The Lady Killer (23 page)

“Don’t be silly. Stacey has made this entire thing up in her head. I’m just not sure why she blames only you. All three of us have been working on this case together for months. And I can’t figure out why she’s discussing our case with her partner Della Warren.”

“Yeah, I really don’t care for that Della. I’ve never done anything to Stacey personally. Maybe it is a Lead Detective rivalry thing. Whatever it is, I feel bad for her.”

“You can feel bad all you want, just don’t feel guilty. I’ll tell you the same thing you told Rutledge. Stacey has to be responsible for her own actions. You didn’t make her come up here and go through our things, or scream obscenities at the Captain.”

“Yes, I know that. I just hate to see one of our own going down the tubes. Well, let’s get back to work. Maybe if we solve this case, we can find something that will clear Stacey. You know, if we can get her back to her old self, we could be her family. All of us would support her lifestyle choices. It must be terrible to have a family that you love, who doesn’t love you enough to accept you just the way you are.”

CHAPTER 16

L
aura was sound asleep when she got the phone call at five in the morning. It was the Captain, telling her that Detective Murphy would be on his way over to pick her up. He wouldn’t give her any details, just told her to be ready. She jumped out of bed and got dressed quickly. She was very worried but had the presence of mind to make some coffee while she waited. Within minutes Dan was there knocking on her door. “Hey, your ride is here.”

She handed him a travel mug at the door. “What in the world is going on, Dan? The Captain would only tell me that you were on your way here.”

“Rutledge didn’t want to tell you over the phone, but it’s Stacey. He got to Stacey! We haven’t called Burns, because the Captain doesn’t want him at the scene. Let’s go.”

Laura sat numbly in the car and let Dan drive, while she sipped her coffee. She couldn’t believe what was happening. It was an even bigger shock when they pulled up to the same deli building again. “You have got to be kidding! He used this same scene again?”

“Yeah, this guy must have brass balls!”

“That’s it! I’m asking for a permanent surveillance on this place, until we catch this guy. When I get my hands on him, he isn’t going to have any balls, brass or otherwise!”

Dan laughed to himself. He got a real kick out of her feistiness. At the same time, he knew the soft side of her didn’t want to see the condition of Stacey’s body, which was something that he wasn’t looking forward to either. In his mind, he was thinking even more seriously about leaving Homicide after this case was done. He just didn’t have the stomach for it any more, and he thought it might be better for their relationship not to be in the same department. He gulped down the last of his coffee before he spoke. “Thanks for thinking about the coffee. I needed a jumpstart for this one. I guess we have to go in there, huh?”

She just closed her eyes and sighed deeply. “I am so tired of this, Dan. I just want it to be over. This is going to be a hard one. I’m glad Rutledge decided to spare Roy.”

“Yeah, me too. I like to give him a rough time, but I look up to the guy.”

“He likes giving it back to you, also. That’s how I knew you were going to make it on our team. People have to work at earning Roy’s respect. You had it right away.”

“Laura, to be honest with you, I don’t know how much longer I can deal with this. I don’t want to upset you more, when I know that you’re already upset, but I might be leaving after this case is solved.”

Her stomach did a giant flip-flop. “What do you mean leaving, are you moving out of state?”

He quickly grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. “Silly woman! As long as there is some hope of a relationship with you, I wouldn’t even leave this city. I meant Homicide. Now let’s go in and get this over with.”

They walked through the front door and then continued back into the warehouse. Ralph was already there. He shook his head when he saw her coming. “Laura, I don’t know what to say.”

“Me either, Ralph. Looks like the same MO. Poor Stacey! Even after her psycho rant she didn’t deserve this, but none of these women did. Roy kept telling us that we should warn her about socializing with our suspects. How long has she been here?”

“Only about two hours. There was an anonymous 9-1-1 call from a payphone down the block. Whoever it was, just dialed the number and left the receiver dangling. The dispatch person sent a black and white to investigate. When they didn’t find anyone, they started searching the area. This door was open and the lights were on, so they came inside and found her. Where’s Roy?”

“Rutledge was nice enough to leave him out of this. He’s going to take it hard; they’ve been friends for years.”

“The Captain can’t be taking this very well himself. I know he was fond of her.”

Laura looked down. “Is that a rat under the body?”

“Yes, strange, huh? We put that camera up in your office for rat prevention, and that’s what psycho boy decided to leave as his symbol. I’m wondering if there’s a bug somewhere that we don’t know about. This seems like too much of a coincidence to me.”

“You’re right. I’ll have you look into it later. I don’t understand why he killed her. She had quit the force and wasn’t a threat to him any more. It isn’t even close to the eleventh of the month. The fact that he’s breaking his pattern isn’t a good sign.”

“Hmmmmm, maybe she was killed because she quit. She wasn’t useful to him any more if she couldn’t get the inside information.”

“Ralph, you’re good! But she was also trying to solve the case on her own. He may have killed her because she was getting too close, and he was afraid that she could tell us more about him. I’m beyond trying to figure out why this guy does what he does. I just want to find him and put him away!”

He patted her shoulder. “I know how you feel. Where’s your shadow?”

She looked over by the entrance to the warehouse. Dan was standing there watching them. “He’s having a rough time with all of this. The fact that he knew the last two women personally is hard on him. I think he’s going to quit Homicide, once this case is over.”

