Nine Lives, Anita Waller [best interesting books to read .txt] 📗

and climbed into the driving seat. There was a pause of over a minute, and the car moved. It did a U-turn across the width of the empty road and Erica clicked pause.

‘Now we’ve got the bitch’s number plate.’ She scribbled down the number. ‘ANPR can check this one as well. I know we’re not going to be able to trace this to her, she’s far too clever for that, but it will hopefully lead us to the general area where she stores it.’

They watched for a further five minutes, then the film ended.

The briefing room had filled up, and everybody seemed to be talking. They stopped as Erica entered, and she walked across to the whiteboard.

‘Before we move on to today’s activities, I’m going to see DS Machin. She’s improving, and I don’t think it will be long before they let her go home. I think they’re keeping a close eye on the head injury, but her other injuries are healing nicely, according to her mum. I’ll be taking that enormous card to her, and I’ll tell you later what she says.’

There was a smattering of applause at her news, and Erica turned to the whiteboard, attaching a picture of Victoria Urland.

‘In the meantime, let’s catch a killer. I have forwarded the CCTV from yesterday to all of you. Make it your first job to watch this, and I’ve already asked for ANPR help in tracking down the two vehicles you will see on screen. I don’t think the Corsa is involved, but because I think that it doesn’t mean I’m right.’

She looked around the room and spotted Ian. ‘Ian picked up a cigarette end at the scene which you will see the killer throw away. It has returned a positive DNA result, so the rain and damp didn’t do too much damage. Unfortunately that DNA isn’t on our database, but hopefully it will be used to convict her when we bring her in.’

They all drifted towards their computers, and silence descended as they watched the CCTV footage. It was hardly any clearer than when Erica had watched it in Winston’s back room, and she saw one or two of her team pull their monitors closer, not wanting to miss one second.

Flick followed her into her office. ‘Never been so quiet,’ she joked.

‘Yes, they all like a good movie. Is she getting careless?’ The question was abrupt.

‘She is. The only other CCTV we’ve found her on was that first one where she picked up Susie Roebuck, again on a main road. But I’ve always thought that pick-up was a spur-of-the-minute thing. I think Susie would have been abducted at some point, but she saw her on her own, waved at her and Susie recognised her or her car, and bang, Susie’s dead.’

Erica looked at Flick. ‘She’s running out of options on the river. Isn’t she? We’ve got crime scene tape all over the bloody place, intermittent police officers on duty and unless she’s actually working for us she won’t know when that is, and she’s obviously OCD with the damn river. It has to be there where she leaves her bodies. She fixated on the Ls, now she’s fixated on the Porter. I thought she was fixated on the gym, but it seems Victoria Urland was taken because she went to a local bonfire. Our job for today is to find out more about her, where this bonfire was, and who she was with.’

‘Her parents didn’t know?’

‘Funnily enough, they thought they did. She told them she was going to a municipal bonfire with some friends, and she would check in frequently because it was the first time they had looked after baby Noah on their own. The only check-in was a text to say change of plan, she was going to a local bonfire instead. She gave them no details, so we’re going to have to track down her friends. We’ll go see her parents today, and take it from there. I’ve asked ANPR to contact Ian, and I’ll tell him to ring us if anything significant comes in because of that. Fingers crossed he can tell us where the car’s kept, but I’m not holding my breath.’

28

Flick grinned at her boss. ‘This membership and WEA list is fading into the distance.’

‘I know. I feel the membership list can’t help, because all we needed was the attendance records, and we’ve done them. The WEA ones need checking because they refer to the twenty-fourteen killings, and if this woman would desist in her murderous ways for a couple of days, we wouldn’t have to be distracted with a new addition to the case. My God, I sound a proper cow, don’t I?’

‘Yes.’

‘You didn’t have to agree, but I think I chose the wrong words. You know what I meant. We start to get a foothold, and we have to stop because there’s a new death. It’s why I’m going to see Beth. I need time out.’

‘Can I check something? These attendance records. Everybody has to sign in to get through those double doors into the gym itself?’

‘Yes. She was quite emphatic about it. They don’t all sign out. The way she put it was that some of them are too knackered to lift the pen.’

‘Okay. When are you going to see Beth?’

Erica glanced at her watch. ‘I’ll go now. If they say she’s been moved out of HDU I’ll use the warrant card and get in anyway. Do you want to come?’

For a brief moment there was a look of panic on Flick’s face. ‘No, I’m fine thanks. Don’t like hospitals.’

Erica smiled at her stand-in sergeant. ‘You might need to get used to them. It’s part and parcel of the job.’

‘I know, and it doesn’t bother me if it’s a result of some crime or other, but to go and visit people, not knowing what to talk about…’ She gave a shudder. ‘No, I’m going to the gym.’

‘Starlite? Is there a reason?’

‘Might join it.’

‘What?’

‘Don’t panic.’ Flick laughed. ‘You can