Page 57 of The Truth Will Out
“You and me both.” She opened the door and froze. “What the…? I forgot to ask, do you recognise his name?”
“Yep, from the list. Another reason we should suspect it’s the same killer.”
They stood in the doorway. Sam’s gaze trained on the doctor. His hands were clasped in prayer over his chest, and his lips and eyes had been sewn shut, reminiscent of what had happened to the other victims, or some of them. She noticed there was a book open on the desk in front of him. They entered the room, and Sam immediately went to investigate what type of book it was, presuming it to be a medical reference book. Instead, she discovered it was the Bible. One passage in particular had been underlined in red:
For nothing is hiddenthat will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.Luke 8:17
“What does that mean?”Bob said, reading it over her shoulder.
“I’m taking it to be a message from the killer about the victims and the part they’ve played in his or her past.”
“Er, that much I kind of worked out for myself. The killer must be a warped fucker, that’s all I can say.”
“That’s twice you’ve called them that today. Give me a break and don’t say it a third time.”
“That told me.” Bob circled the room and stopped in front of the corkboard. “Shit!”
Intrigued, Sam approached him to see what he’d found. “What is it?”
“An old photo.”
“I can see that. Who are all these people?”
The photo was yellowed and worn. Its edges curled with time.
Bob unpinned it and read what was written on the back. “Shit! It’s a staff photo from Pendle House.”
Sam peered closer at a specific person she thought she recognised—it was Rhys.
Bob did the same and tutted. “Is that Rhys?”
Sam’s heart thundered until it made her gasp for breath, enough to worry her partner.
“Are you all right?”
She inhaled and exhaled a couple of deep breaths. “Look at his expression. It’s haunting. His eyes are distant, wary almost. Or is that my imagination?”
“No, I’d call that a spot-on assessment. What is going on?”
“I don’t know. I’m sensing he knows more about what went on at that children’s home than he’s willing to share with me.”
“By what you told me in the car about your meeting earlier, I would have to agree. If that’s the case, Sam, he’s playing a dangerous game.”
She paused, torn between the case and her relationship, not that she had the chance to consider that for long because Des and his team arrived.
“What have we got here, then?”
“Another doctor, and yes, we believe the cases are connected.”
Des took one look at the victim and nodded. “I’d agree with your assessment. What do we know about him? And what are you holding, Inspector?”
“We’ve just found this photo pinned to the corkboard.” She handed it to him.
“What am I looking at?”
“A staff photo from Pendle House.”
“I take it the victim is on here?”
