“I’m also having the civilian personnel tested. I’m going to have the staff that’s on now in the tip line office tested and have the other shifts tested as they come on. May I see you in your office, Lieutenant Gray?”
“Sure, you’re welcome in the coach’s office.”
Elgie stepped into Lieutenant Gray’s office, closed the door behind him, and took a seat.
“I think I’m going to go ahead and call Captain Greer and tell her about my suspicions before she hears a partial truth.”
“You haven’t told me specifics about your suspicions about my players. Would you like to enlighten me?”
“Sure, I can do that. Friday night, I got an email from the Butcher saying that I wasn’t going to fool him with the email to his old email address.”
“What’s suspicious about that?”
“I hadn’t sent out the email yet. Along with that, there’s the problem with the attack on the church. The only reason for that is if the Butcher knows the Father talked to me. The only way he could know that is because someone told him.”
“Or her, that is if you really think the Butcher’s accomplice could be a woman?”
“Not really, but I didn’t want to let the women off the hook and target the men.”
“Okay, I can understand that, but who do you think is the player that is throwing the game?”
“You have to keep this quiet because as I said before, I don’t want to ruin someone’s career without evidence. With that said, I suspect Detective McBean.”
“Why McBean?”
“Because he talks just like the Butcher. He says the same things he says in his calls and letters. No one else does that. He also seems to defend him whenever we say something about the Butcher’s potential meltdown. He said the Butcher is not like other serial killers and gives examples.
“He also knew why the Butcher had brutalized Kenny Wain, and he knew about the ammonia inhalants before the Butcher told us about those things in his letter.”
“But what about last week with the Whitefords? He was here when the Whitefords were killed or at least when the call was made.”
“The Whitefords murders were the only time the Butcher tried to throw off the time of death. Obviously, so he could establish an alibi. The only reason that would be necessary is if the Butcher knew I might be close to catching him.”
“What about the phone call?”
“If you recall, when I came into the task force office McBean was in the restroom probably making the call. Also, I don’t think it was a coincidence that the Butcher placed the body in the church. Father Timothy won’t say it, but I believe the Butcher threatened to commit this crime before he did it.”
“I see,” Lieutenant Gray said, “the only way the Butcher could have known about the priest talking to you is from one of our people?”
“That’s right,” Elgie said, “I only told you and Lucas, and you told your team. The information shouldn’t have gone any further than that.”
“Hello, this is Greer.”
“Captain, this is Elgie.”
“What do you want on a Sunday morning, Elgie?”
“Two things, there was another Butcher murder this morning. The body was dumped in a church. Father Timothy’s Church.”
“I see, it must have been in retaliation for him telling you that the Butcher goes to his church.”
“Yes, I agree. Because of that, I believe someone is leaking information to the Butcher or is the Butcher. In fact, I have a suspect, but I don’t want to say his name because I don’t want to ruin his career on a hunch. However, I did order all the staff working with the Butcher case to submit a DNA sample and submit to a polygraph. Lieutenant Gray called in the task force team, and I informed them of the situation.”
“And how did that go over?”
“Well, not as well as I would have liked. Everyone did the DNA sample except Bywater and McBean. Lieutenant Gray backed me up and sent Bywater and McBean home, and they’re supposed to talk to you tomorrow morning before they are allowed back in the task force office.”
“So, I suppose you’re calling me to ask me to do something. What is it?”
“Suspend them until they give up the DNA or at least assign them somewhere other than the Butcher Task Force.”
“Do you suspect one of them of being the Butcher?”
“Yes.”
“Which one?”
“McBean,” Elgie explained why.
“That sounds reasonable but transferring them or suspension won’t make the guilty party take a DNA test. He’d probably rather be suspended. I’ll tell you what—I’ll transfer them both, and you can try getting their DNA on the sly.”
“You mean surreptitiously collect a DNA sample?” Elgie asked. “I collected McBean’s DNA a couple of days ago and had Doctor Brooks test it anonymously against the believed Butcher DNA sample.”
