Page 20 of Deadly Cry

Everyone preferred it when she had a project.

Seventeen

‘Okay, kiddies, let’s get to it,’ Kim said, placing her coffee beside her as she took her spot on the edge of the spare desk.

She was pleased to see that Katrina’s details had made it onto the wipe board. Her team knew how she felt about victim identification. This time yesterday, Katrina Nock had been a stranger to them all, but now she was their top priority. Their relationship with her was now paramount. They knew where she lived, they knew her family and by the time they were finished they would know her killer. Every victim had an identity and a story.

‘Thanks, Bryant, but why have you put the little circle above the “i” in Katrina’s name?’ she asked.

He smirked. ‘I was trying to do Stacey’s writing to confuse you.’

Kim raised an eyebrow. ‘If I’m that easily deceived, we’re all fucked! So, anyone had any thoughts on our victim’s murder or murderer?’ she asked, crossing her arms.

‘Not getting it, boss,’ Stacey said, shaking her head. ‘She was a young mother out shopping with her kid. She wasn’t showy or part of any bad crowd. She had no enemies we know of and the method was clean.’

Kim agreed. The absence of blood or rage or obvious violence was puzzling.

‘It’s almost like it wasn’t personal,’ Penn observed.

‘But why her, then?’ Bryant asked. ‘If the object was only to kill, there were easier subjects out and about in Brierley Hill yesterday lunchtime.’

‘And what about that?’ Kim asked. ‘Time of day she was murdered?’ In her experience most murders happened in the dark.

‘Strange time to kill someone,’ Stacey offered. ‘Busy time of day, shoppers around, potential witnesses. Maybe a thrill-seeker?’

Kim shook her head. ‘The murder wasn’t ostentatious enough for that.’

‘So maybe it was about Katrina,’ Penn answered. ‘Perhaps it was just about her, and all the murderer wanted was this particular woman gone.’

‘Maybe,’ Kim answered.

Between them her team had put into words the thoughts and confusion that had been swirling around her head all night. Why take the unnecessary risk of luring away a young mother in the middle of the day if that wasn’t the specific person you wanted?

‘Okay, Penn, you’re on post-mortem duty, which is first thing.’

‘Yay,’ he said, rubbing his hands.

Kim had long ago become used to Penn’s enthusiasm for the grisliest part of their work. It wasn’t a thirst for macabre entertainment. He genuinely enjoyed the science behind the process. He relished a puzzle and seeing what the body could reveal.

‘Stace, check on Katrina’s health records. She suffered with depression. We need to know if she’s spent any time away and how bad her problems were. Also liaise with Inspector Plant on witness statements.’

A team of PCs had been tasked with talking to the stores and potential witnesses.

Both of those jobs Stacey could do while still working on the rape case from the day before. She was confident the constable knew how to prioritise her work.

‘And us?’ Bryant asked.

There was still so much about the events of the murder that she didn’t understand.

‘We, Bryant, are going back to the scene of the crime.’

Eighteen

Stacey set about completing the tasks issued by the boss before continuing her investigation into the rape of Lesley Skipton, who had been on her mind for most of the night.

She couldn’t get her head around Lesley’s feelings towards her rapist. She’d read enough about Stockholm syndrome to understand the psychology of how a victim can grow attached to their captor.

Famous cases of the syndrome had been documented, most notably the infamous PattyHearst, granddaughter of American publishing magnate, William Randolph Hearst. Patty had been kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. After nineteen months in captivity, the woman was arrested for committing serious crimes along with her captors.