“Oh, my, God,” Toni whispered. She put her arm around Vicky’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m so sorry, honey. Is there something I can do for you?”
Vicky shook her head. Tears ran down her cheek. She dried them with the sleeve of her blazer. “I need to catch this bastard,” she hissed.
“You will, Vic,” Boggs said.
The doorbell rang again.“That’s probably Patty and Johnnie,” Vicky said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course we don’t mind,sweetie.”Toni let them in and Boggs got drinks for everyone. The group quietly headed downstairs to the basement. Toni could feel the sadness and desperation in the air. Johnnie sat in her usual spot at the end of the bar and opened her laptop. Patty sat next to her with her own laptop.
Patty broke the silence. “This doesn’t make any sense to me,” she said. “Why would he shoot Linda? Why not do the same thing with the stun gun?”
“Maybe he didn’t have enough time,” Johnnie said. “Maybe someone came around and he panicked or something. Did you guys do a canvass of the area?”
“Yeah, we did,” Vicky said. She was on her third beer and had apparently gone from distraught over the death of her friend to anger. “No one heard or saw a God damned thing. What’s wrong with people? Don’t they look out for their neighbors?”
“We did talk to an older lady who lives in the building,” Patty said. “She lives upstairs on the other side. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but she thought she heard a firecracker that afternoon.”
“So the guy must have used a silencer,” Johnnie said. “And if it sounded like a firecracker, it was probably a nine millimeter or a thirty-eight.”
“It was a nine millimeter,” Vicky confirmed. “We found the slug in the wall.”
“I’m assuming it was in no condition to do any decent ballistic testing,” Johnnie said.
“No, it wasn’t.”
“What was the time of death according to the M.E.?” Boggs asked.
“Between two and six yesterday afternoon,” Vicky replied.
“I guess that’s a time when a lot of folks aren’t home from work yet,” Toni said. “Maybe that’s why no one saw anything.”
Patty thumbed through their list from the Fairfield Human Rights Campaign. “She’s on the list here. Linda Dahl is right here. What is her partner’s name?”
Vicky’s eyes began to tear up. “Her name is Debbie Harper,” she said quietly.
“She’s on here too.” Patty tossed the papers on the bar. “This is crazy.”
“At least it was quick,” Boggs said.
Vicky glared at her.
“I mean, well, you said she was shot in the back of the head. That means she didn’t see it coming and it was over in a flash.” Boggs looked at the floor. “No disrespect or anything, but at least she wasn’t tortured.” She kept her eyes lowered. “I guess that doesn’t sound right.”
Toni rubbed her back. “I understand what you’re saying, hon. And I agree. At least that’s something.”
Vicky took a deep breath. “You’re right, Boggs. I’m sorry. This is beginning to be too much.We’ve got to figure this bastard out. Maybe Johnnie’s right and he got spooked and that’s why he used a gun.”
“I don’t think so,”Toni said quietly.Everyone looked at her.“I think this is different. Maybe it’s a second list like Cathy said.”
“Why the hell would he do that?” Patty asked.
“No clue,” Toni said. “But it makes sense to him. Not to us, but to him. I’m sure of that.”
“Maybe he’s one of those multiple kind of people,” Johnnie said. “And one of them uses a stun gun and the other uses a real gun.” Her sarcasm wasn’t hard to mistake.
“Very funny,” Toni replied, “but you might have something there. Not two different personalities, but two separate things. Same result, but I’m thinking he sees this as different.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Vicky said. “But if someone will get me another beer, I might be able to figure it out.” Her frustration and anger were apparent.
Johnnie was closest, so she pulled out a bottle of beer from the little refrigerator, popped off the cap and handed it to Patty. Patty leaned back and handed it to Vicky, who rolled her eyes. “Gee, don’t put yourself out or anything, Johnnie.” She took a long drink and nodded to Toni. “Go ahead.”
“Okay, I’m going to go on the assumption that Cathy was correct when she saw two lists. She’s been dead-on in the past.”
