by James Carol
Perez rocked back in his chair and steepled his hands beneath his chin. He tapped his top lip twice, thinking. ‘Thank you for that, Agent Tanaka. A couple of things, though. A city the size of Tampa, there are going to be plenty of messy marriage break-ups. How do we work out which one’s The Sandman? And how far back do we go? A year? Ten years? And what makes you so sure he was married, anyway? Maybe he was just cohabitating with the mother of his kid.’
They were good questions, the sort of questions that raised Yoko’s opinion of Perez even higher because they were the questions of a cop rather than a politician. ‘Remember, there’s a reason behind an organised offender’s actions. Our job is to understand those reasons. All the victims had been married and that establishes a pattern. For that reason I’m certain that The Sandman was married. As for the question of time, since the first murders took place in April I’d start by looking at custody battles that happened between six months and a year ago. The custody battle was probably the trigger. However, without knowing more it’s difficult to say how much time passed before he started killing.’
Perez was nodding as though this made sense.
‘Something else that might help to narrow things down: the first crime in a series is unique in that the offender has been planning and fantasising about it for some time, maybe even years. They need fuel for those fantasises and that tends to come from their immediate surroundings, from the things they see on regular basis. Geographically speaking, you could be looking for someone who lived or worked close to the first crime scene.’
Perez was still nodding. Dixon had stopped writing and was nodding, too.
‘Anything else you can add?’ the lieutenant asked.
‘Yes, you need to consider how he stalks his victims.’
Dixon was quick with a response. ‘Since he’s specifically targeting mothers and daughters, the theory we’re working on is that he watches the schools the kids go to. So far that one hasn’t panned out, though.’
‘Malls are another possibility. Did any of the pairs of victims frequent one particular mall?’
‘If they all did then that would be something they had in common. We could be looking for a security guard,’ Dixon suggested.
‘Or a shop assistant. It’s definitely worth checking out.’
Dixon scribbled a quick note on her pad.
‘Anything else?’ asked Perez.
Yoko shook her head. ‘Sorry, that’s it for now. I should be able to add more after I’ve taken a look at the latest crime scene and had a chance to talk to some of the people who knew Heidi.’
The short silence that followed this was broken by Winter. ‘Does this mean we can go and take a look at the crime scene now?’
Chapter 8
Seminole Heights was a short drive north on I-275. Dixon was in the lead car, a bulky 4×4 covered in Tampa PD markings. The roof lights were flashing and her foot was hard on the gas pedal. The rented Chevrolet was keeping up, but only just.
Winter was buckled into the passenger seat reading the autopsy reports from the first two murders. He kept flipping between them, comparing the details. He was completely absorbed with what he was doing, just like he had been when he’d looked at the crime-scene photographs back at the restaurant. She gave it another mile, then asked, ‘Anything interesting?’
‘Not really.’ Winter snapped shut the report he was reading and pitched both the files onto the rear seat. ‘The moms were stabbed and the kids were smothered. But we knew that already.’
They pulled off the interstate and within a couple of streets it was as though they’d arrived in a different city. According to Dixon, Seminole Heights had experienced an upsurge in popularity in recent years, with families and young professionals queuing up to buy ‘their own little piece of quaint’. Yoko could see what the sergeant was getting at. The streets were wide and open and lined with trees, and hidden among those trees were old clapboard houses of all different colours.
A couple of minutes later they turned on to North Lambert Avenue. This was right at the edge of the neighbourhood, and it was clear that the property boom hadn’t reached this far. It would in time, but for now there was a sense that this area was comfortable and well worn rather than newly bought.
Heidi and Suzy had lived in a small two-bedroom house halfway along the avenue. The streets were narrower here, which might have explained why it wasn’t as popular with buyers. It wasn’t quite so quaint. The grass was scrubby and faded rather than lush and green. The house had been painted either pink or orange, but it was difficult to say which because it was dark. The car port had a tin roof that looked as though it might collapse at any moment.
Dixon pulled over to the kerb and killed her lights. Yoko parked behind her. The larger news stations were off chasing the next big story, but a couple of the smaller local stations were still here. The reporters spotted them and rushed over, camera crews trailing behind.
‘If possible, I’d prefer it if your face didn’t end up all over the news,’ she told Winter.
He smiled at that. ‘We really need to talk about this, don’t we? What would your superiors say if they knew that you’d kidnapped an innocent member of the public and dragged them kicking and screaming into your investigation.’
‘I’m serious, Jefferson.’
The smile became a grin. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t do anything to embarrass you. Believe me, the last thing I want is publicity.’ He pretended his hand was an airplane and made a swooshing noise. ‘I much prefer to fly under the radar.’
‘Whatever. Just keep your head down, okay?’
He tipped her a lazy salute. ‘Yes, ma’am.’
Yoko shook her head then got out of the Chevy and walked over to join Dixon. The reporters were shouting out questions to the sergeant from the other side of the crime tape. It was difficult to make out what they were saying because the words all ran together, but she caught the gist. Their questions boiled down to pretty much the same thing. Why haven’t you caught this asshole yet? It was a question that Dixon had no doubt asked herself plenty of times today.
