my chest hurt instantly at the sad scene in front of me.

The whole pub had been covered in England bunting and flags, but the pub was empty except for Sam and Bill. They were both wearing broken expressions. I’d experienced many sights in my career, but that one choked me up more than most ever had.

I closed the door behind me and Faye, and the sound caused Sam to look toward us. “We are closed, so can you—oh, it’s you.”

Bill looked up, and the moment his eyes fell on me, his face reddened. He clenched his fists at his side and jumped off of his stool.

“You!” Bill hissed, stepping slowly toward me with his fists ready. “You’ve got some bloody nerve coming in here!”

He raised his right fist higher as he approached, and I knew the man was ready to hit me. Usually, I’d instantly be in self-defence mode at the sight of an aggressor, but the image of Bill ready to fight me shocked me so much that I was momentarily stunned. Luckily, Faye stepped in front of me and Sam moved quickly to block Bill.

“Bill, think about what you’re doing!”

“I am!” Bill hissed as he tried to shove past Sam.

Faye continued to stand protectively in front of me. “I must warn you that it isn’t wise to threaten a detective.”

Bill scoffed. “He isn’t even a detective anymore! He isn’t shit!”

“Please, Bill,” Sam said gently as he continued to block Bill’s path. “I couldn’t deal with it if you got arrested... not after today.”

“Today is why I need to do this, Sam!” Bill exclaimed harshly, angry tears streaming down his cheeks. “We trusted him! Did everything to help him! And him bringing his business in here caused our Nessa to be... to be...”

His anger instantly evaporated, and he fell into Sam’s arms, unable to stop the wave of tears that took over him. I found it hard to look at him as his body trembled like a child’s in Sam’s arms. Bill sobbed freely—not caring who was watching—and I knew my initial assessment about the man had been right.

Nessa had practically been a granddaughter to him... and, in his eyes, I’d taken her away from him.

I glanced at Faye and saw that even she was visibly affected by Bill’s grief. She eventually cleared her throat and stepped forward. “I’m sorry to both of you for your loss, but there’s no sense in pointing the blame at my dad... he wasn’t the one who killed Nessa.”

Bill’s eyes shot to Faye, and he looked at her properly for the first time. “You’re his daughter?”

Faye nodded. “Yes, I’m DI Faye Ellis.”

Bill pulled away from Sam, wiped his eyes, and laughed coldly. “I pray you aren’t as bad of a detective as your old man then, girl. If you are, I'll be dead by the time you lot even try to look into Nessa’s death.”

Sam shot Bill a warning look. “That isn’t helping matters, mate.”

“Forgive me for not being in the mood for niceties with the arsehole who caused Nessa’s death,” Bill muttered coldly.

“All my dad’s done is try to figure out who killed those girls, and he is going to do the same for Nessa,” Faye said calmly.

I put my hand out in front of Faye to stop her. As much as I appreciated her support, I understood Bill’s anger and had expected it.

“It’s fine, love, the man has every right to feel the way he does,” I sighed.

Bill sneered. “Don’t think you can use your bullshit detective tricks on me!” He stepped closer toward me, but since his fists were down, I knew he wasn’t going to hit me. “You may not have physically killed her, but if you hadn’t come in here asking all of those questions… Nessa would still be here!”

Bill’s face twitched with anger, but I held his gaze with a sorrowful look of my own. “I can’t even disagree with what you’re saying, Bill. Believe me, if I knew anything would happen to Nessa, I never would have come here. But I must have been right about those girls... otherwise why would the killer have lashed out?”

Bill continued to look furious. “I couldn’t give two shits about what happened to those girls! All I care about is the fact that Nessa is gone!”

Bill shoved me out of the way and stormed out of the pub.

“Bill, wait!” Sam shouted.

Bill pushed open the door. “Call me when those two are gone. I won’t be back until they are.”

“We could really do with talking to you,” I said calmly.

Bill put his middle finger up at me, then left the pub, leaving Sam looking crestfallen. He eventually turned to me with red eyes, and my guilt only rose when I realized he’d been crying too.

“I’m sorry about that,” Sam said tiredly. “He’s just in shock.”

I nodded understandingly. “We all are.”

Sam looked around at the decorations with an impassive expression. “Nessa had been the one to get all of this, you know? She thought it wouldn’t hurt us to try being patriotic for the Euros.” His eyes watered and he wiped them. “I just can’t believe she’s dead.”

“What did the PCs tell you exactly?” Faye asked gently.

Sam gestured toward the bar, and we all took a seat. “They just said that her body had been found this morning,” he answered tiredly. “Bill, being Bill, instantly asked if it was anything to do with the other dead girls and the PCs said they couldn’t answer that.” Sam chuckled dryly. “As you can imagine, Bill didn’t take that very well and demanded answers... the majority of the time the police were here it was them avoiding Bill’s questions and him getting more demanding for answers.”

I nodded. “We’ll try and be as open with you as possible, mate, but we need the same from you.” I paused. “From what we can tell, Nessa was likely taken by the killer shortly after she left her shift.”

“Christ,” Sam muttered, his face going ghostly white. “Do you think that means the killer has been watching this place?”

Aye, and likely everywhere else I’ve been over the past week, I thought coldly.

“We think that is a possibility, but until we look into things more we can’t say for certain,” Faye responded calmly. “All we know is Vanessa was here, then someone killed her.”

“Aye,” I continued. “We’ve spoken to her parents and fiancé, and we know her plan was to see Jason after she finished her shift. After checking Jason’s phone, it’s clear she never made it to his house.”

“Yes, that was my understanding too,” Sam said thoughtfully. “She told me she had to see him and sort him out—I didn’t ask what that meant—and when she finished her shift at eleven, she left here and walked to his house.”

“So that’s when you last saw her?” I asked.

Sam nodded sadly. “If only I’d offered to drive her… she’d still be with us.”

I put my hand on his arm. “Don’t blame yourself, Sam. It’ll end up driving you crazy, the self-hatred and doubt… trust me.”

Sam squeezed my hand gratefully.

“Do you have any CCTV we could look at?” Faye asked.

“Yes, we have a camera at the front door, but it doesn’t show much,” Sam replied bitterly. “It’ll show her leaving the place, but that will be it.”

“I’d still like to take some copies, if that’s alright?” Faye asked.

Sam handed her some keys from his trouser pocket. “Feel free to look and take what you want.”

Faye glanced at me, but when I subtly gestured with my head that I’d be staying, she went. Once she went through the back, I turned back to Sam.

“I know this is hard, mate, but has there been anything you’ve noticed since I started coming here?” I asked hopefully. “Any new customers coming, or anyone loitering around outside, anything like that?”

Sam looked to the ground and sniffed. “I’ve been playing everything in my mind since I first heard those horrible words, Sean, but I honestly haven’t seen anything different.” He sighed. “Someone might have been watching the place from outside, but I wouldn’t have noticed.”

I was disappointed, but I didn’t show it. “I appreciate you trying, mate.”

Sam raised his head and looked at me with small, sad eyes. “Is Bill right though? Do you think Nessa got killed because you came here to speak about that cold case?”

I held his eye contact for a few seconds before I nodded weakly. “We are looking into all possible cases, but Nessa was killed like our serial killer’s other victims... while there were some differences, I believe these were done to try and keep us off the scent, or have us doubt Larry’s guilt.... but I do believe the cases are connected, aye. I will do everything I can to get to the bottom of it.”

Sam slowly stood up from his seat, taking me by surprise. He looked down at me with folded arms and a serious, but solemn, expression. “I can understand Bill’s anger then, Sean. If it wasn’t for you bringing up the past, then Nessa would still be with us.”

I stood up, giving him a desperate look to make him understand. “I get that, Sam, but I must be getting close if this has happened! The killer has made some mistakes, so I’m certain that⁠—”

Sam held his hand up. “I don’t want to hear it to be honest,” he said coolly. “I will answer any questions you have and do everything within my power to help Nessa... but that is it. Apart from that, I don’t want you in this pub ever again.”

My stomach lurched. “Sam... please.”

Sam started to get tearful again. “I mean it... Nessa was as good and loyal as they came and thanks to your investigation she’s been murdered... I’m sorry, Sean, but when I look at you now… all I can see is her death. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to disassociate the two.”

Faye returned and looked at me with a smile. “I’ve got the CCTV footage. Have you got what else we need?”

I looked at Sam guiltily. “Aye, I think my questions are done for now.”

Faye handed Sam a card. “My details are on there. If you think of anything that could help us determine who killed Nessa, please do call me right away.”

Sam nodded solemnly. “Of course.”

We said our goodbyes, and I walked out of the pub with my heart feeling heavier than lead. I had thought highly of everyone at the Bucking Bronco Pub, but since my determination had inadvertently caused Nessa’s death… I was now shunned from there.

As much as it hurt, I could understand their pain.

Bill was angry, and he probably thought it would take me another twenty years to figure out who’d killed Nessa. I was determined to not let his thoughts become a reality. I just hoped when I found her killer that I’d be able to build bridges with Sam and Bill, but as much as I wanted to help them, I knew nothing I could ever do would bring Nessa back.

It was a cold reality that I would have to live with for the rest of my life.

12

Faye was quiet as she drove us back to the station. I both liked and disliked the silence. Usually, I would welcome the quiet time to gather my thoughts on the case, but it was one of those rare occasions where I’d have welcomed conversation instead of playing my unhappy thoughts on repeat.

My thoughts mostly strayed to Bill and how, although it hurt me to see his devastation, I could completely understand his anger toward me. The man had adored Nessa, and I was an outlet for his grief, a figure he could look at and blame for the loss of a young woman he cared deeply for. Right now he needed someone to hate, and I was happy to be that person.

Especially when I hated and blamed myself as much, if not more, than Bill did.

I was annoyed at myself for wallowing in my sorrow and grief—that wasn’t like me—but I’d also never had a case where I was the reason someone had been murdered either. Try as I might, I couldn’t shake the thought that our serial killer had purposely selected Nessa to get to me. I’d have expected him to target Lylah or Faye, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew that would have been too obvious. Our killer was doing everything he could to be clever. Nessa had a link to me, but it wasn’t one many would have made... only me.

I looked at Faye, took in her calm presence, and couldn’t help but be grateful she wasn’t the killer’s chosen target. She hadn’t been reduced to some sick pawn in a game between me and this killer.

Christ, I thought. This killer is really getting into my head... making me see everything they do as somehow against me. Am I right, or am I getting much more paranoid with age?

Faye, sensing my eyes on her, turned to face me. “You alright, Dad?”

“I will be… once we finally find the monster responsible for all this.”

We arrived at the station and Faye parked up. I went to open the car door, but I stopped when I felt Faye’s hand on my wrist.

“Before we go in, I need you to get out of your head,” Faye said calmly.

“I’m fine, love.”

“I know you, Dad, so please don’t lie to me,” Faye responded. She hesitated, her eyes shining with emotion. “I’m sorry that Vanessa is dead, but despite what that punter said it isn’t your fault. If we have any chance of finding the person who is responsible, I’m going to need you to stop blaming yourself, get over your pity party, and focus.” She squeezed my wrist and let it go. “You are one of the best detectives out there, but only if you remember that. Let yourself be the man you’ve always been. The man who showed me what it took to be a good detective.”

I welled up as I patted her hand. “Ta, love. I think I needed to hear that.”

Faye winked at me. “I’ve had years of you kicking me up the arse to be better, Dad... it’s only right I return the favour.”

I chuckled lightly as I quickly pulled Faye in for a hug. I let go when I suddenly felt my phone ringing in my pocket. A quick glance showed me it was Lylah.

“Lyles,” I said into the phone. “Is everything alright?”

“I should be asking that question, don’t you think?” Lylah asked calmly. “How’s it all going?”

“It’s been tough,” I answered honestly. “The loved ones were devastated, Sam and Bill from the pub pretty much blamed me for what happened.”

“That’s not fair,” Lylah answered unhappily.

“I see their point though, love,” I replied tiredly. “Nessa would still be alive if I hadn’t been there recently.”

“You don’t know that, Sean,” Lylah responded kindly.

But I do, I thought coldly.

“How are you getting on, anyway?” I asked.

Lylah squealed excitedly. “Craig’s found the perfect ring! Lucy is going to love it!”

I smiled, feeling glad to have at least some good news. “That’s great! I can’t wait to see it.” I glanced at Faye, who was patiently waiting for me. “I better get going, but I’ll call you when I can.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself, alright?” Lylah asked warmly. “You’re a good man and I know you’ll do justice for Nessa. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I replied.

I put my phone away and started to follow Faye into the building. We made our way to my old department, and when we entered I saw Nadia in the middle, speaking to her team. I gestured for Faye to keep quiet and we cautiously walked in, keeping a slight distance to not interrupt Nadia’s flow. However, the moment Nadia saw us she stopped speaking and directed the team to look at us.

“As you can all see, DI Ellis and Acting Detective Ellis have returned,” she said. “Perhaps they’d be happy to share their progress.”

The team turned to us, and although I was used to addressing groups, I felt my face growing red at their focused attention. Faye, however, seemed unfazed and instantly started to address them.

“We spoke to Vanessa Reed’s parents, then her fiancé, then her place of work,” Faye explained. “Vanessa’s mother seemed to be concerned over the fiancé, so⁠—”

“So is he a potential suspect, ma’am?” one of the DCs asked.

I looked at the DC and recognised him from before. I wasn’t certain, but I believed his name was DC Kebby—the one who pointed me and Faye to where Larry was being kept—and he was looking at Faye with rapt attention.

“Let the DI finish, DC,” Nadia said coolly.

The DCs rounded face went bright pink, and he blinked his blue eyes embarrassedly. “Sorry, ma’am.”

Nadia gestured for Faye to continue.

“Stacey, Vanessa’s mother, only suggested that Jason could be a suspect because she knew that Vanessa had planned on seeing him last night,” Faye continued. “Stacey informed us that Vanessa and Jason had some issues to resolve, however after speaking to Jason both Dad—” She hesitated, her neck going slightly red. “Er, Acting Detective Ellis and I felt confident he isn’t a suspect. He willingly gave us his phone, which confirmed his alibi, and his shock and upset would have been difficult to fake.”

“Difficult, but not impossible,” a woman I didn’t recognise said shrewdly.

“We certainly won’t count him out completely, DS White, but if these two believe he isn’t guilty I trust their decision,” Nadia said calmly.

DS White nodded. I noticed her blue eyes were sharp, and I could imagine she was the type of woman who didn’t miss anything. When I caught her eye, I noticed she looked at me with a dubious expression, but I couldn’t tell if she was uncertain of me or if that was how her face always looked.

“How did it go at the pub?” Nadia asked, clearly ready to move on.

“We were able to get some CCTV footage from the front, which shows Nessa leaving just after eleven last night,” Faye answered. “And after going to see Jason and seeing his messages… it’s clear she was leaving to go to his. That means she must have been taken shortly after she left the pub.”

“Jason doesn’t live far from the pub, so whoever targeted her must have either known when she’d finish or they were keeping an eye out for her,” I added.

“So we know the window when she was taken, that’s good,” Nadia replied. “What else have you got?”

I sighed. “That’s it.”

Nadia looked disappointed, but she quickly changed her features. “So all we really know is an approximate time.” She sighed. “I was just informing the team that DI Humes and I found some CCTV cameras at the car park, but unfortunately that car park’s been abandoned for a couple of years, so they weren’t working.” She hesitated unhappily. “I was also saying that the couple that found Nessa’s body were unable to give us much information. All they had to say was that they stumbled across her and called it in right away.”

I felt a wave of guilt when I realised I hadn’t even considered who’d found Nessa’s body. I was so consumed with my own fear of finding Lylah, then my grief of seeing Nessa’s mutilated corpse that I hadn’t even thought about how her body had been found in the first place. That was a rookie error, and I was annoyed at myself for letting my emotions stop me from thinking like a detective.

“Did they say why they were there in the first place, ma’am?” Faye asked suspiciously. “It’s hardly a place to go if it’s been abandoned for that long.”

“I understand the concern, DI Ellis, but I spoke to the couple myself and I have no reason to believe they’re involved,” Nadia answered confidently. “They were young, and although they didn’t exactly admit it, I could tell they were going to a less risky public place to...” She hesitated, her cheeks going an attractive shade of pink. “I’m sure I don’t need to spell it out.”

“Did you get anything else from the scene?” I asked, hurriedly moving the topic along from adventurous teens.

Nadia shook her head. “We’ve sent a lot of stuff off with forensics. All we can do is hope they can give us something.”

I doubted that would be the case, and from Nadia’s unhappy tone I knew she felt the same. I was certain we were dealing with the person who’d killed Angela, Nadia, Lydia, and as they hadn’t made any mistakes at those scenes, I doubted they would this time around. While they’d clearly felt more rushed with Nessa’s kill, I still knew they wouldn’t have been foolish enough to leave behind anything that could lead back to them. They’d trained for years when it came to protecting themselves. They wouldn’t slip up now.

“You know, I just had a thought. Seeing as we’ll all be working together, we should do some introductions,” Nadia said, clapping her hands softly to signal an end to the current conversation. She gestured toward the DC with the rounded face and blue eyes who’d interrupted Faye earlier. “This is DC Simon Kebby.”

Simon held out a chunky hand, and I took it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

I nodded respectfully. “You too, Simon.”

Simon beamed.

I looked him over quickly and tried to figure out his age. I’d have assumed he was in his early to mid-twenties, but as he had a naturally youthful look, it was hard to tell. He had wavy black hair that finished at his chin and a couple of dimples on his cheeks.

I noticed Nadia was ushering another man forward, so I pulled my focus to him. He looked slightly older than Simon and had cropped brunette hair, brown eyes, and a light brown complexion. He was around the same height as me—approximately five foot eleven—and his expression was stern.

“This is DC Avery Jones,” Nadia said. “DC Jones, this is Sean Ellis and DI Faye Ellis.”

Avery nodded to us both respectfully. “I look forward to solving this case together.”

I smiled approvingly at his confidence. “So do I.”

Nadia then properly introduced us to DS Maddison White, and although her expression was still stern, when she spoke I realised she was much more approachable than first impressions suggested. Once we’d finished the introductions, Nadia clapped her hands together once more, more seriously this time. I bit back a smile, knowing this was the sort of thing she’d likely picked up from me when I was a DCI.

“Now that we all know each other, I want the DCs and DS White to work with DI Ellis and Acting Detective Ellis to get to the bottom of this case,” Nadia said. “For us to do so, we need to work from the beginning.” She gave me a shrewd look. “While I might not be completely convinced that the person who killed Vanessa was responsible for the deaths of our cold case victims, I think we need to delve back into those cases in order to solve this one. It won’t hurt for the team to have some knowledge of the cold cases… at any rate.”

“I agree, ma’am,” I responded. “Will you be working with us?”

Nadia frowned. “I’ve organised a press conference so we can circulate news about the killer. Copycat or not, other women will probably be in danger. The public need to be warned immediately.”

I grimaced sympathetically. “I can’t say I miss that part of the job.”

Nadia laughed bitterly. “Yeah, I can’t say I will when I eventually retire either.” She glanced at Victoria. “Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Victoria answered.

Nadia and Victoria left, leaving me with Faye and my new temporary team. As I looked around at the three of them I wasn’t sure what to think. Both DCs looked young and inexperienced, but I’d worked with enough detectives to know you didn’t know their worth until they were given the opportunity to prove themselves.

So that was what I was going to give them.

“Lydia Henton, our killer’s first victim,” I began to explain. “Angela Lowell, our second, Nadia Manir, our third, and Marika Dabrowska who we now believe could be a fourth victim. I want you all to look into these names and come back to me with what you find.” I hesitated. “Am I right in thinking you’ve already been given details on Vanessa Reed’s murder?”

“Yes, sir,” DC Kebby replied.

“Good, then you can all get started.”

The three detectives looked at one another dubiously before they moved toward their computers. Once they started to work, I turned to Faye.

“It might not hurt for you to look into them all either,” I said gently.

Faye snorted. “I’ve lost count of the times I’ve gone through those case files, Dad.” She hesitated sadly. “Trust me, I could go through them now word for word.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Very well, love.”

Faye touched my arm gently. “I’ll put the kettle on and make us all a drink.”

Once she was busy sorting the drinks, I kept an eye on Maddison, Simon, and Avery. As they worked, I was impressed with their level of focus. They all kept busy and showed their dedication to their task, and the more I watched them, the more I quickly learnt about them. Maddison demonstrated that she was a role higher than the others by regularly checking how her colleagues were getting on and showing she was there for them. I quickly noticed she engaged more with Avery, and I noticed an undeniable flirtatious chemistry between them.

While a small part of me worried this could hinder the investigation, I mostly felt nostalgic about me and Lylah. Our relationship had started in a similar way, and I couldn’t help but wonder if one day I’d be receiving an invitation to Avery and Maddison’s wedding.

After over an hour, the three detectives all turned to me and declared they’d finished their research and wanted to talk. We pulled our chairs together and Simon edged forward in his seat, ready to start us off. “Do you mind if I ask you a question, sir?”

I nodded. “Aye, speak freely, lad.”

Simon scratched his black hair thoughtfully. “I’ve gone through everything, including information Nadia typed up over your progress the last week, and I’m just wondering why you’re so convinced Larry Arnold isn’t involved?”

Avery scoffed. “Probably the dead body today, Si.”

Simon’s cheeks flushed, but he continued to look at me seriously. “I know someone was murdered today, but that doesn’t mean Larry is innocent, does it? I mean the bloke confessed, and he could have been working with someone.”

Avery shook his head. “That would be one hell of a coincidence, Si.”

Simon turned to scowl at Avery. “What do you think then?”

Avery leaned back in his seat. “I think our killer is clever. He knows how to throw people off the scent while doing what he wants to do at the same time. He’s a risk taker, and knew it was dangerous to kill again after Larry had been arrested, and yet he welcomed the challenge.”

I listened to Avery speaking and felt a newfound respect for him. The man clearly had his head screwed on right, and I could tell from his assessment of the killer alone that he was a good detective. He confidently followed his instincts and had good intuition, which was impossible to fake.

“But Larry confessed!” Simon exclaimed. “Why would he do that if he wasn’t involved?”

“That’s what we need to find out,” Maddison responded.

“Besides, after he was arrested DSI Begum got a warrant to search his address and pub, and the search came back with nothing incriminating,” Avery said coolly. “The killer collected the fingers as trophies, right? So surely they’d have been found if he was our killer.”

I’d already known about the searches because Nadia had alerted me about them when I was in the hospital. However, at the time Nadia suspected Larry had hidden the fingers where no one would find them after I started snooping around, but with a new body I wondered if Nadia would now see this differently.

I hoped she would.

I knew Nadia still hadn’t spoken to the press or the victims’ families about Larry’s arrest, which told me that deep down she’d always had her doubts over his guilt. Otherwise, she’d have alerted them all to the arrest immediately.

Simon remained unconvinced. “Maybe, but just because they weren’t found doesn’t mean they aren’t there! After looking into everything I’m convinced Larry is our guy. I bet he manipulated someone else into killing someone else to make him look innocent. They probably took the trophies to protect him too! The victims were found in wedding colours with their ring fingers removed, and we know Larry was a confirmed bachelor who never wanted to settle down. The victims all worked for him, and his name was found on that list of delivery drivers.” He hesitated, looking around the group as though eagerly waiting for someone to agree with him. “Surely that can’t all be a coincidence?”

“I see your point, lad,” I responded diplomatically. “To answer your question, throughout my career I’ve always followed my gut, and it’s very rarely led me astray. From the moment I met Larry, my gut told me he was innocent. I’ve been trusting it throughout.”

Simon nodded and didn’t question me further.

As the team discussed with one another what they’d found on the old cases, I found myself thinking about Simon’s question. I’d been convinced from the start that Larry hadn’t hurt those girls, but I couldn’t deny his confession had thrown me. While I was still relatively confident that Larry couldn’t hurt a fly, I still knew I had to keep an open mind. I couldn’t completely disregard Simon’s suggestion that someone had killed Nessa in order to help Larry.

The potential that I was dealing with two killers was scary, and I knew we had to act quickly in order to ensure we didn’t receive a call about another new victim.

13

“Alright, everyone… now we need to look into people connected to the cold cases,” I said. “We’ve just spoken to the people connected to Nessa, but if we want to help her, we have to dig further into the past. We need to look deeply into Larry Arnold, Carl Lapworth, and I think we should also look into the men I spoke to at Larry’s bar.” I hesitated. “Unfortunately, I only got their first names, but hopefully if we work together we can find out who they are.”

I bit my lip, suddenly annoyed with myself for not getting their full names. When I’d met them, I never considered them as anything other than people who could divulge some information, but now that I was confident someone had been watching my investigation, I knew I had to consider everyone I met at his pub as suspects.

And I’d foolishly chatted to them like we were old friends, giving them information that probably only told them how close I was to finding them.

Suddenly, I smiled to myself when I remembered I did know one of their names in full.

I turned to Maddison. “Henry Cook, that was one of them.”

Maddison looked relieved. “Good, knowing one should hopefully make my life a bit easier.”

Before I could respond, Faye tapped my shoulder and pointed to a large television nearby—another new feature I wasn’t particularly fond of—and I saw Nadia on the screen.

“The conference is live,” Faye said.

We all turned to it and gave Nadia our undivided attention.

“Good afternoon,” Nadia said confidently, followed by the annoying sound of clicking cameras. “Thank you all for coming here today. Unfortunately, I have some news to share with you all.” She paused intensely, letting the press and public eat out of the palm of her hand. They lived for the intensity and the drama, even if it terrified them. “This morning we were called to a scene where we found the body of Vanessa Reed, a young woman whose life had barely begun. Vanessa was brutally murdered, and it is our duty to let you know, to ensure something similar doesn’t happen to anyone else. I must warn you all to be vigilant and not go out anywhere on your own until we apprehend this vile killer.” She paused. “Does anyone have any questions?”

My eyebrows rose in surprise when she abruptly opened the room to questions. Was she not going to mention Larry? Was she not going to speak about the cold cases?

“If you’re asking us to look after ourselves, then you don’t believe this will be an isolated incident?” a woman asked worriedly.

“We don’t know, but it is better to be over-prepared than under,” Nadia said calmly. “There is always the chance the killer won’t strike again, but I don’t want to leave anything to chance… and neither should anyone out there.”

Interesting, I thought slowly. Clearly she has no intention of mentioning the cold cases.

The conference soon came to an end, and I turned to Faye. “She didn’t mention Larry, Angela, or any of the other victims.” I muttered into her ear so none of the others could hear.

“We have our suspicions, but we still don’t know for certain they are all connected,” Faye whispered. “Nadia was just being sensible and not giving potentially false information to the public... she was right to not make the leap and scare everyone until we have more solid information.”

I nodded weakly, knowing Faye was right. While a part of me felt Nadia was refraining from mentioning it to anyone else because she still believed Larry was guilty, I knew she was doing what she had to do, and I chided myself for challenging her.

Don’t let your feelings get in the way, I thought calmly. Think like a detective, not like a friend.

I moved away from Faye and noticed with embarrassment that Maddison, Simon, and Avery were watching our interaction curiously.

I cleared my throat and stepped toward them. “Right, we need to get back to work. Let’s start looking into our connections, shall we?” I looked at Simon. “Can you find out everything you can on Larry Arnold?”

Simon quirked a brow. “I thought you didn’t think he was guilty?”

Smart arse, I thought unhappily.

“You know we still have to look into him, Kebby,” Faye said coolly. “Now get to work.”

Simon looked embarrassed as he scurried to his computer without a word.

“DC Jones, can you look into Carl Lapworth?” I asked. “That is possibly not his name, but look into the two complaints against him and see if there is anything you can find to help finally figure out his identity.”

I expected Avery to complain like Simon, but to my surprise he nodded and walked calmly to his computer.

“What am I doing, sir?” Maddison asked politely.

I gestured for her to lead me to her computer. Once we got there, I sat down next to her and started to write down everything I knew about Henry, Derrick, John, Forest, and Geoffrey. As I scribbled some notes, I spoke to her.

“I didn’t catch their surnames, save one, but I’m hoping with the information I did get you can use your magic and figure out who they are.” I ripped the piece of paper off of her notebook and passed it to her. “It’s not a lot, but I can maybe go back to the pub and see if they’ve been back there.”

“I’ll see what I can find, sir,” Maddison answered.

Suddenly, the department door flew open and Nadia and Victoria entered the room. Both women looked mentally drained, and I grimaced sympathetically as they approached us.

“Good job, Nads,” I said supportively.

Nadia smiled weakly at me. “I miss the days where I got to sit back and watch you do it, Sean.”

“Funnily enough that’s something I really don’t miss,” I responded.

Nadia rubbed her tired face as she looked around at the team. “I see you’ve both got them working hard?”

“Aye, they’ve delved into the cold cases, and are now looking into any people connected to them,” I responded.

Victoria stifled a yawn as she approached her desk. “I best catch up and look into these myself.”

“Good call,” Nadia answered before looking back at me. “What should we be doing, do you think?”

“I think the most important thing is to look into Larry,” I answered. “I still don’t believe he is involved, but whoever did kill those girls clearly knows him enough to want to pin this on him.”

“I agree,” Nadia answered candidly. “The reopening of this case all began with a mention about Larry’s pub, so the more we can find out about him and the pub… the better.”

Nadia started to walk away, so Faye and I followed her. She grabbed her bag from under Victoria’s desk and pulled a laptop out of it.

“We can all share this if you want?” Nadia asked. “We could use the computer in DCI Smith’s office, but if we’re out here, we can all communicate better.”

“Good call,” I said approvingly.

Nadia took the laptop into the kitchen and put it on the counter. As she waited for it to log in, I got to work making us some drinks. Eventually her laptop was ready, so the three of us enjoyed a hot beverage as we looked into Larry’s pub. After a quick search, it was clear there wasn’t much information to find. It had been opened by Larry almost thirty years ago, it was not overly popular but business had been steady enough to keep it afloat, but that was about it.

“Not overly surprising,” Faye muttered. “You can barely turn a corner in York without finding a pub, so the chances were never high that there’d be much to find on it.”

“We’ve found nothing bad, so I guess that’s something,” I said cautiously.

Nadia finished her tea, then turned to me. “Who have you got looking into Larry?”

I pointed at Simon.

“DC Kebby,” Nadia said loudly.

Simon jumped in his seat and looked at Nadia nervously. “Y-yes, ma’am?”

“How is your search into Larry Arnold going?”

“A-alright, thanks, ma’am.”

Nadia looked like she was fighting the urge to groan. “I mean, have you got anything for us, Kebby?”

“Right, of course!” Simon exclaimed quickly. “Um, Larry Arnold, fifty-six years old. He opened the Wolf and Lamb Pub when he was in his late twenties and until recently has had no brushes with the law.”

“Is that it?” Nadia asked.

“No, ma’am!” Simon said quickly, looking terrified of displeasing her. “I’ve found several things out about him.”

“Go on then, lad,” I prodded.

Simon looked at me before continuing. “I found out that his mother passed away a month ago. Everything she owned went to Larry.”

“Really?” Nadia asked curiously. “Did he receive much?”

Simon was silent for a few seconds as he read his notes. “He gets her house and whatever is inside it, but that’s the only big thing he received.”

I pursed my lips thoughtfully, I knew from speaking to Larry that he had at least one sibling, so I wondered why his mother hadn’t felt the need to share it among Larry and her other children.

“What family has he got?” I asked.

“Just the one brother now,” Simon replied. “Graham, a few years older than him. It looks like their father died years ago, and with the mother now gone it’s just the two of them.”

I turned to Nadia. “Has Graham been alerted to his brother’s arrest?”

“Not as far as I’m aware,” Nadia replied. “I’ll get someone on that.”

“Good, he could help us know more about Larry,” I answered, then looked back at Simon “What else have you got for us?”

“I’ve looked into his employment records and couldn’t see anything that suggested he’d been a delivery driver,” Simon said thoughtfully. “Though if he did it off the books or for cash in hand it wouldn’t show up anywhere.”

“We may need to speak to Sam again,” Faye said curiously. “We can look at his list of delivery people, see if there is any way he could have been mistaken.”

“Aye, definitely,” I answered firmly. “One of the biggest pieces of evidence we had against Larry was the fact he was potentially seen with Nadia at the pub when delivering their alcohol, but if we can prove that isn’t true then we have a case to help him out.”

“This is all stuff that says Larry isn’t our killer, but did you find anything that helped suggest he could have hurt those women?” Nadia inquired.

Simon squirmed in his seat sheepishly, purposely avoiding looking at me. “I found one thing that I thought looked odd.” He gestured for us to approach him, so we all stepped toward his computer. “Take a look at this.”

I stared at Simon’s screen and saw he was looking at a historical newspaper article. At first I didn’t understand why, but eventually my eyes found the small section of the paper that mentioned Larry. I read it carefully and was surprised it mentioned his engagement to a young woman called Quinn Riley. From the information on there, Larry was barely eighteen around the time this was published.

“He was engaged?” Nadia asked curiously.

Simon nodded. “I looked into it and found no marriage records, so clearly they didn’t actually get married, but I couldn’t help but wonder why the engagement was called off.”

I had to admit I was just as curious about it as Simon was. Especially as the murder victims were displayed in a way that connected to marriage.

My eyes scanned the small article, and a bubble of doubt started to grow inside of me. Was it a traumatic event in Larry’s past that led him to hurting women and becoming a womaniser? Had he been scorned by the woman he loved, causing not only resentment but graphic displays against marriage?

I definitely had to speak to Quinn Riley.

There was a chance she could hold the key to everything.

14

Nadia looked at me wide-eyed. “That engagement could be important, Sean. I know you’ve had your doubts about Larry, but⁠—”

“I know, I know,” I interrupted politely. “I agree with you on this, Nads, we’d be silly to not figure out what happened there.”

Nadia turned to Simon. “Look into this Quinn Riley and try to contact her, would you? I think we need to find out exactly why that engagement ended.”

“Right away, ma’am!”

The department’s phone rang, causing Nadia to groan loudly. “Get that would you, DI Humes?”

Victoria didn’t respond, instead she moved out of her chair with an unhappy expression and grabbed the phone.

“We will be inundated with calls now that the conference is out there,” Nadia muttered. “Humes and I will man the phones and hope someone comes forward with something that can help us. I’ll take Humes into the DCI’s office—we can answer the phones from there so we aren’t distracting you. If I hear anything promising I’ll inform you immediately.”

“What can we do, Dad?” Faye asked.

I pulled out my phone and gazed at it. For a few seconds I thoughtfully tapped the screen before I looked back at Faye. “DC Kebby found no evidence to suggest Larry was a delivery driver, and that nugget of information was the final nail in his coffin.” I sucked my teeth. “I think I need to speak to Sam again and find out more about his list.”

“Good idea,” Faye said approvingly.

I smiled at her, then quickly rang the number for the Bucking Bronco Pub.

“Hello,” a voice answered tiredly.

“Sam?” I asked. “It’s Sean Ellis.”

There was a pregnant pause. “Oh, Sean. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you again so soon.”

“Aye, I hadn’t expected to call so soon either,” I replied honestly. “I just have a couple of questions for you.”

“I’ll do what I can to help you... for Nessa.”

“I wanted to ask you about that list of delivery drivers you gave me,” I responded.

“What about it?”

“I just wanted to understand its accuracy,” I replied. “I’m not questioning you by any means, mate—you’re great at what you do—but the name Larry Arnold was on there, and our information suggests Larry was never a delivery driver.” I paused. “Is there any chance someone could have used his name?”

“It’s possible, yes,” Sam answered thoughtfully. “Our delivery drivers come here, deliver the goods, get my signature, then sign off themselves. We don’t exactly check their IDs when they sign the forms.”

“You have CCTV, right? Does it go back as far as six years ago?”

“No, it doesn’t,” Sam replied. “And even if it did, our drivers come to the back to drop off their deliveries. We only have cameras at the front.”

“Could anyone possibly put a fake name on the sheets or change them at a later date?” I inquired. “Are the sign-in forms easily accessible?”

“I’d always kept the forms at the bar for ease of access, so someone could have gotten hold of the clipboard and changed things if they wanted to,” Sam answered. “I only kept sheets up to a month at a time, then they got taken to a folder in the back, so either this Larry guy delivered alcohol on a more freelance basis, someone signed in as him, or someone tried to change the name within the following month.” Sam paused thoughtfully. “But from what I printed out for you it didn’t look like anyone had attempted to change a name. That would have been easily noticeable, especially since it’s all in pen.”

“Aye, I understand that,” I responded. “You said you recognised the photo of Larry I showed you, right? Are you confident he was the one who was delivering your alcohol back then?”

Sam sighed. “It’s difficult to say anything with certainty, mate. We’re talking years ago... but the man you showed me looked familiar, there’s no denying that. Then again, how many tall men with shaved heads are there in the world, you know?”

“Ta for your time, Sam,” I replied.

“Anything for Nessa,” Sam answered, putting emphasis on her name to make it clear to me that he wasn’t helping because of any love for me personally.. “Just find who did this to her, please? You owe it to her.”