“Bad choice of words, babe.” Boggs grinned.
“Sorry. Anyway, I think that he’s got two missions or whatever,” Toni continued. “One is far more structured, or at least it feels that way. He zaps the person first, then goes to the trouble of duct taping them to a chair. It’s as though he needs them as an audience or something. Otherwise, why not just kill them immediately? Like he did with Linda.”
“That makes sense to me,” Boggs said. “So maybe this guy performs some kind of ritual that he wants the victim to see.”
“Exactly,” Toni said. “I’m thinking he does all that before he administers the insulin. Then he ends it with the rock or stone.”
“That means if Amy wakes up, she’d be able to tell us,” Vicky said. “If that’s the pattern, then she definitely saw the guy and heard everything. The neighbor interrupted him just as he was starting to inject the medicine.”
“We’ve got to figure out the connection between these people,” Toni said.
“You don’t think it’s just people on the list?” Patty asked. “You think there’s something else?”
“I do,” Toni said, “but I’m not sure what it is. It’s obvious to him, but not to us. At least not yet.”
“What about the two prostitutes?” Johnnie said. “How do they fit it? They aren’t on the list.”
“Shit, that’s right,” Toni said. “But wait, maybe that will help us anyway. What if our killer started out with these two women, then graduated to the list? It might be easier to find the connection the two of them share. Can we find out more about them?”
Vicky sat up straighter now, and although she was definitely a bit impaired, she was able to focus a little more. “Hey, Johnnie. How about getting me a Coke? And Patty, let’s see if we can interview more people who knew either of these two women. The prostitutes, I mean. I think Toni might be on to something here. What were their names again?”
Patty flipped through her notebook while Johnnie retrieved a Coke from the refrigerator. This time Johnnie actually handed the can to Vicky.
“I’ve got it right here,” Patty said. “Okay, the first one was Catherine Geneis and she’s the one who died over a month ago of a drug overdose. The second one was Irene Levitch and we haven’t been able to find her yet.”
“How sure are we that she died of a drug overdose?” Toni asked. “Since she was a prostitute, how close did the M.E. look?”
“Good point,” Vicky said. “Although I’m not sure there’s much we can do about that now.Are you thinking that our maniac might have returned to finish the job?”
“Just a thought,” Toni replied. “I figured we needed to keep an open mind.”
“Very true. Okay,” Vicky said after a slug of Coke. “Patty, check and see if you can get their Social Security numbers or something from the police reports. Or maybe from arrest records, because I’m pretty sure they were both picked up more than once, although I doubt they did any state time.”
It only took about five minutes for Patty to get the information. “Can you look them up?” Vicky asked Johnnie. “And do some fancy cross-checking to see if you can locate their parents or siblings or something?”
“I’ll do my best,” Johnnie said as she lit a cigarette. “I’m not sure about the siblings on short notice, but I can get the names and addresses for the parents.” She hit several keys. After several minutes, she grinned. “I’ve got the first one. Are you ready?” she asked Patty.
“Go.”
“Catherine Geneis’s father was Pierre Geneis. He died in 1995. Her mother’s name is Antoinette Bridges. She apparently remarried in 1998 and she lives here in Fairfield.”
“Are they French?” Boggs asked. “Was Catherine a French citizen or a United States citizen? Not that it matters, but it might be relevant.”
“Her parents were from France, but she was born here,” Johnnie replied. She read off the address of Catherine’s mother. “It doesn’t look like she had any brothers or sisters.”
“Well, at least we have an address for the mother,” Vicky said. “Thank you. What about the second woman, Irene? The one we can’t seem to find.”
While Johnnie was looking up the information, Vicky leaned over to Toni. “Could I trouble you for some coffee? I think I’d like to kill this buzz from the beer, and the Coke just isn’t cutting it.”
“Absolutely,” Toni said. “I’m making a pot of coffee,” she announced to the gang. “And bringing down some cookies to munch on. Who wants some?”
