Chapter 55

55

McKeown had taken over from Boyd and Kirby to complete the warrants for the Right One database and the financial records for Laura Nolan and John Morgan. Superintendent Farrell had insisted on changing some of the wording, and it was taking forever to find a judge who was free to sign them. While he waited, agitation gnawed at his gut.

He had to be doing something. The wheels were turning too slowly. With little or no evidence in any of the murders, they had no real suspects. He pulled up the footage they'd received from the cinema and retail businesses at the complex. He'd already gone through it, but there had to be something he'd missed. No one could leave a body out there without being captured on some sort of security camera. Then he remembered they'd just been sent footage from the football club located across the road from the entrance to the retail park.

The recording started little over an hour before the body had been found by the café worker. He watched, eagle-eyed. And that was when he saw the child – was it a boy? – walking along the footpath and stopping at the wall before climbing over and disappearing.

McKeown stamped his foot on the ground, banging his knee on the underside of the desk.

‘God Almighty!' He rubbed his knee, more in excitement than pain. At last. Something.

He rechecked the tapes from the businesses in the complex, but they were all located around the corner from the cinema. At the front there was nothing to see after the cinema had been shut at eleven and the gates locked. Why not? Laura's body had to have been left there some time after everything closed for the night. Maybe the football club had footage from earlier that night. The tape he'd been sent began at six a.m. Or they might have cameras with different angles. He lifted the phone and called the club caretaker.

‘Did you see the weather that night?' the caretaker grunted. ‘We had a power outage. Must have been caused by the heavy rain.'

‘You have nothing before six a.m.?'

‘Nah. I came in and reset the trip switches.'

‘Any other cameras?'

‘There's one at the rear. It faces our car park behind the clubhouse. Not much use to you. All were down.'

‘Thanks anyway.' McKeown hung up.

The killer had been inadvertently lucky. It was too much of a stretch to think he had caused the power outage himself, wasn't it? But they couldn't take the risk of ignoring the possibility. He called the electricity company and got confirmation that the power had been out at that location for a number of hours.

He rewound the tape to the little boy with the school bag on his back.

‘Who are you, son? Can you tell us anything?'

This was a development. He'd have to inform the boss. An alert would be issued for the boy. And then he had another thought. Why was a young child out alone at that hour of the morning?

‘What's your name?' the little girl asked as she licked soup from her spoon.

Shannon stopped in the middle of the floor, hands loaded with dirty dishes. They must have been on the table since breakfast time, because cereal had set rock hard to the bowls. The man, his face dour and down, had let her out of the room. Without a word, he'd pointed to the mess, gone out the back door and locked it.

Her memory was beginning to return. A scene had flashed in front of her in full technicolour when the man had entered the room and flicked on the light switch. It came to her in movie frames. He had given her a lift last night. She'd got into his car. Willingly, it seemed. And then… what? He hadn't looked scary then, but now he did.

Another scene flashed up. She'd tried talking to him, begging him to let her out of the car, but he'd struck her with the back of his hand. She must have passed out. She recalled waking up as he parked the car. Then he'd clamped a cloth to her mouth and she remembered nothing else, until now.

Was she supposed to clean the kitchen? If only she hadn't such a raging fever. She felt like she was about to pass out. Glancing at the little girl, she estimated she was about seven or eight. Scarecrow-looking. Angry spots had erupted on her face. Chickenpox, like Davy had. Maybe she should try to make this child her ally. To help get her out of here.

‘My name is Shannon,' she offered, surprised she could talk. She tasted the gum from the tape on her lips.

‘Like the river.'

‘Something like that. But I'm not free to flow like the river. I'm trapped. I really shouldn't be here.'

‘Do you not like us?'

‘It's not that. This is not my home. That man abducted me. Do you know what that means?'

‘Yeah, I'm not stupid. I can read past age twelve. You should be glad to be here. We're nice. We're a good family. I hope you last longer than the last one. She was no use.'

Shannon felt her knees buckle. She put the dishes down on the counter before she dropped them. ‘There was someone else here before me?'

‘Yep.'

‘Where is she?'

‘I'm not supposed to talk to you.'

‘But… when did she leave?'

‘She was here yesterday and now you're here.'

‘What was her name?'

‘I'm not supposed to tell you anything. You're very nosy. You won't last long.'

‘Won't last long?' Shannon gripped the edge of the table. ‘What do you mean?'

‘Stop asking me questions,' the child snapped, sounding too grown-up for her age. ‘You're making my head ache and my spots itchy.'

‘What's your name?' Shannon was desperate.

‘Stop asking questions!' The girl slammed the table with her fist. ‘I have to finish my soup and go back to bed to rest.'

‘ Please. You know my name, it's only fair that I should know yours. I won't let on that I know it. I promise.'

The girl sighed and threw the spoon on the table. ‘They call me Magenta. Now leave me alone.'

She marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs, leaving Shannon shivering. Terrifying thoughts cascaded over her about what might be going on.

After a moment, she put the dishes in the sink and turned on the tap. While the basin was filling up, she peered out the window. The garden was surrounded by large trees and a massive wall, like a fortress She guessed the house was located in the countryside. She couldn't see any sign of life or other houses. The wooden shed caught her eye. It was where she presumed the man had gone.

‘Who are you?' she mumbled.

Then she heard the water flow from the sink to the floor. She turned off the tap and wondered how she could escape.