***
The scene was now a familiar one, but the unease he’d felt in the car about the change of MO was getting stronger as he took it all in from where he stood in the doorway to the bedroom.
The woman lying in front of him, staring at the ceiling with lifeless eyes, had clear signs of having been raped but he would need to wait for the ME to confirm that. The other wounds, though, were obvious for all to see. There were deep knife wounds to the back of both her ankles and the wound to her throat was so deep, it had almost decapitated her. On the surface, the obvious conclusion would be that it was the same guy who had attacked all the other women but to Sam, it just didn’t feel right.
All the other victims had been younger. Girls still living at home and from rich families. This woman was older. Not by much, but enough for it to bother him. That, together with the fact that she’d been attacked in her own apartment, raised questions in his mind.
“Boss, over here.”
He looked over to where one of the crime scene techs was pointing to an area on the bedside cabinet, on the furthest side of the bed from where he stood.
“What is it?” He wasn’t about to enter the room and traipse all over the crime scene until they were done.
“It would appear someone left us a perfect hand print.”
“How do you know it’s our guy’s?”
“I don’t, but it’s too big for a woman’s.” He smiled as he said this, obviously pleased with his discovery.
“That’s odd. He’s never left anything of himself behind before. Why would he suddenly get careless now?”
The tech shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s your department.”
“True, but at this point I’m just glad we’ve got something this time.” There was nothing more he could do in the apartment and he was just getting in the way, so after eliciting a promise that as soon as they had any news on the print they would contact him, he left and headed into the station.
He’d barely walked in before his boss appeared in his office door, frowning. “Sam, get in here.”
“You’ve heard then, boss.” He assumed that’s why he’d been called in.
Captain Fletcher waved him to a chair before sitting down himself. “Yes. Is it him?”
Sam paused before answering, organizing his thoughts. “It looks like it. I mean, she had her ankles sliced, was raped and had her throat cut.”
“So why do you sound doubtful?”
“Something about it just doesn’t fit.” Sam let out a long breath. “For one, she’s older than the others. The others have all been in their teens and this victim is definitely in her twenties.”
“Okay, but that’s not abnormal, is it. I’ve never heard of a killer checking someone’s ID for their age before murdering them.”
“Point taken. But then there’s the fact that she was killed in her apartment. All the other murders were outdoors in public places. That is a big change.”
“True, but maybe he’s just evolving. Getting more confident, cockier.”
“Okay, maybe, but then there’s the thing that’s bugging me the most. I’ve just come from there and the techs have found a handprint on the dresser right next to the victim and it’s not hers.”
The captain smiled widely. “That’s great news! If he’s in the system, we’ve got him.” His smile faded when he saw Sam’s face. “Why aren’t you happy?”
“I am. But don’t you think it’s a bit odd that someone who has been so meticulous, so careful, would suddenly make a mistake like this? I mean, it’s not a small mistake, is it?”
“I don’t care if it’s a tiny mistake or if he left his driver’s license and directions to his house. I’ll take it. Let me know immediately when the results come back on it.”
“I will.”
“Have we identified the victim yet?”
Sam opened his notebook. He’d called dispatch on the way to the scene and they’d given him the details of who lived in the apartment. “The apartment is registered to a Shelby Simms, twenty-three years old.” He closed the book. “I’ll get someone started on finding any next of kin.”
“Okay. Good. Well, keep me in the loop.”
“Before I go, I could really use an extra pair of hands on this. I don’t suppose there’s any chance of getting anyone else drafted in, is there?”
The captain pursed his lips. “Mmm, maybe. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything.”
“Of course, boss. Thanks.” Sam stood and went back to his own desk and stared at the pile of files in front of him. He really did need some help. The bodies were coming thick and fast and he was spreading himself far too thin, meaning he was at risk of missing something. It was the way the department was going, unfortunately. Crime was up, resources were down. He thought about his daughters’ faces at breakfast that morning and couldn’t help but wonder if it was all worth it any more.
Sixteen
Drake watched from the coffee shop across the street as the man stopped and spoke to the uniformed officer guarding the entrance to the apartments before going inside. He felt sick as he looked up to the third floor of the building where he was sure the man was heading. He knew what horror he was about to see in there.
He’d barely managed to stagger out of the building before ducking down an alleyway and throwing up. Bent over on weak knees with one hand on a wall supporting him, he’d let the waves of nausea wash over him until there was nothing left.
Once he was feeling a bit stronger, he crossed the street to a payphone and, hands shaking, dialled 911 and anonymously told them about the murder. He’d briefly considered calling from the apartment and waiting for the police to arrive but had quickly dismissed the idea. He was bound to be a suspect. He didn’t have time to be held for questioning and there was no question of just leaving her there until she was eventually found.
He knew that they would find out about his connection to Shelby soon enough. His fingerprints and DNA were all over the apartment and they were also in the police database, thanks to some minor run-ins with the law over the years. It wouldn’t take them long to come knocking on his door.
