Judas Kiss

The Chronicles of Judas

Judas Kiss

Leo Harrison is investigating the murder of a woman washed up on the banks of the Thames. She has been raped, mutilated, drained of blood and a symbol carved in her chest.

The unusual case requires the expert knowledge of Helena Carey, historian and occult specialist who recognizes the symbol as being the mark of long dead mass murderer, Alexei Vorontsevich.

They soon discover that the victim is the killer's third, and that all the female victims share the same rare genetic condition. When a fourth woman with the condition goes missing, Leo and his colleagues must find and save her from an apparently motiveless and violent serial killer.

Working together, Leo and Helena’s professional relationship rapidly becomes personal. Kind, generous and legal guardian to a child she has raised as her own; Helena is everything Leo never realised he wanted.

But the past won’t stay buried and the shadow of the murders never seems to be far from her door. When Helena is forced into revealing a secret, heartbroken Leo is left questioning everything he believes in.

As the past and present begin to collide, the killer’s net tightens and death is only where the story begins.

Prologue

5th January 1796

Waltham Abbey, Essex

They say the first kill is the hardest. That once you have taken the life of another it changes the very fabric of your existence. They say that it eats at your soul, claws through your mind, consumes your own humanity.
Whether I like to admit it or not, the first was easy. They were all easy.
I’ve killed so many now I cannot even recall all of their faces anymore. Some are more memorable than others, that is inevitable. But did they erase my humanity? No. It is not their faces that are burnt into my very core, that devours my soul or tears at my hear; it is yours.
Because of you, nothing in my life remains intact. Because of you I have to yield to my body’s desires when my heart races or my blood burns. My mind is tormented by you, your presence lingers. Every breath I take, every deed I have done, every course run has been because of you. You have watched me, wanted me so now all I see is your face. It is as though you own every inch of my body, the very essence of who I am. I’d give up everything to find you, and it has taken over me; and for that I hate you.
I survey your blood as it saturates the ground beneath me. I drink in the scent of it as it penetrates the air. The wood beneath my feet now a bed for an ocean of blood. But for once I am not drowning. I have feared you, loathed you. I have allowed you to consume me. For two hundred and twenty five years I have heard nothing other than the sound of your heart beating in my head. Now it is silent. I am holding your head above mine and I feel your blood seep onto my skin, your decapitated carcass at my feet.
Two hundred and twenty five years have passed since I died at your hand Alexei Vorontsevich. Haunted by a life you thrust upon me. Now I am free.

Part One

Chapter One

Friday 12th September 2008

Brixton, London

20:30

The queue was eagerly waiting for admittance. A stationary line of human traffic that snaked around the corner of the street.

Leo leaned against the wall after checking his watch before sinking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He looked up the road just as Marc came into view. ‘Where have you been? I’ve been here fifteen minutes.’

‘Sorry mate, got held up.’ He admired himself in the window of the building next to them. His sandy hair had been coiffed to perfection with so many products it didn’t move.

‘How much of that stuff did you use?’

‘You’re just jealous.’ Marc looked over Leo and the smooth brown skin that covered his head, his black hair cropped so close it was scarcely visible.

‘You can believe that if you want.’
Marc laughed but his attention wasn’t held for long. He caught sight of several young women as they walked around the corner. He flashed his toothy roguish smile. ‘Ladies…’ he greeted them as they passed. They didn’t answer but giggled to themselves as his dark blue eyes followed them. ‘Nice, very nice.’

With his eyes still on them and the skirts that skimmed their backsides, the girls joined the queue four to five people behind them.

‘Not bad. Bit obvious though,’ Leo replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

‘Obvious often means an easy lay.’

‘Easy isn’t always the way to go.’

‘What, you mean you’ve never had a shag against a Biffa bin?’

‘No, I’m saying we can’t all be a classy Romeo like you!’

Marc laughed again as he puffed up his chest. Reaching for his cigarettes in his back pocket he lit up, blowing the smoke away from Leo. ‘Mate, sometimes you are too damn picky!’

‘Or maybe the whole point of starting over is that you don’t continue making the same mistakes.’

‘Yeah I guess. The problem is I love my mistakes too much to learn from them. Anyway, what’s with you tonight? I thought this would be just your thing.’

Leo looked over to the girls that where obviously enamoured with them. The platinum blonde caught him looking and smiled. He laugh and replied: ‘Nothing at all, I just need a drink and y’know I prefer brunettes.’

The meandering queue began to creep towards the venue. As they turned the corner, the red neon sign over the door came into view. Within minutes they were at the entrance, a staircase that fed into the rooms above the streets. The entrance may have been modest but that could not be said for the doorman. They dwarfed the crowd including Leo and Marc despite both being 6’2” themselves. As the bodies filtered through the doors, tickets were collected and wrists were extended to receive their lime green bands.

Music pumped from the speakers in the main hall vibrating through the floor. The room was vast; at one end was the main stage, unlit but clearly set up for a band to play. The floor was over many levels, standing room around the half moon stage that rose up to tables and large black and red leather couches with a bar that ran the entire length of the building. A third balcony level with standing room only completed the venue with its pumping technicolour light show. The building could hold hundreds and was filling rapidly.

‘Right – bar time! I feel the need to kill off a few brain cells!’

Leo laughed: ‘Careful, you’re running out!’
The shots disappeared, swiftly followed by beer as two of the girls from the queue approached them.

‘So are you gorgeous guys going to buy us a drink?’

Marc’s eyes traced the curves of the women directly in his eye-line. ‘And whatever the ladies want…’

Her friend, the petite platinum blonde walked up to Leo and thrust her hand into his. ‘Hi, I’m Sarah!’

Marc’s eyes widened and smiled at him.

‘Leo,’ he replied, polite yet neutral.

‘Marc.’

‘Michelle…So who did you have to kill to get these tickets? They say this is going to be the best live venue in town.’

‘Well, it’s not what you know it’s who you know,’ Marc grinned at her. ‘Plus I had to bring Leo, he’s a musician. ’

‘Really?’ The girls sang in unison as they turned towards Leo.

He saw Sarah coveting him. She probably made the same face at the words shoe sale. ‘Er…I play a bit.’

