The Lady Killer (26 page)

“I’m just trying to be respectful of your space. I can tell when those wheels are turning in there. Do you want to talk about what’s bugging you?”

“The note said I would pay consequences. What consequences am I paying if he’s dead? It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Maybe he meant religious consequences, or karma for causing his death.”

“Do you really think that this psychopath has moral or philosophical reasoning?”

Dan shook his head. “I really don’t know what to think about that. Why don’t we have one more glass of wine, and then do another of those snuggle sleepovers? I just want to know you’re safe. Then tomorrow we can get with Ralph and evaluate the evidence.”

“Thanks, I would really like that. You take such good care of me. Sometimes I think that you’re just an imaginary man that I made up in my head. I’ll wake up one of these days and find that you have disappeared.”

He picked up her hand, folded all of her fingers except the index one and used it to poke himself in the chest. “Doesn’t that feel real to you? Relax, I’m not going anywhere.”

About three in the morning she sat up in bed screaming. It was reassuring to know that Dan was there with her. “Hey, Laura, I’m here! It’s okay. What’s wrong?”

She was out of breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He turned the light on and patted her on the back. “That’s why I’m here.”

“It’s that stupid nightmare again. Only this time, David Benson is running along beside me, and the monster is chasing both of us!”

“There’s no one here except the two of us. Lie back down, and try to get some more sleep. In the morning we will get with Ralph. Don’t worry, we’ll straighten this out. Right now you are completely safe with me. I told you I wouldn’t disappear.”

Snuggled back down beside him, all of the nightmares faded away. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have found someone like him.

CHAPTER 18

I
n the morning, Dan and Laura went directly to Dr. Foote’s lab and found him busy at work on the case. “Can you tell me anything, Ralph?”

“It’s complicated, Laura. There are some slight abrasions on the trigger finger, which could indicate that he had some help. Also, his blood alcohol level was 0.24, which is extremely high.”

“What does that tell you?”

“That he probably drank a lot to get the courage to shoot himself. But I wonder about him still having enough dexterity to pull it off as well as he did.”

“Then why is it complicated?”

“Because of all the evidence that points directly to him, the different kinds of rope, the clothespins, all of the victims’ clothing and the dress up stuff like wigs.”

“Ralph, this killer has had nerves of steel all the way through this. Now, all of a sudden he needs a drink to pull a trigger? And if you were the psycho, would you leave all of the evidence that links you to these murders just lying around your apartment? It’s too easy. I would never profile this killer as the suicidal type. Why wouldn’t he just run to another state, if we were too close? I’m telling you, David Benson is not our guy! We are being played, just like we have been all along.”

“You could be right. The scary thing is that if you are, Vitale still isn’t our killer either. That means we are starting over from scratch.”

“Yes, as far as I know, he isn’t even back from Indiana yet.”

Ralph looked apologetic. “I’m sorry I can’t give you anything more definite. I will keep digging, but for right now, the evidence is screaming much louder than your gut.”

“Thanks for trying. We’ll work it from our end and get back to you.”

She was quiet as they rode up in the elevator. Dan was considerate and gave her space to think. When the doors opened, they could see Roy at his desk. “Hey, guys, I have coffee on. I heard you had a very bad night. He might be dead, but at least we got him!”

Laura shook her head. “I don’t think Benson is our guy, Roy.”

Dan looked over at him. “It’s a gut thing.”

“Laura, the evidence is overwhelming. Here’s a copy of the suicide note. How would he know all of these details, if he wasn’t the killer?”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but the psycho killed him and typed the note. The psycho knew all the details.”

Roy shook his head. “Have you seen this evidence list? Man, everything was right there in his apartment.”

“I know that, I was there. Have you looked at the photos? It was just lying all over the place in plain sight. Who does that? As careful and meticulous as this guy has been all the way through this whole thing, as much as he has led us in a carefully planned maze and now all of a sudden he’s a slob. I’m not buying it. My gut is telling me we are being played for fools, while he’s planning the next move he talked about in his note.”

Roy thought for a moment. “Well, wasn’t it a dead rose? Maybe that meant that he was going to be dead, and that was the next move.”

Dan laughed under his breath. “Now you’re going to get into the consequences part of the note. What are the consequences he is talking about?”

Roy laughed teasingly. “I get it. Now that you two are lovey-dovey, you’re going to gang up on me! That’s not fair, is it?”

Laura was getting very angry. “Roy, it’s as plain as the nose on your face! Wake up and smell the psycho! It isn’t David Benson!”

Roy was taken aback by how forceful her response was. “Hey, I was just teasing! Are you waiting for results from one of those HIV test?”

She threw up her hands and walked out of the office. “I’m going to talk to the Captain. See if there are any surveillance cameras at Benson’s complex. I would be willing to bet that you’ll find someone else going in there.”

Roy had an amazed look on his face, as he watched her leave. “Man, is she grumpy or what? You’d think she’d be happy that this was over.”

“Burns, how many times have you told me that she makes these amazing leaps? Now, all of a sudden you’re ignoring them?”

“It’s one thing to be stuck on a case and need a break. That’s when she makes these wild suggestions, and then we’re off on a different track, which usually leads us to the suspect. Right now we aren’t stuck. We have a ton of evidence, which supports the case against Benson!”

