Beth smiled inside. She knew her sister so well. She always had.

She turned another page. ‘Which reason do yer want?’

‘Any reason you'll give me. Anything that will stop this silent treatment. You know I hate it when you're angry with me.’

Oh yes, Beth knew very well.

‘I told yer not to talk to her.’

‘To who?’ Nicola asked. The question in her voice was forced. Nicola knew well and good who she was talking about.

She turned another page, knowing it would frustrate her sister even further. Nicola wanted her full attention. She hated that Beth could still sit and focus on something else instead of being completely consumed by the atmosphere between them. As she was.

‘You mean the detective?’ Nicola asked.

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Jesus, Beth, how can you be so cold? They're finding bodies buried where we used to live.’

‘And?’

‘We knew these girls. We spoke to them, we ate with them. How can you not even care?’

‘‘Cos they ain't nothing to me. I didn't even like ‘em, so why should I care now?’

‘Because they're dead and whatever they did wrong, they didn't deserve to die. Some monster just put them in the ground and forgot about them. I have to try and help.’

‘You're more bothered about them than yer are about me.’

‘What are you talking about?’

This time the confusion was real. And there it was. They could never move on until Nicola admitted what she'd done.

‘Yer knew what they did to me and yer did fuck all about it.’

‘Beth, I don't know who did what to you. Tell me.’

She flicked another page of the magazine and shook her head. ‘Ask the detective, maybe she'll tell yer what yer did ‘cos you're hell bent on gerring yerself involved.’

‘Only because I know it is somehow connected to us.’

Beth's hand stilled in mid-air. The page fell from her grip. That her sister had made that connection was progress in itself. She wanted Nicola to remember. She wanted an apology. She wanted to hear the words she'd waited ten years for.

But not quite yet.

‘I'm telling yer, Nic, leave it alone.’

‘But I want it all out in the open.’ Beth heard the emotion in her sister's voice. She didn't look. She couldn't look.

‘Beth, I wish I knew what I'd done to hurt you. How I failed you so terribly. You're my sister. There are too many secrets between us. I love you and I just want to know the truth.’

Beth threw the magazine to the side and stood.

‘Nic, be careful what yer wish for ... ‘cos yer might just ger it.’

Fifty-Five

Kim had called a late briefing. The intensity of this case was getting to them all. The least she could do was offer her team an extra hour or two of sleep.

By the time she’d finished updating Woody on current events, Bryant, Stacey and Dawson were at their desks.

‘Morning folks, I'm sure you're all aware, but media interest in our case has escalated. The erection of a third tent has provoked a frenzy. It's now front page on every newspaper and there was a talking heads segment on Sky News last night.’

‘Yeah, saw it, Guv,’ Bryant groaned.

‘I'm sure I don't need to remind you that there is no talking to any members of the press, however persuasive. This case is way too volatile to be derailed by a misquoted comment from any of us.’

Kim included herself in that statement. She knew her own limitations when being goaded by the press, which was why she'd wisely been kept away from them.

‘And if any of you need a reminder of how shit we're doing, feel free to pop to Woody's office and read any one of the articles.’

Her boss's desk was like a newsagents and during their earlier meeting he'd talked her through every piece.

‘Seriously, Guv?’ Dawson asked.

Kim nodded. It was best they knew they were under attack. ‘Come on, Kev, you know how this works. By day three it's always our fault and we've managed to get to the fifth day since discovering the first set of bones, so I'd say we're doing pretty well.’

Kim felt the wave of negativity breeze through the room.

Kim sighed. ‘If media attention is that important to you all you should have chosen a career in showbiz. We're police officers. Nobody likes us.’

‘It's a bit soul destroying, though, Guv. Knocks your enthusiasm a bit,’ Stacey said.

Kim realised that pep talks were not her forte.

‘All of you, look at that wall and I mean look at it hard.’

The whiteboard was much easier on her eye now her girls had names. The board had been divided into three columns:

Victim 1 - Melanie Harris

Age - 15

Taller than average, undernourished, tooth defect, butterfly sock

Decapitated

Victim 2 - Tracy Morgan

Age - 15

Pregnant, Pyjama bottoms missing

Buried alive

Victim 3 - Louise Dunston - ?

Age - 15

Denture for top three teeth

‘Those three girls lost their lives to a monster. Between them they were raped, beaten, suffocated and buried. This was not a story in a newspaper to them. It was their lives; their reality. We get out of bed every day to find the person who thought they could get away with this crime.

‘A few days ago these kids were anonymous, forgotten and silent. But not anymore. Melanie, Tracy and Louise will now have a voice because of us. And make no mistake, we will catch the bastard that did this.’ Kim paused and looked around the room. ‘And if you need any more motivation than that, then you're in the wrong job.’

‘Thanks, Guv,’ Bryant said, with a nod.

‘On board,’ Stacey added with a smile.

‘Oh yeah,’ Dawson chimed.

She took her usual position on the edge of the spare desk. ‘Okay, Kev, site progress?’

‘Doctor Dan removed the body about two this morning. Cerys did an initial inspection of the grave but they’re gonna do the sieving this morning.’

‘Did the Doc say anything about a denture?’

‘Didn’t say much about anything. He’s a very strange character, Guv.’

‘Mention it to Cerys. Might still be in the grave.’

‘Stace, anything?’

‘I’ve now got the mobile phone of Tom Curtis. He ‘ad more than fifty missed calls in the two hours before ‘is death.’

Kim leaned forward. ‘Go on.’

‘All came from Croft's mobile.’

‘Jesus Christ,’ Kim seethed. ‘Anything else.’

‘The tape from the old folks’ home is useless so we ain’t got nothing incriminating on the death of Mary Andrews.’

‘Anything from SOCO on Arthur Connop?’

‘Paint chip analysis says it came from an Audi TT on a five nine plate.’

‘Anything else?’

‘Yeah, the actual records of Crestwood from the council are shite. I’m still monitoring Facebook unofficially and ringing round ex-residents officially. Some of the registered runaways were actually there that night and some on the list had left weeks before.’

Hmm ... Kim thought. Either gross inefficiency on the side of the council or a deliberate attempt to confuse the final record of occupancy. At this point, either option was a possibility.

Although Kim wasn’t totally comfortable with Stacey’s presence in the Facebook group it appeared to be bearing more useful information than official records.

‘Stace, ask some questions about Tom Curtis. Find out how close he was to the girls. I’d like to know if there were any rumours about inappropriate behaviour.’

‘Will do, Guv.’

‘Okay, Kev, get back to site and Bryant, I think you and I should pay Councillor Croft another visit.’

‘Umm ... Guv, there’s one more thing,’ Stacey said.