Page 72 of Deadly Cry

‘Penn?’ she asked, turning away.

‘Looking for any crackpots who trolled Nicola and seeing if they’re still unhinged now, but nothing so far.’

‘I ferried you around all day and then made coffee,’ Bryant offered.

‘Valuable work,’ Kim said, taking a sip from the mug he’d placed beside the printer.

She stared at the wipe boards. ‘And I’m still trying to work out the reason for the differences in the crimes. First one – woman killed but child left. Second one – woman killed but child taken. Third one – woman killed but no child involved at all.’ She paused and looked at Alison. ‘Anything at all to offer?’

‘We discussed split personalities earlier,’ Alison said, although her response lacked the conviction she’d have liked if they were looking at a highly plausible theory.

‘Is there any chance there’s another personality inside him telling him what to do?’ Kim pushed. ‘Would that explain why there are differences, if both personalities are murdering but doing it slightly differently?’

Alison shook her head. ‘I’ve not seen that before. Normally, with split personalities there’s a dominant and a submissive; even with multiple personalities there is one clear voice that controls the rest, but we’re learning new things about mental illness all the time.’

‘And what do you think his personality or plural are gonna make of this?’ she asked, dropping the sheet of paper on Alison’s desk.

Kim watched her carefully as she read and saw the frown on her face as she neared the end.

‘This is what you’ve been asked to read to the press?’ she clarified.

Kim nodded. ‘By my boss, a psychologist and a press officer, and yes that does sound like the first line of a joke.’

Alison read it again and this time there was no frown but a slight nod of the head as she reached the bottom.

She handed it back. ‘Given his communication with you, it does make perfect sense to put you in the parental role and tell him off. I can definitely see the logic behind what they’re trying to do. They’re hoping your words will shock him into stopping what he’s doing and to let Archie go.’

‘But?…’ Kim asked.

‘There’s no but. I think it’s a sound plan. It could work.’

‘Okay, thanks for that,’ Kim said, glancing out of the window and then at her watch.

She stood and reached for her jacket.

‘And I guess we’re about to find out.’

Her colleague stood to follow.

‘It’s fine, Bryant, I can do this myself,’ she said, appreciating the gesture. He knew she wasn’t feeling confident about what she’d been asked to do.

‘Yep, you go do it alone, guv, and I’ll be right there with you.’

Fifty-Nine

Alison stared down at the papers on her desk and pretended to read, but the words began merging into each other and were making no sense. She felt as though she’d come full circle and didn’t like where she had landed.

As a child, she’d never been great at fighting her own corner. She had shrunk from opposing opinions and deferred to what she always felt was a higher and more authoritative power. Afterwards, she would think of a hundred examples to substantiate her own viewpoint, but only once the moment had passed would she realise she did have an opinion after all.

Once she had trained in behavioural science and obtained two degrees, she had felt confident enough in her knowledge and her education to try life at the other end of the spectrum. The certificates on her wall had given her the confidence to offer her opinion with both gusto and conviction whether it was sought or not.

But a familiar sickness now started to rise up in her stomach. A feeling she could trace back to the day one of her nine-year-old classmates, Dorian, told her that kids on free school meals were stupid and had no parents. She knew that Molly, who lived next door, had free school meals and that was because her dad had been in an accident and couldn’t work for a while. Molly wasn’t stupid and had parents. Alison had disagreed, but as other kids had begun nodding in agreement with Dorian, Alison had felt herself fade away from the conversation. She had remained in disagreement, but she had also remained in silence.

As the sickness travelled upwards to her throat, she raised her head and faced the two people still left in the room.

‘Guys, I think I just fucked up.’

Sixty