‘Well I care deeply about mine.’ She removed her woollen cape from the back of her chair and flung it around her tall slender body. The fabric was a similar shade to her hair. ‘I think you should be ashamed of yourselves,’ Jane told the rest of the table before flouncing out.

‘You know Mrs Wade’s son was arrested? He’s in prison,’ Aiden added, stroking his ginger beard as Steven returned carrying a tray of drinks for them all.

‘Yeah, I saw that on the news,’ Myleene confirmed with a grimace.

‘Mrs Wade must be very sad,’ Amber said quietly, picking a piece of fluff from her cream jumper off her skinny black jeans.

‘Poor sod.’ Steven shook his head while bringing a pint of rich coloured bitter to his lips. ‘Some people seem to be born with bad luck.’

Chapter 21

10.05am Sunday 22nd December

Palmer was tired. He’d had a bad night. His son, who was extremely over-excited about Christmas, had woken up every few hours and come in to his parents’ room to see if Father Christmas had been yet. Yawning, Palmer stood by the coffee machine waiting for a hot cup of fuel. In the glass window he caught a glimpse of his reflection. He’d stopped taking care of himself. The case had taken over and his appearance was suffering. His stubble was scruffy and his shirt not as pristine as he would normally like. It seemed that there were more lines around his eyes than there had been before Dennis Wade’s murder.

Elly arrived next to him, waiting her turn to get a coffee and he snapped out of his thoughts.

‘Morning.’ She smiled.

‘Morning.’ Palmer stifled another yawn.

‘Something is going on.’ She pointed over to Barrett who was completely wrapped up in a conversation on the phone, his brow furrowed as he jotted down notes.

‘This killer certainly likes to keep us on our feet.’ Palmer sipped the watery coffee. ‘Why change MO at this stage? Why send the finger of the third body before we’ve found it? It doesn’t make sense.’

‘Psychopath,’ Elly suggested.

‘Well yes, but what is the end game? What do they want?’

‘You mean apart from to kill?’ Her eyes blinked and a smile fell on her lips.

‘Yes. Mark my words there is a link between these victims. Something. Perhaps your neglect idea will come to fruition.’ He smiled back at her and their eyes met. ‘Anyway.’ Palmer looked away. ‘Hopefully the third victim will be on file so we can track them down quickly.’

‘Do you think the third victim is alive?’