Read Online Binary Witness (The Amy Lane Mysteries) by Rosie Claverton - Free Book Online Page B

realise that he was only trying to help.
    But Pete just continued to pace, his frustration mounting. “But they’re my mates! How can you think that? And what about the other bird—Mel? She’s nothing to do with here, is she? It’s some serial killer, isn’t it? Just picking off random girls.” Pete clenched his teeth, snorting like a bull about to charge. Bryn didn’t feel threatened but he did a quick inventory of breakables and bludgeoning objects around the room.
    “It’s hardly ever random,” Bryn said. “Even serial killers start with people they know. Did Kate have any friends you didn’t like? She get on with her family?”
    Pete gave a hollow little laugh. “How should I know? I was just sleeping with her. We didn’t do none of that couple stuff. She just wanted some fun, I’m a fun guy, that was all there was to it. I don’t even know if she had any family.”
    “What about drugs?” Bryn asked bluntly.
    “Bit of weed, bit of MCAT at a party—who doesn’t? Nothing Class A, nothing regular. Definitely no smack.”
    Bryn was always surprised at how easy it was to get kids to admit to drug use, particularly if you were direct about it. They’d found nothing in her house to suggest drug use and, while they had no body to confirm it, her lecturers hadn’t noticed any problems with her work. It was always the schools and colleges who were first to cotton on, way ahead of the parents.
    “Thank you, Pete. We’ll be in touch.” If he was involved, Bryn wanted him to know there was a watch on him, but Pete just nodded.
    “Find her, yeah?” he said and then left, shutting the door quietly behind him.
    Bryn sat back in his chair and sighed, not an inch closer to discovering who killed Kate and Melody. His principle suspect had an alibi and there were no other leads to follow. What the hell could he do now?
    Missing Persons was badgering him day and night to add another of their runaways to his list of potential victims, but they didn’t fit the profile: slender blonde students in their early twenties. But then two didn’t make a pattern, just a trend, and his nights were sleepless with the thought that there was another missing girl out there, another body not found that might be the key to stopping this bastard dead. And yet he hoped there wasn’t another, that he wouldn’t have to look at the photo of another girl dead on white sheets.
    Students were starting to panic. They’d had an increase in phone calls about people lurking in alleys or on street corners, but they were just the usual brand of pervert or thug, nothing to link them to Kate or Melody. Bryn had banned his daughters from the clubs, much to their disgust, told them to be home by ten and call before they left their friends’ houses. At least he knew where they were now. If he had his way, he’d lock them all up until they were thirty.
    The press hadn’t cottoned on to a unified nickname for the killer yet, but South Wales Strangler was gaining popularity, with Cardiff Ripper a close second. There were a horde of journalists outside police HQ, like a pack of wolves waiting for the next taste of fresh meat.
    The city was holding its breath—waiting for another murder.

Chapter Thirteen: Can’t Erase the Past
    Jason was ten minutes early to make up for running out on Amy the day before, and he’d managed to push back his one o’clock to two. He was going to brave the bathroom today, and tidy up a bit before Bryn and Owain dropped by with the tape.
    Kate and Melody had been all over the evening news. Jason watched it with Gwen and Cerys, silently reviewing what the police knew and were willing to share. They were finally using the word murder and they mentioned the photographs but didn’t show them. Jason barely took his eyes off Cerys, pale beneath her makeup, and the way his mam’s hands tightened on her mug, suddenly looking so much older. No, they didn’t need to see the photographs.
    The words elite taskforce were used