He had investigated a number of major crimes during which multiple murders had been committed. The majority were carried out for reasons the investigators were capable of understanding: revenge, jealousy, hatred, or even financial reward or some other inducement. True serial killers, those whose motives were psychological as opposed to rational or emotional, were much rarer. His last one had been his first case after returning to the city. Prior to that, he’d been involved in only one other.
Everything he read on that yellow sheet of paper screamed as loud as any voice, telling him they were confronting a serial. Pausing to take a step back so they could move on had not merely provided the necessary clarity they had sought; it had completely shattered their original line of thinking as if it were as fragile as glass. In its place had stepped forward something monstrous.
The name of Malcolm Thompson continued to burn in Bliss’s mind like the dying embers of a bonfire. A man whose psychopathy arose from a mind that had been twisted and tortured out of all recognition first by his equally murderous father, and then by a mother so wicked and callous it was impossible to fathom what dark imaginings she was capable of. His younger victims had all been left alive following their rape ordeals; the older women, he had brutally and ritualistically butchered.
The eerie silence broke as everybody seemed to talk at once. Bliss raised his hands to quieten them all down. His throat felt tight and dry as he spoke. ‘Listen up. Those of you who were on Operations Observer and Limestone may think you’ve already worked serial killings, but you’d be wrong about that. Pavl Savic killed a number of people, but the man was a gun for hire, trained to kill in exchange for money. As for our slow slicing case a short while ago – again, while there were multiple victims, genuine and understandable reasons lay at the root of them. Believe me, this is going to be different. Ask those who worked the Thompson case, if you need some insight. There’s a difference, requiring a completely different mindset. These people don’t think the way we do. Their process is way out of our scope. But don’t worry about it – be thankful. Believe me, it will energise you and have you using different parts of your brain.’
During the ensuing silence as his words sank in, Superintendent Fletcher burst into the room, having earlier returned to her own office. She apologised for interrupting their meeting, but said she had some urgent news for the team.
‘Your HOLMES search threw up a red flag,’ she said, panting a little. She paused to draw in a deep breath before continuing. ‘I took a call from the Yard. Any matches you found were originally entered into the system by them. I’m sure you realise what this means. My opposite number informed me they have three unsolved cases on their hands, all matching this same MO. When the murders appeared to stop, they assumed their man had either died, fled the country, or was perhaps even banged up somewhere. It seems likely that he simply moved out of London and bided his time before selecting his next victim. As you might expect, the Yard are keen to discuss Operation Phoenix with us.’
Peterborough’s Major Crimes team was accustomed to working with other units and authority areas. Tighter budgets, fewer staff, and combined computer databases had inevitably led to a more collaborative policing method, which continued to evolve. There was no longer any room for jurisdictional squabbling. Bliss was glad of this, as he had always regarded it as counterproductive. Working recent cases with the Lincolnshire and Wiltshire authorities, in addition to the Met and the City of London police, the team had achieved successful outcomes. In each situation, Thorpe Wood had taken the lead. Bliss suspected that would not be the case this time.
He realised nobody was speaking. When he glanced up, all faces were turned to him. DS Bishop had not taken on the role of responding to the Superintendent’s news, and they were both waiting for Bliss to say something.
‘Sorry,’ he said, flustered. ‘I suppose the experience does rest with me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the shift in momentum. When I came in here this morning, we were going to look for a way in to Lewis Drake’s escort business, and now we apparently have a serial on our hands.’
‘I reckon it’s thrown us all, Jimmy,’ Bishop said. ‘I worked the Thompson case with you, but I’m not sure I’m ready to lead something of this magnitude.’
Bliss shrugged. ‘We all experience our firsts, Bish. Thompson was only my second. I’m happy to stick to you like glue for the rest of the investigation, but I think you’re more than able to handle running the op from our end.’
‘From our end?’ This from Warburton, whose forehead creased quizzically.
Bliss nodded. ‘This is going to be the Met’s case. In fact, we’ll do well to have any involvement at all. Remember, this was only ours because of the Lewis Drake connection. If the Met believe there’s nothing to that, they may decide to work it with DI Kennedy in Cambridge instead.’
This gave rise to groans all round. Bliss slapped a smile on his face and hushed them. ‘Have a bit of faith, people. I’m not giving up on the link with Drake. This girl was one of his, remember. Our new intel suggests he probably wasn’t involved with her murder, but if whoever is running the show on his behalf is looking at their investment being wiped out, they’re not going to be happy about it. We need to be prepared for some blowback.
