Page 82 of 36 Hours

6.50 A.M.

I make my way back to the van hidden behind a public house and not visible from the road.

I saw her run in, and I watched her slope out, and I heard her scream somewhere in between.

I shake my head. They have no one to blame but themselves. They had everything they needed, but I bet they tried to cheat. It’s not on me. It’s on them. I didn’t kill him. They did.

They know the rules, and by now they should know how seriously I take them. I know they would have tried to stop the train, and that’s cheating. If they’d got there in time, they would have saved him.

I am surprised at the tinge of sadness I feel at Hiccup’s passing. We spent time together, and apart from the screaming and howling, I’ll miss him. He didn’t deserve to die, and he wouldn’t have if that team had their act together.

I take out my phone in anticipation. I have a Google alert for the Jester. My hand freezes. No notifications. I refresh. Still nothing.

Where is the article? It’s ten to seven. Where is the damn article?

I fire off a text before starting the car. I have to leave. Lightness is pinching at the sky, and I need the cover of darkness for the next part of the plan. But I can’t move until I have an answer.

The response is immediate. It is short. Two words. Not very nice words.

I reply demanding she write the article.

She replies with the same two words.

Despite my rising anger, I must continue.

She will have to wait, but she will learn that there are consequences. There are rules, and she has broken the most important one.

I put aside my dismay. This is the part I’ve been waiting for.

If the team thought they were under pressure before, they’re about to feel a whole lot worse.

Alas, this will be my last opportunity to observe proceedings before the finale. There is much planning and work to be done.

It’s about to get exciting.

It’s time for the next. And this one will certainly be missed.

SIXTY-SIX

7A.M.

‘Good to see everyone looking rested and refreshed after the weekend,’ Kim said, trying to lighten the mood in the squad room even though her own mood perfectly matched theirs.

She didn’t even get a polite chuckle for her efforts.

She took a breath. ‘We did our best, folks. We did everything we could to save his life.’

Although they all nodded, she knew they all felt that it had been for nothing.

She had sympathy for her team. To a point.

‘You wanna do a Frost and bail?’ she asked, opening her hands.

Initially, she’d been annoyed at the reporter’s departure, but on balance, it had placed extra strain on her team having her looking over their shoulders. She had been the middleman, but their killer knew who was running the investigation, and Kim was sure he’d find a way to contact her if he wanted to. Even without Frost, the rules of the game were clear. They found the boxes and followed the clues.

Except there were no more boxes and no more clues. There had been neither at the train station.Notfinding a box was more worrying to her than finding one. It wasn’t over – she knew that. What she didn’t know, and what concerned her the most, was what was coming next. Whatever it was, she needed her team on board and ready for action.

‘So, anybody wanna bail?’ she prompted.