Whether it was the chill of the night or the fact that they all thought they’d be up for several more hours, everyone wanted coffee. Toni went upstairs and started a full pot. While it was brewing, she gathered Oreos and some chocolate chip cookies from the cupboard. She also grabbed a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints that she had put in the freezer. She figured they would thaw pretty quickly. Once the coffee had finished, she poured the entire pot into a large carafe and set it on a tray along with the cookies and small paper plates. She grabbed five mugs from the cabinet and a few spoons. There was half-and-half in the refrigerator downstairs, as well as sugar and liquor if anyone wanted their coffee spiked. She carried the loaded tray downstairs and set it on the table.
“Now I know why they call this a coffee table,” Toni said. “This is strictly a self-serve place, so help yourselves. I’ll pour the first cup, but you have to add your own fixin’s.”
“Did you actually say fixin’s?” Vicky asked.
“Yes, I did,” Toni said with a grin. “And these here vittles are fancy store-bought cookies.”
Vicky rolled her eyes while stuffing two Oreos in her mouth at the same time.
Boggs had already gotten the things they needed from the bar and for the next couple of minutes everyone busied themselves making their coffee and grabbing cookies.
“Thanks, Toni,” Vicky said in between bites of still frozen Thin Mints. After taking several sips of coffee, she continued, “tomorrow, Patty and I will track down the parents.”
“Hey, did you guys ask around the health food stores?” Toni asked.
“Sure did,” Patty said after finishing the rest of her Oreo. “One guy knew Peter, but only because he’d questioned him about a burglary last spring. No one else knew any of the guys.”
“What pictures did you show?” Boggs asked.
“We used the photos from their driver’s license,” Vicky said. “We showed them Peter, Joe the weird neighbor, Mevin and David Davidson.”
“But I found a conflict for David Davidson this morning,” Patty said. “So I think he’s off our list.”
“What was it?” Johnnie asked.
“He was at a wedding in Chicago when Maggie was killed. I double-checked.”
“Well, he wasn’t high on our list anyway,” Vicky said.
“I guess there’s a good possibility that our guy ordered the myrrh oil from the Internet,” Boggs said. “That’s how I do most of my shopping.”
“I think you’re probably right,” Vicky said. “I figured it was a long shot, but worth a try. I even asked the store managers if they could track who bought the oil, but they don’t have that capability. They’re pretty small stores.”
“Okay,” Johnnie said as she hit a few more keys, “I’ve got the info on Irene. Both parents are dead, killed in a car accident. Her dad was a rabbi. The only address listed for her in any of my databases is her parents’. It looks like she always used that as an address, even after they died. Hey, wait a minute.” She keyed in several more things. “I thought that address sounded familiar.”
“Someone else’s? Maybe one of our suspects?” Patty asked.
“No such luck,” Johnnie said. “The parents lived on Concord Street, across from the mall.”
“Oh, where those new restaurants are?” Toni asked.
“Yup. Irene was using the address even after all those houses were torn down for the new construction.” Johnnie shook her head. “There is nothing recent on her. This girl is either dead or has disappeared.”
“I agree,” Patty said looking at her own screen. “Over the past year or so, she was picked up about once every few weeks. Usually for soliciting or shoplifting, but since the assault where our guy bonked her on the head, she’s been clean. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
“So either she decided to make a new life for herself because of the trauma,” Toni said, “or she’s dead. Maybe he found her.”
“Bastard,” Vicky muttered.
“So how are these girls connected?” Boggs asked. “Is there something they share besides working the streets?”
“They are four years apart in age,” Patty said, looking at her notes. “I doubt they knew each other in school.”
“And Irene was Jewish,” Johnnie said. “I doubt that Catherine was, so church is probably out, although we should double-check on that.”
“Can we find out about what they did in high school?” Boggs asked. “Maybe they both were into dance, or theatre or something.”
“I’ll do that tomorrow,” Patty said. “It’s worth a shot.”
