The team worked steadily until lunchtime. Previously, Boyd would have expected them to eat sandwiches whilst working at their desks but since Grace's illness they had been going out to lunch. Boyd had been horrified by how little Grace had managed to eat during her chemotherapy and was determined that she was going to regain the weight she'd lost as soon as possible, even buying her favourite biscuits for her to have with her tea in the office. Grace tolerated his over-protectiveness, knowing that part of it was born from guilt over her near death at the hands of Linda Cummings, merely saying,
'When I'm twenty stone remember that it's all your fault, Boyd.'
Boyd had smiled broadly and said,
'That's all right, Grace, I'm after you for your mind.'
'In other words, have I finished that profile yet?'
'Got it in one.'
Grace had smiled and gone back to work, reassured by their flirting. After the revelation that Luke had been murdered and the investigation into Linda's death, she had been worried that Boyd would spiral further down into the dark place that he'd been inhabiting for so long now but instead he was gradually coming out of it. Boyd never talked about his feelings but Grace suspected that he'd been forced to face some of his demons and in doing so had overcome them. Whatever the reason, he was in a much better place now. And the team were only too glad to have a hot meal in the middle of the day.
After lunch, Boyd called all of them, except for Eve, together for a progress report. Spence went first, saying,
'I've traced Jason Evans and Ted and Paul Jenkins, Sir. No luck with Rachel Blackwater yet.'
'All right. Kat, any luck with missing persons?'
'I've got several possible matches, Sir, but I'm only up to nineteen ninety-eight so far. I hadn't realised how many adults go missing every year. I've sent the details over to Eve to see if they match any of the bodies.'
'Keep plugging away. I know it's like looking for a needle in a haystack but we need to know the identities of the victims.'
'Yes, Sir.'
'Grace? Care to share anything?'
'Well, I've read through the files on the victims whose identities we know and there are some similarities. All of the couples regularly went out to pubs and clubs at the weekend, drinking and socialising with friends. Their friends all described them as lively extroverts.'
'They were all party animals?' asked Spence.
'Basically, yes,' agreed Grace.
'So what does that tell us about our killer?' said Boyd.
'That in all probability he's very inept socially. He longs to be part of the group but he lacks the confidence to join in. He's probably never had a sexual relationship. He feels excluded and jealous.'
'You still think it's a man?' asked Boyd.
'Yes though until we know who a few more of the victims are, anything I tell you is pure speculation, Boyd.'
'All right. In your opinion, what age and ethnicity are we looking for?'
'You know as well as I do that most serial killers are white and usually start killing in their early to mid-twenties.'
'So he'd be mid-forties now?'
'Probably...'
'But?' asked Boyd.
'This is only statistics, Boyd. Don't close your mind to other possibilities.'
'So what you're saying is to ignore your profile if I don't think it fits the evidence?'
'Yes...' said Grace, hesitantly.
Boyd grinned wickedly and said,
'I think I can agree to do that.'
Spence and Kat smothered their smiles as Grace said dryly,
'I was certain that you could.'
'Anything else, anyone?'
Boyd looked round at the rest of the team as he spoke and when they all shook his head, he said,
'Spence, you and Kat go and do preliminary interviews with Paul and Ted Jenkins. Grace and I will see if Jason Evans remembers anything extra from the time that his parents were murdered.'
'We need to ring first,' said Grace firmly, 'to give him a chance to prepare for all the memories being raked up again.'
'Fine,' said Boyd, taking Jason Evans' contact details from Spence and handing them to Grace. Grace smiled wryly and went into her office to make the call.
An hour later, Grace and Boyd were in Boyd's car, on their way to Jason Evans' address. For once, Grace hadn't argued about using Boyd's car; it was the coldest day of the winter so far and Boyd's German monstrosity had a far better heating system than her car did.
As they drove, Grace tried to figure out the settings on her new phone but after a few minutes she gave up, saying,
'I wish I'd never bought this phone.'
'Too many apps?'
There was wry sympathy in Boyd's voice and Grace remembered the amount of swearing that Boyd had done when he'd changed his phone a few months ago. Looking irritably at her phone, Grace said,
'No. The salesman told me that it had ultra fast mobile connectivity but what he forgot to tell me was that it automatically connects to the internet as soon as you turn it on, which means that whenever I want to make a call I have to disconnect from the internet first. It's annoying.'
'I'm sure it is. Isn't it in the settings?'
'What do you think I've been trying to do?'
'Get Spence to look at it when we get back.'
'Eve's better with technology...but really, I want to sort it out myself.'
'Well, it'll have to wait; we're here.'
Boyd parked the car and got out, waiting impatiently whilst Grace put her phone in her coat pocket, picked up her handbag and got out. Grace shivered in the bitterly cold air and Boyd said,
'All right?'
