Steven Dunne - Deity

Brook raised an eyebrow. ‘Read and Smee?’

‘The Chief assigned them to me to take over surveillance but I assume we’re scrapping that.’

‘We are. Reece won’t go back to Leopold Street now he knows we’re on to him. Clear it out and get a SOCO team in to go over the place.’

‘Already in motion, though SOCO are getting pretty stretched,’ said Gadd. ‘On the plus side, I got a batch number from some of the bottles of barley wine and whisky I picked up last night. We’ve traced them to a Cash and Carry in Nottingham that took a bulk order from an Oz Reece.’

‘Any details? Credit card? Address?’

Gadd shook her head. ‘The clue’s in the name. We got a mobile number but it’s a dud.’

‘Cameras?’

‘Too long ago for film.’

Brook nodded and went to sit on a desk at the back of the darkened Incident Room, trying to tune out the pounding in his head. Charlton came to sit next to him. He looked over at Brook’s bandaged head and grimaced when the odour of whisky hit his nostrils but he didn’t offer comment.

Terri had gone for a walk around the centre of Derby. Brook had tried to persuade Charlton that Terri should stay and offer valuable insights into the teenage psyche but Charlton wasn’t to be swayed and Brook didn’t have the strength to argue.

The whiteboard screen came to life at Noble’s bidding and the Deity film started. For four minutes the officers in the room watched spellbound, despite this being the second viewing for some. Brook immediately recognised Becky Blake from her photo. She was sitting in her bedroom. The picture was a little jumpy at first and it was hard to see what she was doing. Fortunately the picture improved and the bright lighting around her make-up table clearly showed Becky’s reflection in the mirror. She was sitting on her bed working on her laptop.

Brook was unsure if she was aware that she was being filmed but, a moment later, something changed in her manner, and as a result she put the laptop aside and moved to stand in front of the mirror. He could see Becky was scantily clad and a second later she began to sway, gently at first, then with more rhythm and purpose. The dance ended with Becky allowing her slip to fall to the floor and she turned to stand naked, gazing directly out of the window at the camera. Luckily Charlton’s presence ensured the absence of ribaldry that might otherwise have accompanied this finale.

The film ended abruptly and Rob Morton switched on the lights.

Terri was right. First violence, then sex.

‘That’s Becky Blake,’ said Noble. ‘And that’s definitely her bedroom.’ Even Charlton’s presence couldn’t stop the few sly grins at the implication. ‘The film was shot from outside the house from the branch of a tree, and I’ve sent a Scientific Support van to do a quick sweep of the exterior but we’re not hopeful.’

‘The same film has also been uploaded on to YouTube and is getting hundreds of hits. It’s being recirculated on Twitter and probably linked in emails and texts,’ announced DC Cooper.

‘The switchboard says press and TV are clamouring for information,’ said Charlton. ‘If it’s viral, we can’t sit on this even if we wanted to, so for once, we get the media to help us.’

‘Agreed,’ said Brook.

‘This second broadcast,’ said Charlton. ‘Is this supposed to be Russell Thomson filming again?’

‘It’s an assumption,’ said Brook. ‘But a fair one.’

‘Any sightings yet?’ asked Charlton.

‘Not one,’ replied Noble.

‘These kids are still in the country, presumably.’

‘Far as we know, sir,’ replied Noble. ‘But as yet we know nothing about their whereabouts once the party started. We got nothing from door-to-door around the Kennedy house. No cabs picked them up. There’s no relevant CCTV on the estate. No reports of suspicious vehicles or vans.’

‘We’re sure the students were at the party?’ said Charlton.

‘Adele and Becky were both seen walking up to the house. We assume Kyle was there because he lives there. No sighting of Russell but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.’

‘What about the house? Has SOCO found anything?’ Charlton again.

‘The blood and tissue on the plaster is still our best lead,’ said Noble. ‘The lab is doing DNA comparisons as we speak.’

‘Against what?’

‘We’ve got Kyle, Becky and Adele’s toothbrushes.’

‘But not Russell Thomson’s?’ queried Charlton.

‘No. One other thing,’ added Noble. ‘They found a few traces of white powder on the carpet.’

‘Drugs?’

‘Talcum powder.’

‘Talcum powder?’ echoed Brook.

Noble shrugged. ‘No telling how long it’s been there.’

‘What would they use that for?’ Charlton asked.

‘Maybe one of them had nappy rash,’ offered a grinning Cooper. His mirth subsided quickly under Charlton’s glare.

‘Or maybe Len had damp feet six months ago,’ said Brook. ‘It’s meaningless without context.’ He looked at the screen. ‘Any chance of tracing these. .’ he waved a hand in the air looking for the technical jargon.

‘Uploads?’ suggested Cooper. ‘Yes and no.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘It means they can identify the profile of a computer accessing a website via its Internet Protocol address,’ said Noble.

‘And trace any uploads to an actual physical address,’ continued Cooper.

Brook narrowed his eyes. ‘I’m not sure what you just said but I’m sensing bad news.’

‘While you were in hospital we traced the first upload,’ said Charlton.

‘Elsie Shaw. An eighty-year-old widow who lives in Robincroft Road, Allestree,’ announced Cooper, gesturing at a blue pin in the map of Derby. ‘She had Broadband fitted so she could Skype her grandchildren in Canada. Unfortunately she didn’t secure her router.’

‘In English, please,’ said Brook.

‘With wireless technology, anybody with a modern laptop and a little knowledge can piggyback somebody else’s system,’ explained Noble.

‘Especially if they don’t need a password,’ added Cooper.

‘So the first Deity broadcast was uploaded to Deity from her address,’ said Brook slowly.

‘Right,’ said Noble.

‘But being wireless it could have been done from a house in the next street or even a car parked outside,’ added Cooper.

‘You went round there?’

‘In numbers,’ smiled Noble. ‘Poor old girl got quite a shock seeing six of our finest banging on her door.’

‘And how many of these unsecured routers are there?’

‘In Derby?’ said Cooper. ‘Hundreds, I would think. People don’t take internet security seriously enough.’

‘So Deity can pick and choose where to access the site,’ nodded Brook.

‘I thought we had all their laptops anyway?’ said Morton.

‘Doesn’t mean they don’t have another,’ said Noble.

‘Did we look at Thomson’s laptop yet?’ asked Brook.

Cooper nodded. ‘Same as the others. Professionally wiped.’

‘On the plus side we do have the fruits of the Watson house,’ said Noble, indicating the photocopies of Adele’s diary and notebook on the array. ‘Her computer was wiped like the others but there’s some pretty strong stuff about Adam Rifkind and her father in the diary, as well as other things she wants to get off her chest. No direct clue to her whereabouts, but as to her intentions, there’s this on the last page of her diary.’ Noble held up the copy of the page containing just three words. time to die .

‘That’s a line from Blade Runner ,’ said Gadd.

‘It is,’ said Noble. ‘And there’s a poster of the film on Russell Thomson’s bedroom wall. Another connection between Adele and Russell.’