Deadly Animals

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, child abuse, child death, death by suicide, animal death, and graphic violence.

Ava and John go for a walk in the Lanes. John secretly stares at Ava, whom he has grown to like as more than just a friend. Ava thinks the Rubery killer, nicknamed the Wolf, would have adaptations in his skeleton due to prolonged four-legged walking. They hear the hiss of spray paint near a school play structure. John pursues a graffitist but loses him. John wants to look at the graffiti in case the boy was Harry Ca Nab, but Ava wants to leave.

The police capture Harry Ca Nab, who is little Adam Booth, one of John’s friends. Adam returned to tag his graffiti after being chased off by John and was caught by a custodian. Delahaye meets Adam in the station and lectures the boy. Adam explains that the graffiti was his way of expressing his fear. There was a mysterious response to his most recent message, which stopped him long enough to get caught. Delahaye believes the response—someone claiming that they “DON’T TORTURE”—was written by the killer. Delahaye brings Adam home and takes pictures of the graffiti before it’s washed away.