All eyes darted to the photograph of a mature-looking girl with blonde hair tied up in a messy bun. She was smiling into the camera, obviously laughing at something the taker had said. She had dimples and big brown eyes.
Elise Mitcham was eleven, the same age as Katie. She vanished on her way to school. She used a scooter to cover the five blocks but when she didn’t arrive for class, her teacher raised the alarm. Her scooter was found abandoned in a ditch beside the road she used to take.”
Elise was a serious, dark-haired little girl with a pale complexion and dark rings under her eyes.
“Chrissy Macdonald was the oldest of the missing girls at fourteen. She was last seen at a local newsagent with a friend. CCTV confirmed it. Her friend, however, said they parted ways outside in the street. Her school bag was never found.”
The photograph of Chrissy was of a slim teenager in skinny jeans and a short-cut top.
“Finally, the last victim is Angie Nolan. She was only ten when she was kidnapped from a local park. Her grandmother, who was with her, didn’t see anyone approach her. She said one minute she was there, the next she was gone. In a later statement, she admitted to not watching her as closely as she should have.”
Angie was a cute little girl with olive skin, a dark bob and slanted eyes.
“The similarities with Katie and Arina’s disappearances are striking,” said Mallory, “But before we get the cases transferred, we need to prove a definite connection. We’ve logged their positions on a map and we’re going to search local bodies of water for their backpacks or school bags. We can’t sanction searches of the nearby open spaces yet, as there is too much ground to cover, and local searches were done at the time they went missing.”
“Thanks, DI Mallory.” Rob glanced at the team. “I don’t need to tell you to look for a connection with a man with a white van, or someone who they all might have been in contact with. A teacher, a priest, a tutor, a coach, anything that rings any bells.”
Everybody nodded.
“Okay, then let’s get back to work. We’ll touch base this afternoon at four-thirty.”
Just then Rob and Mallory’s phone beeped simultaneously. Never a good sign.
“Shit, there’s been an incident at the gallery,” said Rob.
Mallory gasped. “A stabbing. You don’t think…?”
“Come on.” Rob grabbed his jacket.
Mallory followed him out at a run.
The scene outside the gallery was one of utter carnage.
A local police officer was trying to keep the crowd back, while two medics bent over a man lying at the side of the road. One was performing CPR, while the other, a woman, measured his vitals.
“I’ve got a pulse,” she called, her fingers pressed against his neck.
Another two police officers had apprehended a frizzy-haired woman who was screaming her head off. “He killed Arina. He killed my baby!”
“Christ, it’s Tessa Parvin!” exclaimed Rob, jumping from the car.
They flashed their warrant cards to the flustered police officer and approached the man who was bleeding all over the street. His eyes were shut and his face was paler than the white lines of the demarcated parking bay upon which he lay.
Rob’s stomach lurched.
It was Anthony Payne.
“What happened?” he asked the medics.
“Stabbed multiple times in the chest and abdomen,” replied the man who’d been administering CPR. He’d stopped thumping the man’s chest and was now positioning an oxygen mask over his face. “We’ve managed to stabilise him, but we have to get him to A&E for treatment. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
“The ambulance should be here shortly,” said the woman. The two medics had arrived in a fleet car, which was great for responding quickly, but not designed to cart someone away to hospital.
An ambulance blared up the road, its siren deafening. Thankfully, it turned it off as it pulled over beside Payne’s prone body.
Rob got out of the way so they could work and joined Mallory who’d gone to talk to the two officers holding a writhing Tessa Parvin. She was in handcuffs and her eyes had the semi-glazed look of someone who was in shock.
“Tessa, it’s me, DCI Miller.”
She gazed through him rather than at him.
“What are you doing, Tessa? This man is not responsible for your daughter’s murder.”
“How do you know,” she spat. “I saw the newspaper article. He lived in the same areas as those other missing girls. He’s the serial killer I was telling you about.”
“No, he’s not, Tessa. We eliminated him from our enquiries.”
Damn the papers.
A flash of uncertainty crossed her face, then she started crying. “I wanted to punish him for taking my baby.”
Rob shook his head. Tessa was in no state to be questioned. “Take her away,” he told the police officers, “but be gentle with her. She’s had a shock. She’s going to need a FLO assigned to her.”
They nodded and led a crying Tessa to the police car. Onlookers watched horrified as she was guided into the back seat and driven away.
“I saw it all,” one man said as he walked past. “She went for him like a mad woman.”
“One moment, sir,”
Rob called the flustered police officer over. “PC Nelson,” he read the man’s name on his shirt badge. “Take this man’s witness statement, along with anyone else who saw the altercation take place.” He gave the officer his card. “Can you manage that?”
“Yes, sir.” The man stood a little taller.
“Good. Thank you.”
“What a fuck-show,” he growled as they got back into the car.
Anthony Payne had been stabilised and was being transferred onto a stretcher. The medic held the oxygen mask over his face as he was carried to the ambulance.
“The press has a lot to answer for,” said Mallory.
“How the hell did they connect the dots?” Rob frowned as he pulled out into the traffic. “We haven’t announced the link between the other missing
