The Crucifix Killer (25 page)

‘No thank you. We’re OK.’

Catherine tried to renew her smile but her lips simply faded into a thin line. ‘George loved a cup of tea in the afternoon,’ she whispered.

‘How long have you lived in LA, Mrs Slater?’

‘We moved here two and a half years ago, and please, call me Catherine.’

‘And your husband had a job with Tale & Josh from the start?’

‘Yes,’ she replied with a slight nod.

‘Did he follow a common routine? I mean other than work, did he regularly go to any other places like sports clubs, bars, nightclubs?’

‘George never had much time for anything, he was always working. He would stay late in the office at least three times a week. He didn’t go to any sports club or gym. He’d never been a very physically active person.’ Catherine’s gaze wandered towards the window and she seemed to stare at nothing for a while. ‘The only social engagement he liked to keep was his Tuesday-night poker game.’ Her eyes started to get tearful and she reached for the box of tissues on the desk.

Hunter and Garcia exchanged a quick, tense look. ‘Do you know who he played poker with? Was it work friends or . . .?’

‘Yes, other lawyers from his firm. Maybe some other people, but I can’t be sure.’

‘Have you ever met any of them?’

‘I’ve met other lawyers from Tale & Josh, yes.’

‘I mean, have you ever met any of your husband’s poker buddies?’

‘I’ve never been to any poker night if that’s what you’re asking.’

Hunter detected a tone of arrogance in her voice. ‘Do you know where they played? Was it a club, someone’s house?’

‘George told me that every week they played in a different house. They took turns hosting it.’

‘Really? How about here? Did you ever host it?’

‘No. I wouldn’t let him.’

‘And why is that?’ Garcia asked surprised.

Catherine’s eyes still showed the signs of fought-back tears. She looked dazed and still in shock. ‘I’m a Christian, Detective Garcia, and I don’t approve of gambling. Even though George had sworn there was no money involved, I just wouldn’t have it in my house.’

‘No money?’

‘No. He said they did it for the social aspect of it.’ She pulled a new tissue from the box and softly brought it to the corner of her eyes. ‘He hasn’t gambled for many years.’

Garcia raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Did he used to gamble?’ he asked.

‘Years ago. But he gave it up after we met. I asked him to.’

‘Casinos?’

She hesitated for a moment as if what she was about to say embarrassed her. ‘No, dog-racing . . . greyhounds.’

Hunter swallowed dry. ‘Greyhounds? Are you sure?’ The surprise in his voice more than evident.

‘Yes, I’m sure.’

Garcia shivered.

‘And are you sure he’d given it up? I mean, are you sure he hadn’t been to any greyhound tracks lately?’

Catherine looked staggered by the question. ‘Yes, I’m sure. He promised me. Why would he break his promise?’ Her voice full of conviction.

‘Maybe he was betting over the internet instead of going to this poker game,’ Garcia suggested, and immediately bit his lower lip realizing the sort of accusation he’d just made.

‘What? Why would he do that?’ Catherine sounded deeply offended by Garcia’s insinuation.

‘Catherine . . .’ This time there was real concern in Hunter’s voice. ‘We spent most of yesterday at Tale & Josh, talking to everyone who had ever met George. From the partners themselves to the mail boy. No one knows anything about a Tuesday-night poker game.’

‘What? Of course they do, they must . . .’ The tremor in her voice gave away how shocked she was by Hunter’s statement.

‘Can you think of a name? Someone you think would be part of his poker group of friends?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said, visibly shaking.

‘According to everyone we talked to, no one has ever played poker with your husband and they never even knew he played on Tuesday evenings.’

‘They’re lying, they must be.’ She buried her face in her hands unable to fight the tears. When Catherine looked up again, her mascara had just started to run giving her a Gothic look. ‘Why would he lie?’

‘As Garcia said, he could’ve been gambling again and he was too embarrassed to admit it.’

