The Lady Killer (8 page)

“Where are the contents of Sheila Lawson’s purse?”

“Over there on the middle evidence shelf in one of those boxes, why?”

Excitedly, she ran over to the shelves and found the box she was looking for. She took the keys out, walked over to the padlock and opened it with the key on Sheila’s ring.

“I’ll be damned! How did you figure that one out? I never would have put those two things together.”

“Ralph, my gut tells me so much. I’ve had that Yale key on my brain for days. When I saw that lock, I just about jumped out of my skin. I’d been thinking door lock, not padlock.”

“But how in the hell could they be connected? Sheila Lawson is from his seventh murder, and Tamara was his first. Then there’s Julia White, who is number eight.”

“I’m not sure. Don’t tell your wife, but I could kiss you right now for calling me down here before that padlock got put away into evidence.”

“Your secret is safe with me, love.”

Her mind was racing as she rode up in the elevator, which she was cursing for being so slow. When the doors finally opened, she saw that both of her partners were at their desks, so she called them into the break room for coffee and a powwow.

Dan was hoping for a new lead of some kind. “From the look on your face that must have been really good news from Dr. Foote.”

“It was an interesting visit, Murphy, get out your pad. I want you guys to get your coffee, put on your thinking caps and sit down. There are two new things we have to work on. First is that Tamara was tasered, and she’s the only one so far. Second, and by far the biggest as far as I’m concerned, is that the Yale key on Sheila Lawson’s ring opened the padlock taken off of the freezer where Tamara’s body was found.”

Both men sat back in their chairs and just stared at each other in disbelief. Then they turned back toward Laura. “Are you guys in shock or what?”

Dan’s head was a little dizzy. “I don’t know about Burns, but I don’t even know where to start thinking about this one. None of our scenes have been connected with each other before.”

“Man, I’m with you, Murf! Okay, Peterson, you had time to think on your way up in the elevator. What’s your take? Let’s brainstorm this.”

“I don’t think that Sheila had anything to do with the first murder. I think the key was planted on her ring, by the killer, to throw us off. What if he’s just testing our intelligence? Or worse yet, this is just part of his elaborate psycho game. Julia White was deliberately placed at the same site as Tamara. He wanted Tamara found now for some reason, which is logical only to him. Is this key just part of the cat and mouse game, what about it, Burns?”

“I’m in complete agreement with you on every point. That’s amazing about the padlock. How did they figure that out? What made them even put that together?”

“You know how they say that timing is everything in life? Well, I just happened to walk into the lab right after they got through dusting the padlock for prints and saw the word Yale written on it. If I hadn’t gotten there before it was put in Tamara’s evidence box, I might never have seen it. There was so much to take in with two bodies and a dog; I didn’t even look at the padlock while we were at the scene. Now I have to decide if it was just a clue to the next crime scene, or if there is some link between these three women.”

“In all the years we have worked together, I’ve always been amazed at the way you put crimes together and solve cases. You just have a natural knack!”

“Thanks, Roy, but it isn’t solved yet. We still have a long way to go. Have either of you got plans for tomorrow?”

“One of my kids has a major softball game that I would hate to miss, but if you need me I’ll certainly be here.”

“That’s okay, go and have fun. I have a feeling this is going to be a tough week coming up. How about it, Murphy? Feel like spending your Saturday working with me on these files? I’m beginning to think there are a bunch of subtle links that we haven’t caught yet.”

“I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll see you here around eight.”

CHAPTER 6

D
an Murphy woke up to an Al Green song playing on his radio alarm clock and thought it was somehow appropriate. He shut it off and laid there watching the sun shine through a crystal, which he had hanging in his window. As it made little, dancing rainbows on the wall next to his sofa bed, he started to daydream about Laura. She had been his fantasy since he first saw her, but a woman who was that confident and secure probably wouldn’t look at him twice as a romantic partner. He wondered if he was destined to always be reliable, old Murphy the “gopher”. Being low man on the totem pole didn’t bother him. All he knew for sure was that they were working alone together that day, and he better get his sorry ass in the shower, or be late.

When Dan walked into the break room, she was already there dressed in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. His decision to dress casually had been the right one. Now, all he had to do was be his usual charming self. “Good morning, Detective Peterson. I brought bagels, is the coffee on?”

She smiled up at him warmly. “Yes it is, and you’re right on time.”

“I hope you look upon punctuality as an admirable quality in a man.”

“Actually, I do. Get some coffee first, and then we’ll dig in. I’ve pulled all of the files and placed them in the order we found the bodies. Each month, the date and time of death estimates are within a few days of the eleventh.”

“Now that we found Tamara’s body, we know the significance of that date.”

She rubbed her chin slowly with one finger. “Yes, but do we really?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Did he kill her on the day he found her, or did he wait until the eleventh to abduct her for some other anniversary, like when they met, first kissed or the day she left him? Or, is there really some kind of connection to terrorists and his terrorizing women? Burns said that to catch him, we would have to think like a psychopath.”

“Wow, now there’s a scary thought! If I start to think like this guy, I will immediately go have myself committed. But I kind of understand what he means. To catch this guy, we have to get inside his head.”

