Page 42 of The Twenty (Major Crimes)

“I called out to Pippa, and I searched the house, checking all the rooms. Then I called her mobile, but it rang out. Mags has it. I found it in the bedroom. She must have been getting ready for bed. All her clothes …” He tails off again and starts sobbing, his head in his hands. Adam puts his arm around his massive shoulders for a moment.

“Stay here, mate,” he says.

He gets up and walks to the edge of the cordon, signing in and suiting up quickly. He goes through the front door and finds Maggie in the hallway, talking to one of the SOCOs.

“You’re running point on this?” Maggie asks from behind her mask. “You’re assuming it’s connected?”

Adam nods. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it to Jamie, it seems likely at this point. A victim, abducted like the others. It fits. “What do you have?”

“Considerable disruption to belongings and property through the hallway, up the stairs, and into the bedroom. The back door was unlocked. It’s likely the assailant entered the house that way and made their way upstairs.” She gestures with a tilt of her head, and Adam follows her up, being careful not to touch anything. She points into the master bedroom. The duvet and pillows are thrown across the floor, clothing scattered.

“Blood spatter across the wardrobe, including one line of cast off.”

“Pippa was hit a few times?”

“I think you can assume so, yes. But she was still conscious. Fighting as she went down the stairs and out into the hallway, causing all the mess.”

“So we might have trace from our offender?”

“Possibly. We’ve taken blood samples throughout. I’ll head back to the lab now, get moving on some of these exhibits. We’ll keep looking for prints.”

“Keep me posted.” Adam leaves Maggie and walks around to the front of the house. So they left from here, he thinks. Out an open front door. Exposed. Risky. Confident—or stupid, he’s not sure which.

Interested neighbors poke their heads out their windows, standing at their front gates, some already being questioned by uniforms. Somebody must have seen something.

As he pulls his PPE off, he looks at the likely candidates. An old lady in a dressing gown: good for daytime nosiness but no doubt in bed by ten. Same with the older couple. But one of the houses looks different from the others. There’s nobody out front. The gate is hanging off its hinges, weeds flourishing in the front garden. And all the lights are on.

He walks over and rings the doorbell. After a moment, it’s answered, and Adam knows his initial suspicion is correct. The man is young and scruffy. Tight jeans, baggy sweatshirt. Adam can hear music coming from inside and the sound of a television. The sweet smell of weed drifts into the night air.

The boy barely opens the door. Adam shows his ID.

“Police,” he confirms, and the boy risks a smile. “Can I come in?”

The boy hesitates. Adam rolls his eyes. “Look, I don’t give a shit about some low-level marijuana possession. I just need your help.”

The boy glances behind him. “I’ll come out.” He moves, shutting the door firmly behind him. “What do you want?”

“You’re a student, right? You were home all night?”

“Yeah.” He points to the commotion. “What’s happened?”

“A young woman has been abducted. And we need to find her, fast. Did you hear anything, see anything?”

He frowns. “Nah. Although …” He pauses.

“Please? You never know what might make a difference.”

“Stu mentioned something about a van. Thought it was his Amazon delivery, so he opened the front door to wait.”

“Can you get Stu?”

“Yeah, hang on.” The boy goes back into the house, and Adam waits impatiently. He returns a few minutes later with a reluctant Stu. The lad shifts from foot to foot, his head down, obviously stoned.

“Stu?” Stu nods, looking at Adam with hooded eyes. “Tell me about this van.”

He shrugs. “Small black one. Parked badly, over that driveway there, then they went around the back. As soon as I saw it wasn’t for me, I went inside.” He waves his hand at his mate. “It was like Chris’s.” His mate looks blank. He turns back to Adam. “Like surfers use.” He blinks a few times, and a big smile appears on his face. “VW Transporter, that’s the one.”

Adam feels a ripple of progress. “And how sure are you that it was black?”

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