Criminal: UK

Antoine

Who was this guy, what did he think he was doing here? Tony looked at their suspect sitting opposite him, gazing around his features. The suspect had the look of a twenty-something rockstar, but the speech of a preacher. Just not the words from a church the detectives were aware of. This French American good-looking man believed he was more than the sum of his parts. DC Warren had a hint of trepidation in her voice after talking to DI Tony Myerscough just a few moments before the suspect arrived.

She'd never dealt with anyone like this before.

"Interview commences at 8PM, those present DI Myerscough," Tony looked at Warren waiting for her to confirm who she was for the tape.

Warren couldn't help staring at Antoine, his eyes pierced through her. It was as though he had put a spell on her. She composed herself as Tony was waiting for her to confirm who she was. "And DC Warren," she said handing the microphone over to the suspect as it were.

The suspect cleared his throat. "La Voix. A rhetoric for whomever seeks retribution, guidance and eventual salvation."

Tony looked at Warren, as though to say, would you get a load of this guy. He grimaced and looked through the glass, catching the gaze of DCI Natalie Hobbs in the other room. He looked back at the suspect and confirmed the actual name of the suspect, Antoine Reynard, just to clear up any confusion.

"So, you punish, guide and set free who?" Tony asked watching Warren make notes in her book.

"Those who cannot foot the bill." Antoine looked at the mirrored glass too. As though he could see Hobbs, Reiss and Petit through the screen.

"I see you haven't asked for council." Tony said staring at the empty chair to the right of Antoine, who smiled back at him. Confirming he was in this alone.

"Why am I here?" Antoine asked.

Tony removed his glasses and looked at Warren, the suspect already knew what he was here for. It was said to him before he arrived. Made easier by the fact he was seen running down the street after they believed he stabbed the young girl in broad daylight.

"I ask again, why am I here?"

Opening the file in front of him, Tony took out a black and white of the young French girl whose body had been found dead on the street by Uniform. The detectives believed she was on her way home from the park.

"March 25th, you were found running away from the body of Aurelie Garnier. Her blood was on your clothes. Your fingerprints were all over her." He continued by showing all the evidence they had. "To be honest it's a slam dunk."

Tony wished it was, but they still couldn't prove it was him. They needed a confession.

"Le enfants - the vermin of society. You leave them to fend for themselves - anarchie. An uncontrollable group. They need discipline, they need order. Sing the right tune - they'll follow you - wherever you go."

Warren looked at the images. And remembered Antoine talking about salvation. "So, you think you're doing God's work?"

Antoine turned his gaze to Warren, he smiled at her. His near perfect teeth glistened from the fluorescent lights above. "Officier 'God' as you say ignore, what I do. He need me. I'm doin' a lot more than he ever could." He said pushing the photos back to the detectives. "Inspecteur, I didn't kill her. She was dead when I found her."

Tony took out a piece of paper, explaining to the tape, what kind of man they had in front of them. He had done some time at Barkham penitentiary in Los Angeles and somehow managed to be set free and unharmed at the prison.

"What time is it?" The suspect asked, looking around the room.

The detectives ignored him and continued asking questions. "Why didn't you call an ambulance?" Warren asked.

"She had already been taken. Her soul was no longer on this plain. She couldn't be saved." Antoine clasped his hands and patted them on the table, inching forwards. He looked at the detectives. "It's a dangerous world and many lack retribution for what they have done. Je transforme la paille en or."

Tony could feel his skin crawl as he showed the history of their suspect on the screen. Each slide of Antoine growing up. "You were born in a compound known as, Le Jardain de l'spoir. In the North of France." The arial shot of the facility looked like a paradise island. There were amenities on the island for the 300 residents in the compound - they had everything they wanted.

"We all live in a garden, a garden of hope." Antoine said. Tony was thankful for the translation, even though it was on the screen. He clicked the next slide. "Why leave paradise island, I know I wouldn't?" He asked showing more of the places Antoine found himself.

"Every flower in the garden needs to bloom. To grow strong from root to stem. This is the truth of it." Antoine sat back, "although sometimes it is poisonous, it need to be cut, pruned before it spread and infects the rest of the garden."

"So, you're admitting you're dangerous." Tony added, as he moved onto the next slide. The room became even more quiet as multiple images of dead children were being displayed. Stabbed and left where they fell to the ground.

Warren was looking worried. This killer had been out of prison last than a year and had struck again. Although this time they had him right where they needed him. None of the other constabularies in the UK or the US could put Antoine at these murders, but they knew he was behind it. It was down to Hobbs and her team to connect the dots.

"We've got enough here, to satisfy that you're the person we've been looking for." Tony clicked the final slide. The number of women filled the screen matching the number to the children. There was one grey square with a white question mark over it.

"What did they do to you? A haunting from home?" Warren asked trying to keep focused. Each of the victims was French although there appeared to be no connection to Antoine. The thought of someone like this being alive made her skin crawl too. She had no idea what could possess someone to commit these acts of violence.

Hobbs sounded the bell for Tony and Warren to come to the observation room. Suspending the interview they walked into the room, where DC Petit had some new evidence to show them.

Tony took the file from his hand, before opening it he asked the question they were going to ask the suspect. "Have they found her yet?" He said as Hobbs asked him to look at the file. "Jesus." He skimmed through the pages and could barely keep his lunch down.

Hobbs had Petit pull up everything they had on Antoine. Comparing him to a cult leader. He seemed to have dominated everyone in prison. No one dared touch him. For all intents of purposes, he seemed untouchable.

"How does someone like that survive in prison?" Tony asked still getting over the shock of what they'd learned. "OK, so we've got him on two counts of murder! Guv, what do you wanna do?"

Hobbs, called over the other person in the room. DS Jamie Reiss came closer to the group. The DCI had decided to switch the detectives in the interrogation. Sending Tony and Jamie into the room. Things were getting more difficult and now it seemed Antoine had killed one more person, to add to his alleged body count.

Back in the room, Tony confirmed for the tape that they had returned, and he presented the new evidence to Antoine. "Why did you kill Lena Garnier?" He asked opening the file and showing the stab wounds on the victim. Aurelie's mother.

"We seldom see the truth detective, we find it out, root out the lies. No one is above suspicion - are they?" Antoine can see that Warren had been replaced. "Meres et filles," he smiled looking at Jamie.

Back inside the observation room.

Hobbs stood tall with her hands in her business attire trouser pockets, staring through the glass. Petit sat mesmerised by Antoine. He seemed to be telling them everything but not in the conventional way.

"Something's off about this..." Warren said to DCI Hobbs, she began typing into Google about certain things Antoine had been saying. Translating what he said in French to English. Matching them to events in history. Fairy Tales linked to the prospect of harming children. "He's telling us he killed them because that was his payment."

Hobbs looked at Warren, wondering what she had found out. "What do you mean, we already know why he's killing them – some misguided instruction from God?" She scoffed as Petit and her walked over to the computer.

She thought about what Antoine said at first. Describing a grim tale. "The Pied Piper of Hamlin was hired to get rid of the rats," she said, describing what happened after the citizens didn't pay their debt. The Pied Piper led the children to the water. She showed the translation of what Antoine said about straw to gold. "Straw to gold that's Rumpelstiltskin. Payment was the miller's daughter's first born." Warren tried to compose herself as the excitement came through. "He's collecting for someone and if they don't pay…guv, he's taking their child as payment."

Looking unconvinced Hobbs tried to understand what Warren was thinking. She looked at the closeup of Antoine returning to Tony talking to Antoine.