He glared at Marc who threw his hands up pretending not know what he’d done. Although he had never been adverse to using a similar pick up in the past, pursuing girls that could only hold his interest for a few lacklustre hours.
The blonde moved in closer to Leo. ‘I’ve got a real thing for black musicians’

‘Thanks…’ He felt uncomfortable; this enthusiastic young woman seemed barely old enough to get into a place like this. If she was twenty he’d be surprised. That thought suddenly made him feel old, thinking she was young at twenty compared to his thirty-two. Not so long ago he would have been flattered at her attention. This would usually be followed by a few drinks and a half decent screw with someone who was ultimately forgettable. Sarah seemed nice enough, but even in the few words she had spoken she seemed pretty, well, there was only one word that really fit her – fluffy! He was happy to be proven wrong in his assumption but he suspected he wouldn’t.
Marc and his new acquaintance moved towards the rapidly filling seated area. Similarly aged to Leo, ‘fluffy’ was still his staple diet.
Sarah grabbed his arm, drawing herself into his body as though she had staked her claim on him and followed her companion.

‘Your accent is lovely, Leo…Where ‘bouts in the States are you from?

‘DC.’

She beamed up at him looking a little confused.

‘Washington?...The White House?’

‘I was never very good at geography.’

‘Really…’

‘So what do you do?’ Michelle asked Marc as he sat down.

‘Police,’

The girls traded grins with each other. ‘A man in uniform?’

Marc shook his head and pulled out his warrant card from his back pocket.

Michelle looked at it. ‘Close enough...Detective Inspector Metcalfe.’

‘What about you?’ Sarah asked Leo.

‘Same…’

‘Only I outrank him, don’t I Sergeant Harrison?’

‘For now.’

The music began to fade as the crowd turned and moved towards the darkened stage and started cheering. As the lights faded in the rest of the venue, Leo felt a twinge of anticipation seep through his body for the first time that evening. He’d forgotten how much he loved that feeling, seconds before you went on stage when your head was buzzing and you felt almost as though you needed to vomit from the expectation. They all stood up by the railings of the balcony that was just behind their seats as eyes peered into the darkness.

A deep male voice came over speakers: ‘Ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage Helena Carey.’

The room applauded, some of the crowd using their feet as well and cheered as the spotlight shone on the stage. From the darkness a young woman glided across the floor. The second Leo’s eyes caught sight of her, his lungs tightened as though a tourniquet had been placed around the middle of them. The lack of oxygen instantly made him feel giddy. To him she was more than beautiful; she was hypnotic. As the light shone down on her black top it accentuated her remarkably ashen skin. She walked into the light with a mesmerising confidence to a solitary microphone. As she moved further into the light, her bright smile lit up her face.
He shuddered as though someone had walked over his grave. The world around him seemed to fade and slow, registering only in his peripheral senses. A single sound made it through the deafening silence descending in his mind, his heart thumping in his chest. That was until she began to speak.

‘Good Evening! Welcome everyone to the grand opening night of Parallel World!’ her voice sang out as she spoke to the crowd. They went wild as she took the microphone and began to sweep across the stage talking to all sides of the room. It took her several attempts before she was able to continue. ‘Six months ago, a young man I have had the pleasure of knowing for many years with a passion for music, came to me with the proposition for this venue,’ she motioned around the room. ‘Tonight, I am delighted to be standing here as his dream becomes a reality. For the next hour his band, Supernatural will be entertaining you, then another four bands will be here to showcase themselves to you in what is now, officially London’s largest venue to see unsigned acts. Therefore, without further ado please welcome your co-hosts; Supernatural!’

The stage lit up instantly with red and blue lights. Guitars rang out and drums thundered to the Oasis tune ‘Rock ‘n Roll Star’. The crowd went wild, jumping in unison with the beat, singing as arms waved. In the seated area people were dancing and bouncing along to the music. Marc’s eyes were never far from the girls that swayed seductively inches from him and Leo. They regularly glanced over their shoulders, revelling in the obvious male attention, at least from one source.

As the raven haired beauty moved off the stage to a group she seemed to know; the most passionate people in the room, proud families, Leo was transfixed. His gaze followed her silhouette as she and her friends enjoyed the melody that resonated from the amplifiers. The room was alive with noise but he was the only person not hearing the music.

‘They’re great!’

He suddenly tuned back into the room at Marc’s raised voice but his eyes were fixed on the crowd below. ‘Yeah they are…’

‘She’s hot!’ Marc indicated to the woman announced as Helena Carey.

He couldn’t answer, his body bewitched.
Through the dark and noise it was as though she heard him. Her gaze rose to where they stood. She smiled in his direction as Leo felt her eyes burning on him. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. His blood ran hot and cold all at once and he was unable to speak, his lungs still not co-operating.

Marc laughed. ‘Looks like I can give up on getting any sense out of you this evening!’

By the end of the hour the band had finished their set and thanked the crowd. Having spent the majority of it spellbound, Leo had now lost sight of the woman who had the ability to make his heart race and then stop with a single look. The sensation was addictive. He scanned the room frantically several times trying to make her out but she had disappeared into the crowds.

‘Drink anyone?’ he sighed. As Leo exhaled, he placed his hand on his torso, supporting his lungs. They ached after an hour barely functioning.

Everyone accepted.

‘I’ll help you!’ Sarah bounced to his side.
Still not able to concentrate on anything other than Helena Carey, Leo heard himself agree.
Completely oblivious to his distinct disinterest,

Sarah chatted to him loyally at the bar. They collected the drinks and prepared to return to the table when he caught sight of Helena. His feet stopped dead as he felt the air being forced from him again. She was no more than twenty feet away, her back turned as she spoke with another crowd. Her long straight hair had been pulled around one shoulder, the backless top exposing her perfect porcelain skin all the way to the low waist of her skinny black jeans. She was smaller than she appeared on the stage, five feet tall at the most when out of four inch heals, even the petite Sarah looked tall in comparison. Leo quickly realised why he had lost sight of her, she could easily be lost in a crowd, but even more breathtaking close up than he could ever have imagined.

He felt Sarah collide with him as he froze. The force broke his trance. She apologised but she didn’t have his attention for long.

****

Helena turned her head towards the commotion in case it was something that required her attention. It was, but not how she had expected. Her gaze latched onto the tall black man behind her in jeans and slim fitting dark t-shirt. He had been watching her for most of the night. His brown skin and model-like, angular features hinted to a European influence in his bloodline. She appraised him slowly, her heart-rate increasing again as it had done the moment she set eyes on him. She tried to avert her gaze but her eyes refused to obey. An involuntary smile opened across her face. It thrilled her more than she realised that his female companion failed to retain his interest.

****

Leo couldn’t take his eyes off Helena as he saw a confident seductive smile creeping over her face. He returned it, his lungs once again refusing to work. They were however more than compensated by his heart that was beating in double time.

‘Bollocks to this…’ Sarah huffed.

He barely registered that she had left. The siren that had him under her spell was slinking towards him and he was happily hypnotized by her gaze. He felt his feet move towards her, although certain he was not controlling them. He had only moved a few steps when the moment was interrupted as her name was called by the four young men from the stage. She paused instantly.

