Her Last Word
Page 50
For a brief moment he imagined the plastic tarp moved in the breeze. He blinked and watched closely in the rearview mirror, his heart beating faster, as he waited for the wind to calm.
The cop came back to the car. “Looks like you have a pretty clean driving record.”
He smiled. “I do try.”
“I’m going to have to give you a ticket. But if you get pulled over again in the next forty-eight hours, show them this. You need to get the light fixed for your own safety.”
“I was working on the damn thing last week. There must be a short in the wires. I’ll take it to a garage first thing.”
The officer stared at him an extra beat and then handed him the ticket. He signed it and handed it back.
The officer ripped off his portion of the ticket. “Have a nice evening.”
“Will do. Thank you, Officer.”
He sat still, not moving for a moment. Jesus, that cop was less than a foot from the body. He’d come so close to capture.
But he hadn’t been caught. He was getting better at this, and if he were real careful, he’d never be caught.
Drawing in a breath, he waited for the all clear and pulled into traffic. Time to dump the body.
He drove to the Shockoe Bottom section of Richmond and located the alley he had already searched for surveillance cameras. It was one block from Kaitlin’s apartment.
Moving quickly, he backed into the alley and cut the lights. Tugging a ball cap over his eyes, he opened the back tailgate, reached under the tarp, and grabbed Erika’s ankles. Her skin was cold to the touch, but the rigor mortis had left her limbs, and she was again pliable.
He pulled her forward and carried her limp body to the end of the alley. Quickly he leaned her against the dumpster. He brushed the hair back from her eyes and smoothed it over her shoulders. He spread her legs and placed each hand on an inner thigh.
Pulling a red marker from his pocket, he drew a heart on her chest. “This is for you, Gina,” he whispered.
It was after visitor’s hours when there was a knock on Kaitlin’s door. She was surfing the television channels to pass the time. “Time for another lab sample?” She resigned herself to another procedure.
Instead of the young nurse with glasses and brown hair, Adler appeared. His tie was loose, and the stubble on his jaw was thick. “Sorry, no nurse.”
“Too bad.” Stupid, but she was glad to see him. “It’s always a treat to have a nurse jab a needle in my arm. What are you doing here?”
He held up a bag.
“Sorbet, again?” Beware of cops bearing gifts.
“Doughnuts. Cops know where to get the best ones in the city.”
“Is it true?” She grinned.
“It is.” The half smile was charming, and if Adler wasn’t a cop, she might have been charmed.
“As it so happens, I’m now on some solid foods.”
“Then you’re in luck.”
He pulled up his chair and handed her a napkin. He glanced in the bag. “Chocolate glazed or plain?”
“Plain. Let’s keep it simple.”
With a napkin he plucked out a plain one and handed it to her. Its aroma made her mouth water. She bit into it. Adler was batting two for two with her so far.
She took another bite before she asked, “So what’re you really here for? Feeding me isn’t a priority. You look like a man with questions.”
He tossed her a sideways glance meant to disarm. “Am I that obvious?”
She chuckled and felt charmed nonetheless. “You use that look with suspects?”
“I do.” He bit into the doughnut with no air of repentance or worry about calories. “I met with a forensic investigator who is analyzing several notes Jennifer received.”
She pulled off a piece. “And?”
“Without getting into too much detail, I can tell you he signed each one with a heart. Does that mean anything to you?”
Kaitlin set her doughnut down as a memory rushed out from the past. If the killer had left a heart, he’d definitely been involved in the search for Gina. She reached for a pad and pen on her nightstand and drew a particular heart she’d seen many times. “When Gina was first missing, the volunteer groups developed a kind of logo. It was Gina’s name with a heart drawn over top of it.”
“Who came up with the logo?”
She handed him the paper. “It was my idea to add it to the flyer, because she loved hearts. She had several necklaces that were heart shaped.”
“It was your idea?”
“Yeah.”
“The heart symbol was well known?”
“Yes. All the volunteer posters and flyers had it, and several news organizations came up with graphics that incorporated it. It would have been hard to miss.”
