Hollow Ground: A Devon Murder Mystery (Detective Jacob Knox Thriller Book 1) by Freya Wallace

Author:Freya Wallace [Wallace, Freya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hamya Press
Published: 2025-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

19

Ava didn’t say much on the way back to the station, as if sensing Knox wasn’t in the mood to speak. He wasn’t sure what made him angrier; the fact that Caleb had been arrested, or that he’d involved Lucy and Dylan. That Knox had predicted it would come to this was no comfort. He should have been stricter with Caleb from the second he’d picked him up from London, and although he’d been busy with the Dartmoor investigation, Knox still blamed himself in part for what had happened.

If the rest of the team in the incident room had heard, they were keeping quiet, heads down looking at their computers as Knox returned.

Knox glanced, as he always did, at the pictures on the crime board before entering his office. Rachel Simmons, Sophie Parsons, and the latest victim, Hannah Daly, stared back at him. It was those three that mattered the most, and Knox forced himself to focus on the investigation, putting thoughts of his brother to the side.

Hannah Daly had been fortunate to have escaped, but Knox was sure the trauma of the attack would have a lasting legacy on her mental health, however strong she appeared. He wanted to find the attacker for her sake, and for the hope that it could lead him to finding Rachel and Sophie.

Knox called a quick meeting in the incident room. The team knew what they were doing, but he wanted to inject some urgency into proceedings. There was a huge list of clubs and societies the three women had belonged to over the last decade or so, and Knox wanted to cross-match each and every one. Some of the clubs were now defunct, and finding the names of former members had proved difficult, but it seemed the most likely source for a match between the three victims.

‘Let’s find out more about the animal trap Hannah Daly claimed to have seen on Dartmoor. There can’t be many, if any, manufacturers who still make such things, and maybe we can get lucky. Check antique stores, wherever you can think someone could have purchased such a thing,’ said Knox, his mind working overtime.

‘From her statement, I think Hannah is describing a gin trap. They’ve been illegal for years. Since the sixties I believe,’ said Adam, to some general muttering. ‘Uncle used to work in farming,’ he added, as an explanation.

‘Okay, that could be important. Let’s check local farms as well. These things still exist, even if only for show. Perhaps a trap has gone missing. Adam, I’ll leave that with you. Everyone else, we need to find the thing that links these three women. We all know the time implication on misper cases. We need a result soon.’ Knox noted the physical change in his colleagues, as they sat up straighter, their determination reignited.

With duties assigned, he retired to his office, where he slumped down in his chair and switched on his computer. As SIO, he had to make sure every interview and incident, however relevant, was entered into the case notes and checked.

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