As far as Chung was concerned, he hadn't really told them anything about the man they were looking for that hadn't already been figured out. But if the department wanted to throw away money by bringing in a criminologist to educate them about their killer, who was he to complain? He would leave that to Leila, assuming she was of the same mind, since she was Herridge's point person in the department.
"Hey," he heard and looked up to see Renee standing there.
"Hey." Chung grinned, happy for the good-looking distraction. "I took the liberty of ordering you an espresso." He seemed to recall that was something she drank.
She sat down. "Thanks."
He studied her as she tasted the coffee. Her hand was trembling. Was it him or something else?
"So what's up?" he asked curiously.
Renee eyed him. "I was just wondering how the investigation was coming along regarding the murder of Shannon Nguyen?"
Why am I not surprised? Chung thought, sipping his drink. "It's coming along," he told her.
"Do you have any suspects?"
"No one's been arrested yet, if that's what you're asking." He paused. "Other than that, we're still investigating, so it's open ended."
She looked down into her coffee, as if searching for clues to the universe. When she looked up, Renee said unevenly: "I think I know who killed her—"
"Oh..." This got Chung's attention.
She nodded and said: "My boyfriend..."
Chung thought about the guy he had caught a glimpse of when he bumped into Renee at a club before meeting with Shichiro Gutierrez, a drug dealer.
"What's your boyfriend's name?"
"Franco Romalotti."
"What makes you think he had anything to do with the murder...?"
Renee explained how she and her friend saw Romalotti leave a café with Shannon Nguyen on Saturday, the same day she was killed.
"That doesn't mean he murdered her," Chung said skeptically.
"Doesn't mean he didn't either," she contended. "Doesn't it seem just a little too coincidental that Franco was with her and, hours later, she's found strangled to death?"
Chung had to admit that it was too much to just dismiss out of hand. "Maybe you're right. Did you ask him about it?"
"No way!" Her voice rose an octave. "Like I'm going to tell a possible serial killer that I saw him with his last victim." She paused. "But he did catch me reading about the case online and it seemed to freak him out."
Chung gazed at her contemplatively. "You think?"
"I don't know," she said. "Maybe I was the one freaking out. All I know is that I got a weird feeling when we talked about it. He knows something about this case—I can feel it—probably a lot more than I want to think about. If Franco is the Zip Line Killer, you need to stop him before someone else dies."
"I hear you," Chung said, believing it was worth checking out. If Franco Romalotti turned out to be the killer, it would be a big feather in his cap to be the one who nabbed him. "I'll bring Romalotti in for questioning as a person of interest."
Renee sighed. "Thank you."
"I hope you're wrong about him." He could tell she felt the same way, but believed otherwise.
* * *
Franco Romalotti sat in the interrogation room fidgeting. Chung had picked him up at his grandmother's house in Kaanapali, saying only that it was in regard to a case they were working on.
Now it was up to him to determine if Renee was onto something in pointing the finger at her part-time boyfriend. Then Leila could take a crack at him if she wanted.
Chung studied the suspect while sitting across from him. Romalotti was twenty-eight, dark-haired, tall, slender, and not bad looking. Could he be describing the Zip Line Killer?
Chung got right to the point. "We're investigating the murder of Shannon Nguyen." He watched Romalotti react the way one does when they're unnerved by something.
"What does that have to do with me?" Romalotti asked, as though not a clue.
Chung narrowed his eyes. "You were seen with her on Saturday afternoon, the day she was killed. Does that ring any bells?"
Romalotti tensed. "Yeah, we got together, went to her place, had sex, and then I left."
"You left her dead?" Chung asked tartly.
"No—she was definitely alive when I left her apartment."
"Yet she's dead now and, for the moment, you're our number one suspect." Chung let that sink in and added: "Your girlfriend certainly believes you murdered Ms. Nguyen—"
"Renee—?" Romalotti's left brow rose. "What does she have to do with this?"
Chung thought about backtracking, knowing they had both slept with her and Shannon. But only one of them was sitting there as a murder suspect. And he had Renee to thank for it.
