He did as I asked, shouting something in Jake’s ear when we joined him on the second tier of the seating section. Before I could get his attention, he was gone, rushing back down the steps to join Kate on the floor. If anything was going to happen, it would most likely be in the thick of the crowd.
Bending down, Jake shouted in my ear. “Looked like lover boy got a bit het up over Archie Roberts.”
“Lover boy?” I asked, my gaze searching the crowd for the rest of my team.
We all had our jobs. I had a couple of agents from Paranormal MI5 in the surveillance room, monitoring all the cameras. Dave and Kate were staying on the floor, keeping an eye on the crowd. Dave had his wand with him. I’d filled it with my magic before we’d arrived so he could use it if needed.
“So, we just wait?” Jake shouted, obviously not hearing my reply.
Nodding, I looked up at him. His bright blue eyes searched mine, waiting for me to give him an order. He wasn’t the type to wait around and do nothing. He wanted action. I knew the feeling. The bastard had slipped through our hands far too many times.
“We have nothing.” His sneer wasn’t aimed at me, but I felt the force of it regardless.
He was right. We had nothing to go on. So, the killer had a problem with women. I’d told Kate that I believed he might be connected to the man who my father had lost his bet to. What if it was him? If I assumed it was, I could find out who he was. My mother must know the identity of the coven leader. I’d never taken an interest before, preferring to pretend that I could ignore the stupid bet for the rest of my life. And, yet, my skin tingled as I thought about the man who had faced me in the street. He had been younger than I’d first imagined, the brief glimpse of the stubble on his chin enough to show me that he wasn’t old. There was no grey in the ginger whiskers, which told me that he was in his thirties, like the man who I was supposed to marry.
The beat of the music thumped into my brain as the crowd started to sing along. There was no point in trying to talk to Jake now. Hand movements would have to do.
Keeping my eyes peeled, I took out my phone and opened the Whatsapp group that we’d created for the team. Whenever one of us sent a message, everyone could see it. It was the only way we could keep contact in a place that was so noisy, my eardrums were ready to burst.
There would be sixteen tracks all in all, which made for a long concert. I loved the band, but I couldn’t relax. Being alert sucked the fun out of concerts. Being me sucked the fun out of everything right now.
My huge release of breath was cut short when the sound of a voice not belonging to the track came from the speakers.
“You’ll never catch me,” it said, the masculine voice a different tone to the lead singer.
The audience didn’t notice at first. The words were blended well. It was only when a few people glancing at one another made me realise that they didn’t fit in with the song. Jake’s hand squeezed my wrist, his other one pointing at the screen.
The gasps of the crowd forced me to look to where he indicated. On the big screen behind the band was the pictures of our victims. It circled around, the first, the second and so on. The hairs on the back of my neck raised as people started to shout.
“I’m the Essex Obsessor - such a cute name given to me by the police. I’m the killer they’ve not told you about.”
As the surprised gasps rose and the fingers started to point, the lead singer of the band turned to see what the fuss was about. He instantly stopped singing. When his band turned to see what had caused him to finish the song abruptly, the music clashed to a halt. And yet, the voice of the killer still rang out.
“If you don’t leave now, I’ll kill you. Not because I want to, but because I have to teach her a lesson. She’s mine.”
Flashes of phones and cameras jerked me into action. Both Jake and I rushed down the steps, just as the crowd started to surge.
“Stay calm!” I shouted pointlessly.
Screams rang out as a video came on screen. The demon masked man was talking directly to the camera, his voice sending shivers down my spine. People bashed into me as they struggled to run towards the exits. Even the band had vacated the stage.
How could we control the panic? We hadn’t expected the idiot to cause the audience to start running in all directions, putting each other at risk.
“Don’t be afraid, my friends, if she comes to me, you’ll be safe. Until then, you have five minutes.”
A countdown clock appeared on the screen. Grabbing a security guard, I ordered him to get the screen shut down. He barked into his walkie talkie as he motioned for his friends to help him.
People shoved harder, the crowd actually surging together. Crap, if we didn’t calm them down, they would crush each other to death.
“The doors are locked!” The security man grabbed my shoulder. “They can’t get out!”
“What?!” I screamed. “Who locked them?”
Shrugging, the guard plunged into the crowd to try and take control. It wasn’t worth it. People were screaming as the photos of the murders flickered on the screen again.
“Jake!” I screamed, tugging on his arm to get his attention.
He had been trying to force people to stay where they were, but it wasn’t working very well. There were people trying to climb the seats, treading on others as they pushed their