She looked directly at him. “Okay, go with me on this one. You are the ex. You have just found your girlfriend again, and you want to punish her for leaving you. What’s your next move?”

Dan made a disapproving face. “Okay, but this isn’t me talking, it’s the killer. I’d have to find a time, place and method without being discovered.”

“Do we know who owns the building she was found in?”

“I talked to the realtor myself. She said it was some big corporation. The utilities are paid out of an escrow account they set up through her office. They wanted the electricity kept on, so the building could be maintained, and it would be comfortable for prospective buyers to look at. She told me that they weren’t in a hurry to sell and were more concerned with getting the price they wanted, which she thought was too high.”

“Murphy, he had to know about the place before the abduction. My guess is that she must have been taken straight to the freezer.”

“Sandy’s story about the ice stuck with me. He must have been making a statement about her being a cold bitch, again his thoughts not mine, and so he froze her. Did he plan to do that all along, or did he just stumble onto the freezer and think it was a good idea?”

“Good point. I say he planned it. Who maintains the building? I mean who physically does it? Can you call the realtor and find out?”

Murphy picked up his cell and called Amy Montgomery. She was very helpful and informed him that she had a permanent crew, which handled all of her properties. When she checked her logbook, she told him that they were scheduled to clean there every Saturday morning.

Dan and Laura ran to the car and headed for the warehouse. Half way there her phone rang. It was the surveillance guys, telling her that they were seeing three people in the building who were cleaning. She told them to stay put, and she would be there right away. When they pulled up to the front and got out, one of the workers came to the door. She showed him her badge, “I’m Detective Peterson, and this is Murphy. We would like to ask you a few questions.”

“Certainly, I am Louis Gonzales, at your service. My boss told me you were coming.”

“Thanks, Louis, how long have you been cleaning this building?”

“For about nine months or so.”

That fit into the time slot she was looking for. “Has that freezer in the back always been locked and running?”

“Yes, until this morning. I called Miss Montgomery to ask if we should do anything about cleaning it. She said it was a crime scene, and to leave it alone until we heard from the police, so we haven’t touched it.”

“How did you guys get in here?”

He pointed toward the warehouse. “Through the back door, like we always do. There is an ally in back, and we come in our van.”

“How long have you worked for Ms. Montgomery?”

“About ten years now. She is a great lady, good realtor and sells a lot of property.”

Laura was impressed by how cooperative and earnest he was. “How many are on your crew, and how long have they worked with you?”

“There are six of us all together, and three are at another location working. The least amount of time is Maggie, and that would be two years. That is her over there cleaning windows. The other four have been with me for a long time now.”

“Thank you, mind if we have a look around?”

“No, Detective Peterson, go right ahead. I want you to catch this guy. I have a wife and two sisters. I worried all the time before. Now, to find out that he strikes so close to me is frightening! He doesn’t go for Hispanic girls, right?”

“Not so far, Louis, but I don’t consider any woman safe until this guy is put away.”

Peterson and Murphy walked back into the warehouse. A man worked quietly cleaning fingerprint dust off of the backdoor. She had a feeling they needed to look around. When she opened the freezer door, she was shocked to see a rose and an envelope addressed to her. She yelled for Murphy to get a CSU team and the surveillance people there right away. In the mean time, she stopped the third cleaning person and tried to save any fingerprints that might be left on the door.

One of the surveillance guys was the first to arrive. Needless to say, she wasn’t very happy with him. “Who was here last night and why wasn’t someone watching both the front door and the ally? How did someone get in here to deliver this rose without being seen?”

“Sorry, Detective, they were told to set up in that building across the street and to watch the front of this building only. When I got here this morning, I was wondering about that myself.”

“Who gave the directive for the set up?”

It came down from our boss, Sergeant Bill O’Reilly. You would have to talk to him. The realtor who takes care of this building watches that one also and her assistant offered it to us.”

“Peterson, CSU is here.”

“Thanks, Murphy, have them re-dust that freezer, back door and the envelope. I’ll open it when they’re done.”

He was trying to tread lightly. “Do you need surveillance any more?”

“No, tell them they might as well pack up and go home. I don’t think psycho boy will give us a second chance to catch him. We blew it!”

She called dispatch, told them to track down Sergeant O’Reilly and have him call her right away. While she waited for CSU to finish, she just paced. Murphy was watching her. He felt so helpless. Her hunch had paid off. She had been right all along, and another department had let her down. He approached her cautiously. “Can I get you anything?”

She looked like she was ready to take someone’s head off. “Yes, a bomb, so I can blow up that surveillance team and their boss!”

“I’m not taking you seriously. Hey, I can understand your frustration. You had him! You knew he would be back here. I’m sorry they didn’t catch him. He might have waited for a shift change, or something, when they weren’t paying as much attention.”

“They weren’t watching in the right place, Murphy! Any idiot would know that this guy isn’t going to just walk in the front door! I can’t be everywhere at the same time. I have to depend upon other departments. And your remark about the shift change, do you think he knew about the surveillance?”