My heart hurt at his words, but I knew they were warranted. “I won’t rest until I do, mate. I’ll call you if I have any other questions or updates.”

“I’ll give you my mobile number,” Sam said calmly. “I don’t think I can keep in this pub for much longer today. All I can see are ghosts.”

I received Sam’s number, then hung up the phone. As I pocketed my phone, I thought curiously about the delivery driver. I believed Larry when he said that it wasn’t him, but that meant whoever had signed in purposely used Larry’s name to hide their identity. Had this person been playing the long game, slowly building evidence against Larry to ensure he was eventually incarcerated, or was it possible we had more than one Larry Arnold on our hands?

My gut was telling me it was the former, but I’d been a detective for long enough to know that you always had to consider all possible scenarios. On occasion, the most unlikely explanation ended up being the right one.

I looked at Faye. “Can you look into the name Larry Arnold? I don’t think it’s likely, but what if Larry Arnold is a delivery driver, but it just isn’t our Larry.”

“You’re thinking we could have more than one Larry Arnold on our hands?” Faye asked dubiously.

“I know it’s a long shot, but it doesn’t hurt to look.”

Faye nodded briskly. “On it.”

I thanked her, then watched as she went to use Nadia’s laptop again. Suddenly, Maddison held her hand in the air like an eager student in class.

“Everything alright, DS White?”

Maddison simmered proudly. “More than alright, sir. It wasn’t easy, but I think I may have been able to track down your punters.”

“Seriously?” I asked happily.

“Yep!” Maddison exclaimed. “I found Henry Cook on the Treasurer’s House website, so he wasn’t lying when he said he volunteers there. From there it was a bit easier to find the others, but I have all of their contact information now.” She paused thoughtfully. “What should I do with it all, sir? I can try to organise a meeting with them?”

“That would be perfect,” I answered gratefully. “When you speak to them, really lay on the idea that this is all time sensitive and they need to see us as soon as possible. It would be great to see them as a group to save time too.”

“I’ll see what I can do, sir.”

I thanked her, then went to speak to Faye to give her an update. Before I could, Avery caught my eye. He gestured calmly for me to approach him, so I veered to my right and went to speak to him instead.

“What is it, DC?” I asked as I approached him.

Avery sat up in his seat, clearing his throat loudly and looking around the room as though he were about to make an Oscars acceptance speech.

“I think I might have an idea that can help us narrow down our suspects.”

15

My curiosity got the better of me, so I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention. The rest of the team turned to me with laser focus, so I pointed toward Avery.

“Everyone listen up! DC Jones has an idea that he thinks can help us find our murderer,” I said loudly.

I expected Avery to falter under the intense gaze of the room, or at least lose some of his bravado, but I was impressed when he remained confident and stood up to address the room.

“Thanks, sir. As I’m sure everyone knows, I’ve been tasked with finding this Carl Lapworth bloke,” Avery began, looking around the team as though he was the detective superintendent. “But after well over an hour it’s become evident there is nothing to find on him.”

He paused, and I couldn’t tell if it was for dramatic effect or if he was done.

“Well?” I asked.

“I found people called Carl Lapworth, but none of them matched the description given to you by the people from either of the pubs,” Avery continued, his expression smug but his words not quite landing. “They’re all either too young, too old, or too… interesting-looking to be him.”

I nodded calmly, hoping the bloke was going to hurry up and get to the point. If this was all Avery had I was incredibly disappointed.

“Aye, I couldn’t find him either,” I answered coolly. “Is this going anywhere, DC Jones?”

Avery seemed undeterred. Instead he simply nodded, looking like the cat who’d got the cream. “I was initially annoyed over not being able to find him, but the more I thought, the more I started to come up with an idea as to how we could find him.” He grinned keenly. “It’s a bit out of the box, so you’re all going to have to go with me on this.”

My eyebrows rose as my curiosity and excitement returned. “Go on?”

“We know the sort of bloke this Carl or whatever his name is, don’t we?” Avery asked. “He goes to bars and intimidates women, he tries to talk to men and get them to agree with him that women deserve to be scared and treated poorly... hence his interest in both Larry and Sam. He wanted to find kindred spirits that held his views… he wanted to have people agree with him, and why is that? Because he wants male approval. He is a classic misogynist.”

“Should we be worried about how easily you’re able to get into this creep’s head?” Maddison asked coolly.

Avery looked at her and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m just brilliant at my job, I’m definitely not like him.”

“So what is this amazing idea you keep banging on about but are yet to tell us?” Faye asked impatiently.

“Right, sorry,” Avery answered hastily. “We know this guy is a misogynist, and there are plenty of sites where misogynists and incels go to discuss their hatred of women and find like-minded people. So, what if we look on those sites and see if we can find anyone on there who matches Carl?” He paused, looking around hopefully. “He may use his fake name there, or we might find photos that somewhat match the physical description we’ve been given.”

Maddison nodded approvingly. “That’s actually a really good idea, DC Jones.”

Avery looked at her playfully. “Thanks, boss.”

Maddison blushed slightly and quickly averted Avery’s gaze.

I narrowed my gaze at Avery. “You think this is something you can do, DC?”

Avery stuck out his chest. “It won’t be easy, but I’m happy to give it a try.”

I smiled. “Very well, lad, let’s see what you can do. Carl has eluded me ever since I reopened those cold cases. He might not be our killer, but he has clear connections to two key places connected to our victims, so I’d be very keen to know exactly who he is.”

“I’ll try not to let you down, sir!” Avery exclaimed.

As he sat down and started to rapidly type on his keyboard, I turned to Maddison. “Start making those calls, please. The sooner we can speak to people known to Larry the better.”

“On it, sir.”

I thanked her then approached Simon. “How are you getting on, DC?”

“Not as well as I’d like, sir,” Simon huffed unhappily.

“Have you been able to find much about Larry’s ex-fiancée?”

“I tried to find out about Quinn Riley, but she has had no active social media, the number I have for her just keeps going to voicemail and is likely old, and I can’t find any address for her.” He huffed again. “It’s almost like she’s disappeared from the face of the earth.”

I felt my blood run cold. My eyes swivelled to Faye, and I saw that her features were etched with concern. Quinn was engaged to Larry when she was in her late teens and hadn’t been seen or heard from since then. Had Quinn been Larry’s first kill?

No, I thought with horror. I’ve believed in Larry from the start... there’s no way I’ve gotten this so wrong!

I edged closer to Simon. “Can you show me what you found?”

Simon opened up Quinn’s Facebook page, and I noticed she hadn’t been active on there since she was about nineteen. Not only that, but no one had commented on there either.

“Has she got anything else?” Faye asked thoughtfully. “Instagram, YouTube, anything like that?”

Simon shook his head. “No, nothing else. I guess if she hasn’t been active over the last few decades, then things like Instagram wouldn’t have been around, but it is odd that she hasn’t got an online presence anywhere.”

“I suggest you start contacting people on her Facebook, see if they know how to get a hold of her,” I said thoughtfully.

“And her parents,” Faye added. “If anyone might know, it’s them.”

“Good thinking,” Simon said, his impatient demeanour slowly evaporating. “I can get on that now.”

“Did you get the chance to look into anyone else in Larry’s life?” I asked.

“Yes, I contacted Graham, Larry’s brother, and informed him about Larry’s arrest and he wasn’t at all happy,” Simon said, his forehead creasing. “He said, and I quote, that it’s disgusting he wasn’t informed when all they have is each other. Oh, and he can’t believe we arrested his brother for crimes he clearly didn’t commit.” Simon rubbed his face tiredly. “I asked if there was any way we could see him and he said he was going to work, but that even if he wasn’t busy, he wouldn’t see us until we released Larry.”

At least someone other than me and Andrea thinks the thought of Larry being a killer is laughable, I thought candidly.

While I could understand Graham’s anger with the police and his desire to protect his brother, I knew he would be good to talk to. He would have intimate knowledge of Larry that could help us determine who might have a vendetta against him.

And he would likely know about Quinn, too.

“When you’re done here can you go to Graham’s address and see if asking in person helps change his mind about talking to us?” I asked. “We really need to talk to him if we’re going to find out about Larry.”

Simon looked at me happily, clearly excited to be given a responsibility. “No problem, sir! I’ll quickly chase up the Quinn lead, then go see Graham.”

“Don’t be too quick, mind,” I said with a warning. “This Quinn lead could be important.”

“Yes, sir!”

Faye touched my arm, and I looked at her. “I can do one of those jobs if you want? I’d be more than happy to go see Graham and speak to him.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather keep you here with me,” I answered gently. “You’re a DI with a wealth of experience—that could come in handy if anything suddenly comes up.”

Plus, then I know you’re safe.

Faye looked slightly disappointed, but she nodded. I jerked my head toward the kitchen and Faye followed me.

“I know you think a lot of Larry, but that Quinn thing is odd... right?” she asked quietly. “It’s like she went missing the moment their engagement ended.”

I pursed my lips, hating Faye’s thought pattern but knowing it was one I couldn’t ignore. I didn’t want to think it, but if Quinn was nowhere to be found it suggested one of two things...

She had either decided she craved privacy and worked hard to ensure no one could locate her easily.

Or she was dead.

I gulped nervously at the thought.

“I know,” I replied, my tone equally quiet. “If it wasn’t for Nessa’s murder I’d seriously be thinking Larry was the murderer myself... let’s just hope there’s a reasonable explanation for Quinn’s disappearance.”

16

The man was slowly losing his patience... and he never had much to begin with.

He was desperate to destroy Sean Ellis. The man had worked so hard to ensure Larry’s life and reputation were destroyed, yet Ellis was single-handedly making everyone second guess his efforts. It quickly became apparent there was only one way he could effectively break the ex-detective and hopefully ensure that Larry remained in prison.

He had to target Ellis’ family and make them suffer. To make Ellis suffer. To make Ellis see that if he refused to forget Larry’s innocence that more people he loved would get hurt.

After he’d seen Ellis, his wife, and his daughter holding one another outside the station, a plan had formed in the man’s mind. He’d wanted to get his hands on one of Ellis’ women, but unfortunately it had been impossible to do so.

He’d carefully followed the daughter around first, thinking that Ellis would be more broken over losing his child than his wife, but annoyingly she was always at her station working or with someone.

Like father, like daughter, the man thought irritably.

As the man was short on time, he quickly gave up on the daughter and turned his focus to the wife. However, she never seemed to leave Ellis’s side and was just as impossible as Ellis’s daughter to get close to. The two were constantly together, so the man had no good opportunity to take her. First, they were at their home, then they were at the hospital, and then they were back at that ridiculous pub together.

Ellis’s wife didn’t even leave him once when the fool was at the hospital—except to get her car—even though the ex-detective was there for over a day. When Ellis went to the hospital, the man hoped that perhaps the head injury had worsened, but then Ellis and his wife strolled out of the hospital a day later. The man had been furious.

A full day was a long period of time to lose, and it meant the man had to make some quick decisions in order to have a victim prepped and ready for the anniversary of Lydia’s death.

The wife and daughter were off limits, so the barmaid had to do.

That others would question why she was picked, but Ellis would know it was connected to his constant need to clear Larry’s name. Ellis would see he was the reason the poor girl was dead. It was the best he could do with limited time and options, but he knew the death would still hit the mark.

The man was driving, but he sighed contentedly, savoring the memory of the kill, how his adrenaline peaked when she exited the pub and started to walk away. It had been easy—too easy—to speak to her, quickly knock her out, and get her in his car. He then took her to a safe location where he proceeded to slowly torture and kill her with his accomplice. The man thought about his accomplice and frowned slightly. While he respected them, he knew they were too eager to assist, too happy when they saw the innocent girl writhing in pain. It put him on edge. As much as the man was a killer who enjoyed the chase, he never liked hurting anyone simply to watch their pain. There had to be a point to it.

He hadn’t minded with his other victims—they were women who had let him down—but Vanessa had been the first woman he’d killed who he didn’t really know. He hated Ellis all the more for forcing the man’s hand. He had been left with no choice but to kill that girl.

He also hated Ellis for making it so he had no choice but to change his pattern. The man was a creature of habit and had done things in a particular way for very particular reasons, but to ensure Larry was still kept in prison, the man had been forced to sacrifice some of his usual ritual to ensure there was a seed of doubt when the police saw the body. The man wanted the police questioning things, running around with their tails between their legs, but more importantly, he wanted Ellis to be absolutely certain of the truth.

The real killer was out there, and if the ex-detective didn’t drop his foolish crusade… more innocents would die.

The man had hoped his message was enough, but after watching Ellis it was clear the ex-detective was still as stubborn as ever. Now, he was actually helping the detectives hunt him down. Ellis was nothing now, a retired liability who should leave the detective work to the people who were actual detectives, but Ellis’s hubris kept him on the case.

It was a mistake, and the man was going to make sure Ellis realised that.

The man started to slow down his car when he realised he was at his desired location. It was a small carpark, where a familiar mini had been parked. The man recognised it right away—he’d been following it enough recently. He kept a safe distance from it so he could watch it without drawing attention to himself.

The carpark may have been quiet, but it wasn’t exactly abandoned like where he’d left Vanessa’s body. The man knew he had to make sure it wasn’t obvious he was watching the car. He didn’t know how long he’d need to wait for Ellis’s wife to arrive, but he’d wait all day if he had to. He had to give Ellis an even bigger warning.

And what warning could be bigger than killing the woman Ellis loved?

He sighed impatiently, then kept his eyes on the car, hoping Ellis’s wife would be back soon. He was playing the long game, and that was okay. As long as she turned up and he could take her, that was all that mattered.

He’d finally found his rare window of opportunity.

She was alone.

17

While we waited for everyone to finish their tasks, Faye and I decided to look into Quinn Riley ourselves. After an annoyingly short period of time, we realised that Simon had been correct. There was nothing to find. The girl had simply disappeared off of the face of the earth shortly after her nineteenth birthday.

For a few moments, I stood there and thought about Larry. Larry had known Quinn, had clearly loved her and saw a future with her, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask him about her? I glanced at the DCI’s office and sighed unhappily, knowing it was very unlikely Nadia would allow me to speak to Larry again after the way everything went down before. I also wondered if the topic of Quinn might be a difficult one for him. There was always the chance he had done something to his ex-fiancée, and I tried to picture his face if I saw him and brought her up. Would he be angry, sad, or would he be worried that one of his deepest secrets was close to being exposed?

“Sir! Ma’am!” Avery exclaimed. “You’ve got to come and see this!”

Faye and I glanced at one another sceptically before we approached Avery. As we drew nearer, Avery’s eyes fixed on my own, filled with a smug pride that was difficult to stomach.

From that look he’d better have found something good, I thought.

I could tell Faye was dubious over Avery too, but the lad seemed confident, so I just had to hope that was for a good reason.

“What is it, DC?” I asked once we reached his desk

“I’m brilliant, I’m amazing!” Avery exclaimed coolly as he casually pushed back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. “No, seriously, I will definitely be getting a promotion to DS for this.”

“Dream on, Jones,” Maddison said as she dialled a number into her phone. “There’s only room for one DS on this team and you aren’t taking my job anytime soon.”

“You better get promoted or leave quickly then,” Avery said cockily.

“Have you actually got anything for us or are you all talk, DC?” Faye snorted.

“I’m getting there!” Avery exclaimed impatiently. “Besides, that’s no way to talk to a man who’s just done the impossible.”

“What would that be then?” I asked.

Avery winked. “I’ve found Carl Lapworth.”

I blanched in disbelief. “You better not be messing around, boy!”

“No, straight up!” Avery exclaimed. “Come closer and I can show you.”

I hesitantly moved closer to Avery, who got out of his chair and flourished his hands at it for me to sit down. I offered the chair to Faye, but she impatiently declined so I quickly sat down and looked at Avery’s computer. Avery stood next to me and started to open tabs, reaching over me slightly to do so. As he clicked through various ones, I felt my skin crawl when I saw the names of some of the sites he was looking at.

Men against women. Sluts will destroy the world. Females should be seen and not heard.

Each title was worse than the last, and as Avery clicked through the various tabs, I found myself respecting him for going through some truly disturbing sites and engaging with the people on there. The young detective may have been full of himself, but he was slowly proving to me that my initial assessment of him was correct. He was a great detective.

“These sites are horrific,” Faye muttered, her nostrils flaring with distaste.

Avery looked at her sympathetically. “I can’t say it’s been easy talking to some of the people on here, but at least it was worth it.”

He eventually clicked on a site that looked slightly like an odd, male-only version of a dating profile. Avery scrolled through the profiles until he found a particular one and pointed to it.

“See! Am I good, or am I good?” Avery asked excitedly.

I stared at the name, and my eyes widened in disbelief. The profile was named Carl Lapworth, and from what I could see of the profile photo, he looked vaguely similar to the man both Larry and Nessa had described. In other words, he was particularly ordinary with no defining features about him.

I stared at the small thumbnail image, unwilling to get my hopes up. Could it really be that Avery had found him?

“Have you messaged him?” I asked keenly.

“No, sir, I didn’t want to do it without you,” Avery said. “I spoke to some other guys, built up a bit of a rapport, and now I’m hoping we have an in with Carl. Hopefully, now I won't look suspicious if he tries to ask others about us. They can confirm we are legit.”

“Excellent work, DC,” I praised as I smacked him proudly on the arm. “Let’s get on it. You found him, lad, so you should message him.”

Avery’s eyes lit up. “Really, sir?”

I winked. “You deserve it.”

“Just remember we have to play this smart,” Faye said calmly as Avery clicked on the profile.

Avery turned to her. “Is that your way of saying I’m stupid?”

“No, I just mean we have to be smart and make sure we keep him interested... if he even is open to contacting us,” Faye explained.

I quickly intervened. “We know you’re more than capable, DC, but we just want to be sensible and not risk scaring him off.”

Avery still looked annoyed, but eventually he nodded and turned his gaze back to his computer screen. “I won’t send anything without your approval, alright?”

“Good man,” I answered.

Once Avery clicked on Carl’s page, I was able to see his profile picture more clearly. He had short hair, dark eyes, was clean shaven, and had an average build. I’d have put him as being in his early to mid-fifties, which would match the description given to me by both Larry and Nessa. Everything about him was ordinary, and he perfectly resembled the Joe Bloggs character I was expecting to see.

“What are you thinking?” Faye asked.

“Aye, he looks promising, that’s for sure,” I said cautiously, not wanting to get too excited.

“Okay, how do we start this conversation?” Faye pondered out loud.

There was a pregnant pause as we all debated on what to say. How did you open up a conversation with a misogynist?

Avery opened up random conversations with people on different sites. “Have a look at some of these and see what you think.”

Avery pointed to some conversations between him and random men, and I noticed a lot of them had engaged Avery first. This surprised me as it meant the men were oddly trusting, but it also proved Avery’s character analysis as correct. These men—for whatever reason—were desperate for approval and to connect with people who shared their depraved views.

“Have you asked if any of them know or speak to Carl?” I asked as I skimmed some of the conversations.

“No, sir, I didn’t want to bring unnecessary attention to myself or risk him getting warned,” Avery responded. “Who knows, if Carl is a fake name he could have more than one fake profile.”

Good thinking, I thought approvingly.

“It looks like a lot of these people start conversations the same way,” Faye said. “Starts off very casually, then they gauge just how far they can go with people.”

“These people aren’t fool. They know there might be a trap,” I responded.

Avery looked at me with a grin. “Like us.”

“Exactly.”

“So shall we just say something casual to Carl then, sir?” Avery asked. “Just say ‘hey mate’ or something similar.”

“Aye, go for it.”

Avery messaged Carl then stretched out his arms. “He might not reply for a while, sir. I will keep an eye on things and let you know when he answers.”

“Ta, Jones,” I said kindly as I smacked him on the back.

Faye and I turned away, but suddenly Avery called out. “Sir! He’s already responded!”

I was surprised by the quick response, but I wasn’t going to complain.

For almost an hour, the three of us spoke together and suggested responses to Carl’s messages. Carl seemed hesitant at first, almost wary, but eventually when Avery risked being a bit stronger with his thoughts, Carl started to open up a bit more.

I was impressed with Avery and his quick thinking. As he typed, he suggested a back story about a woman who’d really hurt him, which inspired his hatred of women. Avery came up with the idea so quickly part of me wondered if he himself had been badly hurt by a woman once, but instead of hating them, he clearly used bravado to ensure no one else ever hurt him. Carl lapped this story up, revealing that he had never let a woman get close since he knew they were all no good.

It was difficult reading the conversation, but with each passing minute, Carl became a more likely suspect. Things were going well as we messaged, but I knew we had to dig deeper in order to find out more about Carl. I asked Avery to inform Carl that he liked to keep a record of all of the women he tormented, and Carl eagerly took the bait, saying he did the same and had been keeping notes for years.

“He’s taking this hook, line, and sinker,” Avery grinned. “We’ve got the prick! I’ll ask him about meeting up.”

I quickly gripped his shoulder. “Hold on, lad, let’s not be too hasty!”

“But we’ve got him!” Avery exclaimed, clearly impatient to get Carl in front of him.

“And we don’t want to lose him,” Faye said, her tone oozing with warning.

Avery grumbled, but he kept his fingers away from the keyboard. “What else should we say then?”

“Mention Nadia’s press conference,” I suggested. “It would be interesting to see how he responds to that. We can either word it casually, just asking if he’d seen it today, or we can word it a bit more aggressively.”

“Like asking if he saw that stupid foreign bird on the news?” Avery asked. He then turned to me with slightly red cheeks. “Not that I feel that way, sir!”

I waved my hand in the air. “We know that, lad, you’re just putting yourself in the mind of someone like Carl.”

Avery looked relieved.

“I recommend asking it casually,” Faye said. “That way it gives Carl a chance to respond how he sees fit.”

“Right,” Avery responded, his fingers smacking his keyboard rapidly.

Did you see the press conference earlier?

I looked at the text box and nodded my approval, so Avery clicked to send it.

Seconds later, Carl replied.

Oh, I did! smiling face. Another pathetic slut tossed aside like trash.

I clenched my fists together as I read the response. Nessa was a good woman, and to read Carl’s harsh comment was like rubbing sand in a wound.

“Complain to him about Nadia,” Faye suggested thoughtfully. “Make her sound like an incompetent woman who doesn’t have a clue.”

Avery looked at Faye and winked. “You’re good at this.”

Faye grimaced. “Not exactly the sort of thing I ever thought I’d be complimented on, but thanks.”

Avery sent a message and like before, Carl replied instantly.

Haha! You’re so right. That foreign cow has no clue, does she? A slut is dead, and another one is talking about it like it’s a bad thing... make it make sense.

I was truly repulsed by the man, but it only heightened my desire to see him punished for having such awful views on women.

“I think now we can broach the topic of meeting,” I said calmly. “Make it seem like we think he’s a cool guy and that we’d like to hang out with him or something.”

Avery snorted. “No one says anyone is cool anymore, sir, but I’ve got it.”

Faye smirked at me slightly, and I took the comment like a champ. I was a man in my sixties, so I knew I wasn’t exactly up with modern trends.

“Right, I’ve asked if he wants to meet for a beer, so let’s see what he says,” Avery said. “We know he spoke to both Larry and Nessa in pub environments so clearly he feels comfortable there.”

A minute went by, then another, then another. After fifteen minutes of silence, I started to worry. Carl had responded to every other message within seconds, yet one mention of an in-person meeting and he went silent. Could he be onto us? Or was he the sort of bloke who didn’t like to organise meet ups with perfect strangers?

“Should I send another message, sir?” Avery asked after another few minutes, his features etched with an irritation that matched my own.

“No, we don’t want to sound too keen,” I answered hastily. “If he doesn’t respond we will just have to come up with another idea.”

Avery looked put out. “But we’ve just invested so much time into befriending the weirdo!”

“I know, but sometimes plans have to change depending⁠—”

“Wait! Look!” Faye exclaimed, pointing excitedly toward the computer.

We all looked at Carl’s three word reply with glee.

Let’s do it.

18

“Game on!” Avery roared happily.

I gripped his shoulders. “Great work, DC! Let’s get this prick out in the open so we can figure out his identity once and for all.”

“I suggested a pub, but is there a pub in particular you think we should choose?” Avery asked. “Maybe the Bucking Bronco?”

I shook my head. “Too on the nose, plus it’s closed... no, it has to be somewhere different. Somewhere we can get to him easily, but also somewhere relatively public.”

“The Intoxicated Sheep,” Faye said, smiling at me slightly as she spoke.

I smiled in return. When Faye was really young, we used to always go there for pub dinners. There was a park close to it where Faye loved to play and we would sometimes spend hours there, simply watching the world go by.

“Great suggestion, DI Ellis,” I said proudly.

Faye giggled.

“Why there, sir?” Avery asked curiously.

“It’s got a public park close to it that would be perfect to trap him in,” I said with a wry smile.

“I’ll tell him to meet us at that park then,” Avery said as his fingers zoomed over the keyboard.

We all groaned disappointedly at Carl’s reply.

I’d prefer we just meet at the pub.

“Fantastic,” Faye muttered sarcastically. “Now what?”

I turned to Avery when I saw him rapidly typing again. Before I had the chance to ask him what he was doing, he hit the send button.

“What did you say?” I asked in annoyance.

I glanced at the screen and quickly read Avery’s message.

No worries, mate, I’ll see you there. I’ll be going to the park for an hour or so before our meet up to see if I can find any women to add to the notebook... you’d be welcome to join me. If not, I’ll just see you at the pub and can discuss it with you then.

“Clever,” I said as I nodded with approval. “It’s casual, and yet the perfect bait at the same time.”

Avery winked at me. “I told you I was good, sir.”

I chuckled. “That you did.”

There was a pinging noise, and we all looked at the computer. Carl said he’d meet us at the park in just over an hour.

“Great work, everyone! We have a little time to prepare for our meeting,” I said, then turned to Faye. “Can you go to the DCI’s office and let Nadia know about our plan, please?”

I felt Avery hitting my arm excitedly and I couldn’t help but get caught up in his exhilaration. We were about to find out who Carl Lapworth was—finally—and there was the chance he was the serial killer we’d been searching for.

As Faye walked away, I turned as the department’s main door opened and Simon walked in. Simon saw me standing near Avery and made a beeline in our direction.

“Do you want the bad news or the bad news?” Simon asked tiredly.

I sighed. “I guess the bad news.”

“I got to Graham’s house, and he wasn’t there, so he was being honest when he said he didn’t have the time to see me,” Simon responded. “I posted my card through his letterbox, so hopefully he’ll call us when he gets back. That, and I still haven’t heard back from anyone Quinn knows.”

I sighed. “Annoying, but not the end of the world. Hopefully, he will contact us... right now we have a more pressing matter to deal with.”

“Oh?” Simon asked curiously.

I gestured for Avery to fill Simon in. As the two were talking, Faye returned and approached me.

“Nadia is happy for us to do what we need to do,” Faye said. “She suggested we can have some PCs for backup if we need them.”

“PCs stand out too much,” I muttered thoughtfully. “I think we’d be better off without them.”

“Who is we, sir?” Avery asked eagerly.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I gazed around the room. Maddison was still on the phone, her expression looking far from pleased, so I decided to leave her to what she was doing. I knew speaking to Henry and the others could be important, so I was keen for her to organise meetings with them as a priority. I then looked at Faye, who had a hopefulness shining in her eyes.

While I knew she’d left her team for this case, I didn’t feel comfortable with her being so close to a man with such strong views against women. Not only did I want to protect her, but I feared how Carl could react if he happened to see her. The last thing we needed was the bloke aggravated or spooked by a woman’s presence.

“As much as I don’t like it, I think we need an all-male team,” I said guiltily as I looked at Faye. “Carl will react strongly to any woman involved in his arrest, so I think it would be wise to avoid antagonising him as much as possible.”

I readied myself for Faye to argue.

“Understood,” Faye said calmly. “I can stay here with DS White and help her chase up those punters... the last thing we want to do is make any choices that can risk this investigation. I’m happy to step back on this one.”

I looked at Faye with pride.

Gone is the petulant young woman who liked to disagree with me, I thought almost sadly. Now all I can see is a great detective and an even better person.

“Good idea,” I said to her, then looked between Avery and Simon. “That leaves us three to deal with Carl.”

Simon looked surprised, but Avery looked keen. He quickly grabbed a notebook from his desk and waved it at me. He clearly planned on staying in character and being a creep who made notes on women in public.

I glanced at my watch. “We might as well get there early, get ourselves set up and spread out. We can wear earpieces so we can communicate with one another.”

The two men agreed.

I said goodbye to Faye and followed Simon and Avery out of the department. As we walked toward the door, Avery turned to me.

“I’m happy to drive, sir.”

I nodded gratefully as I continued to follow them both out. We made it to Avery’s car—a nice-looking BMW—and I thanked Simon as he gestured for me to sit in the front. As we travelled, there was a lot of nervous energy in the car, most of it coming from Simon. Avery had an edge of nerves to him, but he mostly looked eager, whereas Simon looked more worried than I’d seen him so far.

We eventually made it to the pub, and Avery parked his car close to the park. As he parked up, I gazed out at the park nostalgically. In my mind I could see Faye—barely three years old—running around the place like she owned it, her mother screaming with worry anytime Faye tried to move more than a meter away from us.

They were some good memories, and although Lizzie and I never worked out romantically, we were closer than ever. We’d both remarried and had new families of our own.

Avery turned off his engine, pushing me to pull my focus back to the task at hand. Avery passed us all some earpieces from his glovebox, and we tested them out before getting out of the car. As Avery stepped out, he grabbed a cap from his car and put it on. Avery had chosen a profile picture similar to his own age and features, but it wasn’t quite spot-on. I nodded at him approvingly, knowing it showed enough of his features for Carl to see him, but hid enough so that Carl wouldn’t immediately realise he wasn’t exactly the man from the photo. Once we were all outside, the two DCs looked at me for direction.

“DC Jones, you sit on that bench there.” I pointed to one. “It’s far enough into the park that we can watch you, but also close enough to the pub that Carl will see you.”

Avery adjusted his hat, then started to walk casually toward the bench.

I turned to Simon. “We both need to cover separate exits to the park.”

Simon nodded. “Where do you want me, sir?”

I pointed to where we were. “You keep close to here, lad, and I’ll go to the far end.”

Simon looked relieved to not have to go far. “Sounds good to me.”

As I walked, I adjusted my earpiece, then spoke. “Just checking we can all hear one another now that we’re apart.”

“Loud and clear, sir,” Avery answered.

“I can hear you both,” Simon responded. “Um, so do we have a plan?”

“Don’t panic,” Avery responded sarcastically.

I bit back a smile. “We play it by ear and adjust our plan accordingly,” I answered calmly, my eyes constantly darting around the park in case he arrived slightly early. “We wait for anyone matching Carl’s description to arrive, we keep an eye on them and see if they approach Avery, then⁠—”

“Daniel,” Avery interrupted. “I’m Daniel now, remember?”

“Alright, we wait and see if they approach Daniel, and if they do we start to move in, but we only make an arrest once we are certain he is our guy,” I replied. “Carl isn’t exactly distinctive, so we don’t want to blow our cover by chasing down the wrong man.”

The two DCs agreed, then we all kept silent as we waited for Carl to arrive.

I reached the end of the park and sat down at a bench, casually glancing around me. I took one look at Simon—who was standing with his back straight and his arms crossed—and sighed.

“DC Kebby, try to look a bit more relaxed, would you?” I asked gently.

I could sense Simon’s embarrassment from the other end of the park as he started to move.

“Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!”

I looked toward Avery and was impressed with how he was dealing with the situation. He was casually sitting on the bench, his notebook on his lap as he scanned the park. I noticed his eyes linger on women, and at first I thought he was just objectifying them, but when I readied myself to tell him off I realised he was just playing his character. He would look at a particular woman for a while, then scribble in his notebook.

Clever, I thought approvingly. He’s making sure he looks the part so if Carl happens to be nearby he won’t look suspicious.

It soon hit three, and there was no sign of Carl. We all kept calm—Simon was doing better, but he still oozed nervous energy—and continued waiting. The meeting had been set for three, so we knew Carl would arrive any minute now.

It soon hit quarter past, and there was no sign of Carl. I brushed this off, knowing sometimes people were late. Another five minutes past and there was no Carl.... then another five... and then another.

When he was just over half an hour late, I started to feel more anxious.

Was he playing us all along? Did he have any intention of coming?

“What’s the plan?” Avery asked coolly, his eyes focused on his notebook.

“We give it a bit more time.”

“I don’t think he’s showing,” Simon said nervously. “Maybe we should pull back?”

“No,” I answered firmly. “We hold our positions until I say otherwise.”

There was silence between us for another few minutes. I looked around and held back an impatient sigh, wondering if Simon was right. I was almost at a point of losing hope when I spotted a man walking into the park from the entrance I was sitting near. He was walking with an air of confidence, wearing a cap that covered a lot of his face and a small backpack. I tried to subtly get a good look at his face, but the man was doing a good job of covering himself.

“Potential suspect approaching,” I said calmly.

Simon—to my great annoyance—instantly looked up, but luckily Avery had the sense to not react.

The man continued to walk down the main path of the park, and I casually got up from my bench and stretched, readying myself in case we had to chase him. The man seemed to hesitate before turning to look at the bench Avery was sitting at. He stood still for a few seconds, but eventually turned and walked toward that bench.

“This is looking promising,” Simon said. “Should we approach?”

“No, not until we are absolutely certain,” I answered quickly. “Just be prepared to move.”

I started to walk down the path as though I was ready to leave the park, my eyes subtly moving to the man every now and again. The man continued to walk toward Avery, but when Avery looked up, the man seemed to hesitate. Avery, to his credit, kept cool and nodded casually at the man. This seemed to attract the man’s attention, and he continued to walk toward Avery.

“Carl?” Avery asked.

“Daniel?” the man replied.

“We’ve got him,” I said. “All move now!”

Avery went to stand up from his bench. However, although Avery moved cautiously, something spooked the man. He suddenly took a few steps backward.

“Sorry, I thought you were someone else,” the man said hurriedly before he turned away and started to quickly move.

“Wait!” Avery exclaimed.

The man’s movements grew faster, and he started to sprint in my direction. Avery was quick and bolted after him, and I saw Simon moving hastily to bridge the gap as well. The man continued to move in my direction, but once he saw me moving quickly, he expertly manoeuvred around me. I tried to grab him, but the man was too fast. I ended up grabbing only air.

“Damn it!” I muttered.

I turned to chase him, but as I ran, I felt the injury on my head start to pound. My chest grew tight, and although I’d barely started, I felt my legs cramping.

No! I thought irritably. I can’t be this unfit already!

Avery moved past me quickly, not even looking at me, and sprinted after the man as quickly as he could. I continued to chase after them both, but once Simon passed me too, I was filled with embarrassment.

I ignored the burning in my chest and the throbbing in my skull and moved as fast as my tired legs would carry me. I watched in awe as Avery caught up to the man and tackled him around the legs. The two men fell to the ground, then began fighting each other.

I moved quickly, somehow managing to pass Simon, but by the time I reached Avery and the man, Avery was on top of him and pinning his arms behind his back.

“Why do you lot always have to run, eh?” Avery was asking playfully as he pulled some cuffs out of his jacket pocket and proceeded to cuff the man’s hands behind his back.

The man had the sense to keep silent, but as I stopped in front of him, I noticed that his hat had been knocked off. I took in his features which—although currently filled with fury—certainly resembled the photo of the man we’d seen on the website.

“Hello, Carl Lapworth,” I said smugly as I helped Avery pull him to his feet.

Carl glared at me, but he remained silent.

I looked at Avery and smacked him on the shoulder. “Good work!”

Avery grinned happily at the compliment. “Thanks, sir! You did great too, but luckily my legs are a bit younger than yours.” He winked. “We made a great team though!”

Although I knew Avery meant well, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and dejected at his words. Chasing after Carl had shown me that I wasn’t at a point in my life where I could handle running anymore like I thought I could.

I’d promised Lylah I would walk away from cases after this one, and after struggling to chase Carl, I realised she was right to want me to step away from it all. This was a young person’s game, and as much as I didn’t like to think about it, I was far from a young man. I had to accept that there were certain things beyond my capability.

I looked to the ground and saw Carl’s backpack sitting there. I put on some gloves, picked up the bag, and stared at it. I was itching to dig through it, and even more so keen to dig into Carl’s mind.

I might have not been able to run after a suspect anymore, but I sure as hell still knew how to make a person suffer in an interrogation room.

Carl Lapworth, you have no idea what’s coming for you.

19

Itrailed slowly behind Avery and Simon as they pushed Carl toward Avery’s car, my gloved hands holding Carl’s backpack. Carl believed he was going to be meeting up with another incel who would be making depraved notes on women, which made me confident that the backpack contained some of Carl’s own vile notes which he’d been bragging about. If the backpack didn’t contain his notes, I knew it would still have something that might give us an idea of the sort of man Carl Lapworth was.