‘How did we do?’

Helena threw her arms around each of them in turn. ‘Boys you were amazing!’

Christ! Leo thought to himself, his mind finally catching up with his body which felt as though it was about to explode. Seeing that her attention had been diverted he returned to the table with the rest of the drinks. But however hard he tried, he was never able to take his eyes off the impossible beauty at the other side of the room.

23:30

Leo’s hands clung to the edges of the basin in the toilets supporting himself and his dizzy head. Anyone who saw him would have thought that he was the worse for wear from alcohol. Only he knew the spell was brought on by the knot in his stomach that she had created. He chastised himself under his breath for being irrational; it wasn’t like he hadn’t been attracted to anyone before. ‘Get a grip!’ he ordered his reflection, unable to comprehend his extraordinary reaction to her presence. He’d been in there sometime but doubted that he had been missed. Marc and Michelle had gone outside to smoke; he suspected they would be down there some time making out as well. At least if Marc was distracted by her then he wouldn’t be pestering him about Sarah.
He collected himself and made his way back through the crowds; the heat of the room hit him. He passed the bodies of fellow revellers, hot and damp with sweat, each one feeling as sticky and revolting as the next. As he moved through the throng hed glanced over his shoulder; it was then the scent of her hair hit him, almost knocking him off his feet. She was right in front of him, barely inches away. Her eyes locked into his, the exchange holding for a few seconds longer than would normally be comfortable.

‘Hello again.’ A smile opened across her face.

Leo felt his heart try to rupture through his rib cage as he stared down at her tiny frame. Her smile was unusual, large, bright, lighting up her face. It seemed to glow even through her pallid complexion. His blood thundered around his body igniting an involuntary smile. A dry throated, breathless, ‘Hi,’ fell from his mouth. It felt like an eternity, just the two of them in the room before the charged air was broken.

‘Helena!’ a woman called her name as she pushed her way back through the crowds. Leo’s vision was barely able to register further than the face of Helena but saw her friend was a redhead.

‘Yes, coming…’

After a few lingering steps the redhead took Helena’s right hand and began to move them away.

‘Wait!’ he finally managed to speak, reaching for her other hand. It stopped her. She was as cool as polished marble as her fingers entwined with his. She looked at their hands then back up at him. ‘I have to see you again!’

Helena let go of her companion’s hand as he tried to read her composed expression. She placed her hand on his chest, his skin reacting with goose bumps that aroused more than just the point of contact. He leaned down meet her, his hands framing her face as he gently pulled her closer, desperate to taste her. She paused inches from him, so close he could feel her cold breath on his skin. His whole body felt alive to its core. She was a drug, affecting him on a cellular level.

She removed his hands from her face, his encompassing hers. ‘Then you’ll have to find me…’

‘I thought I already had?’

‘Possibly, but I think we are about to lose each other again.’

‘What do you mean?’

She didn’t reply, only smiled at him; a bright, dangerous smile. Her face was almost touching, teasing his.

He heard another voice filter through his brain: ‘Oi, Leo!’ Looking up he saw Marc approach.

He sighed, feeling as though he was a lovesick teenager. ‘What?’

Helena let go of his hands.

‘I’m sorry to interrupt but another woman requires our attention right now.’

‘Who?’

‘Casey Miller.’

The name brought Leo crashing back to earth. ‘Casey?’

‘She’s being pulled from the Thames near Lambeth Bridge as we speak.’

‘Jesus… Are they sending a car for us?’

‘Yeah, it’ll be here any minute.’

He returned his attention back to Helena, who had moved a few feet away from him with the redhead. Again his infatuation was reeling him in.

‘Leo…’ Marc prodded him.

‘Yeah, yeah I know…C’mon, if I don’t move now I’ll never leave.’

Chapter Two

Monday 15th September 2008

Leo’s apartment, Oysters Wharf, Lombard Road, Battersea, London

06:15

Loud voices broke the blissful silence. Leo’s hand appeared from beneath the duvet, smacked the alarm then quickly retreated back into his cocoon. The sun was only just starting to creep through the thin gap in the curtains. It was just enough to catch him in the eyes; he screwed up his face and slid deeper beneath the covers.

06:19

The music started on the morning radio show. This time, Leo let the alarm run. He had already hit snooze four times and now there was no getting away from the fact he had to get up. He pushed his head out from under the covers then slowly dragged the rest of himself out as well, letting out a long sigh as though the exhalation would help propel him. Every movement was an effort, his body still aching from exhaustion. He had spent two days immersed in the world of a bright, beautiful woman, one whose mutilated body was lying on a mortuary slab.

He hauled himself across his bedroom into the hallway then the bathroom stretching his arms, rolling his head from side to side, trying to pull some life out from his tired body. The bright artificial lights made his sleepy eyes squint as they adjusted from the darkness. He caught sight of his reflection and groaned at what greeted him as he turned on the shower. The room filled with steam as the hot water poured down onto his milky brown skin. He stood there for a few blissful moments still coming to. It didn’t take long, the water was so hot he had to.

As he got out of the shower he took a closer look in the mirror as he felt the day old stubble on his face. It’ll do he thought himself, too tired to care what he looked like today. He threw on a charcoal suit with dark blue shirt and tie. There was no time for breakfast but coffee was an essential. Strong, black and portable.

New Scotland Yard Offices, Westminster, London

07:15

Leo pulled into the underground car park, already surprisingly full considering how early it was. As he manoeuvred his silver Audi A4 into a bay a matching one in blue parked next to him.

‘Hey, man,’ still exhausted, he called over the
roof to Marc, who got out of the other car.

‘Hey, mate,’ he replied just as wearily. ‘You look like shit.’

‘Not looking so hot yourself.’

‘What time did you get back last night?’

‘Gone one. You?’

‘About the same. Bloody ridiculous, and to top it off its fucking freezing this morning as well, summer has definitely buggered off.’ Marc huddled into his suit jacket as his phone beeped. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and read the message with a sly smirk.

‘Who was that face for?’

‘Just some girl…’

‘Oh what a surprise considering it was on your slut phone.’

They made their way through the station up to the large open plan office and parked at their desks still covered in files and paperwork, all other cases temporarily on the back burner. At the other end of the room next to the DCI’s office was the Operation Board plastered with the crime scene photos of Casey Miller, a twenty-one year old nursing student who had been reported missing two months earlier. When the punctual blonde had failed to show up for work at the local hospital, colleagues raised the alarm. She had been savagely attacked, raped and mutilated; a symbol carved into the flesh on her chest.

After making his fourth coffee, Leo stood staring at the pictures that now dominated the incident room, dozens of them. Wide shots; close ups; full body; individual injuries. All displayed and labelled as though some grotesque exhibition of the various parts of Casey’s cadaver.

