A Quiet Place to Kill by Daws N. R

Author:Daws, N. R.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2021-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

Although Kember hadn’t seen the basement in its previous guise, he was impressed by the work that had undoubtedly gone into making it a welcoming haven. After a brief tour, he listened to Lizzie describe the playing card and fuse box incidents, but suspected another reason for her luring him here. His wait was brief.

‘Most murderers and victims are men, but usually strangers,’ Lizzie stated, as if continuing a conversation held in her head. ‘Most women are murdered by men and have usually met their killer. That suggests Lavinia and Emily had already met their murderer. The playing card was left when I was alone in the club and destined to find it, and now my ID card has been found wrapped in a warning poster. I think we know he’s selected me.’

She moved close enough for him to smell her perfume.

‘Do you know how that makes me feel?’ she said. ‘Knowing I’ve met the man who wants to kill me?’

‘I’ve met men who wanted to kill me,’ Kember said, wincing at his casual insensitivity.

‘In the heat of the moment, perhaps.’

Kember saw an odd, faraway look in Lizzie’s eyes as if she was looking beyond him, through him, not at him.

‘But they’ve not chosen you and made plans to make it happen.’

Kember had to admit that.

‘Think about how intimate you have to be,’ she whispered. ‘How close you must become to reach out and put your hand or a blade against a neck.’

He felt a strange tension as she reached into his jacket pocket, her eyes locking on his, and took his pen, holding it point down like a dagger.

‘The attacks weren’t random and frenzied,’ she said.

Kember flinched as she mimicked repeated stabbing, stopping as suddenly as she’d begun, and felt relieved when she took a step back.

‘There would have been blood splattered everywhere,’ Lizzie said, waving Kember’s pen at the floor, ceiling and walls. ‘He took time and care over the choice of dark secluded places, over the weapon, killing and displaying of the bodies. Have you found the knife?’

‘Not yet,’ Kember admitted.

‘You may not until you catch him. If it’s not a personal tool he favours, it might be relevant to his work, or he might have attached some other significance to it, like a talisman.’

‘A good luck charm?’ Kember scoffed. ‘Sergeant Wright would call him a nutter.’

Lizzie glared at him. ‘Believe me, he isn’t a nutter.’

He edged away as she moved closer again and held the pen like a carving knife, but the wall prevented a full retreat. He held his breath as Lizzie drew the pen lightly across his throat.

‘He didn’t slash.’ The pen described lines and curves across his chest. ‘He carved – deliberately, delicately – and he placed the organs he removed from Emily’s body with great care. Why do you think he cut Lavinia where he did? Why did he bother taking Emily’s womb?’

‘Because he’s a sadist?’ Kember suggested, catching the look of disappointment as Lizzie shook her head.

‘He’s attacking and erasing their femininity.

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