Killing Evil by John Nicholl

Author:John Nicholl [Nicholl, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2021-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

21

Maisie rushed me into her office when I arrived in work on the Tuesday morning, closing the door with a bang as soon as I sat myself down. I usually make a coffee first thing. It sets me up for the day. But it seemed even that was out of the question. It was as if she’d won the national lottery. I’d never seen the woman so animated, never so full of great enthusiasm and eagerness. She was desperate to share. And it suited me to listen.

‘Grab a seat, Alice. You are not going to believe this.’

I craned my neck toward her. I didn’t need to feign interest. I really was curious as to what she had to say. ‘Okay, I’m all ears.’

‘A man’s hand was found at the local tip on Sunday afternoon.’

Oh, shit! That wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. You’re probably going to think I’ve been careless when I explain what had happened. And I wouldn’t blame you if you do. I chose to feign ignorance. It was the best card I had to play. ‘Did it belong to the same man as the head?’

She crossed and uncrossed her legs. Not an easy task in her over-tight skirt. ‘No, that’s what the police thought at first. Rob said Kesey arranged urgent lab tests and fingerprints. It doesn’t belong to the same man at all.’

I nodded knowingly. ‘Ah, yeah, right, I bet you’re going to tell me that the missing paedophile you mentioned has been murdered too, probably by the same killer.’

‘Yes, you’d think that, wouldn’t you? The police thought it too. But it seems not. It’s someone else entirely. They still haven’t identified the victim. There’s a small tattoo of a red dragon on the hand. I’ve been trying to think if that describes any of our clients.’

‘Surely he’d be on record if he was one of ours, DNA, fingerprints and the like.’

‘Yes, yes, of course, he would. I wasn’t thinking. It’s been a long night. Rob’s phone kept ringing. I didn’t get much sleep.’

I knew exactly who the hand belonged to – one of my previous guests who’d arrived at the cottage in the summer. The artwork had interested me. There was something about it that I’d liked. I’d finally thrown the hand out after some time in my freezer. I don’t know why. Maybe it was the alcohol. What the hell was I thinking? I’ve rarely disposed of body parts in that way before. And now I’d done it again at the worst possible time.

‘Does that mean there may be three dead men?’

Maisie nodded her agreement.

‘That is exactly what it means. The police suspect they’re dealing with a serial killer, here, on our patch. Rob says it’s a man who hates sex offenders. Someone who’s probably from this area and knows it well. The police call it the killer’s zone of comfort. They are even talking about involving a profiler. There’s a guy who worked for the FBI who Kesey is planning to talk to.

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