by Gregg Olsen
“It’s okay, Megan. I want to catch this guy.”
She means it, and I feel a little guilty about asking her to work even later.
“Thanks for everything,” I finally say. “I should have asked for the camera numbers for the floors we need to monitor.”
I said “we.”
It passes through my mind just then how helpful it is to have a partner. Not that she is a partner. I mean, Ronnie’s a reserve deputy. Chances are she’ll go to corrections or some office job. She’s too skilled at computer work to be sitting in a patrol car or writing tickets.
“You can let that go for tonight and I’ll call the hospital to see what camera numbers we need. We can look at it together tomorrow. I can use your eyes on this one.”
“Really?” she asks.
She sounds so happy just then. I don’t know if it’s because she thinks she is going home or because she gets to work with me on the videos.
“I want you to do me a big favor tonight.”
“Whatever you need, just ask me.”
She doesn’t balk.
I give her Marley’s work number and personal cell number and tell her to set up a meeting.
“Dr. Andrade assured me the rape kit and a DNA sample from Boyd are at the lab,” I continue. “I know it will take a couple of hours. Do you mind babysitting Marley until he gets a result?”
“You want him to compare Boyd with the unknowns from Dina Knowles and Leann Truitt. Then you want to know if he sexually assaulted Karynn. I watched the techs taking swabbings from her body, so there should be several samples from both of them. It may take overnight to get the results.”
She’s right, of course.
I give more instructions.
“Ask Marley to do Boyd first and see if his DNA matches the unknowns. I hate to ask you to do this, so you can decline.”
I don’t hate asking, but I know there is value in pretending so.
“I’ll see what Marley says, Megan. I don’t know that much about the DNA machine. Do you want me to call you if it’s real late?”
“No time is too late,” I say.
“Oh, I forgot. I ran Karynn through the system. She’s clean. No record. No tickets, even. I put together a list of links to her social media, family, friends, and addresses.”
“Send it to my department email. I’m at home and I’ll go through it here. I may call some of the people listed and see if they can talk to me tonight. Tomorrow we’re taking a road trip.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’ll tell you then. Thanks for helping with this. Tell Marley I said thank you. And don’t spend the night there. Marley can call you or me with the results. You’ll need some rest for what we’re doing tomorrow. Try to be in the office around eight if you can?”
“I’ll be there.”
I end the call and pull up my work email. Ronnie has already sent her list. She also included the hospital video. It’s a massive file. I will be glad to have help going through it. Maybe it will be a waste of time. But I trust my gut.
Forty-Four
I spend the night reading Ronnie’s list of people that we need to interview for Karynn’s murder and finding anything and everything I can about Margie Benton. I hate to admit Larry Gray was right about any of this, but Margie Benton did not exist. No police record. Nothing on social media. Nothing in the news. Ever.
I phone Clallam County and ask the weary dispatcher to check her address for previous runs. There were only two police calls for service to that address or near it. Neither involved Margie. One was a drunk on the street and the other was a report of someone peeping in windows. The dispatcher tells me the deputies said there was no one there when they arrived both times.
“Calls were determined to be a hoax,” she says. “Kids maybe thought it was funny to cause a commotion and were just giving random addresses.”
Margie’s landlord’s name was in Larry’s report, but according to Ronnie the landlord is now deceased. Her little house is being rented by an elderly couple. According to Larry he talked to them. I’ll go back and do it again. I decide not to call Larry and tell him about the new victim until I am finished reinvestigating Margie Benton’s murder.
I suddenly think about Karynn Eades. She wasn’t a name I requested from the hospital records. I’ll have to get another court order and I don’t want to take the time. At the rate the killer is working, he’ll probably hit again.
I call Clay.
“Detective Carpenter,” he says. “What can I do for you at this time of night?”
I look at the clock. Normal people are sound asleep. Clay doesn’t sound like he was asleep. “I just wanted to say again how sorry I am I went around you at the hospital. I just really needed that stuff and I’m a little freaked by this guy. You know?”
I hear a sigh. “All is forgiven. You need to remember, we’re on the same team. I take it you always work alone.”
“That’s right,” I say.
“If you’re a loner, you do things in a pattern. You know how you want to do something and then you do it. If something gets in your way, you work around it.”
He’s right.
“I understand,” he says. “Really I do. I’m the same way. I always work alone. Then I worked with Larry for a short time and that convinced me that I was better off working alone.”
I laugh. “He’s a ball of fire,” I say.
“Yeah. He is that. So did you just call to apologize, or do you need another favor?”
This guy is good, I think.
“Since you asked so nicely, I do need something. Don’t get mad, but I need to see if the hospital has records for Karynn Eades. That’s ‘Karynn’ with a y and two n’s.”
“What, no court order this time?”
He sounds ticked off. I don’t blame him, but he’ll get over it.
“No court order,” I say. “Just a request from one team member to another.”
He’s quiet. I wait.
“Can you text me her information? I’ll get the records for you, but you’ll owe me.”
