did.â
âOn the other hand,â Evan began, never comfortable at speaking out at meetings like this, âwe do have a girl who vanished in good weather on a mountain that must have been crowded with other hikers. I agree there are some dangerous parts of the mountain where she could have slipped and gone over a cliff, but the paths are easy to follow when there are other hikers on them, and if she was injured, she would have been found by now.â
âI agree with Evan,â P.C. Dawson said. âI do a bit of climbing
myself, but itâs like a zoo out there in the summer holidays. Crawling with tourists. If youâre a serious walker, you stay away from Snowdon in August.â
âSo you donât think itâs possible that someone could have grabbed the girl and taken her off without being seen?â Watkins asked.
Evan considered this. âIn that wooded area where we found the bunker, maybe,â he said. âIt was quite warm yesterday afternoon. If she went into the woods for some shade, and he was in there â¦â
âThen why not take her straight to the bunker, if it was all prepared and nearby?â Glynis asked.
There was silence as the group digested this.
âHe was waiting until it was dark, and by then our men were out on the mountain?â someone suggested.
âSo whatâs he done with her? Is she still alive? Is there any hope of rescuing her?â
Silence again, then Glynis said in a tight voice, âHe may have more than one of these bunkers prepared, sir. He may have gone to plan B.â
âSo what do we do now, sir?â Sergeant Jones asked impatiently. âHave the girlâs parents been called, just in case sheâs gone home or contacted them?â
Watkins nodded. âThey were called last night. They hadnât heard from her then. We should check in again this morning before we do anything else.â
âAnd if they still havenât heard from her?â Sergeant Jones continued. âIt was sheer luck we stumbled upon that bunker last night. The chances of finding another one are pretty slim. But we should take another look at the whole area in daylight, just in case weâve overlooked anything.â
âYes, we should definitely do that.â Watkins looked strainedâtired and old and strained. âCan you arrange a team, Howell? See if you can get help from the Parks Service again. Pay special attention to areas where she could have fallen as well as looking for any signs of a scuffle.â
âAnd whatâs our next step with the bunker?â Glynis asked. She
looked at the faces around the room. âDo you want me to check the national sex offenders database? Find out if anyone has been released from a mental facility and is now living in the area?â
âHow about seeing whether the modus operandi has come up before?â Watkins suggested. âThat would narrow it down for us. Any cases of girls abducted and taken to bunkers, bodies with signs of handcuffs on the wrists.â
âThe National Criminal Intelligence Service should have that kind of thing on file, shouldnât they?â Glynis looked up from the pad on which she was scribbling notes. âThat would save contacting every regional police force.â
âStart off with them, definitely, but I think we should double-check with the regions too, just in case something hasnât made it to the database yet. If theyâve got an ongoing investigation thatâs similar, it might not have been put into a database yet.â
âSo you want me to contact NCIS and all the regions?â
Watkins grinned at her. âYouâre our computer whiz.â
âI wish Iâd played the helpless female when I first arrived here,â Glynis said. âAnd while Iâm at it this morning, do we have access to a profiler, or should I check who does?â
âExcuse me, sir,â Evan
George Simpson, Neal Burger