Page 132 of Child's Play

Jared frowned and then relaxed when he seemed to recall the episode. ‘Oh that. It was nothing. If you’ve spoken to her you’ll know she’s a bit of a control freak. Sometimes gets a bit much. But that wasn’t even a disagreement,’ he said, disappearing from view once again. ‘You should see us…’

Bryant walked away, realising he was gaining nothing from this conversation.

His first instinct was to head away from the complex and go find the boss, but he hadn’t checked the whole area yet.

If he left prematurely and his instinct about this guy was wrong he might be leaving Ellie Lewis bleeding to death against a wall somewhere.

He thanked Jared for his help and headed towards the female changing rooms.

For now, the boss was on her own.

One Hundred Two

Think, think, think, she told herself as she left the scented garden.

What did she know so far? Board games, hopscotch and the swings at the park. The killer had to keep the pattern. They were in a hotel. Where the hell could he?…

Play area, she suddenly realised. He had to have taken her to the play area.

Every death had been symbolic of playing some kind of game. He made them play and then killed them, normally with a stab wound.

A knife.

Ellie and her previous attack.

Kim caught her breath. The woman would be terrified.

She sprinted around the building and headed along the gravel drive towards the play area she’d seen on their way in.

She swallowed her indecision. If she was wrong about the location there was a good chance Ellie was going to die. The killer would only play with them for so long.

A single light illuminated the area in the distance but she was approximately one hundred metres away and could see nothing beyond the framework of the wooden castle.

She continued heading towards it replaying everything that had happened during the week, searching for something that would give her a clue as to who and what she was dealing with. Any small point that had gone unnoticed.

She tried to calm her breathing as she approached the entrance to the park. She covered her mouth with her hand and listened keenly.

In the distance, she could hear a rhythmic sound.

Squeak

Four seconds.

Squeak

Four seconds.

And then a laugh of pure delight that chilled the blood in her veins.

She knew she had to get closer but she had to do it quietly. Who knew what was going on.

A pair of bolt cutters had been placed against the gate to close it. The heavy chain lay on the ground.

She reached over the waist-high fencing and picked them up as quietly as she could. She laid them down on the grass and pushed open the gate, her whole body tense as though that would prevent any rattle or sound alerting her arrival.

Squeak

Four seconds.