‘I still think that is some kind of…pentagram?’ Leo mused. He contorted his head to look at the photos of the marks on Casey’s chest. The initial post mortem had confirmed it had been carved into her body after she died. A palm sized circle with interlocked triangles inside probably made by a relatively blunt blade, similar to a penknife.

‘Hmm,’ Marc agreed without looking up. ‘But nothing has come up on any of the searches made on it…’

‘Then we aren’t looking in the right place.’

‘Gather round people,’ boomed the deep male voice from the office behind Leo and Marc. It was their DCI, Harry Johnson a short stocky man who bore a striking resemblance to a mousey-grey haired neckless pit-bull in a suit. The room, full of sleep deprived officers gathered into a horse shoe, sitting on desks where necessary. ‘Morning ladies and gents, I know it was a late one last night so we’ll go over what we found out over the last few days before we carry on. Go on, Casanova – you can start us off,’ he directed to Marc.

He didn’t flinch at the comment looking down at the notes in front of him. ‘Looks as if there was more than one assailant. Forensic reports show that she was repeatedly raped with traces of semen from at least two males…’ He raised his hand as Harry tried to jump in. ‘We won’t have any more results back for another few hours.’

‘What did we get from the parents, friends?’

‘Nothing more than when she went missing. Smart girl, well liked,’ replied Rae Wilson, an attractive well turned out female Dective Sergent, slightly overweight and in her mid forties. She played with her bob length hair as she talked. Light brown in colour it was still sun kissed from the summer. ‘She turned up to work on time, never been in trouble, didn’t do drugs. No one had a bad word to say about her.’

‘Nobody does when they’re dead, everyone’s a bloody saint,’ said Marc.

‘But…how much do you have to hate someone to do that to them?’ asked Leo, gesturing with his head to the photos.

‘You were talking about the mark on her?’ Harry recalled.

‘Yeah. Still have no idea what it is, I’ve not been able to find a reference to it anywhere.’

‘Also, we still have no idea where the primary crime scene is,’ added Marc. ‘We know, based on stomach contents, she’d eaten shortly before her death and which is estimated within a six hour window from 14:00 to 20:00 on Friday. She would have to have been held somewhere.’

‘But if we knew the significance of the symbol, it should lead us to whoever did this. Something this unusual can only mean something to a limited number of people,’ said Leo.

‘You’re not the only one who thinks so,’ confirmed Harry. ‘I have been contacted by Professor Elliott, Home Office Pathologist who believes he knows something about it. Actually, he said it’s a colleague of his, a Baroness Hunsden. Professor Elliott is conducting a second post on Casey and the Baroness will join us later. I want you all to liaise with them. But until then, let’s keep digging into Casey’s life. Something had to have made her a target for these bastards.’

‘What about the press? They are still hounding…’ another female DC asked.

‘Just confirm that enquires are ongoing and further details will be released in a statement later. I don’t want to give them too much before we know what we are dealing with.’

Chapter Three

Monday 15th September 2008

New Scotland Yard

18:45

The light outside was fading, the September evening calling in the autumn. As the daylight waned, the lights from the office reflected against the windows mirrors for the city whose lights were coming alive around a room preoccupied with death.

Leo studied the pictures of Casey, comparing them against print outs of symbols of various forms of pentagrams and rituals from the internet. There was nothing close. He threw them on the table rubbing his fingers along his tired eyes, pinching them into the bridge of his nose.

‘Anyone know when these people are going to show up?’ Rae asked wearily, falling into her chair.

‘Who knows, my dear Raewyn,’ Marc replied, throwing his pen onto the desk and resting his feet on the corner. ‘It’s almost seven now.’

‘Let’s get something to eat, I’m starving,’ said Leo. He wasn’t, he was exhausted, but the lie and subsequent errand would pass the time.

‘Rather go to the pub,’ Marc sighed. ‘But as that isn’t an option food will do. Who wants what?’

20:15

Harry marched into the office with his guest by his side, they spoke amongst themselves. The man was about 5’10” with short neat dark hair that had a slight scattering of grey through it and eyes that were a brilliant piercing blue. He was smartly dressed in a black suit. Leo noticed it looked expensive, the cut, the way it hung from his shoulders. The matching black shirt was open at the collar. His face was handsome; rugged as though it was well lived in over his forty or so years. The room’s gaze instantly locked onto them and followed them as they traced along the floor whilst the office chatter continued. Harry and his guest paused and faced the crowd by the operation board.

‘Right then,’ Harry called to his team, to which everyone obliged him by gathering around. ‘This is Professor William Elliott…’ Harry, a man never to waste his words motioned for Elliott to take over.

Elliott cleared his throat slightly. ‘Good evening everyone,’ he addressed the room confidently, obviously accustomed to public speaking. ‘I know it’s late so I’ll come straight to it. I am good friends with Dr Silverman who completed the initial post mortem on Miss Miller yesterday evening. Due to the unusual nature of her death he asked me for a second opinion. Following this I think my colleague, who will be joining us shortly, and I can offer you further insight into her death.’

‘So what can you tell us?’ Rae asked first as she prepared to make her fastidious notes.

‘Well, I’ve looked at Dr Silverman’s post mortem notes and conducted my own. Like the original post mortem I have concluded that Miss Miller was alive for about six to eight weeks after she went missing. There is nothing to suggest that she had been dead for any longer than six hours before she was found on Friday night. Her body, apart from the mark on her chest, was well looked after in that she had been fed and hydrated. Aside from the numerous sexual assaults she suffered, all her other injuries were inflicted post mortem. That includes the cut at her throat. I have also concluded the primary cause of death was blood loss. She had marks all over her body that suggest this was regular withdrawals from needles. As for anything like DNA, fibres, there is not much to go on.
‘But this you already knew and you’re wondering why we’re here keeping you from your families. For my sins I am also one of the main researchers at the Cambridge Haematology Trust who study and treat a whole range of blood disorders. Both Dr Silverman and I agreed that it seemed unusual for someone to go to the trouble of draining Miss Miller of almost every drop of blood her body held, and then mutilate it to simulate a similar cause of death. That is unless there was something about her blood that was important in some way. I therefore completed a number of additional tests that a post mortem would not normally conduct with the precious little blood that was left.’ Elliott handed out a bundle of paper to the room. ‘As you will see from the notes I have given you, none of the tests showed that Miss Miller had any known haematological disorders. However, one did indicate that she was a carrier of a gene called Regenersis. It is rare and not particually well known even in the medical community.’

There was a short pause as everyone absorbed the information. It was Marc who raised the next question. ‘So how come you know about this Regenersis gene, if it so rare?’