If he was even called Carl Lapworth.

I could hear Avery and Simon speaking to Carl, but Carl was keeping deadly quiet and acting as though the others weren’t speaking. He was likely trying to quickly think of ways he could get out of this, but I knew that even if he wasn’t our serial killer, we’d be able to get him for something. I was convinced that Carl was a fake name, and one of our top priorities would be figuring out his true identity so that we could make sure we could effectively arrest him.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Faye’s number. I’d barely clicked on her details and put the phone to my ear before I heard her speak.

“Dad? Is everything alright?”

“Aye, love, better than alright. We’ve got him.”

“That’s great news, Dad! Well done!”

“Ta, love,” I answered. “While I’m happy we’ve caught the sicko, we still don’t know his real identity. Can you call Sam and see if she can get someone from her forensics team to meet us at the station to swab some DNA, please?”

“Consider it done.”

I smiled. “Ta, love. We’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Dad.”

I hung up my phone and continued following the others until we reached Avery’s car. Avery shoved Carl in the back seat of his car with distaste, then looked at me.

“Do you want to sit in the back with this prick or would you rather Simon did it?” Avery asked bluntly, not even looking in Carl’s direction.

I glanced at Simon, who still looked slightly nervous, before suggesting I’d sit with Carl myself. From the way Simon’s shoulders sagged at my words, I could tell he was relieved he wouldn’t be stuck in a confined space with Carl.

I got in the back of the car with Carl and watched him as I put my seatbelt on. Carl was still keeping quiet, and he was doing everything within his power to avoid eye contact. We travelled to the station in silence, and I spent the entire journey simply watching the bloke and analysing his body language. He seemed void of expression, and part of me was surprised he wasn’t more emotive about being caught. It was like the guy was made of stone.

Luckily, we made it to the station quickly. Avery parked up the car, then I waited as Avery briskly pulled Carl out of the back. As Carl was dragged out, he caught my eye for the first time, and I felt a cold shiver go down my spine over how blank his expression was. His eyes were two empty black pits with no warmth or feeling in them.

The bloke was a complete psychopath.

I climbed out of Avery’s car, then followed everyone into the building. We made our way toward our department, and with each step I grew more and more hopeful that Carl was going to give us something helpful. While there was no guarantee he was the killer we were looking for, he had clear links to two pubs connected to our victims, which meant it was likely he knew something. I quickly moved ahead of the others so I could hold open the door to our department.

“Didn’t expect to see me again so soon, eh?” Sam asked playfully as we walked in, her silver case sitting at her feet.

I smiled in return. “No, not quite.”

“I was already out when Faye called me.” She glanced thoughtfully at Carl before looking back at me. “Where should we do this?”

I gestured with my hand. “Come on, I’ll take you to one of our interview rooms.”

Sam thanked me, then we made our way to one of the rooms. I opened the door—which had luckily been replaced since Simon broke it down earlier—and Avery shoved Carl into a seat before sitting down opposite him, fixing him with a stern expression.

I looked back at Sam. “As you can see, DC Jones will stay in here with you, just in case you have any trouble getting samples.”

“Appreciated.”

I shut the door once Sam was in the room with her equipment, then turned toward Simon. “While they’re getting his DNA can you go grab us a tape and a recorder, please?”

Simon looked at me in perplexity. “Erm, we don’t use them here, sir.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I guess you didn’t notice when you were in there before, but we have cameras in the interview rooms. They record everything in there,” Simon responded. “It’s much easier than having to worry about a tape.”

I didn’t personally agree, but I politely nodded. I’d been so focused on quickly talking to Larry that I hadn’t even taken in my surroundings to notice a camera. It felt strange that a kid who had been here less than a year was talking to me as though this was his department, and I was just a newcomer.

Christ, I thought uncomfortably. Has so much really changed in just a year? I feel like I don’t recognise this place anymore.

I turned at the sound of rushed footsteps and saw Faye approaching us. As she drew closer, I noticed that her eyes kept flitting to the interview room.

“Has he said anything yet?” she asked hopefully.

“He hasn’t said a single word since we cuffed him,” I answered bitterly.

Faye groaned. “Let’s hope the silent act wears thin quickly.”

I nodded, though I doubted the man had any intention of opening his mouth anytime soon.

Seconds later the door opened, and Sam stepped out of it, her face looking anything but happy.

“What is it?” I asked instantly.

“He is refusing to let me take a mouth swab or fingerprint,” Sam mumbled. “We tried to make him comply, but it was like talking to a brick wall. I can’t exactly force him to do it.”

Faye swore. “Fantastic.”

I went to rub my tired face, then realised I was still holding his bag. “It won’t be the same, but I took this bag from him at the scene. We could always get this analysed for prints.”

Sam nodded approvingly. “It won’t be as reliable as actual samples from him, but it’s worth a shot.” She looked at the bag dubiously. “What’s even in it?”

I shrugged. “I hadn’t opened it yet as I was waiting until I was back here with Faye—the team.” I quickly corrected myself.

Faye’s eyes shone brightly, and I could tell she was touched that I was thinking of her. “Should we open it then? There might be something in there that will be better for Sam to take prints from?”

I agreed, then told Simon to keep near the door and call us if we were needed before I started to walk back toward the desks. Once we reached Victoria’s—who was still in the DCI’s office with Nadia—I used one of my gloved hands to gently empty the contents of the bag onto the desk. A lot of the stuff was rubbish, like empty crisp packets and old receipts, but then a notebook fell out and a wallet, which was made from leather that was so old it had started to discolour.

“A wallet!” Faye exclaimed.

My hands shook slightly as I grabbed it and pulled it toward me. I tentatively started to look through its contents and was disappointed to see there was no form of ID in there. However, once I reached the back of the wallet, I did find a bank card.

“I guess we are dealing with an A. Sampson,” I said happily.

Faye grabbed her phone and took a photo of the bank card. “You can leave this with me, Dad. I’ll contact the bank and look into everything so we can get a proper ID on him that way.”

I nodded to her gratefully before turning back to Sam. “Will the wallet work for you?”

“Now that we know a name,” Sam said. “It will make it much easier to distinguish his fingerprints from others, but Faye will probably get a result before I do.”

“Be that as it may, I’d rather get a clarification from his DNA,” I answered. “We know he’s used a fake name before, so there’s always the chance this bank account could be set up under a pseudonym. At least DNA can’t lie to us.” I hesitated, giving Sam an imploring look. “It’s vital we get these results as soon as possible, please.”

“I will expedite them and get back to you as soon as I can,” Sam responded. “I’m almost done with my analysis of the victim and the crime scene, so once that’s done I’ll analyse this wallet too.”

“Really?” I asked keenly. “That’s great.”

Sam’s smile slipped from her face. “Just lower those expectations for me, yeah? I haven’t finished yet, but whoever our killer is, they’re clever. It isn’t looking very likely that they’ve left any evidence behind.”

“I understand. Ta, Sam.”

I said goodbye to Sam, then turned to Faye. “Are you happy to look right into that bank card while I go and speak to Lapworth, or Sampson, or whoever the hell he is.”

Faye nodded keenly. “I’ll come grab you if I get anything.”

I patted her shoulder gratefully before I put the contents back into the bag—my hands lingering slightly on the notebook before I put it away. I knew the notebook probably contained his disgusting notes on women, and I wanted to wait until I was in front of the sicko before I looked at them. I wanted to see the look on his face when he realised how screwed he really was.

Since I was finally ready to speak to him, I took the bag with me toward the interview room. I saw Simon waiting near the door, and when he saw me returning, his eyes widened hopefully. “Are we going to speak to him now, sir?”

My chest twinged guiltily at his words. I’d only planned on having me and Avery in there—after all, he was the one who caught Carl. I didn’t expect Simon to assume he’d be joining us.

“I actually have another task for you, lad,” I said calmly. “Go speak to DI Ellis and she will fill you in.”

Simon’s hopeful smile slipped off of his face, but to the lad’s credit he quickly agreed and made his way toward Faye and the others. Once inside the interview room, I was greeted to an icy silence between Avery and Carl. Avery was pointedly staring at Carl, his chin jutting out in an irritated fashion, while Carl was ensuring he looked anywhere except at Avery. There were also two PCs in the room who were standing behind Carl just in case, but since the man was cuffed and seemed calm, I couldn’t imagine him being a threat to us.

I approached Avery, and his eyes quickly snapped to my own.

“Where’s the pathologist gone?” Avery asked in surprise. “This idiot here,” he paused as he dramatically jerked his thumb at Carl. “Is refusing to cooperate.”

“She’s on her way to her lab, and she has something I’m pretty sure is going to tell us who our friend here is.”

Carl, in spite of himself, quickly looked at me. However, he’d barely looked at me for a second before he was looking at the wall again.

“Let’s get this interview started then, shall we?” I asked.

Avery snorted. “Good luck with that, sir. He hasn’t said a single word since we got here.”

I was unsure whether I needed to officially start an interview now that we didn’t use tapes, but I wasn’t going to give up the habit after a lifetime, so I introduced us both, said the time, then waved the backpack in the air.

“You don’t seem too concerned that we have your bag?”

Carl clicked his tongue.

“It would be good for you if you helped yourself a bit here,” I said calmly. “And a good start would be telling us your name.”

Carl remained silent.

“Is your name Carl Lapworth?” Avery asked loudly, as though he assumed the louder he was, the more likely it was that Carl would comply.

Again, Carl remained silent.

Avery swore under his breath, looking at Carl with limited patience.

I put the backpack on the table and started to slowly unzip it. “If you aren’t willing to talk, perhaps we’ll find everything we need in this bag?”

Carl’s eyes shot to the bag, but he didn’t say anything.

“Very well,” I said calmly. “If you don’t want to cooperate I’ll just have to answer these questions myself, won’t I?”

I turned the bag upside down and hurled the contents onto the table. The moment the notebook landed on it, Carl edged forward to grab it with his cuffed hands. Luckily the two PCs were vigilant, and they were able to grab him and stop him before he got too close. As Carl was pulled back into his chair, I grabbed the notebook and waved it in the air.

“Want this, do we?” I asked smugly.

Carl’s impassive face shifted to annoyance, showing the first sign of emotion.

Clearly he isn’t as unbreakable as he thought he was, I thought happily.

I placed the book on the desk in front of me, but kept my hands on it. “You seem very eager to get this notebook back... perhaps if you speak to us I might consider giving it back to you?”

Carl laughed coldly in response.

“We’d been informed about a Carl Lapworth, who a few years back went to the Wolf and Lamb Pub and spoke to the owner about their… dark views on women,” I said coolly. “They told the bartender that they liked to stalk and scare women, and the Carl Lapworth the man described certainly looks like you.” I edged closer toward him. “So I will ask you again... are you Carl Lapworth?”

Carl growled, but he didn’t answer the question.

Avery tutted. “You were literally going by the name of Carl Lapworth on the site we caught you on, so what’s the point in hiding it?”

Carl didn’t even so much as glance at Avery, instead he kept his eyes on me.

“Two years ago a similar instance was described by the workers at the Bucking Bronco Pub,” I continued. “Only that time you spoke to a female worker and did everything you could to intimidate her, didn’t you?”

Carl remained silent.

Avery smacked his fists on the table. “Just answer our damn questions!”

I put a calm hand on Avery’s arm. “It’s alright, DC Jones. It doesn’t matter whether he speaks or not... we already have what we need. I’m just giving the man the opportunity to help himself, but if he chooses not to take it, well, that’s on him, isn’t it?”

Carl looked at me curiously, but kept quiet.

Prick, I thought irritably. He’s either too smart for his own good or too cocky.

I moved the notebook around on the table. “I think if we were to look in here we would find some disturbing notes on women, wouldn’t we? That’s what you told the pub workers you liked to do… as well as Daniel here.” I put my hand on Avery’s shoulder who winked at Carl smugly. “Though you told Larry Arnold from the Wolf and Lamb that you destroyed your notes, I have a funny feeling if I flick through this notebook I’ll see notes going way back, won’t I? I know your sort... you would never give up all of your hard work just like that.”

A vein started to throb in Carl’s forehead, but he didn’t look tempted to speak.

I gestured toward the table. “You were so focused on your notebook that you haven’t noticed anything is missing from your bag, have you?”

Carl’s eyes cautiously moved to the table. In the space of a few seconds, his face turned from confused to understanding.

“That’s right, we found your wallet, and our forensic specialist is now looking over it with a fine-tooth comb as we speak, Mr. Lapworth... or should I call you Mr. Sampson?”

Carl looked shocked, but he remained tight-lipped.

“The rest of our team is contacting your bank to find out more information on you, Mr. Sampson,” I said impassively. “We know you’ve been stalking women, but right now we’re more concerned about whether you’ve been killing any.”

“Killing?” Carl spat. “I’ve not touched anyone!”

“Ah, so you do have a voice?” I asked sarcastically. “That’s good to know.”

Carl closed his mouth again, so I slowly opened the notebook and started to flick through it. As I did, Carl tensed in his seat, and I saw the PCs move closer to him, clearly concerned he might try to jump me.

The first thing I noticed was that Carl was unusually precise. The notebook was organised into years, months, even precise minutes that he was watching a woman. It mentioned the women in detail, going as far as discussing the shape and size of particular freckles on various parts of their bodies.

It was beyond depraved.

After a few minutes of looking, I felt my blood run cold when I saw Carl’s passages on Nessa. I knew he’d gone to the pub that day to speak to her, but what concerned me more was the fact that the man had clearly followed her for a few days before and after that event. He had written detailed notes about what she did, what comments he made to her, he even went so far as rating her level of fear.

I showed it to Avery, and as he was reading it, I looked at Carl angrily. “Can you remember a woman called Vanessa who you spoke to at the Bucking Bronco Pub?”

Carl remained silent.

I sighed irritably. “I’ve just seen your notes about her.”

Before Carl had the chance to reply—not that it was likely—there was a knock on the door. I looked at Avery and gestured for him to answer it. Avery placed the notebook down on the table—causing Carl to look at it hungrily—then stood up and exited the interview room.

I looked back at Carl and rubbed my tired face. “Look, Mr. Sampson, I’m going to cut straight to it as you seem intent on wasting my time... you were writing notes about Vanessa from the pub, and clearly you were following her, and this morning we found her body, so you really need to⁠—”

“Why would I kill a woman I hadn’t seen or spoken to in almost two years?” Carl interrupted coldly.

I shrugged. “I don’t know, Mr. Sampson, but I do know that you went to two pubs and over the past few years women who worked at both of those pubs have been murdered.” I paused intensely. “You have a clear link to both places, you have shown a clear hatred of women, and your silence is making you look guiltier by the second, so⁠—”

“A lot of men hate women. If you’re going to accuse me of killing some pathetic girls, then you’ll have a long list of other people to accuse as well,” Carl said coldly. “If all men who despised women wanted them dead… you’d have no women left.”

“And you would love that, wouldn’t you?” I asked harshly.

Carl smiled. “Very much so.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but I hesitated as the door opened and Avery walked back in. As he entered the room, I was relieved to see a big smile on his face.

“Are we getting anything out of him, sir?” Avery asked.

“Nothing.”

“It doesn’t matter since we’ve now confirmed his identity,” Avery said happily before turning to Carl. “Sir, meet Arthur Sampson, our resident incel and pervert.”

Arthur glared at Avery, but didn’t speak.

“I think he doesn’t like you, DC Jones,” I said calmly. “He was actually speaking a bit when you were out of the room.”

“Oh, I’m gutted I missed that,” Avery answered sarcastically. “I love nothing more than speaking to freaks.”

I turned back to Arthur. “You’re in here on suspicion of murdering several innocent women, Mr. Sampson... do you really have nothing to say for yourself?”

Arthur glared at us. “No comment.”

I sighed as I pulled the notebook away. “Very well, Mr. Sampson. You have no intention of speaking to us and I have no intention of wasting any more of my time. We know your name, and now it will only be too easy to look into your life, get a warrant to search your address, and figure out if you had anything to do with what happened to those girls.”

I stood up from my chair and gestured for Avery to leave, then I turned to the PCs and asked them to escort Arthur to a cell. As I readied myself to leave, I paused in surprise when Arthur spoke.

“How did those girls die?”

I looked at him sharply. “They were all brutally murdered.”

Arthur smiled at me. “Good.”

My skin paled as I looked at the man in shock and revulsion. “Get him out of my sight,” I whispered menacingly to the PCs.

The PCs quickly pulled him away, and I watched him go with disgust.

Arthur Sampson was clearly a vile man, but I’d never truly considered him a suspect until those last words. Was he happy to think of them dead, relishing in his own handiwork, or did he just hate women so much that he wanted anyone to hurt them?

20

Ireturned to the department, where I was instantly met by Faye.

“How’s it going?” I asked hastily.

Faye ran her fingers through her hair. “I asked DC Kebby and DS White for help, but even with all of us looking we haven’t found anything incriminating on Arthur Sampson.” She nodded her head toward the DCI’s office. “I’ve given Nadia and DI Humes a quick debrief, and they’re both happy we found the sicko, but naturally they’re disappointed that we don’t seem to be getting anywhere with him.”

I sighed. “Have we really found nothing?”

Maddison stepped forward. “Apart from the fact he’s clearly a misogynistic jerk, everything we’ve found out about him suggests he’s a normal guy... he has a regular job, he’s had no run-ins with the law, his social media pages are limited but show nothing concerning⁠—”

“Aye, because he either uses fake names or does things on the dark web where no one can see him,” I interrupted.

“True,” Maddison responded earnestly. “But nothing has come up that’s made us certain he’s our killer.”

I grabbed the notebook out of the bag and passed it to Maddison. “Scan through this, especially around the times our victims were killed,” I said. “That could help give us an indication of any foul play.”

“Right away, sir,” Maddison replied respectfully.

Faye stepped over to me with her arms crossed. “We can look into that notebook as much as we want, but he isn’t our killer... unless he’s working with someone else.”

I furrowed my brows. “How can you be so certain?”

Faye walked toward Victoria’s desk—which now contained Nadia’s laptop—so I followed her. She then sat in Victoria’s chair and pulled the laptop close to her. “I was able to get access to Arthur’s bank records and unfortunately they gave him an alibi for Nessa’s murder.”

She pointed to her screen, emphasizing certain lines of text. I quickly realised that Arthur had been in Manchester last night, and since he’d also made a payment in Manchester early that morning, it suggested he’d been in Manchester around the time Nessa was killed.

“Damn,” I muttered, placing the backpack on Victoria’s desk.

Maddison looked over at me. “Do you still want me going through his notebook, sir?”

“Aye, definitely,” I replied. “We can’t arrest him for murder, but we need to at least try to build enough solid evidence against him for stalking and harassment.”

“Will do, sir.”

“Are you done with looking into the pub punters?” I asked hopefully. “How did you get on with that?”

Maddison pulled a face, which instantly put me on edge. “The majority of them expressed a desire to help, especially when I said it was to help get Larry out of prison, but I’ve had no luck whatsoever getting a hold of John Ford.”

“Really?” I asked in surprise.

I thought about John, and while he wasn’t as forthcoming as some of the others had been the night I went to the Wolf and Lamb Pub, I’d gotten the feeling he was keen to help as much as possible. I couldn’t imagine he would purposely be avoiding us when he knew we needed help.

Maddison nodded tiredly. “I spoke to some of the others and they said they’d try to get in contact with him.”

“How odd,” I muttered. “But what did the others say? Did they suggest they’d be happy to meet me again?”

“Yes, sir,” Maddison responded. “They said they’re happy to work around your schedule and that they’d keep trying John until he picked up. We have a meeting pencilled in for tomorrow morning. They said it would give them time to hopefully get in touch with John.”

I rubbed my stubble thoughtfully. Should I be suspicious about John’s avoidance? Or was the man simply busy?

I thought back to the night I met him. John wasn’t on Larry’s list of employees, which suggested he worked off the books, but if John had worked with Larry, then he’d have known about the girls and had access to them.

Had I been naïve to blindly trust those men the first night I opened this cold case? Had I possibly ruined our chances of solving it by giving information to the wrong people? While it was annoying I’d have to wait until the next morning to see them, I had to hope that they were all good men who could help me.

I’d shared stories with those men, drank beer with those men, and it didn’t sit right with me to think I’d done that with a potential serial killer.

I quickly told myself that I wouldn’t allow myself to get paranoid, but if John wasn’t there, I knew I’d have to consider him a suspect.

“I guess I’ll just have to hope he either gets back to us before tomorrow or that he shows up with the others,” I grumbled.

Maddison nodded. “I may not have been able to get a hold of him, but I did plenty of research into him and the other punters you mentioned.”

I raised a brow. “Go on then.”

“Who should I start with?” Maddison asked.

“Your choice.”

“I’ll start with Henry Cook since he was the first one I looked into. As I said earlier, he volunteers at the Treasurer’s House since I found him on their website, but just to be safe I gave them a call. They confirmed Henry works there every Saturday afternoon.”

“What did they have to say about him?” Faye inquired, coming closer.

“They were very positive about him,” Maddison responded. “They said he never misses a shift, he’s always in early and leaves late, and the staff and the customers love him. He’s apparently very entertaining.”

I could easily believe that. My main take from meeting Henry was that he was a history buff who’d been excited when he thought I was a kindred spirit looking through photos at the pub. “Anything else?”

“He works at the cinema in town too, and their depiction of Henry matched what they said at the Treasurer’s House,” Maddison answered. “They described him as a nice man who gets along with everyone.”

“He seemed the sort when I met him,” I replied earnestly. “He was the one who invited me to their table. ”

“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it in him to snap,” Faye responded shrewdly. “Besides, we know a lot of serial killers are described as charming and approachable... it’s how they lure people in.”

I bit my lip and thought back to when Larry was arrested. When I’d first met Henry he’d been kind and chatty, but when he saw us arresting Larry, he’d shown a much more defensive and angry side to him.

Henry had many levels to him, but I still found it hard to believe that being a killer was one of them.

“What about his personal life?” I asked.

Maddison looked at some notes on her desk. “He is divorced,” she replied. “He could have a significant other, but I couldn’t find any evidence to suggest that.”

“Alright, so what about the others?” I asked. “Nothing about Henry is flagging as suspicious to me so far.”

“I then looked into Derrick Colby,” Maddison continued as she scanned her notes. “I couldn’t find a huge amount on him except for the fact that he manages a construction company alongside his daughter. He has no real social media presence and anything he does post seems to be about his company.”

“Married?” Faye inquired.

“Widowed,” Maddison responded.

I furrowed my brows thoughtfully. “How did she die and how long ago?”

“She died from breast cancer around twelve years ago.”

“How old is his daughter?” Faye asked. “Is she a similar age to the victims, or were the victims a similar age to his wife when she died?”

“His daughter is in her early thirties and his wife died when she was around a similar age.”

So neither of them are the victims’ ages then, I thought.

“What did you find on John?” Faye asked curiously. “He’s the one I’m most interested in considering he hasn’t answered any of your calls.”

Maddison pursed her lips thoughtfully. “He clearly lives life under the radar. I struggled to find anything on him at all.”

“Seriously?” Faye inquired. “Sounds dodgy.”

“I thought so too,” Maddison agreed. “He’s put small amounts of cash through HMRC to suggest employment, but he puts things through as self-employed with no other detail.”

“I know he worked at Larry’s pub,” I admitted, causing both women to look at me. “He admitted it when I spoke to him, but he did it cash in hand. He wasn’t on Larry’s books.” I paused thoughtfully as I thought back to meeting him. “He suggested he’s done a bit of everything career wise, so maybe he just takes on multiple cash jobs to stop the tax man from hunting him down?”

“Potentially,” Maddison answered dubiously. “I just always find it odd when someone keeps to themselves like that.”

“I take it he has no relationships in his life?” Faye asked.

Maddison shook her head. “Never been married and has no children.”

“A loner then,” I said thoughtfully. “It certainly ties in with what he and the others had to say about him.”

“It does?” Faye asked.

I nodded. “Aye, he was described as ‘coming and going with the tide,’ which suggests he never stays put for too long.”

Faye pursed her lips worriedly. “Maybe that’s why we can’t get a hold of him then? Could he be out of the country?”

“There’s a chance,” I answered. “Which means he might not be our guy.”

“Unless he left today,” Faye said bluntly.

I sighed, hoping she was wrong. “Right, so that leaves just Forest and Geoffrey.”

“When I looked into Geoffrey White, there wasn’t much of note on him,” Maddison said. “He’s been married for sixty years and lives with his wife, he’s a retired chef, and he seems to have lived a quiet, peaceful sort of life.” She hesitated. “He’s eighty-three, so there’s always a potential he could have had the capacity to kill our cold case victims, but I just can’t see him as being able to hurt Vanessa at his age.”

I remembered Geoffrey, and although he had his head screwed on, his body was on the frailer side. It was unlikely he would have been able to incapacitate and kill Nessa without help.

“I remember when I met him that he suggested he’d been a regular at the pub for almost thirty years, so likely since it opened,” I said thoughtfully.

Faye folded her arms. “If he’d been going to that pub for that long, then surely he’d have known the victims? Did he say anything at the time?”

I sighed. “I had the same conversation with him. He had the decency to look sheepish, but he said he never came forward since he assumed the police had it in hand without his help.”

Faye huffed. “Great, so he probably could have helped… but didn’t.”

“That leaves Forest,” I continued.

“Forest was actually the one who intrigued me the most,” Maddison said thoughtfully.

I crossed my arms. “Really now?”

Maddison nodded, biting her lip slightly. “Like Henry, he seems like a very private person... in fact, it’s like he doesn’t exist for most of the year.”

“When he’s out working?” I inquired.

“Working?” Maddison asked. “It sounds like you know more than I do.”

I shrugged. “When I met him and the others he mentioned that he works for half the year out at sea on oil rigs.”

“That sounds lonely,” Faye said.

“He said he didn’t have much holding him here at home except for his mum, who hasn’t been well,” I responded.

Faye looked surprised. “You’d think an unwell mum would be something to hold him here.”

“I thought the same at the time,” I answered, turning to Maddison. “So, what about him exactly intrigued you? If he’s gone a lot, then it makes him a less likely killer, doesn’t it?”

“Not if he times the kills well,” Maddison responded. “All of the kills were really spread out, so it isn’t like he wouldn’t have had the opportunity.”

As Maddison went through some more of her notes, I used her silence to think about Forest. Out of all of the men at the pub, there was no denying he was the quietest out of the lot. While Derrick had made a comment about how the man could have a girlfriend if he stuck around more often, Forest hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with information about himself. I played back everything he said in my mind, and one comment he made stood out to me.

Shouldn’t you be putting your feet up and leaving it to the young’uns?

At the time I thought he was commenting on my age, but now I was analysing his words more suspiciously. Had Forest hated the fact that I was looking into those deaths because he’d done them? Had he wanted to try and push me away from continuing?

“From what I could find out he is single now, but he hasn’t always been,” Maddison said, pulling me from my thoughts.

“So he was married?” Faye asked.

“Oh, he was married alright,” Maddison said thoughtfully. “He’s been married four times.”

“Four!?” I asked. “Jesus, and I thought twice was a lot.”

“I take it these marriages were all short?” Faye inquired.

“Very,” Maddison replied. “But what interested me more was the timing of the divorces.”

She pushed the notebook toward me, and Faye and I moved closer to look at it. As I read Maddison’s notes, I gasped when I noticed what had caught her interest. Each year that Forest had a divorce was the year one of the victims was killed.

“Christ,” Faye muttered. She then looked at me keenly. “This could explain the wedding link, right? The guy has bad luck in love and anytime he has a relationship fail he takes it out on an innocent woman.”

I nodded cautiously, knowing the theory had merit.

As much as I didn’t want to think of Forest as a killer, I knew Larry wasn’t guilty, which meant that someone with a connection to Larry and the Wolf and Lamb Pub must have been our killer.

I now had two possible suspects—Forest and John—and, as keen as I was to find our killer, a large part of me was praying neither of them were guilty...

Because if they were, I’d inadvertently had drinks with a killer.

21

Iknew I wouldn’t be seeing any of the pub lot until the morning, and although it was getting late, I wasn’t ready to call it a night.

Not when a murderer was still out there somewhere.

I whistled to get the attention of the entire team. “Right, everyone! It’s getting late so if anyone wants to leave they can.”

Faye gave me a shrewd look. “In other words, you’ll be staying?”

I winked. “Of course.”

“Then so will I!”

I was touched when Maddison, Avery, and Simon all quickly agreed to stay too.

“I’ll go speak to Nadia and DI Humes and see what they want to do,” Faye said.

I thanked her, then turned my attention back to the others. “Right, I know it feels like we aren’t making a huge amount of progress, but we are doing well and have to just keep persevering!”

“Yes, sir!” Avery exclaimed eagerly, earning him a playful smile from Maddison.

“We’ve done well looking into people connected to our original victims,” I continued. “So I think tonight we need to prioritise Vanessa. I know we all tried to look into her earlier, but I think we should double our efforts to see if there is anything we are missing. We will look into her family, her job, really anything that can shed some light on her.”

Simon raised a tentative hand like he was in school, causing Avery and Maddison to smirk at one another. “Do we think her death may be separate then, sir?”

“We have to consider all possibilities, Kebby,” I answered. “I personally believe all of the murders were committed by the same person, but the more we know about all of our victims the better.”

“Yes, sir,” Simon replied.

I heard the sound of a door opening and turned in the direction of the DCI’s office. Faye exited the room, but she wasn’t alone.

“Good evening,” Nadia said, her tone laced with exhaustion.

Victoria was by her side. She nodded weakly and had bags under her eyes, looking just as tired as Nadia sounded.

“Good evening, ma’am,” said a few voices.

Nadia looked at me. “I hear you’re doing a night shift, Acting Detective Ellis?”

I nodded. “You know me, ma’am, I can’t rest when there are questions unanswered.”

Nadia rubbed her eyes. “The phone calls have been endless and as unhelpful as I’d predicted.”

“So there was nothing useful at all, ma’am?” Maddison asked disappointedly.

Nadia shook her head. “No, just a lot of nothing, but it really was a lot.” She looked at Victoria and put her hand on her shoulder. “Thank you again for helping me... I know it’s a job no one ever wants.”

“It was my pleasure, ma’am.”

“Now please go home, you deserve rest and we won’t need everyone here,” Nadia said gently.

Victoria looked guilty, but Nadia quickly ushered Victoria toward her coat, which made her chuckle.

“Very well, ma’am, I’ll be more use to you all tomorrow after a rest!”

Victoria left, so I turned to Nadia. “You get going too, ma’am. It’s been a long day for us all.”

Nadia chuckled dryly. “I’m done here for the day, Sean, but a DSIs work is never done. I have other teams that I’ve neglected all day to be here.” She gripped my arm. “I’ll be up late, so call me if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

Nadia left, making me feel glad I’d never been tempted by the DSI role. I’d always been busy enough just as a DCI.

I turned to the others and was impressed to see they’d all already started working at their desks. I found Faye at Victoria’s desk, and I moved a chair over to join her.

“I really wish you’d go get some rest, Faye,” I said with concern. “You hardly see Becky these days.”

Faye’s expression was impassive. “It’s no different to how it was for you back then.”

I felt a stab of guilt at her words, knowing my job had always kept me away from my family and loved ones. I’d been so busy at work that I never made the time to see my father when he was dying in a care home, and by the time I tried to make time, I was too late. I’d been busy at work when Mum was diagnosed with cancer, and she kept it from me until she was near the end. She was too worried about putting pressure on me when she knew my job did that enough.

The job had always been my life, and while being a detective would always mean everything to me, I couldn’t deny that part of me hated my job for making me miss out on creating memories with the ones I loved.

“What about Jamie?” I asked. “I’m sure she’d welcome seeing more of you.”

Faye avoided my eyes, staying focused on the laptop.

Jamie was Faye and Becky’s daughter, a sweet girl who had recently turned fifteen. Similar to how Faye was with me at that age, Jamie was now a classic moody teen who seemed to struggle a lot with the fact that Faye was always busy at work.

Fortunately Becky’s career was much more flexible, but sometimes I couldn’t help but look at Faye and Jamie and worry that they’d have the same issues that Faye and I had. While we’d worked out okay and were now closer than ever, I had to live with the regret that I wasn’t a present enough father for her. I didn’t want her to have to live with that too. However, I knew better than to say anything else. I’d brought it up on several occasions with Faye, but my words only fell on deaf ears.

Just like they’d done with me when I was working.

“Vanessa’s parents are as clean as a whistle,” Faye said, clearly trying to change the topic.

I pushed my hair out of my face. “It was always a long shot we’d find anything with Nessa’s family, but we had to try.”

Faye looked at me with a wry smile. “I’m surprised Lylah hasn’t told you to cut that mop yet.”

I chuckled. “I think she likes my hair with a bit of length.”

“She’s the only one then.”

I hit her arm playfully, and we both smiled at one another.

“At least she’s had a nice day with your brother,” I said kindly, forcing my mind to not focus on how terrified I was for her life that morning.

“True, I can’t wait to see the ring he’s picked out,” Faye said happily before looking at the others. “They all look like they’re slowing down a bit, so maybe we should check in?”

I agreed, then rose from my chair. “How is everyone getting on?”

Maddison, Avery, and Simon all swivelled their chairs to face me.

“Nothing on my end, sir... just like before,” Avery said tiredly.

“I noticed her fiancé has started to post some stuff which could be problematic, but nothing bad,” Maddison answered.

“What’s he saying?” I asked curiously.

“Just how devastated he is and how he trusts the police to find the person responsible for Nessa’s murder,” Maddison replied, her cheeks going slightly pink. “Though I’ve given you a much more toned-down version of what he’s actually put.”

I snorted, knowing I wouldn’t put it past Jason to put all sorts of extremities online to get his point across. I turned to Simon. “What about you, Kebby?”

Simon shook his head. “I tried for a bit, but when I saw that everyone else was focused on her, I decided to try and get a hold of Larry’s brother Graham again.”

“And?”

“No answer,” Simon groaned. “But since it’s late, I guess that’s understandable.”

“So we were doing all the hard research and you just made a phone call, did you, Si?” Avery asked playfully.

Simon frowned at him. “Obviously not. I also looked into Graham to see if I could find anything else on him.”

I stepped closer toward him. “Did anything interesting stand out to you?”

“Not really,” Simon responded with a bored sigh. “He works in IT, he’s close to retirement, he’s single, and he was caring for his mum until recently.”

I found myself surprised by that revelation. We knew that the mum had given everything to Larry, which made me think that her and Graham had no relationship, but as the bloke had cared for her and still got nothing I found it odd. His job in IT hadn’t surprised me, as I already knew that Graham had helped Larry sort his computer before.

“You said he’s single, but has he ever been married?” I inquired.

Simon shook his head. “Not that I could see.”

“Probably a womaniser like his brother,” Faye said shrewdly.

She caught my eye, saw my annoyed expression, and quickly coughed and looked away. “Sorry, Dad.” She turned to Simon. “Any social media?”

Simon scoffed. “At that age? You’re kidding, right?”

I crossed my arms and scowled at him. “I have social media, Kebby, am I too old for it?”

Simon blanched. “No, sir! Not at all, sir!”

Avery was grinning. “Nice one, Si, keep pissing off your superiors!”

Simon looked nervous, so I quickly brushed away his concerns.

“Relax, lad, I’m not exactly a detective anymore,” I said calmly.

“No, but you’re one of the best, sir!” Simon exclaimed in admiration. “We’ve heard about so many of your cases from DSI Begum and each one was more amazing than the last!”

I coughed awkwardly, rubbing my reddening neck. “Aye, well, that was quite some time ago now.”

Faye rolled her eyes. “You were catching criminals until a year ago, Dad, so cut the modesty... it really doesn’t suit you.”

I smiled at her appreciatively before looking back at the team. I could tell everyone was exhausted, and as we were running out of jobs to do, I knew it wasn’t fair to keep them all in.

“Good work, everyone,” I said kindly. “I think we should call it a night so we can wake up with a fresh perspective tomorrow.”

Avery and Maddison looked disappointed, but Simon sighed gratefully and quickly started to get himself ready. After I ushered the others to get ready too, we waited until they were gone before Faye and I started to leave the department. As we walked out, we continued speaking.

“I’m turning into you I think,” Faye joked. “I’m starting to become obsessed with that folder.”

I grimaced. “To be honest, it hasn’t left my mind since I woke up in that hospital bed.”

“It’s just killing me that we don’t know what was in it, but now you’ve told me about that John guy working for Larry, I wonder if the folder contained information on him,” Faye said thoughtfully.

I nodded. “It’s not a bad idea, love.”

“Before I go home, I’m going to go to my station and see if I can find any information on CCTV cameras anywhere close to the pub,” Faye said tiredly. “If I can get a look at the Wolf and Lamb from different angles, I might maybe see someone⁠—”

“No, you are going to go home and get some rest,” I said harshly. “That can wait until tomorrow.”

Faye looked at me with a weak smile. “You always saw how alike we are, Dad... like you, I can’t exactly sleep when I’ve got a case on my mind.”

