progress of the little tug he had noticed earlier.

“I’m not sure about this, Paul. I really don’t want to get involved,” she said a few moments later.

With a sigh he walked over to Terri Miller, staring into her eyes with genuine concern. “I understand how you feel, and I won’t pressure you into doing anything against your will. If you decide to stay and help us it has to be because you want to. If you want to move out, then that’s fine, too. But you need to understand one thing: whether you like it or not, you already are involved, because the killer wants you involved, and that’s got nothing to do with the police.  If you chose to stay here you could be instrumental in helping us to catch a very dangerous man. As you said yourself, you’ve seen what he’s capable of. We’ll take every precaution that we can. A panic button will be rigged up from your bedroom to the local police station. If you press it at any time a message will cut into the local radio system and officers will attend at once, treating it as a high priority call. The door is solid, well hung and fitted with secure double locks and deadbolts. He’s not going to get in there very easily, no matter what he tries.” Evans paused, placing a tentative hand on each shoulder as he played his final card. “And it would make a hell of a story. I know you wouldn’t be able to print everything you knew until it was over, but when the dust settles you would have a pretty awesome tale to tell. Hey, you could even write a book about it.” That got her attention, he noticed. “Someone will, you know,” he predicted, “even if you don’t.”

For several moments they stood there in silence, each one deep in thought. Terri anxiously chewed on her bottom lip as she contemplated her future, a nervous habit she’d had since childhood. She could feel Evans eyes on her as he waited patiently for her reply.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I guess I could try and persuade Julie to move in with me for a week or so. We could look after each other while we give your plan a try.” In her heart, she knew that she had to face her fear, no matter how daunting it might seem, or live in shame for the rest of her life. Her mind was made up, for better or for worse, and with the decision came a sense of relief. Terri tried to muster a smile for Evans, but she couldn’t quite manage it.

“I’ll get us that coffee,” she said, trying to sound positive. As she went back inside, Kelly stepped onto the balcony, her shoulder length hair blowing gently in the morning breeze. “Nice view,” she said, looking down.

“Uh-huh.”

“So, will she do it?” Kelly enquired.

“Yes,” Evans replied, softly.

“She’s braver than I am,” Kelly admitted, surprised that Terri had agreed to go along with the plan. She had anticipated that they would have to resort to strong-arm tactics to get her to play ball.

“I just hope we don’t let her down if it all goes pear-shaped,” Paul said.

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.

“That’ll be the Technical Support Unit to plumb up the phone,” Kelly said.

“I’ll get it,” Paul volunteered. “I think Terri’s preoccupied.”

◆◆◆

“What a clusterfuck!” Holland raged. “When I went to bed last night, I was under the happy illusion that the murderer had been caught and the killing spree we were all so worried about had been prevented. It appears…” he paused and stared pointedly at Jack, who was standing uncomfortably before him. “…that I was somewhat misinformed.” Holland was sitting behind his desk at Arbour Square, looking very agitated. His jacket was draped across the back of his chair, the top button of his shirt was undone and his tie was at half-mast. The clock on the wall told Tyler it was eight p.m.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Jack said, not because he was but because he thought an apology was expected.

“Can you imagine my angst when I received a call this morning, informing me that another killing had occurred overnight, this time within City of London jurisdiction?”

Jack said nothing. What could he say?

“At first, I thought they were mistaken, especially when they said the victim didn’t appear to be a prostitute, but as they talked me through the injuries my heart sank. The MO was identical; this had to be the work of the same fiend who murdered Tracey Phillips.”

Tyler nodded, understandingly. He recalled feeling exactly the same way when he received an identical call at the crack of dawn.

“How could we have been so wrong?” Holland asked. He signalled that it was okay for Tyler to take a seat.

“Everything pointed to Winston,” Jack said, sitting down wearily. “We were right to go with that.”

“Maybe,” Holland allowed, staring at Tyler with something akin to pity. “I’m sorry I gave this case to you, Jack,” he said. “It was meant to challenge you, prepare you for bigger things further down the line, but I fear it has become something of a poisoned chalice. Now it’s too late to remove you from harm’s way, so you need to understand that neither of us will survive the fallout unless we get the right result.”

Tyler shook his head defiantly. “I don’t give a toss about my reputation, or my future promotion prospects. All I care about is catching the killer. And, if things go bad, I won’t drag you down with me.”

Holland smiled at Tyler’s naïveté. “The game isn’t played that way, Jack.”

Jack’s stomach tightened. “I know.” Qualities such as honesty, integrity, and a hard work ethic were all well and good, but they wouldn’t be enough to save either of them if media or political pressure forced the Yard to look for scapegoats further down the line. “Perhaps we should look at damage limitation,” Tyler suggested.

Holland chuckled mirthlessly. “That

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