“A colleague of mine is reading the file, but our focus has been on the abduction and not the search. How many volunteers were on the search teams?”
“Hundreds. There was an organized system, and in that group there were teams of ten. Volunteers stood side by side and walked open fields and brush for hours searching for clues. There were also people who weren’t sanctioned as official searchers, and they ventured out on their own.”
“Have you spoken to any of those volunteers?”
“George Dunkin. He’s on a canine tracking team who volunteered over a hundred hours on the search.”
“You gave me Jennifer’s tape, but I need all of them, Kaitlin.”
“Sure. I’ll send them all.”
“Can you do it now?”
“Hand me my laptop.”
He dusted off his crumbs, tossing the half-eaten doughnut in the trash. He retrieved the laptop from the side table and gently set it on her lap. She opened it, pushed a few buttons, and hit “Send.”
“On their way.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not sure how my interviews will help.”
“Jennifer’s stalking, her murder, Erika’s disappearance, and your stabbing all started when you began your research.” He wasn’t smiling now, and his tone had sharpened just a little.
There was a time she’d have felt backed into a corner by his harsh tone. But she was coming to recognize this was how he sounded when he was working a case. She drew in a breath. She needed and wanted to believe he wasn’t going to throw her under the bus if the case got too hot to handle.
He held her gaze. “Are you sharing everything with me?”
“You know all that I know now, Detective.”
“And you will keep me in the loop if you learn anything new?”
“Yes. Will you do the same?”
“I can’t promise that right now. I wish that I could, but I can’t. The case has to come first.”
She didn’t like hearing that, but she sensed he was being honest.
“How did you choose your interview subjects?” If Adler realized he’d upset her, he didn’t seem to care.
“I went through all the media reports I could find and made a list of everyone mentioned and went from there. I interviewed whoever would talk to me.”
“Any idea who killed Jennifer?”
She ran a trembling hand through her hair. She felt like a raw nerve. “I want to help and to remember. I’ve been through hypnotherapy before, but I could do it again.”
Adler arched a brow. “If it comes to that, we’ll talk about it. What does your gut say about this killer?”
The cop came back to the car. “Looks like you have a pretty clean driving record.”
He smiled. “I do try.”
“I’m going to have to give you a ticket. But if you get pulled over again in the next forty-eight hours, show them this. You need to get the light fixed for your own safety.”
“I was working on the damn thing last week. There must be a short in the wires. I’ll take it to a garage first thing.”
The officer stared at him an extra beat and then handed him the ticket. He signed it and handed it back.
The officer ripped off his portion of the ticket. “Have a nice evening.”
“Will do. Thank you, Officer.”
He sat still, not moving for a moment. Jesus, that cop was less than a foot from the body. He’d come so close to capture.
But he hadn’t been caught. He was getting better at this, and if he were real careful, he’d never be caught.
Drawing in a breath, he waited for the all clear and pulled into traffic. Time to dump the body.
He drove to the Shockoe Bottom section of Richmond and located the alley he had already searched for surveillance cameras. It was one block from Kaitlin’s apartment.
Moving quickly, he backed into the alley and cut the lights. Tugging a ball cap over his eyes, he opened the back tailgate, reached under the tarp, and grabbed Erika’s ankles. Her skin was cold to the touch, but the rigor mortis had left her limbs, and she was again pliable.
He pulled her forward and carried her limp body to the end of the alley. Quickly he leaned her against the dumpster. He brushed the hair back from her eyes and smoothed it over her shoulders. He spread her legs and placed each hand on an inner thigh.
Pulling a red marker from his pocket, he drew a heart on her chest. “This is for you, Gina,” he whispered.
It was after visitor’s hours when there was a knock on Kaitlin’s door. She was surfing the television channels to pass the time. “Time for another lab sample?” She resigned herself to another procedure.
Instead of the young nurse with glasses and brown hair, Adler appeared. His tie was loose, and the stubble on his jaw was thick. “Sorry, no nurse.”
