In spite of that, Connie’s every instinct was screaming that the same person who had taken Elspeth was also holding Meggy somewhere, dead or alive. Alive, she believed, or at least hoped. Baarda was off evidence gathering and organising officers to scope out Inch Park and the surrounding neighbourhoods. He was cynical about her theory but willing to act on it in the absence of anything more concrete to follow up.

The police had waited too long already. They’d waited for Angela’s killer to reveal himself, and that pause had resulted in Elspeth’s abduction. Then they’d waited again for the forensics, for door-to-door enquiries to bear fruit. And Meggy, too, had been taken. It was time to stop drumming their fingers and make something happen.

She dialled Baarda.

‘We have to appeal to the kidnapper directly,’ Connie said. ‘I know the team’s been worried about stirring up another false ransom request, but we can ask him to contact us with information only Elspeth will know. It’d be easy to avoid copycats or fake claims.’

‘Why is it you think he’ll respond?’ Baarda asked.

His voice was low and slow. Not a challenge. An exploration of her thought process.

‘The classic psychopathic profile often lends itself to communicating. He might be waiting for us to reach out to him.’

‘Connie, I know you suspect the same offender in both Elspeth’s and Meggy’s abductions, but we can’t jump into a press conference because of that,’ Baarda said gently. ‘Meggy’s parents would have to be approached first, and that would be an extremely sensitive reveal given Angela Fernycroft’s death.’

‘I get that,’ Connie said. ‘But in all three cases, the guy has acted as if he’s invincible. Maybe normal psychosexual parameters don’t apply. It could be that he’s not playing out a single fantasy, it’s more complex than that. If Meggy is the third victim then the ramping up is exponential. We’ve gone from stalking and an indoor, carefully controlled crime scene, to a public approach and a kidnapping on a driveway, this time at a school.’

‘You think he feels bulletproof,’ Baarda said.

‘Bulletproof’s not exactly right. He’s still taking some precautions. He doesn’t want to get caught. He has purpose, even if we haven’t figured out what that is yet, whether it’s sexual, retributive or whatever. There’s planning. The choices he’s making can’t be entirely random. But removing people from public places is unique. It’s like he feels unseen.’

‘Which is why you want to tell him that he isn’t?’

‘Exactly,’ she said.

‘What if that’s a trigger for him? Say he feels safe while he’s invisible, as if he’s off our radar. When we start trying to communicate with him directly, is there not a risk that his behaviour will deteriorate? He’s holding one captive who we hope is still alive, possibly two if your instincts about Meggy are correct. He could easily decide that it’s less risky for him to kill them before he’s discovered.’

‘You got a better idea?’ Connie asked.