One girl dead and another girl missing. Rhona didn’t want to think that something bad had happened to Tracey.
If she was as scared as Tracey, she would probably run. Which is what she hoped Tracey had done.
Bill extracted Tracey’s address from the pole dancer and they drove round there. Neither of them expected to find Tracey at home.
The basement bedsit, complete with barred windows, was near the Kelvin Hall. The door was opened by a short balding man in his fifties. He took a long look at Bill’s ID card before he let them in.
Tracey had gone out a couple of hours ago, he told them. She hadn’t come back. Rhona didn’t like the man, but thought he was probably telling the truth.
Tracey’s room was untidy and smelt musty. The wardrobe and drawers were stacked with clothes. If Tracey had run, she hadn’t taken much with her.
Bill went out to the car to call the station while Rhona took a closer look.
A half-empty bottle of vodka sat on the dressing table beside the picture of a small boy of about three on a swing. He was so like Tracey, he had to be her son. The child obviously didn’t live here. Could Tracey have gone to wherever he was?
Rhona heard Bill in the hall.
‘I’ve put out a call on Tracey.’
Rhona handed him the photo.
‘Tracey had a kid?’
‘Looks like it. I think you should ask for a forensic team to go over this room too.’
‘Tricky. This isn’t even a missing person case yet.’
‘Okay. I’ll do it myself, unofficially for the moment.’ She didn’t add until we find a body. By the look on Bill’s face, he was thinking the same thing.
It was dark as they drove back to the lab. Bill’s wife called him on the way, reminding him to come home and eat. For a moment, Rhona wished someone was waiting at home for her.
The lab was deserted. Everyone including Chrissy had left. Rhona set to work, enjoying the silence.
The pathologist had confirmed strychnine had been used to kill Donna. The large dose she was given killed her quickly, probably because of a weak heart. Otherwise Donna’s agony might have lasted even longer.
A rose expert had promised to get back to Rhona on the breed of rose found in Donna’s flat. Something special could prove easier to track down.
An hour later she had what she was looking for. Minute traces of blood on three of the rose’s thorns. If the guy who liked his sex rough was Donna’s murderer, they had his blueprint.