Kerry Wilkinson

DS JESSICA DANIEL SERIES: BOOKS 1-3

PAN BOOKS

CONTENTS

Locked In

Vigilante

The Woman in Black

Afterword

Author biography

Copyright page

KERRY WILKINSON

LOCKED IN

PAN BOOKS

Locked In Contents

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

THREE DAYS AGO

The killer used a gloved hand to try the front-door handle one final time and make sure it was locked. The back door and windows had already been checked and there was definitely no way in – a good thing considering the body was already dead on the bed upstairs.

Now the first part was complete, the months of careful planning that led to this night finally seemed worth it. Getting into a locked house and back out again wasn’t simple on the surface but, once the idea had been struck upon, everything had happened so easily.

The hardest part had been the final act. Until the moment the life had been choked out of the victim, the killer hadn’t been sure they could actually complete the deed. Murdering someone wasn’t easy but it had been necessary.

There was no regret, no feelings of anything really. The victim certainly deserved it, as would the others to come.

1

Jessica Daniel screwed her eyes tightly shut and thought about how much she hated morning people. For some, the dawn sun spilling through ridiculously thin curtains would herald a bright new day full of opportunity but, for her, it was just a reminder she still hadn’t asked her landlord to fix some better blinds.

Admitting she had lost the battle to stay asleep, she fumbled around for her mobile phone on the table next to the bed. It was always the first point of call in the morning, if only to remind her how little she had going on in her life. She opened her eyes slowly and struggled with the device’s unlock button, before bashing away at the supposedly touch-screen front. It only seemed to function to any great degree if your definition of ‘touch’ was actually ‘poke very hard until it does what you want’.

She had no texts, no missed calls and the only emails were ones offering her enhancements she definitely wouldn’t be needing without far more invasive and complicated surgery first.

Marvellous.

Jessica went to put the phone back on the nightstand but, before she could, it started to ring. She cursed herself for setting the ringtone to some upbeat pop tune she didn’t even like; the chirpy song really wasn’t suitable for this time of the morning. Her eyes were still seeing a hazy grey around the edges but the caller ID clearly showed Detective Inspector Jack Cole’s name. Jessica looked across at the digital alarm clock next to the bed which flashed 06.51. She was pretty sure it was a Saturday too, which made things worse.

She had been promoted to detective sergeant eight weeks ago and calls like this were something she knew she was going to have to get used to. When people were in a more junior position they could often get away with working regular shifts. Early-morning wake-up calls could now be expected more often.

‘Hello,’ Jessica said into her phone, trying not to sound too groggy.

Cole didn’t sound much more awake than she did, which at least didn’t mark him down as a morning person either. He told her ‘something big’ had happened but he wasn’t completely sure of the details and tried to give her an address.