Page 150 of Silent Scream

Sometimes Bryant seemed younger than his years. She was just sorry that she was the one who had to tell him that Father Christmas wasn't real.

She shook her head. ‘No, Bryant. He was attracted to places devoid of hope and filled with despair, where he could project himself as a beacon of hope amongst the misery. That was his true gratification, his true power trip. Sex with frightened, vulnerable, young girls fulfilled a physical need within him. He placed himself in environments where accusations of rape would be far harder to prove and anyone who became problematic was disposed of.

‘He killed them and enjoyed it. He did it because he could and because he felt justified in ending the life of anyone who obstructed him. There will be victims of Wilks’ that originated from Hollytree and however hard it is to swallow we may never uncover them all.’

The sprawling estate had notched up eighteen runaways since Victor's return two years earlier. Add in the disappearances of girls unreported by family members who had not noticed or didn't care and that figure probably doubled.

‘Bastard,’ Bryant muttered.

Kim agreed but she consoled herself with the thought that Victor Wilks would never walk free again.

‘Did you find the car?’ she asked.

He nodded. ‘Garage behind the apartments registered to Nicola Adamson. White Audi with a dented front wing.’

Kim shook her head. Try as she might, she could not muster any sympathy for Teresa Wyatt, Tom Curtis, Richard Croft or Arthur Connop. Together with Victor Wilks, they had hidden the deaths of three young girls and denied them justice for a decade, all to hide their own sordid secrets. Every single one of them had found a way to abuse them some more.

Even worse, they had been instrumental in the death of another innocent whose only crime had been wanting to wear her sister’s pink cardigan.

‘I’m curious, Kim, what made you first think it was two separate killers?’

‘Manner of death,’ she answered. ‘As we uncovered the girls it was obvious that they had been killed with a great deal of physical force and yet the current murders were not. No effort was required to push Teresa under the water. Tom’s throat was cut from behind, Arthur was knocked over with a car and Richard was stabbed in the back. All methods that called for cunning, patience and stealth, not physical strength.’

‘What about the fire at Teresa’s house? What was the point of that?’

‘There was a very thin layer of snow on the ground, Bryant. There would have been a lot of forensic evidence to find with footprints and even the walking stick but eight firefighters, two tenders and a high-powered hose soon destroyed that.’

‘Clever.’

‘Exactly, so it had to be a woman.’

‘Yeah, but she got caught.’

‘Yeah, by a woman.’

Bryant rolled his eyes and groaned all at the same time.

He sobered. ‘How do you think Nicola will react when she realises the truth?’

Kim shrugged. ‘It really wasn’t Nicola that did it. It was Beth.’

Bryant looked doubtful. ‘You really believe that?’

Bless him, he was a meat and potatoes man.

‘Oh yes, Bryant, I do.’

‘It’s all a bitX-Filesfor me.’

Kim sighed. ‘Beth only came back in Nicola’s time of need, when she was ill or frightened. Nicola’s subconscious used her like a security blanket. Nicola never fully accepted that her sister was dead. Her subconscious mind blocked the memories so that she could live. It protected her from the guilt.

‘Now imagine that, as Beth, Nicola’s memories were readily available. She had access to the overheard conversation in the office, she had access to the knowledge of what occurred so although Nicola couldn’t access the memories, her alter ego could.’

Kim fully believed that Nicola’s conscious mind was oblivious to the fact that her subconscious mind had brought back Beth. And after meeting ‘Beth’, she was in no doubt that it had not been an act.

She turned to Bryant. ‘Try and imagine someone’s psyche splitting in half. Nicola had control of normal day to day activities. She was able to function adequately but someone else had control of her subconscious mind.’

He shook his head. ‘Nah, still not buying it ? and I don’t think a jury will either.’