I shook my head as I held open the door to the station for Faye. I looked outside, then groaned when I remembered I’d left my motorcycle at home so Faye and I could travel together.

“Right, I best go see if I can borrow a car,” I said tiredly.

Faye grabbed my arm. “Don’t be stupid, Dad, I’ll just drop you off.”

I thanked her, then we made our way to mine. Luckily Faye got us there quickly, but as I readied myself to take off my belt, I froze when I saw that Lylah’s car still wasn’t there. I knew it hadn’t been there earlier as she’d stayed at her friend’s, but she should have been back by now.

“Where’s Lylah?” Faye asked quickly, her concern mirroring my own.

“I dunno,” I answered cautiously. “She didn’t tell me she was going out anywhere after seeing your brother.”

“She might have gone home with Craig to celebrate?” Faye suggested.

I shook my head. “Maybe, but it’s late, and she’d have been back by now.”

“I’ll stay here while you go inside,” Faye offered. “You go look inside and see if she’s just left her car anywhere, and I’ll give Craig a call.”

I thanked her, then went inside. As soon as I was in the flat, I started shouting her name, but my blood ran cold when there was no response. I quickly ran upstairs, and my breathing grew laboured when I saw she clearly wasn’t there.

Lyles... where are you? I thought worriedly.

I went to call her phone, but just like that morning, it instantly went to voicemail. I tried a couple of times, but after receiving no answer I swore and started to run downstairs to meet Faye near her car. However, at the bottom of the stairs, I saw that Faye had already entered the flat. She was standing near the front door, speaking into her phone.

“I know it’s late, you idiot, but this is important!” Faye snapped into her phone.

I reached Faye, so she put her phone on speaker. “I’m with Dad and I’ve put you on speaker.”

“Oh, hey, Dad,” Craig answered, his voice sounding groggy as though he’d just woken up. Considering the time he probably had.

“Do you know where your mum is?” I asked, hoping my voice was calmer than I felt. “We’ve just got back to mine, and she isn’t here.”

“I dunno, Dad,” Craig said tiredly. “I haven’t seen her since this afternoon.” He yawned loudly. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow? It’s past midnight now.”

“It can’t wait, Craig, so just wake up a bit and think!” Faye snapped. “She’s not here and we can’t get a hold of her.”

Craig, realising the gravity of the situation, suddenly sounded a lot more alert. “Right, I’ll help. Do you want me to come over?”

“No, we just want to know when you last saw her,” I answered.

“Not since this afternoon,” Craig replied. “We, erm, went shopping.” He hesitated, and I knew he must have been being vague since his future fiancée was next to him. “Once we were done, I left her. I was meeting some mates in town to watch the footie with.”

I rubbed my face thoughtfully, knowing the match Craig mentioned would have been on at three, which meant Lylah must have been missing since before then.

“When you left her did she say she was doing anything else?” I asked nervously. “Please think, son. It could be important.”

“Alright, alright!” Craig said hastily. “Erm, I think she just said she was going to go to the station to see how you were getting on.”

Which she never did, I thought with dread.

“Right, ta, son,” I answered. “I will call you if we need anything else.”

“Dad, wait!” Craig exclaimed, worried I was about to hang up. “What’s going on? Has something happened to her?”

I bit my lip nervously as I looked at Faye. Her face had gone pale, and I knew that like me, she was worrying that something had happened to her.

“I dunno, Craig, but I will call you when I know anything,” I said quickly. “I love you. Bye.”

I hung up the phone, and Faye gave me a quick hug. I tried not to let my thoughts go wild, but Lylah knew how terrified I was earlier. She wouldn’t put me through that again. Since she wasn’t at home and her phone wasn’t working, I felt confident one of two things had happened...

Either she’d been in a crash on her way to see me…

Or the killer had gotten to her.

22

Faye ended up leaving mine as soon as we got off the phone with Craig. We decided it would be easier and quicker to find Lylah if we separated. Faye had left to go find Lylah’s car, which according to Craig, should have been in a car park just on the outskirts of the city. Hopefully, we could figure out if she’d even made it to her car after she left Craig. While Faye did that, I drove around to numerous hospitals to see if anyone matching Lylah’s description had been admitted that day.

I went to every hospital that I could think of and none of them had seen Lylah. I was glad that they hadn’t because it meant Lylah hadn’t been in an accident, but the more hospitals that said no, the more my fear grew. It was becoming increasingly clear in my mind where she was...

She was in the clutches of our killer.

While I knew many would call me egotistical by assuming the killer had hunted down Lylah as a way to get to me, I just knew in my head and heart that there was nowhere else she could be. The killer had already sent me a message by killing Nessa, and while I didn’t know what the message was, I knew they were sending me another one by taking Lylah.

I just had to hope this message wouldn’t be as bloodthirsty as the last.

As I left the final hospital, I felt tears streaming down my face which I quickly wiped away. Lylah was everything to me, and the thought of her being kidnapped by a serial killer terrified me more than I dared to admit. Anyone else taken by the killer had ended up brutally murdered. I couldn’t allow Lylah to suffer that same fate.

I loved her. We had been through so much together, and I couldn’t picture my life without her.

My mind went back to one of our very first cases together. We’d both been kidnapped, and I realised then what an incredible woman she was. I was her superior, yet when we spoke to one another in the boot of that car she showed me nothing but strength and reassurance. She made everything seem okay, made it easy to open up to her, and in that moment I knew she was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.

It had been so easy to fall in love with her.

And now, in my inability to let things go, I’d put her in danger again... only this time I wasn’t with her to make sure she was okay.

As I approached my motorcycle, I grabbed my mobile and was surprised to see I hadn’t received any updates from Faye. I glanced at the time on my phone and was shocked to see that it was now six in the morning, meaning I’d left her just under six hours ago. I hit her contact details and went to call her, but I groaned impatiently when the phone went straight to voicemail.

She must have been in an area with no signal, so I left her a quick voicemail telling her to call me back. I then held my phone in one hand while tapping my motorcycle helmet with the other, feeling at a complete loss over what to do next. Eventually I took a deep breath and called Craig, asking if I could see him. I went to his house and asked if he would mind keeping at my flat and contacting me if he heard anything from Lylah or Faye. I could see in Craig’s eyes that he was scared, but he nodded and asked me to promise to keep him in the loop.

By the time I’d done that, it was closer to seven, so I decided to go to the station to see if any of the team were there. I’d tried Faye multiple times, and she still wasn’t answering, so I knew I had to see what help I could get while I waited for her to finish chasing whatever lead she’d found. Before I got on my motorcycle, I decided to call Nadia. As I rang her number, I wondered if she could potentially be sleeping since I knew she must have had a late night, but she answered right away.

“Hey Sean,” Nadia said. “What can I do for you?”

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” I asked politely.

Nadia chuckled dryly. “A DSI never gets any sleep, Sean, so don’t worry.”

“Have you heard from Lylah or Faye?” I asked rapidly, keen to get the conversation going now that the pleasantries were out of the way. “No one has seen nor spoken to Lylah since yesterday afternoon.”

Nadia swore. “No, sorry, I haven’t spoken to her since you called her when we were all together.” She hesitated. “From your tone I take it you think something has happened to her?”

“Aye, I do.”

“Meet me at the station as soon as possible,” Nadia said urgently. “I’ll make my way there now and we can look into this together.”

“Ta, Nads,” I said gratefully. “I’ll be there soon.”

“What about Faye?” Nadia asked nervously. “You mentioned her too?”

“I’m sure she’s fine and just busy looking for Lylah, but she left mine at midnight and I’ve not been able to get a hold of her since then,” I replied.

“Right, let’s just get to the station and we can talk about everything in person,” Nadia answered curtly.

I agreed and hung up the phone.

I pocketed it and made my way to Victoria Way Station. I got there quickly, but my level of irritation and fear only increased when it quickly became apparent that Faye’s vehicle wasn’t there. I’d been assuming she was busy looking for Lylah, but after so many hours my logical brain knew she would have contacted me by now.

Christ, I thought darkly. Please don’t tell me our killer got to her too!

I parked up at the station and rushed through the front door. I went to charge up the stairs to get to our department, but I skidded slightly when the receptionist with the dyed silver hair shouted at me.

“Wait a minute!”

I turned to look at her. “What is it? I’m in a hurry!”

“I can see that,” the young woman said bluntly. “But I have something for you.”

I raised a quizzical brow. “For me?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” the woman asked sarcastically.

I sighed guiltily as I approached. “Sorry, what is it?”

She tutted. “Lylah did say you’re always a busy man.” She grabbed an envelope and passed it to me. “Here you go.”

I glanced at it and saw it simply had my name on it, so I knew it couldn’t have been delivered.

“Where did you find this?” I asked.

The receptionist pointed toward the front door. “I found it on the floor when I got in about an hour ago, someone must have posted it by hand before I got here.”

I thanked her, then made my way toward the department, my hand gripping the letter as I went. I had a bad feeling about what was inside it, but I needed to get to Nadia first.

I pushed open the door to our department and was glad to see that the whole team was already there. Avery and Maddison were chatting in the kitchen, their bodies unusually close together as though they didn’t care who caught them flirting, while Simon and Victoria were talking animatedly to Nadia. The three of them wore serious expressions which instantly put me on edge.

The moment I entered the room, Nadia’s eyes snapped to mine, and she hurriedly silenced Simon and Victoria. She then ran over and hugged me. “Are you okay, Sean?”

I welcomed the hug, hating myself for feeling overwhelmed with emotion at her embrace. “Aye, I will be when we know where Lylah is.” I pulled away and looked at her seriously. “Have you heard anything since we spoke?”

Nadia shook her head glumly. “Nothing. I got DI Humes to check our CCTV quickly to see if Lylah or Faye had been here since yesterday, but there was no sign of Lylah, and Faye hasn’t been here since you both left together last night.”

I tried Faye again and my panic only increased at the instant voicemail message.

Nadia put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “She could just be at her own station, Sean. I know the signal there is notoriously bad.” She glanced at Victoria, who instantly nodded then walked off.

I rubbed my face weakly, hoping she was right. Faye had mentioned her desire to go to her own station to look into CCTV, so maybe that was where she was.

Maddison and Avery walked over, both looking at me with concern.

“Is everything okay?” Maddison asked.

“Have either of you heard from Faye or Lylah recently?” I asked.

Maddison and Avery shot one another a surprised look.

“No, sir, not since yesterday,” Avery answered.

“Crap,” I muttered.

Simon stepped forward and pointed at my hand. “What’s that, sir?”

I looked down and suddenly remembered the envelope. “It was posted for me this morning.”

Nadia stepped forward, looking at the envelope suspiciously. “Be careful opening that, Sean.”

Though I thought she was being overly paranoid, I put on some gloves before I opened it. I felt the envelope first and realised there was something hard inside of it.

“There’s something in it,” I said calmly.

Nadia turned to Maddison. “DS White, grab us an evidence bag.”

Maddison moved away instantly to get one. Once she returned, I gently opened the envelope. As it opened, I realised quickly the envelope contained a ring, which instantly put me on edge.

Everything about the murders had connected to weddings and marriages, so immediately I feared that the letter was from him. My fears were only confirmed when I pulled out the ring and recognised it instantly.

“This is Lylah’s wedding ring,” I muttered, my face paling at the sight of it.

“Is there any blood on it, sir?” Simon asked. Everyone shot him an angry look, so he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just mean because the other victims had their wedding fingers removed, so there’s a chance that⁠—”

“We get your point, thank you, DC Kebby,” Nadia interrupted harshly.

I could have cried with relief when I saw no signs of blood. I scanned it carefully, but I couldn’t see anything on it.

“DS White, the bag,” Nadia said calmly.

Maddison approached me, holding open the bag, but I clung to the ring and looked at Nadia.

Nadia looked at me with wet eyes. “You know how it is, Sean, we need to consider her ring as evidence while we try to find her... you will get it back.”

I hesitated, but after a few seconds I slowly dropped the ring into the evidence bag. To distract me from the ring, I turned my focus back to the envelope and noticed there was a small piece of paper neatly folded inside of it. I took the paper out and read its contents with surprise.

Larry Arnold is your killer.

I read those five words a few times before I put the letter down so the others could see it.

“I don’t understand?” Simon asked in confusion.

The others looked confused as well, but I didn’t.

“It’s a message and a threat,” I said, my voice shaking as I spoke. “The killer wants us to arrest Larry and publicly announce him as the killer... otherwise he will hurt Lylah.”

Nadia paled, and the others looked worried.

Avery looked at me guiltily before speaking. “Lylah was taken a few hours ago... so how do we know he hasn’t already hurt her?”

Everyone looked at me.

“We don’t,” I said coldly. “But I’ve spent time getting myself into the mind of this killer and I think I know what they’re like... they want their freedom, they want us to drop this, and if they wanted to hurt Lylah already, then her finger would have been in that envelope too.”

Simon’s face went green.

“So what, we just give into their demands?” Avery asked unhappily.

“We need to keep Lylah safe, whatever it takes,” Nadia said boldly, taking me by surprise.

As much as I knew Nadia loved her friends, she had always been career orientated. The Nadia I knew was a stickler for the rules and did everything completely by the book, so to know she was willing to give up everything she’d ever fought for in order to save Lylah touched me more than I dared to admit.

I patted her shoulder as I looked at Avery. “No, we don’t give into their demands... we catch them and make them pay for everything they’ve done.”

Avery grinned keenly. “Yes, sir!”

Nadia asked Victoria to get another evidence bag for the envelope and letter, and once they were bagged up she them off to the pathology lab. I personally felt the effort would be wasted, but equally I knew we’d be foolish to not take the envelope and its entire contents off for analysis.

There was a chance—no matter how small—that one of them could contain our killer’s DNA and we couldn’t afford to miss any opportunity of identifying our killer. Especially now that Lylah’s life was at stake.

I looked around at everyone. “I think it’s safe to say that our serial killer has Lylah, so we all need to work extra hard to ensure we find them before it’s too late.”

“So you think she’s still alive, sir?” Simon asked.

I looked at him angrily and sensed the rest of the team doing the same. “Aye, lad, and you best start believing that too!”

Simon nodded nervously. “Of course, sir!”

I stepped toward him until my face was inches from his own. “Under no circumstances are you to imply my wife is dead again... is that clear, DC?”

Simon looked like he could faint, and his face went white with fear. “I won’t, sir, I swear!”

I nodded slowly. “Good... then I suggest you get to your desk and start looking into where my wife could be!”

Simon moved hastily to his computer, and the others did the same, leaving just Nadia and me standing there.

Nadia gripped my shoulder. “We will find her, Sean, I know we will.”

I went to reply, but stopped at the sound of an opening door. I turned to it rapidly, hoping to see Faye approaching us, but I was disappointed to see it was just Victoria returning.

“How did it go?” I asked instantly.

Victoria shot a nervous look at Nadia before addressing me. “Faye’s team suggested they haven’t seen her since she was assigned to this case.”

I grabbed my face and bit back the urge to scream.

Nadia, seeing my agony, quickly grabbed my hands and pulled them off me, “We need to think now, Sean, yeah? Where was Faye going when she left you?”

I took a deep breath. “She went to go and see if Lylah’s car was still at the car park... she always parks at the same one to avoid paying for parking.”

Nadia smiled weakly. “I know the one you mean, Lyles has taken me there many times. She always argued that a fifteen-minute walk was worth saving a few quid.”

“That’s the one,” I answered. “We need to get there immediately.”

To my surprise, Maddison quickly got out of her chair and approached me. “You have your meeting with the pub goers in about fifteen minutes... you won’t make it in time if you go.”

I looked at my watch and swore when I saw it was almost nine. With the stress and worry of losing Lylah, I’d completely forgotten about my meeting with the punters. For a few seconds, my brain worked quickly as I tried to figure out what to do. My priority was Lylah and Faye, so I wanted to get to that car park, but if one of those men were our killer, then they’d know exactly how to find the two women I loved.

Nadia looked at Maddison. “Sean will still be seeing those men... I will go to the car park with DI Humes.” Nadia glanced at Victoria. “If that’s okay with you?”

Victoria nodded. “Of course, ma’am.”

I looked at Nadia sternly. “If I’m seeing the pub goers you have to keep me updated on everything... understood?”

“You know I will, Sean, you can count on me,” Nadia said passionately. “Trust me, when it comes to Lylah and Faye I won’t let you down.”

I felt my eyes welling up. “I know you won’t, Nads... you’re practically family.”

Nadia became emotional too, but she quickly recovered as though she feared showing the others her vulnerability. She coughed, then glanced around at the team. “You heard the man, we need to find Lylah and Faye so when DI Humes and I go to the car park I need the rest of you to do some research and try to figure out where they could be and when they could have been taken.”

Maddison and Simon agreed, but Avery stepped forward apprehensively.

“I’m happy to go with you to speak to the men, sir,” he offered.

I nodded to him gratefully, and he beamed eagerly.

Nadia looked at me seriously. “I hope your meeting goes well, Sean.”

“So do I,” I said nervously. I looked at Maddison. “Did you ever hear anything from John?”

“No, and Derrick contacted me a few minutes ago saying none of them could reach him either.”

I pursed my lips thoughtfully, thinking about how John was seeming more and more suspicious by the second. I was ready to meet the others, but if John wasn’t there, finding him was going to be my top priority.

I didn’t care if I had to force myself into his house, I didn’t care if I had to run around all of Yorkshire looking for him... all I cared about was saving Lylah and, very likely, Faye. I hoped John wasn’t the killer or the person who took my wife... but, if he was, he was going to quickly realise he’d crossed a line.

I didn’t care what anyone did to me, but our killer had made a grave error targeting Lylah. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to save her...

Even if it meant killing the killer myself.

23

Maddison gave me the information for the meetup point—a café not too far from the Wolf and Lamb Pub called the Early Espresso—so I wasted no time making my way there. Avery offered to drive me, but as I wanted some time to think I told him I’d meet him there. He then went off in his car, giving me some time to prepare myself. As I got on my motorcycle, I took a deep breath and pushed my thoughts away from Lylah and Faye. I was feeling overly emotional now that the case had gotten so personal, and I knew I had to snap out of it if I had any chance of finding them both.

Emotions made cases messy, and I couldn’t afford that.

Lylah and Faye couldn’t afford that.

I started making my way to the café and as I travelled, I pushed my thoughts onto the four—hopefully five—men I was about to meet. It concerned me that John was potentially not going to be there as he and Forest were the two I was most keen to speak to. John had worked at the Wolf and Lamb Pub, he knew how to disappear, and his connection to Larry might have caused some kind of resentment. Maybe that pushed him to want to see his ex-employer arrested.

The more I thought about him, the more I felt like a fool for not seeing him as a suspect sooner.

My first night at the Wolf and Lamb Pub had been more about me feeling things out and gathering information, but I was frustrated with myself for being so blinded that I hadn’t opened my eyes to the potential suspects around me.

The younger me would have seen everyone as a suspect, but I was getting softer in my older age. I just had to hope that my lack of grit hadn’t caused me to miss some crucial clues the first night I went to the pub.

Eventually, I passed the Wolf and Lamb Pub, and I couldn’t deny that a small part of me felt sad to see that it was closed and still covered by police tape. It was a nice pub that was run by a decent man—at least I still believed—so it hurt my heart to see it looking so dishevelled. I just hoped once I’d proven Larry’s innocence that the pub could reopen and I could maybe enjoy a drink there once more.

The Early Espresso was a couple of minutes away from the pub, so I made it there in good time. I glanced at my watch and saw I was a few minutes early, so I parked up just behind Avery’s car and took in my surroundings. I’d never been to the Early Espresso but from the look of the sign I’d say it had been around for quite some time. It had an illustration of an espresso cup that had mostly faded with time, and the majority of the letters spelling out the name had fallen off. It now read ‘th ear esp s o’.

“A bit woebegone, eh, sir?” Avery asked.

“Aye, just a bit.”

“Hello Sean.”

I turned around to see Henry, Forest, Derrick, and Geoffrey all approaching me. I furrowed my brows apprehensively as I looked at them all, feeling surprised at their group arrival.

“Where’s John?” I asked.

Henry rubbed his shock of red hair nervously. “We tried him multiple times, but none of us could get through to him."

"Suspicious," Avery muttered.

Geoffrey glared at him, his thick grey moustache bristling. “He’s just a busy man with a busy life... the same for all of us. You should count your lucky stars that we even turned up, boy.”

Avery looked ready to argue, but I held out a hand to stop him.

“We are grateful that you’ve come to speak to us,” I said sincerely. “We are just surprised that John didn’t join you, that’s all.”

Derrick shrugged. “I’m not... don’t get me wrong, I really did try to get a hold of him, but that man goes AWOL often. We are never surprised when he comes and goes.”

Derrick’s words poked at my gut, making me suspicious.

Geoffrey cleared his throat. “Are we all just going to stand here jabbering or are we actually getting a coffee?”

As much as I didn’t like it, John would have to wait.

I nodded. “Aye, let’s go in.”

We all entered the café and Geoffrey mumbled about wanting a black coffee before wandering off to grab a large table for us all.

Avery snorted. “I guess we’re buying his drink then?”

I bit back a smirk. “So it would appear.”

While we waited in the queue, Derrick turned to me, the greys covering his black hair much more noticeable in the bright lights of the café compared to the forgiving dark lights of the pub. Unsurprisingly, he was dressed in a suit, and I was starting to wonder if that was all the guy owned. “So, you didn’t fancy meeting in a pub again?”

I grumbled. “Let’s just say this case has put me off pubs for a while.”

“Can’t blame you,” Forest muttered.

I looked at Forest and tried to figure him out. He seemed the quietest out of the lot, but I hoped once we sat down I could get him to open up a bit more.

Henry, who was at the front of the queue and speaking to the barista, turned to me. “What can I get you, Sean?”

I was surprised by the offer, but I stepped toward him and gratefully accepted it. “A milky coffee, ta.”

The barista nodded. As she moved her attention to the others, Henry turned to me. “I think I owe you this after my shocking behaviour when I last saw you.”

I smiled weakly. “You’ve already apologised and you don’t need to... I understood that emotions were high.”

Henry grimaced, looking disappointed with himself. “Be that as it may, there was no excuse for my rudeness. Larry is my friend, but I’d like to think we could maybe be friends too... once this nasty business is all out of the way, of course.”

I was touched by his words, but knew I had to keep my walls up. As much as Henry seemed like a decent enough guy, I had to see him as a suspect until this case was solved. In order to spare his feelings, I simply nodded in a way of response.

The small action seemed to suffice, and Henry grinned happily.

Once we ordered our drinks—Avery looked annoyed that he had to pay for his own as well as Geoffrey’s—we all sat down together. The barista slowly brought our drinks over, and as we waited, I couldn’t help but notice a tense silence among the group. I couldn’t tell if they were all simply nervous about what I had to say, scared I was going to catch them in a lie, or just filled with anticipation. Whatever it was, it put me on edge.

I was grateful to Henry who, once we were all settled with our drinks, turned to me with a smile. “So, what can we do to help you, Sean?”

“And Larry,” Geoffrey said loudly. “I’m only here to help him.”

“Will he be let out soon?” Derrick asked hopefully.

I cautiously shook my head. “I wish it was as simple as that.”

Geoffrey glared at me. “It couldn’t be any simpler, boy. Larry is innocent, so you let him out. Easy.”

“Unfortunately Larry has confessed to the murders which makes⁠—”

The table broke out in a mixture of outrage and shock.

“Ludicrous!” Geoffrey exclaimed, hitting the table and causing some of his drink to spill.

“I can’t believe that!” Derrick responded in shock.

“There must be a mistake?” Henry asked me hopefully.

I was more drawn to Forest, who maintained his silence. He didn’t show much in the way of body language either so I couldn’t tell how he actually felt about it.

Was he quiet because that’s how he always was, or was he quiet because he already knew this? I still didn’t know why Larry had confessed, but my gut was telling me it was either to protect someone or because he’d been threatened, so I was certain the real killer already knew about Larry’s confession.

“Trust me, I’d love nothing more than to let him go, but there are laws and rules here. If Larry is adamantly claiming his guilt we can’t exactly let him out,” I answered.

“What about that other dead girl?” Geoffrey asked. “That woman detective didn’t say much on the news, but is that connected? If so, Larry has to be innocent.”

I looked at Geoffrey curiously. Although murder wasn’t exactly common in Yorkshire, I was surprised he was making the leap between a new dead woman and the cold cases.

“Why do you assume they are connected?” I asked.

Geoffrey shrugged. “People around these parts are genuinely good... I can’t imagine we have multiple killers around here.”

If only that was true... my career would have been much easier, I thought.

“I won’t deny that Vanessa Reed does have similarities to our cold case, hence why we are keen to figure out information that could help clear Larry’s name,” I said calmly. I took a long sip of my coffee, then purposely glanced around the group. “However, if Larry is innocent, then someone else connected to his pub could be our killer.”

Derrick scoffed. “Wait, are we here as informants or suspects, Sean?”

“Both,” Avery answered coolly.

Geoffrey swore and started to rise out of his seat. “I haven’t come here to be insulted!”

“If you’re innocent, you have nothing to hide,” I said calmly. “Please sit back down, Geoffrey. We need your help.”

Geoffrey grumbled unhappily, but sat back down.

I thanked him, then looked around at the group. “I appreciate you all being here and the last thing I want to do is accuse anyone or make you feel uncomfortable, but if Larry is innocent, then we need to figure out who is guilty.”

The door to the café opened and a young lad walked in who, to my surprise, waved and approached us.

Henry stood up and grabbed him a seat. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

“Sorry,” the lad said nervously. “My shift ran over, and then I got my bus times wrong.”

The lad looked at me anxiously, his small blue eyes watering as he did. He had short black hair that was covered in small curls, and his build was so slender he looked almost unwell.

“Sean, this is Harry,” Henry said kindly as he clapped Harry on the back.

I looked at Harry and realised I recognised the name. “Ah, I take it you’re the cleaner of the Wolf and Lamb?”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Let me get you a drink, Harry,” Henry offered.

Harry shook his head and took a seat. “I had a coffee before I got on my bus. I’ll be alright.”

Henry sat back down and looked at me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I called Harry and asked him to join us. He’s worked with Larry since he left uni, so I thought he’d be a good person for you to talk to.”

I smiled at Henry. “The more the merrier.”

Avery glanced at Harry. “How did you come by the job and how long have you had it for?”

Harry shifted nervously in his seat. “I’ve worked there for three years now, but only part time as I have another job in town. My dad lives next door to the pub, and he helped me get the job.”

I looked at Harry curiously, wondering if his dad could be a person of interest. He was close to the pub, so he would have been able to get close to the girls, and since he had a son in his twenties, he would be the right sort of age to kill Lydia and the others.

“Who is your dad?” I asked.

“Jasper, sir, Jasper Roberts.”

“Does your dad know Larry well?” I asked.

“Oh yes, sir! They’ve been friends for years now,” Harry answered.

“We might need to chat to him at some point then,” I said. “Can we have his number?”

“Yes, sir, but he might be difficult to get a hold of. He’s been in Florida for the past week and isn’t back until next Thursday.”

I nodded politely, knowing Jasper couldn’t be our killer since he was out of the country.

“Hurry up and ask us your questions so we can get going,” Geoffrey said grumpily.

Derrick smiled at him. “Calm down, old timer, it isn’t like you have anywhere to be, is it?”

To my surprise, Geoffrey laughed. “I suppose not, but the wife gets angsty when I’m out for too long.”

“Get yourself a new wife then,” Derrick replied playfully.

The two men chuckled.

I was keen to keep the conversation focused, so I stepped in.

“Why are you all so convinced Larry is innocent?” I asked.

“You can always tell a good one, and that’s Larry,” Henry said fondly. “He’s never had a bad word to say about anyone the entire time I’ve known him.”

“And have you all known him for a while?” I asked.

Everyone answered, and it was clear—except for Harry—that they had all known Larry for at least a couple of decades.

Meaning they’d all have been around during the time Lydia was killed.

“What I find hard to understand is why none of you came to the police when Lydia was killed,” I said calmly. “You’ve all been going to the pub since then, so you must have known the girls?”

“I never saw any of them, I swear,” Henry said earnestly. “Larry was always behind the bar, and I think the girls worked behind the scenes, so we wouldn’t have seen them.”

I remembered Larry had made a similar comment, so I knew it was possible the men hadn’t seen the girls. They worked in the back and did more of the inn work. When I was in the hospital, I’d gotten Faye to look into the inn, and she’d chased up the people who had stayed there when the women were killed, but they were either now dead themselves or had solid alibis.

Geoffrey grumbled. “We went through this the other day, boy... we didn’t because we trusted you detectives to sort it yourselves. Clearly, you didn’t.”

I shot him a sharp look. “Or maybe none of you came forward because it would draw attention to the pub and the killer.” I then looked around at the others. “Let’s face it, if one of you had killed those girls, you wouldn’t want us snooping around, now would you?”

“I honestly wish I knew who killed those girls, Sean,” Henry said sadly. “For their sake as much as for Larry’s, but I honestly don’t know.”

“Me neither,” Derrick said.

I looked at Forest. “You’re quiet.”

“That’s just me,” Forest said calmly. “I never speak much unless I have something to say.”

“And don’t you?” I pressed.

“No.”

Avery leaned closer to Forest. “We found out some interesting information on you.”

Forest looked surprised. “I can’t imagine what. I’ve lived a simple life.”

“I can’t imagine many people who have lived simple lives have been married four times,” I answered.

The group looked at him in surprise, showing me they didn’t know. Either the men weren’t as close as I thought they were, or Forest was an exceptional secret keeper.

Forest ruffled his blonde hair nervously. “I can’t say it’s something I like to talk about... who wants to let the world know they’ve failed a marriage not once but four times?”

“What interested us the most was the dates of those divorces,” I said coolly.

“What about them?” Forest inquired.

“Each year you got a divorce was the same year one of our victims was murdered,” I said impassively. “And the manner of their deaths was connected to weddings and marriage, so it almost looks like you had a failed marriage, then decided to take that out on an innocent woman.”

Forest blanched. “Hold on! I’ve never killed anyone!”

“If it wasn’t Larry, it has to be someone,” Avery said. “So why not you?”

Forest looked around at the others as though hoping for support, but the group were stunned into silence. Forest groaned then looked at me. “I don’t know how those girls died, but I swear it wasn’t me.”

“Well, if it wasn’t you, Forest, then who was it?” I asked.

“I don’t know!” Forest exclaimed. “I swear!”

“Maybe it was John?” Avery asked.

“John?” Forest asked.

“It is odd he isn’t here today, isn’t it?” I asked. “You’d think he’d have done anything possible to help his friend.”

Everyone kept quiet.

I clicked my tongue impatiently. “Look, John isn’t here, which looks bad for him, no matter what any of you say. We tried to look into the man, but we weren’t able to find anything.”

To my surprise, Derrick snorted. “Not surprising... we’ve drank with him for years and I can’t say I could tell you many things about him.”

I quirked my brow and glanced around the table. From the look on everyone’s faces, I could tell they agreed with Derrick.

“I’ll be honest with you all,” I said darkly. “Two people very dear to me have gone missing, and we are certain that the killer we have been looking for has taken them... I’m not saying that the killer is John, but right now he’s making himself look suspicious. The more you can tell us about him, the more it can help.”

Forest’s face fell. “I’m sorry to hear that. If I could help I would, but John has never opened up to me about anything. All I know is he likes his drink as much as he likes his space.”

There was a murmur of agreement around the group, and each of them made a similar comment about not knowing John on a personal level.

All except for Henry, who I noticed had pulled an uncomfortable face and seemed eager to avoid my eye contact.

“What?” I asked him. “You know something about him, don’t you?”

Henry flushed. “It’s nothing, honestly! I’m certainly not thinking he’s a killer! I’ve drank with the man multiple times, for Christ’s sake.”

“Tell us, please,” I implored. “Anything you have for us could be important.”

Henry sighed. “I just know John and Larry have a rocky history, that’s all.”

My eyes lit up. “Rocky how?”

“They mostly get on, don’t get me wrong!” Henry said hastily. “But there’s been a few times when John’s been drunk and he’s mentioned that Larry has rubbed him the wrong way a few times... he never went into specifics, but I could tell there was something that annoyed him.” He rubbed his face nervously. “Also, after we saw you, he made a comment about how he wondered if Larry was guilty. He found it odd that Larry hadn’t mentioned anything to the police at the time.” He sipped his coffee. “I said I didn’t think much of it as Larry isn’t exactly the type of bloke who watches the news, but John said it was odd that a man could have a group of employees get murdered and know nothing about it.”

I glanced at Avery. “I think we definitely need to speak to John, don’t you?”

Avery nodded.

Derrick frowned. “I can’t believe John would say such things about Larry! I could tell he was genuinely devastated when he heard those girls had been killed.”

Henry nodded. “I agree with you, and I told John as much.”

“How did John react to that?” I asked.

Henry bit his lip. “Not well... he said we are always too soft when it comes to Larry and we need to wake up.”

I finished my coffee as I glanced around at the group. While I was disappointed I hadn’t gotten much out of them, it was clear John had grievances against Larry. Whoever was desperate to frame him wasn’t exactly his biggest supporter.

The fact remained that John hadn’t shown up, and I couldn’t help but worry that it was because he was keeping an eye on Lylah.

Forest and John had been the only two out of the group who I genuinely thought could be guilty, and while I still wasn’t completely convinced of Forest’s innocence, I knew I had to see John right away.

Lylah’s safety depended on it.

24

Isent everyone on their way. The majority of the group left hurriedly, but Henry lingered behind, his face twitching in the fox-like fashion I’d seen several times before. He nervously gave me a piece of paper, which I saw had his number on it.

“Just in case you want to grab a beer or something once this is all over,” Henry said timidly, his cheeks going pink.

“Ta, Henry, I’ll call you if I have any more questions for you.”

Henry nodded, then left.

Once Avery and I were alone, he turned to me eagerly. “What are you thinking?”

I looked out of the café’s window and saw Forest walking away slowly, rubbing his blonde hair with nervous energy. “I’m still a bit suspicious of Forest, but right now I think John needs to be our priority.”

“Agreed, sir, we need to go and see him.”

Avery pulled his phone out, so I did the same. When I saw I still had no missed calls from Faye, I grimaced worriedly.

Please be alright, love, I can’t deal with it if you’re both in trouble, I thought fearfully.

“No word from the station, sir, so should we head back there?” Avery asked.

“Aye, lad, I’ll meet you there.”

Avery nodded curtly before walking to his car.

I walked to my motorcycle, trying desperately not to let my thoughts go awry. I’d been trying to convince myself there was a reasonable explanation for why I couldn’t get ahold of Faye. Maybe she was simply absorbed in her work and couldn’t get back to me, but after several hours I knew I had to be honest with myself...

Faye must have been taken as well.

I was on red alert as I put my helmet on and started making my way back to the station, knowing I couldn’t afford to waste any time or make any mistakes. I needed to see the rest of the team, figure out whether they’d made any progress, then put everything I had into chasing down John. As nice as John seemed that day at the Wolf and Lamb Pub, I now considered him my top suspect. John had been avoiding us, he had expressed some animosity toward Larry, and he’d worked at the pub and would have known the victims.

There were far too many coincidences there to ignore.

At the station, I wasn’t surprised I made it back before Avery, and since I was keen to get going, I couldn’t just stand outside and wait for him. I practically sprinted to our department. When I pushed open the door, I was glad to see Nadia and Victoria standing in the middle of the room as though they were waiting for me. But I could tell by their faces something was amiss.

“What’s happened?” I asked abruptly.

Nadia and Victoria glanced at one another before Nadia faced me.

“We found Lylah’s car, Sean... and Faye’s,” Nadia answered.

I glanced between the two women nervously. Although Nadia was attempting to abstain from any emotion, her voice shook a little.

“Where were they?” I asked worriedly.

“At the car park,” Nadia replied thoughtfully.

“But there were no signs of a struggle,” Victoria added. “The cars were fine and didn’t look damaged in any way.”

I ran my hand shakily through my hair. “So, what? Lylah was taken soon after she left Craig… and Faye was then taken from there this morning?”

“That’s what we think, yes,” Nadia responded. “Which means Lylah was taken quite a while ago. Faye was likely targeted after looking for her.”

I started pacing, fighting the urge to scream or punch something. I swore angrily, then looked at Nadia. “This means the killer must have been watching us!”

Nadia grimaced. “I think so too... it’s the only way to explain how they knew where to find them both.”

I felt my body shaking. I tried to control it, but it was like it had a mind of its own. To know that the killer had been following us made me feel so horrified, so sick.

I was a detective, for Christ’s sake... how could I not tell when I was being followed?

I’d gotten into the minds of killers, rapists, all sorts of vile humans for decades. I’d been able to figure out their thoughts, their plans, and stop them… yet this killer had been watching my every move.

Watching my family’s every move.

How had I been so blind to that? I should have known. The moment I realised it was Nessa and not Lylah I should have been more prepared, should have ensured a police presence was trailing her and Faye... but I didn’t.

