Something Missing - ONC 2024 (EDITING)

Chapter 8 - Federico's House

'We should give this book straight to the police,' Rita said. 'I want to turn round and go back to them right now.'

'The only problem is,' Alfonso said. Flicking through another few pages, Rita saw that the same 'artist' had doodled cockroaches, tombstones and images of dead rats with maggots on a blank space before one of the new chapters. 'If we give it to them, it might look suspicious. They might ask why you had this book in your bag and what made you pick it up.'

'I'll just say I was staying at the hotel. I found the book and I meant to give it in at the desk but I forgot amid all the chaos. So I had it in my bag.' She breathed out.

'They might not even be interested,' Alfonso said. 'I mean – a weird book with disturbing drawings might not be top of their list right now. It's a true crime convention, right? I bet loads of them are into such drawings.'

'The Sketchbook Killer, John Sweeney, put clues to his murders in his artworks,' Rita said, remembering a presentation she had attended a long time ago. 'I would argue it still needs to be investigated.'

She looked into his eyes. 'I'm sorry. I wish I could chill when it came to this sort of thing. I can't, though.'

'Let's dump our stuff at the hotel, then make a decision about the book. Surely with DNA testing, they can find the killer without it?' Alfonso said gently. He put a hand on the small of Rita's back.

'They might not be able to,' Rita said, her voice hesitant. 'I'd like nothing more than to throw it in a bin. But, that... serial killer last year didn't leave any forensic evidence until he got so sloppy he believed he'd never be caught. If Erica's killer is anything like him...' She swallowed. She hated using his name. It was unlikely. Most murder victims knew their killer and Rita suspected Erica was no exception.

'Besides. A bit of evidence like this is helpful in building a case that it was murder instead of manslaughter. Something like these pictures might help build up a psychological profile and help prove that the murder was premeditated. Assuming the same person did the drawing.' As Rita spoke, she could feel how tense she was. She was on the edge of tears and she hadn't slept.

'Makes sense,' Alfonso said. He gave her back a reassuring rub. Maybe it didn't make sense.

'Let's just go home. Dump our stuff. Get something to drink. Then I'll go back to the station by the hotel and hand it in,' Rita said.

*

'How was it at the station,' Alfonso said, folding Rita into a tight hug after she crossed the barriers into Plumstead Station for the second time that day. She hadn't wanted to lug that damned book right the other way across an unfamiliar city but if it could have been critical in leading to Erica's killer and they'd just left it in the carriage or tossed it in a bin, Rita wouldn't have been able to forgive herself.

'You needn't have worried about it looking suspicious. They couldn't care less. The guy on the desk was totally uninterested. I think he thought I was crazy to give him something like that. Honestly, I'd be the same. I couldn't wander around with it in my bag, though.' The absence of the disturbing  book was not only a physical but a mental lightening of the load. As she linked arms with Alfonso, a cluster of pigeons of different colours pecked at chips on the pavement in front of them. As they walked past, the birds flew away.

'I need to sleep, the third cup of coffee I had isn't doing the job,' Rita said as they turned the corner towards the hotel. Rita was glad they had made the decision to stay there. It was much more comfortable than their room at the conference centre, and felt much more homely, much more real.

'I need some sleep, too. I got stuck replying to work emails when you were gone. Some farmer wanting advice about a sheep,' Alfonso said as they stepped up to the modern, but shabby looking building. He pressed his new card by the side of the door and it swung open.