‘He will have been extremely careful when it comes to covering his tracks, so it’s perfectly possible that he does not have a criminal record for any kind of violent offence. Instead look out for incidents of arson or cruelty to animals. The small proportion of killers who torture their victims have often practised their brutality on their pets. Pyromania is another key indicator. Serial killers see their victims as objects rather than as human beings. To them, destroying a piece of property and destroying a person amounts to much the same thing.

‘Finally, you’re looking for someone who can remain extraordinarily cool under pressure. Research has shown that psychopaths and serial killers have a greater fear threshold, and are less likely to respond to fear-inducing stimuli or sudden shocks. Some researchers think they are virtually immune to those kinds of emotions.’

Dr Bernard turned around and took a long, slow look at the board that held the victims’ details. ‘Are there any questions?’

‘What’s your view on why the bodies were dumped?’ asked Anderson.

‘It’s impossible to say for sure without having more information about a potential suspect but what I can say for certain is this. In many cases, serial killers who have got away with a number of murders over a period of many years can actually feel put out that no one has recognized what they see as their achievements. This is particularly true in cases where more than one murder has taken place but police have failed to identify a link between the victims.

‘In such cases, it has been known for the killers to begin playing games with the police or the press, writing letters, sending them tapes or using some other way to communicate, all with an intention of steering them on to the right track so that they eventually realize a multiple murderer is on the loose. In such cases, the killers actually want to be caught.’

Anderson nodded. ‘And you think that might apply here?’

‘It is one possible scenario.’

‘If that’s the case,’ said Collins, a mischievous smile spreading over her lips, ‘it will make our job one hell of a lot easier.’ A chuckle of laughter rippled throughout the room. Even Anderson couldn’t help but giggle.

The briefing over, Collins was back at her desk, probing deeper into Miller’s background, when she felt a sudden presence close by. She looked up to see Dr Jacques Bernard smiling down at her.

‘Detective Inspector Collins.’

‘Yes?’

‘Excuse me for saying this, but I couldn’t help feeling that you were, shall we say, a little bit sceptical about some of the information I was providing.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be. It’s just that … well, I think that criminal profilers are a bit like psychics and mediums.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘When they talk, people remember the few accurate predictions they’ve made and forget all the stuff that they’ve got wrong. The trick is to use a whole load of ambiguous, vague stuff that can be seen to apply to anything. Smoke and mirrors.’

‘You think that’s what I’ve been doing?’

‘I’m talking in general terms here. I wasn’t trying to be specific to what you had said.’

‘Well, I agree with you to some extent. You know a team at the University of Liverpool has just done a study and found that most serial killers don’t fit into the behavioural patterns and distinctions that the FBI uses to catch them, so maybe you’re right.’

‘Maybe.’

‘But, on the other hand, I don’t always follow those patterns either. I can assure you that everything I’ve been talking about is extremely valid and very useful to someone such as yourself. Perhaps we could discuss it in more detail some day.’ He hesitated then flashed that smile again. ‘Perhaps over dinner? With a spot of PG?’

‘Tea?’

The smile grew wider, more infectious. ‘Pinot Grigio. It’s my favourite wine.’

‘Ah.’

Collins tried hard not to return the smile but felt it creeping across her face all the same. ‘Perhaps.’

9

It was the middle of the next morning before the full reality of the situation began to dawn on her. And, once it did, it left Collins feeling thoroughly miserable.

When she had first come across the information about Edward Miller’s background, it had seemed like an exciting development. Now she was far less sure. Ever since the investigation had begun everyone on the team had wondered what kind of animal they were dealing with. If the lead Collins had found was correct, it threw up all sorts of emotional conflicts that she had no idea how to deal with.

If the killer was truly targeting paedophiles and, in the words of Dr Bernard, cleaning up the streets, then there would be an awful lot of people out there who would believe he was doing a public service. As a mother, she had lived with the fear of her child being abducted on an almost daily basis. Did she really want to stop someone who was fighting back against those responsible?

Collins always became particularly emotional when it came to this sort of offender. More than once in the past she had bent the rules of evidence to the point that they almost snapped in order to secure a conviction. She wasn’t proud of herself for having acted that way, but it was the only way to ensure the man was unable to go after any more children. As far as she was concerned they were all scum, and if they vanished from the face of the earth, so much the better.

All of which made her current assignment all the more difficult to swallow. She and DS Woods were sitting in the reception area of the South London officers of ViSOR, the Violent and Sexual Offenders Register. Anderson – on Dr Bernard’s recommendation – had sent them there on the chance that, if there was some kind of paedophile link to the crimes, anyone who had gone missing from the register in recent years might be a possible victim.

ViSOR held details of everyone convicted, cautioned or released from prison for a sexual offence against children or adults. Those on the register had to report to their local police station at regular intervals, so Collins and Woods were hoping to trawl through lists of those who had failed to comply.

It was a long shot, for sure, but other leads had so far come to nothing. Crimewatch had passed on featuring the tattoo from the unknown victim on their last edition on the grounds that, without being able to use the words ‘serial killer’ as part of the appeal, it simply wasn’t interesting enough to pass muster. Instead the reconstructed image had been circulated to local newspaper and magazine programmes across the south-east.

Hill and Porter had not made much progress either. Further checks into the background of Raymond Chadwick had failed to throw any light on how or why he had become the killer’s most recent victim, while further interrogation of Leroy Banks had all but eliminated him as a potential suspect.

As Woods flicked through a copy of that morning’s Independent, Collins bounced the heels of her shoes on the carpet and stared directly into space. It was obvious that she was far from happy about the situation.

Woods folded his newspaper and turned to her. ‘You’ve got a real problem with this, haven’t you?’

Collins nodded. ‘Let’s say it does turn out that all the victims are nonces. I’m just not happy about the idea of trying to track down someone who’s killing off people who have no right to live in the first place. I don’t want to sound like some kind of half-mad Daily Mail reader, but why not just let them get on with it?

‘We might find that this person is being careful about who he chooses, that he’s picking his targets well. It could be that he’s going after people who have done wrong but have somehow managed to slip through the net, just the way Miller did. I say let him be. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do my best work when it comes to tracking him down.’