an idiot in the bar was not because the courts believed he was innocent. Someone had made a significant payment and made a deal to ensure that he would stay on the streets. It hadn’t been a free deal. He would repay the debt in full. He had been recruited. Quickly, silently, but recruited, and now he had no choice. So he had killed several other times. Premeditated kills that he had learnt to emotionally disengage from. But he had never killed a woman nor had he killed without a clean-up plan in place.
The woman lay on the ground bleeding, within minutes he knew she would bleed out. The knife slashes had cut the arteries on her wrists. They looked like defensive wounds. And so with his gloved hands he picked up her handbag and rummaged through it, grabbing whatever he could find of value, purse, phone, earrings, then chucked the bag to the ground next to the body for the police to find. Then he disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter 12
Hannah Brown had lived an interesting life. From a difficult upbringing, to getting into UCL and studying forensic psychology. She would have been a cop or an investigator, or a criminal psychologist or anything she wanted to be for that matter. Lexi realised she had never asked her. One thing was certain, even in death, Hannah Brown had been a fighter. She fought for what she wanted and that was a life of her own choosing.
Hannah’s body lay on the ground, face down, her arms outstretched in front of her, her hands covered in slashes, her bracelet lying beside her, the contents of her bag spilt on the asphalt. The blood pooling around her. Gone. Dead. Never to spin a wild tale or help the needy. The click of the camera, the hushed tones of the officers, a bolt of thunder in the background, even in death Hannah would have the last word.
Lexi stood behind the police line, her gaze fixated on the body. It was only hours ago that they were speaking on the phone. What had happened between then and now? Hannah had been found two roads from where she lived. The time of death had been estimated at under an hour. From the time of their conversation to when the body had been discovered had only been a couple hours, so what had happened in that space of time? Who had she spoken to? What had she found? Lexi could only think of the cop connection.
Now as Lexi looked around they all looked suspicious. Any one of them could have been responsible for Hannah’s death, any one of them could have figured out what she had discovered. It wouldn’t have been that hard to follow her, maybe stop her for a chat, play friendly, and then strike. Hannah was approachable. If she felt no danger she would have chatted and probably flirted just for kicks. Whoever killed her may have known just how to approach her, maybe even catch her by surprise.
“She’s got no purse,” Cara said ducking underneath the police line and urging Lexi to come to the side. “Would she have left her house without her purse? Wallet? Keys?”
“Probably not. Do you think this was a mugging gone wrong?” Lexi said, knowing that would be too great a coincidence. A mugging was out of the question. A mugger would have taken the bag and run.
“No. No, I don’t,” she said, her arms at her hips.
“She was on her way to see me,” Lexi said, her apartment was only a few minutes away.
“How do you know that?”
“I live around the corner. Plus there’s a text from her on my phone, it came through an hour and a half ago,” Lexi said. “She could have been followed. Someone could have been watching her, waiting to make a move. A mugging is too coincidental and doesn’t add up.”
“Do you think she found something incriminating?”
“I don’t know. But why else would anyone kill her?” Lexi asked. “Why go to the trouble? Why take such a risk, especially here? Someone could have witnessed the murder. It’s a public spot and not that late at night.”
“Was she involved in anything other than
The woman lay on the ground bleeding, within minutes he knew she would bleed out. The knife slashes had cut the arteries on her wrists. They looked like defensive wounds. And so with his gloved hands he picked up her handbag and rummaged through it, grabbing whatever he could find of value, purse, phone, earrings, then chucked the bag to the ground next to the body for the police to find. Then he disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter 12
Hannah Brown had lived an interesting life. From a difficult upbringing, to getting into UCL and studying forensic psychology. She would have been a cop or an investigator, or a criminal psychologist or anything she wanted to be for that matter. Lexi realised she had never asked her. One thing was certain, even in death, Hannah Brown had been a fighter. She fought for what she wanted and that was a life of her own choosing.
Hannah’s body lay on the ground, face down, her arms outstretched in front of her, her hands covered in slashes, her bracelet lying beside her, the contents of her bag spilt on the asphalt. The blood pooling around her. Gone. Dead. Never to spin a wild tale or help the needy. The click of the camera, the hushed tones of the officers, a bolt of thunder in the background, even in death Hannah would have the last word.
Lexi stood behind the police line, her gaze fixated on the body. It was only hours ago that they were speaking on the phone. What had happened between then and now? Hannah had been found two roads from where she lived. The time of death had been estimated at under an hour. From the time of their conversation to when the body had been discovered had only been a couple hours, so what had happened in that space of time? Who had she spoken to? What had she found? Lexi could only think of the cop connection.
Now as Lexi looked around they all looked suspicious. Any one of them could have been responsible for Hannah’s death, any one of them could have figured out what she had discovered. It wouldn’t have been that hard to follow her, maybe stop her for a chat, play friendly, and then strike. Hannah was approachable. If she felt no danger she would have chatted and probably flirted just for kicks. Whoever killed her may have known just how to approach her, maybe even catch her by surprise.
“She’s got no purse,” Cara said ducking underneath the police line and urging Lexi to come to the side. “Would she have left her house without her purse? Wallet? Keys?”
“Probably not. Do you think this was a mugging gone wrong?” Lexi said, knowing that would be too great a coincidence. A mugging was out of the question. A mugger would have taken the bag and run.
“No. No, I don’t,” she said, her arms at her hips.
“She was on her way to see me,” Lexi said, her apartment was only a few minutes away.
“How do you know that?”
“I live around the corner. Plus there’s a text from her on my phone, it came through an hour and a half ago,” Lexi said. “She could have been followed. Someone could have been watching her, waiting to make a move. A mugging is too coincidental and doesn’t add up.”
“Do you think she found something incriminating?”
“I don’t know. But why else would anyone kill her?” Lexi asked. “Why go to the trouble? Why take such a risk, especially here? Someone could have witnessed the murder. It’s a public spot and not that late at night.”
“Was she involved in anything other than
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