Elliott’s reply was concise and without modesty. ‘I discovered it. Basicially it is an extra gene that enables the carrrier’s body to heal extremely quickly. For instance, if someone with this gene broke their leg, rather than a minimum of six to eight weeks to heal they could be almost back to normal in three to four. Cuts and brusies can heal in a few days rather than weeks and so on. Other than that they are perfectly normal. Most people wouldn’t even think about it, just that they get over things quickly.’

‘Can anyone have this gene?’ Leo asked. He saw Rae furiously writing everything down in her illegible shorthand.

‘No. This gene apears to be specific to caucasian women who are natural blondes. There has never been a recorded male case.’

‘Why is that?’ asked Marc. He was completely focused on Elliott and what was being said.

‘It seems to just die out in them, why that is we do not know at this time. We have only known about this gene for a few years so we are still learning. It is hereditary but does not always present itself in each generation. It can lie dormant for some time but only in its female host. The longest I’ve known is three generations. Oh, and as far as we know, it does not transfer to the offspring of mixed race couples - where the mother is white and carries the gene.’

‘You think she was killed because of this gene?’ queried Leo.

‘That’s not for me to question.’

‘Is there any reason why someone would want her blood?’ Harry asked Elliott.

‘Like a medical black market value?’
Harry nodded.

‘Her body would have been able to replace the blood taken much faster then yours or mine, if the wrong person knew this, who knows what is possible.’

‘So she was being farmed?’

‘That is my belief.’

‘It is high risk keeping someone captive for a few days let alone weeks or months. And this condition doesn’t explain why she was raped,’ said Leo.

Elliott’s eyes glanced up towards the doors as they opened. A small smile flickered in the corners of his mouth. ‘That is where my colleague might be able to help.’ He motioned towards the entrance.

Like everyone else in the room, Leo casually gazed behind him to the woman in her early twenties that entered. His lungs instantly compressed in his chest on sight of her, the woman who had burned herself into his consciousness with alarming ease three nights previously. He started to think she was a figment of his imagination, that no one that beautifully perfect could actually exist. But there she was, very real and only feet from him once again. She was in an equally expensive looking black skirt suit. It hugged her slim figure like a second skin as long straight raven hair hung freely down her back to the base of her spine, the front section of it pinned away from her face, the silhouette only broken by the flash of red from her feet. Leo was spellbound by Helena once again. His eyes followed her intently as she approached with a pleasant warm smile. When her gaze flickered to him for a second, he suddenly felt very conscious of where he was and that he wasn’t in control of his body when she was near. The hairs on the back of his neck rose again as she gave a small personal smile to him. A smile that said she knew what she could do to him. What she was doing to him.

‘You’re staring!’ Marc whispered sharply.

Harry’s voice then broke through his daze. ‘Everyone this is Baroness Hunsden…’

‘Excellent timing, Helena,’ Elliott said as she approached.

She gave him a smile that only comes with a long and comfortable association. Leo suddenly felt something hit his nervous system. Envy.

‘Hello everyone,’ she said warmly, her eyes meeting with each gaze. As they passed over Leo, her sallow complexion seemed to glow. She then spoke as if aware of her cue into the conversation. ‘Sorry for the delay. I’ll just quickly introduce myself. I’m Helena Carey, DCI Johnson introduced me quite formally…’
Leo’s heart pounded distractingly loud as he tried to concentrate on what she said.
‘Will’s explained what he has discovered about Casey and I hope that I will be able to assist you as well. I’m not a scientist, I’m a historian, amongst other things, and also have an understanding of the occult and its influence throughout history which is why Will called me last night about Casey.’

Helena perched on the table near her as Harry spoke: ‘Baroness, can you tell us what this symbol is?’

‘I can,’ she replied as she turned her attention to Leo. ‘Harry mentioned that you were looking into pentagrams?’

Leo somehow found himself talking although feeling dazed: ‘I’m not convinced that is what it is after looking at everything there is read about these things. But as they are regularly misinterpreted I wondered if it could have been modified?’

‘You’re not far off,’ Helena replied, her voice tinged with excitement at his comment. Leo felt himself run hotter as she became animated in her delivery: ‘Pentagrams are often mistaken for being a dark symbol of occultism, even Satanism. This is generally in relation to an inverted pentagram where two points are facing upwards. There are differing opinions of this in occultism but vast majority of pentagram symbols are to represent good luck, and even the protection against evil… The symbol that has been left on Casey is old and one that has a cruel history. It was used by a man called Alexei Vorontsevich, a Russian aristocrat who was obsessed with the occult and the supernatural. He was also a prolific rapist and murderer. Manipulation was his favourite game, hence he took something that was a symbol for peace, and bastardised it. ’

‘How old?’ Leo asked, amazed he was sounding coherent.

‘Well, I can’t say exactly when it started being used, only when it ceased in the Eighteenth Century. Vorontsevich died on the 5th January 1796 and far as I know, it has not been used since.’

‘A V,’ Leo thought aloud looking at the picture of Casey and the interlocking triangles.

‘And I do not think Casey’s was the first murder but the third…’

Glances quickly darted across the room as a sombre stillness settled.

‘Because I can link Casey’s murder has been specifically to Vorontsevich, DCI Johnson gave me permission to look at other murder cases that have remained unsolved in the Greater London area to see if there was anything similar. The criteria I used were natural blonde females over the last twelve months. I also checked against those within the remit of the City of London police, and there are another two for us that stand out.’ Helena reached round to the desk and picked up a remote control that operated the TV screen. As she did so the jacket of her suit rose slightly flashing a ring of taut white skin above the waist band of her skirt. She obviosuly didn’t have anything on beneath the jacket.
Leo fought to stay focused, his brain wanting to concentrate on its fanciful exploration of her body.

On the screen, photgraphs of another two women appeared. ‘Karen Brown, twenty-two, found three months ago and Sophie Granger, twenty found two months ago. Both of their bodies were discovered in the east of the City; on the banks of the Thames.’

Harry interupted her: ‘Karen was found in the City, Sophie near Beckton.’
Helena pushed on with her briefing. Her voice carried an authority and presence rarely seen in one as young as her. She had the countenance of someone far greater than her years and a self confidence that knew it. She was mesmersing to all. ‘Both girls were missing for almost two months and showed signs of sexual assault before being killed. Cause of death, massive blood loss and cuts to their throats. The difference with these girls was that neither of them were mutilated further.’

‘How were these not linked?’ asked Leo. ‘They are too similar for that to go unnoticed.’

‘They seem familiar, from the news,’ Marc mused.

‘They should be more than familiar.’

‘True,’ said Harry. ‘Somehow, these two girls were not on our radar, the why’s are being looked into.’

