Page 79 of Killing Mind

‘Full post-mortem is at nine in the morning. In the meantime you all need to go home and—’

‘You’re not arresting him tonight?’ Bryant blurted out.

Travis gave him a warning look and Bryant held his tongue as the team began to file out the door. Lynne squeezed his arm as she passed.

‘Travis, what the hell?’

‘Bryant, calm down,’ he said, closing the door.

‘But you know who it is. He’s pretty much left you his confession. The crime couldn’t be any more similar.’

Another night, another death was all Bryant could see if they didn’t haul him in right now.

‘We’re watching him. If he leaves the halfway house, we’ll know but right now we have a bit of a problem.’

‘Which is?’

‘This time he didn’t rape her with his penis. There was something he used but it wasn’t himself.’

Bryant closed his eyes in anticipation of what Travis was going to say.

‘So, right now we have absolutely no physical evidence to link him to the case.’

Sixty-Four

Kim checked her watch for what must have been the hundredth time. Two minutes to ten. She’d been parked up on the road, ready, since 9.35.

‘She’ll be here any minute, boss,’ Stacey said, beside her.

As soon as she’d told Stacey she was picking Tiff up herself, Stacey had asked to tag along.

‘Try her number, Stace,’ Kim said. If she was to be here by ten she had to be away from the building by now. It was a few minutes’ walk down that dirt track.

‘Switched off, boss,’ Stacey said, trying to keep her tone light.

One minute to ten.

‘I’ll bloody kill her for that,’ Kim said, checking her rear-view mirror.

‘Probably just forgot to turn it back on, boss. She wouldn’t want anyone calling her and giving the game away.’

‘That’s why we have a silent button, Stace,’ Kim said. There was really no excuse at all for removing herself from the only communication channel they had.

She checked her watch again.

Exactly ten o’clock.

‘Where is she, Stace?’ Kim asked, tapping the steering wheel.

‘I’ll try her again, boss,’ Stacey said, ringing her number again.

Kim waited.

‘Nothing,’ Stacey said.

Kim started the car. She’d drive up towards the dirt track, shine the headlights and see if Tiff was on her way down.

‘Jeez, boss,’ Stacey said, as she did a three point turn in the middle of the road.