by K Pierce
Emily cleared her throat. ‘We don’t have a relationship, as such. We met on a dating site and we’ve been chatting since. What happened to her?’
‘Why don’t you tell us?’ Barry said. Nat gave him a sideways glance.
‘What?’ Emily’s voice waivered.
‘Do you know an Alison Rosewood?’
‘Should I?’
‘Please, Miss Shaw,’ Barry’s voice was soft, gentle, as if he was talking to a wounded animal or a sensitive child, ‘answer the question.’
Emily looked from Barry to Nat and back again. ‘No, no I don’t.’ She watched Nat pull a sheet of paper from the folder and slide it towards her. She dropped her gaze to the neatly typed words in front of her.
‘That’s several conversations you had with Miss Rosewood.’ Nat said. ‘Over the course of three days.’
‘I don’t remember that.’ Emily averted her eyes, ‘I’ve spoken to a few women on there.’
Barry raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t remember a particularly racy conversation like that? With a beautiful woman like her?’ He flipped over a photo. A blonde stared back at her. She took the picture, willing herself to remember the woman, and at the same time hoping she didn’t know her. Emily vaguely remembered her. ‘We stopped talking after a few days.’
‘Do you know why?’
‘She went off me? Found the love of her life? I don’t know.’
‘How did that make you feel?’ Barry continued.
‘I didn’t feel anything. Contrary to popular belief not all lesbians want to move in and get married after one conversation.’ Emily said. ‘Why are you asking me about this woman? I thought I was here to talk about Annie?’
‘When was the last time you spoke to Annie?’ Nat asked.
‘This morning.’ As soon as the words left her mouth it seemed like all of the air had been sucked from the room. The two detectives looked at each other, neither hiding their disbelief.
Nat frowned. ‘Are you sure?’
‘That I sent text messages to someone about,’ she glanced at her watch, ‘four hours ago? I’m forgetful at times but Alzheimer’s hasn’t kicked in just yet, Detective. Why? What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘Emily,’ Nat cleared her throat and looked at her with wide eyes, ‘Annie’s been dead for at least three days.’
13.
‘You…you’re wrong.’ Emily stammered. Her skin prickled with cool sweat. ‘I…’
‘Emily, did you have anything to do with what happened to these women?’ Barry asked. Nat glared at him, but he ignored her. ‘Because if you did then now would be the time to tell us.’
‘What?’ Emily’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Are you being serious?! I just told you that I spoke to her, THIS MORNING!’
‘Emily-’ Nat began
‘No! I didn’t have anything to do with any of-.’ Emily stopped abruptly. ‘Wait, if she’s been dead for as long as you say she has then who the fuck have I been talking to?’ She wiped a clammy hand over her face, her mind racing to process everything that had happened in the last few hours. The room suddenly felt oppressively hot.
Barry caught her eye. ‘We’re going to need your phone, and your log in details for the dating website. We can get a warrant for them, but things will go much quicker if you cooperate.’ Emily slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She laid it on the table top so that they could see what she was doing and tapped in her code. Barry wrote it down. When the screen sprang to life, she pushed it towards them.
Barry nodded solemnly. ‘Thanks.’ He clicked on the message icon and they began to read through the messages one by one. Nat scribbled some notes into her notebook but said nothing. Emily couldn’t believe that this was happening. A cold sliver of fear snaked its way up her spine at the thought of who she may have been texting and she wracked her brains trying to remember what she’d said to Annie in the past few days. She blushed at some of the flirtier conversations that they’d had before a wave of nausea hit her. Who the hell had it been?
Barry pushed back from the table with her phone in his hand. ‘I need to get this over to tech. Be right back.’
When the door clicked shut behind him warm fingers closed over Emily’s hand. She looked up into brown eyes filled with concern. ‘Don’t you dare ask me if I’m OK,’ she ground out.
‘I’m dumb when it comes to women but I’m not stupid.’ Nat gave her a gentle smile.
