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Ha
‘Umm ... excuse me,’ William said, bewildered. ‘But I don’t understand who you are or what you are doing here.’
‘It’s really quite simple, Mr Payne. We specialise in the most advanced technological systems that can be operated with the least amount of physical activity. We, as a company, exist to make life far more exciting and interesting for people with physical restrictions.’
William’s mind was spi
‘My understanding is that the cost has been taken care of.’ She held up her hands. ‘That is not my area of the business and I have my instructions.’
William felt as though he had been transported to an alternate universe. His mind scrambled for answers but he found none.
Ha
‘Lucy, I have only one question. Do you have control of at least one finger?’
Two blinks.
Ha
Seventy-Eight
Kim looked at the offering before her and decided that Aunt Bessie was a damn liar.
She placed the ingredients box next to her own attempt just removed from the oven for comparison. Nope, no amount of icing or glittery embellishments would save them.
Kim threw the box in the bin. She felt betrayed.
She raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘I try, Erica. I promise, I try.’
She heard the sound of a knock on the front door.
‘It’s open,’ she called.
Bryant entered wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, carrying a pizza box.
‘Missed you at work today,’ he said, placing the box on the counter top.
She rolled her eyes. ‘Woody’s order and I dare not ignore any more ‘cos this cat's on its last life.’
‘Is that what he said?’
She nodded and counted off her fingers. ‘Apparently I notched up two formal complaints about my attitude. I disregarded direct instructions on three occasions and failed to follow correct protocols ...’ she counted off the rest of her fingers, ‘... well, at least that many times.’
Bryant's head fell into his waiting hands. ‘Oh Lord, was it brutal?’
Kim thought for a moment and nodded. ‘Yeah, pretty much. He had quite a lot to say.’
‘And what did you say?’
‘I told him that his model was missing the cantilever springs from the rear axle.’
Bryant roared with laughter and she joined in. She supposed it was kind of fu
But it was her way of saying thank you. She was under no illusion that she should have lost her job. And Woody had been clear that it was only the results that had saved her.
Had even one of her hunches been wrong, The Bowl would now belong to someone else.
This case had brought her closer to losing the most important thing in her life and yet it had been worth it.
‘How long has he given you for the other thing?’
Kim growled as she took down two mugs from the cupboard. ‘A month.’
‘Jeez, how you go
Kim shrugged. She had four weeks to speak with a psychologist or face suspension.
‘You don’t think he’d actually go through with it, do you?’
Kim recalled the resolute expression on Woody’s face. ‘Oh yeah, he’ll do it.’
‘Well, you’ll be pleased to know that Richard Croft was looking much better earlier.’
‘He was?’
‘Well, he was until I read him his rights.’
Kim would have liked to have been there for that. ‘Oh, do tell me that Mrs Croft was present?’
‘She most certainly was. For a few seconds she bore a resemblance to a constipated camel but she recovered quickly enough to gather up her laptop and paperwork, stating that her lawyer will be in touch.’
‘With us?’
‘With Richard. I smell a speedy divorce somewhere in his future.’
‘What did he say?’
‘Oh, he confirmed that Victor was the one that killed Beth. The rest of them just helped bury the body. He said it was the idea of Teresa Wyatt to start the fire to cause confusion with the records and the runaways and the girls who had already been relocated.’
‘Do you believe him?’
‘I du
Kim didn't speak. There was nothing to say. She felt nothing but revulsion for Richard Croft. He had escaped with his life.
Bryant looked thoughtful. ‘Do you reckon Victor Wilks is all bad? I mean, I know what he's done but he worked the estate and stuff so maybe there was some good in him.’
Sometimes Bryant seemed younger than his years. She was just sorry that she was the one who had to tell him that Father Christmas wasn't real.
She shook her head. ‘No, Bryant. He was attracted to places devoid of hope and filled with despair, where he could project himself as a beacon of hope amongst the misery. That was his true gratification, his true power trip. Sex with frightened, vulnerable, young girls fulfilled a physical need within him. He placed himself in environments where accusations of rape would be far harder to prove and anyone who became problematic was disposed of.
‘He killed them and enjoyed it. He did it because he could and because he felt justified in ending the life of anyone who obstructed him. There will be victims of Wilks’ that originated from Hollytree and however hard it is to swallow we may never uncover them all.’
The sprawling estate had notched up eighteen runaways since Victor's return two years earlier. Add in the disappearances of girls unreported by family members who had not noticed or didn't care and that figure probably doubled.
‘Bastard,’ Bryant muttered.
Kim agreed but she consoled herself with the thought that Victor Wilks would never walk free again.
‘Did you find the car?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘Garage behind the apartments registered to Nicola Adamson. White Audi with a dented front wing.’
Kim shook her head. Try as she might, she could not muster any sympathy for Teresa Wyatt, Tom Curtis, Richard Croft or Arthur Co
Even worse, they had been instrumental in the death of another i
‘I’m curious, Kim, what made you first think it was two separate killers?’
‘Ma
‘What about the fire at Teresa’s house? What was the point of that?’
‘There was a very thin layer of snow on the ground, Bryant. There would have been a lot of forensic evidence to find with footprints and even the walking stick but eight firefighters, two tenders and a high-powered hose soon destroyed that.’
‘Clever.’
‘Exactly, so it had to be a woman.’
‘Yeah, but she got caught.’
‘Yeah, by a woman.’
Bryant rolled his eyes and groaned all at the same time.