Cold as Ice (Willis/Carter #2)(60)

Ebony spoke up. ‘If this proves to be a targeted attack on the dog then it means that Hawk has a lot more elements to his game. He might also be after Jackson or Tracy? He’s getting physically close to them.’

Carter spoke: ‘We’ll give her twenty-four hour surveillance on the house.’

Bowie nodded. ‘Why might Tracy interest him . . . Jeanie?’

Jeanie was reluctant to say that, ever since she’d seen the image of the make-up on Pauline Murphy’s dead face, she’d been reminded of Tracy.

‘Tracy’s make-up was really thick when I first met her,’ she said hesitantly. ‘It’s getting less every day but, if Hawk was watching her when she worked in Simmons department store at the beauty counter, if he has a thing about make-up, good or bad, he would definitely have been drawn to Tracy.’

‘So what we’re saying is that something about Tracy has made him change his MO – or has brought out some other element in it,’ said Bowie. ‘Tell us more about her. What is she like?’

Jeanie thought for a few seconds before she answered: ‘She is in a brittle marriage. I haven’t even seen her husband; he chooses to stay away, I think. Or Tracy chooses not to have him there while this is going on. It’s becoming obvious that things aren’t great between them. Steve, the husband, was obviously not keen on Tracy’s reunion with Danielle. She went to speak to him yesterday about coming home to support her but she returned saying he still wasn’t coming back. It’s a lot to cope with on her own. But . . . having said all that, I’m amazed the way that she does seems to cope with whatever is thrown at her. She is in the middle of the crisis of her life but she copes with it the way she would cope with the busiest day ever on the beauty counter where she works. But then, I’m not sure Tracy realizes that this might have become personal to her. She asks if Jackson is safe. She has never asked me if she is safe. She has agreed to the TV appeal. I think the sooner we do it the better. We just have to hope it makes things better, not worse.’

‘We’ll look into every angle and have something ready for Tracy as soon as possible and for you, Sir.’ Robbo addressed Bowie.

‘I hope it’s a good one, Robbo. The press will hound us. I don’t want us to look incompetent. I want to find a definite connection between these women. How does Pauline Murphy match the lives of the other two women?’ asked Bowie.

‘The college, definitely,’ answered Carter.

Robbo pinned up a diagram of three interlocking circles with the women’s names in the centre.

‘These women didn’t all know one another but where the circles cross they have a possible two hundred and forty shared contacts from the college that we can identify by the social network sites.’

Bowie stood.

‘We’ll call a conference later today. Get it over with. One thing we know is that at this very minute Danielle Foster will be in a coffin and she will have already started dying.’





Chapter 27


‘Do I look okay?’ Tracy came out of the bathroom and stood in front of Jeanie.

Jeanie had asked Tracy to take off her false eyelashes, wear only a touch of mascara.

‘A youthful look, you mean?’ she’d asked.

‘I mean a stripped-back, no-time-for-make-up, couldn’t-care-less-about-make-up look.’

‘I feel naked without my make-up. I feel vulnerable.’

‘You don’t need it and especially not today. You look really lovely, Tracy: natural, young, with shiny skin.’

‘Shiny? Oh God!’ Tracy turned back to look at herself again. ‘The only time I get to go on television and the whole world sees me looking a fright.’

Jeanie smiled and shook her head.

‘Couldn’t be further from the truth. You ready?’

‘I haven’t learnt my lines yet.’ Tracy looked panicky.

‘We need to get Jackson settled before we go in. You can look at the statement then. It doesn’t have to be too rehearsed, Tracy. Don’t worry.’

They got Jackson into his car seat and Tracy sat in the front with Jeanie. Jeanie could feel the tension coming from Tracy. She was nervous for her but she knew that the fresher Tracy appeared on television, the better. Sometimes it wasn’t what people said, it was the way they looked when they said it.

Jeanie drew up outside the venue; Carter and Willis were waiting. Carter opened the door for Tracy whilst Ebony went around the other side and undid Jackson’s seat belt.

Ebony took Jackson off to be looked after whilst Carter escorted Jeanie and Tracy down to a green room where they’d sit and wait and prepare for the conference.

Hawk switched on the television. The press conference was about to start. He was naked; the room was warm and dark. He didn’t want to watch it alone. Beneath the decrepit chandelier he sat on a chair and got closer to the screen. He held his breath as he watched Tracy walk in flanked by a woman and a tall pale-eyed detective. Hawk watched them as they took their seats. He looked at the female officer’s name badge pinned on her: Jeanie Vincent. He looked at the Chief Inspector’s – Simon Bowie – and next to him was Detective Inspector Dan Carter.

His eyes focused back on Tracy.

‘Ha . . .’ he said out loud and he laughed. ‘Where’s your make-up now?’ His laughter petered out: inside he was angry.