‘You lot are spanking the overtime, aren’t you?’ Ruby said. The team was running at full strength, except for Eve, who was over four months pregnant, and Ash, who was visiting his wife. A quick call had ensured he was OK. Ruby’s stomach growled, reminding her she had not eaten. Turning on her heels, she shoved her hands in her trouser pockets and fished out some change. ‘Anyone want some chocolate from the machine?’
‘We’ve eaten,’ Luddy said, ‘I. . . er. . . left you a sandwich in your office. Cheese and pickle, your favourite.’
‘Homemade?’ Ruby flashed him a smile.
Luddy nodded. ‘Yup.’
‘Ooh, you little beauty! And for afters? Any of your mum’s famous homemade shortbread?’
‘Of course, she made a biscuit tin full. I kept you a slice – it’s all on your desk.’
‘Tell your mum thanks from me. That’ll go down a treat.’
Shoving her change back in her pocket, she made a round of teas and coffees for the workers before tucking into her food. Luddy was single and lived at home with his mum. He lived and breathed the job, and Ruby imagined Mrs Ludgrove had heard all about the office politics and their individual quirks. His colleagues used to take the piss out of her sending in food – until they tasted it and hounded him for more. Luddy said it made her feel useful, feeding the troops, and nobody in the office complained. She made a mental note to collect a few quid for a bunch of flowers – it was the least they could do. Ruby’s eyes flicked to the framed photo on her crumb-laden desk. Her own mum would be having dinner now. Guilt bloomed inside her. She needed to set aside some time to pay her a visit; it had been days. She took another bite of her sandwich, finding it harder to swallow this time.
After catching up with her most urgent tasks, she joined her team. ‘I just wanted to say thanks for coming in on your day off. I know we’re all under pressure right now, but look after yourselves, OK?’ Her team listened attentively as she brought them up to speed on Doctor Tanner. Choosing her words carefully, she disclosed his links with the historic child abduction and his employment within the Crosby escort agency from which Ellie and April had both been fired.
‘But what about Lisa Caldwell?’ Luddy piped up. ‘There’s nothing to link her death to this doctor, is there?’
‘Not yet, and DCI Worrow seems convinced that Danny Smedley’s our man,’ Ruby said, glancing around her to check she wasn’t in earshot. ‘But don’t discount the fact they could be linked. I want you to bear in mind that Lisa could have been a trial run.’ She hated to term the young woman’s death in such a flippant fashion, but such a term was a common one in police circles and immediately understood. It was not uncommon for criminals and deviants to bolster their confidence and build up to what was to come. Handbag snatches often led to sexual assaults; domestic abuse to murder. It was possible that Lisa Caldwell was nothing but practice for what was to come.
‘Who’s eaten all the shortbread?’ DI Downes said, making Ruby jump.
‘Boss, I didn’t see you come in. I’m just briefing the team on what we have to date.’
Downes pulled out the freshly written statement nestled under his arm. ‘This has just come in, marked for your attention. A list of women who worked in the same brothel as Ellie and April – all under the care of Doctor Tanner.’ His glance fell on Ruby. ‘Our very helpful witness believes that Tanner was also paying the women for sex, right up until he disappeared off the radar.’
‘Which was. . . ?’ Ruby asked, trying to tease out the information. It seemed that Lenny had come good and delivered the information as promised.
‘Which was in the last couple of months. Tanner’s not at his flat and neighbours haven’t seen him.
‘I’ve also had some results back from the post-mortem. We’ve been allocated a decent budget, allowing us to rush tests through. Traces of cotton wadding were found within the mouth cavity of our last victim, April Mead. This isn’t cotton wool that you’d buy over the counter, it’s a very particular type of wadding used during surgery to plug wounds.’ He glanced around the room to ensure he had everyone’s attention. ‘The same cotton wadding was found in Ellie Mason’s chest cavity. They’ve traced the origin, and it was sold by a pharmaceutical company that went out of business two years ago. Whoever used this would have had access to surgical supplies not available to Joe Public.’
‘Guv, does this mean Nathan Crosby’s no longer a suspect?’ Luddy piped up. With his crumpled shirt and pallid complexion, the sixteen-hour shifts had taken their toll. But it could not extinguish his enthusiasm as new leads filtered through.
‘No, he’s still coming in when he surfaces,’ Downes said. ‘But I want you to dig up what you can on Doctor Tanner today. You’ll be given tasking sheets and I want your updates before next briefing. For now, he’s our number one priority.’
Ruby exhaled with relief. Hearing DI Downes say it out loud lifted her spirits, making her forget all about the disturbed sleep and Lenny’s recent threats. ‘I’d like the team to put some feelers out for the child Tanner was alleged to have abducted, guv? Contact social services, see if she’s up for speaking to us again.’ Nathan’s bombshell that Tanner was responsible for the child found in the woods had opened up a new line of enquiry. If she could positively identify him as her abductor then his arrest would put a stop to the killing spree.
‘You can, but if she’s in the system they’re not going to release her details quickly. You’ll need to go through their legal team, and that takes time. Let’s focus on putting a package together for Tanner’s arrest. We’ve got enough with the witness statement and autopsy results for now.’
The fact her team were on the hunt for Doctor Tanner was good enough for Ruby. She would make it her business to speak to the girls listed in the statement personally. At last, pieces of the investigation were beginning to gel. She loved this part of the enquiry when their efforts started gaining momentum. She thought of the victims, and how they had died beneath a cruel, merciless hand. He was not stopping, not unless she stopped him first. The hunt was on.