BooksBarbecue
Back The Game
Chapters (68)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. NOW
  4. One
  5. BEFORE
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. NOW
  26. Twenty-One
  27. BEFORE
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Twenty-Six
  33. Twenty-Seven
  34. Twenty-Eight
  35. Twenty-Nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-One
  38. Thirty-Two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. Thirty-Four
  41. Thirty-Five
  42. Thirty-Six
  43. Thirty-Seven
  44. Thirty-Eight
  45. NOW
  46. Thirty-Nine
  47. BEFORE
  48. Forty
  49. Forty-One
  50. Forty-Two
  51. Forty-three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Forty-Nine
  58. Fifty
  59. Fifty-One
  60. NOW
  61. Fifty-Two
  62. Fifty-Three
  63. Fifty-Four
  64. Fifty-Five
  65. AFTER
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Acknowledgements
  68. About the Author

‘Mark spoke to the son,’ DI Bennett said, bringing him back into the room. ‘He didn’t exactly give up his uncle, but made some interesting statements we can use. The family are together and will be returning home soon. A family liaison officer will be accompanying them, who will keep an eye on them. I don’t need to tell any of you of the importance of keeping this all quiet at the moment. That means not telling family members, friends, anyone, about what’s going on right now. And definitely no media at all. They’re camped outside at the moment, looking for someone to let something slip. We can’t give them anything. It’ll only screw us up at this point. Let them speculate and come up with non-stories. We’ll keep doing our own work.’

As DI Bennett spoke, the television on the wall in the corner of the room flickered silently. One of the twenty-four-hour news channels was on screen, the yellow breaking news banner running across the bottom.

Mark turned away from it, not wanting to see what was being reported.

‘Some of you are staying on to continue working the case, but it’s been a long day for the rest. I want those who have been here since eight this morning to clock off and get some sleep. We’ve got two pieces of evidence that I need final reports on by the morning: Emily’s diary of “thoughts” and her social media accounts. Mark has been working on them the last couple of days and done as much as he could, but they’re extensive and long. I want a couple each on both. Work through them quickly but diligently. Find me something that we can use against the uncle.’

They wouldn’t find anything, Mark thought, but didn’t say. He needed to scour those pages himself and try to find any references to a game. He wanted to know why she wasn’t putting more stock in what he had discovered, but was prepared to wait.

Someone was killing these women – two so far – and he didn’t think for one second that it was a low-life drug dealer with an anger issue.

His phone buzzed again in his pocket, as DI Bennett continued talking for a few more minutes. When she eventually dismissed them, she grabbed hold of his arm as he walked past her.

‘A quick word first,’ she said, letting go and walking into her office. Mark looked across at DS Cavanagh, who seemed to stay in place for a second, before deciding to follow them.

‘Yeah, boss,’ Mark said, surprised at how calm and level his voice sounded. ‘The letter we found, I’m guessing?’

‘Yes, the letter,’ DI Bennett replied, standing behind her desk, one hand resting on top of her chair. ‘I’ve had a quick look through it, but I’m not sure what we can take from it right now.’