Page 30 of Twisted Lies
‘It ay registered, boss,’ Stacey said, waving Bryant’s piece of paper in the air.
She took a look. ‘That’s definitely what she said: try it again.’
The Transit had to be registered to someone, and yet a part of her felt it had just been too easy.
‘No such number,’ Stacey said again. ‘Maybe the neighbour got it wrong.’
The woman’s front window was probably ten feet away from where the van had been parked, so Kim doubted that. Just another mystery in the case that appeared to be going nowhere fast.
‘And the family themselves?’ Kim asked, sticking with Stacey and her task of finding out more about the Phipps.
‘Absolutely nothing on social media for any family member. Nothing for the parents or the kids.’
Kim recalled that she hadn’t noticed any computers or devices when she’d been at the house.
‘Sorry, boss,’ Stacey offered. Kim knew the constable hated days where she had nothing to show for her time.
‘I’m gonna move on to medical records tomorrow. See what I can track down.’
‘Good idea,’ Kim said, feeling the knot in her stomach tighten. A whole family with no social media presence seemed a bit off to her. She wasn’t a huge user, but to have nothing at all with boys of that age struck her as odd.
‘Okay, we have some big questions to try and answer. We know the family kept to themselves and took their privacy very seriously. Even after five years, the neighbours knew nothing more than their first name, that Keith Phipps would never hurt a fly and—’
‘That makes no sense, boss,’ Penn chimed in. ‘Our killer wanted Keith to suffer unimaginable pain. He tried to roast his organs. You don’t do that for no reason.’
‘But it might not be about him,’ Bryant added. ‘He might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The victim may be unrelated, and we’ve just got some sick and twisted psychopath who likes to inflict horrific suffering.’
Kim thought Bryant made a valid point. Not every murder was about the victim, and she might have agreed with him if the family had not acted so strangely and then actually disappeared.
‘There’s a link somewhere,’ Kim said. ‘The family is running from something. It’s too coincidental and, much as I’d love to go with the mindless psychopath theory, I’m just not feeling it.’
Bryant was not offended at her disagreement. One of his key strengths was in offering an alternative point of view to be considered. He was the team’s resident devil’s advocate.
‘Anything of interest at the post-mortem?’ Kim asked.
‘Other than the pricking thing I messaged you about, it appeared that our killer tortured him for more than twenty-four hours. He had eggs for breakfast, a few broken bones and appeared to live a reasonably healthy lifestyle now, despite apparent lack of dental care as a child.’
‘Evidence of heavy drinking?’ Kim asked, remembering Diane’s reasons for not reporting her husband missing.
‘None,’ Penn answered.
‘Hmm… so why didn’t she report it?’ Kim said more to herself. Diane had known full well that her husband wasn’t on a bender, but she still hadn’t called the police. So far, they appeared to be exhibiting a real issue with the authorities. They had lied, avoided, distracted and now run away from the police. From what the neighbour had said, the family had definitely gone willingly, but that didn’t rule them out of being in danger.
What the hell was this family hiding?
‘Okay, folks, time to call it a night. Be here fresh and early in the morning. We have to try and find this family.’
Everyone grabbed their belongings and headed for the door. They all knew that finishing before 10p.m. was a luxury they might not be afforded later in the week.
Only Bryant paused at the door. ‘You okay to…?’
‘I’ve got the bike,’ she said. A ride home on the Kawasaki Ninja was just what she needed to clear her mind.
He said his good nights and left.
Damn it. She’d forgotten to ask Stacey if she’d started the process for promotion yet. Now that Woody had the bit between his teeth, she knew it was going to come up every time they were face to face. She knew that a part of Woody felt that she didn’t put enough time into developing her team or pushing them towards the next rung of the career ladder, and that she kept them stagnant for her own personal reasons.
It wasn’t true. Admittedly, the team dynamics between the four of them worked well. Yes, there had been an adjustment period when Penn had replaced Kevin Dawson, but he had found his niche and the team had rearranged itself. But that wasn’t the reason she didn’t push. She knew that not everyone had the same career goals, regardless of skill and capability. Just because they could, didn’t mean they should. For instance, Bryant had made it clear he had no aspirations for the detective inspector position, and she wouldn’t force him. Penn had recently lost his mother after a prolonged terminal illness, so she wouldn’t be pushing him either. Despite her conviction that people should make their own decisions on their career path, Woody was leaving her no choice.
