Kate abandoned her car right outside the entrance to the Mottisfont National Trust site. Behind her, Laura and Patel’s squad car was coming in fast, and beyond that at least two more vehicles.

Forcing her way to the front of the queue at the sales desk, Kate slapped her ID on the window of the ticket both and demanded to speak to whomever was in charge.

‘I-i-if you would go to the back of the—’ the young man behind the glass said.

‘There isn’t time,’ Kate interrupted. Realising she wasn’t going to get any traction out of the kid, she called out. ‘I need a manager and security. NOW.’

A woman in glasses wearing a bright red fleece appeared from nowhere, a look of confusion on her face. ‘Can I help?’

Kate fixed her with an urgent stare. ‘Are you in charge?’

The woman nodded, looking increasingly alarmed as Laura, Patel, Humberidge and Freeborn gathered behind Kate.

Kate passed the woman the profile shot of Jackson. ‘We believe this man entered the park this morning and we need to apprehend him urgently. What kind of security do you have around this place?’

The woman steered Kate away from the queue of customers who were now muttering in shocked whispers. ‘We have CCTV up at the main house, restaurant and at the café, but the park is spread out over several hundred acres, and we don’t have the facilities to monitor everything.’

‘The CCTV: that’s monitored somewhere?’

‘Yes, we have a security office at the rear of the main house where all the feeds go.’

‘Good. Laura, go with this lady to the security team and have them go back to the moment Jackson’s card was used to pay, so we can be certain he’s on site.’ She turned to the manager. ‘Do you have a map I can use to direct my team?’

The woman reached behind the desk where the young man was doing his best to serve the next customer while eavesdropping on the unfolding scene. ‘Here you go,’ she said, unfolding a thick paper pamphlet.

Kate spread the map flat. ‘Okay, what have we got?’

The manager leaned over and pointed. ‘This is where we are now. Visitors can go in any direction and take any path they choose, but the most common are up and to the north-east point which runs along the river.’ She moved her finger over the map to show where she was indicating. ‘Or, for those who come to look at the main house, it can be accessed heading north along this pathway, avoiding the wooded area. From there the pathway is clearly marked to the chapel, café and gardens to the west of the site.’

‘But realistically, our guy could be anywhere on this map?’

The manager nodded.

‘Okay,’ Kate sighed. ‘Not ideal, but we’ll have to make it work. Laura, get onto the CCTV and let us know if you spot him or what direction he might have been heading in. Patel, you also head up to the main house along the pathway, but bend off towards the gardens. Ewan, you and I will take a side of the river each. And that leaves Humberidge to wait here at the entrance in case he leaves before we catch up with him.’ She turned back to the manager. ‘There are no other exits, right?’

‘The perimeter is fenced off, but if someone was determined to leave, then…’

Kate wondered whether she should call for backup, but there was no way they’d be able to cover every possible exit, even with the entire force surrounding the estate. She would just have to make do with what they had.

‘This man,’ the manager began nervously. ‘Is he dangerous? Should I warn my staff to look out for him?’

‘Please,’ Kate nodded. ‘Get a description out to all of your team and ask them to notify us the second they see him. But they are not to approach him. Is that clear? I also want you to temporarily close the park, and encourage as many of your visitors to leave as possible.’

---

‘I’m at the security station,’ Laura said breathlessly into the radio. ‘One of the guards is going to look back at the earlier footage to see which way Jackson went after paying, while the other guard and I look at the current footage.’

‘Keep us posted,’ Kate said, as she crossed the bridge to the opposite side of the river, and proceeded along the hard ground, past the occasional patch of ice where muddy puddles had frozen over. Over the other side of the water, Freeborn was now moving in line with Kate, with both scanning their eyes over the wooded areas beyond the pathway.