‘I’m no criminal.’ Emily said. ‘Well, aside from that one time I nicked a Mars bar from the shop, but I was eleven, so I don’t think I can be tried for it now. And when I kicked Tommy Flannagan in the balls for grabbing my arse in the pub. And I’m pretty sure I might still have a couple of books from the library that I’ve had since about 1998.’
Nat chuckled. ‘Do you want to stop confessing now before I have to actually arrest you for something.’
‘Sorry, I’m just a bit freaked out. I talk when I’m nervous.’
‘Understandable. Is there anything else you can think of to tell me?’
‘Like what? My brain pretty much turned to mush when I realised that some deranged psycho may have been sexting me.’
‘Sexting huh?’ Nat couldn’t stop the irrational stab of jealousy at the thought. Emily averted her eyes and remained silent. Nat pushed on, ‘Anything. Have you spoken to her on the phone?’
‘Not lately. We did, and she left me a few voicemails, so I knew she was real, at least I thought she was. Now I have no idea what to think.’
Nat jotted something down. ‘What about Skype?
‘No. She sent me pictures of stuff and we chatted. She was real. I was talking to the real her!’ Tears threatened Emily’s eyes and she rubbed at them roughly. ‘Oh God, what the hell’s happening?’
‘I don’t know but we’re going to figure it out.’ Nat touched her hand again, the little warning voice in the back of her head reminding her that she shouldn’t be consoling this woman, hell, she shouldn’t even be alone with her. ‘Did you notice anything odd in the past few days? Anything out of character?’
‘I really didn’t know her for that long. She got a little distant after the breakdown but-’
‘Wait,’ Nat interrupted, ‘she had a breakdown? Like an emotional one?’
‘No. Her car broke down and she texted me to come and get her or talk to her while she waited but I was asleep.’
‘When was this?’ Nat asked.
Emily closed her eyes trying to remember what day it was and when Annie had started acting oddly. ‘I can’t-’ she stopped, eyes wide. ‘Friday. It was Friday.’ She could see Nat working out the timeline in her head, that and the fact that Annie had started to behave a little differently. The lightbulb switched on and Emily’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘She died on Friday. Oh my god, she was dying while I was sleeping on my couch.’
‘Emily-’ Nat started, but Emily’s voice gained momentum, rising hysterically over hers.
‘I didn’t answer my phone, and someone murdered her!’
‘It’s not your fault.’ Nat said.
Tears streamed freely down Emily’s face. She didn’t hear Nat get out of her chair but a pair of arms closed around her, rocking her gently while she cried. A soft voice and warm breath tickled her ear, making soothing noises in an effort to calm her. ‘It’s not your fault.’ Nat said again and again.
The door opened, and Nat nodded over Emily’s shoulder. She let go and stepped back, pulling a tissue from her pocket. ‘Don’t worry, it’s clean.’ Emily smiled gratefully and tried her best to clean her face. ‘I’ll have someone show you where you can wash up properly. We’ll make you comfortable in a relative’s room until we figure out what’s going on and what we do next. Do you want me to call Fiona?’ She hesitated. ‘Or anyone else?’
‘No.’ Emily said. ‘I just want to go home.’
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’
Emily scrunched up her face, a gesture that Nat found adorable d
espite the circumstances. ‘I’m pretty sure I never told her where I live.’
‘Please,’ Nat said, ‘just wait until I find out where we’re up to and if it’s ok with the Boss I’ll drop you off myself.’
14.
The excitement of discovering that Emily had potentially been conversing with their killer had quickly died down. The phone number that Emily was texting had been forwarded to another number that was, so far, untraceable and more than likely from a pay-as-you-go phone that wouldn’t be registered. According to Ryan and backed up by the geeks in the tech department, there was a new app that could be installed onto a phone to block the sender’s location. Barry had requested the records from the phone company but didn’t hold out much hope that they would arrive soon enough to get them anywhere.
They went through Emily’s phone, through her private messages, and came up with nothing. The same went for her online profile, she’d chatted to both of their victims but there was nothing sinister that suggested that she was their killer. Barry had also agreed that her reaction to the news of Annie’s death was nothing but genuine. Still Nat questioned whether she should be anywhere near this case. Anywhere near Emily.