“How do you feel about that?”

She smiled slowly. “I think it might make it easier on our social life.”

“Don’t tell me that you’re actually going to give that boy a chance!”

“That young Irishman has weaseled his way right into my heart.”

Ralph stuck out his bottom lip. “Does this mean I don’t have to divorce my wife after all?”

“Leave it to you to make me laugh during a horrible crime scene. No, she’s safe for now.”

“I can’t think of anyone who deserves happiness more than you. After what you went through with Alan, I was worried that you would never come out and play again.”

“Thanks, nothing is going to happen until I solve this case, but it gives me something to look forward to. Do you need us here any more?”

“No, I’m sure the Captain will be waiting for you. I’ll finish up here and get any reports back to you, ASAP. I’ll also send the butts out for DNA analysis.”

“Okay, see you back at the station.” She walked over to where Dan was standing. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

He looked nervous. “I hope I haven’t let you down by not going over there with you and Ralph. Stacey and I only met a couple of times, but I liked her. That is, before she went all psycho on us. I’m glad that I’m not the one who has to tell Burns.”

“No, you haven’t let me down at all. I understand completely. Just knowing that you’re here and going to drive me back to the precinct is enough. I know these scenes are hard to take, even when you don’t know the victim personally. Let’s get out of here.”

He took her by the arm as they walked, and when they got to the car he opened her door for her. They rode along in silence for quite a ways. He knew that she was thinking hard about the case, and they were both sad about Stacey. “Are you okay?”

She turned her head towards him. “Yes, sort of. I feel very defeated, Dan. Normally, I get a case, and I have a feeling right away about who I’m looking for. This one has been a riddle right from the beginning. I just want it over with.”

“Hang in there. I have a feeling that we’re going to get a break on this one real soon.”

“Do you really have a feeling, or are you just trying to cheer me up?”

He gave her one of his heart melting smiles. “Both.”

Captain Rutledge and Roy were waiting for them in his office. Laura walked in and gave Roy a big hug. “I’m so sorry about this. I know that sounds hollow, but I really do care about your feelings. We had no idea that he would kill again this soon.”

“Thanks, I know you care. The Captain and I were just discussing the fact that a pattern change isn’t good for us. Now, we don’t know what to expect. As far as Stacey is concerned, I’m not sure what to think. She has changed so much lately. Who knows what she was doing? She might have been helping him, for all we know. Like we said earlier, she had to be responsible for what she got herself into. I just want the bastard put away!”

Laura nodded her head in agreement. “What’s our next move, Captain?”

“Detective Peterson, I’m worried about several things. I’m getting a search warrant for Stacey’s place. I want to see if we can find any connection between her and this psycho. Even just one fingerprint would be a giant break. Next, I want you to be escorted everywhere by someone. I don’t even want you driving your own car by yourself. We have no idea when he will strike again, now that the pattern has been broken. This makes him both dangerous and unpredictable, which is a lethal combination. He could be after someone else tomorrow.”

“I have some concerns also, Sir. I think since a rat was found under Stacey’s body, we might be looking at a bug somewhere in our office. It seems like too much of a coincidence that Ralph sent a crew up to check for a rat, and then that’s the symbol psycho boy left behind. I asked Ralph if he would sweep for one later.”

“That would certainly be a far better explanation for how he keeps one step ahead of us. If we find a bug, we should be able to trace the receiver. It might lead us straight to him. As soon as I get that warrant, I want the three of you to check out Stacey’s apartment with a CSU team. I have also asked Ralph to get us a report on her body as soon as he can. Why don’t you guys go get some coffee? I have a feeling it is going to be a very long day.”

Dan went out to get some breakfast sandwiches, while Laura made coffee. Roy just sat at his desk in a fog. When the food arrived, they congregated in the break room. Laura wasn’t sure where to start. “I don’t even know if it is safe for us to talk in here, until we get a sweep done.”

Dan frowned. “It’s hard to believe that we’ve probably been feeding him our game plan all along!”

Roy just shook his head and started to laugh. “This is the most ridiculous case I have ever been involved with! He has us jumping through his hoops like a bunch of trained dogs. He hears what we’re thinking and planning. Then leaves us the next clue, which is designed to lead us in what ever direction he chooses. How are we supposed to work under these conditions?”

Laura looked up and saw Jim heading toward them. He said he was there to sweep for the bug and started with the break room. Finding nothing there, he went out into the office and called Laura over to her desk lamp. “Look under here, Detective Peterson. This is where the device has been hidden all along. Conversations in the break room were safe but not out here.”

“Should we be talking around this, Jim?”

“Yes, you’re fine. It has been deactivated already. He probably knew, after he left the rat, that we would be looking for it and didn’t want us tracing it back to him. It looks like standard stuff. I can try to find out where it came from, by tracking the serial number.”

Laura looked at Jim. “I’m so over this bastard! He has just been toying with us all this time. Now that the playing field has been leveled, and his tools have been taken away, we’ll see how cleaver he really is. I don’t think he’s as smart as we’ve been giving him credit for. We might just have a shot at him now. Maybe that’s why he broke his pattern. We might be closer than we think. Thanks, Jim, please let me know what you find out.”

Dan was worried. “It really bothers me that he made his own 9-1-1 call, so that we would find the body. Why would he do that? Everything he has done, so far, has been to play this big game with us. What is the purpose of this?”