Despite the shock, his mind was clear enough to know that Angel had done this and he had no intention of sitting in jail until the police figured that out and had him in a safe place. A place where Drake couldn’t get to him.
Wrapping his hands around the untouched coffee in front of him, he considered his options. He could go back to the house, come clean to Juan about Shelby; and then find and kill Angel. This thought brought a faint smile to his lips. He quickly dismissed this as a possibility, though. Without any kind of proof Angel would just deny it, and after yesterday, Juan would probably think he was just trying to get him into trouble again and wouldn’t let him lay a finger on him. He could go back to the house and pretend nothing had happened and just bide his time until he had what he needed. Again, he dismissed the idea quickly. Apart from anything else, as soon as the cops ran his prints the house would be the first place they would look for him and he knew full well that he would never be able to play it cool. As soon as he saw Angel, he would destroy him. Pulling the crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket, he looked at the number scribbled on it. It shocked him to realize that outside the gang, there was no one he could go to. He hardly knew the man right now, but he was all he had.
***
Finn was already up when his phone starting vibrating on the bedside dresser. His flight home was in just a few hours and he still had to pack. He didn’t want to leave, not now that he’d made contact, but he’d promised to give Drake a call next time he was in town and that would have to do for now.
Sitting on the bed, he picked up the phone and checked the number. It was one he didn’t recognize and he was curious as to who would be calling him this early in the morning. “Hello?”
“Finn? It’s Drake.”
Finn smiled widely—he hadn’t expected to hear from him so soon. “Hi, Drake. Good to hear from you
.”
“You know how you said that if I needed anything I should give you a call? Well, I need your help. I’m sorry, I didn’t know who else to call.”
Finn could hear the tension in his voice and knew immediately that something bad had happened. “Where are you? Shall I pick you up?”
“I’ve got my car. I’ll come to you. Where are you staying?”
Finn gave him the name of the hotel.
“Okay, I’ll be there soon. And Finn?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Finn stared at the silent phone after Drake disconnected. That was the last thing he’d expected. Checking his watch, he realized it was nearly time for him to leave for the airport. Well, that isn’t happening, is it? If Drake needed him, then he wasn’t going anywhere.
Picking up the hotel phone, he called down to reception and extended his stay for another night and then called the station in Brecon Point to tell them he wouldn’t be back that afternoon as planned. Satisfied that everything was fine and that there were no major incidents that needed his attention, he picked up the phone and called Kat.
“Hi, there.” He smiled as she answered; he loved hearing her voice.
“Hey, you. You heading off to the airport?”
“No, there’s been a change of plan and it looks like I need to stay for an extra couple of days. I’m sorry, darling.” He hated being away from her, especially when she was waiting to hear from the adoption panel. “Any news on the adoption?”
“Oh, okay.” He could hear the disappointment in her voice. “I was so looking forward to seeing you. I’ve missed you. No news from the panel yet, but they did say it would take them a few days to get to their final decision so I’m not worried.”
“It’ll be fine. They’d be crazy not to say yes.” Finn looked up at a knock on the door. “Sorry, darling, I’ve got to run. I’ll call you soon. Love you.”
Putting the phone down, he stood and opened the hotel room door.
“Drake, come in.” He stood aside and let Drake into the room, noting that he looked as if he was in shock. “Are you okay?” He was visibly shaking.
“No, I’m not okay.” He sat in one of the two chairs in the room, leaning forward and clasping his hands between his knees. “Not at all.”
Finn pulled out the chair opposite and sat down facing him. “Tell me what’s happened.” He was getting really worried now.
Keeping his eyes fixed on the floor, Drake started talking and Finn listened, stunned, as he told him of the events of that morning.
“Drake, I’m so sorry.” He reached across the gap between them and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You must be devastated.”
Drake nodded without looking up.
“And you think this Angel guy has something to do with it?”
Drake looked up, eyes flashing. “I’m positive.”
“We need to go straight to the police, then. Get him arrested.”
“No.” Drake’s voice was sharp. “I have no idea if he’s left any evidence behind and if he hasn’t—well, the only person they’re going to be looking for is me and I’m telling you now there is no way they’re finding me until I’ve dealt with Angel.”
Finn felt torn. He was a police officer, although Drake didn’t know that, and what he was saying went against everything he believed. And yet he had to admit that if there was no evidence pointing to this Angel, he knew that he was right and that Drake would be the first person they came looking for.
“So what do you want to do?”
“Can I stay here? I don’t have anywhere else to go and I can’t go back to the house.”
“Of course. No problem. I’ll call down and get you a room. I’ll book it in my name.”
The relief on Drake’s face was obvious. “Thank you.”
“But we need to decide what to do next. You can’t run away from this, Drake.” Finn couldn’t believe what he was saying. He was potentially agreeing to help a wanted man hide from the police. If they got caught, it wouldn’t just be the end of his career; he’d probably be facing jail time, too.
