Pop Goes the Weasel | страница 2

Hurrying to catch up with her, the man drank in her backside, her legs, her heels, his arousal growing all the time. As she disappeared into the darkness, he picked up the pace. He couldn’t wait any longer.

The floorboards creaked noisily as he stepped inside. The derelict house was just how he had pictured it in his fantasies. An overpowering smell of damp filled his nostrils – everything was rotten here. He hurried into the sitting room, now a repository for abandoned G-strings and condoms. No sign of her. So they were going to play ‘Chase me’, were they?

Into the kitchen. No sign. Turning, he stalked out and climbed the stairs to the second floor. With each step, his eyes darted this way and that, searching for his prey.

He marched into the front bedroom. A mildewed bed, a broken window, a dead pigeon. But no sign of the girl.

Fury now wrestled with his desire. Who was she to mess him around like this? She was a common whore. Dog shit on his shoe. He was going to make her suffer for treating him like this.

He pushed the bathroom door open – nothing – then turned and marched into the second bedroom. He would smash her stupid fa-

Suddenly his head snapped back. Pain raged through him – they were pulling his hair so tight, forcing him back, back, back. Now he couldn’t breathe – a rag was being forced over his mouth and nose. A sharp, biting odour flared up his nostrils and too late instinct kicked in. He struggled for his life, but already he was losing consciousness. Then everything went black.

They were watching her every move. Hanging on her every word.

‘The body is that of a white female, aged between twenty and twenty-five. She was found by a Community Support officer yesterday morning in the boot of an abandoned car on the Greenwood estate.’

Detective Inspector Helen Grace’s voice was clear and strong, despite the tension that knotted her stomach. She was briefing the Major Incident Team on the seventh floor of Southampton Central Police Station.

‘As you can see from the pictures, her teeth were caved in, probably with a hammer, and both her hands have been cut off. She is heavily tattooed, which might help with IDing, and you should concentrate your efforts on drugs and prostitution to begin with. This looks like a gang-related killing, rather than common-or-garden murder. DS Bridges is going to lead on this one and he’ll fill you in on particular persons of interest. Tony?’