DCI Jack Mason series Box Set by Michael K Foster

Author:Michael K Foster [Foster, Michael K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UK Book Publishing
Published: 2018-12-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Twenty minutes later, they’d found a little coffee shop across from Wetherspoons in Gateshead town centre. Carlisle ordered two lattes, and sat with his back to the wall, overlooking Jackson Street. Even if Sloane’s story rang true, neither Lee Wong nor the Chinese triads had anything to do with his wife’s death. Yes, these were ruthless people to deal with but Sloane was overreacting. Even so, Carlisle had always believed that Sloane’s wife was partly responsible for her own death. Hers was a fake relationship, and it was a dangerous game she’d played.

Seated opposite him, Jack Mason was fiddling with his iPhone and trying to make a connection. Despite the pressures of work, the Detective Chief Inspector had managed to grab a quick bite to eat.

Carlisle stared at him bleakly. ‘I guess that clears Sloane from your investigations.’

‘This all comes down to where the bodies were found.’ Mason tapped the side of his forehead with his index finger. ‘Our man’s local, I’m convinced of that.’

‘What about motive?’

‘Vulnerable women, easy targets,’ Mason shrugged. ‘There again, we’re putting far too much emphasis on this satanic salute thing of yours. Let’s face it, removing their fingers for twenty thousand quid’s worth of sparklers sounds more feasible.’

‘These women weren’t randomly plucked off the streets, Jack. They were carefully chosen. If we didn’t know it then, we certainly know it now. It’s my guess their husbands didn’t have a clue what their wives were up to once they’d left home. Neither did the police, for that matter. No, he’s grooming them and the control he has over them is mind boggling.’

‘You make it sound so simple.’

Carlisle’s expression darkened. ‘You only have to reconstruct his fantasies to see why he’s killing them. He’s angry about something, and whatever it is that’s been eating away at him all these years has finally caught up with him.’

‘So what tipped him over the edge?’

‘It was pure resentment.’

‘How does that fit in with his second victim?’

‘He probably saw in Caroline Harper what he saw in Cheryl Sawyer, but that’s just my opinion.’ Carlisle eased back in his seat and took another sip of his latte. ‘Let’s hope he’s not evolving.’

‘So why threaten you?’

‘I can think of a thousand reasons and every one of them makes sense. Take a look around, any one of these people could be the killer. That’s the scary thing; he has the ability to blend into society at will.’

‘Yeah, but let’s not get paranoid over it.’

‘You’re not in my shoes, though.’

Mason gave him a hapless look. ‘True––’

Carlisle shuddered inwardly, but managed to maintain his composure. As the dangerous cat and mouse games continued to unfold, the innermost workings of a serial killer’s mind became more apparent. Whoever he was, he was good at his game, and it was slowly tearing him apart.

‘Sutherland’s adamant he’s targeting these women through the missing person files,’ Mason said. ‘She’s called in the tech boys to see what they can do.’

Carlisle thought about it, but not for long.

‘We need to take another look at Caroline Harper’s flat.

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