“For someone who’s not supposed to be running the investigation, you’ve been running it well. I guess you expect an apology, but you’re not going to get one. You were out of line going to that crime scene on Sunset without even informing Lieutenant Gray. But you’ve redeemed yourself for the moment. That is unless McBean isn’t the Butcher. You’d better hope he is.” Captain Greer hung up.
The adjoining rooms Elgie and Vanessa had rented had a bathroom between them with doors that locked on each side. At five in the morning, a knock came on the adjoining room door. Vanessa answered it.
“What are you doing up so early, Michelle?”
“I wanted to talk to Elgie before he left for his meeting.”
“Elgie, Michelle wants to see you.”
Michelle walked into the Reynolds’ room, pulling along her oxygen tank dressed in a nightgown and satin robe.
Elgie was still in bed but was awake.
“Hi, Michelle, come on in.”
Elgie got up and put on his bathrobe.
“Mornin’, Elgie, I just wanna check in with you since I haven’t seen you for a while and I wanna know how you’re doing. I know this Butcher case must be takin’ its toll on you and still no matter what time you come in, you’re up at five to go to AA. I just admire that so much. The dedication that must take. You’re really committed.”
“It’s not just commitment to his sobriety,” Vanessa said, “it’s a commitment to our marriage and his job. All of those are connected and in jeopardy, if he were to relapse, and he knows that, don’t you Hun?”
“Yes, I definitely know that, and that’s why I’m up every morning. I don’t want to lose my life to alcohol—not again.”
“It’s good to hear that, but I have to tell you I had another reason for coming over. I just wanna know how the Butcher case is goin’. Do you have any suspects?”
“Yes, I have one that is connected to the investigation. That explains why the Butcher is always a step ahead of me. He knows my moves before I make them and taunts me with that knowledge. In fact, he invaded our home based on inside knowledge and found out where you were. But he doesn’t know where you or Vanessa are now. I haven’t told anyone where we are.”
“That’s good to know. I hope you catch this man soon, I’m tired of bein’ scared all the time. Wonderin’ when he’ll attack me again. Knowin’ that he’s behind bars or at least identified would go a long way to gettin’ rid of my fears and nightmares.”
“I understand, believe me, I do. I’m worried about you and Vanessa all the time, and I know that this will all be over soon, I promise.”
“Okay, thank you, Elgie. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You won’t have to find out. I’m here for you both—always.”
Elgie got showered, shaved, and dress and left for his six o’clock AA meeting. Then attending the seven o’clock task force meeting. Promptly at seven everyone was at the conference table except Bywater and McBean.
Chapter Twenty
“Good morning everyone,” Lieutenant Gray said, “I hope you enjoyed the rest of y
our Sunday and your time out of the dugout and away from the Butcher.”
“Is there any more information on the attack yesterday?” Detective Harkness asked.
“No, there’s no call on that play, but Elgie and I are attending to it. Doctor Brooks, do you have anything on the crime scene?”
“Yeah, I’ve got something. The coroner verified that time of death was between ten Saturday night and three Sunday morning. Since Laura Canseler was near rigor when she was placed at the church, it stands to reason that she was likely killed about three o’clock on Sunday morning. We examined her clothes and found a foreign fiber and some grease that looks like it came from the latch on the trunk of a car, but the grease was unremarkable and as such doesn’t help narrow down the car.
“But the fiber is made up of trilobal polyester threads that consist of one-hundred-ninety-two micro-strands twisted together. The dyes used are proprietary, which should give us a specific manufacturer. We believe it’s from a car’s carpet. We also found another hair that is microscopically similar to the hairs we found at the Anita Danby crime scene.”
“Great fielding, Doctor Brooks,” Lieutenant Gray said, “I hope that works out. What about the family DNA thing?”
“The familial DNA analysis showed no matches. We’re working on the DNA from the Butcher Task Force and Tip Line personnel.”
