Page 100 of First Blood

Sing a song of sixpence,

A bag full of Rye,

Four and twenty naughty boys,

Baked in a pye.

The next version, dated around 1780, had two verses and the boys had been replaced by birds.

As he read on to find any darker meaning behind the rhyme, he learned there had been a version with four verses and included a magpie attacking an unfortunate maid. Other versions with happier endings began to appear from the middle of the nineteenth century.

He read through the many interpretations including the sixteenth century amusement of placing live birds in a pie.

Others had interpreted the rhyme as a tie to a variety of historical events or folklorish symbols. Or the blackbirds as an allusion to monks.

There was nothing he read that would indicate any reason for tying this victim to this particular nursery rhyme.

He returned his attention to the earliest version, looking to hang his hat on something to tell the boss to prove he’d been right.

He wondered about the four and twenty naughty boys. Could the killer be calling Lockwood a naughty boy?

His hand hovered over the phone, eager to call the boss and tell her he’d found a link that proved him right. But his hand wouldn’t quite reach for the phone.

So far, their killer had been detailed on the darker meanings of the rhyme and not the actual lyrics.

His gut instinct and enthusiasm were not meeting up, but something in him so desperately wanted to make that link and prove himself right.

But this wasn’t the link and he knew it.

He moved his hand away from the phone while he took another look.

Chapter Ninety-One

‘You ever go home, Jay?’ Kim asked as the security guard let them into the building.

‘Hoping to soon when my relief gets here.’

He nodded towards the camera room. ‘Everything’s quiet in there and all the staff are out, except for Carl who is on his way through to see you now.’

Kim looked to Marianne’s locked office.

‘I can’t let you into there, I’m sorry, but Jerome’s here now. You can use the security office and I’ll brief him outside, if you like.’

Kim smiled her thanks at the man who was looking a little worn after his twelve-hour shift.

‘Aah, just the man,’ she said as Carl entered the hallway, carrying his tool bag. Clearly, he was not going to waste time once they’d finished.

Unlike his brother he offered a smile that didn’t seem to sit easy on his face.

As they all took a seat, Kim studied him briefly, looking for the slight differences between the two brothers, but other than a slightly shorter haircut she could see none.

‘Thank you for hanging on to see us,’ she offered. ‘And I’m sure by now you know it’s in connection with Hayley Smart?’

He nodded and drew his open legs together.

‘How well did you know her?’ she asked.

‘Not very. We don’t talk too much to the residents. Marianne don’t like it.’