I want to tell him I don’t owe him anything for doing his job. I’m solving his cases too.
“I understand.”
He is true to his word. Five minutes later I have a record attached to a text:
‘Karynn Eades delivered a baby boy six months ago. Given up for adoption. Father unknown. She was on public assistance.’
I pull up the hospital record on my computer. It lists no workplace. The address is the same one I found on her driver’s license. No next of kin is listed. She’s as invisible as the others.
Except for Leann Truitt. Born to a wealthy family. She is three for three on the profile-o-meter. Matches the description, worked in a bar, had a baby that she’d given up. The only differences are that Margie was still pregnant, so she hadn’t given up the child. Yet. And Leann had family that can be contacted.
I don’t need Marley’s report to know that Boyd’s DNA won’t match any of the victims. My killer is still out there.
I fall into bed hoping that I’ll get a solid three hours of sleep. Such hope evaporates as my mind refuses to push away the anxiety that the emails have caused. I think about the people I’ve hurt in my life, either intentionally as part of some greater cause, or by being unable to show the kind of love that I know is inside of me. Someone out there knows my weaknesses. He knows my story. He knows that I’m a fighter.
And when I meet him, I intend to prove that I have never had time for, or trust in, the word sorry.
Forty-Five
Sheriff Gray is standing by my desk the next morning, talking to his second cousin, Larry, who is slouched in my chair.
I’ll need Clorox wipes.
Larry stands and gives a theatrical bow. He’s added an extra squirt of oil on his hair and I’m all but certain he’s flammable.
“There’s the little lady now,” he says.
“I was going to call you last night.”
“
Don’t you worry your little head about it. Tony’s been filling me in. You’ve been busy, Missy.”
Missy?
Sheriff Gray steps in before I can say anything. “I guess she’s got this thing about cleared up. Reserve Deputy Marsh is going by the crime lab to get the DNA results from the Skunk Island deaths.”
Larry sits on the edge of my desk and slaps a big hand down on a big thigh. “All wrapped up in a neat little package. Boyd’s the guy. I guess his roommate out at the college found him out and Boyd killed him too.”
“Yeah,” I say. If that helps Larry sleep at night I won’t argue. “Detective Gray, I need to ask you something.”
“You can call me Larry,” he says, quickly adding, “In fact, I insist. You just cleared my biggest case.”
“Thank you, Larry,” I say.
And you have no idea what’s going on.
“I want to tie up any loose ends,” I say, “you know, just to cover our tail ends.”
His face grows serious and he huffs out a breath.
“I know all about that, kiddo,” he tells me. “I been through that wringer. Some attorney wants to make a name for herself and drags a cop through the mud.”
Just then I guess that some lawyer had the unfortunate luck of being a woman and took exception to one of his poor investigations.
“I’m going to go ask some questions about Margie if you don’t mind. You know. Talk to her last employer, see if I can find friends, that kind of stuff.”
I say all of that with very little enthusiasm, as if it’s a bottom-of-the-barrel endeavor but someone has to do it.
“I’ll escort you myself,” he says. “Bring that little gal partner of yours along and I’ll treat you to a breakfast that’s to die for.”
“That’s not necessary, Larry. Just covering some bases.”
“All righty. But you call any old time and the offer’s still on the table,” he says with a wink.
My skin crawls.
“Thank you, Larry,” I say. “I will.”
I will never.
Larry stands and thumps Sheriff Gray on the shoulder with a serious look on his face. “You remember to call me now, cuz. It’s been too long and we’re family.”
“I’ll do that, Larry.”
Sheriff Gray isn’t going to call him. I can tell by the way he’s biting his lower lip. He always does that when he is about to tell you something he doesn’t think you’ll like. I get the feeling that he’s been avoiding Larry for a while.
Larry pulls me in for a hug and I barely hold back a scream.
“See you later.” He waves at Nan and leaves the office.
Sheriff Gray lets out a breath. “I thought he’d never leave.”
I give him a look. “Second cousin on your mother’s side, right?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t claim him. My mother didn’t like him, neither. Hell, I don’t think his own mother claimed him.”
He motions for me to follow him into his office. He sits in the chair from hell, wiping tears from his face. “Shut the door.”
The door squeals as I shut it.
His expression is dead serious. “Boyd didn’t do it, did he?”
I shake my head.
“Take a seat.”
“Before you tell me no, I’m just going to talk to a few people about Margie Benton.”
Sheriff Gray holds his hand up, palm out. “I understand. You’ve got to do his work for him. You do whatever you have to do to get this guy. We’ve had enough killings.”
“I want to take Ronnie with me.”
“Seriously?”
“I think she has promise,” I say. “And don’t you dare tell her I said that.”
He gives me the go-ahead and I leave the office.
My phone rings. It’s Ronnie.
“Marley must have slept in the lab,” she says. “Poor guy. I’m on my way to pick up breakfast and coffee for him. Do you want me to bring you something when I come in?”
“He worked all night?” I ask.