Instead, I left them on their own, completely unprotected.

“I can’t believe the killer has been this close this entire time, and I didn’t even know,” I muttered in horror. “How could I not know they were following me? That they were⁠—”

Nadia stepped toward me, her expression serious as she hastily interrupted me. “Stop that right now, Sean! I know exactly what you’re doing, and you need to cut it out.”

I stepped away from her, shaking my head angrily. “I should have known, Nads! I should have known they were there!”

“You couldn’t have known, Sean,” Nadia said bluntly. “And cutting yourself down isn’t going to help us find Lylah and Faye. For their sake, you need to remember that you’re goddamn Sean Ellis and the Sean Ellis I know always finds their man. This case won’t be any different!”

I looked at her fiercely, knowing she was right. I had to get focused. “Did you find anything at the scene?”

Nadia smiled at me, happy to see I was back into work mode. “Sam sent a team to analyse the cars and see if they can find any DNA or clues, but from what DI Humes and I saw, the scene looked pretty flawless.”

“Unsurprising, our guy doesn’t exactly make mistakes,” I said coldly. “It’s why he’s evaded us for so long.”

“True, but he’s made this personal, and when criminals make things personal, it’s when they make mistakes,” Victoria said confidently.

I nodded at her, appreciating her words of support. I barely knew Victoria, but I could tell she was trying to give me hope when she could tell I desperately needed it.

The door opened, and Avery entered the room. “Sorry I’m late, York traffic is the worst.”

“You’re fine, DC,” Nadia answered.

“Back to the topic of Sam,” Simon said. “She sent us her report on Nessa just before you got here.”

I rushed to his computer. “And?”

He opened up the files and allowed me a few minutes to read them. I kept my hopes low after my conversation with Sam, and after going through her reports I quickly realised I was right to control my emotions.

The reports showed nothing.

There was no DNA at the scene, the cause of death had been obvious, and her analysis of Arthur Sampson’s wallet provided us with no new information.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Simon said gently.

I felt the room go cold and silent, like everyone was already giving up and starting to grieve Lylah and Faye. I stood up tall and looked around the room, showing them I was far from ready to give up.

“The reports may have given us nothing, but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to go by,” I said boldly.

Avery stood up. “Right, sir! We still have John.”

I nodded at him, appreciating his support. “That’s right, DC Jones! I need John Ford’s address and I need it now.”

Maddison stepped forward, handing me a piece of paper. “I already have it ready for you, sir.”

I was grateful to her for using her initiative, so I took the paper and thanked her. The moment the paper was in my hand I turned to Nadia.

“I’m going to see John and see what he has to say for himself,” I said.

Nadia looked at me with concern. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, you stay with the team and try to⁠—”

“I wasn’t asking, Sean.”

My eyes welled up, but I rapidly blinked my tears away and nodded. “Very well.”

Nadia turned to the others and started telling them what to do, but her words became fuzzy as my brain solely focused on John.

My wife and child were in danger, and if John was behind it… then it was a good thing Nadia was going to be there with me.

Otherwise, I knew it was very likely I’d end up a murderer myself.

25

Lylah woke up with a start. She quickly squeezed her eyes shut again, trying desperately to figure out how she’d got to wherever the hell she was. She opened her eyes and saw she was in a dark room with nothing but a single light dangling pointlessly above her. The lightbulb kept flickering, making an annoying buzzing noise every few seconds. Lylah just prayed the bulb wasn’t going to go out anytime soon. She was already scared, so the thought of being left in total darkness was terrifying.

Lylah went to move, but she soon realised she’d been tied to the hard chair she sat on. She looked down to see how she’d been tied, but she gasped in horror when she realised her clothes were gone and she was left in nothing but her underwear. Tears of shame fell down her face at the sight of her body out on display, knowing at least one pair of eyes had been able to stare without her permission or knowledge. Although her memory of recent events was non-existent, she could tell without giving it much thought what must have happened to her.

She’d been taken by the serial killer Sean was desperately searching for.

Lylah tried to retrace her steps, but could only remember getting to her car after seeing Craig. She remembered trying to unlock it, but then everything went dark.

There was a slight pain in the back of her head—she must have been knocked out—but when she went to touch the wound, she groaned when she remembered her hands were tied behind her. She tried to pull her hands free, but whoever had tied her to the chair was no fool. They’d done a good job ensuring she couldn’t free herself. She knew she couldn’t break her binds with her strength alone, so she decided to take in her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was and if there was any way out. All she could figure out from the damp smell and the limited lighting was that she was likely either underground or in a basement.

She could literally be anywhere.

She sniffed again and her nostrils scrunched up. She couldn’t be certain, but it almost smelt like old blood. She wondered with horror if she was in some form of kill room. Death seemed to be coming at her from every angle, and as much as she wanted to keep calm she was more frightened than she’d ever been in her entire life.

She groaned and tried to pull at her binds again. Lylah knew the effort was pointless, but she didn’t care. She pulled even harder at her binds, ignoring the pain shooting through her wrists and ankles, but she hesitated when she heard a dark laugh.

Lylah jumped and looked around, struggling to see where the noise was coming from. Eventually, she saw a shadow in the corner. She felt like she was in a horror film, waiting for the vile monster to jump out of the shadows and kill her.

The figure seemed to enjoy her fear as it kept where it was, making no effort to move anytime soon.

Eventually Lylah couldn’t take the laughing and stillness anymore. “Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” a cold, deep male voice responded after a few seconds of silence.

The voice sent shivers down Lylah’s spine...

It truly was the voice of a murderer.

“What do you want from me?” Lylah inquired shakily.

“To keep you here... as a message.”

“W-what sort of message?”

The figure rose, then stepped out of the shadows so she could see him slightly.

Lylah couldn’t tell if she recognised the man or not, particularly as he was still mostly surrounded by darkness. Something about him seemed oddly familiar, but she couldn’t quite figure out why. She thought she’d seen someone who looked like him recently, but she was struggling to remember when.

“The message isn’t for you... you’re simply a means to an end,” the man answered, his voice void of emotion. “I’m sending a message to your husband for continuously standing against me.”

“You won’t get away with this!” Lylah exclaimed.

The man grinned. Lylah couldn’t tell if the man had hardly any teeth, or if the limited lighting in the room made it look that way. Whatever it was, it made the man look all the more horrifying.

“Oh, but I already have been getting away with things for quite some time now.”

“Sean will find you! He will stop at nothing to get you!”

“Maybe.” The man shrugged. “I sent him a message to put his focus on Larry, and if he’s foolish enough to ignore me… then I think he knows what will happen to you.”

Lylah was scared, but she knew she couldn’t let the man see that. She glared at him and bared her teeth, hoping she looked a lot more confident than she felt. “We both know what you plan on doing to me no matter what my husband does!”

The man laughed coldly. “Trust me, I’d love nothing more than to spend hours making you suffer, but I value my freedom more than anything else. If your husband plays ball, then no harm will come to you.” He smirked. “Well... maybe not no harm, but you’ll leave here alive at least.”

It was Lylah’s turn to laugh harshly. “Do you really think Sean is the type of person who will let an innocent man stay in prison?”

“Innocent!” the man roared, causing Lylah to flinch and tremble in her seat. “Larry is far from innocent!”

Lylah kept quiet, not knowing what to say. The man still kept a distance from her, but his towering presence even from afar was enough to have her terrified. She could see how this man would have easily been able to overpower and hurt his victims. She wouldn’t stand a chance against him... just like the others hadn’t.

Lydia. Angela. Nadia. Marika. Vanessa.

All innocent women who were tortured and killed by the monster standing in front of her.

The man sighed. “No more talk of him. He’s ruined my life enough. I’m only returning the favour.” He paused. “You best hope your husband values your life more than a case, otherwise you will be in a body bag.”

Lylah started to silently cry. She tried to figure out what to say, but words escaped her. She didn’t want to beg for her life—he didn’t deserve that satisfaction—but she feared antagonising him as well.

Before she had the chance to figure out a reply, she froze at the sound of a door opening somewhere above her. When it opened, she saw some light shining from above and she stared at it hopefully, thinking Sean had found her and came to save her. However, her hope soon turned to despair and horror when she saw a figure in black ushering Faye forward.

Lylah had craved nothing but light from the moment she’d opened her eyes, but now that the light was showing her Faye, she only wanted it gone.

The covered figure shoved Faye down the stairs, and she tumbled down loudly until her body smacked on the floor with a sickening crunch.

“FAYE!” Lylah screeched.

Faye was conscious—barely—and Lylah could see various cuts and bruises covering her body. Her breathing was ragged, making Lylah worried that her injuries were much worse than they appeared.

The covered figure closed the door, taking the light away with it, then came down the stairs. Once at the bottom of the stairs, the covered figure went to touch Faye, but the other man approached them and angrily shoved them against the wall.

“What the hell have you done?” the man hissed. “I told you just to get her and bring her here!”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

The man gritted his teeth at the figure. “You better pray she’s still alive, you idiot!”

The man pushed their accomplice away and leant down over Faye. For a few seconds the man checked over her, leaving Lylah’s heart racing.

Don’t be dead, Faye... you have to be okay!

Eventually the man rose and glared at his accomplice. “She’s breathing... so consider yourself lucky.” He huffed. “Just help me get her tied to a chair, will you?”

Lylah could do nothing but watch in horror as the two figures—the new one was slightly shorter than the first—grabbed Faye’s body and dragged it toward her. Lylah knew the detective in her should have been analysing the figures to find out everything she could about them, but she was too concerned for her stepdaughter to do anything but focus on her.

“Faye, it’s okay,” Lylah whispered. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Faye was either choosing to be quiet or too weak to speak. Unfortunately, Lylah was confident it was the latter. Faye’s clothes were coated in blood, bruises were already forming all over her body, and the cuts Lylah could see looked as though they’d been made with a blade.

As Lylah watched Faye get tied to the chair, she listened to the conversation between their two captors.

“You’ve been too reckless,” the tall man spat. “We said we would torture her together.”

“I couldn’t wait! You’ve been able to have your fun for years... this was my turn!”

“And you’d have had it once you brought the girl here!” Since Faye was now on the chair, the taller man grabbed the other figure by the throat. “If you messed up everything by hurting this girl elsewhere… leaving evidence… I promise you the next body the police find will be yours!”

“I was careful, I swear! You’ve taught me well!”

“Not well enough, otherwise you’d have never behaved so rashly!” The man slowly let go of the other figure’s throat and they fell to the floor, struggling to catch their breath.

After a few seconds, the man kicked his accomplice. “Get up, will you? We need to take off the girl’s clothes before we tie her up.”

Faye mumbled slightly. Lylah thought Faye was trying to resist, but she was too weak to speak, let alone move. The two figures went to touch Faye.

“Don’t you touch my daughter!” Lylah hissed.

The man sneered. “She isn’t even yours.”

“She is mine,” Lylah growled, her protective maternal instinct giving her courage. “Blood means nothing... Faye is my daughter, and I will kill you both if you touch her!”

Both figures laughed.

“You have more bite in you than I realised,” the tall man said, his tone sounding almost impressed. “I think I’m going to have a lot more fun with you than I thought.”

The accomplice went to unbutton Faye’s shirt, but at the same time that Lylah hissed, the taller man spoke. “No, you heard Lylah, leave her clothes on,” he said playfully. “Besides, we can always take them off later.”

The accomplice went to complain, but after receiving a sharp look from the tall man they had the sense to shut up. The two worked together to tie Faye to the chair—she didn’t once try to resist them, showing Lylah she was hurt badly—then they stepped away from them.

“You two have fun,” the tall man said mockingly. “We will be back soon... then our fun will begin.”

Lylah watched the two leave, shouting after them with each step they took. Neither looked back at her, and once the door was closed behind them, Lylah quickly turned to Faye.

“Darling, it’s Lylah, everything is going to be okay,” she said affectionately.

Faye opened her mouth, but instead of replying she spat blood and what looked like one of her teeth onto the floor.

“Sweetheart...” Lylah muttered worriedly. “It’s okay.”

Faye, with difficulty, turned to look at Lylah. Her eyes were already blackening, so Lylah couldn’t tell if her watery eyes were from emotion, fear, or pain. She opened her mouth slowly and Lylah patiently waited for Faye to speak.

“D-daughter,” she eventually muttered.

Lylah moved her face as close to Faye as she could. “What did you say?”

“D-daughter,” Faye muttered. “Y-you called m-me your daughter.”

Tears fell down Lylah’s cheeks. “Because you are my daughter, Faye. You are my child as much as Craig is... you always have been.”

“I-I’ve always loved you like a mum,” Faye sobbed, quickly stopping as she grimaced in pain. “I’m s-sorry if I never told you that, but⁠—”

“Save your energy, darling!” Lylah exclaimed. “You’re going to need it.”

Faye kept quiet, so Lylah looked in the direction their captors went. “Your father will be here soon, Faye. Just you wait and see.”

26

We got outside and Nadia waved her car keys in my face. “I’ll drive us... unless you’re hoping to get me on the back of that motorcycle?” she asked playfully.

I chuckled dryly, appreciating her attempt at humour. “Maybe one day.”

We entered her car, a tenseness filling the air between us as Nadia drove to John’s house. While I knew Nadia wanted to help me, we were both aware of how high the stakes were. We both loved Lylah and Faye, and things had never felt as bad as they did in that moment.

Lylah and Faye had both been taken, we had no idea what condition they were both in, we still had no idea who had taken them, and if John was innocent, then we were back to square one. Lylah and Faye didn’t have much time on their hands, so we couldn’t afford to be without a suspect.

I’d been telling myself since Lylah went missing that I had to speak to Larry again. He must have a vague idea who it was. Now that Nadia was as invested in this as I was, I was hopeful that she would allow me to speak to Larry again.

We made it to John’s address and the first thing I noticed was that the house looked incredibly run down. It was an old council house that had been built and then long forgotten. The brickwork was crumbling, there was thick ivy growing all over the walls, the windows should have been changed at least a decade ago, and the black front door looked so weathered and weak that I was worried I’d break it with one knock.

I went to open my car door, but stopped when I felt Nadia’s hand cautiously touch my wrist.

“If you’re too close to this I can go in on my own,” she offered gently.

“You’re just as close to this as I am,” I countered.

Nadia smiled weakly. “I love Lylah and Faye... but they aren’t my wife and child, are they?”

“Faye is as good as your child, she’s practically grown up with you,” I retorted. “And Lylah is one of your best friends, as well as one of your colleagues.”

Nadia took her hand back delicately as she sighed. “If you were still a detective, I’d say you were too close to this... but if we were going completely by the book, you wouldn’t be wrong. I shouldn’t be here either... it’s a conflict of interest.”

I looked at Nadia with serious eyes. “Screw the book, Nads!”

I knew Nadia was doing the impossible. She was giving up what she’d believed in her entire life. She always went by the rules, always did things as they should be done, and I was grateful to her for putting her friends over her beliefs. I just had to hope it would all be worth it.

With one last sigh and a nod, Nadia climbed out of her car. We reached the front door and Nadia knocked loudly. I was right about the door. Her knuckles had barely tapped it before bits of black paint crumbled off of it. As we waited, I glanced around and saw an old brown truck parked next to the house, but as it was covered in leaves and muck, I doubted it had been driven in quite some time.

It was impossible to tell if anyone was home, but I wasn’t willing to give up. If John wasn’t there, then I’d call Henry and press him to tell me everything he knew about John, all the places he liked to visit. I wouldn’t stop until I’d tracked him down.

To my surprise, the door opened, revealing John. His appearance hadn’t changed since I last saw him, down from his beard to his cable-knit jumper. I thought then that he looked like a fisherman, and he still gave me that vibe. He was tall—likely a couple of inches taller than me—and yet he seemed to really tower over me as he stood in the doorway, his expression anything but pleased.

“I’ve been avoiding you for a reason,” John grumbled as he went to shut the door in my face.

I put my arm out to stop it. “Why?”

“Because I have no desire to speak to any of you,” John said bluntly. “Now leave my property. You have no right to be here without a warrant.”

“You sound worried, Mr. Ford,” Nadia said calmly.

John sneered. “Not by a long shot.”

“Then why mention a warrant?” Nadia asked sweetly. “We’ve said nothing about wanting to search your house, and yet you seem to be expecting us to do so?”

The small amount of John’s cheeks that I could see over his thick salt and pepper beard went pink. “Why else would you be here?”

“We just want to talk, John... please,” I said kindly, hoping he’d be more inclined to relax if I spoke to him on friendlier terms.

John spat. “No, now go away!”

John went to close the door again, but my patience had completely disintegrated. I shoved the door with such force that John staggered backward, and I forced my way into his hallway.

John slowly steadied himself on his feet as he looked at me in shock. “You’re crazy! You can’t just come in here!”

“You’d be crazy too if some sicko had taken your wife and child!”

John’s eyes widened in shock as he gawped at me. “Wait, someone has taken them?”

I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Don’t play games with me, John. I’m not in the mood.”

John shook his head. “I’m not playing games, I swear! No one mentioned that people you loved had gone missing.” He raised his hands up defensively. “I’m sorry, alright? I was just angry with you all for arresting Larry, but your wife and child are innocent in this… so if I can help you, then I will.”

I didn’t know if I should feel grateful over his sudden change of heart or disappointed. Was he being honest? Or was he scared because he knew we’d gotten a lot further in this case than he’d expected?

I stepped up to John. Although he was taller than me, my anger made me feel like I towered over him. “Tell me straight, John, where are they?”

John blanched. “Wait, you think I have them!?”

“It’s a better reason for avoiding us than just being annoyed over Larry.”

“Take a look around, do what you want, I honestly don’t care,” John said rapidly. “I have nothing to hide!”

I glanced at Nadia, who took the hint and wandered off to search around the house. Once she was gone, I kept my focus on John to ensure he didn’t try anything stupid.

John leant against one of his walls and looked at me pityingly. “I’m sorry your family is missing, Sean, but I had nothing to do with that.”

“What about Lydia, Angela, Nadia, Marika, and Vanessa?” I asked coldly. “Did you have nothing to do with what happened to them?”

“Of course not!”

I laughed. “Funnily enough, you’re the first person who hasn’t been surprised when Marika’s name came up.”

John relaxed on the wall. “I didn’t know anything happened to her, but I knew she’d worked with Larry.” He hesitated, looking at me uncomfortably. “Was she killed too?”

“We have yet to find her body, but we have every reason to believe she was, aye,” I answered.

John swore. “They were all good girls and didn’t deserve that... I didn’t know Vanessa, but I’m sure she was too.” John nervously gestured to his living room. “Look, can we just go and sit down?”

I tried hard to take John in, but I found it difficult to gauge him. “Did you murder those women?”

“No,” John answered.

I relaxed my stance, hating the part of me that believed him. I gestured for him to take me to the living room, the fight already draining from my body. As we sat down, Nadia joined us.

“I can’t see them or any sign they’ve been here,” she muttered, keeping her voice quiet so John couldn’t hear us.

I nodded curtly before looking back at John. “You said earlier that Lydia, Angela, Nadia, and Marika were good girls... so you admit you knew them?”

John scratched his thick beard thoughtfully. “Not really, but I crossed paths with them from time to time.”

I glared at him. “Then why didn’t you say something before? I spoke in detail about them when we were at the pub, yet you said nothing.”

“Look, you came to the pub asking questions, and it was clear you thought the pub was connected to their deaths... I was just worried if I said too much that you’d start thinking either me or Larry was behind it all.” He sighed. “I guess that’s happened anyway.”

“Aye, it has,” I said coolly. “And lying has made you look all the more suspicious.”

“I get that, but I was just trying to protect me and a mate.”

“So you would consider Larry a friend, would you?” I inquired.

John furrowed his thick brow. “Of course.”

“Funny, because we have evidence suggesting you’ve said some unsavoury comments about him,” I answered candidly.

John, to my surprise, laughed. “Probably! Mates complain about one another after a few pints.”

“There’s complaining about people, and then there’s stating that you think they look suspicious, John,” I responded bluntly.

“Bloody Henry,” John muttered. He rubbed his face for a few seconds before speaking. “I’ll admit when you came to the pub a small part of me feared Larry was involved, just because he knew all of the victims and never said anything.”

“We could say the same about you,” I replied pointedly.

John nodded. “True, but I genuinely didn’t know they’d all died until you mentioned it the other day.”

“Cut the bullshit, John,” I said impatiently. “Each and every one of those girls were all over the news after they’d been killed... are you really telling me you didn’t see anything to do with it?”

“Look, I don’t know what you’ve been told about me, but I don’t tend to stay in York for long periods of time.” He gestured around his house. “This place is a shithole, but the rent is cheap, and it allows me to go out sailing when I want to. I like to do my own thing, go off on my own, and the sea offers me the peace and quiet I crave, which is hard to come by in a big city.”

Christ, he really could be a fisherman, I thought.

“So you’re saying you were AWOL anytime one of them was killed?” I inquired.

“I must have been,” John answered. He hesitated, looking between me and Nadia sheepishly. “I know this sounds like a crock of shit, but I swear I’m telling you the truth.”

“If you didn’t hurt those girls, or take Lylah and Faye, then who did?” Nadia asked, likely to herself as much as John.

John stared guiltily at the ground. “I admit that after you came to the pub and I’d had a few drinks… I was a bit more vocal about Larry than I’d have liked.” He shook his head like he was scolding himself. “But that was just an offhand remark to a mate, you know? I had one moment of weakness where I wondered if it was Larry, but that man is practically a brother to me. It’s why I reacted so badly once he’d been arrested.”

I sighed. “I just wish you’d been honest with me when I first met you... it could have saved a lot of this, John.”

John looked at me—his eyes shining with the same look of knowing he’d given me the first time I met him—and he held my gaze in silence for a few seconds before he spoke. “The other guys may be fools, but I’m not,” he said calmly. “I recognised you the moment you came into the pub and I knew you were working a case before you even opened your scarred mouth. It instantly made me defensive… I wanted to protect myself.”

I furrowed my brows as I ran a finger self-consciously over my scar. “How did you recognise me?”

“And protect yourself from what, exactly?” Nadia said suspiciously. “Only a guilty person would be worried about speaking to a detective.”

John licked his lips, then looked at me. “For an ex-detective you don’t listen to people, do you?” I remained silent, so John sighed and continued. “When we first met, I told you I used to bartend, amongst other things, but you never thought to ask me what those things were.”

“We looked into you and found limited information when it came to your work life,” Nadia said impassively.

John laughed dryly. “Aye... let’s just say the work I used to do wasn’t exactly the sort of stuff you shout out about. Part of me feared you were going to try to get it out of me and arrest me, so I kept quiet.”

“What did you do?” I asked curiously.

John looked between us. “Am I going to be arrested or can I speak off the record?”

I looked at Nadia. Nadia looked uncomfortable, but eventually she nodded.

“Speak freely, whatever you say will keep between us,” I replied.

“Quite a few years ago I worked for a woman, can’t remember her name now, but she was pretty big in the drug world,” John replied. “I didn’t do much, but I used to drive her and her drug mules around every now and again. The pay was great. She ended up getting arrested, and I remembered your name and face being on the news around that time. I kept watching my back a bit, wondering if my name would somehow end up in your lap, but it never did.”

Nadia and I glanced at one another in shock. That case was the first one we’d ever worked together with just the two of us, and it wasn’t too long ago we were reminiscing about it. We’d known about two drivers who helped her, but we’d never known about a third.

“People died from those drugs,” Nadia spat.

John had the decency to look ashamed. “I didn’t know until everything came out... and I never sold any drugs. I just taxied around people who did.”

While that didn’t make things better in my eyes, that case was a long time ago and I had much bigger concerns now.

“So you kept quiet to protect yourself?” I asked unhappily.

“And Larry.”

“Larry confessed to the murders, John,” I replied. “I don’t believe he’s guilty, and now that my family has been taken… it proves he isn’t. If you care for him as much as you say you do, then you must know a reason why he’d confess to something he didn’t do?”

John looked shocked. “The stupid man! Why did he do that?”

“I dunno, but I was hoping you could tell us.”

John paused thoughtfully. “Larry could never hurt a fly, I know that for a fact. He isn’t exactly close to many people, but he is fiercely protective over people he loves.”

“So, what, you think he’s taking the blame for something someone he cares for has done?” Nadia asked.

“Possibly,” John replied.

“When I spoke to Larry after he was arrested, he kept telling me to drop the case. When I said I wouldn’t, he told me I’d doomed us all,” I answered. “That doesn’t suggest love.”

John pursed his lips angrily. “Then someone is either threatening to hurt him or someone he cares for!”

“Is there anyone that he would stick his neck out for?” I asked.

John slowly rose from his seat, went to a drawer, opened it, and pulled out a large box. He then sat back down and Nadia and I edged toward him as he opened the box.

“Larry and I go way back, and his pub was practically my third home after this place and my boat,” John said calmly. He pushed the box toward me and I saw that it was filled with photos. He gestured for me to look through them, so I did as he continued speaking.

“He gave me the odd shift so I could get some cash in my pocket, he always made time for me, and we had a few good laughs along the way.” He smiled reminiscently. “We had some good times.”

Some of the photos had random people in, so I looked at John as I slowly went through them. “Are any of these people that Larry cared a lot about? A friend perhaps who he would want to look after?”

John pulled the box toward him and started to quickly flick through photos, mumbling as he looked at each one. Eventually, he stopped, passing one to me with a smile. “This was taken shortly after Larry first opened the pub.”

John passed me the photo and my eyes widened as I looked at it. At first I thought I was looking at a second Larry, but the more I gazed at the photo, the more I could see a few physical differences between the two men.

I pointed at the man. “Is that Larry’s brother?”

John nodded. “Aye, that’s Graham.”

I gawped at the photo and sensed Nadia doing the same. It was crazy how much the two looked alike.

I swiftly moved my eyes from the photo to John. “Did Graham work at the pub?”

“Sometimes,” John answered. “He worked the odd shift to help him out, but he mostly did deliveries before he gave it all up for his tech work.”

Suddenly, everything made sense. The people who said Larry had been to the Bucking Bronco, his name being signed, the way Agata hesitated when she saw the photo of Larry, unsure if that was the man who’d dated her sister.

There had been so much uncertainty because the man they’d seen looked very similar to Larry, but hadn’t actually been him.

“So Graham and Larry must get along well then?” Nadia asked casually.

John laughed. “Sometimes, but a lot of the time I thought it always looked like Graham wanted to kill Larry! They could fight like cats and dogs.”

I turned to Nadia and knew she was thinking exactly what I was...

We had to find Graham immediately.

I stood up abruptly. “Thanks for your time, John.”

John looked confused. “Wait, you’re going?”

“Aye, duty calls,” I replied quickly. “But I’ll be in touch if I need anything else, alright?”

“Alright… and I promise to answer this time,” John answered, his features still etched in perplexity.

I thanked him, then together Nadia and I rushed out of the house. Once we were outside, I grabbed my phone.

“Get us back to the station, Nadia,” I said urgently. “I need to speak to DC Kebby. He’s the one who spoke to Graham. I need him to give me the address and tell me everything he can.”

Nadia looked at her phone, smiled at something on it, then put it away. She caught me looking at her, so she quickly fixed her features then got in the car.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Nadia answered. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Her words sounded happy, but I shook that from my mind, staying focused on our case. For days we’d been trying to figure out who our killer was, and now it was looking as though we were always on the right track with Larry and the pub...

We’d just been looking at the wrong brother.

27

As Nadia drove us back to the station, I was consumed with shock over everything I’d discovered at John’s house. I’d gone there thinking I was about to come face to face with my top suspect... but I’d never expected to leave there with a new one.

And Larry’s own brother at that.

Graham had always been there behind the scenes, but I’d never considered him to be a suspect. To be honest, I hadn’t even considered him at all. I knew he’d helped Larry send me the information on his employees, which made me think he was just a brother jumping to assist his sibling, but now it seemed as though Graham had been against us from the very beginning.

He was an IT expert, so had he altered the documents before he sent them to me? Was he the one who’d sent the anonymous letter to the station to push us in Larry’s direction? If he was our killer, why had he done it and why had he worked so hard to frame his own brother? And, most importantly, was he the person responsible for the disappearance of my family?

As my mind settled on Graham, my gut purred happily. I was confident he was the one who’d taken Lylah and Faye, and my instincts only solidified that thought.

Graham could have done anything he wanted to me, but instead he went for my family. Lylah and Faye were innocent in all of this, and I was going to make him pay.

If he’s touched a hair on either of their heads, I swear to Christ I’ll kill him!

“Are you okay, Sean?”

I glanced to my right to see Nadia looking at me with concern, her eyes flitting from my face to my hands. I followed the direction of her gaze and noticed I was clenching my fists so tightly that my fingers and knuckles had turned a ghostly white. With embarrassment, I hastily let them go and rubbed them.

“I was just thinking about Graham and his… potential involvement in all of this.”

Nadia continued to glance at me worriedly as she drove, and I was grateful when she eventually nodded. “He isn’t someone we’ve had much reason to suspect before, is he?”

“No,” I replied. “DC Kebby was tasked with speaking to him earlier today, and he’d had issues getting a hold of him, but that was apparently because he didn’t want to speak with us. He said he was angry over the way we’d treated his brother.”

“And now you think that was a lie and he just wanted to keep us away?” Nadia inquired.

“Aye, I do,” I answered. “He apparently was at work, and Kebby said the neighbours confirmed that when he got there, but now I need Kebby to tell me everything again.” I looked at her imploringly. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? It would certainly explain why everyone kept thinking it was Larry—the two share a lot of physical similarities.”

Nadia hesitated before she replied. “They look similar, but why would Graham want to frame his own brother?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve worked a case with two brothers who despise each other,” I responded pointedly. “Now would it?”

Nadia bit her lip thoughtfully, remaining silent.

My mind went back to one of the first cases I worked with the team, which involved two twin brothers, AJ and Iain Weaver. Iain had gone out of his way to frame his brother by putting child pornography on his laptop. He then tried to murder him in cold blood. AJ was a good man—a man I still considered to be my friend—and I was glad I’d been able to clear his name, but back then so many people had been quick to assume his guilt.

Just like this time with Larry.

I thought about the two cases and was shocked about how similar they were.

Was it possible that my last ever case was going to end up mirroring one of my first? While Iain hadn’t killed as many people as Graham potentially had, there was no denying the cases involved feuding brothers. I was keen to figure out if there were any other connections to uncover.

We made it to the station, and I moved eagerly to get out of Nadia’s car, but I hesitated when she stayed still.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

Nadia shook her head. “I have a quick errand I need to run, but I’ll be back soon.”

My eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “I thought you’d want to be with me when I told the others what we’ve discovered?”

“Usually I would, but this can’t wait.”

My eyes scanned Nadia’s face, and I knew she was hiding something from me. However, I was too focused on getting the information I needed on Graham to stay a minute longer. Instead, I said a rushed goodbye, then made my way to our department. Once I got there, I found DC Kebby sitting at his desk, nursing a family-sized packet of crisps like he didn’t have a care in the world. The moment he saw me, he hurriedly dropped the bag on his desk and started to wipe his hands on his shirt.

“Sir,” he said in a rushed, embarrassed tone.

“Where did you get with Graham?” I blurted out.

“Sir?”

I sighed impatiently. “Graham Arnold, Larry’s brother. Have you tried getting back in touch with him yet?”

“Not for a while sir, no,” Simon responded in confusion. “He’s at work though, so I hadn’t thought to try.”

“Do you know if he’s actually at work?”

“Yes, sir, his neighbour confirmed it.”

I bit my lip in exasperation. “But did you actually call his place of work to see if he is in?”

Simon continued to look surprised, except his features now shifted to slight embarrassment. “No, sir.”

Avery looked at him playfully. “Good one, Si, confirming an alibi is practically rule number one when looking into someone.”

Simon went red. “I-I didn’t think it was necessary as the neighbour had confirmed.” He hesitated. “Besides, if he isn’t at work, where else would he be?”

“Wherever Lylah and Faye are,” I answered coldly.

Avery, Simon, Maddison, and Victoria looked at me in shock.

“You think he has them?” Maddison gasped.

“What happened at John’s?” Victoria queried in shock.

“He showed me photos of Larry and Graham, and the two are the spitting image of each other,” I said quickly. “I know a lot of people suggested they saw Larry with the victims, but I’m now certain it was Graham they saw.” I turned to Simon. “I need to know everything you found out when I asked you to look into him.”

The team looked stunned, but they had the sense to keep quiet. All eyes went to Simon, who looked terrified.

“If I knew he was a potential suspect, sir, I swear I would have tried harder to get a hold of him!”

While a large part of me wanted to scream at the lad for endangering my family, I thought about Lylah and how she said she wanted to see me acting less grumpy. She wasn’t with me right now, but the thought of her helped quell the fire inside of me, so I took a deep breath and nodded.

“I’m not blaming you, DC Kebby, but I need to know everything you know.” I turned toward Victoria. “Do me a favour, will you? Call Graham’s workplace and see what they have to say. We need to know where he is.”

Victoria didn’t respond, just walked off with her phone to get started. I watched her move for less than a second before my focus was back on Simon.

Simon drooped his shoulders, looking incredibly downcast. “I should have seen the signs, sir, but I just didn’t think anything of it.” He paused glumly. I gestured politely for him to continue, so he did. “I couldn’t find much at all when I looked into him, except for what I told you before, and when I got to his house and his neighbour told me he was at work, I… believed it.”

As frustrated as I was, I knew it wasn’t Simon’s fault. Deep down, I knew if anyone else looked into Graham—including myself—we’d have ended up in the exact same position. Nothing about Graham had seemed odd or suspicious, and we’d wanted to speak to him in a capacity to help his brother, not as a suspect, so why would anyone have checked to see if he was lying?

Victoria returned, her expression serious. “I called… and they said they let him go around two weeks ago.” She looked between us before continuing. “They said he’d barely been coming in as he was caring for his mother, but after she died and he came back… they noticed he wasn’t focused. He kept making mistakes, so they were left with no choice but to get rid of him.”

If it wasn’t for the fact I was certain the man was a murderer and a kidnapper, I’d have almost felt sorry for him. However, with my family at stake, all I could think about was how desperate Graham must have been and what that meant for Lylah and Faye.

He probably feels like he has nothing left to lose, I thought worriedly. That makes him even more dangerous than I thought.

Simon approached me, his expression still crestfallen. “I’m so sorry, sir.”

“Rule one when it comes to a murder investigation, lad, everyone is guilty until proven innocent, no matter how unlikely a suspect they seem,” I answered gently. “You haven’t done anything wrong, but in the future… if someone tells you something, make sure you look into it first. Don’t just take it as fact.” I jerked my head toward his desk. “Now, write down his address for me.”

Simon nodded, looking more dejected than I’d ever seen him.

I felt guilty for making him feel awful, especially when the person I really blamed for all of this was myself. I’d been the one to push for this case, I’d been the one who got my family dragged into it, and I was the one who hadn’t looked into Graham myself. They were costly choices, but they were my choices.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I saw that it was Nadia calling me, so I answered it.

“Nads?”

“Sean, are you still at the station?”

“Aye, but I’m about to leave.”

“Just wait till I’m back, will you?” she asked hastily. “I have something you’re going to want to see before you go.”

28

Iglanced around the room and saw everyone’s curious expressions. I knew they would be keen to know what Nadia had to say too, but with my wife and child in trouble I knew I couldn’t stay there a moment longer than necessary.

They needed me now more than ever and I couldn’t let them down.

“Right, I’m meeting Nadia outside, but then I’ll be off,” I said to the team hurriedly.

I went to turn and leave, but hesitated when Simon stepped forward, his face shining with determination.

“Let me come with you, sir,” he said pleadingly. “I need to make up for my mistakes.”

I gripped his shoulder tightly. “I’m sorry I’ve made you blame yourself, lad. I need to do this on my own, but none of this is your fault, alright? You aren’t responsible for any decision that man has made.”

Simon looked disappointed to not be joining me, but also grateful to hear my words of approval.

“What can we do while you’re out?” Maddison asked.

I looked around at the team, touched when I saw everyone’s serious faces. It was clear everyone was completely invested in helping me find Lylah and Faye, and I couldn’t deny how good that felt. To know the others felt just as strongly about their welfare showed me how much the two women touched the lives of everyone around them.

“I know DC Kebby already has, but I need you all to look into Graham. Find out everything you can about him,” I said boldly. “Find anyone who knows him and ask them questions. The more we know about him, the better chance we have of figuring out where he could be holding Lylah and Faye.”

Everyone agreed, so I exited the department. I looked at my watch and groaned when I saw that the hours were quickly ticking by. Lylah had been gone since yesterday afternoon. She’d been in the killer’s clutches for almost twenty-four hours. What could have happened to her in that time?