“What about the funerals?” Johnnie asked.
“Debbie will let me know,” Vicky said.
“Okay,” Johnnie said.“But I was wondering about the funerals of the other victims.”
Vicky refilled her mug of coffee. Toni noticed her eyes were filling up with tears at the mention of Linda’s funeral, but she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She cleared her throat before responding. “The other funerals, right. Well, we all went to Maggie’s, but none of us were thinking serial killer at that time. But, I went to the second one and Patty went to the third. We took photos of the crowd, but none of our suspects were there and no one stands out at all.”
Johnnie nodded. “I was just wondering. I noticed that there weren’t any protests or anything, so I’m thinking that the crazy Web site people aren’t involved.”
“I’m still thinking that there is some connection between the two women,” Toni said again. “I can’t shake that feeling. Maybe you’ll find something at the schools, Patty.” She refilled her own mug of coffee. “Oh, I got a sentencing memo from a year ago on Mevin,” she added.
Boggs was chewing on a now thawed Thin Mint. “I love these damn things. So, what did it say?”
“There wasn’t a lot of detail,” Toni said after finishing a chocolate chip cookie. “But it’s pretty interesting. It said that he’s an only child, raised in a strict fundamentalist home.”
“That will mess you up,” Vicky said.
“No kidding. He had lots of behavior problems in both grade school and junior high school and was diagnosed as oppositional.”
“What does that mean?” Patty asked.
“Pretty much that he won’t do what adults tell him to do,” Toni said. “Not a real serious thing as far as we’re concerned. His dad abandoned the family when he was twelve, but the memo didn’t say why. And at the time of his assault conviction, it said he was suffering from bipolar disorder.”
“That’s the up and down one, right?” Patty asked.
Toni smiled. “That’s an excellent description, yes. It used to be called manic-depressive disorder,” she continued. “It means that you have episodes of both. Some folks try to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. It can be mild or very severe. Some even have psychotic episodes.”
“That fits,” Vicky said. “He got the DWIs about the same time. But what about being delusional? Would that fit?”
“Hard
to say,” Toni said, “but it does make me wonder. We now know that he’s had mental health issues in the past along with a crappy childhood. If some other event happened around the same time, maybe that pushed him over the edge. But here’s the kicker. It said he’s a diabetic. I say he is a good contender.”
“Holy crap,” Johnnie said. “I agree.”
“Me, too,” Boggs added. “But I keep thinking about this guy being intelligent. This maniac, as Vic likes to call him, is smart. And he knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t leave any evidence.”
“I think Mevin’s smart enough,” Vicky said. “He made it through nursing school. And he’s obviously got access to insulin, whether it be his own or working at the hospital.”
“And there’s something about him,” Toni added. “I think he would be able to talk his way into a lot of people’s houses.”
“Didn’t you say that Charlie was going to do a sign-out sheet for the van?” Vicky asked.
“Yes. He calls me at least once a day, sometimes more, leaving messages. He’s positive that this one guy is responsible for the Peeping Tom thing. He’s getting on my nerves.”
“How come?” Patty asked.
“Well, I appreciate that he’s trying to help, don’t get me wrong,” Toni said. “But just knowing that he wouldn’t give me the time of day if he knew I was a lesbian, that pisses me off.”
“You’re a lesbian?” Boggs asked, acting horrified. “If I’d have known that, I’d never have suggested we live together.”
“Guess you’re stuck now,” Toni said with a smile on her face.
“Ick,” Johnnie added. “I hope you don’t rub off on the rest of us.”
Toni rolled her eyes at all of them. “Anyway, I’ll call Charlie tomorrow and ask him to fax me the sign-out sheet. Not that I think Mevin would sign out the van to go and kill someone, but maybe it will give us more information.”
“True,” Vicky said.
“And let’s ask Claire if she knows Mevin, or ever worked with him,” Boggs said. “Just because he works at Christian Hospital now doesn’t mean he didn’t work at other hospitals when he was a nurse.”
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