The professor continued with his own authorative tone, in a voice that hinted to a diluted Yorkshire accent. ‘From what I have seen from their post mortems, Sophie was in the water for longer than Karen or Casey and her body had succumbed to its effects far more. But all three were forensically clean. However, I was able to retrieve and analyse some blood samples…’

‘Let me guess,’ Marc interputed him, ‘Karen and Sophie had this Regenersis gene?’

‘Correct.’

The room was silent.

‘How rare is this gene?’ Harry asked.

‘Britian has an official population of over sixty million people, of those who fit the profile…’Elliott paused, exhaling through puffed cheeks. ‘You are looking at no more than ten possible carriers. You might be able to increase that to fifteen max, if you consider those who may be here unofficially.’

‘And the chances of three of them turning up dead in the same city?’

‘Until this week, I would have said highly improbable.’

‘But not impossible?’

‘Nothing is impossible.’

‘Why are we only getting the symbol now? On girl number three?’ asked Marc.

Helena’s brow furrowed to answer but it was Leo’s voice that replied: ‘They want us to know who they are – no one connected these two,’ he indicated to Sophie and Karen, ‘so they give us something to attract our attention.’ He felt himself run hot as her eyes never left him.

‘There are only a handful of us that know about it Regenersis, natually you will want to start with them – I’ll give you a list.’ Elliott said to Harry who acknowleged him with a nod.
Harry took over once again. ‘All the files relating to Karen and Sophie have been requisitioned and will be here tomorrow for us to take over the investigation. We have more resources to deal with a potential serial offender. I have also decided that at this time we are not going to release the specific details of these murders to the press. If we do, we’ll be inundated with hoax callers and all manner of weirdo’s claiming responsibility. If we control the release of the information then we control what comes in. Tomorrow I want you all to familiarise yourself with the files, speak to the original investigators, re-interview witnesses. We will also start trying to trace our primary crime scene, scenes. All three girls were found by the river so we start with the Thames; boats, marinas docks, dry docks, warehousing... Also we are going to take apart the lives of these girls. Is there any chance they knew each other or have been in the same area? Hobbies, colleges, friends, boyfriends, doctors. Someone out there must have seen something, so get sniffing around. If these girls have pissed in the same bog at Glastonbury then I want us to find it. We will tap up all the usuals on the list of sexual offenders. But we can’t ignore the the fact the girls are being used as a blood bank – Why? Has a patient been turned down for a blood treatment in the last six months who may have had a connections to these girls or CHT? Let’s give these girl’s families some closure.’

Leo’s apartment

23:40

‘Le-o!’ Marc enunciated loudly over his beer can, his face lit by of the light of the weekend’s football highlights on Leo’s TV.

He came out of his daydream. ‘Sorry, not really a soccer fan.’

‘I can see that. You would be a devoted fan if Helena Carey was running around on that pitch! That woman has got completely under your skin. You’ve been obsessing over her since Friday, plus I wasn’t the only one who saw the look on your face.’

‘What look?’

‘The ‘I want to fuck you here and now’ look.’
Shit! Leo rolled his eyes.

‘Your tongue was on the floor the whole time she was there!’

‘Okay so I think she’s hot. Don’t tell me you didn’t think the same.’

‘Yeah, but not my type…’

‘She was breathing – that’s generally all you look for.’

‘I’m a little more choosy these days,’ Marc feigned hurt.

‘Really. Are you still seeing Michelle?’

‘Huh?’

‘From the club…’

‘Oh her, no.’

‘Biffa bin?

‘Well….you know me,’ he shrugged with his crooked smile that had no doubt broken many hearts.
Leo shook his head in despair of his friend as he finished his beer.

‘Anyway mate. I’m gonna head off home. The long days are killing me.’ Marc hauled himself from the sofa and put on his jacket.

‘You’re telling me.’

‘See you later.’

‘Take it easy.’

‘And try not to think about the Baroness…she’ll keep you up all night,’ Marc gesticulated to his crotch, grinning as he left.

‘Very funny!’ Leo shouted as Marc closed the door. ‘Easier said than done…’

Chapter Four

Tuesday 16th September 2008

Leo’s apartment

06:25

The alarm boomed again and Leo sunk further under the covers. His mobile started to ring from the bedside table. He smacked the alarm then grabbed the phone. ‘Harrison,’ he answered sleepily from under the covers.

‘Another girl has gone missing,’ Marc’s solemn voice came from the other end.

He sighed. ‘I’ll be there…’ He hung up abruptly, coming round easily. He had slept well that night, his mind full of fresh images of Helena Carey rather than corpses. He quickly got himself ready, deciding to sacrifice coffee for a shave – she might be there. Everything else could wait until he got in.

New Scotland Yard

07:10

He made his way silently into the office where Marc had already left a coffee on his desk. Once everyone was there Harry delivered the news.

‘Amy Turner,’ he said with a matter of fact tone as he pinned her photo on the board. ‘She’s a twenty-four year old primary school teacher from Slough. I know it is out of our area but I have placed this office in charge of the investigation into the first three murders and she fits the profile. It appears it was a smash and grab on her way to work yesterday morning. The three initial witnesses, are saying that approximately 07:15am, a dark blue, possibly Mondeo sized vehicle rear-ended her car, a silver Toyota Yaris at the roundabout of Upton Court Road and A412 in Slough. When she left the vehicle to inspect the damage she was taken by a man of extremely vague and varying descriptions. The only facts they seem to agree on is that he was male and white.’

Amy’s pretty heart shaped face smiled out from the picture taken on her wedding day in the summer. Her golden cropped hair radiating in the sun; a stark contrast to the photos of Casey’s corpse in shades of grey, blue and purple.
‘I’m splitting us up into two teams. From what we learnt yesterday it seems we have a two month window in which to find Amy so Marc, aided by Leo will head up the search for her. I’ll oversee that. However I will be focusing on our three confirmed victims assisted by Rae. Everyone else will be divided up as necessary. Let’s not let the same thing happen to her.’

Wednesday 17th September 2008, New Scotland Yard

10:30

‘Marc, Leo,’ Harry called their names across the office.

‘Sir?’ Marc responded from his desk.

Leo looked up from the phone call he was on. He acknowledged Harry and signalled that he was just about to finish. ‘Sorry,’ he apologised as he put the phone down.

‘No problem. I want you two to go back and speak with Jacob Turner
later today.’

‘Again?’ Marc queried. ‘We were with the family most of yesterday.’

‘I know, but I want you to accompany the Baroness.’

Leo felt his stomach tighten at her name, hoping no one else could hear his heart thumping. ‘Okay.’

