road, the cut through to the field and the coffin. I was buried alive.’ Another tear slipped down her cheek. She turned away from Briggs, not wanting him to see her weeping.
‘It’s okay. You’re safe now.’ He placed a hand on her shoulder. How could she have ever doubted him? Briggs had not sent the letter to the press. Her mind had just got the better of her.
‘I’m sorry.’ She wiped her eyes. ‘Have a look at the letter that I just gave to Smith. It’s a diary excerpt from a very distressed person, a victim of an assault. They know I’d understand how they feel. How they know this, I have no idea. Probably the same way Lyndsey Saunders and everyone in the town seems to know.’
‘What?’
‘I’ll fill you in when I can get my breath back. That’s what I was calling the station for while I was driving. I was hoping to sound Jacob out first, just fishing to see if he’d been called by the press, then I was going to call you.’
‘Okay, is there an immediate lead in all this, the diary you mentioned?’
She nodded. ‘There’s a triangle drawn on the back of the letter. One point has trees on it; I’m betting that it represents the woods. Another point has three little houses drawn on it, except two houses have no roof. We need to check out all derelict and crumbling buildings. We need to go back to the squat. This is a big clue. A house with no roof. The roof of the squat is damaged and it is at the end of a row of three houses. Whoever is doing this is giving it to us on a plate. We just need to focus.’
‘But the other houses on that row have roofs.’
‘I know. It’s the best I have and it has been a link to the case.’
‘I’ll call it in, get someone over there to search the house and the area.’
‘We’re looking for a buried coffin and hurry. Penny might still be alive. Get the dogs to go over the grounds.’
Briggs turned and hurried over to PCs Smith and Kapoor. They both hurried back to their car and radioed for assistance. Gina spotted the forensics van pulling up and stepped out of her car. ‘Whoever did this to me may have been in my car.’
Keith slowly straightened his stiff back out and nodded. ‘I’ll be over in a minute.’ He hobbled around to the boot of the van to get his kit.
She grabbed her bag and stood at the roadside. ‘I need to go to the squat. I need to be a part of this.’
Briggs hurried over. ‘You are not going anywhere. You are heading back to the station. You know the procedure. For heaven’s sake, you’ve just come into contact with the coffin killer. We’ll need your clothes, swabs, nail clippings, the lot. Your hands are bleeding.’
‘Were bleeding. It was just a couple of little splinters, that’s all. I need to be there, I know this person better than anyone.’
‘No arguments or I’ll have to take you off the case. Go back and get checked out and cleaned up. If we find anything, you’ll be the first to know. Don’t leave until I get back. You can’t go back home alone tonight.’
‘Says who?’
‘I can’t force you into anything, but I’m scared for you. Take this seriously, you were buried alive tonight!’ He gave her a pleading look. ‘Please don’t go home. I can feed your cat and I can drop you at a hotel, at someone’s house or lo and behold, you can stay at mine. I have a spare room.’ He wiped the tear from her eye.
He was right. It was too risky to go home. ‘I’ll see you at the station later. I’ll need a lift back.’ She knew that neither of them would be going home that night, with all that was going on. She’d grab an hour in the family room on the couch.
‘Get in my car.’ He gave her the keys.
She took them and hurried, grateful of the warmth as she got in. She closed her eyes and imagined the drawing of the triangle one more time. It was a perfect little triangle and that couldn’t be a coincidence. The third point had been marked up with a question mark. Was there another victim?
Chapter Fifty-Six
Now
Tuesday, 3 November
‘Lola… Lola.’ Tracy popped the purchase orders into a tray and pushed open the door to the Portakabin, scanning the makeshift