The Zodiac Killer

by WL Knightly

  “I know lots of things about people’s habits; it doesn’t mean I practice them. You know about murder, but have you ever committed one?” She folded her arms and gave him a scrutinizing grin.

  He shook his head. Run faster. “I see your point. I just wanted to know if you’d studied up on it. You seem like you have.”

  “Yes, and as I said, the name will tell us more about the master than the sub. As will the collar. This one,” she glanced down at the bag, and Darek’s eyes followed, “looks custom-made. It’s good quality. Whoever did this thing, they knew how to tool leather. There can’t be too many people around the city who still do that kind of thing, if any.”

  Darek noted the silver studs on the thin leather strap. “Maybe a biker? Someone who does custom-pieces for bikes. They’d know the art. Or maybe the Master did it himself?”

  “That could be a possibility,” Lizzy said. “They take these things very personally.”

  “Well, if they didn’t kill her, they’re going to take it very personally.” He crossed his arms, and she shook her head.

  “Yeah, I think the message was to the Master,” Lizzy said.

  As her eyes met his, his blood turned cold.

  3

  Lizzy

  Lizzy could tell that she’d rattled Detective Blake. It wasn’t that she wanted to be seen as a domineering bitch or an arrogant hard ass, but she needed him to know she wanted respect. Too many times, men thought that they had to be forceful, and their arrogance had ruined the partnership before it had even begun. The same had happened with her ex-husband. He had learned the hard way, too, that she wasn’t going to put up with that nonsense.

  “I think you’re onto something, with that line of thinking,” Darek said. “The Master could have pissed someone off, and the killer is sending a message.”

  “It’s a starting place until we find out who she is,” Lizzy said.

  “How about we go grab a cup of coffee and a bite and talk about it?” Detective Blake looked back over his shoulder at the dead girl, who was now being zipped into the bag.

  Lizzy wondered if it bothered him in the slightest.

  Darek Blake was a good-looking man who had the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing down to an art, with his rugged, stubbly face and piercing green eyes. But the wedding ring on his finger was a disappointment and one he needed reminding of.

  “Coffee and a bite? What is it? A date? Shouldn’t you take that wedding ring off?” She was sarcastic, but it did the job.

  “Nah, it doesn’t come off. And I didn’t mean anything by it. I skipped breakfast and thought maybe you’d like to join me. We could talk about our theories. Surely, you’d like that?”

  “I’m sure we’ll be spending an uncomfortable amount of time together, so if you want to stop and grab something on the way back to the station, I’m game. But we’ll take my car.”

  “Perfect,” he said, tossing his keys to his partner, who Lizzy remembered from the academy. He was one of the only guys who hadn’t hit on her, but she was sure he’d fallen victim to the whole lesbian rumor. The truth was, she enjoyed the company of men much more than the company of women.

  They walked across the hall to the elevator, and Darek held out his hand to stop the door from closing. “This is a pretty risky location for murder, don’t you think?”

  She stepped inside and shrugged. “Depends on if the murder was intentional or not.” She gave him a sly smile, proving her first point.

  “You always this sure of yourself?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure of what happened; I just think it’s a bit premature to call it when we don’t even know who the victim is.” She’d learned to be patient with the evidence and to never jump the gun. Every move she made was carefully considered, and she never showed all of her cards at once. She’d dealt with others before who’d taken her ideas for their own, and she’d never let that happen again. She had learned that there were men you could trust and others you couldn’t, and she knew Darek had earned a spot in the slot marked for men with an agenda.

  “Robbins tells me you’ve applied to be an agent,” she said. She analyzed his reaction and could tell that it chapped his dick she knew about it.

  He let out a sigh as the elevator doors opened, and they headed out into the main lobby and for the front doors.

  “Yeah, I’ve applied. It’s taking a while.” He gave a shrug as his jaw stiffened.