"Her name came up during the investigation in the process of trying to track you down," Chung lied. "When we talked to her, she confessed to seeing you and Ms. Nguyen together at a café in Kihei on Alanui Kealii Drive. Since she's a reporter who was looking into the murder, it didn't take much for her to put two and two together to reach her conclusion. Once the DNA and fingerprint data comes in, I'm sure it will match yours and—"
"I didn't kill her," Romalotti said, cutting him off. "But I might know who did—"
Chung wondered if he was simply trying to throw suspicion off himself. "I'm listening..."
Romalotti rubbed his nose. "Shannon told me that she had been hooking up with one of her instructors. But she broke it off when he tried to use zip line to tie her hands during sex. She accused him, half-jokingly, of being the Zip Line Killer. Though he denied it, she said there was something in his eyes that made her believe otherwise. Then she supposedly read some articles about the victims of the serial killer that scared the hell out of her. The instructor told her if she knew what was good for her, she would keep her mouth shut, but she chose not to."
The whole story sounded way too pat. But did that mean it wasn't true?
"What's the name of this instructor?" Chung asked.
"She didn't say."
Chung frowned. "Too bad. If that's all you've got, it might not be enough to let you off the hook, especially since we can place you at the apartment complex during the time of the crime—"
"Shannon said that he worked in the Ethnic and Racial Studies Department at the College of Maui," Romalotti stated. "That's all I know."
Fortunately, that was more than enough information for Chung to hone in on another suspect—one who had been on their radar before.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Leila sat at her desk looking over the list of names of people Shannon Nguyen knew, any of whom could have killed her. Or knew who did.
One name that wasn't on the list was Jonny Chung. She had no proof that he had been with her and he hadn't volunteered such information. As such, he got a free pass for the moment while she concentrated on more likely suspects.
You won't get away with this, whoever you are, she thought to herself. Shannon and the others deserved a better fate than he gave them. Leila knew it was up to her and the Homicide Unit to complete what they had started. Even if some other cases had managed to slow them down a bit, they were now refocused on this case—which was bad news for the killer, especially now that he had upped his game to hitting his victims. Or at least he'd hit the last one, which was something that might come back to haunt him.
"Detective Kahana..." a voice said, getting Leila's attention.
Leila lifted her face and gazed up at a leggy, thirty-something, blonde-haired, green-eyed woman. She was dressed in business casual clothing and there was a large purse strapped over one shoulder.
"That's me," Leila said. "How can I help you?"
"Actually, I hope I can help you," the woman said. "Or maybe we can help each other. My name's Skye Delaney. I'm a private investigator from Honolulu."
"Nice to meet you." Leila stood and shook her hand while thinking: What's a PI from Honolulu doing on Maui? "You're a long way from home, relatively speaking," she
said.
"You could say that," Skye conceded. "But it's a short trip back."
Leila smiled. "So what's this about?"
"I was hired by a woman to locate her daughter—twenty-three-year-old Hisako Takumi," Skye informed her. "She went missing on Oahu the day before Joyce Yashiro was murdered here on Maui."
"I'm not sure I follow you," Leila said. "Are you suggesting they're connected?"
"That's what I was hoping you could tell me. Ms. Takumi's remains were found a couple of days ago near Kahala Beach in Honolulu. She'd apparently been dead for a while, having been strangled with a zip line. She was fully clothed and there was no evidence of sexual assault. Also, there were no fingerprints or DNA left by the perpetrator. Ms. Takumi was last seen talking to a man who said he lived on Maui. Claimed he was an instructor at a college. Witnesses were able to provide a pretty good description of the man. One witness thought she heard Hisako call him Glenn. I'm here to see if I can track this Glenn down—with your help."
"Tell me more...." Leila said with interest.
