He’d looked at it again today.
The shop doorway stank of piss and offered little shelter from the pouring rain. He smiled as a patrol car cruised by, its female occupant giving him the once-over before driving on, presumably with more important things to do.
How wrong could a person be?
Her colleagues were no nearer catching him now than they had ever been. He was already planning his next move and the pigs were the least of his worries. He was hungry for the scissors, impatient for the next cut, but Number Six was proving harder to track down than the others and a little more diligence was required.
It wasn’t a race, he reminded himself; he was in it for the long haul, content to savour the moment, congratulate himself on his achievements so far.
He had all the time in the world to find Dotty.
Patience is a virtue! a caustic voice echoed inside his head.
Her fucking voice, the one that refused to go away, the one that made him cringe, affecting him deeply, waking him, sweating and crying in the night, her finger wagging in front of his face as he cowered beneath the covers. He’d been hearing it a lot lately. But, just as there was no hiding place for him back then, there was none for them now.
His smile faded . . .
Anger boiled inside him as something came to him in a flash. He could’ve, perhaps should’ve, taken the opportunity when he’d had it: asked Malik where his next target was, or Jenny, for that matter. They’d have known. And if they’d refused to spill, he’d have enjoyed torturing them until they squealed. He could still ask his mother, but that would give the game away. He wanted to drip-feed her. Let her hear of their deaths through the grapevine, bit by agonizing bit, until the cruel bitch knew he was coming for her.
No, he’d find Number Six and he’d do it alone.
Up at the second-floor window, he could see Detective Chief Inspector Kate Daniels staring out, concentration etched on her face. It gave him a warm feeling to think that, right at that very moment, they were thinking of each other, like a couple of lovesick teenagers too shy to make the first move, yet whose every waking moment was spent waiting for the day when they would finally get it together.
Sooner or later she’d realize that his victims were all God people, and then she’d be gagging to make his acquaintance.
Oh, how he longed for that day.