Author's note: Sorry for the delay, real life has distracted me. The final chapter should be up in a day or two.

"Sir, any news?"

Tommy looked up to see Winston climbing out of a white van. Stuart rustled around from the driver's side, pulling a blue forensic suit over his jeans and shirt. Lynley shook his head. "They found a bathrobe covered in blood by the lake. The divers should be here soon, but Barbara's not in there. She's still alive."

"Yes, of course, she is," Lafferty said without his usual sarcasm or jocularity.

Tommy noticed the worried glances that his colleagues gave each other. He understood. As an investigator, he should assume the worst too. But he was sure she was alive. He did not know how, but he knew he was right. Barbara was cold and frightened and needed him, but she was very much alive. He had to stay calm, follow the clues and find her. No one would deter him. "A team has gone to Scott's house, somewhere in Colchester. Initial reports indicate that he is not there and there has been no sign of him since yesterday morning before the conference started. We found some images of Barbara on his laptop. He had cut and pasted her head onto disgusting nude pictures. It appears he had been..." Tommy stopped and swallowed hard. "Self-pleasuring himself over them."

"Classy. Do you want me to do this creep's room first, or the robe?" Stuart asked.

Lynley looked across and frowned. "Huh? Oh, no Mathews is in charge of the investigation. Hillier thought I was too close to... it. See him, but I would test the robe. It's too... convenient... finding it like that."

"A false trail?"

"I think so. It gives him more time to get away while we scratch around here like chickens."

"Yeah," Winston said as he stroked his chin, "makes sense, but who carries extra blood around with them?"

"Let's go," Stuart said as he guided Winston away. Tommy heard him mutter something about leaving the man with hope.

"She's not dead," he called after them, "everyone needs to believe that."

Walking back and forth behind the cordon line, Tommy wore away ten yards of verdant grass to expose damp, black soil. A thousand thoughts bombarded his brain. Recriminations, doubts, regrets. They all clamoured for attention. He stopped and ran his hand slowly through his hair as a grim-faced Stuart walked towards him.

"My preliminary test confirms the blood is human. I can't type-match it to Barbara here, so I can't say if it is or isn't hers. I can let people know about an hour after I get back to the lab. Her blood type will be on her file. However..."

"What?"

"The spray pattern is like someone who has had their throat cut."

"Oh, God." Tommy reeled back and bumped into Winston whose steadying hand kept him upright.

"No, listen. I said it is similar. There are also some differences that make me think someone sprayed it to look like that. I don't think anyone was in the robe when the blood was applied. Now I normally don't make a call without testing it thoroughly, but I agree with you, Lynley, I think Scott is trying to make everyone believe he has murdered her while he gets further away. Mathews doesn't agree, and Hillier also seems to fear the worst. They want me to have a look at his room before I leave."

Tommy breathed out a long slow breath. His lungs had stopped functioning when Stuart had raised the possibility Scott had slashed Barbara's throat. "We can't wait for them to catch up. Nkata, this hotel is crawling with criminologists. Find someone who worked with Scott. Someone who knows him well. Bring them up to the room. Top floor, follow the tape. We haven't any more time to waste."

As Stuart examined the room and took samples of hair and fibre, Tommy waited for Nkata to bring up the criminologist. He glanced at his watch. It was just after eleven. Scott was half a day ahead of them.

"Sir, this is Brian Walthorpe. He works with Scott at the University of Essex. This is Detective Inspector Lynley."

Tommy shook the man's hand. "Thank you for helping. We believe Scott may have abducted my... er, Sergeant Havers. He seemed to take an interest in her yesterday, and we found some very damning evidence on his laptop that shows he had an unhealthy obsession with her. Is there anything you can tell us about Scott? What his background is? What his motives might be? Where about have taken Sergeant Havers? Really, anything you think might be relevant."

Walthorpe nodded. "He's a bloody odd fish; I know that, so it doesn't surprise me. Brilliant mind though. He was never close to any of us. I heard that he was once quite normal, but his wife and daughter died several years ago, and he... degenerated."

"Do you know how they died?"

"A nasty car accident from what I gathered. There was something odd about it. I remember people saying that, but I can't recall was it was."