“He did. He said he’s got something for us, but he wouldn’t say what it was until I bring him some coffee. You know, he’s kind of cute. Kind of nerdy cute.”
God, what have I done?
“He’s one of a kind.”
“So you don’t want anything?”
“I’m fine. Just get back as soon as you can. I talked to Detective Gray and the sheriff and we’re good to go. We’ll get coffee on the road.”
I hang up and have a bad feeling. What if Marley has matched Boyd’s DNA to the others? I know I should be glad if that’s the case. The killer’s dead. The cases are solved. But my gut isn’t happy. I don’t want him to be the guy. I want to be the one who catches him. Ends him.
In any case, I’m still planning on running the Benton case down. There is so much Larry has left out. So much he didn’t do. So much he hasn’t bothered to investigate.
My phone rings again. I’m popular this morning.
I answer.
“Megan, it’s Clay. I guess you called Larry last night. He called a while ago and didn’t seem surprised about Boyd. Are you satisfied with the results now?”
“Larry was here this morning talking to the sheriff. He’s satisfied, so I’m satisfied.”
The line is quiet for so long, I think he’s gone. His voice comes back sounding incredulous. “I know you don’t mean that.”
“Yes,” I say. “I do. I’m done. Case closed.”
“Really.”
“Well, I mean, I still have to finish some things up and write my reports, but yes.”
“What things do you have to finish up?”
I shouldn’t have said that.
“The video from the hospital,” I tell him. “I still haven’t looked through it. I’m crossing my i’s and—”
“Dotting your t’s,” he finishes. “Do you want some help looking through all of that? Probably a ton of video to review. You can bring it here to the office. Or I can come there.”
“I thought you were done with this?” I ask.
“I’m satisfied. Larry’s satisfied. If you’re not, then I’ll pitch in. We’re a team, remember?”
Team.
Right.
“I’m going to Ronnie’s tonight and we’re going to run through it,” I lie. “Have some wine. Pizza. Make a night of it. I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got this. Like you said, I’m the only holdout.”
I’ll have to listen to Ronnie’s chatter all evening, but I’m used to it already. Maybe Mindy would like to come too. A girl’s night while looking for a murderer. My kind of an evening.
“You’re sure?” he asks.
“Sure as sure. Besides, you have to keep Jimmy in line.”
“He’s a character, but he’s okay. He said to tell you he forgives you for going over his head too.”
I really don’t care.
“That’s great,” I say. “He’s a nice guy.”
“Well, if you’re sure you don’t want an extra pair of eyes, I’ll leave you two to it. It was good working with you, Megan.”
“You too, Clay.” The call ends and I think I’ll miss him. Clay reminds me of me a little. And he’s easy to talk to when I don’t have to lie to him.
I have a strange feeling and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. It will come to me if it’s important. I log onto the computer and bring up my personal email. No email from Hayden. I log onto my work email and freeze.
Wallace.
I hear congratulations are in order. You got your man. Kind of, anyway. But in a way he got away, didn’t he? Are you disappointed you didn’t get to finish him?
He doesn’t call me Rylee this time. No need. He knows who I was. Knows who I am now. He’s messing with my head. Letting me know he is still close. Congratulating me and trying to tell me I am a killer in the same breath. The email came in around the same time I was on Skunk Island. That wasn’t on the news until several hours later. Where was he getting his information?
/>
Not for the first time the thought that someone close to law enforcement was giving information to him crept into my mind.
Forty-Six
“Where to first?” Ronnie asks.
We’re sitting in my car and I’m debating if I should take her with me. I could have her take the video home and go through it. That would be a better use of her time and skills. But she’s like a kitten. If you feed it, it’ll follow you home. I’ll let her work all of this with me. I feel like I should at least let her do this. If it turns up nothing, that will be a good lesson too. Investigations are a lot of legwork with little reward sometimes.
“First tell me what Marley had for us.”
“He didn’t get a match with Boyd on any of the cases.”
Hallelujah.
“What did he get?”
“He said the rape kit on Karynn Eades was a match with Dina Knowles and Leann Truitt’s unknown DNA. We have a connection between three of the murders now.”
I drive out of the Sheriff’s Office parking lot and head north.
“Adelma Beach is our first stop. We’re going right past there on our way to Crane, where Margie’s last known address was. I want to get a look at the area where Dina was dumped. Have you got the pictures?”
Ronnie pulls out three photos that provide the best view of the scene. They were taken from three angles away from the body.
“We won’t need them if you want to know the exact location of her body,” she says. “I have the GPS coordinates.”
She can use her magic phone and get us right to the spot. It would be nice to see this symbol that Clay said was carved into a fallen tree trunk.
“I don’t suppose you have all the addresses for Dina and Margie?”
“Of course,” she says. “I put them in last night while I was waiting for Marley.”
The way she says his name told me there might be romance on the horizon.
“You like him, don’t you?”
I don’t know why I asked. Yes I do. I need her to keep a connection with him. He wasn’t my type, and although I’d do most anything to get information, I don’t want to go out with Marley.