In her years since moving to Southampton, Kate had never visited the Mottisfont site, but as she saw the occasional dog walker and single mother struggling to manoeuvre a pushchair through the wild grasses, she couldn’t help but think how Chloe would probably enjoy a trip here. But why had Jackson come here? He’d been off the radar since Friday night, so to suddenly use his credit card and draw attention to his movements was either incredibly naïve or maliciously calculated. Given the temperature and the fact most children were at school, the site was relatively quiet, but was that the attraction? With so much natural woodland and unkempt heath in the vicinity, it would be easy for someone to come in and dump all manner of things undetected.

The thought sent a shiver through Kate.

The River Test, running forty miles from Ashe to its estuary in Southampton, bisected the Mottisfont estate, essentially cutting a third of the land from the rest, save for the couple of footbridges allowing visitors to cross.

Maybe he’d come here to dump parts of the bodies he’d chopped into the river? In a bag and with just the right weight, it would make the short journey to Southampton Water in a matter of hours, were it would be lost forever.

But why draw attention to himself by using a credit card and not cash?

‘Ma’am,’ Laura’s voice squawked over the radio. ‘I have him on screen. It’s definitely him. Jackson is on the site. Over.’

Kate’s pace increased subconsciously. ‘Anyone spotted him yet? Laura, can you tell us what he’s wearing? Over.’

‘He’s in a large khaki-coloured coat, ma’am, hanging down past his thighs. Beneath the coat he’s sporting a grey woollen pullover, and his jeans are either navy blue or black. It’s difficult to tell from the video. Over.’

‘All units, bear in mind he may have ditched the coat. Laura, anything else we should look out for? Over.’

‘He had a rucksack on when he paid. The strap is black, but I cannot see the colour of the main body of the bag as it isn’t in shot. Over.’

‘Which direction does he take when leaving the entrance? Over.’

‘Can’t be determined from this camera, ma’am. Checking for him on the five cameras inside the main house now. Over.’

Kate silently cursed, desperately hoping he hadn’t already slipped out of their clutches.

‘Nothing to report here. Over,’ Patel offered. ‘Do you want me to wait by the gardens or keep looking? Over.’

‘Wander the area, but don’t go too far. Over,’ Kate called back, as she reached the opening to the final bridge. Beyond it, the path cut away to a small clearing. Kate signalled for Freeborn to stay put until she’d checked it out. The clearing led to a small hut, which was empty, and then off further into woodland. Kate did her best to look beyond the trees, but she couldn’t see any movement. Leaving the clearing, she began to cross over the bridge, telling Freeborn to make his way back along the opposite side, when they passed each other midway.

And that’s when she saw him.

Bold as brass, maybe a hundred yards further up the bank, heading straight towards them, his khaki-coloured coat billowing in the wind and the satchel strapped to his back.

Kate froze, grabbing Freeborn’s arm. ‘Pretend we’re talking about something,’ she whispered as loud as she dared. ‘Act casual, and whatever you do: do not look around.’

Freeborn’s eyes widened as he continued to look away from where Kate was staring in her periphery.

‘What do you want to talk about?’ Freeborn asked out of the corner of his mouth.

Kate lowered the volume of her radio, willing Jackson to move closer so they could intercept him unawares. If they gave him any reason to suspect, she knew he would run.

The wind continued to blow ferociously around them, but it was like he was moving in slow motion; Kate feeling every single second of the wait for him to get close enough for them to spring into action. She didn’t dare message the others to confirm his sighting, in case he overheard and panicked.

‘Just a little closer,’ she whispered under her breath. And then she set off, striding down the footbridge, and marching straight towards him. He smiled affably as he made to move past her, but as he passed by her, she grabbed his arm, yanking it behind his back, pushing her foot into the back of his knees, sending him hurtling to the muddy bank.

‘Hey, what the…?’ he managed to stammer, before Kate wrapped the cuff tightly around his wrist.

‘Christopher Jackson, I am arresting you on suspicion of the murders of Maria Alexandrou and Petr Nowakowski. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’

‘Murder? What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?’

But Kate wasn’t listening. Securing his second wrist, she hoisted him to his feet, and waited for Freeborn to grip the other arm, before they triumphantly marched their suspect back along the river bank.