Hindsight: Out of the Blue (Part 1)

by Kelly Martin

  ****

  Well, I hadn't heard about the 'Linley Lady Killer' and told her as much. She just shook her head and started toward school.

  "I'm glad it hasn't gotten out yet. The locals are a bit freaked out by it, though. Three women. All killed in the last month."

  "Three? That doesn't seem like a lot. Doesn't it have to be more than that to be considered a 'serial killer'?" I asked in my naivety.

  "It is in a small town. Especially since we haven't had a murder in four years. Not since Ol' Farmer Jenkins shot his wife's girlfriend."

  I just sort of stared at her, letting that scene flash through my mind.

  "Yeah. Anyway, my brother is worried about it. Said there's not any clues and the cases weren't related. Nothing was the same except how they were killed."

  We stopped at the red light, and I raised my brow at her, waiting for her to answer the unasked question. She just ignored me until I had to ask it. "Okay, I'll bite. How were they killed?"

  "Stabbed, Walker. They were all stabbed in the stomach. All stabbed five times."

  "In like a ritual pattern?" I asked her, relying on my heavy research from watching old criminal shows on my computer.

  "Nothing so simple." She sighed as she stepped on the gas when the light turned green. "Nope, only random stab marks. But five of them. No finger prints, no clues."

  "Any connection between them?" This was starting to get interesting. I'd always wanted to write a crime/mystery novel. I thought it might make a good storyline. Real life has a tendency to do that — provide good storylines. If only things work out as well as they do in the books. The good guys always win in books. The girls are always saved. They live happily ever after.

  Maybe that's why I like writing. It's totally different from real life. Totally different from my life.

  Anyway, J shook her head. "No connection. Nothing. The first, Jessica Greer, worked at the bank. The second, Tami Kelly, worked at Langston's — a fancy restaurant on the other side of town," she added when it was obvious I had no idea what Langston's was.

  "Ah… and the third?"

  "Susan Moore. Morgue."

  I cringed and watched the buildings blend together as we got closer to the college. "Were they killed at work or at home?"

  "Work. All three at work. Jessica was found outside in the alley next to the bank. Tami was lying by her car. And Susan… well, the chief doctor found her dead on a slab."

  "Brutal." I automatically tried to think of something that might help the investigation.

  "Yeah. Very brutal."

  "Video tapes? Surveillance? Something? Especially at the bank and the morgue. The murders should have been picked up somewhere."

  She glared at me for a split second then focused back on the road. "Don't you think we checked? On all three, the surveillance cameras fuzzed out five minutes before the projected time of death. They never came back on."

  "Interesting." And it was. I couldn't help trying to solve the puzzle in my mind. A banker, a waitress, and a morgue worker. What did they all have in common? Were they all dating the same person? Did they all go to the same church? Were they sorority sisters?

  "Yeah. Interesting. Joshua is losing sleep over it. I know he is. It's just… there're no clues. I'm surprised you haven't heard about it before now. Everyone is freaked."

  I shrugged. "Haven't had time to listen to gossip. Been more worried about myself I guess."

  "I guess, but you'll hear about it now, I bet. Probably be all over the college."

  I had to ask. "Why would it be all over the college?"

  She gave a ghost of a smile. "Because all three were students."