Big Ben sounded disappointed when he admitted, ‘None at all. I didn’t recognise any of them and I didn’t get a chance to ask any questions. They looked like members of a cult. If I see them again, there will be a reckoning.’
Amanda’s voice echoed through my phone once more. ‘Listen, we have Karen Gilbert’s number. I’m going to call her as soon as I am off the phone with you. If you are done there, come back to the office. We’ve uncovered a few things while you’ve been gone.’
I sniffed in a deep breath, thankful that the other members of the team were doing better than me. The attack on Big Ben and Basic worried me but whoever his attackers were, I doubted they would be back to cause more trouble before we were finished with this case and that was all I cared about. We could deal with them later when we had more time.
As I hung up the phone, Harry clapped me on the shoulder. ‘It seems your team have come through for you, Tempest. There’s something I don’t understand though; why is it you want to find Karen anyway? Do you think the Sandman is still trying to target her?’
The police officers were listening to hear my answer too. ‘He might be. That I cannot tell. What I believe though is that Karen Gilbert is the only person who has seen the Sandman and I want her help to identify him. Even though she was drugged when he sang to her each time, I expect her to be able to remember his face.’
‘Providing he wasn’t disguised,’ countered Harry.
I huffed out a hard breath of frustration. ‘Provided a lot of things, actually. I won’t know until I speak with her.’ Switching my attention to the cops still blocking my exit, I asked, ‘Are you going to try to stop me?’
They exchanged a brief glance, the two men silently asking a question of each other before Biggs spoke.
‘No, we’re going to return to the station,’ he announced. ‘Mr Hengist does not wish to press charges.’
Free to go, I shook Harry’s hand and apologised once more for throwing him to the carpet.
‘That’s perfectly all right,’ he chuckled, being more generous than I believed anyone else on the planet would be. I clapped him on the arm and left his house.
I had somewhere else to be and expected Amanda to call again any moment with an address.
Amanda. Fingerprints. Friday December 23rd 1751hrs
Big Ben’s arrival back at the office caused a fresh flurry of activity. Jane’s laptop and purse were laid out on Tempest’s desk, the contents examined by Jagjit and Alice while I made a call.
Once I got off the phone to Tempest, I wasted no further time getting on with contacting Karen. This would be the first time I had spoken to her and I prayed she would answer the phone even though my number would come up as unlisted. Just as I was about to press the button to connect the call, I realised I was being dumb.
From the pile of detritus found in Jane’s handbag, I selected her phone and scrolled through the contacts list. There was no entry for Karen Gilbert, but I knew how protective Jane had been of Karen and how cautious her concern over the Sandman had made her.
Checking again, the piece of paper from Jane’s gran in my hand, I found the same number listed under a different name. Jane had entered Karen’s number under Kevin Gates. The same initials, but perhaps enough to throw someone off the scent if they grabbed her phone.
I slapped myself in the head and put the phone down.
‘What is it?’ asked Alice after seeing my display of self-targeted frustration.
Running from Tempest’s office to my own, I called back. ‘The Sandman must have touched her phone. He changed her voicemail answer message so it plays Mr Sandman. Chances are he had a look for Karen Gilbert’s number too – I’m guessing he still plans to kill her. Either way, unless he used gloves, his fingerprints will be on it. I’ve stupidly been touching it, but we might get lucky.’
From my handbag, I fished a fingerprinting kit. Not one of the ultramodern ones that does it by photography and ultra-violet light, but the old-school powder and sticky tape style. It would do the trick well enough.
With the phone positioned on the desk, I put the kit down next to it and used a pen to select Kevin Gates to call – I didn’t want to put off calling Karen any longer.
The phone rang and rang. In my mind, I could see Karen looking at her phone and wondering whether to answer it. Why was Jane calling her? Was it with information regarding the Sandman?
Just when I thought the phone would switch over to voicemail, it was answered, but no one spoke at the other end.
I gave it a two-count, then spoke myself, ‘Karen this is Amanda Harper at Blue Moon Investigations. Jane Butterworth has been taken by the Sandman.’ I blurted the words out, fearful Karen might decide it wasn’t the voice she expected to hear and hang up instantly.
Another beat of silence followed before a voice at the other end of the line finally said something. ‘Jane’s been taken?’ Karen repeated my words as a question.
‘That’s what we believe. It happened earlier today. She was snatched when she got home but we don’t know where she is or how long he
