It was still dark when Ruby went to work. There was nothing she would have loved more than to stay snuggled up in bed with Nathan. As always, there were more pressing matters at hand. She barely noticed the dim light in the corner of the office and jumped when she saw a figure hunched over their computer. It was Richard, his wide-rimmed glasses shoved down the bridge of his nose as he analysed the data on his screen.

‘What time did you get in?’ Ruby said, composing herself.

‘I never left,’ he said, unsmiling as he continued to peer at his monitor.

Ruby walked around to his side of the desk. There were times when she had felt like pulling an all-nighter, but her DI had rightly sent her home for a few hours’ sleep. Burnout was commonplace when working under such pressure. Tiredness slowed you down and fogged your thoughts. ‘Well in that case you need to go home for a few hours’ kip,’ she said. ‘There’s no point in being dead on your feet.’

‘I got sleep,’ he said, turning his swivel chair to point to a bag in the corner. A rolled-up sleeping bag was tied with some string next to a grey rucksack.

Ruby smiled as she shook her head. ‘Where did that come from?’

‘I keep it in my locker in case of emergencies,’ Richard replied, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. ‘It’s just as well as we’ve had another missing person’s report.’

‘Already?’ Ruby said, feeling crestfallen. ‘When did this come in?’

‘An hour ago, but the call takers didn’t think to make us aware. I found it when I was trawling through the CAD reports.’ Richard examined his paperwork, pulling out a printout of the incident. ‘Here’s the latest update.’

Ruby took the paperwork and, whipping out her reading glasses, poured over the details. Informant Gordon Barber had called at 6.55 a.m. to report that his wife had failed to return home. After calling friends and family to check her whereabouts, he called police and mentioned the discovery of an envelope that had been posted through his front door just prior to midnight the night before. Contained in the envelope was a photograph of his wife, which appeared to have been taken recently. A tag had been placed on the report for uniformed officers to visit his address. A further update had gone on the incident to say that DC Richard Moss had arranged for Gordon to attend the station at eight o’clock, where he would speak to a member of the team.

‘It was the earliest I could get him in here,’ Richard said. ‘His sons don’t know and he wanted to wait until they’d left for work.’

‘It might not be connected to our case. I know there’s a photo but it’s not a given at this stage. If she went missing last night then her kidnapper would have had to work very fast to take her photo and deliver it to Gordon’s house before midnight.’ Ruby placed the paper printout back on Richard’s desk.

‘I’m afraid it’s looking like it is,’ Richard said grimly. ‘I’ve made some background checks. They’re a fairly wealthy couple and they mix in the same circles as victim number one. These aren’t random incidents.’

‘That’s very commendable,’ Ruby said. ‘What have you found?’

Richard pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. ‘They both socialise at the same golf club once a week. It seems to be a “ladies who lunch” type of thing, for well-to-do women who have never worked a day in their lives.’

‘Sounds like I’d fit right in,’ Ruby winked, then remembered she was not talking to Ash, his predecessor. The ghost of his presence still lingered here, and despite everything that had happened, she still missed the silly sod. The loss of a colleague was hard to bear, but Ash’s death had hit Ruby hard. Even now, she felt like she had blood on her hands. She cleared her throat. ‘We need to speak to these women after we’ve dealt with Gordon. Do we know when the next meeting takes place?’

‘Well that’s the thing, I looked at their online Facebook group and it’s today at 11 a.m. Apparently, it’s to talk about Melissa. Maybe they’re scared the same thing is going to happen to them.’

‘Good. It’s in Coleman Street,’ Ruby said, reading the address from his notes. ‘Shouldn’t take us long. They’ll probably panic when they hear Cheryl is missing too.’

‘Us?’ he said, looking mildly horrified at the prospect of leaving the office.

‘Yes, us. If we leave here around 10:30, we should get there in plenty of time. See what you can find out about this group of women before then. Anything outstanding, criminal records, bad debts. Pop in to the divisional intelligence unit. See if they can dig anything up. I know you don’t have their dates of birth—’

‘That’s no problem,’ Richard interrupted. ‘I’ve got most of that from Facebook.’

Ruby smiled. A computer whizz with an analytical mind was exactly what they needed on their team. ‘Good. Tell DIU we need it pronto. Perhaps Melissa and Cheryl had been mixing with some shady characters. You know how the well-heeled like a bit of rough sometimes.’ And Ruby did know this first hand, given who she had woken up with that morning. She thought of Cathy, her daughter: a gangster for a father and police officer for a mother. No wonder she was mixed up. She swallowed, her throat dry. Right now, she needed a strong cup of tea. She opened her mouth to ask Richard, then sighed as her conscience told her to make it her bloody self.

‘Can I get you a drink? Coffee, tea? I’ll even stretch to a bar of chocolate from the vending machine, seeing as you’ve worked so hard.’

Richard grimaced, barely affording her a glance as he clicked from site to site. ‘No thanks, I don’t eat chocolate or drink caffeine.’

Ruby blinked, wondering how he could function without them. How had she not noticed up to now? ‘Do you go to the pub? I was thinking, we’re long overdue some team drinks. Maybe next weekend we can head next door after work. You up for that?’

‘I partake in an occasional beverage or two,’ Richard said, offering up a polite smile before returning his attention to his work.

‘Good. I’ll arrange it with the team. Call it a belated welcome. Drinks are on me.’

Richard nodded in approval as Ruby collected up the dirty cups and mugs littering the surrounding desks. The cleaners were due in any minute, but given the state of the office, they had enough work to do. She cringed as she caught sight of the remnants of an egg sandwich that had been ground into the carpet. She would have to have a word with the team.

An announcement on the tannoy requesting Richard’s presence at the front desk notified them that Gordon was there.

‘I’ll take a statement,’ Richard said, rising from his desk.

Ruby raised her hand to stall his movements. ‘Let me have five minutes with him first. Do us a favour, give DC Rutherford the heads-up, will you? I’ve got a feeling we’ll need a FLO involved.’ They would need to put a family liaison officer in place in case anything further was pushed through the door. She would also request eyes on the property; although with budget cuts, they could probably only spare an hour or two.

Richard sighed as he sat back in his chair. ‘I hope we find Cheryl before it’s too late. I can’t imagine getting a finger in the post like that, much less photographs of a loved one being treated that way.’

Ruby wanted to ask if he had anyone special at home, but Richard seemed the private type and such questions were better asked in the pub. ‘The killer seems to get off on hurting as many people as he can,’ she said instead.

Richard stretched out his arms, his muscles cracking as he moved.

‘Time you took a break,’ Ruby said. ‘Stretch your legs first. Grab some fresh air.’

Richard nodded wearily, locking his computer as he stood.

‘And Richard?’ Ruby said, giving him a backward glance as she pulled the door open. ‘Well bloody done.’