Gina stepped out of the car on the road outside the Crawfords’ house and headed towards O’Connor. A police officer stepped out of the hall carrying a box containing several evidence bags. Jacob followed a PC inside while Gina stood to one side by O’Connor. ‘Can I take a look?’ She called the PC over and peered into the box. ‘What’s in there?’
O’Connor reached in and held up a clear bag. ‘This is the newspaper clipping from the nineties. We found it under the bed amongst Craig’s personal items. It’s a photo of Kain in a local paper in the congratulations section with a little message from his sister, Lindy. He’s in his police uniform. As you can see, he looks to be in his twenties back then.’
She shook her head. ‘Why on earth would Craig have this?’
‘Indeed. And we couldn’t find the hoodie from the photo. We spoke to someone from the lab where the evidence is being processed. A red hair was also found on the hoodie from Maura Pickering’s house. It matches Craig’s hair colour. We have his comb too so we’ll know for definite if it’s his hair soon enough.’
Gina knew that would take a while. ‘We could do with more coming back on the forensics front but I guess they have a lot toprocess. At least there’s a warrant out for Craig’s arrest. Did you find anything else?’
‘The search is still going on. There’s still an upstairs study to go through and it’s stuffed to the brim. I heard that Justine and her son left the station after being interviewed as there wasn’t enough evidence to keep them there for now. Justine gave us her mother’s address and said that she and her son would stay there until after we’d finished the search. Given that there was some conflict over money between Kain and Craig, it’s not looking good for him at all.’
‘Justine didn’t mention that before. Any news on Craig’s phone?’
‘We are waiting for records but I do know we can’t trace it. It’s not in use any more.’ O’Connor moved over to let PC Smith into the house.
‘Thanks for the update. I’ll go and take a look at the study while I’m here.’ Gina stepped into the hall.
‘And I’ll ask that woman at the end of the drive to move on, yet again. Definitely a nosy neighbour.’
‘It was probably the son. He’s a right tearaway,’ the woman shouted as if she could tell they were talking about her.
Gina left O’Connor to deal with the neighbour. Dog barks came from behind the kitchen door. PC Smith called back. ‘It’s okay, guv. The dog’s a softie. We had to put her in the living room while we searched the kitchen and now she’s back in the kitchen.’
She peered into the large lounge that had been zoned into a library area at the back with a comfy reading chair overlooking the garden. The lounge was pristine and all white. A huge silver Buddha sat cross-legged in a disused fireplace.
Jacob came up behind her, making her jump. ‘Are you ready to take a look through the study?’
‘Yes, I was just on my way.’ She snapped on a pair of latex gloves, ready to leaf through anything she came across. On reaching the top of the stairs there were three rooms coming off the left side of the landing. PCs kept coming and going.
‘Study’s on the right, next to the main bedroom,’ he said.
She glanced through the door of Craig and Justine’s bedroom. Again, the décor was mostly white. Built-in wardrobes and a dressing table filled the one wall. A huge bed with what looked like an antique lime-washed bed frame stood proud in the middle and a long chaise longue had been placed at the end of the bed. The only sign that someone lived in the room was the inside-out pyjamas that had been left dangling off crumpled bedding. Her gaze continued to the Juliet balcony then it stopped on the only thing that broke up the aesthetic of the room. She pointed to the item sticking out from under the long curtain.
Jacob called out to one of the PCs.
‘Can you please bag this up and log it into evidence immediately? It’s a teddy bear, exactly like the one we found at Kain’s and victim two’s murders scenes, only it’s pink. We need to get hold of Justine. That teddy bear isn’t a good sign.’ Gina’s heart thumped. She didn’t know if they were searching the house of a killer, a potential victim, or both of the above under the same roof.
TWENTY-THREE
UNKNOWN
As I dig deeper into her life, I know that I have to finish what I started. You get to a point in life where you don’t care anymore and that’s me. I. Don’t. Care. Actually, I do care, too much, but I don’t care what happens to me. This is all much bigger than me and the world will see that when everything comes out into the open. My burner phone is tucked deeply in my pockets and I’ve just turned it off.
There is one more person I need to deal with, or should I say, there was one more. I can’t leave a job half done. There is just too much injustice in the world, and so many do-gooders who can’t help but absolve bad people of the bad things they do. Having nothing to lose is liberating. Knowing where this is all going to end makes it all worth it. I have nothing to lose and all to gain.
My insides tingle because I’m so close to her. If only she knew. She sits alone on a kitchen chair and cries. I wish I could say it breaks my heart, but it doesn’t. She holds that pink teddy bear in her arms, hugging it like her life depends on it. I had to give her something and the teddy seemed apt because why not? It’s my gift to her, a warning of what’s to come. I’m close enough to smell her and her sweat makes me feel sick to the stomach. She makes me sick. They all make me sick.
She drops the teddy and heads to the fridge where she pulls out a can of kombucha. Its scent escapes as soon as she opens it – sort of vinegary. I can see her back door from here and I do feel safe because she never opens the cleaning cupboard. Her cleaner comes on a Monday, same time every week. I’ve made it my business to know everything.
She takes several swigs. She keeps scratching her wrist and then she takes her smartwatch off and leaves it on the draining board next to the empty drinks can.
In my excitement, I accidentally step back and tap the mop bucket with my foot. She glances in my direction so I stay back. I don’t think she can see me through the tiniest hole in the wooden grain of the door but the last thing I need is her opening it while I’m in here. It means my plans for her will have to come forward.
Her footsteps get louder as she steps closer towards me. The scent of her jasmine perfume hits my nostrils.
Quickest way to drown her? Think!
Option one. Smash her head against the wall to instantly stop any screaming. Fill the kitchen sink up and finish her off.
