FIFTY-THREE

MONDAY, 2.15 A.M.

Kim took a look around the squad room before glancing back at the board. Following Woody’s departure, she had instructed everyone to get some rest.

Penn had headed down to the men’s locker room, claiming that one of the benches was reasonably comfortable.

Frost had simply sat back in her chair and had been snoozing in minutes.

Bryant had offered his car keys to Stacey so she could recline in his Astra estate while he pulled her chair over to support his feet. His hands were linked across his stomach.

For herself, she had turned off the light in the Bowl and tried to rest her eyes. She had drifted off for a while but had been woken by the image of a homeless man with no nails, no teeth and without a thumb. His cries of horror and agony would remain with her forever.

The image had driven her to turn the light back on and wait for Frost’s phone to ting that next clue. They had only forty-five minutes to find the box before the clue was shared widely.

She glanced out of the Bowl to see that although Bryant’s hands were still resting on his stomach, he was staring at the names on the board.

She stepped back into the office as Penn appeared. ‘Can’t sleep,’ he said with a shrug before taking his seat.

Before she could open her mouth, Stacey was in the doorway.

‘Not happening,’ the constable said, tossing the car keys back to Bryant.

Kim simply surveyed her team in silence for a moment before speaking.

‘Okay, guys, why haven’t we received the clue yet?’

Frost picked up her phone to check one more time and shook her head. Nothing new.

‘What are we missing?’ Kim asked, starting to feel uneasy. ‘However hard it’s been, everything so far has been achievable. He’s only communicated via text message to Frost, or from one clue leading to another and posting on the Seekers website.’

Stacey shook her head as she navigated around the site. ‘Nothing new in the last two hours.’

‘Not surprising as most sensible folks are in bed,’ Bryant groaned.

‘There has to be something,’ Kim insisted. ‘The clue has to be somewhere we can find it.’

‘Hang on,’ Stacey said as her eyes widened. She tapped a few keys and then scrolled her mouse. Her gaze was travelling down the screen at speed.

‘Shit,’ she said. ‘It’s right here on Frost’s midnight article. He communicated on the first, and I never checked the second. Sorry, my?—’

‘What does it say, Stace?’ Kim demanded.

Stacey frowned and stood with a marker pen. ‘I’ll write it on the board exactly as it is on his comment.’

Stacey stood, and Kim took her seat to read the clue, but her gaze travelled up the screen and fixed on the article. She felt her mouth fall open as she read.

‘Frost, what the hell?’

Frost shrugged, not even needing Kim to explain her annoyance. ‘He’s a knob, and I told him so.’

‘You really want to antagonise him?’ Kim snapped.

‘Just having a little fun.’

‘You do remember his threat about people getting hurt?’ Kim asked, shaking her head. Why the hell had the woman decided to openly challenge him?

‘He wouldn’t dare. Sorry, but we’ve been playing nice for hours now. We’re all running around doing his bidding. We’re all bloody shattered and still doing everything he wants. The bloke is a dick, and I’m sick of being told what to do.’

‘As are we, Frost, which is why we’re doing real police work in the background if you hadn’t noticed.’

‘Of course I’ve noticed, and you’ll see I’ve even referenced it in the article. I should get brownie points for that.’

‘How can you not see that you’re winding him up?’ Kim pushed.

At this point, they had no idea how dangerous their sicko was. They did know that Hiccup wasn’t particularly enjoying spending time with him. None of them knew what he was capable of doing.

‘I can see it, and I’m happy about it. I want him wound up,’ Frost replied. ‘I want him to lose some of his control. I want to flout his rules, and then I want him to fuck up so that we can catch him and perhaps save Hiccup’s life.’

Kim wasn’t sure which excuse to believe. Had she done it because she was tired of being ordered around, or was it a calculated move to ruffle his feathers? Either way, she was playing with fire, and Kim didn’t want any members of her team getting burned.

‘Next article goes through me before you publish it,’ she said.

‘Nope,’ Frost said, shaking her head.

‘Frost, if you?—’

‘Inspector, when are you gonna get the fact that I don’t work for you? His instruction to me was to publish articles on time, which I’ve done. There was no rule about what I had to write. I don’t tell you how to do your job, so please don’t tell me how to do mine,’ she said, turning back to her computer.

‘I swear, when this is over, I’m arresting you.’

‘For what?’ Frost asked without looking over.

‘I don’t know, flying a kite in public or shaking your rug in the street,’ Kim said, citing a couple of old medieval crimes still in force. ‘But I’ll get you on something,’ she said before turning her attention back to the board where Stacey had written the latest clue.

This one was a long line of letters.

Aconetoohottofillwitheyescream.

Realising her exchange with Frost was over, her colleagues all began to shout out.

‘Hot.’

‘Eye.’

‘Scream.’

‘Full.’

‘Cone.’

She read the words out loud.

‘“A cone too hot to fill with eye scream.”’

She launched herself from the chair, grabbed her jacket and headed out.

‘Come on, Bryant – I think I know where we need to go.’