Warnings!
This story deals with the Zelinsky case mentioned in the episode and as such contains mention of the kidnap and murder of a child. It also contains mention of child rape and the discovery of the body. The crimes are briefly mentioned and there are no graphic descriptions.
He looked so ordinary.
James barely glanced over at Malcolm Zelinsky, where he sat slumped in the dock. James had committed Zelinsky's face to memory long ago. It invaded his nightmares on a near nightly basis, mocking and taunting him.
If you had been quicker, smarter, she would still be alive, the manifestation would sneer.
The reality was Malcolm Zelinsky appeared to be a mild-mannered, almost affable man; a payroll manager with the local council. He was well-liked by colleagues, and had an impeccable work record.
He didn't look like the kind of monster that would kidnap a ten-year-old girl, who would rape and torture the child repeatedly until her young body gave out under the horrific abuse.
He just looked so…ordinary.
Zelinsky's only previous run-in with the law was for a speeding offence. He had been caught doing forty-five in a thirty mile an hour zone, earning him three points on his licence and a sixty pound fine.
There was no pornography on his computers, child porn or otherwise. No seedy computer searches. No dirty magazines hidden under the bed.
There was absolutely nothing in Zelinsky's life to indicate why he would kidnap and murder a child.
He had a varied social life, with a large circle of friends and acquaintances – every single one of whom were shocked and disbelieving that Zelinsky could commit such a hideous crime.
Yet he had.
When James had lifted the lid off the water cistern, the beam of his torch had reflected off the plastic sheeting Zelinsky had used to wrap the body. The sheeting hadn't been long enough to cover her head. Her long auburn hair splayed out in the water, moving in the vibrations James had caused when lifting the lid. Although her young face looked peaceful, her body hidden in the sheeting would show that her death had been anything but.
The DNA evidence was irrefutable; Zelinsky's was all over the victim's body, inside and out. He had offered no explanations, no excuses, made no attempts to offer up an alibi. In fact, he had said nothing. Hour after hour of questioning and he uttered not a single word.
This monster now sat in the courtroom, as the case against him was presented. He was smartly dressed and well groomed and had sat throughout the proceedings with his gaze lowered, not making eye contact with anyone.
James knew this case would haunt him for the rest of his life, but his anguish disappeared into insignificance when compared to the suffering of the victim's parents.
James glanced again at Zelinsky, wondering how someone who looked so commonplace, so normal, so...average could cause such agony, could harbour such malevolent intent without it somehow leaking through to his personality, warning people of the deviant inside.
How could he look so ordinary?