‘Vultures.’ Dixon’s face was tight with stress, and there were dark smudges around her eyes. ‘Why can’t they go and do something that might benefit society, like drop dead?’
‘Unfortunately they’re a necessary evil,’ said Yoko.
‘Don’t you just love that First Amendment,’ Winter said breezily. Both women turned and stared, and his face turned mock serious. ‘If it’s all the same with you, I’d like to get inside sometime this evening.’
Without another word he turned and headed up the narrow path that led to the house. Yoko and Dixon exchanged a brief look, then followed. They caught up with him at the front door. He was crouched down studying the lock, and ignoring the questions being fired at him by the uniformed cop who’d been posted there. The cop appeared part pissed and part perplexed, which seemed to be a common reaction to Winter. If the kid was going to be any use to her, Yoko was going to have to work at smoothing down some of his more abrasive edges.
Dixon showed her badge and the cop stood aside to let them past. The front door opened on to an open-plan living area. There was a small dining table with space for four, a tidy functional kitchen at the back, and a couple of well-worn leather sofas. The TV was the main focal point. It wasn’t huge, but it was big enough for the cartoons to look impressive.
The two large framed photographs of Suzy on the walls had both been taken by a professional. The oldest was a black-and-white shot taken when she was around two or three. The newer one was colour and had been taken when she was a couple of years older. In that one she was wearing a pink dress and smiling.
She looked adorable, and it depressed Yoko to think that there wouldn’t be any more pictures. This job could get pretty bleak, but it was always worse when children were involved. Those were the days when she wondered why she bothered. If the world was going all to hell, like it must be if something like this could be allowed to happen
, then why not just let it? But then someone had to step up for the Suzys of this world. When their voices had been stolen, someone had to speak for them. Unfortunately, in this case that someone was her.
The first thing she’d noticed was the smell of blood. This was closely followed by the white outline on the blood-stained rug that marked the place where Heidi had died. It was the first place Yoko had looked when she came in, and it was the first place Dixon had looked, too. This was car-crash curiosity in its most visceral form. Even if you wanted to look away, you couldn’t help yourself. Not unless your name was Jefferson Winter. He’d given the rug a perfunctory glance, then headed towards the narrow corridor that led from the kitchen.
Yoko let him go. The crime-scene investigators had picked this place apart, so she doubted he could cause too much damage back there. She could still remember all too clearly touring a crime scene with him during the Valentino case. That had been eye-opening, and more than a little unsettling. She was anxious to see what he’d make of this scene. At the same time her instincts were telling her to give him space to do his thing.
Winter disappeared through the open doorway and she looked at the rug again while she attempted to get her head around what had happened here. Even if Heidi’s murder hadn’t been marked out like this, even if the stained rug was removed and the place was scrubbed clean from top to bottom, she would still have known this was a murder house. There was something about murder houses that affected her at the molecular level, a dark thrum that vibrated all the way through to the core. Her parents were superstitious and, although she liked to think of herself as rational and level-headed, the truth was that their influence ran deep.
Yoko took one last look at the rug then went after Winter. She found him in Suzy’s darkened bedroom. He was sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, eyes fixed on the bed, knees drawn up to his chest. He had one of Suzy’s soft toys clutched tight in his hands, a large Disney Tigger from the Winnie the Pooh TV series. A thin slash of light from the hall had cut through the open door, the point stopping just shy of his foot.
‘It’s not right,’ he whispered. ‘Parents are supposed to protect their kids. That’s the way it’s meant to work.’
He was speaking so quietly that Yoko struggled to hear. There was no disguising his anger, though. It came through in every syllable. What’s more, she was pretty sure that he wasn’t talking about Suzy Devlin here. She’d read the reports on Albert Winter’s arrest. The FBI had struck in the early hours of the morning. Winter had been found hiding in his room. By all accounts he’d been scared half to death, and understandably so. It must have been terrifying for an eleven-year-old.
The way he was sat there clutching Tigger, his knees pulled in tight, he looked much younger than twenty. It was easy to imagine him as that boy whose life was about to change for ever. Yoko had a lot of questions she would like to ask him, but this was neither the time nor the place. Heidi and Suzy were all that mattered right now.
Winter jumped suddenly to his feet, startling her. The energy levels in the room jumped up with him. He tossed Tigger onto the bed and turned to face her like he’d just noticed she was there.
‘Okay, Special Agent Tanaka, what do you think happened here?’
Chapter 9
What do you think happened here?
Winter’s question hung in the air between them. He was staring intently, his eyes demanding answers. Yoko felt like she’d just sat down to do an exam, which was ridiculous. If anyone should feel as though they were being tested it was him. She became aware of a movement in the narrow corridor and glanced over her shoulder. Dixon was standing there wearing a similar expression to Winter’s. Yoko moved further into the room and positioned herself so she could see them both.