I made it outside at the perfect moment, just as Nadia’s car approached. She parked her car up a little further away from me, so I started to walk toward it. However, as I approached not one door opened, but three. I watched in shock as Nadia stepped out of her vehicle alongside two very familiar faces. My eyes were first drawn to the man who stepped out of the front seat. He was a conventionally handsome bloke with long blonde hair tied back in a bun and green eyes that shone brightly and highlighted his elfin features. Although he was middle-aged, the bloke looked younger than his years, maintaining an effortless handsomeness that age couldn’t break.

From the back seat stepped out a pretty middle-aged woman with short dark hair—so different to the hair I was used to seeing—that brushed along her shoulders in an attractive curl. Her expression was naturally serious, but when she turned to face me, I saw her full lips curling upward into a small smile.

As scary as the situation I found myself in was, I couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Elijah Smith and Mae Hodge. My ex-colleagues, but long-term friends.

Elijah charged over to me and pulled me into a tight embrace. “It’s good to see you, Sean. It’s been far too long.”

I hugged him back, then pulled away, taking him in for the first time in at least a year. “Well, that’s what happens when you bugger off out of York.”

Elijah rubbed the back of his neck playfully. “Well, you can blame Chibuike for that!”

I laughed, simply enjoying the moment of seeing him. Chibuike, Elijah’s husband, had been offered a good opportunity to work for a publishing house in London, and Elijah supported him by moving to London with him around twenty years ago. Chibuike had been a reporter for years, but he gave that up after he inadvertently released an article that put Elijah’s life in danger when the serial killer Thomas Moore had escaped from prison. After that, Chibuike still wanted a job as a writer or editor, so when he was given the opportunity to join one of the biggest publishing houses in the UK it was something he couldn’t pass up. Elijah still worked as a detective, only now he was a DI in London. He’d made big waves there.

Mae stepped toward me, showing me her perfectly straight, white teeth. “Hello again, sir,” she said sarcastically.

I chuckled. “Christ, it’s been a long time since you’ve called me that.”

Mae winked. “Old habits die hard, as they say.”

Mae, like Elijah, had also ended up moving to London, only she’d moved there five years ago after inheriting her aunt’s rather large house. Mae was also still a detective, only now she was a DS on a different team than Elijah.

I put a hand on both of their shoulders as I looked between them. “What brings you both here?”

Mae pointed her head toward Nadia. “You have that one to blame for this.”

I looked at Nadia, who was looking at me with a small smile. “The moment we knew Lylah was in danger, I knew I had to call in some of the best detectives Yorkshire has ever known. Luckily, these two just so happened to be willing to drop everything to make the long journey here.”

Elijah and Mae looked at one another with torn expressions. While it was clear they appreciated the compliment, I could tell they were also worried about Lylah.

I felt torn, too. While I was happy to see them, I also felt guilty for allowing myself any moment of joy when my wife and child were out there somewhere… going through God only knew what.

“I’m glad to see you both,” I said warmly. While it was great to see them, I couldn’t deny that a part of me felt disappointed that the whole group wasn’t there. I knew Rebecca had retired several years to open up a dog shelter—the woman had always been passionate about animals—so it wasn’t surprising she wasn’t there.

That didn’t mean her presence wasn’t greatly missed.

“And you, mate,” Elijah answered.

Mae simply smiled.

“As good as this reunion is, we have a bloke to see,” I said seriously. “I’ve got Graham’s address, so I suggest we⁠—”

“Surely you aren’t going anywhere without me?”

I froze, my heart racing at the sound of the familiar voice. I turned, suddenly overwhelmed to see Rebecca standing behind me, a smug smile across her features. There was now a lot of white in her hair, and she had several lines on her face, but she looked the same as she ever did.

Without even thinking, I charged toward her and hugged her. Rebecca looked shocked at the embrace, but she held me tightly anyway. Rebecca was my best friend, and she knew I needed comfort after everything I was going through.

“As great as this is, Sean, you’re right. We need to get going,” Rebecca said confidently as she patted me on the back, wiggling out of my arms.

I looked at her hopefully. “You’re helping us?”

She winked at me. “I guess this will be the last case for both of us, eh?”

I nodded confidently.

“Come on, we can catch up on the way,” Nadia said hastily.

Without another word, we all ran to Nadia’s car and climbed inside. I passed her the address, and Elijah wasted no time putting it into the satnav as Nadia drove. Even though me, Rebecca, and Mae were slightly squashed in the back, I knew I’d rather have a slightly uncomfortable drive than confront Graham without my old team by my side.

As nervous as I was about what we’d find at Graham’s, I couldn’t help but think about how right this felt. My old team was with me to help me find Lylah—a woman we’d all worked with for years—and I knew I couldn’t have asked for a better support system around me.

“So, is it true Faye is now missing too?” Rebecca asked worriedly.

I swallowed anxiously, abruptly snapped back from my slightly positive, nostalgic thoughts. “Aye, she is.”

“And you think this Graham person is behind everything?” Elijah asked.

“Aye.”

Mae whistled. “We waited years to find out who killed Lydia, Angela, and Nadia… and to think we might be about to find out.”

I looked at her and nodded seriously. While Elijah had left by the time Lydia was killed, the rest of us had still been working as a team. I knew—as much as they were here for Lylah and Faye—they were just as invested in finding out who’d killed those innocent women years ago.

For most of the journey there was a tense silence between us, though it was a silence that felt oddly comfortable. I knew Nadia, Elijah, Rebecca, and Mae more than I knew most people, and I knew their silence was them preparing themselves for what was about to come.

As we drew closer to Graham’s, Elijah turned to me and asked me to prep them all on everything that had happened with the case since I’d reopened it. I hurriedly went through everything, and by the time I was done, we were slowing down.

“Wait a second,” Nadia muttered, pointing ahead a bit as she slowed down even more. “That’s Graham’s address just ahead, but someone is leaving the house.”

I looked ahead and saw she was right. A tall figure in dark clothing was leaving the home, though it was impossible to see who it was. There was no vehicles close to the house, meaning they must have travelled by foot.

Nadia started to stop her car, but the figure spotted us and immediately started sprinting away from the house.

“No!” I roared, unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the still slightly moving car. “We can’t let them get away!”

Nadia pulled the car to a stop. “Go! Go!”

I jumped out of the car—so focused on the runner that I didn’t even know if the others were following me—and sprinted like my life depended on it. The figure was clearly a fast runner, and their tall frame didn’t offer them any disadvantages. They ran off the path and into some greenery, and I immediately followed. I noted with annoyance that the route they were taking was leading them toward a few shops and pubs, all surrounded by people.

I can’t let them get there! If they do, I’ll lose them in the crowd! I thought frantically.

As I ran, I l could hear the unmistakable sound of multiple footsteps behind me, so I knew the others were fast on my tail. I was surprised none of them managed to overtake me—especially when I’d struggled to run before when attempting to apprehend Arthur Sampson—but adrenaline was coursing through my body and I knew nothing was going to slow me down.

I ran and ran, slowly ridding the gap between us, but just when I was starting to get close to him I roared in anger when he reached the crowd and plunged into it.

“NO!” I shouted angrily. “Stop that man!”

My words fell on deaf ears. I realised I was looking at a horde of drunken football fans, all cheering loudly, throwing their pints in the air, and looking ecstatic. They were all chanting loudly, and no matter how much I shouted, I was ignored.

“Let’s keep going!” Elijah shouted, suddenly appearing at my side. “If we split up, we can find him.”

“Find who exactly?” Rebecca asked unhappily. “We didn’t get a good look at the guy!”

“It must have been Graham though, right?” Mae asked hopefully.

I started to push through the crowd, but the job was difficult as random hands kept grabbing me, trying to pull me into their celebrations. As annoying as it was, I just had to hope that Graham was experiencing the same difficulties and getting nowhere.

I jumped when I suddenly heard a loud, commanding tone.

“Police business! Everyone move out of the way immediately!”

Nadia’s powerful voice worked where mine had failed, and some of the people started to move out of the way to give us space. We all managed to get past them, but once we reached the other side of the crowd, I saw no one who looked like the hooded figure.

I’ve lost him... I thought in despair. I had one chance, one chance of finding him and bringing him in... and I blew it.

As the reality hit me that I was too late, I fell to my knees and screamed into my hands. I felt hands touching my shoulders, but I was so consumed by my rage and sorrow that I couldn’t tell who it was.

I knew how important this moment was, and now Graham had gotten away. He knew we were onto him, and now I was certain of one thing...

Lylah and Faye were in a lot more danger than before... and I now had no way of finding them.

29

The five of us walked back to the car in silence, all feeling dejected by our failure. I’d been so close to Graham—he was barely an inch in front of me—and yet he’d managed to escape my clutches.

If only I’d been a bit fitter and a bit faster, then he wouldn’t have escaped. Forest had told me I should have left this case to the young ones. Lylah had told me it was time to forget about cases and enjoy my retirement. It was clear they had both been right.

I wasn’t good enough to catch a criminal anymore, and if I’d been enjoying my retirement instead of digging up the past, Lylah and Faye would be with me right now instead of in the hands of a monstrous killer.

It was my fault they’d been taken, it was because of me that Graham had been able to get away, and now I would have to live with that knowledge forever.

My poor girls... I thought morosely. I’m so sorry for letting you both down.

“Right, so what do we do now?” Elijah asked.

I looked at him, feeling shocked by his optimistic tone. I’d always known Elijah was an energetic person, but I couldn’t believe he somehow still had hope. How could he not see that we had one shot at finding them… and we’d just blown it?

“There’s nothing we can do,” I answered dejectedly. “Catching Graham unawares was the only advantage we had, but now he knows we’re onto him... he’s probably moving Faye and Lyles as we speak.”

Rebecca stepped in front of me, and to my surprise, smacked me on the arm.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“To snap you out of it!” Rebecca exclaimed.

I scoffed and folded my arms. “As you have clearly failed to notice, we have only one suspect and they’ve just escaped us... what exactly is there to be positive about?”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “This is classic Sean, this is. Instead of trying to figure out a way to resolve the issue you just fixate on the negatives.” She stepped closer to me, her expression annoyed. “How is any of that going to help us find Faye and Lylah?”

I felt my eyes start to sting, so I blinked away the tears. “It isn’t, but what am I supposed to do, Rebecca? I just lost him! I let him get away!”

“It wasn’t your fault, Sean,” Rebecca replied calmly.

“Aye, it was! He was right there, and I wasn’t quick enough! If I was, then our lead suspect would be in custody right now and we’d be one step closer to finding Lyles and Faye, but we’re further away from saving them than ever!”

“None of us caught him, mate,” Elijah said kindly. “It wasn’t just you.”

Tears were streaming down my face, but I didn’t feel any embarrassment or shame. I loved my family, and I’d let them down in the worst possible way... the least they deserved was my tears.

Nadia stroked my arm. “We will find them, Sean. I promise you.”

I pulled away from her to wipe my eyes. “Lyles told me to drop this case... she told me I was getting obsessive over it and that all she wanted was to just enjoy my retirement with me.” I felt my nose starting to run, so I hurriedly ran the back of my hand along it. “If I’d been a good husband to her, I’d have listened... I’d have put her needs first instead of being so goddamn pig-headed⁠—”

“Why change the pattern of a lifetime?” Rebecca asked cheekily.

Usually her sense of humour would have softened me, but I was so overcome with emotion that her words simply bounced off me like water off a duck’s back.

“It was the same with Faye,” I said glumly. “She wanted me to drop this too, but I didn’t. She only got dragged into this because she wanted to help me... if I was any kind of father I’d have pushed her as far away from this as possible, I’d have protected her.”

“You have looked out for that girl her entire life, Sean,” Rebecca said candidly. “No one can ever deny what a great father you’ve been.”

I laughed coldly. “If I was a good father, I’d have kept her safe! Instead, I let her get taken by some sicko and I have no idea if she’s still... if she’s even...”

I couldn’t say the words.

Nadia looked close to tears herself. “Sean... don’t do this to yourself.”

“I have to! Who am I if I can’t even protect my own family?”

Rebecca grabbed me and shook me. “You’re Sean friggin’ Ellis, for crying out loud! The same Sean Ellis who has captured multiple murderers and criminals, the same Sean Ellis who would do anything for the ones he loves!” She let go of my arms, but her near black eyes kept fixed on my own. “You love Faye and Lylah, right? So get over this setback and just think about what we can do to help them! If anyone knows what to do… it is you, Sean.”

Mae stepped forward. “She’s right, you know. We may not have gotten along right away, but I always knew you were the best detective. I respected you from the very beginning.”

“If it helps, I think it’s a rite of passage to dislike Sean when you first meet him. We definitely didn’t get along,” Rebecca answered.

I looked at her sharply, but Rebecca noticed the slight humour in my eyes, which caused her to smile.

“That’s more like it!” she exclaimed happily. “Now let’s focus and figure out our next steps, yeah?”

Elijah stepped toward me with a soft expression. “What do we do now then, mate?”

I rubbed my wet face and took some deep breaths. As angry as I still was, I knew the others were right. I had to keep focused and not let the loss of Graham get to me. We may have lost him, but we had to work together to figure out where he could have gone...

And for that we needed someone who knew him.

I turned to Nadia. “I think there’s only one thing we can do now... we need to speak to Larry.”

Nadia smiled at me. “An excellent suggestion.”

I nodded, then glanced around everyone sheepishly. “Look, I’m sorry for⁠—”

Rebecca held her hand out to silence me. “We can listen to your pathetic apologies after we save Lylah and Faye, alright?”

In spite of everything, I grinned at her. “Right!”

30

As we walked to the car, Nadia got out her phone and instantly started to make some calls. She organised for an unmarked police car to keep close to Graham’s house and to contact her if anyone turned up there. She also had some PCs bring Larry into an interview room to wait for us until we got back. By the time we’d made it to the car, Nadia had organised everything. We could hit the ground running as soon as we arrived at the station.

“So from what Nadia told us it sounds like you’ve spoken to Larry quite a lot, Sean?” Elijah inquired as we drove.

“Aye, this case reopened because I received an anonymous letter pointing me toward his pub. I met him the first night I went there, and I’ve seen him a few times since then.”

“Are we sure we can trust him?” Mae asked shrewdly.

There was an awkward pause.

“Sean has from the start, but I’ve always been less convinced,” Nadia responded.

Mae looked at me. “Why?”

“His gut probably,” Rebecca responded playfully.

I nudged Rebecca in the rib before answering. “He just seemed keen to help me from the start and aye, my gut has never been suspicious of him.”

“Do you think he knows his brother is behind all of this?” Mae continued, her expression still filled with scepticism. “It just seems odd for him to have confessed unless he wanted to protect him.”

I kept quiet. Mae’s question had been at the forefront of my mind ever since Graham became our number one suspect. Larry had professed his innocence until the last minute, meaning something had pushed him to do so. Had Graham somehow got to Larry and threatened him? Had Larry, in a desperate attempt to save his brother, decided to confess in order to spare Graham a life sentence?

I’d have been more inclined to see Larry as a gentle soul willing to protect his family no matter what the cost, but his final words to me kept swimming around my mind.

Then you’ve doomed us all.

Larry didn’t sound like a man desperate to help a loved one, he sounded like a man who was frightened. A man who felt like my persistence was going to cause everyone issues.

And he was right.

Had he known my family would be at risk if I continued trying to help him? Was that why he’d been so determined for me to stop this?

I felt a hand suddenly grip my own, and I turned to see Rebecca looking at me, her dark eyes shining with determination. I squeezed her hand back and smiled at her.

“It’s good to be working with you again,” I said affectionately. “I have to admit I was disappointed when you left.”

Rebecca snorted. “I know, you didn’t exactly hide that from me at the time, but you know why I had to.”

I nodded glumly and squeezed her hand again.

The last case Rebecca had worked on resulted in the death of her long-term partner, Jude Aisling. He’d been targeted due to her high involvement in the case. After that, Rebecca couldn’t stomach working anymore, so she decided to leave and do something that brought her happiness.

“I guess I can now understand more how that made you feel,” I answered.

Rebecca sighed. “I’m sorry you have to, Sean. I never wanted any of you to go through what I did.”

“Let’s just hope things end differently this time around.”

Rebecca looked at me sharply. “They will, Sean. Lylah and Faye are going to be okay.”

“Of course they will,” Mae said confidently. “We know Graham is likely our guy. We just have to find him.”

“What about a warrant to search his home?” Elijah suggested. “The more we know about him the better chance we have of figuring out where he’s holding Lyles and Faye.”

Nadia clicked her tongue. “It’s difficult... I want to, but as things stand we don’t have reasonable cause to do so.”

Rebecca looked at her in shock. “How? He’s a killer!”

Nadia paused thoughtfully, so I jumped in. “As much as I hate it, Nads is right.” Everyone turned to look at me in surprise, including Nadia who glanced at me through the mirror. “We are certain he’s our guy, but without proof of that a warrant would be denied. It likely won’t prove anything anyway... our killer has been one step ahead of us for over twenty years, so it’s not like they’re going to just leave evidence somewhere for us to find.”

Elijah groaned. “Yeah, I see your point.”

We arrived at the station shortly after, and none of us wasted any time climbing out of the car and rushing to our old department. Once we pushed the door open, the new Victoria Way team turned to us with shocked expressions. They all took in the new people around me and kept quiet.

“Has Larry been brought up?” I asked.

“Yes, he’s in interview room two with some PCs,” Victoria answered.

I thanked her, then looked around at Nadia, Rebecca, Elijah, and Mae. “We can’t all go in there. Since Nads and I are the only ones who’ve spoken to Larry before, I think it has to be us.”

Everyone agreed.

“The rest of you stay with the team here and let them get you up to date on everything they’ve found,” I said.

“And you can fill us in on what’s just happened,” Avery asked curiously.

“Will do,” Elijah responded.

Nadia and I rushed to the interview room. When I stepped inside, the first thing I noticed was that Larry was still wearing the same clothes from before and he was starting to smell. The stench of body odour and sweat lingered unpleasantly around the room, and I had to fight the urge to crinkle my nose. At the sound of the door opening, Larry glanced at me and Nadia, and I could tell from the way his eyes moved around that he was nervous.

“What am I doing here, Sean?” Larry asked as Nadia and I sat down opposite him.

“How long have you known that your brother was our killer?” I asked bluntly.

Larry’s thick eyebrows rose in shock. He was silent for a few seconds, and I knew his mind was working quickly, likely trying to come up with some more lies to spew at us. However, when he did eventually reply, he left me surprised.

“You mentioned the folder.” Larry looked at Nadia. “I knew what that folder was. I was certain Graham must have taken it.”

“And just from that you knew he was the killer?” Nadia asked in surprise.

Larry nodded. He then lowered his head, and I could see his eyes were shining with tears. “That was a folder I’ve kept for years... a personal one. One with memories from a better time.”

“What was in it?” I asked.

“Photos, family photos mostly,” Larry answered. “Pictures of me and Graham when we were younger, pictures of us with our parents, and a lot of childhood photos.” He sighed. “There was also a document in there which mentioned some of the work Graham had done for me at the pub over the years, and I knew only he would have any reason to take it.”

I edged closer toward him, my expression filled with sorrow. “Why didn’t you just tell us the truth instead of lying for him, Larry? Because of your choice another woman is dead and⁠—”

Larry’s eyes went wide. “He’s killed again! I-I thought if I took the fall that he’d stop, that other women would be safe! I knew he was trying to make it look like I was guilty, so I was certain if I took the fall this madness would end.”

“The woman he murdered was Vanessa Reed, and she worked at the Bucking Bronco Pub.” I hesitated, my heart hurting at the thought of her. “She was a good woman who, like you, tried to help me solve this case. Because of that she ended up targeted and killed. She was a young woman whose life had barely begun... and because of your brother it’s now over.”

“I told you… you’d doom us all if you didn’t drop this, Sean.” Larry put his face into his large hands. “Graham did everything he could to make me look guilty. I was certain if I just allowed myself to get arrested he’d feel like he’d won... but he must have figured out you weren’t willing to let things go.”

I glared at him. “So this is my fault, is it?”

Larry dropped his hands quickly, looking at me in shock. “No! That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, that’s what it sounded like,” I answered harshly. “You lied and hindered a police investigation, which has led to the death of a woman and the kidnapping of my wife and daughter… and yet you’re trying to make it seem like I caused all of this.”

Larry swore repeatedly as he rubbed his shaved head. Eventually, he calmed down enough to speak. “I know my brother and when I realised he was the man behind the deaths… I knew I had to try and stop him.” He paused, his eyes swimming in fear. “Graham is obsessive and determined, and once he has his sights set on something nothing will stop him. He’s hated me for a long time, and it’s clear he was committed to seeing me arrested. I knew if you continued to try and help me that it would make him angry. I-I didn’t want him turning his attention onto you and the people you love... so I thought if I said it was me people would be safe.”

“Well, it’s too late for that,” I answered harshly. “The ones I love are already in danger, Larry, so you have to be honest from now on if we have any chance of saving them.”

“Graham has killed people, likely before we even realized, and he will kill again,” Nadia said candidly.

Larry quirked his brows in surprise. “What, you think he’s killed other people before all of this?”

“What can you tell us about Quinn Riley?” Nadia asked, her question taking me by surprise.

The question clearly took Larry by surprise too. He looked between us, his skin paling. “W-why are you asking about her?”

“She was your fiancée, right?” Nadia pressed.

Larry looked away from her. “That was a lifetime ago.”

“I’m going to cut to the point of this,” I said bluntly. “When we were looking into you, we found her… and it seems as if no one has seen or heard from her since your engagement ended.”

Larry quickly shook his head. “No! She isn’t dead, I swear!”

“Then start talking,” Nadia replied.

Larry rubbed his quickly growing stubble roughly. It took him a few moments to compose himself, but once he started talking, I realized he’d been holding this all in for a long time, desperate to talk about it but having no one to speak to. “I fell in love with Quinn the moment I set eyes on her. I didn’t want to, but she was impossible not to love. I knew she felt the same way, only our relationship came with... difficulties.”

“What sort of difficulties?” I pressed.

Larry lowered his head guiltily. “When I first met her she was dating Graham.”

“So you stole her from him?” Nadia inquired.

Larry avoided our eyes. “It sounds awful when you say it like that... but I suppose I did.”

“I guess Graham didn’t take that very well?” I pressed.

“No, he didn’t.” Larry sighed. “I knew he wouldn’t, so Quinn and I agreed we had to be careful with how we went about things. She ended things with Graham, then the two of us dated secretly for a while, but the fact was I loved her, and I wanted to share that with the world.” He paused. “I was a prat and thought that once Graham saw we were in love, he’d understand. I mean, they’d barely dated a few months, but when I announced we were engaged, he was absolutely furious.”

“There’s a lot I could say, but the main point is that Graham lost it, shouting that he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t enough and wasn’t worthy of her love,” Larry continued, his voice shaking slightly the more he spoke. “He told me he hated her and was going to make sure she suffered for hurting him, that we both would... it was then that he started to hate me… and that only grew over the years.” He paused, his eyes shining from the hurt of that memory. “I knew Graham had anger issues, and I was terrified of what he would do to Quinn. I told her as much and she tried to brush it off, tried to tell me I was worrying over nothing. She was proud of our relationship and even went so far as to get it put in the local paper, something I told her would only increase Graham’s outrage. She was confident, more confident than I could ever be, and she wanted to live fearlessly and openly with me, but one day she was driving, and she almost got into an accident. H-Her brakes weren’t working. I looked at her car and saw right away they’d been tampered with, and I knew it had to be Graham.”

“You think he tried to kill her?” I queried in disgust.

Larry bit his lip. “I didn’t know then if he wanted to kill her, but I knew he was angry enough that he could. Quinn and I spoke, and we realised she wasn’t safe. If we had any chance of being alright… it meant we had to end the engagement and never see each other again.” His lip trembled, and I knew he still carried the heartbreak of that moment with him now. “As we came up with a plan, things got worse and she started to receive death threats, angry letters, and worse.”

Larry’s voice trailed off.

“Worse how?” Nadia asked.

Larry wiped his eyes. “S-she had a-acid thrown on her.”

Nadia and I both gaped in shock.

“Was this not reported?” I questioned.

“No, because we d-didn’t know what to do, we felt she’d never be safe since she’d rejected him!” Larry exclaimed. “The acid left her with severe burns down her face and arm, but luckily she survived. As things had gotten a lot worse than we thought, we knew just ending our engagement wasn’t enough... we knew she would have to leave and start a new life away from… everyone.” He cried silently. “We both hated the thought, but it was the only way to ensure her safety.”

There was a tense, emotional silence at his words.

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, Larry, but how do we know this is true?” Nadia asked. “How do we know you didn’t get rid of her yourself and you’re just spinning us a story to protect yourself?”

“Look up Billie Jetson,” Larry answered. “When she left, she told me she was moving to somewhere in Wales, but we haven’t contacted one another since.” He paused glumly. “It was the only way to ensure Graham could never find her.”

Nadia stood up and spoke to one of the PCs standing behind Larry. The PC nodded and left the room.

Nadia sat back down. “My PC is going to tell our team about this, and they will look into it.”

“Whatever you do, just don’t let Graham know, please!” Larry begged.

“We can’t let him know anything… because he escaped us,” I said bitterly. “We went to his house and tried to confront him, but he ran away. We lost him.”

Larry swore. “I’m sorry to hear that... I know him, and he won’t return home now, not when he knows you’re on to him.”

“Then where could he be, Larry?” I asked pleadingly. “I have to find my wife and child.”

“I really wish I could help you, mate, but I honestly don’t know where he would keep them,” Larry answered guiltily. “After what he did to Quinn, I always kept nice with him, but equally kept him at a distance... just to make sure he didn’t try to do anything to me. I made no effort to really know him, so I don’t know where he goes, what he likes to do, or anything like that.”

My spirit was crushed at his words. Graham was out there somewhere, and the one person who I thought could help me find him was just as clueless as I was.

Nadia, however, remained determined. “There must be something you can tell us, Mr. Arnold, just think! You owe it to Sean after lying to us and allowing your brother to take Lylah and Faye.”

“Alright, alright!” Larry exclaimed. He was silent as he drummed his fingers on the table. Eventually, he swore and shook his head. “I’m trying, alright? But I dunno where he could be!”

“Does he have an area he feels safe in?” Nadia continued to press. “Somewhere he would stay if he wanted to be left alone?”

Larry shook his head.

There was silence between us as we all thought.

“The one thing that’s bugged me throughout all of this is why now?” I asked thoughtfully. “Graham was hurt by you when you were young, and he’s been building up ammunition to destroy you for years. He could have seen you arrested at any point, yet he chose now... now after over twenty years, hell, longer than that if you take Quinn into account.”

Larry scoffed. “I think I know why.”

Nadia and I looked at him hopefully.

“I’m not sure if you saw when you were digging into us all, but my mum passed away recently,” Larry continued. “She always saw a darkness in Graham just like I did, and he knew it. It pushed him to try extra hard with her, even going so far as caring for her… not allowing anyone else to go near her when she was dying so she had no choice but to rely on him.” Larry’s expression darkened, and I could tell he hated Graham for keeping him away from his mother as she slowly approached death. “Anyway, when she died… all of her possessions went to me. Graham was furious about that…” He sighed. “The solicitors are still making their way through Mum’s will, so if it comes out I’m a convicted murderer then everything will pass to Graham.”

“Wow, he must have really wanted her belongings,” I muttered.

Larry laughed coldly. “I don’t know why... mum’s house is small and in the middle of nowhere, so it isn’t exactly like he’ll get a lot for it.” He shook his head coldly. “No, it isn’t the stuff he wants, it’s the power and control.”

My eyes widened, and I looked at Nadia. Her eyes quickly moved to my own, and from her expression I knew she was thinking the same thing. A house in the middle of nowhere would be the perfect place to hold hostages without being disturbed.

“Ta for your time, Larry,” I said hastily.

Larry looked confused. “You’re going?”

“You’ve given us an idea, and we need to look into it right away,” I answered.

Larry stood up quickly, the remaining PC went to stop him, but I held my hand up to say it was fine. Larry looked at me, his eyes filled with remorse. “I thought I was protecting you and everyone by taking the blame... I really hope your family will be okay.”

For a moment I held his gaze, feeling consumed by conflicting emotions. I’d always liked Larry, had seen the best in him, and while I now knew he’d made a false confession in a misguided attempt at saving people, he had ultimately hindered the investigation and caused a lot of confusion and doubt. He had lied to everyone, allowing his brother multiple opportunities to strike.

“You made a false confession, Mr. Arnold, an act which caused us to lose focus on who the real killer could be,” Nadia said coldly, saving me from making a response. “While your intentions may have been good, I hope you realise that your lies have allowed the death of an innocent woman and the kidnapping of two others... for your sake, Mr. Arnold, I hope they will both be alive when we find them, because if they aren’t… I will be holding you personally responsible.” She glared at him. “Is that clear?”

Larry lowered his head, but didn’t say another word. Nadia tapped my back and gestured for us to go. I caught Larry's eye. It was clear he was consumed with guilt, but I also knew Nadia was right. Larry wasn’t a murderer, but that didn’t make him innocent, and no matter what happened with my family I knew I had to wake up and start putting blame at Larry’s feet.

He’d lied and protected a man for years, all for love, and that love had cost him everything.

I just had to hope it wasn’t about to cost me everything too.

31

“Please tell me you got something,” Elijah said hopefully as soon as Nadia and I entered the department once more. We’d both been silent during the brief walk, immersed in our anger and determination. Nadia especially seemed angered by Larry’s poor choices.

As I looked at him nervously clutching his chest, it wasn’t hard to remember the fact that he and Lylah had always been close, practically inseparable. I’d never forget how terrified Lylah was when Elijah had been taken by Thomas Moore. It was odd seeing the role reversal this time around, and I hoped this case would have the same ending that Elijah’s did.

Instead of answering, I looked past him toward the team at their desks. “I need one of you to find information on Larry’s mother. We need her address right away.”

“I’m on it, sir!” Simon exclaimed eagerly, looking around at the others as though daring them to take this opportunity away from him.

“Ta, lad,” I answered.

“So you think Lylah and Faye are being held there?” Rebecca queried.

Nadia stepped away, gesturing with her head to show me she was grabbing some PCs to take Larry away. I nodded, then turned back to Rebecca. “Aye, we are hoping so.”

“Hoping?” Mae asked disappointedly. “So you don’t know?”

“Unfortunately not,” I mumbled. “Larry made it clear he doesn’t really know his brother very well, but he told us all about Graham’s sinister past with his ex-fiancée… and how it’s made him keep a bit of a protective wall up against his brother in order to survive.” I glanced around at everyone in the room, raising my voice to ensure everyone could hear me. “It’s become apparent that Larry figured out his brother was the killer after he heard about the missing folder. He decided to confess, hoping that Graham would stop being a threat to others if he saw his brother getting punished for everything he’d done.”

There was a shocked silence among the group.

Elijah swore. “What a stupid thing to do! He should have just told us and let us arrest his brother!”

I sighed. “Unfortunately, I agree with you. I’ve spent too long trying to save that man, but his misguided actions have caused us a whole wave of crap.... I dunno why he didn’t just tell us. Maybe he thought we wouldn’t have enough evidence against Graham, maybe he just didn’t trust us to stop him, but either way he’s made his choice. He’ll have to live with it.”

Maddison cleared her throat and stood up from her desk. “Speaking of Larry’s ex-fiancée, we were able to confirm he was telling the truth about her.”

I looked at her hopefully. “Really?”

Maddison nodded. “I spoke to her myself. She was shocked—to say the least—and pleaded with me to save Larry, but she confirmed his story. She said she wouldn’t doubt Graham’s guilt for a second.”

After all of these years they’re still trying to protect one another, I thought. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

“Simon had no luck contacting her family before, but we eventually got in touch with her mother. She admitted that she thought her daughter was dead and had been trying to find her for decades,” Avery said, his expression sorrowful.

“I guess that will be one good thing we can get from all of this,” Mae muttered. “Once we get Graham, we can let Quinn know it’s safe for her to come back and see her family again.”

I nodded, holding onto that small ray of light in an otherwise pitch black sky.

Simon stood up and moved toward me, a piece of paper clutched tightly in his fist. “Here’s the address, sir.”

Nadia rejoined us as I grabbed the address from Simon. “PCs are on their way to take Larry. What’s the plan now? I know we need to find this house, but who is going with you, Sean?”

I smiled weakly, knowing the answer right away. “My old team.” I looked apologetically at the new Victoria Way team. “I’m sorry, you lot, but I know Lylah and Faye will welcome these familiar faces.”

Avery and Simon looked disappointed, but they accepted my decision with good grace.

Elijah nodded solemnly. “Anything for Lylah and Faye.”

Nadia instantly got into work mode. “Then let’s all get going then!”

We all set off together, the others shouting luck at us as we charged out of the department.

“Let’s have the address, Sean,” Nadia asked, holding her hand out behind her as she continued to walk. I put it in her hand.

“Hmm,” Nadia said as she read it. “I can’t say I recognise it. Let’s hope it isn’t too far away.”

We made it to Nadia’s car and got settled. Nadia put the address into the satnav, then looked at it in confusion.

“Hmm... it’s giving me a rough location, but it doesn’t seem to completely recognise it.”

I bit my lip nervously. “Let’s just hope it will be enough.”

I saw that the address was almost forty minutes away, which made me groan.

“It’s fine, Sean, that time will fly by,” Rebecca said supportively.

I gave her a grateful look in the mirror as Nadia drove us away from the station. The journey was silent, but as we were all so familiar with one another, the lack of sound was far from awkward. I knew—like me—they were all getting their heads in the game. I glanced at the clock on Nadia’s radio and realised it would be evening by the time we arrived.

Graham always reveals his victims in the morning, I thought. Hopefully, we aren’t too late for his… evening plans.

We were close to the address when Elijah suddenly spoke.

“Right, so what is our game plan here? We have no weapons, we have no idea where this place is, and we don’t know what we’re about to find.”

“Positive, El,” Mae said sarcastically.

I saw Elijah’s face redden in the mirror. “I’m not trying to be negative! I just want to be prepared.”

“I suggest we see what we’re dealing with first, then come up with a plan accordingly,” I responded. “I hate not knowing everything too, but until we see the sort of house Graham’s mother owned… it’s impossible to say what to do.”

After another ten minutes, I started to worry when Nadia’s satnav led her down a small country road that seemed to go on into nothing. Just when I was readying myself to ask if we should turn back, Rebecca gasped.

“That must be it ahead!”

I squinted ahead, my eyes finally locking on to what Rebecca had seen. It was a small house, barely bigger than a cottage, and it looked as though it was one strong gust of wind away from completely collapsing. Even under the fading light of day, it was clear even from a distance that the house was incredibly rundown. With the empty setting surrounding it, it looked like the sort of place you’d expect to see in a horror movie. I found it hard to believe an elderly woman had been living there practically alone for god only knew how many years... it was in no state for anyone to be living in.

“I can’t see any vehicles there, can you?” Nadia asked.

“That means he isn’t here, right?” Elijah asked.

“I hope so,” Mae responded. “Maybe we can quickly get in there and look for Lylah and Faye.”

While part of me was glad there was no car there, another part of me was deeply concerned. Were we too late? Had Graham already taken Lylah and Faye away from here?

“Find somewhere to park up,” I said. “We don’t want to get too close to the house. Someone might see us.”

“Good thinking,” Nadia responded.

Nadia sensibly drove a safe distance away from the house and parked the car close to a tree, which would obscure it from inside of the house. As she parked up, I turned around and looked at everyone in the back.

“The place is small, so I suggest we split up and search it in two groups,” I said calmly. “Rebecca and I can take the front, you three can take the back.”

“Sounds good to me,” Nadia said as she turned off the car’s engine.

“Do we have any radios?” Mae inquired.

I glanced at Nadia, who shook her head.

“The place is small, so if we get into any trouble it should be easy enough for us to hear one another,” I replied.

Everyone agreed, so we quietly made our way out of the car. I made some movements with my hands to signal where to go and I was glad when Nadia, Elijah, and Mae quickly understood and started veering to the left while Rebecca and I veered right.

It was moments like this that reminded me what a good team we were. We were like a well-oiled machine and even after so many years it felt natural to slip back into a pattern. I knew I could direct them effortlessly and that they would trust my orders without question. With Lylah and Faye’s safety at stake, I couldn’t risk anything less than a team who truly knew me.

Rebecca and I moved quietly but swiftly toward the front, keeping our bodies as low as possible in order to avoid detection. As we moved, I continuously glanced at the house, but the lights were off and there was no sign of movement.

Once we reached the front door, Rebecca positioned herself on the opposite side. We nodded at one another, and I cautiously grabbed the doorknob. I was slightly surprised when I realised the door was unlocked. It opened easily at my touch.

I sensed Rebecca tensing beside me, readying herself for anything that could happen. I pushed open the door and saw nothing but darkness. There were no moving shadows, no noise, no anything, so I stepped inside and gestured for Rebecca to follow me.

“Do you think it’s safe for us to use our phones as torches?” she asked, her voice so quiet it was difficult to hear.