  “So, you really do need this then.” She shook her head. “Isn’t it horrible how one person’s tragedy is another’s fortune?” She knew the remark would sting a bit, and that was okay with her. She gave him a teasing smile to lighten the blow.

  “Yeah, I’ll be sure to thank the victim if I make it.” He stopped in his tracks, and she could tell she might have gone too far.

  “Hey, lighten up,” she said. “I’m only giving you a hard time; I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty or anything. We take our opportunities where we can get them, right?”

  She knew a thing or two about that. She’d seen the opportunity to get away from her abusive father and had taken it. She owed everything to a man who had taken a chance on her. His misfortune had paved the way to her life, and she’d never been able to thank him enough for all he did for her.

  “Not all of us have connections,” Darek said. “I’ve had to work my way up in the ranks, despite an asshole father who never wanted me to join the force.” The bitterness was so thick in his voice, it nearly slurred his words.

  “Asshole father, huh? I guess we have something in common, after all.” She hit the locks on her black Land Rover, and they climbed inside.

  “Nice wheels.” He looked behind him and fidgeted with the console as he buckled his belt. “So, you had an asshole for a father? Was he a cop?”

  “Hell no. He was an abusive alcoholic. I left home at seventeen, which was as soon as I could.” She remembered the day that had happened. Her father had drunk himself into a stupor, and she’d driven all the way to Robert’s house in the rain. She shook off the memories of him as Darek cleared his throat.

  “And here I thought a pretty girl like you had a leg up.”

  His laughter surprised her. It was warm and reminded her a lot of Robert’s.

  “Who said I didn’t?” she asked, smiling.

  She headed across town, and the two fell into a comfortable silence. Even when they stopped for lunch, he didn’t have much to say, which only told her he had a lot on his mind; probably a lot more than a dead girl.

  It wasn’t until they were walking into the station that his curiosity seemed to get the best of him. “So, was it an uncle or brother? Surely, your leg up wasn’t a boyfriend or husband, with the whole lesbian rumor flying around.”

  “You heard about that one?” She figured Max had told him. “Yet, you’re still asking about the men in my life?”

  “So, was it a girlfriend?” His surprise was amusing.

  “I guess it’s going to be another mystery for you to solve, Detective.” She laughed and walked ahead of him.

  “Hey, wait. Don’t I get any clues?”

  “Yeah, I’ll give you one, but that’s it. I’m not a lesbian.” She flashed him a wink, and his cheeks turned red with his smile.

  Maxwell Smith approached, and she couldn’t help but want to smooth down his dirty blond hair, though she kept her hands to herself. He’d had the same sexy, disheveled look at the academy, and although he pulled it off, she was more of a hair in place kind of girl who preferred men who took things seriously.

  “I was just about to call you two,” Max said. “We have the identity of the victim. Her name is Alicia David. Twenty-three years old. She’s a local girl, works as an escort, and has a short record. She’s been in trouble for some petty theft as a juvenile and has one drug arrest from about a year ago. There’s no family to speak of. Her mother left the city years ago, and her father is unknown. The girl doesn’t have a soul to notify, other than a roommate.”

  Max seemed plea
sed with himself. Lizzy wondered if he’d ever advance and how well he’d do if his partner wasn’t around to hold his hand.

  “And whoever this ‘Lover’ is,” Darek said.

  Max leaned on his desk. “I put a list together of tattoo parlors and sex shops in town. A few are in the same location.”

  Darek walked to the closest coffee pot and poured himself a cup of black. “That’s interesting. Maybe we should start there?”

  “Agent McNamara,” said a voice from across the room. Lizzy turned to see Special Agent Sam Reed had finally shown up as promised.

  “Agent Reed.” Her smile widened, and she walked over to greet him with a handshake, which he quickly turned into a side hug. She noticed Darek’s suspicious look and knew he thought he’d figured out the leg up, but he was way off base. Agent Reed was simply her boss, one who liked to welcome her with a hug.

