Jack

I'm immensely proud of Nikki for not saying 'I told you so.' None of us would blame her – I don't think even Kate herself would. Nikki never does say that though, even when she wants too. On this case, she has every right to do so after what happened, but it's not the way she is. On top of that, what is left of her finger is causing her pain, not that she's admitting it, but I see her wincing and rubbing her bandaged hand out of discomfort when she thinks no one is looking.

We need to find this man - especially if he is looking for his wife as well. Nikki is safe, but Imogen if she is alive; may not be, and considering the amount of women Lane's killed during his search, who knows what he will do if he finds her.

His search. It was more of a 'hunt'.

It makes me feel sick when I see all the lined up fingertips on the screen – with Nikki's being one of them and I can't help grasping her good hand under the table. She's gives my hand a reassuring squeeze back. I'm just so relieved that she's safe. Lane's killed all the other women.

"I'm calling the CPS as soon as we're done here." Kate's DS announces. "They're going to be on their knees - nine convicted killers walking free in a day!"

"I don't think we're coming out of this smelling of roses." Kate answers. She knows that Nikki is right now.

"I guess that's why Lane kept the fingertips." I reason. "They exonerate these men and damn the system at a stroke."

All the husbands of the dead women, bar Joanne Henderson, were abusive towards their wives, which is how they were framed so convincingly. They all put their wives in A & E, which was Alan Lane's hunting ground.

"We need to work out what connects these women – other than the way he found them through A & E." Kate says. "Three of the women were murdered in North Wales in June 2006, June 2008 and June 2010. Three more were murdered in Scotland in late December 2007, 2008 and 2010."

Nikki gets to her feet suddenly. "The other three women including Eleanor Marshall and Joanne Henderson, were murdered in Kent in early January over a five year period."

"Roams the country but only kills in the same three areas and at the same time of year." DS Barton ventures, looking as confused as everyone else.

Well, as confused as most of us. Nikki is already on her way to an explanation.

"Edith McNeil said that Derek and Imogen used to go canoeing in Wales every June. Edith lives in Kent..." She pauses to look through some paperwork on the table. "...and her Birthday is in January."

"So what happens in December in Scotland?" DS Barton asks, cottoning-on.

"Edith's husband was Scottish, right? – McNeil?" Kate ponders.

"He died on Christmas Eve in 1993 – but not in Scotland." Nikki muses.

"He was buried there." I comment. "Ardoe, just outside Aberdeen."

If Alan Lane had murdered his wife, why would he be visiting places that are meaningful to her?

Answer - because she is alive and he is indeed looking for her, as is confirmed when Leo tests Imogen's finger and finds traces of anaesthetic on it. Why would Lane care about his wife's suffering whilst killing her? There is more to this case.

During my sweep of Anne's car, which is found in woodland near Lane's premises, I discovered a hair, which is revealed to be from Imogen Lane and was shed recently. Yes she is alive – and Anne was in contact will her.

Presumably, Anne Percival allowed Imogen to escape from her marriage to Lane by helping her to 'disappear' and stitching him up for a murder that didn't happen. He might not be guilty of the crime he got sent down for, but I know from Nikki that Anne, as well as Edith McNeil - Imogen's mother - and Imogen herself suspected Lane of killing her father, Derek, and Lane was 'controlling' towards his wife. He's killed many women since he left prison and he hurt Nikki. He obviously doesn't care about anyone else.

One of the most dangerous kinds of criminals to my mind.

The most important question at the current time presents itself. Does Lane know where Imogen's mother is? DS Barton used to work for Witness Protection and says that the biggest drop-out was people contacting their parents. Edith McNeil could be in danger – or even Imogen herself. We suspect the anonymous person who called with the tip-off that led to the discovery of Anne Percival's body was Imogen, and the torture points towards Lane having unravelled what really happened.

The case takes another bitter turn, for when I ring Kate to give her further information, DS Barton answers and informs me that when he and Kate got to Edith McNeil's house, they found Lane dragging an unconscious teenager to his van. The ruthless man shot Kate dead without a second thought.

She might not have endeared herself to us at first by being unnecessarily hostile to Nikki – an attitude which it indirectly got Nikki hurt, but Kate did come around eventually and she didn't deserve this. Kate was just easily-led by her Dad – and her Dad is paying for it now. His 'quick-fix' got his daughter killed.

There is another tip-off to police from Edith McNeil. The daughter she thought was long dead turned up on her doorstep. She took her shocked mother away from the house in fear of Lane finding her, but Imogen herself received contact from Lane afterwards, threatening harm to their daughter, Karen. Edith rang the police against Imogen's wishes, wanting the man caught without losing Imogen again. Lane is holding Karen hostage – and Karen is the reason Imogen disappeared in the first place.

Everything is starting to make sense. As we thought, Lane killed these women because his wife had 'disappeared'.

The rope Anne Percival was tied up with had some sort of grey powder embedded in it, which Clarissa managed to confirm as having a connection with rock-climbing centres or the like. Nikki tries to explain this over the phone to DS Baton, but Alan Lane has arranged to meet Imogen at a storage facility – where the latter hopes to bargain for Karen's safe return. The police are going to be in attendance, so DS Barton has other things on his mind and Nikki gets short-shrift.

But after some researching, I am on hand to save the day.

"Got a candidate for the inside climbing facility." I inform her, pulling my coat on. "'A Rock and a Hard Place' closed its doors for business two years ago and it's only ten miles from Lane's house."

It seems like a good bet to me.

"Come on," I grab my car keys.

Nikki looks positively thrilled to be allowed out, like a child being promised ice cream. I feel slightly bad, but it's for her own good. With me is the only way she's leaving the Lyell, until that man is locked up.

Nikki tells me in the car about Karen. I do hope she's ok. She must be so scared. Imogen told the police that Karen knows nothing about Alan and judging by the fact that Lane was seen taking her out of Edith McNeil's house, unconscious, it looks as though she's been doing her own snooping. She probably doesn't have a clue what is really going on.

"Fresh tyre marks" I comment we arrive outside the climbing centre. "Same tread pattern we found outside Lane's house."

'A Rock and a Hard place' is boarded up and sealed shut with padlocks, as buildings that have gone out of business often are - before squatter's and the like break into them.

"Let's try around the back." Nikki suggests. She purposefully walks off and I have to run to catch her up.

Lane's could be hiding. Nikki is not going anywhere alone.

We find a point of entry at the back and wander through the climbing centre, our torches lighting up the desolate, cold, unloved place.

Nikki suddenly hands me her torch and rubs her now-empty good hand along the broken climbing wall. "Same polyurethane-coated sand as you got from the rope and boot tread." She muses enthusiastically producing the lingo I gave her earlier.

"Don't steal my thunder!" I chuckle, slightly amused.

"Sorry" she grins apologetically.

"I mean do I start mouthing off about where the thoracic vertebra meets the sacrum in the middle of a post-mortem?" I exclaim, pleased with myself for remembering the long words.

"Hopefully not" Nikki smirks "as the sacrum and thoracic are separated by the lumbar vertebra."

Trust me to get it wrong when I'm trying to be clever!

Well done, Jack. I will probably get a lesson on it later!