“I’m not trying to run away from it. I just need a bit of breathing space before my next move.”
“Listen, I can only imagine how you must be feeling right now, but I really do believe going to the police is your best option. If you go after Angel, things are only going to get worse.”
Drake shrugged. “How much worse can they get? At least this way if I go to prison, I’ll be going for something I actually did.”
“Why not trust the police to do their jobs?”
Drake looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Do you really think once they’ve got me they’re going to be remotely interested in looking for someone else? Get real.”
Finn could see that his mind was firmly made up and that there would be no talking him out of it. You can’t just knowingly let him go and hurt, possibly kill, someone. He couldn’t, as much as he loved his son. He couldn’t just sit by and watch that happen. But then, neither could he call the police. He may as well just walk away from him now because he was sure he’d never see him again after that. The only option open to him was to play along and hope that the opportunity arose to put a stop to it. “So we need to find Angel, then. Do you think he will have gone back to the house?”
“I don’t know. There was so much blood.” There was a catch in his voice. “He must have been covered in it. He wouldn’t be able to just walk in there.”
“So how do we find him, then?”
“Hang on, I’ve got an idea.” Finn watched as he pulled his cell from his pocket. “There’s this guy that Juan uses to get information. He seems to know everything about everything. Maybe he’ll be able to tell us something.” He pressed some buttons on his phone, frowning. “Dammit!”
“What?”
Drake held the phone out to show him. “It’s not working. I must have hit it against something earlier without realizing.”
“But you can still access the numbers?”
“Yeah, looks like it.” Drake did something on the screen.
“Okay, well, use mine, then.” Finn handed over his phone and watched as Drake punched in the number.
After a fairly short, one-sided conversation Drake put the phone down with a frustrated sigh. “Well, that was a waste of time. He says he hasn’t seen Angel since the meeting with Juan.”
“Well, I don’t think we have a choice, then. If you want to find him, you’re going to have to go to his home turf.”
Seventeen
Sam jumped as a take-out bag from the local deli suddenly appeared on the huge pile of paperwork he had stacked in front of him, breaking his train of thought.
“I hear you can’t cope with this investigation and need a real detective to come and rescue your ass.”
Sam looked up and smiled. “What are you doing here, man?”
Steve grinned and sat in the chair on the other side of Sam’s desk, grabbing a sandwich from the take-out back. “Your LT reached out for some extra bodies to work on this psycho case with you and as they busted my drug ring last night and I’m no longer needed, my LT volunteered my services.” He took a bite from the sandwich. “Just like the old days, eh?”
It was. Back then, he and Steve had been junior detectives and partners. He’d been around when his wife had run off and left him with the girls, and he’d been a shoulder to lean on and had helped him through a rough few months. Sam couldn’t have been more pleased to work with him again. “Well, I won’t lie. I could use the help.” He gestured at the pile of papers on his desk. “We’ve just had another body.”
“Yeah, I heard. This guy is really stepping up the pace, isn’t he?”
“It looks that way but, to be honest, there are a couple of things about this new one that bother me.” Sam filled him in on what he’d seen at the crime scene.
“It does seem odd that he would change his MO like that. I agree, but there could be any number of reasons he did it
. Doesn’t mean it’s not the same guy.” Steve chewed thoughtfully. “Where are you with the forensics?”
“It’s all with the lab. They’ve managed to lift a hand print and the boss has leaned on them to put a rush on it, so hopefully we should have something by tomorrow.”
Steve nodded. “So, what’s the plan for the rest of the day?”
Sam sighed. “Well, we’ve identified the victim, and her family lives out of state so we’ve arranged for the local police to inform them of what’s happened. CSI has finished with the scene and are doing their thing and I’ve got some uniforms speaking to the neighbours to see if anyone saw or heard anything. So, looks like you’re stuck helping me go through her phone and bank records. They’ve just arrived.”
“No problem. Being in a warm office doing paperwork will be a nice change from being outside all day.” Steve picked up a stack of the papers and stood up.
“Now that you don’t have to sneak around anymore, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?” Sam asked before he walked away. “The girls haven’t seen you for a while and I know they’d love to.”
“And I’d love to see them, too.”
***
“Uncle Steve!”
Sam laughed as Steve dropped to his knees and got bowled over by the twins as they flung themselves onto him, squealing. “I told you they’d be happy to see you.”
“Whoa! When did you ladies get so big?” Steve asked as he tickled them until they were both writhing on the floor, giggling.
“Are you staying for a little while? Please say yes!”
“How could I say no to two such beautiful ladies?” Steve answered and he got back to his feet. “Of course I will.”
The girls squealed some more before rushing off to tell Maria.
Sam watched them go, pleased to see them so happy. “You’ve just made two little girls very happy.”
“I can’t believe how much they’ve grown. How long has it been since I saw them? It can’t have been that long, can it?”
The McKays Box Set - To Kill For, Blood Sport, Hard Time & Gang Land Page 45