‘I want her to speak to him, see if there is anything she can get from him about his wife.’

‘What do you expect a historian to find?’ Marc asked.

‘Probably nothing, but I want to explore it anyway. See if she recognises anything. Mr Turner knows you’re coming and will be expecting you all.’ Harry began to walk way.

‘Sir, what time?’ Leo called after him.

‘She’ll be meeting you there about 8:30 this evening.’

‘Fan-fucking-tastic!’ Marc huffed as he fell back in his chair. ‘Just great, another late night.’

‘Hmmm?’ Leo mumbled. He had a day dreamy smile creeping over his face knowing that he would see her again.

‘Not that you care.’

‘Care about what?’

‘The fact we are likely to be working late again.’

‘No, well…comes with the territory.’ Leo looked at his watch. He mentally calculated how long he had to wait before he saw her again; ten hours give or take a bit. He sighed little louder than he expected as a few eyes fell on him.

‘Fucking great,’ Marc said to himself as he returned to his computer screen. ‘Another evening of watching you two dance around each other.’

Amy and Jacob Turner’s flat, Slough.

20:35

As they waited in Marc’s car, Leo found himself impatiently drumming his fingers on his thigh.
Marc dropped his window, leaning out slightly he lit his cigarette. As he exhaled he let his right hand with the burning stick draped in his fingers hang out. He glanced over at the twitching Leo.

‘You want one to calm those nerves?’ Marc offered him the packet.

‘No thanks. Anyway, this car stinks! He sniffed the smoky air. ‘They’ll send you the bill to fumigate it.’

‘Oh well,’ Marc shrugged as he blew smoke out the window. ‘To be fair I don’t smoke in here often.’

‘You light up after you get laid?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Well then, you smoke in here a lot!’
Unable to defend the comment Marc laughed, infecting Leo.

‘This is Met property,’ Marc pretended to defend himself.

‘Like that’s ever stopped you…’ Leo paused seeing ice white head lights pull in front of their car, transfixed on the silhouette in the driver’s seat.

‘Fuck me; your girl drives an Aston…’
Helena got out of her car. Leo leaped out of Marc’s to greet her but he felt as though he needed to hang on to the car door for a few moments to compose himself. Each time he saw her he felt like something crashed into him. He smiled as soon as his eyes caught her.

‘Good evening, gentlemen,’ she greeted them with an extended hand.

Marc reached her first knowing Leo was going to need a few extra seconds to compose himself. ‘Hello again, Baroness. I’m DI Metcalfe and this is DS Harrison.’

As soon as Leo’s skin touched hers, it was like an electric shock pulsating through him as her face glowed up at him, her dark hair in large loose curls. She was in a knee length dark dress, black tights and heels - he wasn’t so sure how he was going to manage spending a few hours in her company without doing something completely inappropriate.

‘Um, Hi…’ was all he managed before his throat dried out.

‘Thank you for doing this,’ Helena said as she watched Leo. ‘I know it will mean another late one for you.’

‘No trouble at all.’

‘Shall we?’ Marc asked them.

‘Huh?’ Leo grunted as he and Helena stared at each other.

‘Police work - the reason we get paid…’

20:45

‘Take a seat,’ Jacob said lifelessly. He showed Marc, Helena and Leo into the living room of the second floor flat he had shared with his wife. He was pale and drawn from worry and little sleep, his eyes almost black rather than brown from the large dilated pupils consuming them in the dimly lit room. Marc and Leo sat on two chairs that were next to each other.

Helena perched next to Jacob on the two person sofa opposite Leo and Marc. ‘I’m sorry it’s a late visit.’

‘It’s okay,’ Jacob croaked. ‘I can’t sleep anyway…’ his red eyes welled again as his lip began to shake. ‘I’m sorry...’

‘There is no need to be.’ Helena placed a hand in his.

‘I’ll put the kettle on.’ Marc got up and made his way into the kitchen.

Jacob wiped his face and nose with his other hand. ‘So, um, how can I help you? We spent hours talking to the police yesterday and again today…’

‘Yes I know, that’s why I’m grateful you agreed to see me, Mr Turner.’

‘Please, call me Jake or Jacob – feels like being at school when everyone calls me that.’

Helena smiled sweetly. ‘You and Amy are both teachers?’

‘Yeah, but she’s much better than me… So what do you want to know – Baroness isn’t it?’

‘Helena is fine.’

‘Helena is assisting us with another case which we think your wife’s kidnap could be linked to,’ Leo confirmed.

‘What kind of case?’

Leo looked at her; he wasn’t sure if it was for some kind of reassurance or so that he didn’t have see the look of desperation in Jacob’s face, either way her private smile to him was what he needed. ‘We think it could be linked to the disappearances of three other women.’

‘Oh god!’ Jacob sobbed taking back his hand from Helena’s and burying his head in his hands.

‘That’s why I wanted to speak to you, Jacob. To help the police establish if she is linked to that case or not.’

‘Do you think she’s dead?’ He looked up at Leo with begging eyes.

‘No, I don’t. That’s why we’re here; we’ll treat her as missing until we have evidence to the contrary.’

Marc came back into the room holding a cup of tea in one hand and a coffee in the other. He handed the tea to Jacob. ‘Two sugars wasn’t it?’

‘Yeah,’

‘There you go, mate,’ Marc handed Leo the other cup.

‘Thanks.’

‘Helena?’ Marc gestured to her if she wanted a drink as he returned to the kitchen.

‘No – thank you.’

Jacob held the cup with both hands, his body bent double with his arms resting on his legs as he stared into it.

‘Can you tell me about your wife?’ asked Helena.

‘What do you want to know?’

‘It doesn’t matter. What I am interested in is different from the police, but to help them find her, I need to get a feel for Amy, from you. Why not start with how you met her?’

Jacob sat looking at his drink as he lost himself in his thoughts. After a long pause he smiled to himself then he looked up at her. ‘I met Amy at a conference eighteen months ago, and it was – it was like being struck by lightning. The second I saw her milling around in the hallway of the hotel with her bright pink luggage, I knew. I knew then that there was no one else for me. She was wearing this suit, it was black and white – I could see some of the older delegates there looking at her disapprovingly ‘cos the dress was a little short, I thought she looked amazing; the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I walked up to her, and somehow I managed to talk to her and offered to help her with her luggage. She had two large cases for a three day event. She always over-packs…’ Jacob’s eyes were drawn across the room to photograph next to Leo: ‘We’ve been inseparable ever since… Had been,’ he corrected himself.

Helena placed a comforting hand on his arm.

‘It was kind of awkward as I was seeing someone else at the time, but I guess you can’t help when and who you fall in love with.’

‘No, no you can’t.’

