‘If you ask me, not much about that lad does,’ growled Nikki. ‘And another thing, do you remember when his mother spoke to us about him, she said he “treasured” his friends. Isn’t that odd terminology when describing a young bloke?’

‘Yes, that does have an unhealthy feel to it, I agree.’ Joseph frowned. ‘Although I really don’t think Kris has any connection to Lisa Jane Leonard. His mother would have mentioned a girl as stunning as that, wouldn’t she?’

‘If she ever saw her. Mummy’s boy may have had good reason not to bring her home for tea and cakes.’

‘You really don’t like him, do you?’ said Joseph.

‘Until you can show me someone else who fits the bill.’ Nikki narrowed her eyes. ‘Galileo is still my number one.’

CHAPTER NINETEEN

‘BINGO!’ CAT PUSHED her chair away from the computer and gave a little whoop of delight.

‘That sounds more promising,’ said Dave, putting down the phone.

‘Got a trace on Lyco.’ She stood up. ‘Coming with me? We could do with some fresh air.’

‘From what you told me about that creep, the air would probably be fresher in the men’s karzy.’

‘So bring a peg. Let’s go make a house call!’

‘What house call?’

‘Oh, hello ma’am.’ Cat calmed her enthusiasm. The boss didn’t always go a bundle on frivolity. ‘I’ve been hunting, Guv. In cyberspace. I’ve located the pervert who designed the computer game.’

‘The one with the Griffyx?’

Cat nodded. ‘Dave and I were just about to drop in on the sleaze-ball.’

The inspector held up a hand. ‘Before that, what’s the connection with the masks?’ Cat filled her in as concisely as possible, then added, ‘And this Griffyx character really likes to maul beautiful women.’ She paused, ‘Well, actually he likes to do a lot more than maul them, but I guess here is not the place or the time—’

‘Precisely.’ The Guv’nor threw her a dark look. ‘But you can forget about the two of you tackling this creep alone. I really don’t think you’ve thought this through, Detective.’

Cat sat back down and stared up at her boss. A small ‘thank you, good work, Cat’, would have been nice.

‘If this man … what’s his name?’

‘Terry James, ma’am.’

‘Right, well, if this James has a direct link to the masks, he could be very dangerous, apart from being a pervert.’ She paused. ‘Where does he live?’

‘Rydell Street, ma’am. Over the off licence.’

‘OK, we’ll all go, and we’ll take a few uniforms with us. And wear your stab-proof vests. As we have no idea what the agenda is behind the masks, we can’t be too careful.’ She stood up, then smiled down at Cat. ‘And good work, Detective. It’s the first proper lead we’ve had on those damned rat-faced masks.’