Page 44 of 36 Hours

Kim knew these properties well enough to bet that she’d find a small table against the wall immediately on her left. The space didn’t allow for it to be anywhere else.

Bryant entered the kitchen and placed himself in the far corner. Kim took one of the seats and quickly appraised the woman and her surroundings.

She made no judgement on the fact that the sink and countertops were filled with plastic plates and cutlery, that the floor was covered in crumbs or that food had landed on the cupboard doors and not been wiped away. She already knew that Joanne Deary was on her own.

‘We went to the zoo,’ she said as though reading Kim’s thoughts. ‘Haven’t had time to clear up yet.’

And that was the moment Kim knew that this was not their sicko. This was a woman with two young children who was just trying to get by. How could she judge a woman who although probably tired and frazzled had chosen to take her kids for a day out and worry about the mess later?

‘We know you were at the zoo,’ Kim said, and then to be sure she was correct, ‘but Mr Deary wasn’t there with you?’

‘How would you know that?’ she asked suspiciously.

Kim said nothing.

‘There is no Mr Deary. Well, there is, but I don’t know where he is.’

Kim waited.

‘Covid,’ she said. ‘And no, he didn’t die from it. The virus killed our marriage. He’s a chef. He was furloughed. He realised he didn’t like his kids that much after being stuck with them night and day. Took off to Brighton, I think.’

Ah, that explained a lot. At a guess, Kim would imagine the change in income had forced her to move and she’d been placed at the mercy of social housing.

‘This isn’t forever,’ she said, waving around the space. ‘Just until I get sorted.’

‘No family in the area?’ Kim asked.

A slight hesitation before she answered. ‘Not really.’

Kim chose not to pry further. It wasn’t the reason for her visit.

‘You placed a lockbox at the reptile house earlier today?’ Kim asked.

Just because she wasn’t their sicko didn’t mean they couldn’t learn something. Perhaps she even knew who their sicko was.

Joanne nodded. ‘I didn’t break any laws, did I?’

‘Of course not. I just need to ask a couple of questions.’

‘Okay.’

‘Did someone give you the box to put there?’ Kim asked.

Joanne shook her head. ‘It was a trail to follow.’

‘Is this something you do often?’

‘A couple of times a month. After Drew left, I had to come up with ways to keep my eldest occupied while getting him some fresh air. My uncle suggested it, and my boy loves it. We only do the simple ones though. And I only do them where there are lots of people around.’

‘Do you use the Seekerswebsite?’

Joanne nodded.

‘And how did you find out about this one?’

‘I get a notification when a new trail is laid.’

Kim made a mental note to speak to Stacey, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on the website.