‘The first thing the unsub needed to do was to take control of his victims and the environment. Establishing control is crucial in a crime like this. And he needed to do that before Heidi and Suzy had a chance to process what was happening. Also, you have a situation where he’s outnumbered, which increases the likelihood of something unaccounted for happening. Controlling one person is challenging enough. Controlling two, especially when one of them is a six-year-old kid who could do anything, is even tougher. Finally, you have to factor in the relationship between Heidi and Suzy. A loving mother will do anything to protect her kids, right? So the question we need to ask ourselves is how did he take control of the situation?’
Nobody answered. Dixon had her pad out again and was jotting down notes. Winter was watching her, studying her, his face unreadable. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
‘Suzy’s the key here,’ she went on. ‘The way I see this playing out, the first thing the unsub did was grab Suzy and use her to threaten Heidi. And Heidi would have complied because she would have been terrified and not thinking straight, and she’d be looking to do whatever she needed to do to protect her daughter. Like I said, speed was the critical factor. One second they were watching TV or eating dinner or whatever they did during their evening routine, the next they were dealing with The Sandman. While they were confused and reeling, that’s when he took control.’
‘What do you think the unsub used to threaten Suzy?’ Dixon asked.
‘It’s got to be a knife. A situation like this, it makes for a more dramatic statement. Heidi would have looked at the unsub standing there with a knife pressed against Suzy’s throat and her brain would have shut down. There’s no way any mother is going to be able to think straight under those sort of circumstances.’
‘What about a gun?’ Winter suggested. ‘If this is all about making a statement then that would be just as dramatic. If the unsub is standing there with a gun pointed at Suzy’s head then surely that’s got to be just as terrifying for Heidi.’
Yoko was shaking her head. ‘That doesn’t work. The threat needs to be credible. This house is detached, so noise isn’t a major consideration. A neighbourhood like this, raised voices would be part of the background noise. People have arguments all the time. Parents reach the end of their rope and shout at their kids. A gunshot is a different matter altogether. A gun goes off around here and someone is going to call the cops. I guarantee it. Something like that is not going to be ignored.’
‘But you said that Heidi wouldn’t have been thinking straight. Do you really think she’s going to be in a fit state to reason things out to that degree? Someone puts a gun to your kid’s head, you’re going to be scared to death.’
‘This isn’t about Heidi’s state of mind, it’s about the unsub’s. Committing a crime like this is risky, and that’s one of the reasons he does this. For the thrill. However, the risks he takes are calculated ones. He can’t afford a situation where his bluff gets called.’
‘I can buy that.’ This came from Dixon. Winter didn’t look so convinced.
‘Also,’ Yoko added, ‘with knives you can threaten by degrees. You can make small cuts. You can show a little blood. You don’t have to go straight for the jugular. With a gun, you don’t have that option. Once you pull the trigger, that’s it, game over.’
Winter still didn’t look convinced.
‘Finally, we know from what happened to Heidi and the other two moms that knives are his weapon of choice.’
‘And we get there in the end.’ Winter grinned and, crazy as it seemed, Yoko felt like she’d just passed the exam. ‘Okay, so what happens next?’
‘Next, he needs to make sure they can’t make any noise. He’s going to kill them one at a time and when that happens the screaming will start. A few shouts might be ignored, but end-of-the-world screaming won’t be. That one’s up there with gunfire. So he tosses a roll of duct tape across to Heidi, tells her to rip off a strip and put it over her mouth. She’s probably going to hesitate, so he’ll press the knife a little harder against Suzy’s throat to get some more tears. Heidi complies, then hands the tape back so the unsub can gag Suzy.’
Yoko stared at the shadows gathering in the corner of th
e room, scenarios running through her head. The soft toys arranged on the chair under the window appeared sinister in the gloomy half-light sneaking in from the hallway.
‘He binds Heidi’s hands and feet with the duct tape. Then he takes Suzy to her bedroom and smothers her with a pillow. At this point, Heidi won’t know that her daughter is dead so she’ll still be cooperating. The unsub toys with her for a while, then kills her and disappears into the night.’
She stopped talking and glanced at Dixon. The sergeant was still scribbling notes, the scratch of her pen overloud in the quiet room. Yoko was experiencing the chills she got when she stepped into a murder house. That tightness in her stomach, the dryness in her mouth. Yesterday this room had been filled with light and laughter. Today it was filled with despair. She became aware of Winter watching her, and was tempted to ask why. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and waited for him to speak.
‘It all sounds plausible.’
His words said one thing but his body language said something else entirely. Yoko suddenly felt as though she’d failed the exam, like the bell had gone and she’d just realised there was a page of questions she hadn’t seen.
‘So what do you think happened here?’ she asked in a level voice.
Winter smiled an annoying smile. ‘I’m going to have to get back to you on that one.’
‘You’re what!’
Yoko was usually an expert at hiding her emotions, but not this time. The words were out before she could do anything about them. Winter started laughing and that just wound her up even more. She took a deep breath, pulled herself back under control. Before she had a chance to say anything else, he walked out of the room. Dixon gave her a puzzled look, then they both went after him. Back down the hallway, back into the living room. They caught up with him at the front door where he was examining the lock again.