Free Settled Blood by Mari Hannah

brought to mind Jonathan Forster, a serial killer who’d recently terrorized northern Britain – payback for an abusive mother. A deranged psychopath, he’d killed
many times, once by placing a gun into a toddler’s hand, pointing it at the child’s grandfather and pulling the trigger.
    Equally gross.
    Daniels’ left hand stroked her right shoulder, injured by the same bullet that had glanced off her clavicle before imbedding itself in Forster’s heart – killing him
instantaneously. Her memory of his killing spree was drowned out by Carmichael’s voice.
    ‘So what are we looking at, a kidnapping?’
    ‘Yes, but as I’ve said, it may not be motivated by money. The necklace I showed you earlier was worth a small fortune, enough to keep your average arsehole going for months. This
offence is personal – someone
really
wants Adam Finch to suffer.’
    ‘So what happens now?’ Carmichael asked. ‘We run the two cases as one?’
    ‘Theoretically, yes, but under no circumstances does that fact leave this room. I don’t want the press finding out we have yet another linked incident on our patch. They’ll
have a field day.’
    ‘So we’re the lead force again?’ Robson was referring to the case the DCI had just been thinking about. Three forces had been involved but Northumbria Police had taken control
of the investigation. ‘There’s going to be no involvement from Durham?’
    ‘For the time being, at least,’Gormley said. ‘We had a conversation with Ron Naylor on the way back here. He agrees that’s the best course of action. So keep up the good
work, boys and girls. You know what to do.’
    The team scattered.
    Daniels pulled out her phone to call Matt West. As the number rang out she imagined him eighty-five miles south, puzzling over some sample or other, his eyes permanently fixed to the lenses of
his microscope. After several rings he picked up.
    ‘Matt, it’s Kate Daniels returning your call.’
    ‘How you doing?’ He sounded preoccupied.
    ‘You got something for me?’
    ‘Maybe . . . that sample I took from your victim’s shoe—’
    ‘Hold on . . .’ Daniels nodded as Gormley walked in from the kitchen holding up a china mug. Then she switched the phone to loudspeaker so he could listen in on her call. ‘OK,
shoot. I want Hank to hear this too.’
    ‘I’ve found a slight mineral deposit. I thought it was glass at first, but it isn’t. I’m not going to commit myself until I’ve completed my research, but I’m
fairly sure I’ve never come across it before.’
    ‘Can you be more specific?’ The DCI had detected excitement in his voice. But Matt being Matt he was always cagey until he was sure of his facts. All the same, she had every reason
to think that he might be on to something. ‘Those test results are vital now. Another girl’s gone missing. It looks like the same guy has taken her.’
    ‘The only thing I can say for certain is that it didn’t come from the area where the body was found. Not a chance. In fact, I’m looking at it now . . .’ There was a
slight pause in the conversation. ‘I’ve been testing it for a good few hours. It’s so unusual it might determine
exactly
where your victim was held before she met her
death. You find that, chances are you’ll find your missing girl.’
    Daniels locked eyes with Gormley.
    It didn’t get much better than that.

15
    S omewhere deep within the North Pennines, Jessica Finch opened her eyes wondering if she was still asleep, her terror and confusion part of a bad dream. She tried to focus,
tried to make out where she was. She could hear a noise she couldn’t immediately identify, the same sound that had woken her. The drip, drip, drip of liquid as it plopped heavily into the
moving body of black water she was standing in.
    Jessica moved her head to the left, her eyes following the dim pool of light reflected on the wet wall opposite. Her only source of light was coming from the cap lamp attached to the