“Speaking of that, Elgie, how did the huddle with Captain Greer go?” Lieutenant Gray asked.
“She’s on board with our plan on reassigning anyone who refuses to submit a DNA sample or fails to submit to the polygraph. We’ll start the polygraph examinations after the meeting. Quinn and Lucas, I would like you two to go first. They’re waiting for you downstairs.”
“Okay, if that’s the way you want it, Boss, you’ve got it,” Quinn said.
“I concur,” Lucas said, “whatever I can do to help apprehend the Butcher is certainly acceptable.”
“I hope the rest of you feel the same way?” Elgie asked.
“I see everyone has acknowledged their acceptance of the proposed arrangement,” Lucas said, “although some grudgingly.”
Several of the group smiled at Lucas’s attempt to lighten the mood.
“Okay, if everyone has made their pitch, I’ll call this meeting closed. Elgie, may I see you in my office, please?”
“Of course, Lieutenant Gray.”
Once in the office, Lieutenant Gray had concerns.
“Elgie, since you believe McBean is the Butcher do you think he’ll play ball with our DNA request?”
“I don’t, but I’m hoping he will. However, even if there’s a match, he could talk his way around it. There are a couple of scenarios that could sound plausible. For example, he could say that he accidentally contaminated the sample through some transfer of the hair, say from him to Doctor Brooks, and then from Doctor Brooks to the grave. Or he could say he knew the victim. He might admit to being a regular John and may be able to back that up. Remember, from the beginning, Lucas thought that the Butcher might be a regular John, which is why women would get in the car with him, and no one ever reported him as suspicious.”
“Yeah, if he can talk his way out of it, there’s not much we could do is there?”
“No, I suppose not,” Elgie said. “I’m going to call Captain Greer and ask if Bywater and McBean have consented to provide DNA samples.”
“Go ahead and call now, I’d like to know myself.”
“Okay,” Elgie dialed Captain Greer’s extension. “Hello, Captain Greer, this is Elgie. Have Bywater and McBean come into your office yet?”
“Yeah, Bywater has been here, and he’s down in the lab giving up the DNA, but McBean is a no show.”
“I’ll call his wife and see what’s going on,” Elgie said. “Lieutenant Gray, McBean didn’t come in this morning. Perhaps he didn’t come up with a way to talk his way out of the DNA results. Let me call his wife. Do you have his home number?”
“Yes, I have numbers for all my players,” Lieutenant Gray said. “I’ll pull it up on the roster…here it is.”
Lieutenant Gray handed Elgie a card from a Rolodex. Elgie dialed the number.
“Hello, Naomi?”
“This is Naomi.”
“Naomi, this is Lieutenant Reynolds from the Butcher Tip Line, and I would like to know if your husband is at home?”
“No, I was just about to call Lieutenant Gray. Justin didn’t make it home last night.”
“He didn’t?” Elgie asked. “Do you have any idea where he would go?”
“No, I thought he had to work late. I went to sleep, and when I got up this morning, he was gone. I don’t think he came in at all.”
“Would you check the house to see if anything is missing?” Elgie asked.
“Sure, I can do that, hold on a minute.”
While he was waiting for Naomi to return to the phone, Elgie told Lieutenant Gray what was going on.
“Do you think he may have tried to steal home?”
“Yeah, I’m assuming that means he may be on the run. If it does, I definitely think so.”
“Do you have any ideas on where he might run?” Lieutenant Gray asked.
“No, I really don’t know him that well. Actually, I don’t know him at all.”
“Lieutenant Reynolds,” Naomi said, “all of his clothes are gone, his passport, and his off duty guns too. I think he’s left me.”
“Listen, Naomi, I need to ask you some questions. I’d rather do this in person, but time is of the essence. Does he have any friends he might go to or any place out of town he has friends or family? Perhaps in other countries?”
“No, none that I know of. He’s pretty much a loner.”