Skye pulled a composite sketch from her pocket and passed it to Leila. "As an ex-cop, I had the Honolulu PD run this through the system for a face recognition match and nothing came up. The official investigation into Hisako Takumi's murder is obviously still active, with several local suspects front and center, which I'm not buying. Maybe this man has come to your attention. I suspect Ms. Takumi's murder is either another copycat killer, like with Joyce Yashiro, or it's the work of your Zip Line Killer, who I understand has struck again. Given that you've worked both cases, well, here I am..."
Leila peered at the sketch, which she had to admit was every bit as detailed as her sketches were. It only took one good look at the suspect's face, coupled with the name Glenn that the victim had mentioned, for a bell to ring.
Glenn Diamont.
He taught at the College of Maui and had been a suspect in Joyce Yashiro's murder. Ironically, Diamont's alibi was that he had been in Honolulu at the time, which had checked out. It also placed him there around the time Hisako Takumi was killed.
Was he innocent of one murder only to be guilty of another? And possibly several more as the Zip Line Killer?
Leila looked at Skye. "Yes, he was a suspect in Joyce Yashiro's murder."
Skye cocked a brow. "Really...?"
"Yes, and he was cleared when we learned that he had attended a conference in Honolulu at the time."
"Wow!" Skye said. "What are the odds?"
"Not very good, I'm afraid," Leila muttered flatly, wondering if Diamont was actually their guy. "Especially since Joyce Yashiro had accused him of stalking her. It's not a very big jump from stalking to murder and then serial murder."
"This is so weird," Skye said. "But I guess it usually is when dealing with murder."
"It is in my world," agreed Leila.
"I think I'd like to have a talk with Glenn Diamont," Skye told her.
"You and me both," Leila said.
"Make that three of us," they heard a voice say.
Leila turned to see Chung approaching. "Who's this?" he asked, gazing at Skye.
She introduced herself: "Skye Delaney, private detective."
"Nice to meet you," he said.
Leila didn't doubt it. She was happy to see, though, that the search for Shannon Nguyen's killer had moved away from him.
"You too," Skye told him.
"So what's this about going to see Glenn Diamont?" he asked.
Leila ran the whole thing by him, with Skye adding a few details here and there.
"I think he murdered Shannon Nguyen, along with several others," Leila told him bluntly.
Chung was looking at the composite sketch, when he said: "I think you're right about Diamont..." There was an edge to his tone, as though he knew something she didn't.
"What do you have?" she asked instinctively.
"A friend of Nguyen's told me she was involved with an instructor who worked in the College of Maui's Ethnic and Racial Studies Department—and that he liked using zip lines to tie up his partners while having sex. In addition, she reportedly found articles on the Zip Line Killer's victims, scaring the crap out of her. The instructor warned her not to say anything about it—or else."
"And you believe this friend?" questioned Leila.
"Yeah, I think he's on the level," Chung said. "And considering that we saw Shannon Nguyen cozying up to Diamont, the pieces fit—especially with the Honolulu murder Skye brought to the table."
"If the info I've given you can help bring down a serial killer, it's good for everyone on both islands," Skye said.
"True," Leila agreed. Her cell phone buzzed. She answered it and listened to the caller. "We'll be right there," she told him, disconnecting and then turning to Chung. "It was Lovato... He's got something on the apartment surveillance video—"
* * *
In the crime lab, Leila, Chung, and Skye Delaney stood over forensic video tech David Lovato as he sat in front of his equipment.
"What did you find?" Leila asked anxiously.
Lovato scratched his cheek. "Well, as you can imagine, there was a lot of coming and going at the apartment complex and the security cameras could only catch a small part of it. But, based on the estimated time of death, I was able to isolate some footage you might find interesting."
"Get to it, already," Chung barked at him.
"Okay, okay. Here we go..." Lovato started the video. "Now pay close attention. There's this guy coming from the complex..."
Leila noted the image of a man in his late twenties, slim, with black or dark brown hair. It wasn't Glenn Diamont.
"His name is Franco Romalotti," Chung informed her. "He was banging Shannon Nguyen. The two did the nasty just before the murder. I'm guessing the killer waited for Romalotti to leave before catching Nguyen off guard."
