'Black and White' - The White Bridge Crime Series 2 - LGBT, manXman

6

The autopsy of James Hancock yielded about as little information as Alan Patterson's had.

Ketamine was found in James' blood system, as it had been in Alan's, and he died from exsanguination, like Alan.

"I didn't know ketamine was used in medicine," Rex said to Dom, scanning the web page he had opened. "It's used as an anaesthetic."

Dom read over his shoulder for a moment.

"So... he puts them to sleep with ketamine so he can... what? Tie them up? Knocking them around the head would give him time to do that. And he doesn't rape them while they're under, because they both bore signs of struggling."

Rex shrugged.

"Perhaps it does something else."

He read the rest of the website and sighed.

"It can cause hallucinations... I wonder if that's what he wants. He wants them scared and disorientated for some reason."

Dom flopped into his seat and rubbed his eyes wearily.

"I'm too tired to think straight." He yawned and grabbed his jacket. "Let's go home, and get a decent night's sleep."

Rex nodded his agreement.

He fetched his own jacket and walked down to his car with Dom.

"Make sure Adrian sends in some of that chicken curry for our lunch tomorrow," Rex told Dom. "You said he was making some today, and I want to eat it tomorrow."

Dom laughed and nodded.

"See you tomorrow."

Rex drove slowly home, mulling over everything they'd found out so far.

Both men were methodical, set in their routines. They always visited the pub at the same time on the same day, or met the same group of friends at the same restaurant every two months, or always made a doctor's appointment on a Friday.

There was, that he could find, no connection between the two victims.

He pulled into his parking space behind his house and let himself into the kitchen.

Aeacus meowed loudly when he went inside, and he smiled at the cat.

"Alright, impatient." Rex chided gently. "I'll feed you in a minute. I'm not late tonight, so you shouldn't be hungry."

Aeacus stared at him haughtily until a full food bowl was placed in front of him.

Rummaging in the fridge, Rex removed a microwaveable lasagne with a soft sigh and waited for it to cook.

He went into the living room to eat, avoiding the news when the turned the TV on. He already knew there was a lot of speculation about the case in the media. Their perpetrator had already been dubbed 'The White Bridge Rapist' by a local channel, because the two murders had been committed in the White Bridge neighbourhood.

Luckily, they'd managed to keep a few of the details of the murders from the journalists so far, so they'd had no copycat incidents.

He just hoped they could solve the murders soon, before a full-scale panic started.

However, they had no DNA, no witnesses that could provide a positive identification even if they did have a suspect, no apparent motive, and no clear connection between the two victims.

Making a mental note to check both victims phone records in the morning and compare them, Rex turned off the TV and stumbled up to his bedroom.