‘Could it be Autumn?’ Chandler said. The moment she spoke, she winced and mouthed a ‘sorry’ to Bliss for interrupting the flow of their conversation. But Lsenko was nodding and smiling, agreeing on the name.
‘Did Primrose give her card to Sara so that she could pass it on to Autumn?’ Bliss asked. ‘Did she think Autumn might need help from me?’
‘Yes. Sara tell me she worry about her friend. Say she do dangerous things. Terrible things. Sara want her to stop. Prim come to me later, she say she is leaving because she not want to go back to Somalia. We speak about you, and we talk about card. Prim say she have no need of it where she is going.’
Bliss was keen to learn more about the card and what Autumn did that was so wrong her friend believed she needed protection. But he also wanted to put Lsenko at her ease. ‘Did Primrose tell anybody where she was headed? Have you heard from her since she left?’
The girl shook her head. ‘No. She think it better if I do not know.’
‘Are you sure? Like I said, I have no intention of searching for her. But it’d be nice to know that she is well and getting on okay.’
‘I know. I trust you, as Prim did. But she would not tell me where she go. Just that she would be with her own people in community that will accept her.’
Bliss nodded and said, ‘Then that’s all we can wish for. I hope she’s happy. So, we have to go back to Sara. Do you know how to reach her?’
‘No. I see her from time to time. This is all.’
‘Okay. How did she know Autumn?’
‘They work together sometimes. You know, when men want two women. They also do the… dangerous things. The things I will not do.’
‘Do you know who Sara worked for? Which agency?’
Lsenko nodded. ‘Is private. Secret. You not find on internet very easy. Only when you have correct way in.’
‘You’re talking about a dark website,’ Chandler said. ‘Is it called Dark Desires, Marta? Is that the one?’
Lsenko’s face scrunched up in horror. ‘You know this? You know about black card?’
‘We do. We told you our victim had Jimmy’s business card hidden in her underwear, yes? Well, she also had a black card with her. It had some kind of code written on the back of it in gold pen. Do you know anything about that?’
‘I do not write this,’ Lsenko replied, putting a gloved hand to her chest. ‘I do not work with black card people.’
‘No, I’m not saying you are. But Sara does. She must know how it works. Perhaps she told you enough that you can provide us with more information.’
‘All I know is what she tell me one time. This Dark Desires is for men and women who want more than sex. It is sex for them, but not for me or you or Jimmy, I am sure. They need girl willing to do things I would never do. Some dirty, filthy… ugly. Some dangerous. Make me scared. Too scared.’
‘And the card? How does the system work, Marta?’
‘You call number. You say what it is you want. You must prove who you are first, then get sent – what is called? – file. You prove more, you pay, you get sent way to enter. Once inside, you find girls who do these things.’
Bliss was trying to follow Lsenko’s broken and uncertain English, but having a good idea where it was headed made life so much easier for him. ‘So if this is me and I want something… out of the ordinary, I call Dark Desires. I provide my details. Presumably somebody checks me out, after which they send me a spreadsheet file. I pay for the service, I provide even more information about myself. If they are satisfied, they send me a password into the sheet, plus whatever needs to be entered into it. I do that, up pops the link and away I go. Into the dark web.’
Nodding throughout, Lsenko also continued to glance around; fearful they might be observed, Bliss guessed. ‘Marta,’ he said, ‘this is important. Do you know what it was that Sara’s friend Autumn offered the people who used this service? Did Sara ever mention it to you?’
‘Yes. Sara was not ashamed. She say Autumn was, but still she did the work. I don’t like to say. It scare me to even think about it.’
Bliss understood. ‘That’s okay. Let me tell you what I think it was. You just nod or shake your head.’
‘I can do that for you and Penny.’
‘No, not for us. For your friend Sara, and her friend Autumn. Okay?’
‘Okay.’ This time she raised a smile, and Bliss was glad of it.
‘Was it choking, Marta? Was that what Autumn offered her clients? It’s called erotic asphyxiation, but you probably know it as choking.’
Lsenko’s face screwed up again as she let out a loud sob. A fresh torrent of tears streamed from her eyes. ‘Yes,’ she said through her misery. ‘Yes.’
Twenty-Four
Bliss was conscious of how hard the team had worked since the discovery of the body at the chalk pits. Fatigue had to be setting in. Ahead of the evening briefing, during which the entire team were due to catch up with the day’s events, he had a word with Bishop. With most – if not all – of the team expected back the following day and quite possibly for the entire weekend, he suggested they cut out the briefing altogether and send everyone home early.
Bishop had understood, even agreed, but he had another take on it. ‘I keep coming back to our killer’s MO. If he does have
