Page 54 of 36 Hours
Kim wasn’t sure about that. She wondered if Stacey was giving too much thought to the workings of the sicko’s mind. Right now, all she saw was a monster who enjoyed torturing someone who had trusted him, and wanted to make the papers.
‘If you want more good news,’ Frost added, ‘my articles are getting a lot of attention.’
‘Go on,’ Kim said, giving her permission to speak.
‘We have people travelling from miles around to follow the game. My last article has been shared hundreds of times, and the comments are approaching a thousand. Normally this would be great news, but these people are just gonna get in the way.’
‘It’s Sunday evening. Don’t any of them have jobs?’
Frost shrugged.
‘We have got to find the boxes before anyone else does. We need to solve the clues before Hiccup?—’
‘Oh, I wondered when he was going to get a mention,’ Penn said, speaking for the first time.
It was rare to hear an edge to Penn’s voice. His affable, good-natured personality meant that it took a lot to get him worked up.
She glanced at Stacey, who offered a pensive expression and a shrug.
Kim folded her arms and waited.
‘I mean, it’s not like he’s the priority here. We’re talking more about some sicko than we are about the victim, a man who has literally nothing.’
Kim wanted to reassure him that Hiccup was at the front and centre of her mind. If he wasn’t, they’d all be at home finishing off their weekend. But she held her tongue. Penn wasn’t in the mood for listening.
‘We can’t even imagine what these souls go through on a daily basis. None of us has ever been hungry enough to consider eating someone else’s rubbish. I mean actually taking it out of a bin that’s full of cigarette ends and dog shit.’ Penn paused to look around the room.
‘Anyone here ever do that?’
Kim’s silence was a signal to her colleagues to stay quiet too.
‘I’m not saying they’re all angels, but some of them, like Hiccup, have just had a shit time, and now some bastard thinks they can just cut him up into small pieces and send them to us. He’s an accessory, a puzzle piece, like a die or a counter.’
He looked again for a reaction.
Silence.
‘It’s a fucking joke,’ he said, combing his fingers through his curly hair. ‘How are the rest of you not incensed?—’
‘Penn, Bowl,’ Kim interrupted. She was happy to let him rant at the injustice of the situation, but he was probably only a couple of sentences away from saying something he’d regret.
She closed the door behind him.
‘Vent at me, not them,’ she said, pointing for him to take a seat.
‘I just don’t get it, boss. No one seems to give a shit about?—’
‘What are we all doing here, Penn?’ she asked, waving towards the rest of the team. ‘We’re over twelve hours into this thing and it’s not ending any time soon. You heard any one of them mention the word home? Anybody planning on leaving their post?’
He said nothing, just wiped at already sore eyes.
‘The only thing keeping us all here is the hope of finding Hiccup before getting any more bits of him. Even Frost is risking her job to do the right thing.’
He took a deep breath and exhaled. ‘I know. You’re right, and I’m…’
‘Exhausted and emotionally involved,’ Kim finished for him.
They had all spent time amongst the homeless community but Penn more than most. It didn’t help that his default position in life was wanting everyone to be happy. His lifelong experience of protecting Jasper had given him an affinity for anyone less fortunate. All reasons why she couldn’t even be angry at his outburst.