No Going Back by Casey Kelleher (black male authors TXT) 📗

‘I’ll see if I can get the Facial Imaging Officer to attend and draw up the E-fit, so that we can put out a press appeal later this afternoon,’ DS Morgan continued, looking around the room and making sure that every officer knew the urgency of this investigation now. ‘And as for the rest of you, I want you all on this. Every lead, every enquiry, I want it all followed up and thoroughly. Because I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that if these attacks are linked, once this is out there, we’re going to have every media outlet, every newspaper and reporter hot on our heels. This case is high profile and there’s going to be a huge amount of pressure on us to find this man, and fast.’

13

‘And you’re happy that this is a close likeness of your attacker?’ Lucy asked, getting the Facial Imaging Officer to angle the laptop towards Shelby one more time, to make sure that Shelby was happy with the image he’d created, just as the rest of Shelby’s family were shown back into the private room of the postnatal ward. Shelby stared at the screen, scrutinising the image before nodding at Lucy.

‘It’s him, isn’t it? That’s what you think. The man that killed that woman last week over at Richmond Park?’ Shelby said, realising now how lucky she’d been last night. She was overcome with emotion then as she stared over towards the hospital cot and eyed her new son, cocooned inside, sleeping. Things could have been so different if she hadn’t fought back. She and little Riley might not be here now.

‘You think he was going to try and kill me too?’

‘What’s she talking about? What murder?’ Janey asked the officers as she reached for her daughter’s hand and gave her a supportive squeeze of reassurance, sensing the distress she was in. Making a formal statement must have brought the whole terrible ordeal to the forefront of her mind. ‘Hey, you’re safe now, Shelby. Riley is safe now.’

‘The murder over at Richmond Park. I’ve been following it on the news. Well, because I was pregnant too, I guess. It just really got to me.’

‘Is that true? Is that what you think this is? Someone is attacking pregnant women. That this wasn’t just a random attack?’ Janey said now, panic in her voice at the thought that last night’s attack had been premeditated, and that her daughter had been in danger of losing her life.

‘I can assure you all that we are doing everything in our power to catch this man,’ Lucy answered with conviction. ‘As yet, it’s too early to say if it’s the same attacker, but we can’t yet rule out the possibility that the incidents may indeed be linked. It’s certainly a line of enquiry that we are investigating.’

‘Jesus Christ!’ It was Pete’s turn to talk then, pacing the room and feeling completely helpless that there wasn’t more he could do. He could see by the look on the officer’s face that she was purposely holding something back. ‘A possibility that the two attacks may be linked. Are you having a laugh? You’d have to be Helen-fucking-Keller not to see it. One pregnant woman gets murdered. A week later, another pregnant woman gets attacked. The bloke had a knife for fuck’s sake. Of course, it was him.’

‘As I said, we are doing everything in our power to catch this man, Mr Baker,’ Lucy said cautiously. Trying to calm the situation and Pete Baker down. Aware of how heightened emotions were right now; but her main priority was Shelby. The woman had already suffered enough and Lucy didn’t want her traumatised further, if she could help it, by her family getting riled up.

‘So, what’s happening next? Where do you lot go from here?’ Pete spat, his words loaded, as if he wasn’t holding out much hope for this lot to do their job properly and catch the man.

‘We are waiting for some DNA results to come back, which will confirm whether or not the attacks are linked and, in the meantime, our sergeant is organising a press conference for this afternoon. So, things should move on this very quickly now that Shelby’s given us such a good description of the attacker,’ Lucy said, knowing that there was only so much protection she could offer Shelby. Once the press got wind of this story, nothing would be sacred. The papers would have a field day with this one, and Shelby and her family would no doubt be dragged through the mill along with it.

‘Let me look again,’ Shelby said, a moment of doubt creeping in as she examined the screen once more, studying the man’s sharp, pointed features. His eyes close together and beady. His crooked, thin mouth. She was feeling the pressure now that she realised that her witness statement was all the police really had to go on. ‘I mean, it was dark and he had his hood pulled up. And I only really got a glance at him. But I’m almost certain that’s him. But what if I’ve made a mistake? What if we don’t catch him? It will be all my fault.’

‘It won’t be your fault, Shelby. None of this is your fault. You’ve done really well with your statement, and if you’re happy with the E-fit image, then there’s a chance someone else will recognise him too. Even if it’s only a vague likeness. It’s amazing what can trigger someone’s memory. You’ve done really well.’

‘Let me see,’ Pete insisted, drinking in the image of his daughter’s attacker too, committing the man’s features to memory, because he had no intentions of letting this go. ‘Looks like a flaming nonce to me.’ Someone had attacked his daughter, and someone was going to pay. Prison would be too good for this piece of scum.

‘I hope you find the bastard before me, because I’ll bloody well murder him when I get my hands on him.’

‘Pete!’ Janey warned. Knowing