Tommy took a small breath as a pause, trying not to rush the man. "Do you know when this happened? Or where?"

"About ten years, not that long before I started in the department. I think it was in Wales somewhere, but I really can't say for sure, I'm sorry."

"Winston, log in and see if you can find anything on the database." Tommy shifted onto his other foot. "Take your time, Mr Walthorpe. Anything we learn is useful. Did they live in Wales?"

"No, I think they had been visiting family."

"Was Scott with them?"

"I..." Walthorpe shrugged. "I'm sorry. I have no idea."

"That's fine, Mr Walthorpe. What can you tell me about Scott now?"

"He lives alone. Somewhere close to campus. Greenstead? Maybe Wivenhoe? I'm not sure. The uni will have it on file."

"We have his address and have sent a team around. He was not there."

"Oh, okay. Yes, of course, you would have access to that information. Um... what else? He hates dentists with a passion. Tells everyone they are Satan's children sent to torment us. I wish he would go to one though. Have you smelled his breath? I always wondered if he went when he was married. I mean, no one could sleep in the same room as him with that... odour."

"Yes, I am aware he has oral hygiene issues. I am more concerned about his activities. His interests. Does he have any hobbies? What was his main line of research? Does he have any friends or people he talks about? Have you any idea where he may have taken her?"

Walthorpe took a step back. "He researches serial killers."

Winston groaned. Tommy looked at him briefly and frowned. Winston moved away with his fingers swiping over pages on his tablet. Tommy turned back to the criminologist. "What aspects?"

"Mostly motives, killing methods, and how they eventually get caught. He used to mock-up some of the crimes, especially the grisly ones. He had a thing about decapitation. I mean a real thing about it. He had complaints from a class one day when he used a mannequin to demonstrate how to cut someone's throat. He used real blood, and it sprayed everywhere. Students were splattered. Some of them fainted or ran out screaming."

"Do you know where he got the blood from?"

"Well, this is the creepy part. It was his blood. He blood lets."

"I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with that term."

"He regularly removes some of his blood. He showed me his leg once. He has a canula in there to make it easier. He inserts a needle and takes about 200 ml every week."

Tommy took a second to reconcile Walthorpe's words. He had access to blood, and it was looking more likely that he had staged the bloody robe by the lake. Tommy had to be sure that was not his wishful thinking. "Do you know what he does with the blood? Does he store it? Or use it in some way?"

"You mean like drinking it? It is possible, Inspector. I never sensed that, although when the faculty reprimanded him for his stunt with the mannequin, he didn't care. It was as if..."

"As if what?"

"He felt alive. Oh, shit. Should we have seen it then? Do you think he has... decapitated her?"

Tommy's feet refused to move. "No, not yet at least. But we must find him. Is there anything else about that day, or that case?"

"The woman was killed in her own home. They caught the killer because he had targeted her instead of picking another random victim. A neighbour recognised his car from days before when he had cased her house."

At home? Relief followed by fear rippled through him. He closed his eyes. He could no longer see Barbara. "Winston," he called far louder than was required in the small room.

"Sir?"

"Get a team around to Sergeant Havers' flat immediately. It is possible Scott has taken her there."

"Sure." Winston held out the tablet. "Sir, I think you need to see this."

Tommy took the tablet. Winston had found the files from the accident. It had happened on a lonely stretch of road near Llanwrtyd. A Cardiff dentist had lost control on a bend and smashed into Scott's vehicle. It had thrown his 11-year-old daughter clear, but Scott had been trapped by his legs. His wife had scrambled from the car and rushed to their daughter. A coal truck came around the bend, and although it braked hard, it had run over both of them, crushing his daughter and decapitating his wife. Scott had lain for several hours with the head of his wife just out of reach outside his car. Tommy swiped to open the next page. His finger froze on the screen.

"Stuart!"

The pathologist looked up and frowned. "Did you find something?"

"We have to get to London." He shoved the tablet at Stuart. "Show this to Mathews and Hillier."

Stuart looked then blew a long whistle between his teeth. "Mother of Shakespeare, no wonder he took Barbara. Apart from the dark hair, this woman is Barbara's doppelganger."