One murder, three dead friends, three different modus operandi - the case is closed.
Three years later, the ambitious journalist Joycelyn Riley takes on the case of her life, travels to the former crime scene and follows the murderer's trail.
The de...
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"Are you ready?" I was sitting on the chair at the kitchen table and stretched my head towards the separate area where the boys were sleeping, impatiently waiting. It was already half past eleven and we had wanted to leave fifteen minutes ago.
"We're coming, one moment," came an irritated reply from Alex and, sighing, I put my headphones on. He and Mason had already started arguing at breakfast and their mood hadn't changed.
Mason had seen something on Alex's mobile phone that had prompted him to snap angrily at him. I had no idea what exactly it was about, but as I'd realised last night, I knew nothing about much of anything concerning Alex and Mason.
A message popped up on my phone, momentarily interrupting the music.
'You little brat think you've got me in the palm of your hand, don't you?'
A grin appeared on my face. Oh yes, I actually did and he knew perfectly well. I didn't bother to answer him, put my phone away and got up to get my jacket. I almost tripped over Alex's backpack, which was lying directly under the table. Cursing, I picked it up and was about to put it away when I noticed a glow inside.
I glanced furtively at the closed door. There was a muffled sound of Alex's voice and Mason's replies, but it was too quiet for me to hear. Carefully, I opened the zip a little and saw Alex's mobile phone. A small note with scribbled red writing, a packet of tissues and an empty water bottle lay next to it, which he had probably forgotten to throw in the bin, but I didn't have time to look at it now.
A certain Qerim had just rung Alex. I waited for him to hang up and looked at the display. Alex had a picture of his school in the background, which made me roll my eyes. Him and his school. I guess it wasn't enough that he kept bragging about how great it was there.
But I couldn't think about it any further because the messages on his phone caught my eye. This Qerim had called Alex four times today and sent three messages. Who the hell was he and what did he want from Alex? I was just about to unlock his mobile phone - he'd had the same pin for four years - when I heard footsteps.
Hastily, with my heart pounding, I dropped it back into the backpack and walked to the cloakroom.
"Are we ready?" Alex came out of the room with a smile and looked at me questioningly.
"I've been ready for half an hour," I replied dryly. "What the hell have you been talking about for so long?"
"Oh, Mason just wanted to show me something about a new series. Wouldn't tell you much." He turned away. "Where's my mobile phone?"
"You left it in your backpack. Someone just rang you."
He wheeled round to me so quickly that I almost jumped backwards in fright. "Who was that?"
"I didn't look." I shrugged my shoulders. "Are you expecting a call back?"
"Not really." His features relaxed again and, after a cursory glance, he put his mobile phone in his pocket. "Looks like it was just an unknown number."