  She preferred not to be so close to anyone, but she’d learned to give people the little things they wanted when it came to affection. The practice got her further along in life. She’d been told to use any opportunity as it came, each and every one, and there was a strategy with the pencil skirts and pumps, one she’d found had been most effective when working with men.

  “You have some good news for me I hope,” Agent Reed said. “I don’t like the manner of death. Carving a message? It screams front page news.” The man pulled an antacid roll from his pocket and chewed one of the tablets directly from the foil. He ate the things like candy.

  “Yeah, we’re doing our best to keep things under wraps,” Lizzy said. “We finally have a name, and we have a few leads to follow. She was wearing a collar and had a tattoo taking up most of her back, which is where the carving took place. It overlapped a little bit, but we have photographs to start with. The victim was also wearing a submissive collar, so we’re looking into that as well. Couple that with the fact that she’s an escort, and I’m sure we’re looking at someone she’s been seen around with.”

  “Sounds good,” Reed said. “Get out there, and let’s catch this bastard before we get a repeat. And while we’re talking about repeats, take into consideration any murder in the past with the same signatures. We need to know if we have a copycat, or if this is similar to anything we’ve seen.”

  “Does it look familiar?” She folded her arms across her chest and shifted her stance.

  “Honey, I’m so old, I’ve seen it all before. As the old saying goes, there’s nothing new under the sun.” With that, he turned and headed in the direction of Chief Robbins’s office while she was still cringing over his term of endearment. She wasn’t anyone’s honey. The last person who called her that had been her father.

  4

  Darek

  Once the crime scene photos had found their way to Darek’s desk, he and Lizzy headed out to the victim’s apartment, which was all the way across town from the hotel where she was killed.

  “This place doesn’t look so bad,” Darek said, surveying the apartment building. He buzzed up to the room and waited until they were let in.

  “I’ve lived in worse,” Lizzy said.

  She certainly didn’t look like it, and he had a feeling the gorgeous woman was going to be full of surprises. For one, she was much softer than she first appeared, but still, somehow stronger, all at once. It was the strangest thing, and he’d thought he understood strong, complicated women.

  He stayed a step behind her until they got to the elevator where he stepped around to push the button. “So, you have some sort of relationship with your boss? That was some hug.” He could tell that the hug and the endearment had turned her off, and he laughed when she made a face.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She laughed, and he was relieved that she wasn’t insulted.

  “Well, this is going to be an awkward game,” Darek said. “But you’ve given me the challenge of figuring you out.”

  “And most women would be insulted, right? I’m perfectly okay with the fact that you’re a misogynist who thinks that women have to have some sort of wiles or sexual advantage.” The elevator door pinged and a moment later, it opened.

  “Ouch, you’re the one who said you said you had one, not me.” He knew he sounded a bit defensive, but she laughed loudly, her voice filling up the elevator as they stepped inside.

  “Calm down,” she said. “I’m not angry. I’m pulling your leg. And don’t try to kill yourself figuring me out. In time, you’ll learn that I’m pretty transparent, but do you really need to know me so quickly?”

  “Call me impatient. I’m intrigued.” It was exciting to get to work with someone who challenged him in new ways. He loved Max, but like any other partnership, they could get on each other’s nerves.

  “Makes me wonder what else Max said about me.” She gave him a glance over her shoulder as she exited the elevator.

  He laughed. She’d remembered Max, too, and she contemplated telling him what she knew of the guy and what he was like back in the academy.

  Lizzy knocked on the victim’s apartment door. A moment later, it opened a crack, and a freckle-faced redhead stuck her head out.

  “Kari Foster? I’m Special Agent Lizzy McNamara, and this is Detective Blake with the NYPD.”

  “Come in.” The girl’s eyes were red as if she’d been crying. She was dressed in a baggy flannel shirt with yoga pants and bare feet. She curled up on the sofa and offered them a seat.

