DC Grounds looked relieved to have got through this first bit. He was a married father of three and not entirely comfortable relaying these details to younger, female colleagues.
‘Matthews contributed using the alias “BigMan”. Reid hadn’t contributed but had had conversations with other men in the forum, using the name “BadBoy”. The forum has a long history and we’re still wading through it, but it appears that other men in the forum had recently reviewed a new girl who would let you do “anything” to her.’
Grounds looked around at the sea of dispirited faces. It was a good lead, but a sad indictment of humanity. Sensing a dip in morale, Helen stepped in.
‘We’ve also had some feedback from Scene of Crime. The blood we extracted from Charlie’s clothes’ – heads turned in Charlie’s direction – ‘was that of the third victim. ID in his wallet suggests his name is Gareth Hill. We’re triple-checking that before contacting his family and I’ll confirm as soon as I can. So the blood was no help, but they did recover samples of what we think is the killer’s DNA from the scene. Forensics lifted it late last night.’
A buzz went round the room.
‘It doesn’t match any of our records, but it’s the first concrete evidence we have and could be crucial in securing a conviction. Just as important, it tells us something about our girl. The DNA was found in saliva on the victim’s face. It had settled in a series of thin layers spread one on top of each other. So this wasn’t her spitting on him deliberately or an occasional excretion of saliva as she worked on the body. The patterns suggest that this was her talking to him or more likely shouting at him, given the amount of saliva and the pattern of its spread. Was she denigrating him as she killed him? Letting him know exactly what she felt about him? Possibly. No saliva was found on the first two victims, suggesting what?’
‘That the other killings were more rushed? That she had less time to enjoy herself?’ Charlie interjected.
‘Yes. Or that she cleaned the other victims up. There is some evidence of an alcohol-based cleanser on their faces – we’re not sure yet whether this was something they used as part of their daily routine or something she used to destroy evidence. If it’s the latter it suggests our killer possesses a degree of cunning as well as a deep, real anger against her victims.’
A sense of determination seemed to be growing within the team – finally they looked to be getting somewhere. Helen seized on this energy.
