The short-haired woman to DSI Ryan’s left – Detective Inspector Wynne – looked out over the room. Her gaze was flat and expressionless, and there was a stillness to her, a sense that she was taking in every detail before she spoke.

‘Welcome,’ she said. ‘And thank you, DSI Ryan. I’m Detective Inspector Jane Wynne. As you know there have been three murders in the last four months in the Warrington area. Mr Davidson is the most recent. Ms Amy Martin and Ms Jane Kirkpatrick were the first two. There are certain similarities between all three that lead us to believe they may have been committed by the same person. In particular, the cause of death is a heavy blow to the head. We are aware there has been speculation to this effect, and although at this point I am unable to reveal any details, I can confirm that we are now operating on the assumption that this is indeed the case.’

‘So you’re saying it’s a serial killer?’ The question came from a tall man with dark hair who ran an online news site.

Wynne nodded. ‘That’s correct.’

The tall man spoke again. ‘Any suspects?’

DSI Ryan leaned towards her microphone. ‘We have some leads we’re following.’

Sue Brown, a journalist on one of the Liverpool papers, raised her hand. ‘It’s unusual for a serial killer to target women and men,’ she said. ‘Mostly they have a type. Does the fact that in this case the victims are men and women lead you to question whether it really is the same person?’

It was a clever question, Alice thought. Sue Brown knew the police wouldn’t have said it was a serial killer if there weren’t significant links between the murders – beyond the blows to the head – links that would remove the doubts they would have had at the victims being female and male. She was hoping, by asking the question, to find out what those links were.

Wynne gave a wry smile. ‘I’m afraid I’m not able to expand on our reasons. You’ll have to make do with the information that there are links.’

‘Then do you have a profile of who it might be? Who he is?’ she said.

‘You used the word “he”,’ DI Wynne said. ‘We aren’t certain it is a man, but—’

‘In most cases it is,’ Brown said. ‘And the manner of these killings – a blow to the head – would suggest a level of violence that would indicate it’s more likely to be a man. No?’

‘More likely,’ Wynne said. ‘But at this point we can’t rule anything out.’

They’d be looking for a man, though, Alice thought. They always were in these cases.

DI Wynne scanned the room. ‘Any further questions?’

No one spoke up.

‘Then we can end,’ Wynne said. ‘Thank you all for coming.’