‘Made for two,’ Fergus called back to her. ‘Recycled, so it’s kinder to the environment. You and your mum can be together forever, and we can start our new life. This time, I’ll be able to pass on. I did everything I was supposed to on this earth. It’s time for my reward.’

He lifted the box into the hole in the ground. Brushing the dirt off a nearby gravestone, he muttered a few indistinct words to an invisible entity.

He lifted Elspeth from the boot of the car first, unconscious, lolling in his arms. Meggy heard the wooden thud of the woman’s head hitting the base of the coffin. By the time he came back for Meggy, she was already screaming into her gag.

She screamed still as he closed the lid on the two of them.

She screamed as he pounded a handful of nails into the top of the coffin.

She screamed even louder as he began to shovel wet earth onto them in the deathly blackness.

No one heard.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

When Baarda joined her, Connie was sitting in the rear of a police car with a box on her lap. The look on her face was enough to stop him in his tracks, several paces away.

‘Well, this place explains the mud-obscured number plate when he abducted Meggy Russell. It’s pretty much a farm track. Either the car was naturally dirty, or it was an easy option for him to dirty his car to avoid detection. There’s also not a neighbour in screaming distance. Couldn’t have chosen this house better myself. What’s in the box?’ Baarda asked.

‘Items retrieved from beneath the floorboards of the top apartment in Ariss’ building. We underestimated him.’

Connie looked away from Baarda. The light caught in the watery rims of her eyes. He didn’t comment.

‘He’s killed before. I don’t know if he’s even fully conscious of it. His delusions are convincing, but they’re also recurring, meaning that he has periods when he resets, if you like. I think I’m most worried about how he gets to the reset point.’

‘Connie, what’s in the box?’ Baarda asked.

She reached in a shaking hand a pulled out a tiny cracked skull. It sat in the palm of her hand perfectly, as if there was still life hidden deep within.

‘It’s from a baby. The rest of the bones were there, too. Tiny ribs. Little legs. The firefighter found them when he went up to look for some evidence that might indicate where Fergus had taken Elspeth and Meggy. There are others, too. He wasn’t able to estimate how many because they’re scattered throughout the cavity, but lots.