Page 64 of Then She Vanished

The screens came to life.

Messages galore in green writing filled the black screens.

She grabbed onto another beam and steadied herself on the uneven loft boards. Jacob came up beside her. She leaned in closer to the one screen and he read the messages popping up on the other. ‘He must be GazMan.’

White Knight:All you need to do is to take the bitch, mate. You want her, she’s yours.

GazMan:Where do I keep her? Can’t exactly keep her in my house.

White Knight:Lock-up, houseboat, hole in the ground, derelict building, cellar, garage, bookshelf hiding a cupboard door, use your imagination!

GazMan:Tell me how you do it. Always up for learning more from the best.

White Knight:I don’t give my inside intel away. A gentleman never tells, haha. Scare the bitch. Let’s have her details and we’ll get the boys onto her. A few messages will have her pissing her pants. Dox her. I love nothing more than the whole world knowing what a slut or bitch she is and telling her exactly that. Breaks the bitch’s heart, it does. We do it to those who deserve it. Police, lawyers, shop workers, mothers – whoever. If they deserve it, they get it. It’s all a game and it’s a laugh. It’s about the journey, mate, not the destination.

GazMan:But I want destination. I want to meet you.

White Knight:Without the journey, destination is an anticlimax.

GazMan:I’ve had the journey, more than once, I want more. I need it faster and more regular now. The addiction is real. Who are you? Let’s work together. We’ll be a force to be reckoned with. We can make the bitches pay. Come on, man, I need this. Hit me up privately.

Thinking of the messages she’d been receiving, Gina knew that she, too, was a victim of men like White Knight. From her own research, she also knew there were thousands of others just like him. Stephen was out there somewhere, and Pete Bloxwich, well, she hated him. Trusting him had not been her plan until a few hours ago, but she had no choice. She made a mental note to quiz him about White Knight. If he wanted that memory stick, he’d have to work for it.

Gina clicked on the personal messages that Gary had sent from the forum to White Knight.

White Knight. Answer me. I know you’re there. I need your help. Come and find me and hurry!!! It’s about time we met IRL. I have an imminent problem. I’ll pay you anything. Message me on the burner, now.

She tried to scroll back through his previous messages but they’d all gone.

‘Damn. They planned to meet in real life – Gary Pritchard was picked up by a white van, and our attempted kidnapper has a white van. It looks like White Knight came to pick him up, all arranged on a burner phone. We have to consider that Gary has Ruth somewhere.’

‘Bloody hell, guv.’ Jacob kept reading the messages on the other screen. ‘This lot are talking about the women they see every day and how easy it would be to take one. They’re even talking killing methods. What on earth have we uncovered?’

‘Something big. The worst of it is, we already knew this was a problem; we knew these predators were everywhere. Most of it is talk, but occasionally they spill out into the real world. We know we lack people and funding to constantly monitor all this, and that’s the frustrating part. There are millions of forums just like this and they’re growing exponentially. As one gets shut down, another starts up.’ Her fists had become inadvertently clenched. ‘Sorry, it makes me angry.’

She saw silver poking out from between two sheets of paper. ‘I’ve found his phone.’

It didn’t need a password, she was in. She scrolled through his messages. There were a few to his colleagues and a couple between him and Ruth, and a missed call from Ruth.

She logged on to the internet, but it was as if he didn’t use it. There were no browsers open and no history. She checked the photos and there were only a few of Elissa as a child.

‘He obviously conducts all this’ – she pointed to the screens – ‘on a burner, probably using a VPN.’

An app flashed with an update. A picture of a smiling horse told Gina that it was Gary’s move. ‘He plays online chess using this phone, though.’

She glanced back at the main screens and took photos quickly just in case they vanished. No doubt Gary Pritchard could easily remote log-in if he wished.

Pressing on the top of the chair, she noticed the denim jacket hung over the back. It had two horses printed onto the back, with a lasso coming into the scene.

‘Molly mentioned something about horses. She said that John Doe mentioned Luna liking horses and they lived by them. I might be overthinking this one, but nothing about this case is easy, so we need to bag this jacket and log it into evidence.’

She sent all the photos to the incident room and Briggs, then called O’Connor.

‘You okay, guv?’ He yawned. Gina heard Mrs O murmur something in the background.

‘O’Connor, I know it’s early in the morning and you’re not due in for another couple of hours, but I need you and Wyre at the incident room now. Can you head in?’

‘What is it?’

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