Elgie thought Naomi sounded weak and distraught. She was more afraid that he had just left her, she had no idea why Elgie was concerned.
“Does he have any close family members?” Elgie asked.
“No, he never talks about his family,” Naomi replied.
“Does he go out a night a lot?”
“Yes, he does. Sometimes he stays out all night.”
“What about Saturday night?”
“He came in at five o’clock on Sunday morning. He said he was working. Then he left at eight-thirty, and I haven’t seen him since. I guess he could have taken his clothes anytime last night or early this morning. I really wouldn’t know. Do you think he left me for another woman, Lieutenant Reynolds?”
“I don’t know, Naomi, but I don’t think so. I’ll tell you what, I’ll look into it, and I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“What did she say, Elgie?” Lieutenant Gray asked.
“She says she doesn’t know where he is. All his clothes and his passport are gone. She sounds very timid, and I would guess easily manipulated. Consistent with Lucas’s profile of what the Butcher’s wife would be.
“I’m going to call Doctor Brooks.” Elgie picked up the phone and dialed the lab.
“Scientific Investigations Division, Doctor Brooks speaking.”
“Doctor Brooks, this is Elgie I’m here with Lieutenant Gray. I’m going to put you on speaker. How is the analysis of the anonymous sample coming?” Gray looked at Elgie with a puzzled look.
“I’m almost finished with it. You should have results by tomorrow. Is this the DNA for one of the detectives that didn’t submit to testing?”
“Yes, Justin McBean.”
“McBean. Do you think he’s the Butcher?”
“Yes, I do. I would like you to get a team up here to swab everything on McBean’s desk for DNA including his coffee cup. I want to be sure there is no chain of evidence mistakes here. I want it known that it’s his DNA.”
“Okay, I’ll come up myself and bring a team,” Doctor Brooks said. “Of course, you know that’ll take a couple of days. What are you going to do in the meantime?”
“I’m going to ask Captain Greer to issue an arrest warrant for McBean based on your analysis of the anonymous DNA. I j
ust want your team to provide back up in case his attorney tries to say I tainted the evidence somehow.
“For now, I’m going to put out a missing person’s report on him. That way, we’ll have people looking out for him before a warrant can be issued for his arrest.”
“Okay,” Doctor Brooks said, “that sounds like a plan. I’ll be right up.”
“I’m confused, Elgie. How did you get McBean’s DNA without anyone knowing it, and why didn’t you tell me?”
“His coffee cup was swabbed for epithelial cells, and I didn’t tell Captain Greer either. Not until McBean refused to give up his DNA. I don’t think either of you would have believed me before that. Besides, like I said, if I was wrong, it could ruin his career and ruin his life if the press found out about it. The fewer people that knew, the better. Doctor Brooks didn’t even know whose DNA he was testing.”
“Alright, Elgie, this is your show. Go ahead and do what you see fit. After all, you have most likely solved the case.”
“Great,” Elgie said, “I’ll call down and report him as a missing person, and I’ll call Geraldo Lopez and ask him to get it on the air. We need to do our best to find him as quickly as possible. As long as he’s free, no one is safe. Speaking of that, I’d better call Vanessa and have her tell her security to look out for him.”
Elgie dialed Vanessa. “Vanessa, I think we’ve identified the Butcher, he’s a detective on the Butcher Task Force, and he’s missing. I want you to tell the security in your office building to look out for him.”
“What does he look like?”
“He’s about six-one, thin build but a little pudgy around the middle. He has a dark complexion—almost looks Hispanic. I’ll fax a photo of him to the security office at your building.”
“What about Michelle?”
“She’ll be alright as long as she stays home. Call her and tell her anyway. If she feels afraid to stay at home by herself with the one officer tell her to either come to your office or have the officer assigned to her to take her to Jennifer’s apartment. Of course, she can also come here if she wants to.”
“Okay,” Vanessa said. “I’ll call Michelle right now. Call me as soon as you know something.”
Tracking the Butcher Page 23