Page 66 of 36 Hours

‘Haven’t had the chance to update you on that bit yet.’ Despite his trip out with his granddaughter she’d been sending him regular text updates throughout the day.

‘Definitely from the same person?’

‘We think so, and Mitch agrees.’

‘You have Forensics involved?’

‘He was happy to help,’ Kim said, choosing not to remember the scene in the pub.

‘What’s this guy’s motive?’ Woody asked, starting to think like an investigator and not a politician. She always liked him better that way.

‘We have no idea. He may just be seeking his fifteen minutes of fame, but he’s clever. He’s five steps ahead of us at every turn,’ Kim admitted.

‘You’re sure it’s about him and not us?’ Woody asked. ‘Does he have some kind of vendetta against the police? Is all this to make us look incompetent?’

She shrugged. She honestly didn’t know.

‘Any suspects?’

‘About fifty-seven of them last time I checked.’

Woody waited for the explanation.

‘We’re tracking pretty much every person we speak to. We have to. The Jester is completely anonymous. He could be anyone, so we can’t yet rule anyone out.’

He rubbed at his bald head. ‘I’m in a tricky position here, Stone. I’ve already had a call from the chief super.’

‘He watches Central News?’ she asked, somewhat facetiously.

‘His wife does and found it necessary to disturb his bridge game to inform him.’

‘Oh no,’ she said, bringing her hand to her mouth.

He ignored her. ‘He wants the investigation stopped immediately.’

‘You told him about the body parts and the missing homeless guy?’

Woody raised an eyebrow.

‘Bastard,’ she said, fully understanding those facts didn’t matter one bit to the chief super, whose only priority was not looking stupid.

Their sicko had certainly called it right in saying the first victim would not be missed. Would the chief super be as quick to shut her down if they were receiving body parts from one of his bridge buddies’ children? The death of a homeless man did not provoke sensational headlines. It might get an inch on page seven.

‘Sir, no offence, but even if I have to run this investigation out of my kitchen, I’m not giving up on Hiccup and neither is my team.’

His nod was not as frustrated as it should have been. He absolutely knew what her response would be.

‘It’s the articles that are killing us. Tell Frost to stop posting them.’

‘He’s specifically asked for them,’ she said, sneaking a glance at the clock. The next one was due in less than half an hour.

‘You’ve got to tell her, Stone,’ he said with finality.

‘Sir, with all due respect, there is no person in that room that hasn’t been giving everything to this case for the last sixteen hours. Frost is doing her level best to follow instructions and save lives while the rest of us try to fathom this guy’s motive and identity. We are all exhausted and?—’

‘If you’ve quite finished, I accept every one of those facts, and my point remains. Her updates are doing nothing to help solve the case but a great deal to attract attention and damage our credibility.’

She nodded her understanding. He was right. But Frost would make her own decisions.