The Slayer hasn’t stopped killing. And he’s still sending postcards to Isabel.

But DI Holmes has set up a tip line and the Slayer decides to call it…

Jason came across the room. “Ummm, I don’t want to interrupt,” he began.
Isabel dumped the coffee cup on Zander’s desk. “You’re not. What’s up?”
“There was another call to the tip line about the necklaces last night. The caller used a voice changer, so I’ve asked the tech guys to take a look at the tape.”
“What did he say?” she asked.
“The caller asked if we’d missed a silver and diamond circle on an eighteen-inch silver chain.”
Isabel frowned and opened the file on her desk. She flipped through the photos. “Haven’t had one like that. But it sounds familiar.” She sat and drummed her fingers on the folder.
“Anyway,” Jason said. He held out a print out. “I did a quick search on line and found these. They are all pretty similar. Not a cheap piece by any means.”
Isabel took them and looked at the paper. “Good work, and thank you. Leave it with us. Let me know when the lab gets back to you.” She closed her eyes. In her brain, she could see the chain around a woman’s neck, but who’s?
Zander kicked her. “Wake up. No sleeping on my watch.”
“Not sleeping. I’m thinking.” She looked at him. “When will you see your grandfather?”
“This afternoon. Mum’s meeting me here and we’ll go over together and then I’ll come back. We can go to the prayer meeting tonight together if you like. Save you catching the bus. Then tomorrow night, we can eat before the stake out and then crash when someone relieves us at stupid o’clock.”
“You’re planning on crashing the service car now as well as your own? The insurance company won’t like you. They’ll take you off their Christmas card list.” She turned back to the list of names on her desk.
“No one sends those anymore. It’s all e-cards or texts nowadays. So what’s the plan of action for this morning?”
“Check this list off against—” Isabel broke off, her heart thudding in her throat. She blinked hard. She had to be seeing things. But when she looked again, the name was still there. “Zander…”
“What is it?”
“What’s the Guv’s wife’s name?”
“Umm, Adeline I think. Why?”
“She’s on the list.” Isabel looked at him in horror. Her stomach pitted. “Assuming they live at 15 Hunters Green.” She rose and ran across to DI Holmes office. She shoved the door open, grateful it wasn’t locked and she didn’t have to break the glass to get in.
“What are you doing?” Zander demanded.
Isabel grabbed the photo from the desk. Her heart pounded faster, bile rising in her throat. She’d wanted to be wrong. Oh, how she’d wanted to be wrong. “Zander, look.”
Zander rose and walked across the room. Could the bloke be any slower? “What?”
She shoved the framed picture under his nose. “It’s the Guv and his wife. And she’s wearing the necklace mentioned in the tip line call. She has to be the next victim.”

I may have mentioned that this series is all Lisa’s fault. Well, a little background. I had an email from her, nothing new there. We email each other a lot about random stuff, not just work stuff. Her email was along the lines of ‘I was driving to the shops and I had this rhyme in my head and thought of you. So here you go. Down to Sleep. Soul to Keep. Before I Wake. Soul to Take. Do with them what you like.’

So I did. Within half an hour she had four blurbs and synopsis on her desk – well in her inbox – and the rest as they say is history.