Maggie wasn’t one for reflecting on other people’s opinions of her, not out of arrogance, but more because things like that tended to eat away at her. However, Nathan’s words from earlier had stung. She rolled a pen between her fingers. She didn’t want to put people’s noses out of joint by making assumptions about the notes Tracy had received, but all sorts of sinister thoughts were going through her head. Someone called out her name.
‘Are you coming to the briefing? Looks like Dr Blake’s worked some magic.’ Nathan popped his head into the open-plan office area.
‘On my way, boss!’ Dr Blake must have sent the full forensic report.
She gathered her notebook, turned her phone onto silent, tucked it in her pocket, and picked up a pen before making her way to the incident room.
Nathan stood at the front of the room, alongside DI Abigail Rutherford. A few members of the field team were asked to sit in, and this made Maggie a little bit anxious. What did that pathologist report say?
DI Rutherford spoke first. ‘Thank you all for coming. DS Wright will be introducing the details of the pathology report today, but I wanted to first say that this is an unusual case and one that we will need to be sensitive about. I’ve just passed the more sensitive information on to the FLO, so Tracy’s family will be aware of the details. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of DS Wright while I go and speak to the COMMS Officer.’
Maggie and Bethany looked at each other.
‘Christ. I’ve goose bumps after that delivery. What the hell is going on?’ Bethany leaned forward.
Maggie shrugged. She had no idea what they were facing but she wasn’t liking what she’d heard so far.
‘Thanks, guv. OK, folks. This is a case unlike any most of us will have come across in our careers. Until we know the motivation, we have to be very careful how we handle things from here on in. I’ve read the pathologist’s report and it is quite disturbing. Tracy Holloway is a twenty-eight-year-old white female. Her hair had been dyed black by the killer. Once the pathologist was able to remove the stitching from her eyes, she found that blue contact lenses had been inserted.’ Nathan pulled a picture from the folder in front of him and pinned it on the board. ‘This is what Ms Holloway looked like a few days before she was abducted.’
Maggie gasped. Although she had seen pictures of their victim before, they had been poor quality and from several years ago. Seeing the enlarged photo showed just how much Tracy had been totally transformed. Had they not had the details that confirmed their victim was the woman in the picture, she never would have said they were the same person.
Nathan continued. ‘The post-mortem concluded that Tracy died from a brain haemorrhage caused by trauma. According to Dr Blake, it seems that our killer attempted a leucotomy – more commonly known as a lobotomy – on Ms Holloway and punctured blood vessels causing internal bleeding on the brain. Tracy may have suffered from headaches, seizures and various other symptoms before her death. Our killer then left her in the park, face down.’ Nathan paused. ‘The report also indicates that the victim had an infinity-shaped tattoo on her left shoulder blade. When her parents were first contacted, they advised that she had no distinguishing marks or tattoos, but we’ll need to speak to her friends or others who knew her perhaps more intimately to confirm this. She may not have told her parents she’d had one done.’
‘Oh my god, Nathan. For once, I am at a loss for words.’ Maggie stared at the picture of Tracy on the board. ‘What would possess someone to do this?’
‘That’s exactly what we need to find out.’ Nathan then pointed to the side note on the board which had Kate’s details following her report of harassment. ‘It’s still too early to link Dr Moloney’s stalker – and I do believe we are also dealing with a stalker – at this time; however I think we need to look into this report further.’
‘Can I ask why the sudden change of heart?’ Maggie was both pleased and worried. If this murder was linked to the person who was stalking Kate, her friend may be in more danger than they all had thought. Maggie was reluctant to share the information from Rona about the letters at this time, as they had not been found. If she disclosed this now, and it turned out to be wrong, Nathan and the rest of the team would not be impressed.
‘I think we have to accept that the resemblance to Dr Moloney is not easily dismissed. The fact that Ms Holloway’s appearance was changed, and that Dr Moloney has recently been the victim of unwanted gifts and letters with a sinister undertone, makes it more than likely that the same person who has been sending Kate these items is our killer.’
‘If that’s true, he’s escalating. Do you think we should let Kate know about this?’ In normal circumstances, Maggie would have been straight on the phone to Kate, but without any concrete evidence, as Nathan had warned, she knew this could cause more harm than good.
Nathan shook his head. ‘No. I’m talking to DI Rutherford about how best to approach this. But until we can make a definite connection, we don’t want to upset Dr Moloney.’
Maggie took a deep breath before responding, but she couldn’t help herself. ‘I totally understand that, but if we wait too long we could actually be placing Kate in jeopardy.’
‘I can assure you no one wants that, Maggie. We are aware of the risks, but we have to be careful here.’ Nathan glowered at her.
Maggie let the words seep into her mind. She didn’t like this one bit – her instincts to protect Kate were screaming, but Nathan was right, they needed more to connect the cases. ‘Fair enough. Where do we go from here then?’
‘I’d like the field officers to find out more about Ms Holloway’s habits. Did she have a tattoo that she may have hidden from her family? Had she had any unwanted attention recently and the like? Bethany, I’d like you to dig further into her social media accounts. Any new friend requests? Anything that seems unusual. Also, let’s try to piece together her last movements based on CCTV and information from those we speak to. Maggie, I’d like you to speak to Probation to see if they have anyone on their books who’s raised some eyebrows recently and then go to Ms Holloway’s home. There are some forensic officers still there. See if anything stands out to you. That’s it for now. Keep me updated on anything that may be of importance.’
Maggie waited behind as her colleagues shuffled out of the room. ‘Can I have a word, Nathan?’
He nodded.
She waited until everyone was gone, stood up, and closed the door. ‘Between you and me, how concerned about Kate should we be? And please,’ she touched his arm, ‘don’t sugar-coat it or feed me the standard line.’
‘In my honest opinion?’
‘Yes. I need to know the truth.’
‘OK. I think we should be very concerned about her but I was instructed not to share this with the team yet as everything we have is only circumstantial. However, I’m using my own judgement now and I’m going to Markston Police Station shortly. I’ve already spoken to DI Calleja and shared my concerns. We’ve agreed to speak to Kate together and let her know.’
Maggie’s head pounded and she rubbed her temples.
‘I need you to stay focused, Maggie. It’s hard when one of our own is targeted. But we can’t let our feelings – no matter what those feelings are – cloud our judgement. Am I being clear?’ His brow rose.
Maggie nodded. ‘Right, of course. I’m going to contact Probation and see if there’s anyone acting out of the ordinary. And thank you for being honest, I appreciate that.’
Nathan squeezed her shoulder and left the room.
Maggie looked up at the board. They needed to find this killer before Kate was the next one on the mortuary slab.