'Yes, it's just cold, Boyd.'
'I suppose it is a bit chilly.'
Grace glared at Boyd as his lips twitched but the glare softened as he said,
'How about I buy you a drink later to make up for dragging you out of the office on a day like today?'
'I expect a decent red.'
'You always do.'
Smiling they walked towards the small house where Jason Evans lived. The path was icy so Boyd automatically offered Grace his arm. She took it with a smile but said,
'Is this for me or for you? My boots have excellent grip.'
'Just trying to be a gentleman, Grace.'
They had reached the door so Grace bit back the sarcastic rejoinder that was on her lips and waited for the door to open.
Jason Evans was a short, thin man with a youthful looking face. He took their coats and offered them tea before leading them into the lounge. Everywhere was very neat and clean. Whilst Jason made tea for them, Grace wandered around the room looking at the photos and ornaments. The photos were all of a middle-aged woman, either alone or with a teenaged Jason. Boyd came and joined her, saying after a few seconds,
'The aunt?'
'Presumably.'
'None of his mother and father though.'
'Not here but he may keep those elsewhere or he may find it too painful to have pictures of them displayed.'
Grace turned and tripped over the edge of a rug. Boyd grabbed her, pulling her up and towards him, stopping her from falling. Grace ended up flush against his chest holding on to his arms as she regained her balance. For a moment time seemed to stop as they both became acutely aware of each other. Grace inhaled sharply then shivered as the movement pushed her breasts into Boyd's chest. Boyd tightened his grip on her, pulling her more tightly against him and Grace raised her eyes to his. They looked questioningly at each other as the tension between them rose.
The moment was broken by Jason returning with their tea. Moving hurriedly apart, Grace and Boyd sat on the sofa, resuming their professional masks. Grace took a sip of tea and said,
'This is lovely. Thank you.'
'You're welcome,' said Jason.
'Is it all right if we ask you some questions about your parents, Jason?' said Grace.
'Why do you need to?'
'We've found some new evidence,' said Boyd.
'What new evidence?'
'I'm sorry but I can't tell you that.'
'Do you think it might lead you to their killer?'
'It's early days but I think so, yes,' said Boyd.
Jason got out of his chair and turned his back on them for a minute, saying,
'I'm sorry, I just find it hard to talk about.'
'We understand,' said Grace, 'and if you want us to leave we will but it might really help our investigation if you could answer some questions.'
There was a pause then Jason said,
'All right.'
He sat back down and said,
'What do you want to know?'
'We're interested in your parents friends,' said Grace gently, 'Do you remember any of their names?'
'I only knew a few of their friends, the ones that came to the house.'
'Of course...anything you can remember...' prompted Grace.
'There was Ted and Paul Jenkins...'
'Yes...'
'And Bob and Sue...I'm sorry, I can't remember their surname but they lived a few doors down from us. And Frank and Bill would come round and play poker sometimes. And Mum had some female friends who would come round sometimes, Rachel was one of them...Eileen and Hilda, I think it was.'
'Do you remember any of their surnames,' asked Boyd.
'No, sorry. I wasn't really interested in their friends.'
'Understandable,' said Boyd.
'Can you remember anyone new coming into their lives in the last few months before they disappeared?' asked Grace.
'No.'
'Are you sure?' said Boyd, 'It could have been a work colleague, someone new working behind the bar at the pub. Anyone like that.'
Jason thought for a while then said,
'Dad did mention someone new at work, I think.'
'Thank you,' said Boyd.
'I hope it helps,' said Jason, looking down at his lap.
'We'll keep you informed,' said Boyd.
'Okay.'
'Thank you so much for seeing us today,' said Grace, 'We know how hard this must be for you.'
'It's all right, you're just doing your job,' said Jason.
Grace and Boyd put their mugs down and stood up. Jason stood and said,
'I'll get your coats.'
Jason disappeared into a back room and Grace and Boyd started walking towards the door. Boyd noticed that Grace was frowning,
'Something?'
'I don't know,' she said, 'Just a feeling...'
Grace broke off as Jason returned with their coats. He handed Boyd his, then held Grace's coat for her to put on. Boyd put his coat on and turned towards the front door.
'Peter...'
Boyd turned back and froze as he saw Jason holding Grace firmly and pressing a gun against her temple. Boyd shifted his weight, preparing to make a move but Jason moved backwards, saying,
'Stay there or she dies.'
Boyd took a tiny step back, raised his hands and said,
'All right.'
'Good.'
'Please don't hurt her.'
'Do what I say and I won't.'
'What do you want me to do?'
'We're going for a drive.'
Following Jason's orders, Boyd led the way to his car.
