‘He does. The attacker swore, and Mr Andrew indicated that it sounded like a male voice with an Australian or New Zealand accent.’

‘So you’re looking for an Aussie or Kiwi man?’ the woman said.

‘That’s one line of enquiry,’ Wynne replied. ‘Mr Andrew could be mistaken. It’s hard to identify an accent from one or two words. But we are certainly looking into it.’

Alice raised her hand. ‘Are you sure this is the Crucifix Killer? Without the presence of a crucifix, it’s not certain, surely? It could be an unrelated assault. A mugging, perhaps.’

‘I’ll take this one,’ DSI Ryan said. ‘That’s very true. And we’ve considered it as a possibility. But our conclusion is that this is the same perpetrator.’

‘Any further details on why?’ Alice said.

‘There are other similarities,’ Ryan replied. ‘In the other three murders, we saw the use of a hammer to inflict fatal head injuries. This was an attempt to do the same.’ She folded her arms and leaned forward. ‘Let’s all remember – crucifixes aside, these are brutal, callous murders, inflicted by a cowardly killer upon innocent members of society. There’s nothing special or grand about what this criminal is doing, and they will be caught.’

Alice wrote down the final sentence. It was perfect to close her next story.

‘CRUCIFIX’ KILLER STRIKES: VICTIM ESCAPES

By Alice Sark

The Crucifix Killer selected another victim in the early hours of this morning, but this time they did not have it all their own way.

The victim, Mike Andrew, 17, was injured by a blow to the arm from a hammer, while walking under the Lumb Brook aqueduct. The blow was intended to strike his head – and would almost certainly have been fatal – but he had heard something as he approached the ambush and managed to avoid it.

Mr Andrew suffered a broken arm but is otherwise unharmed.

The police confirmed in a press conference that they believe this to be an attempted murder by the so-called Crucifix Killer. Despite the absence of the signature crucifix, the use of a hammer to inflict a fatal blow is consistent with the four prior murders.

They also confirmed that Mr Andrew had heard his attacker speak, and believed it to be a male voice, with an Australian accent.

If this is correct, it is potentially a valuable lead for the police.

Whatever the truth, the Crucifix Killer has slipped up and revealed what they truly are: a coward who hides in the shadows and attacks their victims from behind.

In the words of Detective Superintendent Marie Ryan. ‘There’s nothing special or grand about what this criminal is doing, and they will be caught.’

Friday, 20 August 2021

Tom

Tom opened his eyes. Alice was sitting on the bed, her hand on his shoulder.

‘Tom,’ she said. ‘Wake up.’