Page 24 of Then She Vanished

She pulled her quilt off her, then Ebony jumped on her bed meowing for food. Cuddling Ebony was helping to calm her heart rate. She kissed the back of her furry head, never more grateful to see her little friend.

Her laptop was still open at the end of the empty side of her bed. The constant monitoring of Men-R-Takin-It-Back was really getting under her skin. The photo she’d been sent had barely gained any traction, thank goodness. But she was definitely a target, and the messages had continued. What disturbed her more, however, was how these sickos relayed their fantasies online.

How to make women uncomfortable while walking out at night. If they cross the road, cross too, catch up and match their pace, make them feel your presence, make them know you’re the man.

It was all a misogynistic game to them.

She shuddered at what she’d been reading. These were the type of men who were sending emails to her, and very soon they’d be phoning her or even turning up at her door.

She hadn’t seen any sign of Stephen back in the area, but he had to be.

She thought of how he might look now, his face and neck gnarly from the burns he’d suffered in the past after the fire ravaged him. She remembered that case well. Stephen had been central to it. She thought he’d have learnt from his past and stayed away from his misogynistic ways, but no, he was back at it again.

He’d stand out.

She read another post on the forum.

They can’t prosecute you for crossing a road or staring, but that bitch will remember how uncomfortable she felt for life. Maybe she should have stopped being a whore and going out all night, teasing pricks. If you have the power, don’t let those bitches get the jobs. Keep them where they belong. We can take our rightful position back. We have nothing. They’ve taken it all from us. Our masculinity, our careers, our children – everything. They don’t fight wars. We die earlier or we kill ourselves, and they get it all. That’s why Men are Taking it Back. Real men!

She stretched and Ebony jumped down. She picked up the new laptop she only used for browsing, hoping that the VPNwould keep her identity safe. There was someone she needed to contact: slimy journalist, Pete Bloxwich. She’d do that later.

As the previous owner of BoyzRTakinItBack, she wondered if he was behind this site, and she still had the leverage she needed to bring him down. Had he resurfaced and changed the word Boyz to Men on the new website? She and Pete had a deal. She kept the fact that he was behind that horrible website a secret, in exchange for him leaving her alone.

Her buzzing phone made her flinch. ‘Hello.’

‘That was fast. I’m gathering I didn’t wake you?’ Briggs asked.

‘No, I was just getting up.’

‘There’s been an attempted kidnapping outside the back of Cleevesford High. A man in a ski mask tried to force a woman on her way to a cleaning shift into a van. She’s very shaken up and forensics are on their way. Can you head over now?’

John Doe had a white van that he used to collect furniture for Calvin Harris. It might be a coincidence, but given the photos of the girl and the fact that a woman was nearly kidnapped, she doubted it. She had to consider that John Doe wasn’t working alone.

SIXTEEN

Gina pulled up around the back of Cleevesford High. She’d called Jacob and he was on his way too. Bernard had already arrived. Gina watched as two uniformed officers cordoned off the road and path at both sides of the entrance. The large metal gates were open and she could see a couple of cars parked within the school grounds.

‘Morning, guv.’ PC Shaf Ahmed called out as he held the log. She went over and signed.

‘Morning, Shaf. Where is the victim at the moment?’ Gina glanced around. She could see an ambulance, but it was open and devoid of a patient.

‘In the school with PC Smith and forensics.’

‘I’ll head up there now. Can you tell DS Driscoll where I am when he arrives, please?’

He nodded. ‘Will do. Bernard said to cross the road and walk on the grass. Basically, walk around the cordon. He doesn’t want anyone to step on the road until the rest of his team have been over it, and they’re on their way.’

‘Of course. Thanks.’ She crossed the road and began walking on the grass verge all the way to the playground. The door to the sports hall was open and people milled around inside. Papercups full of coffee and tea were being poured by a man with long blond hair. Gina stepped inside and everyone turned to look at her.

PC Smith walked over. ‘Alright, guv. The victim, Keeley Moore, is in the PE teacher’s office.’

She nodded for him to follow her over towards where a pile of gym mats lay. ‘What do you know?’

‘She’s shaken. A paramedic is in there at the moment and Bernard is, too. Her clothes have been bagged, swabs have been taken and she’s been given some spare clothes from the PE stash. No worrying injuries, just a few cuts and bruises.’

She ran her fingers through her hair, knowing that they wouldn’t have the results for a while. ‘Who are all the other people here?’

‘The man serving the drinks is Xavier Whitmore, he’s the caretaker. The woman in the blue vest top is Lucie Wilde.’ He glanced at his notebook. ‘I was just starting to talk to the others as you came in. More details to come later. The two huddled at the side of the hall are a year head and the PE teacher; both arrived after the incident. The other cleaners were on site when the incident happened, as our victim starts half an hour after them – at six – each morning. The caretaker lives in a building on the other side of the school and he lives alone.’

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