‘No, I know he wouldn’t do that. He wasn’t gambling. That’s all in the past.’ Catherine was adamant.

Hunter scratched his head, uncomfortable with what he was about to ask. ‘How was your relationship with George? Could he be seeing someone?’

The shock of Hunter’s allusion made Catherine gag. ‘What are you saying? That George was having an affair? That he was lying to me so he could spend Tuesday nights with another woman?’

‘I’m sorry, but we have to look at every possibility, Catherine, and affairs are a very common thing in LA.’

‘But George wasn’t from LA. He was a good man, a good husband. He respected me. We had a good marriage.’ She had to pause for another tissue as the tears were now streaming down her face. ‘Why are you doing this to me? You should be out there looking for the monster who did that to my husband, not accusing him of being unfaithful.’

‘I’m . . . I’m really sorry,’ Hunter said, feeling terrible for what he’d just said. ‘I assure you, we’re doing everything we can.’

‘And then some . . .’ Garcia complemented Hunter’s assertion. They both sat in silence staring at Catherine. Her pain so contagious it made the room feel small and dark.

‘They told me he was murdered, that someone did that to him, but how can it be?’ she said with a hysterical edge to her voice. ‘George wasn’t shot, he wasn’t stabbed, he was infected with a deadly virus. Who kills someone like that? And why?’ Catherine broke down. Her head was back in-between her hands, her body shaking.

Hunter wished there was something he could say that would bring her some comfort. How could he tell her that he’d been after this killer for over two years and yet he had come no closer to catching him?

‘I’m truly sorry.’ Hunter could think of nothing else to say.

‘Catherine,’ Garcia took over. ‘We’re not gonna pretend we know all the answers, but I give you my word that we won’t rest until we catch this guy.’

‘I’m sorry, this has all been too much for me, I loved him very much,’ Catherine said in-between sobs.

‘We understand and we won’t take any more of your time. Just one last question,’ Hunter said, walking over to her. ‘Have you ever seen this symbol?’ He showed her a sketch of the double-crucifix.

She stared at it for a few seconds.

‘No . . . never . . . what is it?’

‘Nothing really, we found it around the park so I wondered if it meant anything to you . . . or George. Look, if you need anything, or if you just feel like talking, please don’t hesitate to call me.’ He handed her one of his cards.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘We’ll see ourselves out.’

Hunter poured himself another cup of coffee from the machine in his office. Garcia had brought in a special blend of Brazilian coffee imported direct from the state of Minas Gerais. It was grounded finer than most well-known blends and roasted at a lower initial temperature preventing it from over-roasting and giving it a stronger but smoother taste. Hunter had been instantly converted.

He had a sip of the dark liquid and joined Garcia, who was facing the photograph-covered corkboard. George Slater’s picture was the last in line.

‘What was he hiding?’ Garcia asked, pinching his lower lip with his thumb and index finger.

‘One thing is for sure, there was no Tuesday-night poker game,’ Hunter commented.

‘Uh-huh, but what was he doing? My initial hunch was that he’d been cheating on his wife, but . . .’

‘But since she mentioned greyhound racing . . .’

‘Exactly, and that was no coincidence. The killer knew.’

‘I know. So was he gambling again or did the killer know about his past?’

‘I don’t know, but we really need to find out.’

‘As Lucas had said, dog racing is illegal in California, right?’ Hunter asked.

‘Yes, why?’

‘Can we find out which is the nearest state that allows it?’

‘Yes, easy, give me a minute.’ Garcia walked back to his desk and sat in front of his computer. After a few clicks and some typing he shouted out his search result. ‘Arizona.’

Hunter chewed his lower lip in thought. ‘That’s way too far. If George had been going to a racing track, it had to be within driving distance so he could make it there and back in the same evening. Arizona is totally out of the question.’

‘So if he was gambling again he was doing it over the internet or over the phone.’

‘Which means the killer did not single him out from a dog track.’

