Deadly Cry (DI Kim Stone #13) - Angela Marsons Page 0,87

nudge. There’s never any return text or communication from the other phone.’

‘Okay, got that,’ Kim said. ‘But what about the scratches?’

‘They only happen on the first of the crimes as well, just like the text message. Never the second.’

‘And this is what the scratches mean,’ Penn said, handing around pages of his project.

Kim looked at her page which said ‘2-1’.

‘The numbers follow,’ he said, pointing to the board. ‘The burglary said 1-0; the Peeping Tom says 2-1; the assault says 3-2, and on and on. The first killer is keeping score.’

‘But why isn’t the second doing the same?’ Kim asked.

‘I think Noah is our second killer,’ Alison said. ‘Remember his letter came after the first murder. He didn’t kill Katrina Nock at the Shop N Save, but he knew his partner in crime had done it because he got the text message. When he posted the letter, he hadn’t killed yet and he was hoping you’d stop him before he killed too. He’s an unwilling killer. But there was no way we could find him in time; he responded with the murder of Louise Webb-Harvey at Stevens Park, taking little Archie with him.’

‘Boss,’ Stacey said, reclaiming her attention, ‘I spoke to both women who were allegedly raped by Sean Fellows, and though the crime was similar, the first rape was more brutal, more vicious, whereas Lesley said it felt like her attacker was going through the motions, that he didn’t really want to do it.’

Kim was trying to get her head around everything she was being told. She had to admit that it was making a lot of sense. A lot but not all.

‘But what I don’t understand is why he doesn’t stop if he doesn’t want to kill people. Why does he allow himself to be goaded? That part makes no sense.’

‘But it does,’ Alison said. ‘Noah feels compelled, as though he has no choice. Somehow his will to fight back has been broken. There is no domestic abuse sufferer who wakes up praying for a beating or a put-down. They go to work, look after kids while hiding bruises. There is a door that they can use. There is no physical barrier to prevent them from leaving. They have been conditioned to stay, to accept the abuse. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s gradual.’

‘You think it’s a domestic abuse situation, like husband and wife?’

Alison shook her head. ‘It’s a rivalry situation. The similarity in victims, in crimes, the escalation. Each one is trying to do better than the other.’

‘So the game—’

‘It’s not a game,’ Alison interrupted. ‘It’s survival. It’s matching your opponent, showing strength, besting your rival. There’s no game here. It will only end when one of them dies.’

‘But what kind of rivalry is as sick and enduring as this?’ Kim asked, pointing towards the board.

‘One that’s been going on for a very long time.’

Ninety-One

‘You’re saying they’re related?’ Kim asked, crossing her arms.

Alison took a breath. ‘I can see the doubt in your body posture but hear me out. The sibling relationship is the longest we have. It’s often seen as the training ground for life. How to share, take turns, love and nurture, reason, solve problems; how to cope with disappointment; how to get back up after being defeated. Constructive sibling conflict is learning how to be assertive without being aggressive.’

Kim tried not to show her reservations and waited to be persuaded. Finally, Alison had an opinion and she was going to consider it.

‘Siblings have significant impact on key developmental milestones. The acquisition of interpersonal skills, cognitive development, emotional development and social understanding.’

‘But there are millions of siblings out there not in competition,’ Kim said.

‘Look closer and you will often find some level of competitiveness, but it’s usually pretty harmless and indicative of how it was originally handled by the parents.’

‘Explain,’ Kim said. Everyone in the room was listening.

‘Okay, so siblings spend more time together during childhood than with their parents. The bond is complicated and is influenced by birth order, personality, parental treatment and experiences outside the family. It’s particularly intense when children are very close in age. From the age of one, children are sensitive to differences in parental treatment, and by the age of three they have a sophisticated grasp of social rules, can evaluate themselves in relation to their siblings and know how to adapt to circumstances within the family.’

‘But surely this ends as they grow up?’ Bryant asked.

Alison shook her head. ‘In many cases it gets worse. Fighting with siblings as a