Free Killing for Keeps by Mari Hannah

tutor
to do the graft. ‘He could have done so much better.’
    ‘Don’t be disappointed,’ Kate said.
    ‘I’m not, I’m frustrated.’
    ‘Why? Because studying an older woman floated his boat more than politics and economics ever could?’ Kate smirked. ‘No-brainer, wouldn’t you say?’
    ‘Yeah, I guess. Believe it or not, they’re still together.’
    ‘Wow! Must be serious.’ Kate knew about the affair from way back. ‘Have you met her?’
    ‘Jill? Hell no!’ Jo made a crazy face. ‘Anyway, you didn’t come to talk offspring. Sit. You look exhausted.’
    ‘I’m fine.’
    ‘Really? Take a look in the mirror.’
    Kate ignored the dig. Any more tension and she’d surely snap.
    Jo slumped down on the sofa, kicked off her pumps and tucked her legs beneath her bum. Kate sat down too, changing the subject to something less personal: work. Handing over crime-scene
photographs, warning Jo that they were far from pretty, she looked on as the profiler viewed them. The temperature seemed to plummet the more information they shared, the main thrust of their
conversation hinging on the level of violence used. It was way over the top in anyone’s book.
    ‘Torture cases are rarely impulsive,’ Jo said.
    ‘I agree. This one was definitely planned. Stolen vehicles, acquisition of tools – SOCO found bolt cutters.’ Kate cringed as she said it. ‘You’d expect that would
guarantee Terry Allen’s compliance. Except, he didn’t talk – at least, we don’t think he did, poor sod. Whoever cut his fingers off was organized enough to bring along the
right implements to do the job. It’s enough to make you puke—’
    ‘Unless the tools just happened to be in the van they stole.’
    ‘C’mon, you don’t believe that any more than I do. Anyway, Robbo checked with the registered keeper as soon as the missing digits were discovered in the van. There were no
tools in the Mercedes or the four-by-four. Whoever did this knew what they were doing and why they were doing it long before last night.’
    ‘So what’s your theory?’
    ‘I’m not sure I have one, at least not fully formed. Either the offenders let Terry go and followed him, or else he escaped and managed to get a message to John. It wouldn’t
take a brain surgeon to work out that he’d require a major trauma centre. Which is the only plausible explanation why the brothers bypassed the nearest A & E. It didn’t work though;
I think the offenders were lying in wait to grab John as he left the RVI.’
    ‘Why are you so certain that Terry was the bait, John the target?’
    ‘I’m not. But that’s the word on the street.’
    ‘Then why bother torturing John? Why not just kill him outright?’ Jo held up the photos. ‘This is pretty elaborate, don’t you think? Risky too. There must be more to it,
surely.’
    ‘There are certainly easier ways of committing murder,’ Kate conceded. ‘Killing him wasn’t enough. They wanted him to suffer on the way out. According to SOCA, his
offending has escalated in recent years. He and Terry were dabbling in all sorts. Extortion, mainly. Taxing local businessmen in exchange for protection they didn’t want or need. Nasty stuff.
Maybe this is someone fighting back.’
    ‘If you lie down with dogs . . .’
    ‘Exactly.’
    ‘So what happens next?’
    ‘I’ll work on Terry’s wife. She’s not a fan of the police, but I’m hoping she’ll want justice.’
    ‘Is that a euphemism for revenge?’
    ‘Either way, I’m probably the best person to hand it to her, whether she likes it or not. I intend to play up that angle, make her understand that killing those responsible would be
swift but a lot less satisfying than watching them go down for life. I’m not sure it’ll wash though.’
    ‘What about John’s girlfriend?’
    ‘Same difference.’
    ‘Maybe not. If she’s young and has a kid, she might be more amenable—’
    ‘Hank tried. She was equally uncooperative.’
    ‘With all due respect, Hank