Chapters (68)
- Cover
- Dedication
- NOW
- One
- BEFORE
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- NOW
- Twenty-One
- BEFORE
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- NOW
- Thirty-Nine
- BEFORE
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- NOW
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- AFTER
- Fifty-Six
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
‘A few things,’ Mark said, shooting a hopeful look towards DS Cavanagh for back-up. ‘First, we have the odd events before both Emily and Joanna were found dead. The things they’ve been doing in public, etcetera. Then you have this mention of some kind of game and the fear behind it. Also we have the online element of it all. Emily was targeting people online. And I’ve heard Joanna might have been doing similar things. Ostracised, all of that.’
‘I agree that things aren’t adding up,’ DI Bennett replied, placing her hands on her hips. ‘But I need to play the odds here. Occam’s Razor, you know? I think there’s something to suggest there’s some kind of game, but that could just be something new that teenagers are doing, and we’re getting side-tracked by it. At the moment, evidence is leading us away from something like what you’re suggesting, and towards abuse and a closer connection.’
‘The uncle…’
‘Yes, the uncle. It’s been a crazy couple of days. If I had any idea what was going to happen, I would never have sent you to that house on your own.’
‘No one could have seen it coming. I just… Are you sure that this isn’t all connected?’
‘Mark…’
Mark tried to quieten down the part of him that wanted to make her see sense, but he didn’t know how to do that. ‘It’s not right. None of this. I found absolutely nothing to suggest Emily’s uncle was abusing her. Only a sulky teenage boy, who has an axe to grind by the looks of things. It seems a huge stretch to think that Rich killed her and Joanna Carter. Do you really think that’s him on that CCTV?’
‘You don’t think he could find someone to do his dirty work for him?’
Mark hesitated, then shook his head. ‘It just doesn’t make sense.’
‘It does, Mark,’ DI Bennett said, correcting him, her face now blank and unreadable. ‘I understand your concerns and don’t think that I don’t share them. That’s why we’re looking at the most logical option right now, in her uncle being the one who killed her.’
‘It doesn’t seem that logical to me…’
‘Careful, Mark,’ DI Bennett said, before he had chance to say any more. ‘You’ve done well this week, so don’t make a mistake.’