Taste of Fury by M Comley (dark academia books to read txt) 📗

ensure we’re both awake, my damn eyelids are already drooping. Maybe we would have been better off sharing a portion instead of having one each.”

“Definitely a case of our eyes being bigger than our bellies.”

“Okay, let’s crack on. Why don’t we work until midnight and then call it a day?”

“Sounds good to me. Where shall we start?”

Katy stared at the whiteboard she’d brought up to date while she’d been waiting for Charlie to appear with their food. “Let’s go through the background information together. I don’t think the team have had time to really sink their teeth into anything as yet, not wishing to denigrate their efforts to date.”

“It’s been one of those weeks. The bodies have hit us hard and fast, and I don’t think any of us could have imagined being inundated with so many perplexing cases in the space of a couple of days.”

“Which is why I’m under the impression that the killer has an impeccable plan or agenda.”

Charlie nodded thoughtfully. “I think you could be right. Okay, I’m going to look through Karen’s notes.” She stood and crossed the room to Karen’s desk. “Oops, should I have asked for your permission before jumping in feet first?”

“No, it’s fine. It makes sense and I’m sure Karen won’t mind either. She’s a team player, after all. Bring her paperwork over here and we’ll both sift through it, if it’ll make you feel any better.”

Charlie grinned and nodded. “It will.”

She gathered the A4 sheets Karen had stacked neatly on one side of her desk and returned to where Katy was sitting. She split the pile in half, handing six or seven sheets of neatly written notes to Katy while she retained the others. Katy had already flicked the switch on the monitor and the computer sprang into life.

Katy proceeded to carry out a basic search for the names of the victims in the archives, the ones they had, anyway. She read through the information on the screen and paused when something important caught her attention. “Jesus. What are the odds on that?”

Charlie leaned over and stared at the screen and then back at Katy. “Bloody hell!”

Katy pointed to the information halfway down the newspaper article. “He wasn’t the only one involved in the crash, there were another three men in the vehicle when it sliced the other car in two.”

“Mother and father killed instantly on impact and the two children survived. There are bound to be other articles in here about the accident, there has to be. Charlie, why don’t you do a search on the database, see if any convictions come up?”

Charlie booted up the computer on the adjacent desk and shuffled her chair to settle behind it. It wasn’t long before she let out a low whistle. “Bloody hell, I think I’ve hit the jackpot. I’ve got pitiful convictions for four young men: Jason Davis, Nikodem Nowak, Brian Timms and Ethan Romero.”

Katy placed a finger against her cheek and muttered, “Hmm… okay, so no Bobby Simmonds? That’s strange.”

“What if he changed his name?” Charlie suggested thoughtfully.

“Hmm… you could be right. Hang on.” She fell silent and searched her mind for a few seconds and then snapped her fingers. “I’m mulling over the conversation we had with Simmonds’ parents. I felt something was off at the time. The way Mr Simmonds dismissed us as if he couldn’t stand the police being near them, or was that my overactive imagination at play?”

“No, you could be right. There’s one thing that doesn’t add up, there’s probably more than that really, but for now, if Bobby had changed his name, the parents would’ve been forced to do the same, wouldn’t they?”

Katy tapped her finger against her cheek. “Might be worth another visit if nothing else shows up. Something is definitely amiss here. First of all, I think we need to do all we can to find out what we know about the men. Christ, if it’s here in the archives, then the information is open to the public, that could be how the killer has got hold of the information.” Katy put her hand over the mouse and moved it. “Wait, scrolling through, I have a photo of each of the four men. However, I don’t think they’re going to be much use as the accident happened over eighteen years ago.”

Charlie left her seat and stared at the screen. “Let’s take Jason Davis first.” The pair of them viewed the man from different angles and agreed. He looked much the same except for his shorter hair.

“Okay, here’s Brian Timms, does he look familiar to you?”

Charlie tilted her head and enlarged the man’s photo using the mouse. “I’d say there was more than a passing resemblance there, yes. Wait, let’s set that aside for now, maybe there’ll be a photo of him with his parents later on which will validate our assumption.”

Katy smiled. “You’re good. Okay, let’s put him to one side. What about this man, does he look familiar to you?”

“As in the victim found in the forest earlier? No, I’m not feeling it, are you?”

“Nope, I was about to say the same. That leaves this man, Nikodem Nowak.” Katy enlarged his image and stared at it for several moments. “What do you think? A possibility?”

“I’d say so. He has distinctive eyes, even if the image is in black and white.”

“You’re right. Let’s do some research, see what we can find out about him. No, to save time, I’ll do that, why don’t you see what shows up for the fourth man, Ethan Romero? I’ve got a good feeling about this Charlie.” Katy was buoyed by what they’d discovered so far.

“Me too. Does that mean we get to go home earlier than anticipated?”

Katy chuckled. “You never know your luck.”

They both set to work, pounding their respective keyboards. Katy’s adrenaline flowed at a fair pace through her body, as if leading the charge to find the information that would be the key to breaking the case.

“Aha! What do we have here? According