‘Have – have you ever met anyone, that from the second you see them, you know that they are going to have a profound effect on your life?’ Jacob’s question created an uncomfortable silence. ‘I never thought it was possible to feel as though you had broken in two when someone was no longer around. But that’s exactly what this has done to me; all I want is my Amy back…’

‘So you and Amy haven’t been together long?’

‘No – everyone thought we were crazy. But as soon as our families saw us together, well I think they knew just as we did that it was the real thing, y’know?’

Helena smiled as she listened attentively. ‘Yes, I do. Sounds like a perfect romance.’

Jacob gave a sad smile in return. ‘She was like no one I had ever met. We talked about everything, knew everything about each other. We didn’t have secrets.’

‘Must be wonderful to be that close to someone.’ Helena glanced over to the picture of Jacob and Amy next to Leo. ‘May I?’ she asked to have a closer look. He nodded and she moved next to Leo.

He felt as though she had deliberately positioned her body so that he saw every curve the dress delicately draped over. He was drawn to the legs in his eye-line, so close he could kiss them. Feeling guilty for his inappropriate desire, he forced his brain to remember the reason he was there.

Helena smiled as she sat down admiring the picture. ‘She’s very pretty.’

‘Never understood what she sees in me,’ Jacob smirked wiping his eyes again then running a hand through his mousey hair.

‘When did you marry?’

‘Twelfth of July this year; a whole two months.’ He took the photo and began stroking it.

‘Looks like you had a church wedding?’

He nodded. ‘Amy was brought up Catholic by her parents, but she never really bought into all that. The only reason we got married in her local church was to appease her mother. I didn’t care where it was so long as I married her.’

‘She wasn’t interested in religion?’

‘No not in the slightest, she thought it was all a load of mumbo-jumbo. It made me laugh because she thought the church was a waste of time but she would always read her stars…’

‘Oh?’ Helena asked, innocently.
He paused, for a brief moment the darkness lifted from him as he reminisced. ‘She never took any of it seriously, I think she just liked to see how badly written they were. Amy believes in fate. She thinks things happen for a reason and life is pre-determind…’ He paused again as his eyes welled. ‘How can any of this…’

Helena brought him back to her topic. ‘Did you go on honeymoon?’

‘Not straight away ‘cos it was still term time. We waited a few weeks then went in August….’

‘Where did you go?’

‘The Maldives – Amy’s grandparents paid for it as a wedding present.’

‘That was nice.’

‘We talked about trying to start a family of our own and we made a decision to start trying whilst we were there…’

‘A honeymoon baby.’ Helena gave an encouraging smile.

‘Sounds romantic but Amy was taking it seriously. She had been to the doctor and come off the pill, she had charts and everything.’

Leo spoke for the first time in some minutes. ‘Do you know when that was?’

‘Um, it was before we went away so the first week in August, maybe. It was the same day she gave blood. She said it was the first time she had been to the doctors in ages, always said she was a strong as an ox.’

‘She’s a blood donor?’

‘Always has been. I’m not – I freak out at the sight of the stuff.’

‘What doctor is she registered to?’

Jacob looked at him confused. ‘Why? Is the doctors releivent? The blood - ’

‘It’s if we need to check anything about Amy’s medical records…’

He didn’t appear convinced as he answered Leo. ‘Shepherds Way Surgery, it’s about five minutes from here.’ His face dropped as he hugged the picture of his wife. ‘What happened to the other women?’There was a brief awkward moment as Jacob’s eyes begged them for any glimmer of hope. ‘Is it that bad that you can’t tell me?’

Helena sighed. ‘Right now, you need to remember her like this…’ She placed her hand on his back.

‘I’m terrified I’ll never see her again. Every time I close my eyes I see her… I never want to lose that.’ He began to sob again.

‘Okay, we’ll leave it there for now.’

‘Have you got anyone to be with you?’ Leo asked.

He nodded his head. ‘But I didn’t want anyone.’

‘It would probably be a good idea to have some company. Do you want us to call anyone for you?’

Jacob nodded again. He didn’t bother to wipe the tears from his face anymore. ‘My parents are about ten minutes away – they are desperate to be here, but I thought I’d be okay…they’re on speed dial one.’

‘We’ll stay until they get here,’ said Helena as she watched Leo pick up the phone.

Leo took the cups into the kitchen and placed them in the sink. He heard the lifeless footsteps of Jacob follow in behind him.

‘Oh don’t worry about those. My mother will start cleaning this place the second she gets here – it’s the only way she knows how to cope.’

‘No worries.’

‘Y’know, these last few days have taught me something. You have to grasp every second you have with someone, you just don’t know how long you’ve got.’

‘Yeah, I guess so.’

‘Helena, she’s nice. It feels like she really understands what this is like. Not what I expected at all.’

Leo didn’t make eye contact with him. ‘Yeah, she seems to be one of a kind.’

22:15

‘Poor bastard,’ Marc sighed as stood by his car lighting up again.

Leo leaned on the bonnet his body angled towards Helena who was standing by her car. She was looking past him with large sad eyes - his lightening bolt.

As if she knew he was thinking about her, her eyes locked in his and held, before a grateful smile crept onto her face.

‘Get what you needed?’ Leo asked her.

‘Yes but it’s nothing useful to you I’m afraid. I know you guys have to look at everything and spouses are usually the prime suspects in these things, but trust me, he has nothing to do with his.’

‘I’d agree with that,’ Marc said with a yawn.

Helena folded her arms, her brow forrowed as she mulled over her time with Jacob. ‘Amy doesn’t seem to be the sort of person who would have fallen into something like a cult. From Jacob all I got was a woman who was confident and sure of herself and what she wanted from life.’

‘Jacob could have been giving you a rose tinted version of her,’ said Leo.

‘It is possible it is what he believes to be true about her. He obviously adores her. But I do think he gave an accurate account of her.’

Leo moved off the bonnet and stood up. ‘We’ll check and see if the other girls were blood donors.’

‘Will said he would give you a list of everyone who knows about the Regenersis gene as well.’

‘I’ll get onto her doctor in the morning,’ said Marc. ‘See if there is anything in her recent medical history where she needed to have blood tests, any links to the others.’

Helena pushed her hands into her coat pockets. ‘Well, I suppose I should let you gentlemen get off home.’

‘Do you have far to go’ Leo asked.

‘No, I’m not all that far from here.’

‘Funny – you don’t strike me as a Slough girl,’ Marc chuckled as he exhaled smoke.

Helena laughed. ‘No, you’re right, I’m not. I’m near Chalfont St Giles.’

‘Yep that’s more like it,’ Marc chuckled as he nudged Leo. ‘See mate – you fancy the posh ones.’