Perfect Silence. Helen Fields

Callanach said.

      ‘Which indicates that the kidnapper knew exactly what he or she had in mind well before taking Zoey. It took research and care. Not only that, but they knew that Zoey would need to be kept restrained for a minimum amount of time, requiring a place where she couldn’t be discovered easily or accidentally.’

      ‘Now they have Lorna, too.’ Callanach crossed his arms. ‘You think she’s headed for the same treatment. That means we have just six days to find her.’

      ‘Five days, given that it’s nearly 5.30 p.m. now. And there’s more,’ Jonty said. ‘This pile of cut-up rags was used to stuff the doll. It’s cotton and contains a clothing label. Here.’ He picked up a bag, inside which Callanach could see a small, silky label proclaiming a high street brand name and that the item had been a size 8.

      ‘The killer cut up some of Zoey’s clothes to stuff the doll with?’ Callanach asked.

      ‘I’m certain of it. We’re testing for skin cells and DNA, but it makes sense. There are strips from a shirt and what is probably underwear. The shirt strips match the description of the clothes Zoey was wearing when she left the shelter,’ Jonty said.

      ‘What’s in the other bags?’ Callanach asked.

      ‘This one,’ Jonty held up a bag containing blunt snippets of brown hair, ‘is hair from Zoey’s head. We’ve matched it up with a section where you can see recent cuts. It was stuck onto the doll’s head very crudely with superglue, a standard brand available from any supermarket, but it wasn’t very effective. The doll’s skin wasn’t a good surface – too many oils and the medicated cream prevented the hair from really bonding. Much of the hair had fallen off into the pram.’

      Callanach took another look at the skin sections, taking a closer look at the side where a face had been drawn. ‘The eyes drawn on here are the same colour as Zoey’s, and the mouth is small with thin lips, even with these weird vertical stitches over them,’ he said. ‘The killer literally tried to recreate her, right down to the details.’

      ‘Hence the second bag,’ Jonty said. ‘In here are a few eyelashes, pulled out from Zoey while she was still alive. The injuries were too minute to have been spotted until the doll pointed us in the right direction, but under a microscope it’s possible to see the redness on Zoey’s eyelids where the lashes were plucked.’

      ‘How many?’ Callanach asked.

      ‘Maybe a dozen from each eye, hard to be specific, and not all were stuck onto the doll,’ Jonty said. ‘Again, they didn’t bond well.’

      ‘Perhaps the killer gave up halfway through, or ran out of time,’ Callanach said.

      ‘That’s a fair theory. It’s meticulous work and that level of skill isn’t on show here. Have you ever seen items made from human skin before, Luc?’ Jonty asked.

      ‘I haven’t,’ Callanach said, ‘although I’ve read about it.’

      ‘It’s labour intensive, expert work. Human skin is hard to fashion. Various monsters throughout history became quite adept at it, but this is a clumsy recreation. Let me show you the stitches. I have close-up photographs on my computer.’

      In Jonty’s office, they sat next to each other in front of a computer screen. The images resembled a child’s crude attempt at patchwork.

      ‘The knots are quite basic. In places the cotton thread has been pulled too tight and has split the fine edges of the skin. The stitches are irregular and change direction,’ Jonty said.

      ‘It’s like a work in progress,’ Callanach said. ‘A carefully thought out idea, highly symbolic, but which was poorly executed.’

      ‘Exactly,’ Jonty said. ‘But now your killer holds another young woman.’

      ‘You think the first doll was disappointing, but that it’s a learning curve?’ Callanach asked.

      ‘It doesn’t feel like a one-off to me,’ Jonty said. ‘The killer worked too hard at it. So much effort for a single pay-off. Then there’s this.’ He picked up a flat plastic folder from his desk. ‘There was a message rolled up to form a tiny scroll, right in the centre of the stuffing. I found it minutes before you arrived. I was just processing it.’

      Callanach picked up the folder and read aloud the words that were on the long strip of paper contained within.‘“If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.” Oh fuck, Jonty, this sounds like a crusade.’

      ‘Unfortunately, I agree. I was just looking up where it comes from, if you’ll forgive me crossing into your discipline. The quote is from Leviticus, chapter twenty, verse nine. There are other references here to disrespectful children being put to death. It’s proper fire-and-brimstone, Old Testament stuff.’

      ‘It’s someone who’s aware of Zoey’s problems with her stepfather then,’ Callanach said.

      ‘Not the stepfather himself?’ Jonty asked.

      ‘He didn’t abduct her – we know that for sure. He has a watertight alibi. Spent the day at a community fete, photos and all. Zoey’s mother seems genuinely upset, even though Zoey had left home and wasn’t in contact with them.’

      ‘Were other family members aware of the allegations?’ Jonty asked.

      ‘There’s a brother in the army, but we’ve had confirmation that he was away on manoeuvres and hasn’t been back in the UK for eighteen months. Plenty of other people were aware of the allegations against Christopher Myers, though. Zoey had contacted social workers, staff at the shelter and friends she stayed with at times. The police were even called in at one stage to encourage her to prosecute. She declined. If we consider everyone who knows what Zoey had alleged to be a suspect, it’ll make a long list. What about the paper it’s written on?’

      ‘It’s a section of paper cut with scissors to the shape of the quote, probably from an A4 sheet originally, no watermark on it. Looks very standard. I hope that’s not your best lead,’ the pathologist replied.

      ‘Bloodguiltiness,’ Callanach read. ‘Who the hell uses language like that these days?’

      ‘You’ll have to check which version of the Bible it’s from,’ Jonty said. ‘I didn’t get that far in my research.’

      ‘I’ll need the paper transferred to a handwriting expert. Have you tested for fingerprints and DNA yet?’ Callanach asked.

      ‘I can’t see any fingerprints, and other tests are underway, but referring this to a forensic handwriting analyst will be a waste of your time, I fear. Look at this.’ Jonty brought up a photo of the writing, grossly enlarged. Callanach sat down next to him again. ‘Every same letter – you see these letter f’s – is exactly the same. Not just the shape and style, but the precise measurements. However, each letter has a small break before the next one. The script is cursive in style but not properly joined. It’s all too regular.’

      ‘They used a bloody stencil,’ Callanach said.

      ‘Your swearing sounds much more authentically Scots these days,’ Jonty said. ‘But I’m afraid you’re correct about the stencil. You can probably source it on the internet. The font should be copyrighted.’

      ‘But it means that it’ll bear no resemblance to the killer’s normal writing. Not the pressure points or the strokes, none of it. Clever,’ Callanach said.

      ‘Clever, well organised, dedicated, passionate. Unfortunately the word obsessive is the one that’s been in my mind.’

      ‘It needs to be kept quiet, Jonty. I know you won’t say a word, but anyone on the staff here who knows about this …’

      ‘No one knows yet, and only those with access to my report need find out. It’ll be harder to control it at your end.’

      ‘Can