As he entered the attic, focused on the cage, he believed Lottie knew it too, whatever her unconscious state. She was in the presence of a living god.

It was the greatest moment of his life.

39

‘It’s too expensive, you said. He won’t go back to the house for the third time, you said. Well, he did, he was there last night. The madman actually shat on Lottie’s pyjama top and hung it on her mother’s frigging clothes line.’

Halliday took a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth. ‘I’m in the middle of a call, Laura. Take a seat, and I’ll be with you as quickly as I can.’

Kesey sat herself down, still bristling, not quite able to believe he was continuing his very ordinary telephone conversation as if she’d said nothing at all. When he finally put the phone down about five minutes later, she spoke up insistently, before he had the opportunity to comment. ‘I told you Megan Weller needed protection. I sat in this very seat and said it more than once. It was our best chance of catching the bastard. And our best chance of rescuing Lottie too. But would you listen? You were wrong. I want to hear you admit it. You always seem to think you know best.’

For the first time in Kesey’s experience, Halliday appeared lost for words.

‘What, nothing to say for yourself?’

He averted his eyes to the wall, sitting in continued silence for a few seconds more, before composing himself. ‘Do try to calm yourself down, Laura. I’d appreciate you conducting yourself in a professional manner commensurate with your rank.’

‘What?’

‘I think I made myself perfectly clear.’

‘We’d have the abductor in a cell now if you’d listened to me.’

Halliday appeared to be gaining confidence now, as if the early impact of her statement was wearing thin. ‘You’re the senior investigating officer, Laura. I can only say that you didn’t make your case strongly enough. If you had, well, I’d almost certainly have agreed to the necessary funding. If there is a failure, it’s yours and not mine. I’m sure the chief constable would agree, should he become involved.’

‘You have got to be frigging kidding me.’

‘You mentioned cameras. What about the cameras? I thought it was a rather desperate tactic. Weren’t they as effective as you’d hoped?’

Kesey sighed. ‘Oh, the bastard’s on camera all right. He’s in clear view despite the darkness. But he’s heavily disguised. He’s unrecognisable. The one thing we can say is that it’s definitely a man.’

‘And we know that how exactly?’

‘Oh, we know it because he pulled his skirt up and his pants down. He got his dick out and squatted facing the camera. We can see his prick clearly enough, just not his face.’

Halliday picked up a gold fountain pen, turning it in his hand. ‘Are you finished?’

Kesey was panting slightly when she looked back at him. ‘I’ve said what I came to say.’