  Darek opened the envelope containing the crime scene photos and passed it to Lizzy. He hated showing the images to the girl, but he knew it was a necessary evil.

  “How long has Alicia lived here with you, Kari?” Lizzy kept the photos turned face down so Kari couldn’t see them.

  “About nine months. We weren’t terribly close. Two ships in the night kind of thing. I worked when she was home and vice versa.” She picked at her cuffs, flicking the lint off.

  “She worked as an escort,” Lizzy said. “Do you know if any of her clients were problematic?”

  Darek spoke up. “Did she have a boyfriend that didn’t like her career path?”

  They each had thrown out something for the girl to chew on a bit.

  “No, she wasn’t seeing anyone as far as I knew, but we weren’t exactly the type of friends to talk about our relationships. I focus on my work, and she focused on hers. And well, to be honest, I didn’t want to know what kind of shit she was doing with the clients. I asked her one time, and she said she was into pain. That was all I needed to hear.”

  “Pain? Like she got off on pain?” Darek’s eyes narrowed.

  “Yeah,” Kari said. “She called herself a pain slut. Showed me where some guy had put a sewing needle through her wrist. After that, I just didn’t ask.”

  “The escort agency she was going through doesn’t have that kind of reputation,” Darek said. “How long ago was that?”

  She blew out a breath that sent her bangs in motion. “As far as I know, that was just a client or two being sick. It happened months ago. She didn’t do that stuff all the time, and she said they paid her really well for the freaky stuff.” The girl held up her hands and winced. “I know it sounds horrible, and I feel awful for what happened, but I never really cared how she got her money, just that the rent was paid. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t afford this kind of place on my own.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find another roommate.” Darek’s words weren’t meant to offend or be insensitive, but Lizzy gave him a look that made him wish he could take them back.

  “The last time you saw Alicia, was she wearing a collar like this one?” Lizzy showed the image of the collar still around Alicia’s neck.

  The girl stared with widened eyes and covered her mouth. “No. Oh god. What happened to her?”

  “She was stabbed. Someone carved a message into her back just under that big tattoo.” Lizzy held the image out, and the girl shook her head.

  “Alicia didn’t have a tattoo. Not that I knew of.”

  “This one was on her back,
” Lizzy said. “When was the last time you saw her back?”

  “I don’t know, maybe a month. With our schedules, it’s hard to tell, but she used to give me a hard time about my ink.” The girl raised her arm and pulled up her sleeve. She had an intricate tattoo of a lacy band and flowers on her wrist. “I guess she could have gotten it recently.” She let out a long sigh.

  Darek leaned in closer, giving the girl his sincerest smile. “It’s beautiful work.”

  “Thank you.” She pulled her sleeve down.

  Lizzy cleared her throat. “Does the cuff signify anything?”

  “I wanted a half-glove, but the man at the shop said I’d need too many touch ups on my hand. So, I just got the cuff instead.”

  “Where’d you get it done?” Lizzy gave her a warm smile, and the girl eased a little bit.

  “On the corner at Ink Bites.” She shook her head, and fresh tears pooled in her eyes. “For a minute, I’d hoped there’d been a mistake.” She glanced back down to Lizzy’s lap where the photo lay. “That’s her, though.”

  “Is there anything else you can tell us?” Lizzy pressed, and Darek let her lead. “A reason she might have had a collar on? Anyone she considered a lover?”

  “No, I really don’t know anything. I wish I did. Life’s so fucked up. You live with someone and don’t even know them. I wish now I’d known her better.”

  “Did she ever bring clients here? Any men?” Lizzy gave her a pressing look.

  “As I said, if she did, I wasn’t home and never saw them, but I know she told me she used the place a couple of times. One was a girl. I hadn’t known she was bisexual until then. Not that it mattered to me, but I’d never known it before.” She wiped her eyes.

  “Did the two of you ever get physical after you found out?” Lizzy’s question surprised Darek. He never would have been bold enough to ask it himself.