‘Has Jane really been taken?’
This time I nodded glumly. ‘Yes. I intend to get her back, but I need your help to do it.’
‘Yes,’ Karen sounded terrified at the prospect. ‘Your colleague said you want me to help you identify him. I don’t think I can do that though.’
‘Why not?’ I almost snapped the question at her, biting my tongue only as the words left my mouth.
She sighed with frustration of her own. ‘Because I never really got a good look at him. I explained this to Jane at the time. I was always immobile in bed, unable to move yet conscious enough to hear him. Looking down my nose at him while I was in bed and he was sitting in the chair across my bedroom, I got an impression of his face, but I wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a line up.’
I had to unclench my hands from the steering wheel I was gripping it so tightly. I could not recall a case that defied me more than this one. There had to be a chink in his armour, a way to work out who he was and how he selected his victims.
‘I need to meet you tonight,’ I stated boldly. ‘You want this to end as much as I do. Together we can work out who he is and get him locked up once and for all.’
She said nothing for several seconds, making me wait while she tried to decide whether to trust me or not. Possibly feeling like she had no way out of this nightmare unless she faced it, she reluctantly agreed.
‘I’m staying at number fifteen Iden Rise in Harrietsham. What car are you driving? I will look out for it.’
Harrietsham wasn’t hard to find, but it wasn’t close either. From where we were, I figured it would take most of an hour to get to.
I said as much, adding a promise to get there as swiftly as I could. Once the call disconnected, Hilary set the satnav on his phone to find the address she gave us.
It confirmed my guess, estimating the time to destination at fifty-six minutes. It was already mid evening, and I was no closer to achieving anything. Was Jane even still alive?
Jane. A New Challenge. Friday, December 23rd 1836hrs
If I thought my arms, shoulders, and abs hurt before, it was nothing compared to the screamingly intense misery I felt now. I would sooner have tried to circumcise myself with a soldering iron than commit to cutting through a third rope.
The second rope gave with a twang as it parted, the two ends finally giving up their fight and I felt an instant change in the ropes holding my hands together.
I almost whooped with joy and probably would have done if I didn’t already feel like crying. What I did do was sag, letting my whole body go floppy as I relaxed every muscle. Lying under the bed, willing myself to get moving again, I tried hard to not think about how much I still needed to do. Getting my hands free was reason to celebrate, but if I couldn’t get out of my cell, it did little to improve my situation.
What surprised me was the Sandman not coming to see what I was doing. He had been able to see and hear me until I covered over the lens of the camera, effectively blinding him. Even so, I had been making grunting noises for more than an hour as I fought to cut through the ropes around my wrists and surely the lack of camera feed would make him want to check on me.
The questions about where I was and whether he was able to watch me the whole time remained.
After a minute of getting my breath back, I shimmied out from under the bed and prayed I never had to go under there again.
The ropes around my wrists were loose but they didn’t cooperate and fall straight off. It took a further ten minutes of biting them and pulling with my teeth to feed the loose pieces back through the remaining knots. Each time I got another loop off, my wrists came farther apart until they were suddenly free.
In a flurry of movement, I shed the ropes, multiple lengths of it falling to land at my feet as I pushed myself upright. I was battered and bruised, but I was free of my restraints and ready to inflict pain if I got the chance.
My friends would be coming for me, that much I was certain of. Tempest and Amanda, Big Ben probably, and whoever else they could drum up to help. If Jan knew, he would lend his help too. Maybe they would find me before I needed to escape. Maybe when the door opened it wouldn’t be the Sandman standing outside, but my handsome boyfriend here to rescue me.
These were positive thoughts and they buoyed me up as I turned my attention to the door.
I like to think that I am fairly good with computers. It’s mostly self-taught but I found their inner workings and how the operating systems function simple to grasp and then manipulate. I enjoyed it too, but the electronics for a door, vastly simpler in design no doubt, well I had no idea how that worked.
Quinn. Steely Eyed Thief Taker. Friday, December 23rd 1842hrs
Chief Inspector Quinn had spent the last two hours going over the information Tempest Michaels sent him and the last ten minutes swearing. So far as Ian Quinn was concerned the reasons to dislike the local paranormal detective were long and varied. However, his annoying habit of being right was at the top of the list.
River Tam, a woman found in a field two years ago was an unsolved case. Had it been his case, the blemish would not