‘I need you on this.’ Barry said.
‘You said I shouldn’t be alone with her, yet you left me in there.’
‘There’s a connection with you two.’ Barry said. ‘If she had anything to do with these murders then that was our one shot at getting something, anything out of her. I was watching the whole time.’
‘And it wouldn’t have stood up in court. Just like her witness statement won’t if they suspect that there’s anything dodgy going on.’ Nat argued.
‘We can cross that bridge when we come to it. Plus, nothing happened between you. I have a statement saying as much. Granted, you aren’t doing us any favours with the physical contact, but it’ll be fine. It’s my job to worry about that stuff. It’s your job to find this bastard.’
While she’d been talking to Emily, Ryan and Phil had managed to access the online profile of UKnowUWood, or Alison Rosewood as she was known in the real world. Alison, it seemed, had the gift of the gab when it came to the ladies and her inbox was filled with raunchy messages and more than a few phone numbers.
‘So, these girls swap numbers and chat offline but still cruise other girls?’ Barry asked. ‘What happened to wooing one girl at a time?’
‘The fact that you just said wooing should answer that one.’ Nat grinned.
‘Do we not woo anymore?’
‘No, Grandad,’ Phil piped up, ‘modern dating is all about the sex and how many people you can get it from.’
Barry pulled a face. ‘Romance has died a tragic death.’
Nat turned back to the screen in front of her. Annie and Alison’s profiles sat side by side. They were both beautiful but a definite contrast to each other. ‘Do we have anything else on the Cumbria woman?’ she asked.
‘No. We have no idea who she is, and nothing popped when we put out the clothes she was wearing.’
‘Nothing? No workplace that misses her? No fam-’ She stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes drifted from one side of the screen to the other.
‘What is it?’ Phil said.
She clicked open a few other screens, her tired eyes protesting slightly at being forced to jump from page to page. ‘No job or self-employed. No family in the area or at all.’ She looked over at Barry. ‘This is how he finds them. Where else do you advertise that you’re a loner with no family? This site highlights all those things. What do you do for a living? Do you have family? Are you a social butterfly or a hermit who lives alone and enjoys reading Kiki Archer on a Saturday night?’
Phil frowned. ‘Kiki Archer? Didn’t she do that song with Elton John?’
Nat rolled her eyes and carried on. ‘The point is, this site gives our doer the perfect hunting ground. He has carte blanche on his victims and this gives him the opportunity to talk to them and gain their trust before he lures them out and murders them.’
‘But how does he guarantee that the women he picks will talk to him?’
‘We’re assuming it is a he,’ Barry said. ‘If this site is specific to the needs of the ladies then maybe we’re looking for a woman.’
‘I don’t think it is a woman.’ Nat said. ‘The killings are so violent, so angry. I’ve met some rough women in my time but that takes a lot of rage and a lot of strength. Plus, there’s the rape.’
‘No semen though,’ Ryan said, ‘and Janet thinks the damage could be done with an object and not a…’ He blushed.
Phil laughed loudly. ‘Christ, how old are you? You can say penis, or even dick, you know.’
‘Leave him alone, Phil.’ Nat said. ‘Like I was saying, I’m not seeing it as a woman.’
‘Which makes it a hate crime if he’s specifically targeting gay women.’ Barry said. ‘Ok, so if it is a guy how is he gaining their trust? And they’ve swapped numbers, so it stands to reason that they’ve talked on the phone.’
‘Emily spoke to Annie on the phone the night she was murdered. She verified that it was a woman and then Annie’s demeanour changed later that evening. She became distant and they only communicated through texts. The first thing you do when you meet someone new is sell yourself, all he has to do is go back through their conversations and he has all the information he needs.’ Nat paused. ‘That’s how he does it.’
‘What’s how he does what?’
‘He kills them, takes over their profile and finds his next victim on there. It’s someone they’ve already spoken to and built up trust with, someone whose number the victim already has, all of the groundwork is done for him.’ Nat felt the buzz of excitement as the pieces began to fall into place.