‘We have to find out where he was the night he was abducted. We know Jenny was in a nightclub,’ Garcia said, getting up once again.

‘We’ve gotta re-interview that tall, skinny, receding hair guy we talked to at Tale & Josh – what was his name?’

‘Peterson, something Peterson,’ Garcia recalled. ‘Why him?’

‘Because he knows more than he told us.’

‘How do you know?’

Hunter gave Garcia a confident smile. ‘He showed all the signs of being too nervous. Avoided eye contact, sweaty palms, uneasiness with all his answers and he kept on biting his bottom lip whenever we pressed him for a straight answer. Trust me, he knows more than what he told us.’

‘Surprise home call then?’

Hunter nodded with a devious smile. ‘Let’s do it tomorrow, Sunday. People always get caught off guard on Sundays.’

Garcia’s eyes were back on the photographs. Something else had been nagging him. ‘Do you think they knew each other?’

The question came unexpectedly and Hunter took a moment to think about it. ‘Maybe. She was a high-class hooker. If he was cheating on his wife, and that’s still a major possibility, he certainly had enough money to afford her.’

‘That’s exactly what I was thinking.’

‘So we’d better find that out as well, and I know just who to ask.’

‘Who? D-King won’t give us Jenny’s client list and I’m sure you’re not thinking about that mound of muscle bodyguard.’

‘No, we ask one of D-King’s girls.’

Garcia hadn’t thought of that.

‘Anyway, what do we have on our first victim so far – did we manage to get a file on her?’ Hunter asked.

‘Not exactly.’ Garcia walked back to his desk. Hunter had never seen a better-organized desk. Three very neatly arranged piles of paper stood to the left of Garcia’s computer screen. All pencils and pens had been placed into color-coded can-like containers. The phone was precisely aligned with the fax machine and there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. Nothing looked out of place. Everything about Hunter’s partner suggested organization and efficiency.

‘Farnborough isn’t a very common name, but it’s common enough to make things difficult,’ Garcia carried on. ‘D-King couldn’t tell us for certain where she was from. He mentioned Idaho and Utah, so I used that as the starting point. My initial check has returned thirty-six Farnboroughs in both states. I’m getting in touch with the sheriffs in every town I found a Farnborough, but so far, no luck.’

‘And if D-King was wrong about Idaho or Utah?’ Hunter asked.

‘Well, then we’re in for a very long search. She probably ran away from wherever she came from looking to become the newest Hollywood star.’

‘Don’t they all?’ Hunter said matter-of-factly.

‘That didn’t work out, so she ended up becoming a pro, working for our scumbag friend D-King.’

‘Welcome to the Hollywood dream.’

Garcia nodded.

‘No easy identification via DNA then?’

‘Not until we locate her family.’

‘And we’ll obviously have no joy with dental records.’

‘Not after the job the killer’s done on her.’

They spent a minute in silence. Their eyes back on the photographs. Hunter finished the rest of his coffee before glancing at his watch – 5:15 p.m. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and checked the pockets as always.

‘You’re leaving?’ Garcia asked half surprised.

‘I’m already late for a dinner appointment, and anyway I think we need to try and disconnect from this case even if just for a few hours. You should go home to your wife, have some dinner, take her out, get laid . . . poor woman.’

Garcia laughed. ‘I will, I just wanna go over a few more things before I leave. Dinner plans huh? Is she nice?’

‘She’s pretty. Very sexy,’ Hunter said with a matter-of-fact shrug.

‘Well, have a good time, I’ll see you tomorrow.’ Garcia started flipping through some files. Hunter stopped by the door, turned and watched Garcia. Hunter had seen that same scene before. It was like looking back in time, the only difference was he’d be sitting in Garcia’s seat and Scott would be by the door. He sensed in Garcia the same passion for success, the same hunger for the truth that still burned inside him, the same desire that had almost driven him to the brink of madness but unlike Garcia, he’d learned to control it.