‘So what happened then?’

‘Well, that’s when you guys came in.’

‘What?’ said Josh.

‘When I was rescued. I heard someone break into the building and a voice said something like drop the knife or I’ll blow your brains out. That was the cops, right?’

‘Cassie, it wasn’t us. We didn’t have a clue where you were. We thought you’d been taken to a house in Van Nuys, but it proved to be a –‘

‘But –‘

‘From what we can gather a nurse found you lying on a bench outside the hospital.’

‘I don’t understand. I thought –‘

‘So who was it?’

‘I asked if he was a cop and he said something like, “You could say that.’’ He was the one who gave me an injection for the pain. Said that he would look after me, take me to hospital.’

‘Shit, what the fuck is going on?’ said Josh under his breath. ‘Did he say anything else?’

‘I asked him if he was a doctor, but he said he wasn’t. He said he knew something about medicine. I asked his name, but he wouldn’t tell me. He told me that I’d start to feel sleepy from the drug he had given me, but not to worry. He told me I was safe. I believed him.’ Tears were streaming down her face. ‘But if it wasn’t the cops who came and rescued me then who –‘

‘We just don’t know,’ whispered Kate, gently wiping Cassie’s wet cheeks.

‘The guy you thought was a cop - did you manage to touch his face?’

‘No – sorry – I –‘

‘It’s fine, Cassie. Don’t worry. You’ve done amazingly well. Try and get some rest now. We’ll work on the image tomorrow. When you’re feeling better.’

‘No,’ said Cassie, wiping a tear from her face. ‘We’ll do it now.’

‘But –‘

‘The feel of his face is still fresh in my mind.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m sure,’ she said. ‘I can’t bear you looking at me one second longer, thinking that I’m so distressed that I’ve finally gone crazy.’

‘No,’ said Kate. ‘You’re the least crazy person I know.’

48

‘The fun lies in not knowing, don’t you think?’ he said. ‘Not knowing just which one of your victims will turn on you. I suppose some will take the easy option of calling the cops. Which is fine in its own predictable kind of way. But then others will take it upon themselves to be – how shall I put it? – a bit more creative.’

The man raised his head slightly before it lolled back onto his chest.

‘I’m pleased to see that you agree,’ he continued. ‘Not that you are in much of a position to argue at the moment. Blindfolded, tied to a chair, deprived of a couple of fingertips, a whole load of vomit in your lap.’ He moved closer to him now and whispered in his ear. ‘But let me tell you what you’re experiencing is a church picnic compared to what you’ve got coming to you. I know you’re dying to hear more, but I think it’s best if I keep you guessing for the time being.

‘You don’t think I’m capable? Well, there’ve been a couple of unsolved murders recently. Raymond Cutler - heard of him? No. Well let me fill you in. Raymond seemed like a respectable family guy, except that he liked little girls. Into internet porn, really disgusting stuff. Want to know what I did? I cut off his penis and Raymond bled to death.

‘Need another example? I could tell you about Phil Vine, a drug dealer, who sold his shit to teens. I fed him a cocktail of drugs to die for – which is just what he did. And oh – I nearly forgot about Charles Garrison. Wife-beater. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about him. I smashed him over the head with a rock so hard his brains spewed out.

‘In each case it was an appropriate match of crime and punishment, don’t you agree? Almost like divine justice, if you will.

‘What was that? What am I going to do with you? You’d like a clue? Okay, let’s see. I’ve always wondered whether there is anyone out there like me. If there is anyone else who shares my dream.’

49

‘Do we know how it got here?’ asked Josh.

‘It seems like it was hand delivered to the front desk this morning at 5:37,’ said Lansing. ‘I spoke to Louisa Hammond, who took receipt of the parcel and logged it in. She describes the man as white, mid-thirties, square-jawed. Hammond can’t remember much else about him, but said that he was wearing a baseball cap. Hammond thought he was kind of quiet, but as it was early morning she didn’t think it was out of the ordinary.‘

‘Okay – Lansing, I want you to check the security cameras. As we know the time you should be able to get an image for us almost straight away. Send the sequence over to me just as soon as you’ve found it.’ He turned to Helen. She wasn’t looking good. Jesus, that was an understatement. She looked like death. But if she wanted to use work as a way of blocking out the painful realities of her future – or rather lack of it – who was he to argue. ‘Helen – is there any word from the forensics lab yet?’

‘They promised to get back to me within the hour. I told them it was a high priority so they’re doing everything they can.’

An image of the contents of the package flashed into his mind. Two fingertips surrounded by a halo of blood. Who did they belong to? And what connection did they have to the case? He felt blind, manipulated, a participant in a game in which he didn’t know the rules. Just like in the rest of his life. What a fucking mess he’d made of it all. Once, he’d been certain about what he wanted. He had his life with Kate. They planned a future together. He had loved her. It was a love that he could feel, something concrete, solid. Is that how he felt with Jules? He wasn’t sure. Fuck. But this was no time to think about that.

Just then his phone rang. It was Lansing.

‘It looks like I’ve got it,’ he said. ‘I’ve edited the shots down and I’m sending the file over to you now,’ he said.

Less than a second later Harper double-clicked on the icon on his screen. The image sequence – in grainy and black and white – showed a man holding a package walking into the office and up to the desk. He handed over the parcel to Hammond, who then entered the details into the log book, after which the man turned around and left. By the time Harper had watched it through, Lansing was standing by his desk.