I bit my lip thoughtfully, worried about being seen. However, after I heard the backdoor open and there was still no stirring from deeper inside the house, I decided it would be safe. I grabbed my phone from my pocket, put the torch on, and Rebecca’s phone light quickly joined it.

With lights in hand, we kept close to one another and gradually started to search our surroundings. After fifteen minutes of searching, I saw no sign of anyone being there recently. Was it possible I’d gotten this wrong and Graham hadn’t chosen this spot?

We bumped into the others, and as they shook their heads, I felt more deflated than ever.

“I don’t think they’re here,” Mae said unhappily.

Rebecca sighed. “Me neither... this isn’t exactly a big place and we’ve been around it twice now.”

“Three times,” Elijah muttered dejectedly.

“Should we get out of here?” Mae asked.

“No, we can’t leave yet,” I responded quickly. “Not until we’ve searched every inch of this place.”

Rebecca looked at me pityingly. “We have, Sean.”

I grumbled as I stepped toward a light switch in the hallway and turned it on. The blinds were closed, and it was evident no one was here, so I thought it was safe to give us more light.

“Let’s look again,” I said hastily. “There must be something here that can tell us where Graham could have gone.”

The four of them gave each other concerned looks, but they soon agreed and we all split up once more. I searched through every drawer I could find, pulled out the cushions on the sofa, searched behind the cabinets, and everywhere that I felt could have been concealing something. Everywhere was thick with dust, but I ignored it and continued looking. Each place I looked left me more disappointed than the last, but I knew I couldn’t leave.

Not without Lylah and Faye.

As I pushed the last cabinet back in place, I turned to see that the others had stopped looking and were watching me with sad expressions.

“Sean...” Rebecca muttered.

I swore. “I know, I know. They aren’t here.”

Mae bit her lip. “Apart from Graham’s own place… there’s nowhere else we can think to go. We can go back?”

Nadia nodded. “Right, I will call the station and request a search warrant, hopefully that won’t take⁠—”

“You’re kidding me, right?” I snapped. “We haven’t got time to wait, Nads! Lylah and Faye are with him at this very minute going through god only knows what!”

“He’s right,” Rebecca said quickly. “We didn’t exactly get a warrant for this place, did we? Who cares if we break the rules again.”

Nadia chewed her lip. “As this house is technically unoccupied, there’s a morally grey area where⁠—”

“Nadia, come on!” I exclaimed, stomping my foot in irritation. “We haven’t got time to⁠—”

I paused and looked down. When I stomped, I accidentally moved the rug that was in the hallway. Suddenly, I could see what looked like lines on the floor.

“Could that be a—” Rebecca muttered.

“Door, aye!” I interrupted.

I moved to the ground and gestured for everyone to move the rug. As they pulled it completely out of the way, I traced my fingers and eyes along the lines in the wood until I quickly found some hinges.

“It’s a hatch!” I exclaimed, keeping my voice quiet in case Graham happened to be down there.

“This could be it!” Elijah squealed eagerly.

Nadia had the sense to run over and turn the light off, just in case it alerted anyone downstairs to our arrival. I turned on my phone light and nodded to her appreciatively.

I took a deep breath and slid my nails around the lines until I found an area I could grip. I then pulled the wood upward, pulling the door of the hatch open. Once it was out of the way, I saw a small drop to another door.

I took a deep breath, then looked at the others. “I’ll go first... you lot just cover me and be prepared, alright?”

I was happy when no one disagreed with me. As much as I knew they all cared for Lylah and Faye, this was my wife and child. I had to lead the way.

I slowly lowered myself into the ground, ensuring I was as quiet as possible when my feet touched the floor. Once I was there, I moved cautiously toward the door and pressed my ear up against it. I couldn’t hear anything, but I wasn’t going to trust the silence without using my sight.

I slowly opened the door and looked down to see some stairs. Although it was dark, there was clearly a light on and, while it was dim, I knew it would be enough to guide me. I quickly turned off my phone light, pocketed my phone, then prepared myself. As I made my way toward the stairs, I waved my hand behind my back as a gesture for the others to start following me. I kept my eyes ahead, not even looking to see if they’d seen me.

I edged toward the stairs and started to slowly take them one at a time. My heart pounded in my chest, and I just hoped everything was going to be okay.

After an agonising couple of minutes, I arrived in what looked like some form of basement. As I rounded the last few stairs, which turned slightly around a corner, my eyes and mouth widened in horror at the sight in front of me.

Lylah was there, attached to a chair and wearing nothing but her underwear. She had a piece of fabric lodged in her mouth and her eyes were opened wide with fright. I then looked at what was beside her… and it took everything I had to not roar in fury at the sight of my daughter.

Faye was still dressed, but I could see blood coating her clothes, body, and chair. Her head was pointing toward the floor and she wasn’t moving.

Christ... please don’t be dead, love!

At the sight of them both, my years of training as a detective went out the window. I knew I should be cautious, but all I cared about was getting to them.

My eyes glued were glued to my wife’s frightened gaze as I rushed toward her. I was so focused on getting to her, I didn’t register her grunts of warning until they were too late.

As soon as I was off the stairs and on the floor, I felt a large frame knock into me. The impact sent me flying, and I smacked into the stairs with a sickening crunch. However, adrenaline helped me instantly jump back up. I looked at my attacker, unsurprised to see Graham Arnold standing in front of me. I readied myself to fight him, but I hesitated at the sound of a new voice. It was coming from the opposite side of the room from Lylah and Faye.

“Detective! Thank god you’re here! You have to save me!”

I froze at the sound of that familiar voice.

It was a voice I’d listened to on many occasions, but hadn’t heard properly in years.

32

It was Marika Dabrowska.

I couldn’t believe it! I’d been convinced for days now that she’d been murdered. I was shocked to know after so many years that she hadn’t been killed, but I was grateful to know she hadn’t turned into one of Graham’s victims.

She looked at me with terrified eyes and gestured toward Graham. “That man is crazy, Detective! He’s had me locked up here for years! You’ve got to get us out of here!”

Although she looked skinnier and weaker than the photos and videos I’d seen of her—likely from years of being trapped down here—she thankfully wasn’t tied up. I quickly turned my focus back to Graham and readied myself to fight him.

“Get to Lylah and Faye, Marika! Untie them and get that rag out of Lylah’s mouth while I deal with this monster!”

I heard Marika move quickly, but I kept my eyes on Graham.

Graham smiled at me. “What took you so long, Ellis?”

“Shut it,” I snarled. “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done to my family!”

I heard the sound of slow footsteps, and I knew the others were coming.

Luckily, Graham was so focused on toying with me that he didn’t seem to notice.

“If only you’d been a bit quicker, Ellis,” Graham said coolly. “You might have been able to save your daughter.”

My blood went cold at his words, and it felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.

No... she couldn’t be dead! He was lying!

“Don’t play with me, Graham!” I spat.

“Why would I stop after two decades, Ellis?” Graham asked cheerfully. “Have you not enjoyed my little games?”

“Murder isn’t a game,” I responded angrily. “You killed innocent women!”

Graham glared at me. The change in him was so drastic it was terrifying. When he was toying with me, he looked just like Larry—a large, friendly giant—but now it felt like I was staring into the face of a monster.

“None of them were innocent, I can assure you! They all got what they deserved!”

I moved further into the room, keeping my eyes on Graham and positioning my body in order to make it so Graham’s back would be to the stairs. My shoulder was starting to scream in pain from the fall, but I knew I had to keep focused.

“And what about Vanessa Reed?” I asked coldly. “You didn’t even know her.”

To my shock, something like remorse flickered on his face. “You’re right there, Ellis... I hadn’t wanted to kill her, but you’d left me with no choice.”

I scoffed. “You made the choice to murder a good person, Graham, not me.”

He sighed and raised his fists. “All you had to do was let my worthless brother go to prison, Ellis... I’d made it so easy for you. I gave you all of the clues, the evidence, and even that wasn’t enough for you.” He paused. “No one else had to get hurt if you just allowed things to go how they were meant to.”

“Larry didn’t murder anyone. Did you really expect me to let someone go to jail for crimes you committed?”

“I thought your wife and child would be incentive enough, but unfortunately it wasn’t.” Graham sighed sadly. “And now you all have to die.”

Just as Graham went to step toward me, Elijah had reached the bottom of the stairs. He jumped on Graham’s back and forced him onto the ground. As the two tussled, Rebecca, Nadia, and Mae rushed to Elijah’s aid and together they were able to get Graham in handcuffs and pull him to his feet.

“It’s over, Graham,” I said smugly. “It’s all over.”

To my surprise, Graham caught my eye and laughed. There was a big grin on his face as he jerked his head toward Lylah. “You might want to rethink those words, Ellis.”

I quirked a brow, then turned toward Lylah and Faye. Once my eyes fell on Lylah, I gasped in horror.

Marika had listened to me and untied Lylah, but instead of helping her, she was now holding a knife to her throat. Her grin was just as manic as Graham’s.

“Poor, useless Detective Ellis,” Marika said mockingly. “He has such a hero complex that he sees everyone as a victim.” She giggled as she pushed the knife closer to Lylah’s throat. “Do I look like a victim now?”

I went to step toward her, but Marika slashed the knife across Lylah’s shoulder before placing it back to her throat. I stopped at the sound of Lylah’s screams of agony and raised my hands defensively.

“No! Please, don’t hurt my wife!”

Marika jerked her head toward Faye. “Be a good boy, Ellis, and your darling wife won’t need to succumb to the same fate as your daughter.”

I felt my eyes growing warm, but I rapidly blinked away my tears.

I wanted to believe Marika was bluffing, that she was saying anything she could to get into my head, but I took one look into Lylah’s heartbroken eyes and knew she wasn’t lying.

Faye was dead... and it was all my fault.

I expected to be angry, to want to charge at Marika and kill her, but all I felt was heartache. The only thing I cared about now was protecting Lylah. I’d lost one woman... I couldn’t lose the other.

I sighed brokenly. “What do you want?”

“Good boy.” Marika continued to cling to Lylah, holding the knife close to her throat as she pushed Lylah’s chair away with her foot and took a couple of steps forward. “I want you to uncuff Graham and let us go.”

I saw her eyes go to Graham, and the way she looked at him filled me with revulsion. She was looking at him like a puppy looked at its master, desperate for any form of affection or praise.

“You care about him?” I asked in disgust.

Marika glared at me. “The others didn’t see Graham for who he truly was... but I did. I knew I was looking at a great man, a man who could take me places, and I knew I had to be with him forever.” She gritted her teeth. “Angela, Lydia, and Nadia had all been fools! They strung Graham along, made him feel like they wanted him, then tossed him to the side like he was nothing!”

“So that’s why they had to die, was it?” I asked coldly, looking at Graham. “Just because they didn’t want to be with you anymore?”

Graham snarled. “All they had to do was love me and be faithful to me! I didn’t ask for much from them.”

“They deserved it!” Marika exclaimed. “But their loss was my gain.”

I looked at Marika with pity. “You may still be alive, Marika, but you’re as much a victim in all of this as they were.” I hesitated, giving her an imploring look. “Can’t you see this man has brainwashed you? People have believed you were missing for years and all because he–” I pointed at Graham. “Wanted to keep you for himself.”

Marika looked at me sadly. “You’re wrong, Detective. He loves me, he is there for me, and he is all I need.”

“What about Agata?” I asked. “Don’t you care about your sister?”

Marika’s features didn’t shift. “No, not when I have him.”

“She’s spent years searching for you, did you know that?” I asked. “She never once gave up hope you’d come home.”

Marika still remained unbothered. “She was a necessary loss for me to live my life with Graham.”

“Don’t you care that he’s killed people?” Nadia asked.

Marika laughed. The sound was so cold it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Care? I love it! He’s taught me so much since I’ve known him.”

My eyes widened in shock. “What do you mean?”

“I wanted to be like him, but Graham was worried that I’d risk getting him caught,” she said calmly. “He would get me some animals for practice… I tortured them in this basement, but eventually that wasn’t enough for me.” She paused, looking at Graham with frightened eyes. “He got mad with me in the end because I wouldn’t let it go. I almost lost him, but I proved to him I was willing to listen and learn!” She glanced at Faye. “Graham was angry when he saw what I’d done to Faye, told me I was reckless and could get us both caught, but I was careful, and no one saw me.” She smiled. “Since I was good… he let me finish her off myself. Your darling wife had the pleasure of watching.”

I saw tears streaming down Lylah’s cheeks. My eyes went to Faye, and I felt my heart breaking all over again.

“Just let Lylah go, please,” I pleaded. “You’re in a room with several detectives, Marika, you must know there’s nowhere to run.”

“Just uncuff Graham, let us out of here, and I promise you I will let your wife go,” Marika responded. “It’s the only way she’s getting out of here alive.”

There was no way I was going to let that happen. If I let them leave, I was confident that Marika would slit Lylah’s throat and run the moment they were away from us. I still didn’t have a plan, so I had to stall until I came up with one.

“Marika, there must be a way that we can⁠—”

I stopped talking as Faye suddenly lunged forward in her chair and smacked right into Marika’s back. The impact caused Marika to loosen her hold on Lylah, and Lylah had the sense to shove Marika and run toward me.

As much as I wanted to pull Lylah into my arms and embrace her, I knew my priority was apprehending Marika so we could all be safe. I dodged past Lylah and charged at Marika.

“Check on Faye!” I roared as I ran at Marika.

I didn’t look to see if anyone had followed my command as my focus was completely on Marika. I knocked into her, pushing her to the ground. The knife flew out of her hands. Although Faye’s initial attack had shocked her, Marika had quickly recovered and had the strength to fight me right away. She pushed me off of her and raised her knee to kick me in the groin. Her knee made impact, and I groaned as I fell to the side. I was in agony, but I knew I had to quickly recover. I rolled around to meet her, but Marika jumped on me first, the knife now back in her hand. I held my hands out protectively to grab her wrist and managed to pull her hand away before she was able to stab me in the chest. Marika was strong, and kept going in for the kill, but each time she pulled out of my grasp I grabbed her back just as quickly.

But then… I failed.

The knife dug deep into my shoulder, and I screamed out in pain.

Marika had barely pierced the knife into my skin before she was pulling it out and readying herself to stab me again. She was quick, and with my injuries I knew I wouldn’t have the power to hold her off again.

The knife was barely a millimetre from my heart when Nadia and Rebecca suddenly grabbed Marika and pulled her off of me.

“No!” Marika screeched as she tried to fight off the two women.

She was no match for the two of them, and they were able to force Marika’s hands behind her back and cuff her. Rebecca then prised the knife out of Marika’s grasp and took it far away from her.

I went to stand, and Mae was at my side. “Are you okay?”

I gently pushed her away. “Forget about me! Faye! Look at Faye!”

As I was sitting up, I was able to see Lylah standing over Faye. She had untied her and placed Faye’s head on her knees, comforting her like she was a newborn child. I crawled toward her, blinking away my tears, finally able to take in the extent of her injuries. It was clear she’d been stabbed and slashed on multiple areas of her body, her skin was as white as snow from the blood loss, and her eyes kept flickering as though it took everything she had to keep awake.

I turned to ask Mae to call an ambulance, but when I looked at her, I realised she was already doing so.

“D-dad...”

I turned back to Faye and saw her eyes on me. Her breathing was ragged, and I knew the effort of talking was a challenge for her.

I moved closer to her and put my hand on her own. “Shh. Save your strength, love. The ambulance is on its way.”

Faye kept quiet, but I knew she had lost a lot of blood and time. I caught Lylah’s eyes and saw that she was crying. With my spare hand, I held hers and gripped it tightly.

“I knew you’d save us,” Lylah said tearfully. “I told Faye you would.”

“Always.” Tears fell down my face and neck, but I ignored them. “But it was Faye who truly saved us all.”

Faye remained unresponsive, and the sight destroyed me.

With difficulty, I moved my gaze from Lylah and Faye and looked around the room. Nadia was holding Marika, Mae and Rebecca were now coming over to see Faye, and Elijah was holding onto Graham.

I caught Graham’s eye, and he stared at me impassively. I clenched my teeth together as I looked at the man. If Faye ended up dying from her injuries…

I’d have no issue going to prison for killing him.

33

Although the paramedics arrived fifteen minutes later, every minute felt like a day as I watched the life slowly drain out of Faye.

They came down the stairs with Mae, and two of them rushed straight to Faye. I kept a hold of her hand, too scared to let her go, but one of the paramedics turned to me.

“Sir, I need you to step aside.”

“That’s my daughter!”

“And if you want her to live, you will do as I’ve asked!”

As much as I didn’t want to listen, I moved aside so the paramedics could look over Faye. I watched them work, ignoring a paramedic who kept trying to look at my arm.

“Can you tell me what happened here, sir?” the young male paramedic said as he analysed my arm.

I pulled away from him. “I’m fine, just focus on my wife and child.”

“They’re being looked after, sir, but I need to look after you too,” the man responded.

I huffed, my eyes still glued to Faye. I saw that the paramedics were working quickly, and kept giving one another furtive glances, which put me on edge. “Fine, just wrap it up or something.”

The paramedic clucked as he gently pulled off my leather jacket. “I will assess your wound, sir, then we can get it looked at properly at the hospital. We will go there and⁠—”

“No!” I interrupted. “My daughter needs all hands on her. I’ll be fine.”

The paramedic remained quiet, likely knowing it was no good arguing with me. He moved more layers of clothing off of my arm, but I didn’t pay attention to what he was doing.

After a few minutes, the female paramedic who’d initially snapped at me stood up. “We need to get her to a hospital immediately.”

My heart dropped.

The paramedics worked hard to get Faye onto a stretcher and take her out of the house. Another paramedic brought down a big blanket and threw it over Lylah to cover her modesty. We then all followed the stretcher out, and I watched as the paramedics put Faye into the back of the ambulance. They then helped Lylah get into the back. As I let go of Lylah’s hand, one of the paramedics turned to me.

“You won’t be able to fit in the ambulance too, can you follow us?”

I looked at Nadia—who had just called a team of PCs to meet us here—and she nodded.

“Get going and save my daughter... please,” I said gently. “I have to stay here a bit longer.”

The paramedic nodded. “Trust me, that’s all we want to do.”

I quickly kissed Lylah goodbye. “Take care of yourself and her, please.”

Lylah looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened in understanding. “Don’t be long, please.”

I nodded. “Trust me, I won’t.”

The ambulance doors closed in my face. As it drove away—the siren blaring louder than a screeching gull—I couldn’t help but worry about Faye.

The entire time I was in that basement, I thought she was dead until she attacked Marika. As worried as I was for her, I couldn’t help but be proud of her too. She knew if she played dead no one would watch her, which gave her the perfect opportunity to strike. Still, with her injuries as severe as they were, that act of selflessness had taken it out of her.

She was still alive, but she had risked killing herself in order to save the rest of us… she’d proven herself to be the kind of detective I’d always wanted to be.

Once the ambulance was gone, I turned toward the others to see that two panda cars had arrived. Elijah was forcing Graham into the back of one of them, while Nadia was ushering Marika into the other. The PCs took away Graham and Marika, leaving Rebecca, Nadia, Mae, and Elijah waiting near Nadia’s car. I approached them, and they all looked at me worriedly.

“Come on, Sean,” Nadia said gently. “I will take you straight to the hospital to get that arm⁠—”

“No, we aren’t going to the hospital.”

They all looked at one another in surprise.

“Of course we are! Sean, you’ve been stabbed, for Christ’s sake!” Rebecca exclaimed. “You need to get that looked at.”

“Aye, and I will once we speak to Graham and Marika.”

Elijah, Mae, and Rebecca looked ready to argue with me, but Nadia stepped forward.

“Very well,” she said. “I’ll have a paramedic meet us at the station. They can quickly look at your stab wound, and only then will I allow you to speak to Graham and Marika.” She paused seriously. “Is that understood?”

“A paramedic has already looked at my arm, I’m fine to⁠—”

“Is that understood?” Nadia repeated fiercely.

I sighed. “Aye, understood.”

We travelled to the station in silence. I felt eyes continuously looking in my direction, but I ignored them. I knew everyone was worried about Faye and trying to figure out what to say to me, but no words would comfort me. The only thing that would make me feel better was confronting the two people responsible for everything she was going through.

We made it to the station, and I was glad to see a paramedic had already arrived. My leather jacket was already hanging off of my arm, so the paramedic was able to look at it quickly.

“This wound is quite deep. You’d be much better off being seen in a hospital,” she said calmly.

“Aye,” I responded. “But I have things to do. I’ll go to the hospital as soon as I’m done, you have my word.”

“Will he be okay until then?” Mae asked.

The paramedic frowned. “I can put a dressing on it to help protect it from infection until then, but I’d still strongly recommend that you⁠—”

“The dressing sounds great, ta.”

The paramedic sighed tiredly, but I also couldn’t help but notice a small smile on her lips as she worked. She’d likely dealt with many stubborn sods like me, and she knew she’d be wasting her breath.

I thanked the paramedic once she bandaged up my shoulder, then made my way into our department. The others had gone ahead, but Mae had kept with me. She said it was to ensure I was okay, but I knew Mae well enough to know it was because she didn’t trust me to listen to the paramedic and sit through the short exam.

Mae opened the door for me, and together we met the rest of the department—the new team and my old one—who were all looking at me expectantly.

“What’s the verdict, sir?” Avery asked. “Are they taking your arm?”

Nadia shot him an annoyed look.

“They’ve said it’s fine for me to be here,” I answered.

Mae looked at me thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t have quite said it like that... she wasn’t happy, but she said as long as Sean goes to the hospital once we’re done, then it’s okay.”

I cleared my throat, then turned to the others. “I take it everyone is up to date on where things stand?”

“Sort of, your team started to fill us in while we waited for you.” Victoria lowered her head. “I’m sorry to hear about your daughter.”

“Ta.” I cleared my throat awkwardly, quickly looking at Nadia before anyone else could offer me their apologies. “I want to talk to Graham first.”

“If you want, I can speak to Graham with you and we can get some of the others to talk to Marika while⁠—”

“No,” I interrupted, giving her an apologetic look. “Sorry, but after what she did to Faye... after spending days thinking she’d been murdered, I have to talk to her myself. I have to know, I have to understand... or at least try to.”

I expected Nadia to argue, but instead she instantly agreed. “Of course.”

I looked at Rebecca, Elijah, and Mae. “Fill the others in on everything that happened while Nadia and I speak to those two idiots.”

Together, Nadia and I started to walk to the interview room that held Graham. As we walked, I couldn’t help but wonder how the interview was going to go.

For over twenty years, I’d been desperate to know who’d killed Lydia and why... and now it seemed as though I was about to finally find out.

34

We entered the interview room and Graham instantly turned to look at us, his eyes glued to our movements as we slowly took our seats. When I was fighting him in his mother’s basement, I was too focused on overpowering him and saving Lylah and Faye to really see him, but now that the immediate danger was over I was able to take him in properly.

Larry was the spitting image of his older brother, from the shaved head to the large build. This was evident from the photos, but in person the resemblance was even more striking. There were a few physical differences—Graham’s face showed more signs of age and his eyes lacked Larry’s warmth—but otherwise they could have easily been twins.

“Good to see you both again,” Graham said, offering us both a playful smile.

Bloody creep, I thought coldly. The sooner you’re out of my sight the better.

“I can’t say the sentiment is mutual,” I replied.

Graham moved his cuffed hands—which had been repositioned in front of him—so they were over his heart. As his hands moved, the PCs behind him edged forward, but they soon relaxed when they realised he wasn’t readying to throttle me.

“Your words hurt me, Ellis! And there was me thinking we’d built a rapport these past two decades.”

I scowled. “Far from it, Mr. Arnold. I don’t build relationships with killers.”

Graham moved back in his chair, his features unbothered. “We have a long history together, Ellis. Whether you like it or not.” He hesitated, looking at me smugly. “How does it feel to know I had you beat for over twenty years?”

“Awful,” I responded honestly.

Graham chuckled humourlessly. “Oh, I bet!”

“Speaking of twenty years, let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?” Nadia asked. “Lydia Henton. You murdered her over twenty years ago, didn’t you?”

“No, that was my brother, Larry,” Graham said coolly.

“Cut the crap, Mr. Arnold,” I answered impatiently. “You just said you’ve had us beat for twenty years, so stop the games. Larry may have initially confessed to the murder, but we know it was you.”

Graham looked shocked. “Wait, Larry confessed?”

“Aye, shortly after he was arrested,” I answered.

Graham scratched his chin. “I’m rarely surprised, but that does surprise me.”

“Why?” I pressed.

Graham was thoughtfully silent for a few moments. “I wanted people to believe Larry was guilty. I’d gone to great lengths to plant evidence against him. I wanted no one to believe him when he claimed his innocence, so knowing he didn’t try to argue against the accusations surprises me.” He laughed coldly. “I guess the little weasel cares about me more than I realised.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I answered darkly. “Larry lied to protect other women from being killed. He knew you were the killer, and had been trying to make him look guilty, so he decided to take the fall. He hoped that if you got your way, no one else would be hurt.”

“Foolish to the last,” Graham answered.

“Clearly you were the one to send the anonymous letter last week then?” I inquired, keen to get back on track.

“Clearly.”

“Why?” I asked bluntly. “If you hadn’t sent that letter, you’d still be getting away with things.”

“I let my hatred of Larry ruin me.” Graham frowned, looking almost angry with himself. “It was stupid, I admit it, but I had my reasons. He’s done things over the years that made me despise him, but then our mother died… and she gave him everything.” He gritted his teeth. “The ungrateful bitch! I was the one who moved in with her and helped her when she had cancer! And yet she still gave everything to him.” He shook his head. “That was the final straw.”

Larry had been right. Graham had chosen now to try and frame Larry because of what happened with their mother’s will. It was petty, but from everything I’d figured out about Graham, I could tell he was as petty as they came.

“So because your mum gave everything to Larry you decided to frame him for multiple murders?” I scoffed.

“I’d always planned on framing him, but I wanted to wait for the perfect moment,” Graham explained. “I’d always been clever with my choice of women, making sure they had some connection to Larry, that way it was easy to build up a pattern against him.”

My lip curled in revulsion. “You realise how twisted that is, don’t you? Why do you hate Larry so much?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Would those reasons be Quinn Riley?” I queried.

Graham’s brows furrowed. “How do you know about her?”

“When we mentioned her to Larry… he sang like a canary,” I responded. “In fact, his love for her was one of the main reasons why he confessed to crimes he didn’t commit... he didn’t want to see anyone else getting hurt like she did.”

“I never killed her, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No, but you sure as hell tried to, didn’t you?” I questioned bluntly.

“She was the first woman who ever hurt me, Ellis, and she really hurt me.” He leant on the table and edged closer to me. “What sort of woman cheats on you with your own brother?”

“From what we were told she didn’t cheat on you, Mr. Arnold, she simply realised what a psychopath you were and decided to be with someone who wasn’t likely to try and kill her,” Nadis said coldly.

Graham clicked his tongue. “Semantics! Besides, Larry was my brother, my flesh and blood, and yet he threw that aside when he decided to take what was mine!”

“Women are not possessions, Mr. Arnold,” I replied unhappily. “Quinn made her choice, but you weren’t willing to accept that, were you? Instead of allowing her a shot of happiness you decided to cut her brakes and throw acid on her.”

“If the bitch hadn’t betrayed me, I never would have had to!” Graham spat.

Graham and I glared at one another for a few seconds before Nadia intervened.

“Right, so let’s go back to Lydia,” she said calmly. “Tell us what happened there, please?”

Graham was silently seething. After almost a minute, I readied myself to speak, but eventually he opened his mouth.

“I’d seen Lydia at the pub a few times and I felt an attraction toward her,” Graham said impassively. “We flirted a bit, I took her on a few dates, then when I made it clear I wanted a more committed relationship… she did something that made me sick.”

“What did she do?” Nadia inquired.

“Laughed!” Graham exclaimed angrily, smacking his fists on the table so violently that the PCs stepped in. Only after I gestured for them to step back did the PCs release him, and Graham continued. “She laughed in my face and told me she enjoyed my company, but I was too old for her.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t even that much older than her, the horrid cow.”

“So Marika was right. You killed Lydia and the others because they rejected you?” I asked coldly. “Just like with Quinn.”

Graham sighed. “It wasn’t as simple as that, Ellis.”

“Explain then.”

“Lydia was rude and had used me,” Graham said harshly. “I thought we’d be together forever, but when she rejected me I knew she had to be punished... I had an engagement ring for her and everything, but when she called things off, I knew she didn’t deserve to live.”

Christ... talk about a real life Joe Goldberg! I thought in horror. He’s willing to do anything for the people he thinks he loves, but he’s even more quick to kill them if they don’t give him exactly what he wants.

“And Angela and Nadia?” I asked. “I spoke to someone who told me Angela was engaged, I take it that was to you?”

Graham looked away wistfully. “Angela... I really thought she was different.” He sighed. “We’d been dating for months, but after what happened with Lydia, I told her I wanted us to keep things quiet until I was ready to tell people. We were happy, you know? And when I proposed, and she said yes… I really thought that was it, that I’d finally got the happy ending I deserved!” He paused, his features darkening. “But she kept pushing things. I heard her talking to Larry’s piece of the hour about how she’d practically be related to her soon and it made me nervous, made me angry.” He shook his head. “I hadn’t wanted to kill her, but when I told her she couldn’t tell people about us yet, she became hysterical and said she would leave me if I didn’t tell everyone we were together... she never should have threatened to leave me.”

He kept quiet as he stared angrily into the distance, so I cleared my throat to get his attention. “So that’s why you killed her? Because you didn’t want people figuring out the connection between you both?”

“I would have told people in my time, but Angela was too impatient!”

“And Nadia?” Nadia asked.

“A similar story,” Graham said nonchalantly. “We dated, things seemed to be going well, then she decided she wanted to walk away.”

“And you didn’t let her?” I asked frostily.

“No.”

“Because killing these women was better than letting them move on without you?”

“They didn’t deserve that chance.”

“So that’s why you displayed your victims in white, with their wedding fingers removed,” Nadia said cautiously. “To tell the world that since you couldn’t have them, no one could?”

“I saw myself marrying all of those women, so it was only fitting to show them off in a way that said… if they weren’t marrying me, they’d never marry anyone else.”

What a psycho! I thought angrily.

“Tell us about Marika,” Nadia stated calmly.

“Marika was different.” Graham smiled creepily. “Not fake-different like Angela. We got on well, but before we properly got involved, I told her that I could only be with someone who was willing to keep our relationship secret until I was ready. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened with the others. She was okay with that, even when I told her it could only be me and her… she was fine with that too.”

“So you convinced her to give up everything to be with you?” I asked icily.

“She was happy to do so,” Graham replied. “She showed me right away she was willing to do what was needed in order for us to be together.”

“How did she end up getting involved in your sick dealings?” I asked.

Graham frowned. “She found my box.”

“Your box?” Nadia asked in confusion.

I gritted my teeth, knowing right away what he was alluding to.

“Your sick trinket box with the victims’ fingers, right?” I asked.

Nadia stiffened.

Graham winked at me. “Good, Ellis. Clearly you aren’t as useless as I thought you were.”

“Where is it, Mr. Arnold?” I asked.

Graham laughed. “Like I’m going to tell you that, Ellis.”

I scowled at him, hoping a search of his house would reveal it to us.

“And she was fine being with you after seeing that?” Nadia asked in horror.

Graham chuckled. “It didn’t faze her at all! She was intrigued, keen even.” The laughter left his face. “It came with difficulties. She kept disappointing me, trying to push for me to help her start her own trophy collection, but eventually she dropped it.”

“But then you framed Larry, and she brought it up again?” I inquired.

“I let her help me with Vanessa, but she got too eager, so I had to stop her.” He shook his head irritably. “Then I told her to bring your daughter to me unharmed, and she decided to break the rules and attack her. I was furious with her when she turned up with Faye. She was lucky I didn’t kill her for betraying me.”

Somehow I maintained my composure and continued to listen to him.

“What made you decide to kill Vanessa?” Nadia asked. “You did everything you could to frame your brother—we took him into custody and arrested him—then you put it all at risk to kill again?” She paused. “Why did you kill Vanessa? You two hadn’t been romantically involved, and keeping her alive meant no one questioned Larry’s confession.” She glanced at me proudly. “Well, almost.”

Graham glared at me. “He is exactly why I had to.”

“You killed Victoria because of Detective Ellis?” Nadia probed.

“I was happy to leave things be, happy to never kill again now that Larry was gone, but then I overheard you talking with your family, Ellis.” His eyes narrowed menacingly. “I heard you saying you wouldn’t stop until you proved Larry’s innocence, I heard your family agree to help you, and I knew then that I had to teach you a lesson.”

“You killed Vanessa because she’d been helping me with the case, didn’t you?” I asked, hoping the guilt I felt over her death didn’t show in my tone.

Graham grinned evilly. “Actually, my original plan was to kill your wife or daughter and present them to you on the anniversary of Lydia’s death, but unfortunately neither of them were alone during the build up to that date, so I was left with no choice but to make a quick change.” He paused and continued to smile at me. I could tell he was longing for a reaction, but I kept my calm.

Graham looked disappointed. “I’d seen you go to the pub, and I noticed a young woman working there. I knew once you saw her body you would know it was a message to you.”

I laughed coldly. “Oh, trust me. The moment I saw Nessa’s body… I knew you’d targeted her to get at me.”

“Her death could have been avoided if you’d just let this go, Ellis. She died because of you.”

I wanted to argue with him, but I knew he was right. As much as I knew I’d carry her death with me until I took my last breath, I couldn’t deny how glad I was that Graham had been unable to get to Lylah or Faye. I’d always known they could be targeted—hence why I’d been so frightened when I couldn’t get a hold of Lylah the day I went to see Nessa’s body—but to have it confirmed showed me that I wasn’t crazy or egotistical.

My instincts were still good.

As I held onto those thoughts, I smiled at Graham and slowly rose from my seat.

“You can point the blame at me all you want, Mr. Arnold, and I will always feel guilt over Nessa’s death. She was a brilliant woman who deserved to shine,” I said boldly, my eyes drilling into his own with satisfaction. “But I am also the one who stopped you. You are going to spend the rest of your life in prison, where you can never harm another woman again.” I stepped around the table and stood next to him. “I get to leave here and tell Nessa’s family that you won’t ever darken their doorstep again. You will rot in a prison cell... goodbye, Mr. Arnold. I hope I never have to see you again.”

I walked toward the door and Nadia joined me, but I hesitated when I heard Graham speak.

“You will see me all of the time, Ellis,” Graham said proudly. “Because of me and Marika your daughter is going to die in that hospital. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s dead already.” He laughed harshly. “You won’t be able to think about your daughter without thinking about me, and that thought is delicious enough to get me by when I’m in prison... I’ll always be with you, Ellis. Always. It will drive you mad in the end and I can’t wait for that.” He hesitated. “I’ve won, Ellis, and you don’t even realise it.”

I wanted to turn around and throttle him, but I felt Nadia’s hand delicately against my back, keeping me moving forward. I stepped out of the door and didn’t look back, even though it was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do.

As I walked to the interview room that held Marika, Graham’s words played in my head. I glanced at my phone and saw I had no missed calls, which gave me hope that Faye was still alive.

She had to be... because if she wasn’t I knew Graham was right. If she was gone, he would never leave me.

35

Iwent to open the interview room door, but Nadia placed her hand on my own to stop me.

“Slow down, Sean,” she muttered calmly. “Are you okay?”

I looked at her seriously. “I’m fine, I just want to speak to Marika… then go see my family.”

Nadia hesitated, her eyes drilling into my own with concern. “Graham was just trying to get into your head. Please don’t let him.”

I smiled appreciatively. “Ta, Nadia. I know you’re right.”

“I usually am.” She winked. “Now let’s get this interview started, shall we?”

I smirked at her. “Aye, let’s do this.”

I pushed open the door, and then was shocked by the scene in front of me. Marika was on her feet, shouting loudly at the three PCs in the room, who were trying desperately to calm her down.

“Where is he! I have to be with him!”

“What the hell is going on in here?” Nadia asked angrily.

Marika turned and scowled at us. “You two!” She went to charge at us, but the PCs kept blocking her path. “Where is Graham? Where is my fiancé? I need to be with him!”

As I watched Marika’s desperate attempts to get past the PCs, I almost felt sorry for her. For the past six years all she had known was him, so to suddenly be away from him must have been scary for her. She wasn’t ready to accept it or hear it, but I hadn’t lied to her before when I told her I thought she’d been brainwashed. I truly thought she was also a victim of Graham’s. He’d forced her to drop her entire life in order to be with him, showing a level of control that was beyond disgusting.

And yet in her mind he was her knight in shining armour... wielding a knife and a box of human remains instead of a sword and a shield.

“You need to calm down, Miss Dabrowska,” I said calmly.

“It’s soon to be Mrs. Arnold!” she spat.

Nadia calmly sat down on a chair near the interview table, and I followed her lead. As we sat down, Marika looked at us in confusion.

“You’re looking at life in prison, Miss Dabrowska,” Nadia said impassively. “So you can kiss your supposed wedding plans goodbye!”