Dan shook his head. “That would be taking the easy way out. I’m going to look into that surveillance she wants. If you don’t want to help, that’s fine.”

Roy shrugged. “I love her too, Murf. Of course I’ll help.”

When she walked into Captain Rutledge’s office and sat down, he started shaking his head. “I know why you’re here, Laura, and I don’t want to argue with you.”

“Sir, how long have we known each other?”

He thought back. “Since you were a wet behind the ears rookie, but you shined more brightly than anyone I had ever seen come through that Academy.”

“In all that time, have I ever steered you wrong on a case?”

“I know where you’re going with this, Laura. Don’t pull a best buddy routine on me. We have a boatload of evidence on this one. The Commissioner is happy, the Press is happy and I’m happy to have this over with. Please, don’t go stirring up a bunch of trouble, just because you have indigestion.”

She stood up and leaned against his desk. “Paul, in all the years I’ve know you, I have never disrespected you in any way, but I am telling you that you are very wrong on this one. I know it would be easier to think that it’s over and keep everyone happy, but it’s not. Making the right political move with the Commissioner isn’t going to keep women safe!”

Rutledge was getting angry and stood up at his desk. “What solid proof do you have? Give me one thing that I can look at and agree with you!”

“I just know that David Benson isn’t our psycho, Sir!”

“Fine, Laura, then give me the name of the person who you think is the real killer, and I’ll go arrest them. We have two suspects that we’ve been looking at for over a month. One is Benson. The other is Vitale, and he’s been out of town for your latest flower delivery. Give me something to work with, other than a feeling.”

“I don’t have a name, Sir, but I had another one of my reoccurring nightmares again last night! This time the monster had bright red nails, because of all the blood that was dripping from them! If I thought David Benson was our killer, I would be throwing a party and celebrating. Instead, I’m afraid that the psycho is still out there planning that next move.”

“Well, I can’t arrest your dreams, Detective! Now, I want you to take the rest of the day off and go home. Maybe if you get some rest, you’ll come back with a different perspective. That’s a direct order!”

Laura passed Della Warren, as she stormed out of Rutledge’s office. She couldn’t stand that woman and wondered why she kept running into her all the time. As she made her way out to the parking lot, Dan called her wondering where she was. “Rutledge and I had a fight. He sent me home for the rest of the day. I desperately need some food in the house. I’m going shopping and then head to the apartment.”

“It’s going to be alright. Burns and I believe in you. We’re looking into your idea about surveillance cameras at Benson’s building. I’ll give you a call later. Get some rest.”

Detective Warren walked into Captain Rutledge’s office. “Is this a bad time, Sir? Do you need a minute to clear your mind?”

He let out a big sigh. “No, just a slight difference of opinion. Have a seat. That sure is some kind of manicure you have going on there. Are you sure you’ll be able to fire your gun accurately?”

Della laughed. “I have a session at the firing range tomorrow. That should tell me. If not, I can always have my nails cut down. The job is more important than vanity.”

“What can I do for you, Detective?”

“I figured that since you have that serial case wrapped up, you would have time now to talk about the SVU department. Unless there are still some problems with that case?”

“No, I think we pretty much have that in the bag. You couldn’t ask for more evidence against someone. And the great part is that he saved us all the trouble of a trial. What’s on your mind?”

“I was thinking with Stacey gone, that leaves Michael Vitale and me alone. I was wondering if you would consider making me the Lead Detective and then hiring someone else to help us out.”

Rutledge was taken back a bit by her bold request. “I will take that into consideration, Warren. Normally, it takes a little time to get the wheels rolling on these matters. I think they just buried Stacey a few days ago. We haven’t had time to think about a replacement yet, but I will let you know what we decide. In the mean time, I think Vitale will be back to work tomorrow. If there’s too much for you to handle, we will address the problem then.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Rutledge watched her leave his office. He shook his head and wondered how she could be so cold and emotionless after the loss of two friends.

Dan was sitting at his desk, when Michael Vitale walked in with tears streaming down his face. “Detective Murphy, can you tell me why David is dead, and my apartment is a crime scene? I just buried Stacey, and now this?”

He could tell that the guy was losing control. “What are you talking about, Vitale?”

“I heard on the news that David is the serial killer, and I know that isn’t true.”

Dan wasn’t sure what was going on, so he motioned for Roy to come over to them. “This is my partner, Roy Burns. Tell us why you don’t think that Benson is our psycho.”

Vitale sat down and looked Dan right in the eyes. “David and I lived together. We were lovers! I would know if he was the killer, wouldn’t I?”

Roy was shocked. “Man, we thought he lived alone! There wasn’t anything in the apartment that looked like a second person lived there.”

“That’s because I took most of my things with me, when I left for Indiana.”

“But your address is different than David’s.”

Vitale looked down at the desk and shook his head. “We were afraid of getting fired, if the department found out that we were gay, so I maintained a separate place for show. I actually have it sublet to a great lady. My full time residence was at David’s place.”

Dan’s head was reeling. He took out the photos of the living room and gave them to Michael. “So, none of this stuff was there when you left?”