‘All we have to do is find out how they’re linked to our killer,’ I said to Dawn in a whiny voice as we trawled through a list of names longer than our arm.
‘Well, it’s true. Just that there’s a lot of people who might be it.’
‘I can’t believe you didn’t break them down into Were, Shifter, et cetera,’ I said looking at Ragnhild.
‘It was a busy time. There was no need either. We were concentrating on the killer. We knew that they were a Were, and so concentrated on Were criminals. And none of my victims had any criminal records.’
‘I’ve already managed to tie Henstreet to a Mr. Andreassen. Found eviscerated and nailed to a cross in the Lunds Allhelgonakyrka church,’ said Marcus as he scrolled through a document on his phone. He’d taken the time to drive over so that we could work together. Teams, mobiles, and other remote ways of working didn’t cut the mustard when it came to good old detective work.
‘He was our third victim,’ said Ragnhild. ‘Nothing about him. Just a plain vanilla man. Lived on his own but wasn’t lonely. Everyone at his work liked him. Mother and father dead. No siblings. Active outdoorsman.’
‘And that’s the issue. On the outside they’re normal. Look just like you or me. And on the inside, they’re twisted pieces of shit,’ his hand shook as he spoke.
‘It’s confirmed then. We have a definite link. Looks like Henstreet worked for both networks, or that it’s a single network in two countries, with Henstreet acting as the tech guy.’
‘Reckon that the killer used Henstreet to get information on the members here, started killing them first as killing Henstreet would have triggered too many alarms?’ asked Dawn. ‘Probably kept him prisoner somewhere.’
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‘Looks that way. Could be that there was a regular reporting mechanism, used to trigger an alarm. If Henstreet was arrested or disappeared, then they’d have all legged it. However, taking down people on the periphery would have given the killer more time.’
‘Well why do you think he went for Henstreet, is that all of the members?’ asked Ragnhild.
‘Dunn is the link here. Maybe he was getting twitchy at the deaths. Got hold of a police report. Put two and two together,’ said Marcus.
‘What, you think there’s a leak?’ asked Dawn.
‘That or he posed as a journalist, paid someone for a quick peek. Happens more than we’d like to admit,’ replied Marcus.
‘Jesus, this whole case. It makes me fucking sick,’ I said, throwing my list of names down. ‘I’m showering twice a bloody day, and I still feel dirty!’
‘Calm down,’ said Ragnhild as she placed a hand on my knee. ‘We’re getting closer to nailing these bastards. And whilst we’re doing so, the killer is reducing the number.’
‘Ha, silver lining,’ I said, placing my hand over hers. ‘Funny sort of win-win situation.’
‘I’ll take anything I can get,’ she said, smiling sadly.
‘Back to the case, just for a minute,’ said Dawn apologetically. ‘Dunn got wind of something. Probably wanted to warn Henstreet, or silence him. Henstreet was then killed by the killer, as was Dunn. Which means that the killer had Dunn under surveillance and killed him once he had all of the information he needed from Henstreet.’
‘Surely the members must have been getting twitchy? All these bodies appearing?’ I asked.
‘Depends on their phone tree and agreed communications,’ said Marcus. ‘If they were only supposed to touch base every two weeks, or month, then our killer had a nice window to get his business done. It’s not as if the bodies were easy to identify. Which was probably deliberate.’
‘So, we’re agreed then. The rest of the network don’t necessarily know that the others are being killed. Think that they are still secure, but don’t know that the killer is still after them,’ said Dawn.
‘I think you’ve hit the nail on the head,’ said Marcus. ‘And, after a bloody long day, I’m going to say that beer and curry is on me.’
‘Well, be rude not to, let’s go!’ said Dawn springing to her feet. Tension broken, we headed out.