Which is why they’d brought cameras. From various discreet positions – some elevated, some on street level – they scanned the crowds, recording the masses’ morbid interest in a middle-aged man’s despair.
Reviewing the footage later was a depressing affair. They’d caught the moment when his wife Sarah had turned up. She was raving, frantic. She hadn’t yet taken in Peter’s abduction and bizarre reappearance. She hadn’t been able to penetrate his all-encompassing gloom since – she’d tried counsellors, but his armour was too strong. And now this. Her entire world – and her place in it – had been destroyed in a matter of weeks. Prior to that it had been a world of comfort, private education, skiing trips, and a sense of serenity and contentment. Now the world seemed a dark place, full of evil, sadism and danger.
‘Let’s fast-forward a bit,’ Helen suggested and no one disagreed.
The images sped up briefly, then settled back down to normal. An endless parade of paramedics and gawpers.
‘We’re looking for a woman of medium height between five four and five eight in height, slender build. Strong nose, fullish lips. Medium to large bust. Pierced ears.’ Mark reminded the group what they were looking for.
But even as he said it he wondered if they were wasting their time. Even if they saw the killer, would they know her? They had the e-fits as compiled by Amy and Charlie up on the board, but they were rough and ready, with different-coloured hair, etc. Would they look the killer straight in the eye and not know her?
Shortly after, the footage came to an end.
‘What do you want to do now, boss?’ Charlie asked.
They had watched it twice without anyone spotting anything of interest. But it was hard to be across everyone – there were so many people on screen – so after a moment’s hesitation, Helen replied:
‘Let’s watch it one more time.’
They settled in for another viewing. Mark offered his Oreos around – they all needed a sugar hit and were grateful for a crack at his secret stash of goodies. They fixed their eyes on the screen once more and tried to concentrate harder than ever.
‘There.’
Charlie said it so loud, she made Mark and Helen jump. Charlie spooled the footage back before replaying it. Then suddenly she paused it.
‘Look there.’
She was pointing to a woman deep in the crowd, who was watching the paramedics loading the bodybag on to a trolley.
‘If I just zoom in a bit, we might get a better picture -’
‘Who is she?’ Helen interrupted.
‘I’ve seen her before. At Ben Holland’s funeral. She was alone and disappeared as soon as the service was over. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but actually I don’t think I saw her speak to anyone there.’