‘What I need is the chance to get out there as soon as possible. Just before I found out about all of this I had a lead I was working on. I think it might be something worth checking out.’

‘Do you have any idea where she might have taken her? Are we any closer to knowing where the killings took place?’

‘Right now we don’t have squat.’

Rajid Khan felt as though his eyes were going to pop out of his head. He had been staring at his screen intently for the past four hours without a break and felt almost as though he and his screen had become one.

He was working a puzzle, a puzzle that he had no idea how to solve. How on earth was Jessica Matthews able to hook up to an instant message system but leave no trace of the ISP address she was using?

It was important work. An ISP could lead them to a computer, which in turn could lead them to the actual, physical, real-world address she had been using for her communications. This, the team had surmised, would likely be the same address that she had been using to murder her victims.

Rajid had tried a variety of techniques using similar versions of her screen name to try to re-create the same set of data he received whenever he attempted to run a trace on Matthews. If he could produce a similar result, he figured, it was likely he had stumbled upon a similar method of disguising the signal’s origin. So far none of them had been successful.

He was working on a 24-inch widescreen monitor that gave him plenty of space in which to operate. The main box was to his right. In the lower-left-hand corner was a document file with a list of protocols that he had yet to try. Above that was a screen from the online role-playing game he was trying to keep an eye on. His character was mining rare ore from a distant planet in a dangerous Level 2 star system – a long and laborious process. He had set up a series of bots – automated programmes – which meant he could mine even while he was sleeping, but he had to watch out for pirates.

Rajid blinked twice when the message first appeared on his computer screen. Surely there had to be some kind of mistake? He checked his network protocols and the source of the connection. Both seemed legitimate.

His next thought was that one of his old hacker friends was playing a trick on him, getting him all wound up and trying to make him look like a bit of an idiot among the top brass at the police. They knew he had begun working there only because he had been caught vandalizing the local police website and, though he enjoyed the chance to crack codes, he couldn’t shake the feeling of shock at finding himself sleeping with the enemy.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he worked out how to respond. He hit the return button on the instant message screen and his online identity – Geekking – appeared. He paused for a moment or two, trying to work out what to do next. He quickly decided that the direct approach would be best.

Somehow – he couldn’t work out exactly how – they had managed to learn the screen name that he had been using during the last exchange he had been working on. Very clever, but not something he could appreciate at a time like this.

Geekking100: Fuck off, Ben, I’m busy

shygirl351: I’m disappointed in you, Rajid. I was always

hearing how smart you were.

Geekking100: Mate, this isn’t funny. All sorts of shit going on here.

shygirl351: I know, it can’t be easy trying to work out how

she blocked your trace on her Ims.

Geekking100: How do you know about that?

shygirl351: Come on, Rajid, put two and two together. And

when you do, you might want to run and get someone else.

I’ll give you exactly 45 seconds. Starting now.

Rajid sat staring at the words on the screen for a few more seconds before bolting up from his seat and rushing across the incident room towards the office of DCI Anderson. He pushed open the door without bothering to knock.

‘Sir,’ she’s on my computer.’

‘Doesn’t anyone in this station know how to knock on a door?’

‘She’s on my computer, right now.’

‘Who is?’

‘Matthews.’

The two men arrived back at the screen just as the first sentence popped into view. Anderson immediately glanced through the conversation up until that point and decided on the next move. There was no time for specialist help. There was no time for anything. He sat Rajid back down and instructed him to type what he told him to in reply.

shygirl351: Time’s up. Has the penny dropped?

Geekking100: Who is this?

shygirl351: Don’t play the idiot, Rajid. It doesn’t suit you.

Geekking100: What do you want?

shygirl351: To trade.

Geekking100: I don’t understand

shygirl351: I’ve got the girl. What will you give me for her?

Geekking100: What do you want?

shygirl351: It’s not fun if I make it too easy for you.

Geekking100: I don’t follow.

shygirl351: You have to guess. And you get only one shot at it. Or Sophie Collins is dead. You have exactly twenty-four hours. Starting right now.

Anderson and Rajid looked at one another. Time was running out and the pressure was building. No one seemed to have a clue where Matthews might have taken the child. And unless they found one soon, Collins would never see her daughter again.

25

Sophie Collins stared blankly out of the window of the fast moving car with dry eyes that she could not close even if she wanted to.

She was as still as a china doll. She couldn’t even feel herself breathing. She was absolutely terrified. Deep down, part of her knew she had to remain calm if she was going to survive, but it was impossible. She was only thirteen. She couldn’t deal with any of this.

She knew nothing about this woman who had attacked her and could think of only one reason why she had been taken. It had to be something to do with her father. It had to be something to do with his past. They were taking her to get to him.

Jack Stanley had been dying. That’s how it had seemed. He had been on the ground, struggling to breathe. After that everything had gone so fast.

The woman seemed to react strangely when she realized that Jack was her father.

What on earth had she been thinking before? That he was her boyfriend? She had moved away from Jack and then come towards her. Sophie had tried to run but something sharp pierced the back of her leg and she fell to the ground. The woman picked her up, carried her to the car and then set off.

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that she was correct. The woman had taken her to get to Jack. Far better to kidnap his daughter to get him to bend to their will. She was determined to be as brave as she possibly could. She knew that her father would never let anything bad happen to her. He would be there to rescue her. He would make everything all right.

The drive seemed to last for ever. Eventually the car turned off the main road and travelled through a series of small villages before finally heading up a narrow wooded path to what looked like a farm complex and finally drawing to a halt.

Her body was frozen rigid in an unnatural position and she was starting to ache all over. She comforted herself with the thought that her suffering would not last much longer. Her dad would soon be there.

There was no need to use the winch.

For once Jessica Matthews had selected a victim who was small enough for her to carry to the makeshift operating theatre on her own. But for every plus there was always a minus.