Leila frowned at Lovato. "Is that all you've got...?"
"No, I have one more suspect for you—" he said, moving the footage forward.
Leila watched the man move rapidly from the apartment building toward the parking lot. "Can you bring that in closer?"
"No problem."
"Okay, now slow it down," she said.
Lovato followed her instructions. "How's that...?"
"Perfect." Leila's eyes widened as she got a good look at the man who had become their number one suspect in the murder of at least two women, including Shannon Nguyen. "It's Diamont!"
"A dead ringer for the person in the composite sketch," Skye said.
"No kidding," Chung added. "We can now place Glenn Diamont at the scene of the crime clearly trying to sneak away."
Leila concurred. "When you add that to everything else, we've got more than enough circumstantial evidence to get a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of murder in the deaths of Shannon Nguyen and Hisako Takumi, for starters."
"Let's go get the son of a bitch!" Chung said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, let's go," said Leila, equally eager to get him into police custody.
"Mind if I tag along?" Skye asked.
Normally Leila wasn't high on civilians accompanying them on potentially dangerous missions. But she looked like she could take care of herself. Besides, it was Skye Delaney whose private detective skills helped break the case.
"Be our guest," she told her. "Just stay out of the way."
Skye smiled and Leila maintained her nothing-but-business face as they prepared to go after a possible serial killer.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Leila, Chung, and other detectives, along with several uniformed officers, converged on a two-story home on Kopiko Street in Wailuku. A silver Land Rover was parked in a carport.
Armed with her department-issued Glock 23 pistol and wearing a bulletproof vest, Leila motioned for the officers to kick the door open.
They did and Leila led the way in, announcing them as law enforcement. Rushing up the steps, she opened the first door she came to and, with gun drawn and ready to fire, saw Glenn Dia
mont getting out of bed, half-naked. Still in the bed and attempting to cover up, was a young woman. Leila imagined she was another coed like Shannon Nguyen, who perhaps would end up with a similar fate.
"Stay there!" Leila ordered her.
"What's the meaning of this?" Diamont asked, his face contorted with rancor as he was rushed by officers and quickly handcuffed.
"We have a warrant to search this place," she told him unkindly.
"For what?" He rolled his eyes. "You don't still think I had anything to do with Joyce's death, do you?"
"No, that one's on her bastard husband," Leila hated to say. "Unfortunately, you're in the hot seat again—this time in connection with the death of Shannon Nguyen."
Leila watched the young woman react, prompting her to say: "If you knew Shannon, consider yourself fortunate, as your lover here murdered her—"
Diamont glared at her. "That's ridiculous!"
"I don't think so," Leila argued. "You're going down for this."
"You have no proof of anything," he snorted.
"Maybe more than you think," Chung said, entering the room. In his latex gloved hand was a plastic bag. It contained women's items, including pearl earrings. "Found these stashed away in another room. I'm guessing these belonged to your victims and you took them as trophies of the kills—"
"I've got something else," Officer Marilyn Tamayose said from the doorway while holding a plastic bag. "We found zip line, rope, a cutter, and gloves in a storage room."
Leila walked up to the suspect's smug face. "Has the cat suddenly snatched out your tongue?" He sneered, but remained silent. No matter. She'd heard enough and said with disdain while producing a document: "By the way, in case you hadn't already figured it out... Glenn Diamont, we have a warrant for you arrest for the murder of Shannon Nguyen—"
She read him his rights, while thinking: That should keep him on ice till we add more murders to his homicide portfolio.
* * *
Seymour sat before the man now suspected in the murders of at least five women, four of them on Maui. He had beaten around the bush on the death of Shannon Nguyen as if this was a damned game of hide and seek. This was in spite of the strong case they now had against him, including forensic evidence that linked the zip line used to strangle Nguyen to that confiscated from Glenn Diamont's house. And the pearl earrings he had were linked to Nguyen through DNA and photographs.
Murder on Kaanapali Beach Page 22