Marika hissed. “They aren’t supposed, you dumb bitch!” She sat down in the seat opposite us and thrust her engagement ring in our faces. “See? I have a ring and everything!”

I examined the ring and part of me wondered if it was the same ring that Graham had planned on giving to Lydia and the others. From my time of getting to know the bloke, I was certain it was. He didn’t seem the sort to pick one specially for his different women.

“Very nice,” I said coolly. “How long have you been engaged for?”

Marika smiled. “Five years now.”

“Wow, five years?” I asked in mock amazement. “That’s a long time, isn’t it?” I looked at Nadia. “If you’d been engaged for five years and hadn’t got married yet, how would you feel about that, DSI Begum?”

“Oh, not happy at all, Detective Ellis!” Nadia exclaimed. “I’d be wondering what the hold-up was, wouldn’t you?”

I nodded vigorously. “Absolutely, I would.”

Marika snarled. “I know what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work! Graham loves me. We are going to get married when the time is right.”

“When he isn’t hiding your existence from the world, you mean?” I asked candidly.

Marika swore in response. She went to get out of her chair, but two of the PCs grabbed her and quickly pushed her back down.

“I need to get to Graham!” she spat. “I’m not saying anything until I’m with him!”

“We just left Mr. Arnold, and he is fine, Miss Dabrowska,” I said calmly. “It’s nice you’re asking about him, especially since he didn’t once ask how you were doing.”

“You’re lying!”

I shrugged. “Aye, maybe, but if you want to help yourself, I suggest you shut up and let us ask our questions.”

“Only if I can see Graham afterwards,” Marika responded.

“Aye, we can arrange that,” I answered.

I felt Nadia’s desperate urge to look at me in surprise, but to her credit she remained expressionless.

Marika smiled, relaxing in her chair. “Very well. Be quick then.”

“How long have you and Graham been an item?” I asked.

“An item?” Marika sneered. “Six years.”

“So from around the time your sister reported you as missing?” Nadia inquired.

Marika rolled her eyes. “I told her I was going away with my boyfriend. She shouldn’t have been so dramatic about it all.”

I furrowed my brows. “Can you not see why she was worried? You haven’t contacted her in years.” I paused and looked at her seriously. “I’ve seen your sister, and she is still desperately looking for you. She’s terrified you’ve been dead for years. You could have put her out of her misery simply by contacting her.”

A flicker of emotion crossed Marika’s face, but she removed it so quickly it was hard to tell if it had really been there or not. “I love Graham, and he made it clear that if we were to be together… I could only have him.”

“And you didn’t see that as weird or controlling?” I asked dubiously.

Marika glared at him. “Of course not!”

Nadia kicked my foot gently. I didn’t look at her, but I knew she was gesturing for me to be quiet, so I took the hint.

“Excuse Detective Ellis, Miss Dabrowska,” Nadia said. “He’s a man and doesn’t get these things.”

Marika tutted.

“You didn’t feel Mr. Arnold was being controlling, did you?” Nadia asked gently. “You felt he was just being forthright with what he wanted, and you respected that.”

Marika relaxed. “Yes, exactly! I could have said no if I wanted to, but I loved him. I wanted to do what I could to be with him.”

Nadia smiled. “I understand that, Miss Dabrowska. You were simply being a loyal, loving fiancée, doing what you had to do to keep your man.”

Marika shot a filthy look at me. “At least one of you gets it.”

“Tell us about your relationship with Graham,” Nadia continued. “It must have been hard having to live in secret for so many years.”

“It came with its difficulties at times, that’s for sure, but Graham always made it worthwhile,” Marika answered lovingly. “He always took care of me and made me feel special, even if we couldn’t exactly go out on dates together.”

“So what did you do?” I asked, ensuring the scepticism was absent from my tone.

Marika shrugged. “Just spent time together like normal couples do.”

“And that didn’t change when you found out he had killed people?” I asked.

“I’ve already explained that to you!” Marika exclaimed impatiently. “Graham is a good man, he didn’t want to kill those women, but they left him with no choice.”

“There’s always a choice, Marika,” I said gently. “He could have let them leave him and moved on with his life... but he didn’t. Instead, he brutally murdered them, left them in their underwear, and cut off their fingers for all the world to see.” I hesitated. “Do you really think that’s acceptable?”

Marika gave a pregnant pause. “Obviously, it isn’t nice for them that they’re dead, but if they didn’t use Graham and make him feel worthless… then they’d still be alive.”

I held back the urge to look at her with pity.

You poor girl, I thought sadly. He really messed with your head, hasn’t he?

“The thing I find the hardest to understand is how you ended up wanting to be like him once you found out what he’d done,” I said. “You told us before that you tortured animals because you weren’t able to hurt people like he had... but why? Why would you want to do that?”

“I just wanted to be like him in any way possible,” Marika answered, her tone suggesting it was the simplest thing ever. “He tried to play it down as him killing through necessity, not pleasure, but when he told me about it… I saw the way his eyes lit up.” She smiled. “There was a fire there, a hunger, and I thought if we could do that together… it could make him happy.”

“But he didn’t want to?” Nadia asked.

Marika frowned. “No... he told me I had to earn his trust, prove to him first that I wouldn’t let him down.”

“From what Mr. Arnold said to us, you didn’t prove that, did you?” I asked. “In fact, he told me he was angry with you when you messed up, particularly with Vanessa and Faye.”

It hurt my heart to talk about Faye like she was just another victim and not my child, but I knew if I was going to get through this interview I had to speak about things impartially.

“I admit I got a bit... zealous.” A look of fear flashed through her eyes. “It upset Graham a lot, but luckily he knows how much I love him. He was able to forgive me.”

“Why did you attack Faye Ellis when you were specifically told not to by Mr. Arnold?” Nadia inquired. “You say you wanted to please him, but surely you knew going against him wouldn’t achieve that?”

“I thought if I could show him what I was capable of, then he would be pleased.” Marika looked disappointed. “I wanted to make him proud, but instead I made him angry... he feared I’d get us caught, but I knew what to do in order to keep hidden. I’ve been doing it for six years.”

She subconsciously grabbed her torso and neck a few times when she spoke and part of me wondered if Graham had hurt her. I wouldn’t have been surprised, but I knew I couldn’t ask Marika that without her lashing out.

She was far too besotted to see the negative in him.

“For so long I thought you were another victim, Marika,” I said gently, using her first name in the hopes it would instil some emotion in her. “I was right... just not in the way I thought.”

Marika scowled. “I’m no victim! Graham loves me!”

“He may not have murdered you, but as I said to you before, you’re still a victim, Marika,” I said sadly. “In order to impress this man you have killed animals, attempted to kill people, and changed who you are for the worse.”

“How’s your daughter?” Marika asked coldly. “Dead yet?”

I knew she was trying to get a rise out of me, so I ignored her.

“What do you want me to tell Agata when I see her?”

Marika looked confused. “W-what do you mean?”

“I told her I would stop at nothing to find you, and that once I did, I would tell her.” I paused. “I always honour my word, so what should I tell Agata when I see her?”

Marika looked away from me. “Tell her nothing.”

“I have to tell her something,” I pressed. “But what? Do I tell her you’ve been living under her nose for years and never bothered to contact her? Do I tell her you’ve been shacked up with a serial killer? Do I tell her that⁠—”

“Stop it!” Marika interrupted angrily. “I don’t care what you tell her, okay? I’ve been dead to her for years and she’s been nothing to me, so it doesn’t matter.”

“I think it would matter to her,” I said calmly. “You may have found it easy to forget about her, Marika, but she never gave up on you.”

Marika refused to look me in the eye. “I have Graham now. He’s all I need.”

I sighed sadly, thinking of Agata. The poor girl had spent years fearing the worst had happened to her sister, and now I was going to have to tell her something no sister should ever have to hear...

Her sister wasn’t dead, she’d just been aiding a murderer.

“I feel sorry for Agata,” I said gruffly. “She’s a caring woman, and it’s sad to know she’s spent so long worrying about you and you haven’t even thought about her.”

Marika continued to avoid my eye contact. I thought this was because she didn’t want to get upset, but the more I looked at her rigid face the more I realised she truly didn’t care.

“I can’t imagine what she’ll say when I tell her what you did to my daughter,” I said, my voice shaking with anger. “When I tell her you stabbed and slashed her within an inch of her life... that you did so with no remorse whatsoever.”

Marika slowly looked at me, her face still void of expression. “It wasn’t personal, you know... not to me, anyway.”

“What does that mean?”

Marika shuffled awkwardly in her chair. “You really rubbed Graham the wrong way when you kept trying to help Larry, you know. He took that very personally.” She hesitated. “One thing you never want to do is get on Graham’s bad side… and you did that.”

“Aye, but that doesn’t mean you had to attack my kid!” I snapped.

I felt Nadia shoot me a look of warning, but I ignored her.

“As I said, it wasn’t personal... I just knew Graham really wanted to hurt the people close to you.” She shrugged. “I thought if I did that he’d be happy, but I got that wrong.”

I was shaking with anger.

Nadia, noticing this, edged forward. “Are you not at all sorry for what you have done, Miss Dabrowska? You are going to go to prison for murder, and for what? All for a man who would have let you join his victims if you so much as put a toe out of line.”

Marika glared at Nadia. “Graham would never hurt me! Never!”

I looked pointedly at her stomach. “Care to prove that?”

Marika swore and jumped up from her chair. All three of the PCs moved in quickly, but this time she willingly went to them. “Take me out of here! I don’t want to listen to any of their crap anymore.”

I stood slowly from my chair. “We’re done now, Miss Dabrowska.” I walked toward her and looked at her with disdain. “Don’t worry, you’ll soon be spending the rest of your life in a cell, so won’t be dealing with us any longer.” I looked at Nadia. “Let’s go.”

I went to walk toward the door, but I hesitated when I saw Marika moving quickly toward me. The PCs expertly pulled her back.

“Wait! You told me if I cooperated you’d take me to Graham.”

I grabbed my phone, smirking to myself as I went through it. “Aye, you’re right. I promised you I’d show you Graham and I’m a man of my word.” I turned my phone screen to her, showing her a photo of Graham.

Marika looked at the phone, then back at me in confusion. “What the hell is this?”

I pocketed my phone as I winked at her. “I promised you that you’d get to see Graham after you spoke to us, and I’ve just shown you him.”

Marika snarled and had to be held back. “You prick! You tricked me!”

I turned toward the door and held it open for Nadia. As Nadia left, I looked back at Marika. “Aye, I did... and that was for my daughter.”

I exited the interview room without another word, ignoring all of her shouts of rage and frustration. Marika may have partially been a victim, but she was still the person who’d viciously assaulted my daughter, and I was never going to let her get away with that.

36

Iturned to Nadia as we walked back to our department. “Are you alright to fill everyone in and get them started on the paperwork?”

Nadia smiled at me shrewdly. “Only if that’s your way of saying you’re going to the hospital.”

I nodded.

Nadia gripped my good shoulder. “Of course.”

We entered the department, and I felt all eyes on us, filled with a hunger to know what had happened. I quickly deferred their attention to Nadia and informed them I had somewhere to be. As I started to walk away, I hesitated as Elijah quickly stepped in front of me.

“How do you plan on getting to the hospital, exactly?”

I shrugged. “I can bike it. I’ll be alright.”

I heard a scoffing noise and turned around to see Rebecca charging toward us. “With a bandaged shoulder? Are you insane!” She shook her head in dismay. “I will drive you there, my car is just outside.”

“That won’t be⁠—”

“Yes, it bloody will be, Sean Ellis,” Rebecca interrupted.

I grinned sheepishly. “Alright! Ta, Rebecca.”

“I’m coming too,” Elijah said boldly. “I barely got the chance to speak to Lyles before, and I have to make sure she’s okay.”

I turned to Nadia, who nodded her approval.

Mae looked at Nadia. “As much as I want to see the others, I’ll stay here and help you.”

I made my way out of the department with Rebecca and Elijah by my side. I glanced at my phone and saw no new calls. Right now I had to see no news as good news.

Elijah, watching my movements, put a comforting arm on my back. “We’ll be with them soon, mate. I know they’ll both be okay.”

I smiled weakly as I tapped his back. “Thanks for making the effort to come here... I know Lylah will be over the moon to see you.”

Elijah winked. “I know you’d all do the same for me.”

We made it to Rebecca’s car, and all clambered into it. As we travelled, there was a comfortable silence for most of the journey until Rebecca broke it.

“You must feel good that you’ve finally cracked the case, right?” she asked. “I know how much it consumed you when we closed it.”

Aye, I thought darkly. And it continued to consume me for years after.

I was feeling conflicted with my emotions, torn between feeling grateful that the one case that had destroyed me for so long was now over, but also hating the fact that the cost of solving it had been so dear. I still didn’t know what the full extent of that cost would be, but I hoped it wasn’t the life of my daughter.

“I’ll feel better once we know how Faye is,” I responded.

Rebecca nodded thoughtfully. “She’ll be fine, Sean.”

I knew Rebecca well enough to sense her tone. She was being kind, supportive, and offering me the reassurance she knew I needed, but I could hear that edge of doubt and concern lingering under the surface. Rebecca wanted Faye to make it through this, but she didn’t truly believe she would.

I tried not to think of Faye and how she looked in that basement. I could still barely blink without seeing her hunched over, unmoving and cold.

We made it to the hospital, and Rebecca drove us directly to the front entrance. I climbed out of the passenger’s seat, and Elijah got out too.

“I will park up, then call you to find out where you all are,” Rebecca said hastily, reversing away from us before either of us had the chance to respond.

Elijah gently ushered for me to go ahead, then together we sped inside. We made it quickly to a reception desk, and a middle-aged woman looked up at us seriously. Her eyes lingered on my shoulder.

“I’ll call someone to come look at that right away,” she said firmly.

She went to grab the phone, but I held out my hand to stop her.

“Wait, we’re actually here to see a couple of patients who were admitted this evening,” I said quickly.

The receptionist looked at my arm with uncertainty, but she slowly looked me in the eye. “What are their names, please?”

“Faye and Lylah Ellis,” Elijah answered.

I kept nervously touching my face as the woman typed. I watched her face and her body language to see how she reacted, and my heart dropped when I saw her pupils dilating at something she read on the screen.

She turned to me, her face filled with kindness, and I couldn’t help but admire her professionalism. In my career, I’d been trained to notice subtle changes, but anyone else wouldn’t have picked up on her momentary look of worry.

“They’re both here, but unfortunately neither of them are ready for visitors,” the woman said gently.

“They’re my wife and child!”

The woman sighed softly. “I understand that, sir, but their health is our primary concern and⁠—”

Elijah stepped forward, pulling his badge out of his jacket as he did so. “We’re both detectives and we were with the two women when they were attacked. They are part of an ongoing investigation, and it’s crucial we speak to them both immediately.”

The woman looked impressed with Elijah’s badge, but I noticed her eyes kept flitting to me with uncertainty. She then stood up and went to the back to make a phone call.

I appreciated Elijah’s quick-thinking by playing the detective role, but I cursed myself for making it clear I was personally connected to them both. I knew the receptionist would now be torn. While she wouldn’t want to hinder an investigation, she couldn’t let the family just wander in either.

The receptionist returned, and we both looked at her hopefully.

“Faye Ellis is not in a place to speak to anyone right now,” the receptionist said cautiously. “She is in surgery, and from what I’ve been told it sounds like she could be there for a while.”

My heart felt like it stopped beating at those words.

“And Lylah Ellis?” Elijah pressed.

“She is in a private ward, but the doctor said it’s fine for you to speak to her.”

“Where is she, please?” Elijah asked.

The receptionist gave Elijah the details, but I felt so numb I couldn’t take anything in.

I wasn’t naïve. I’d seen Faye was in a bad way, but to know she was fighting for her life in an operating theatre had my blood running cold. The receptionist had been informed that Faye would be in there for a while, so I knew the operating team must have been finding it hard to treat her.

I felt a hand touch my back, causing me to jump. I turned around and saw Rebecca there, giving me a guilty look for scaring me.

“Sorry, I was just saying it was good timing,” she said guiltily.

I barely nodded, my thoughts consumed by Faye.

Elijah gently ushered me forward, and I let him lead me to Lylah. As the three of us walked, I heard the others chatting, but I was unable to focus on anything they were saying.

Don’t die, love... I thought in devastation. Please don’t die.

We reached a ward, and I knew right away it was where Lylah was as there were two male PCs standing outside of it. They both looked young, bored, and a large part of me felt irritated that they weren’t taking the protection of my wife more seriously. There was also a doctor near them who stepped over the moment they saw us approaching.

“Sorry, this ward is off limits!” the doctor said quickly. “Where are you trying to go? I can give you directions.”

I glanced at the two PCs behind him, who hadn’t so much as moved, and felt my irritation grow.

At least the doctor is on top of things, I thought bitterly.

Elijah flashed his badge. “We just spoke to your receptionist. She said she’d spoken to one of the doctors who said we could come and see Lylah.”

The doctor didn’t look happy, but he nodded. “Very well, but please try not to question her too much... she’s been through quite the ordeal.”

Don’t we know it, I thought sadly.

“Thank you,” Rebecca said to him politely.

“We are waiting on news of Faye Ellis,” Elijah said calmly. “We will be staying with Lylah until then.”

I respected and admired Elijah’s confidence and how he spoke to the doctor. He was direct and worded things in a way that couldn’t be disputed with. It was different to how he’d been when he was a DC. It only showed how much he had grown over the years.

The doctor opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, but eventually he sighed and closed it. “Very well, but you could be waiting for a while.”

We all thanked him, then stepped toward the ward. Rebecca and Elijah went right in, but I hesitated near the two PCs. I looked them up and down and they both stared at me nervously.

“For the sake of my wife in this room I hope you’ll both be taking this job much more seriously from now on... or by the end of the day I will ensure neither of you have a job.”

“Yes, sir!” one squeaked, immediately standing to attention as though he’d been shocked.

The other simply nodded vigorously, his face screwed up like he was fighting the urge to either cry or soil himself.

I grunted as I pushed past them and entered the ward. As soon as I was inside, I noticed it was a private ward and Lylah had it to herself. Except for the four of us, there was only a nurse, who was keeping her distance to give us privacy.

The moment I stepped through the doorway, Lylah’s eyes instantly left Elijah’s face and focused on my own. She was dressed in a hospital gown, and I was glad to see she wasn’t in just her underwear anymore. As I looked into her hazel eyes, I felt close to tears at the amount of pain shining from them.

I knew Lylah, and I knew the pain she felt was for Faye, not for herself.

I instantly moved toward her, and Rebecca stepped aside so I could get next to her. I clenched her hands in my own, kissing them as tears fell down my nose.

“Lyles... I’m sorry,” I said emotionally. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Lylah put her face on my hands and nuzzled into them. “None of this is your fault.”

The nurse pulled a chair over to me, and I gratefully sat in it. I opened my mouth to argue with her, but Lylah held out her hand to stop me.

“The only thing that matters right now is Faye, yeah?” she asked firmly.

I nodded, then wiped the tears away. “Have you heard anything yet?”

Lylah shook her head. “I take it you haven’t either?”

“We were informed that she is still in surgery, but we don’t know how long she will be in there for,” Elijah answered for me.

Lylah started to cry, and I wiped her tears away. She looked at me, her eyes still mirroring the pain and fear she’d been forced to endure. “I-it was awful, Sean. W-what they did t-to her, what they m-made me watch.”

I gulped, unable to imagine what it must have felt like to watch Graham and Marika torturing Faye and being unable to do anything about it.

I gripped her hands again. “It’s over now, love. It’s all over.”

She shook her head. “Not until I know she’s okay.”

Elijah sat down on the bottom of the bed and looked at Lylah softly. “What about you though, Lyles? Are you okay?”

“They hadn’t gotten around to hurting me yet,” she said bitterly.

She paused for a moment, and I knew she was consumed by guilt and anger. Graham had known it would hurt her more to see Faye being hurt then for him to physically do anything to her himself.

“He made it clear what the plan was,” Lylah eventually continued. “He was going to torture Faye, then move onto me.” She gulped. “Marika was too into torturing though... she did too much to Faye, so he had to stop her.” She held her hand out toward me and I took it, giving it a comforting squeeze so she could continue. “He was angry, really angry, and said that none of us were supposed to die until he knew for certain you wouldn’t be arresting Larry.”

She abruptly stopped speaking, and I knew she didn’t have it in her to say anything else. I gave Elijah a pointed look, and he quickly understood I wanted him to stop.

Elijah put a hand on Lylah’s leg and gently squeezed it, offering her a reassuring smile. “We’re all just so glad you’re okay, Lyles.”

Lylah nodded, but seemed unable to smile.

There was a silence between us all for a few minutes before Lylah looked at my shoulder. “How’s your arm?”

“I got it bandaged up quickly at the station, but once we hear about Faye, I will get it looked at here.”

Lylah looked at me in aggravation. She looked ready to argue with me, but the nurse in the room quickly stepped forward.

“I can get a team to look at your shoulder while you wait?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I’m not leaving my wife.”

The nurse smiled. “I can get the team in here, that won’t be an issue.”

“That would be great, thanks,” Lylah hastily answered for me.

I looked at her sharply as the nurse left the room. However, I knew better than to argue with her, so I simply kissed her hands, then waited for the medical team to arrive. I was impressed with how quickly they were able to stitch and sort my injury. They worked effortlessly, and although my shoulder hurt, they were able to treat it well.

As they worked, I continuously looked toward the door, hoping for news on Faye, but as time ticked by, I found myself growing more and more worried.

How could we still know nothing? Were they struggling to save her? I was terrified, more terrified than I’d ever been, and I knew I couldn’t last much longer without information.

The team that had helped me with my shoulder had now gone, leaving us with just the nurse. I turned to her and edged forward in my seat.

“Have you heard anything?”

She shook her head. “I know this is difficult, but once we have any news, you’ll be the first to know.”

I nodded and turned my focus back to Lylah and the others. We’d been waiting there for over two hours now, and none of us had said a word in over an hour. We were all too nervous to speak, but I was grateful we were at least together.

After another half an hour had passed, I looked at my watch and saw it was gradually approaching one in the morning. We’d all been there for a long time, so I turned to Elijah and Rebecca.

“You two can get going, if you want?” I asked. “We can call you once we hear anything.”

The two immediately shot me down, and I smiled at them both gratefully.

After another half an hour, there was a gentle knock on the door and a doctor entered the room. He was a handsome man with dark skin and a shaved head, but when I looked into his eyes, I noticed they were filled with sorrow. He stepped toward us, and I quickly noticed how he was struggling to give us eye contact.

I had given people difficult news many times in my life, and I could tell the telltale signs of someone struggling to reveal something upsetting.

No! I thought in horror. It can’t end this way!

“How is she?” I asked bluntly, knowing I had to quickly get to the truth.

The doctor ran his hand over his shaved head. “Faye was badly injured and had lost a lot of blood by the time she got here. She’d received multiple lacerations, some to some pretty major organs, which meant she was in an incredibly bad way and required a lot of medical assistance in order to⁠—”

“Please spare us the details and just tell me how my daughter is,” I interrupted worriedly.

The doctor nodded. “Very well. We had to remove her kidney as it was damaged beyond repair… and for quite some time I honestly feared we would be unable to help her due to the… severity of her injuries.” He paused, but as his lips started to curve upward, I felt a bubble of hope growing. “However, she is now stable and will require a lot of rest. We aren’t out of the woods quite yet, and she will require further surgery once her body is up to it, but for now she is doing okay and just needs time to recover.”

I jumped up from the chair, and to everyone’s surprise, I threw my arms around the doctor. I felt the doctor tense in my arms for a second, but he soon recovered and put a cautious arm on my back.

“I can’t thank you enough for saving her,” I said emotionally as I pulled away.

He nodded. “We were simply doing our jobs.”

“Can I see her?” I asked.

The doctor looked at me sadly. “As I said, she isn’t out of the woods just yet so we need her to be left alone while my team watches over her. I promise you that once she is ready for visitors, I will let you know, but I can’t imagine that will be for a while.” He hesitated at the unhappy look on my face. “I know that isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s in her best interest to be left alone and given the time to recover after everything she’s been through.”

“I understand,” I said sincerely. “Thank you again... truly.”

The doctor winked, nodded politely to everyone else in the room, then left.

The moment he was gone, Elijah pulled Lylah into a hug and Rebecca ran over and did the same to me. As I hugged Rebecca, I looked over her shoulder and saw that Lylah was looking at me over Elijah’s arm. We caught one another's eye and smiled, knowing our nightmare was now finally over.

ONE YEAR LATER

“Are you going to do any of the heavy lifting, Dad?” Craig groaned. “Or are you going to keep standing there watching me do it all?”

I grinned as I watched Craig pick up another heavy box from my living room floor. Although he was strong, I saw him straining slightly as he lifted it. “I’m an old git now, remember? You’re young, it’s easier for you to do it.”

Craig grumbled as he took the box toward the front door. “Since I’m putting everything into the moving van, you can at least make me a coffee.”

I winked. “Sorry, son, everything is packed now.”

Craig swore. “Fine! You better be buying me one later then.”

“I’ll buy you more than a drink, I’ll treat you to dinner,” I answered. “You, Lucy, your mum, Faye, Becky, and Jamie.”

Craig looked surprised. “Wow, Mum was right... you really have gone soft in your retirement.”

I laughed. “Just shut up and get that van filled, will you?”

“Sure thing, boss,” Craig groaned sarcastically as he took the box away.

I watched him leave for a few seconds before turning my focus back to the flat. I looked around it nostalgically, sighing as I took everything in. That flat had been my home ever since my divorce. I’d built many memories there, from raising a teenage Faye to my newborn son into adulthood, to living with Lylah and building our life together, to spending countless nights fixated on various crimes I was desperate to solve. I had a lot to thank the place for, a lot of fond memories that I would never forget, but now I knew it was time to move on.

My work life was now a thing of the past, and it was about time I got a new place with Lylah where we could enjoy our retirement together.

She had always accepted the flat, but I knew she was never as fond of it as I was. She deserved a place of her choosing where we could live out our final years together.

I turned at the sound of Craig coming back through the front door. He pushed his dark hair out of his face, reminding me of me when I was that age. My genes had been strong, and he looked the spitting image of me, only a lot more muscular and with no facial scars.

“It’s Mum’s last shift at the station today, isn’t it?” Craig asked tiredly as he went to grab another box.

“Aye, and when we’re done here, I’m going to meet her there,” I said warmly. “Let’s just say I’ve organised a nice surprise for her.”

“She’s already got her way with the new bungalow, Dad, so I’m sure she isn’t expecting much,” Craig said cheekily.

I winked. “Happy wife, happy life! You’ll learn that once you and Lucy tie the knot next year.”

“I suppose,” Craig answered. “Though I wish you’d stop raising the bar high for me, Dad! The new bungalow, the trip to Italy next week... It's making Lucy have expectations.”

“Just tell her she has to wait until you retire.” I smiled slyly. “Lylah had to wait that long, so I’m sure Lucy can too.”

Craig snorted. “Aye, and she’d believe that and all!”

I started to help Craig pack the van, much to his disbelief. I still felt the odd twinge of pain in my shoulder from the knife wound, but luckily my head injury hadn’t pained me for months, meaning I could shift the boxes with limited discomfort. After less than an hour, we’d managed to work together and get the whole flat emptied. I stood outside of the flat and gave it one last nostalgic look before turning to Craig.

“Are you alright to get this stuff to the bungalow?” I asked. “I’ll go get Lylah, show her the surprise, then we will come join you.”

“Sure thing, Dad,” Craig asked. “I might call Faye and see if she’ll come help me.”

I frowned. “You leave that girl to rest, son. She’s still recovering.”

Craig rolled his eyes. “She’s been back at work for a few months now, Dad, and we both know she won’t appreciate you coddling her. She has one kidney… but she’s not a baby.”

I smirked. “Very true. Besides, I know for a fact she’s busy today.”

“A likely story,” Craig answered dryly as he locked up the back of the moving van.

I thought about Faye, and my heart swelled with pride. After her attack, it took her a while to recover, but with Becky and Jamie’s support she managed. It had been hard for her—especially emotionally—but with time her strength of spirit surpassed everyone’s expectations with her speedy recovery.

I couldn’t have been any prouder of her if I tried.

I gave Craig the keys to my new bungalow, then climbed into Lylah’s car—my motorcycle had been left at the bungalow—and made my way to the station. As I drove, I thought about how crazy the past year had been and how much had happened. Graham and Marika’s trials had been pulled forward, and they were both now in prison for life. Agata had gone to see her sister once, but as far as I was aware, she hadn’t been back since. She’d been heartbroken twice—once to know her sister had voluntarily ignored her, and twice when she realised her sister had so brutally harmed others. Larry’s trial had been and gone, and he was now close to finishing his six-month imprisonment for obstructing justice. There was a silver lining to his tale, however. Quinn had visited him regularly, expressing a desire to rekindle their teenage romance once he was out. For Larry’s sake, I hoped that was true.

I’d also been to the Bucking Bronco on several occasions to check in with Sam and Bill. The two men had put their differences with me behind them, and we’d been able to enjoy some laughs together as well as drinks in Nessa’s memory. Sam had paid for a lovely memorial slab for her to be placed behind the bar, and I gazed at it sadly each time I went there.

It had been a year, and yet I still carried the same level of guilt with me over her death as I did before. I doubted that would ever change.

Maddison and Avery were now officially a couple, flaunting their budding romance in everyone’s faces at any given opportunity—according to Nadia—and Nadia had made the choice to retire by the end of the tax year. It was a decision that took everyone by surprise. We all knew how dedicated to the job she was.

The serial killer case had been a lot for us all, and it had shown Nadia that she wanted to focus on her family and friends instead of continuing to lose time with them. It was a decision I fully supported.

I made it to the station, parked up, then walked through the entrance. I saw Lylah standing at the reception, and she beamed when she saw me.

“Hello, my love,” she said warmly. “You’re early.”

I went up and kissed her. “Aye, I had something to give you before we left.”

Lylah’s eyes widened excitedly. “You’ve got me a retirement present?”

“Something like that.”

I grabbed my phone, sent a quick message, then pocketed it. Less than a minute later, the front door opened and Rebecca, Elijah, Mae, Faye, Becky, and Jamie all entered the room. From the other side, the department doors flew open, and Nadia, Victoria, Maddison, Avery, and Simon all stepped in our direction. Everyone was carrying either balloons, food, or some form of present.

Lylah put her hands to her mouth in surprise, not knowing where to look. Eventually she fixed her gaze on me. “You did all of this... for me?”

I winked. “Of course.”

Lylah squealed excitedly, then started running around greeting everyone. While she was preoccupied, I caught Faye’s eye and smiled at her. Faye smiled in return as she stepped toward me. As she walked, I held back a laugh when both Becky and Jamie went to help her and she quickly stopped them.

“I’m capable of walking a few steps you know!” she exclaimed, giving both women a smile.

Becky blushed and pulled their daughter back. “Of course, darling.”

Faye continued to approach me, playfully rolling her eyes as she walked.

“Now you know how I felt after the head injury,” I said cheekily.

Faye hit me playfully. “I know... it’s nice that they care, but I’m fine now.”

I looked her up and down thoughtfully. She had a couple of light scars on her face, but most of her injuries had been to her torso. From how Becky had described it to me, it sounded like her body looked like a badly played game of noughts and crosses, but the only thing that mattered was the fact she was alive.

Faye caught me looking, so she cleared her throat and spoke before I had the chance to ask how she was. “Great job organising all of this, Dad.” She glanced around. “Is Craig not here?”

“He’s getting our stuff set up in the bungalow.”

Faye smirked. “Ah, he pulled the short straw then.”

I laughed. “Count yourself lucky, he was going to call you to help him, but I told him off.”

Before Faye had the chance to reply, Jamie ran over and pulled Faye in for a hug.

“Hey, love,” I said to Jamie kindly. “I swear you keep growing!”

Jamie was now sixteen and only slightly shorter than Faye. Although she had some of Faye’s teenage petulance, a lot of that had vanished after Faye was attacked. Faye’s near death experience had made the two women closer than ever, and although I’d never want to go through any of that again, part of me was glad at least one good thing came out of the attack.

“I know, Mum said I have to stop as she can’t afford to keep buying me clothes,” she said coolly. She fixed me with a serious look. “That’s not true though, right? I bet detectives are minted!”

“I wish!” I exclaimed. “The job has all of the dangers but none of the perks, unfortunately.”

Jamie frowned unhappily.

Faye rubbed her head and kissed it. “At least you have the sense to do something else!” She turned to me with a fond smile. “She’s applying to do a midwifery course after she finishes sixth form.”

Jamie turned away from us in embarrassment.

“That sounds fantastic!” I praised. “The world needs some good health care workers.”

Jamie nodded. “Cheers, Gramps.”

Faye winked at me, knowing how much I hated that name. “Come, J, let’s go grab some of that cake before your mother eats it all.”

We all laughed at the sight of Becky going for a second piece of cake as if on cue.

They walked off, and I glanced around the room happily. Anytime I looked at Lylah, I could see she was in her element and that was all I’d wanted. She had worked hard her entire career and deserved nothing less than the perfect send off.

“You pulled it out of the park, Ellis.”

I turned to my side to see Rebecca looking at me cheekily. I winked at her. “Did you ever have any doubt?”

“Only after the seventh time you called me panicking about it.”

I faked a thoughtful look. “I think it was only three or four phone calls.”

“If you say so.” She hesitated as she smiled at Lylah, Elijah, Nadia, and Mae all laughing together. “I must admit... it feels good to have the entire team together again, doesn’t it?”

“Aye, and without a potential body to deal with for once.”

Rebecca looked at me. “So, you’re actually taking your retirement seriously this time?”

I nodded, my eyes fixed to Lylah. “I made a promise to my long-suffering wife.”

Rebecca chuckled. “You two are good for one another, you know.”

“She’s good for me, aye, but I don’t think it works both ways.”

I expected a classic jokey response from Rebecca, as that was the sort of relationship we’d always had, but she surprised me by leaning on my shoulder affectionately. “You’re a good man, Sean. You always have been... she could do a hell of a lot worse.”

I thanked her, then leant my head on hers for a second before pulling away. “Let’s go get some cake, shall we?”

She rubbed her hands together happily. “I thought you’d never ask.”

We all stayed there for an hour—as by then all of the food had gone—and it was an hour filled with chatting and laughter. A lot of the new team kept trying to push me to tell them about some of my older cases, but I was done with reliving them.

I’d done that too much during my hunt for Graham.

They were disappointed each time I said no, but they understood and moved the topic onto something else. After the hour, we all said our goodbyes, and then I waited until only the original team was left behind. I looked around at Lylah, Rebecca, Nadia, Elijah, and Mae and felt myself choking up.

“Ta for everything, you lot,” I said emotionally. “You made my years here the best of my life... but now I’m ready to begin my next adventure.”

I caught Lylah’s eye, and she smiled at me happily.

Elijah gazed around the station. “I can’t believe when April comes none of the original lot will be here anymore! It doesn’t seem possible, does it?”

There was a nostalgic silence, which we all savoured. This station had been home to all of us for a long, long time, and to know none of us would be there anymore was a bitter pill to swallow.

“The new team is good, though,” Nadia said approvingly. “We’ve left the place in good hands.”

I agreed. “Aye, they were great during the Graham Arnold case, so I don’t doubt that for a second.”

The others quickly agreed.

We all stepped outside of the station, and I watched as Nadia locked up. Once she was finished, I looked around at everyone.

“I’m treating the family to dinner if you all want to join us?” I asked.

“Are you treating us too, sir?” Elijah asked playfully.

“Absolutely not.”

Everyone laughed.

“Of course we’ll be there,” Mae said kindly. “For Lylah, though, not for you.”

I nudged her playfully. “Fair enough! We have to get some things set up at the bungalow first, but I’ll text you the location and meet you in an hour?”

Everyone agreed.

Lylah and I stood there, hand in hand, and watched the others get in their cars and leave. It was only after their cars were out of sight that I looked at her.

“How do you feel about leaving, love?” I asked.

Lylah kissed me passionately. “Fan-bloody-tastic!”

I looked at her coyly. “You won’t miss it like I did then?”

She shook her head. “I’ve got you and the kids, Seany. What else could I need?”

“Truer words were never spoken,” I replied.

“Do you still miss it?” she asked.

“Sometimes, but that feeling disappears more and more with each passing day.” I kissed her hand. “Because of you.”

Lylah’s cheeks flushed, and she pulled me away from the station.

I squeezed her hand, and as we walked toward Lylah’s car I took one final look at the station and knew I was doing the right thing by putting it all behind me.

A part of me would always miss the station, my job, my team, and everything that came with it... but with Lylah by my side I knew I’d never need anything else.

I’d spent years chasing the next criminal, but as I stepped away from Victoria Way Station, I knew I was stepping toward chasing new memories with the woman I loved...

And what could be a more exciting adventure than that?

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR

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