“Too bad.” Stupid, but she was glad to see him. “It’s always a treat to have a nurse jab a needle in my arm. What are you doing here?”
He held up a bag.
“Sorbet, again?” Beware of cops bearing gifts.
“Doughnuts. Cops know where to get the best ones in the city.”
“Is it true?” She grinned.
“It is.” The half smile was charming, and if Adler wasn’t a cop, she might have been charmed.
“As it so happens, I’m now on some solid foods.”
“Then you’re in luck.”
He pulled up his chair and handed her a napkin. He glanced in the bag. “Chocolate glazed or plain?”
“Plain. Let’s keep it simple.”
With a napkin he plucked out a plain one and handed it to her. Its aroma made her mouth water. She bit into it. Adler was batting two for two with her so far.
She took another bite before she asked, “So what’re you really here for? Feeding me isn’t a priority. You look like a man with questions.”
He tossed her a sideways glance meant to disarm. “Am I that obvious?”
She chuckled and felt charmed nonetheless. “You use that look with suspects?”
“I do.” He bit into the doughnut with no air of repentance or worry about calories. “I met with a forensic investigator who is analyzing several notes Jennifer received.”
She pulled off a piece. “And?”
“Without getting into too much detail, I can tell you he signed each one with a heart. Does that mean anything to you?”
Kaitlin set her doughnut down as a memory rushed out from the past. If the killer had left a heart, he’d definitely been involved in the search for Gina. She reached for a pad and pen on her nightstand and drew a particular heart she’d seen many times. “When Gina was first missing, the volunteer groups developed a kind of logo. It was Gina’s name with a heart drawn over top of it.”
“Who came up with the logo?”
She handed him the paper. “It was my idea to add it to the flyer, because she loved hearts. She had several necklaces that were heart shaped.”
“It was your idea?”
“Yeah.”
“The heart symbol was well known?”
“Yes. All the volunteer posters and flyers had it, and several news organizations came up with graphics that incorporated it. It would have been hard to miss.”
“A colleague of mine is reading the file, but our focus has been on the abduction and not the search. How many volunteers were on the search teams?”
“Hundreds. There was an organized system, and in that group there were teams of ten. Volunteers stood side by side and walked open fields and brush for hours searching for clues. There were also people who weren’t sanctioned as official searchers, and they ventured out on their own.”
“Have you spoken to any of those volunteers?”
“George Dunkin. He’s on a canine tracking team who volunteered over a hundred hours on the search.”
“You gave me Jennifer’s tape, but I need all of them, Kaitlin.”
“Sure. I’ll send them all.”
“Can you do it now?”
“Hand me my laptop.”
He dusted off his crumbs, tossing the half-eaten doughnut in the trash. He retrieved the laptop from the side table and gently set it on her lap. She opened it, pushed a few buttons, and hit “Send.”
“On their way.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not sure how my interviews will help.”
“Jennifer’s stalking, her murder, Erika’s disappearance, and your stabbing all started when you began your research.” He wasn’t smiling now, and his tone had sharpened just a little.
There was a time she’d have felt backed into a corner by his harsh tone. But she was coming to recognize this was how he sounded when he was working a case. She drew in a breath. She needed and wanted to believe he wasn’t going to throw her under the bus if the case got too hot to handle.
He held her gaze. “Are you sharing everything with me?”
“You know all that I know now, Detective.”
“And you will keep me in the loop if you learn anything new?”
“Yes. Will you do the same?”
“I can’t promise that right now. I wish that I could, but I can’t. The case has to come first.”
She didn’t like hearing that, but she sensed he was being honest.
“How did you choose your interview subjects?” If Adler realized he’d upset her, he didn’t seem to care.
“I went through all the media reports I could find and made a list of everyone mentioned and went from there. I interviewed whoever would talk to me.”
“Any idea who killed Jennifer?”
She ran a trembling hand through her hair. She felt like a raw nerve. “I want to help and to remember. I’ve been through hypnotherapy before, but I could do it again.”
Adler arched a brow. “If it comes to that, we’ll talk about it. What does your gut say about this killer?”
