Dark Waters by Gaye Maguire

Author:Gaye Maguire [Maguire, Gaye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

Rory waited impatiently for a report on the phones and laptops from the technical examiner. He wanted to talk to Kate, but she still hadn’t returned. Finally, the technical examiner called him up to the lab.

“There’s not much on Ashling Byrne’s phone or laptop. I can see she’s been in communication with one particular person, a Pay Pig who calls himself Dan. It’s the usual flirty stuff. She sent him a few selfies, nothing very raunchy. They’ve had a few dates already and they made an arrangement to meet last Friday. I can’t trace him yet. He uses multiple VPNs, to hide his identity. Could be he’s married… or just cautious; I can’t say. The other phone is much more interesting – the Sweetman girl’s device. She was in touch with a person using the name Easy Rider, also one of her Pay Pigs. From what I’ve seen he groomed her for a while, and she agreed to meet him. Then, within a few weeks, it became a coercive relationship. She was pleading to be left alone. He was insisting they meet. She was afraid of him. He was threatening to release a compromising video online, a sex tape.”

Rory asked for a transcript of the communications between Emily and the Pay Pig and went to Corcoran with the news.

“That might explain Emily Sweetman’s suicide. What was it she said on that video… ‘I’ve fucked up my life.’ Apparently she was being blackmailed,” said Rory.

“Then we have to assume that he was the one who abused her. Going by her PM results, he’s a violent sadist,” said the DI. “What does Kate make of all this?”

“She hasn’t seen it yet. She had to go out… dentist appointment.”

“Bring her up to speed as soon as she’s back. Any response to the Twitter appeal for Ashling?”

“Not much. A few vague sightings, none confirmed. Her family in Cork have been in touch. Her mother is on her way to Dublin now. The dad can’t leave the farm.”

Rory’s mobile purred in his jeans pocket. Corcoran frowned as he took out the phone but Rory ignored him. It might be Kate…

“Sorry, sir, it’s the tech examiner – he’s got something he wants me to see.”

“Keep me in the loop.”

Rory took the stairs two at a time to the Technical Bureau lab. The examiner was looking pleased with himself.

“I think we’re talking about the same guy – both girls were involved with the same Pay Pig. Easy Rider and Dan are one person. I ran the texts through a Forensic Linguistics programme. It came back as an extremely likely match. He used different emails but the same VPNs to cover his tracks, but the words and language in both cases are pretty much identical. He groomed each girl in the same way.”

“So who is this guy? Can we identify him from the texts?”

“He calls himself Easy Rider, and sometimes she calls him Dan, but that’s all we’ve got so far.”

“And his mobile?”

“It’s an unregistered pay as you go.

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