Chapter 23

The rest of her team filed into the office within a minute of each other.

They all looked to the board, which had been updated since they'd last seen it the night before.

By the time she'd returned home, it was almost four and not worth the extra steps to the bedroom. She and Barney had napped on the sofa together for a couple of hours before the early morning walk and breakfast routine had kicked in. Given the disturbance to his sleep routine, Barney would be out for the count until Charlie collected him at lunchtime.

‘Boss?' Stacey asked, putting her satchel under her desk.

‘Yep, we got another one.'

‘You're joking,' Penn said.

There had been no doubt in anyone's mind that Katie had been the killer. And they had all been wrong.

‘I wasn't laughing when I was called out in the middle of the night,' Kim answered.

‘You attended a crime scene without me?' Bryant asked, feigning hurt.

‘Yeah, I took Barney with me. Far more use at two in the morning.'

‘Fair point,' he admitted.

‘Sorry I'm late,' Tiff said, sliding into the seat at the spare desk.

‘You're not, but just cool your heels while we get out of the blocks on this one. It's changed since last night.'

‘Got it, boss,' she said, removing her coat.

Kim continued. ‘Our second victim's name is Andrea Shaw. She was forty-seven years of age and worked as a doctor's receptionist.'

‘Motive discovered,' Bryant offered.

Kim gave him a look before continuing.

‘Phone indicates she socialised with friends a couple of times a month and filled her down time with crafting and reading. Divorced amicably some years ago and has two grown children, a boy and a girl.'

She paused while they took it in.

‘Anyone want to take a guess at the link between the two women?'

‘Both worked administrative roles?' Penn asked.

She shook her head.

‘Both women home alone?' Bryant asked.

‘Nope.'

‘Pageants?' Stacey asked.

‘Jeez, guys,' she said, looking from Bryant to Penn. ‘Don't know why you even bother trying when Stace is in the room. It is indeed pageants.'

Only Stacey had, in a few seconds, put together what they'd found in Sheryl's throat and that their second victim also had a daughter.

‘Same kind of shrine?' Bryant asked.

‘No. Total opposite. The tiaras were packed away with the old karate suits and cricket bats.'

Tiff held up her hand and nodded towards the door. ‘Boss, do you want me to…?'

Penn looked disappointed.

‘No, I said we'd help and we will, but if we need to pull Penn off to assist…'

‘Of course, of course.'

Kim turned to Stacey. ‘Bryant and I have a couple of calls to make, so your top priority is the pageants. Were the daughters on the circuit at the same time? Were there any issues, any enemies, any fights, any scandal?'

‘Got it, boss.'

‘Look at the family members of both victims too. Start with Sheryl, as relatives seem to be a bit thin on the ground. Check other areas to see if there's anything similar happening elsewhere. That should be enough to keep you going for now.'

‘On it, boss.'

Kim headed to the Bowl for her jacket.

Here they were again. Finding out that what they'd been presented with had been an illusion. It was not as cut and dried as their first assessment had seemed. One victim and one suspect. They had thought it was an isolated incident and that no one else was at risk. With a second victim already in the morgue, she knew they were behind the clock, and she prayed they could catch up before anyone else lost their life.

The puzzle board had been placed on the table and they knew the subject matter, but they were waiting for the pieces to fall so they could be arranged into a cohesive, sensible picture.

The first piece was currently under lock and key at Bushey Fields.

Before their second victim, pageants had been no more than a detail to examine while unpicking what appeared to be a complex and toxic relationship between a mother and her daughter.

With the discovery of a second pageant mum found dead, Kim was forced to wonder exactly what these two mums had done to deserve such punishment. What did they have in common? Were pageants to blame for the hostility between Katie and Sheryl? And what exactly had life as a pageant girl been like?