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killer.’
    ‘How do you know? Wait, don’t tell me. He’s got gentle eyes.’ There was a thick vein of sarcasm in Reece’s tone.
    Irritation flashed in Staci’s gaze, but she suppressed it and said evenly, ‘No he hasn’t got gentle eyes. He’s got the eyes of a man who gets off on hurting people. I should know, I’ve seen the look in them as he’s beat the crap out of other girls. But I’ve never seen him lose control and go too far. After all, we’re not much use to him if we’re too badly hurt to work.’
    Reece’s voice came tight and hard. ‘And what about you? Have you looked into his eyes as he’s beat the crap out of you?’
    Staci knew better than to answer such a question. ‘Take it from me, Wayne’s the last person to be involved in Melinda’s disappearance. She was a good worker. And besides, he had a real thing for her. He treated her differently to the rest of us. He was always buying her clothes, shoes and other stuff. And he gave her as much free dope as she wanted. That’s why I know she hasn’t run off. She had it good with Wayne. Or at least as good as this kind of life gets.’
    ‘You say you were the last person to talk to Melinda. What did you talk about?’
    Staci shrugged. ‘Nothing much, just the usual stuff. She was pissed at Wayne because he was making her work when she had a cold. It was raining, so business was a bit slow. But she was hoping one of her regulars would show up.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘She didn’t say.’
    ‘And did this regular show up?’
    ‘I dunno. A punter picked me up and when I got back she was gone.’
    Again, Reece couldn’t stop a slight wince from tugging at his face. An image of Staci in the front seat of a car, legs splayed, some faceless stranger grinding against her, rose out of a dark hole in his mind. He thrust it back down. ‘Do you know the names of any of Melinda’s punters?’
    ‘I know some of their first names. But they’re probably not their real names.’
    ‘You’d recognise their faces, though.’
    ‘Yes. Well, only the regulars.’
    ‘OK, so what I need you to do is if you see one of them take a photo on your phone. And if they’re in a car, get a photo of their reg too.’
    Staci frowned uneasily. It went against every instinct she had to secretly photograph punters. There was Wayne to consider too. If he saw her doing it she’d be in big-time trouble. She gave a sudden determined nod. ‘I’ll do it. For Melinda I’ll do it.’
    ‘Earlier on you said,’ Reece read aloud from his notepad, ‘“some sick fuck who gets his kicks out of hurting prostitutes has taken her”. Assuming you’re right, what makes you think Melinda’s abductor was a man?’
    Staci’s mouth twisted into a caustic smile. ‘Aren’t they always?’
    There was little arguing with that rhetorical statement. Reece felt an illogical little stab of guilt, as if he was somehow partly to blame for the actions of his gender as a whole. ‘I think that’s enough to go on for now.’ He pocketed his notepad and finished dressing. Staci followed him downstairs to the front door.
    ‘Promise me you’ll call as soon as you find anything out.’ All the edge was gone from her voice. She simply sounded desperately concerned.
    ‘I will, but don’t get your hopes up. I probably won’t have much to tell you. And just in case – God forbid – you’re right, promise me you’ll take extra care out there.’
    ‘I always do, babe.’
    Reece stooped and kissed Staci lingeringly. When he drew away, he licked his lips and wiped his hand across them as if he’d tasted something delicious yet toxic. He quickly turned and left.

6
    Melinda jerked awake from a cold and sweaty nightmare to an even worse reality. Her gaze dazedly travelled the tomb-like room’s concrete ceiling and windowless walls, which were faintly illuminated by a red light glowing from a head-height horizontal slit in a metal door. There was a spray of rusty-red stains on the adjacent walls.