Nine Lives

in mind. It’s been five years since the last killing, and now we have this. The press at the time added two and two together when they realised all the girls had L in common for their names, so called him the L-killer, but it was eventually filed as a cold case because we had nothing to go on. No CCTV, no eye-witnesses, even the victims were ordinary average everyday nice girls. The slashes on the hands were never released anywhere, so it’s a good indicator that it is the same killer and not a copycat. By the end of today I want everybody here up to speed on this cold case. Nobody ever saw even a car in the wrong place, no DNA was ever left at the scene, and the killer was definitely forensic savvy. Both the boss and I were part of the investigation in twenty-fourteen and the overriding feeling was that it was a pattern he was following, and every victim had to be dealt with in the same way. Unless he is thinking of victims all with the initial letter S, we can have no clue as to where he or she will turn next, or even if it’s a one-off.’

Erica stood. ‘I’m leaving Beth to sort everybody out. I want this river covered every stretch of the way, we need to know where she went in. I also want everybody on this team to become familiar with the cold case that’s suddenly become a hot case. I don’t want one word of this leaking to the press. I have to go and meet Mr and Mrs Roebuck now, they’re here to identify their daughter officially. Sort out what you’re doing. If anything urgent crops up, shout straight away. Don’t forget he killed four girls in three months last time he was active, we don’t want a repeat of that.’

Erica left the room; immediately a crowd gathered around Beth, ready for a rain-soaked day that could involve splashing about in a river in full spate. She handed out instructions, aware that suddenly things had changed between her and Erica. They had shared an hour-long discussion before the briefing, and tossed around ideas as they relived the time in twenty-fourteen that seemed to be coming back to haunt them again. But there had been a camaraderie that had certainly not been there before, and despite the horrors of the case and the abysmal weather that was hampering them, she felt a sense of relief.

Harry and Olivia Roebuck were devastated. They clung to each other, and eventually Harry nodded. ‘That’s Susanna. That’s our Susie.’

Erica led them to the relatives’ room, and made them all a cup of tea. ‘The girls are waiting for you,’ she told the ashen-faced parents. ‘They are aware you want to see them.’

Olivia’s head dropped. ‘Are they okay?’ she mumbled.

‘No,’ Erica said. ‘They’re far from okay, I won’t try to soften it. Be prepared for tears. They were a team, and Susie was a quarter of it. She will be missed. It’s been a real shock for them almost as much as you, because they came to report her missing, and found out we had already discovered her.’

‘Can I see where she died?’ Harry asked. ‘I’d like to spend a bit of time there if it’s possible.’

‘We don’t know yet where she died,’ Erica said. ‘We have teams out today all the way up the river looking for anywhere that would give us a clue. The river is five miles long, and we are looking for obstacles that would stop anything the size of a body from traversing the full length. If we find anything like that in the higher levels, we can narrow down our search.’

‘Where does the river start?’ Harry was persistent.

Erica realised it would only take a quick Google search to give him the information. ‘Ringinglow, on the outskirts of Sheffield. It’s normally a gentle river, lots of little waterfalls on its course downwards, and was actually instrumental in starting the manufacture of steel in Sheffield. Water power from this river drove big engines, and there’s a huge working water wheel still in use. At the moment, of course, it’s in full spate and it’s quite scary the amount of power in water. I have to ask, Harry, that you don’t go there at the moment. You could potentially contaminate a crime scene and get in the way of my team. I promise, once we know the location where Susie went into the water, I will personally take you and give you all the time you need, but you can’t go there yet, we don’t know the location, or even where Susie died. We have so much to find out before we can tell you what we know.’

‘Was she raped?’ Olivia’s voice was hardly above a whisper.

‘We don’t believe she was. All DNA was washed away because of the water, but there are no obvious signs such as bruising or cuts. I don’t think rape was the intent. When you spoke to Susie, did she tell you of anything or anybody who was troubling her, or giving her any grief?’

Husband and wife shook their heads in unison.

‘No,’ Olivia spoke, ‘she seemed incredibly happy and settled. She loved Sheffield, loved sharing the house with the girls, was enjoying the course – I don’t think she complained once about anything. Student life really suited her.’

They finished their drinks and Harry and Olivia followed Erica out to the car park. ‘Take care,’ the DI said, as she watched them fasten their seat belts, ‘and I promise to keep you fully informed.’

6

The rain was almost relentless. There had been a brief spell of dry weather during the afternoon, but the pitter patter of more of the promised downpour began in earnest after only an hour of respite. Erica replaced the receiver after speaking to Olivia Roebuck, confirming that she and Harry had spent a couple of hours with the girls before returning home.

‘I