‘Hold on.’ Phil said. ‘Explain it again.’
‘Victim A is talking to victim B,’ Nat started, ‘A is killed, and the killer takes over their profile giving them access to victim B – ‘
‘Who has been talking to victim C,’ Barry continued, ‘So when B is killed, he has access to the next.’
‘Think about it, how much information is stored on a person’s phone? How many apps are left open and running? It’s so easy to log in to someone’s life if you have their phone. From there he can just arrange to meet up with the new and unsuspecting woman. It’s twisted genius.’ Nat said.
‘Jesus Christ.’ Phil scrabbled through the paperwork on the desk. ‘Their phones are all missing.’
‘All but one.’ Barry said. ‘If the Cumbria vic is connected and there was nobody in between then she must have been talking to Alison Rosewood, who was talking to Annabeth Anderson, who has been talking to- ‘
‘Emily.’ Nat said. ‘Shit.’
The four of them shared a look but nobody spoke for several long minutes. ‘We need to tell her.’ Ryan said.
‘Telling her isn’t enough.’ Nat looked at Barry. ‘She needs to go into protective custody.’
‘Right now, it’s nothing but conjecture. We have no definitive proof that she’s next or that she’s even the only woman he’s talking to. If I go upstairs with this, they’re going to want proof before they OK that.’
‘Come on!’ Nat’s voice rose. ‘He knows all about her and look at what’s happened with all of his previous dates. Is there really any doubt here?’
‘We need to look at all of the women that Annie, and Alison, have been in contact with.’ Barry said. ‘Check that none of them are missing.’
Nat started to think about how one woman may link to several others. ‘Jesus, do you know how big this could get? How messy? We don’t even know if Cumbria is where this started.’
Phil cleared his throat and Nat knew that she wasn’t going to like what was about to come out of his mouth. ‘He kills them when he meets them, right?’ Barry nodded. ‘Emily mentioned that they’d arranged to meet up the day after tomorrow, yes?’ Nat gestured for him to get a move on, her impatience close to flaring into something else. ‘What if we use that. If we’re there on th
at date with her, we can catch the fucker before he has chance to act or run.’
Nat let out a strangled laugh. ‘You want to use her as bait? Are you kidding?’ She shook her head. ‘Christ, next you’ll be telling me we shouldn’t mention any of this to the poor woman.’ He looked away and her eyebrows rose incredulously. ‘No way! That’s just fucking cold. She has a right to know she’s in danger. Besides, she already knows she’s been talking to him and there’s no way she’s going to go out on that date. She’s not as stupid as you look.’
‘Hey!’
‘Nat,’ Barry warned, ‘there’s no need to get personal.’
‘Well, there’s no need for him to be a complete twat.’
‘This coming from you, Queen Bitch?’ Phil shot back. ‘How are you even still on this case?’
‘Enough!’ Barry’s voice echoed around the room. ‘Natalie, my office, now.’ He shot a warning look at Phil whose smug smile died on his lips.
The door closed behind them. ‘You’re making it personal.’ Barry said.
They were interrupted by the ringing of Barry’s phone. He held up a hand as he answered it, silently telling her that they weren’t finished. When he finished the call, he tossed the phone onto the desk. ‘We just got word back from up North. Apparently our two farmhands were up there at the time of the Cumbria murder.’
‘That’s promising.’ Nat said.
‘Not so much.’ Barry scratched his neck, a nervous habit he had when he was uncomfortable with something. ‘They were up there. Together. In a hotel.’
It took a minute for the penny to drop and Nat’s mouth formed a tiny ‘o’ as Barry blushed all kinds of red.
‘Yep,’ he continued, ‘they pretty much stayed in their room for three days straight. Witnesses have described them as ‘cuddly’ and ‘smitten’ with each other.’
‘Was not expecting that.’
‘No. Me neither. So, looks like we can rule them out. For now. I’m sorry Nat but we’re running out of time, and options.’
Nat folded her arms defiantly. ‘You can’t just use her to draw him out.’