And then a line she’d used before. ‘Such a silly fuss about nothing.’

Heath began waving his wounded hand in the air, showering small droplets of blood, as he had only days before, over the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling, like a Jackson Pollock painting exclusively in red. A few drops fell on Lottie’s virtually bald head.

‘What on earth are you doing now, you ungrateful boy? Do you have to make such an awful mess? You haven’t even cleaned up after the last time.’

‘I’ll get around to it.’

‘And look at the terrible state of the cage. What were you thinking? You should have bought sufficiently large nappies. The brat’s unconscious, it’s not rocket science.’

Heath snarled at first, growling, spraying spittle, but then he smiled as his thought process took him off in another direction. ‘I’ve been thinking of ways to kill the brat when the time comes. Fantasy is enjoyable enough, but it can’t sustain me indefinitely.’

‘That’s all very well, Henry. But why delay? It would be a lot safer to get on with it.’

‘It will be soon, very soon, but not quite yet. The bitch mother hasn’t suffered nearly enough. There’s more to come. I’ve explained all this. I want to get to know her better. I want to witness her ultimate decline up close and personal. I’ll hold on for as long as I can. And then they’ll both die a horrible death.’

33

‘Take a seat, Laura. I’ve got precisely twenty minutes. I want you to summarise your progress as succinctly as possible.’

Kesey looked up at Halliday, perched on his higher seat behind his excessively large desk. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘It’s now been over a week since Lottie Weller was last seen. I’m asking myself if you’re up to finding her. I hope appointing you as the senior investigating officer wasn’t an error of judgement on my part.’

Kesey gritted her teeth. ‘I’m doing everything I can. And my team are too. If you want to reallocate the case, that’s up to you, but nobody could do more.’

He checked his watch. ‘If you say so, Laura, if you say so.’

Kesey leant forwards in her seat, holding his gaze as her anger boiled to the surface. ‘What is your problem?’

‘I beg your pardon?’

She raised herself upright in her seat. ‘You know exactly what’s happening with the case. I’ve briefed you on a regular basis. And you’ve read the paperwork. You know what’s going on as well as I do.’

Halliday’s expression darkened. ‘I’d remember who you’re talking to, if I were you, Inspector.’

Kesey bit the inside of her lower lip hard. ‘Okay, have it your way. We’ve been through the list of nonces. Eight have been interviewed to date, and there’s another five worth looking at. They’ll all be brought in and interviewed over the next few days in priority order. We’ve had the photos looked at. They’re genuine; it’s definitely Lottie in the pictures. And it’s highly likely the abductor developed them himself. Each image has the perpetrator’s fingerprints all over it. Those fingerprints are a match for those found in the Wellers’ home. The offender made no effort to hide them because he knows they’re not on record. He’s gaining confidence. He thinks he’s cleverer than we are. And when that happens, offenders sometimes get careless. The way things are going, that may well be our best chance of catching him.’