by James Carol
‘It’s nothing.’
‘No it’s definitely something.’ His voice was hard. ‘You know, this is what my wife does and it drives me nuts. She makes this face then tells me it’s nothing, even though we both know that’s bullshit. She acts like it’s no big deal and she just wants me to drop the subject. Which, of course, is bullshit, too. So, what’s eating you?’
Yoko hesitated. It crossed her mind to say nothing. Winter was their killer, and that was the end of it.
But.
‘Hasn’t it crossed your mind that this has been too easy? Yesterday we were chasing our tails. Today we’ve got Valentino in custody, he’s confessed to the crime, and we all get to go home and have an early night.’
‘That’s how it happens sometimes. We’ve both been doing this long enough to know that.’
‘I guess you’re right.’
‘No guessing involved. Sometimes you get that one lucky break, and everything just slots into place as easy as you like.’
Yoko didn’t reply. She was still watching Winter through the glass. He was just sitting there staring into space, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his life was effectively over.
‘Relax, Agent Tanaka. Winter’s our killer. I mean, he’s even got the genes for it.’
‘Nature versus nurture.’
Dumas nodded. ‘Some people are just born bad. They come out of the womb mean.’
‘Scorpions and frogs.’
‘Excuse me?’
She turned away from the glass and faced the detective. ‘It was something Jefferson said earlier. He told me that frogs should be wary of helping scorpions to cross rivers. He was referring to an old fable. You must know the story.’
Dumas shook his head.
‘Are you sitting comfortably?’
‘All I need is some hot milk.’
Yoko almost smiled. ‘One day a scorpion asks a frog to help him across a river. The frog is understandably sceptical and wants to know what’s to stop the scorpion stinging him halfway across. The scorpion tells him that would be crazy since they’d both end up dead. The frog agrees to help and halfway across the scorpion stings him. As they’re sinking into the water the frog asks him why he did it, and the scorpion says that he couldn’t help himself, it was just his nature.’
‘So Winter killed those girls because it was in his genes. Like I said, some people come out of the womb mean.’
‘I don’t think it’s that simple. Jefferson thinks he’s the scorpion, however, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s the frog.’
‘Scorpion or frog, it makes no difference. All that matters is that he’s the killer, and he’s going to pay for what he’s done.’
Dumas’s smile indicated that the conversation was over.
‘Look,’ he continued, ‘I’ve got a ton of paperwork to deal with, but I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done. I really do appreciate it. That was a good call, by the way. Spotting him in the crowd like that.’
The detective paused a second, thinking. He stroked his chin, scrunched his lips together with his thumb and forefinger.
‘You say we caught him too easily, but we didn’t. You’ve got sharp eyes and a sharper brain, Agent Tanaka. If you hadn’t called it like you had, then we’d probably be meeting here again next full moon. As it is, I’m hoping I don’t see you again for a very long time. And I mean that with the utmost respect.’
‘And hopefully I won’t be seeing you, either. With the greatest of respect, of course.’
Dumas laughed and held out his hand and they shook.
‘Good work, Agent,’ he said again, and then he was gone, the door banging shut behind him.
Yoko lit another cigarette and looked through the glass at Winter. He hadn’t moved a muscle since she last looked. She couldn’t understand how he could be so calm.
Didn’t he understand what was going on here? Of course he did. His IQ was off the chart. He’d know exactly what was going down. So, was he in denial?
At that moment, Winter looked up and stared deep into the mirror. Once again, Yoko was struck by the impossible notion that he could see her. She stared through the glass, stared deep into those green eyes. She had half-convinced herself that by doing this she could read his thoughts.
Nature rather than nurture.
Like father, like son.
That’s what everyone was thinking because it made for a nice tidy explanation, and everyone liked to keep things nice and tidy. That’s why films and books were so popular. You had an alternate reality where the senseless finally made sense, and all those loose ends were neatly tied up.
But the real world didn’t work like that. The real world was messy and chaotic, and although the pieces occasionally fit together in a way that made a weird kind of sense, most of the time it was just a baffling mess.
That’s why Yoko veered towards nurture rather than nature. Saying that someone came out the womb mean was too easy. Evil wasn’t a gene, it was the result of years of conditioning.
The door of the interview room suddenly burst open and Dumas came charging in. The noise it made when it bounced off the stop and slammed shut sounded like an explosion through the speaker. The detective’s face was bright red, like he’d been running hard.
‘You little bastard,’ he yelled, and then he launched himself at Winter.
In two strides he reached the table. Another couple of strides and he was around the other side. He dragged Winter from the chair and pinned him up against the nearest wall. That was all Yoko saw before she was up on her feet and hurrying out the door.
Her first thought was, What has the kid gone and done this time?
Her second thought was, What could possibly be worse than murdering four girls, raping their corpses, and then eating their hearts?
Chapter 15
Yoko ran into the interview room and came sliding to a stop behind Charlie Dumas. The detective had Winter pinned to the wall by his throat, and he looked like he’d happily keep squeezing until he killed him.
Winter’s green eyes were starting to bug out. His face had already turned from pink to red and was heading towards purple. The kid was pushed so far up the wall, the tips of his toes were scraping against the floor, and his legs were flapping back and forth as though the bones had been removed.
‘Let him go,’ she shouted.
Dumas gave no indication that he’d heard. He just kept squeezing, Winter’s eyes getting bigger and more bug-like with every passing second.
Yoko considered pulling her gun, but what was she going to do: shoot a cop? Even if Dumas succeeded in throttling the kid, which seemed to be his intention, Yoko knew where everyone’s sympathies would lie. A cop who killed a serial killer, or a killer who cut the hearts from his victims? It was a no-brainer.
If she shot Dumas she might as well wave her career goodbye. Even a leg shot wouldn’t do her prospects any good.
There was no way she was going to throw her career away for this kid, but she couldn’t just stand around doing nothing. She didn’t care about Dumas’s career, or the kid, but she had to do something.
‘Charlie Dumas. I am arresting you for the attempted murder of Jefferson Winter.’
Dumas didn’t stop.
‘Charlie Dumas,’ she repeated, louder and with more authority. ‘I am arresting you for the attempted murder of Jefferson Winter. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.’
That was as far as she got. Dumas let go and Winter crumpled to the floor. The kid was gasping for breath and rubbing his neck like that might help him get more air into his lungs.
Dumas swung around to face her, eyes blazing. Yoko had no doubt that she was looking at someone who was both able and prepared to kill. Someone with means, motive and opportunity.
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ he yelled at her. ‘You’re arresting me? Me? I don’t think so, Agent.’
Yoko stared him down, then poi
nted to one of the plastic chairs. ‘Please sit.’ Her voice was calm, quiet, polite. An order rather than a request.
Dumas stared for a few seconds longer, then he sighed and shook his head and it was like all the fight just left him. The legs of the chair scraped across the linoleum with a high-pitched squeak. The plastic seat creaked to accommodate his weight.
Yoko went over to Winter and helped him up. The kid weighed next to nothing. She could feel his ribs through his T-shirt. His dorm room might be atypical for a student, but it appeared that his diet was pretty standard.
She helped him across to the table, pulled out a chair, guided him into it. His neck was an angry red colour. There would probably be bruising.
Dumas was on one side of the table, Winter on the other. No-man’s-land was defined by a stretch of scratched wood. Yoko stood between them at the halfway point, like a referee.
‘Now,’ she said in the same calm voice she’d used earlier. ‘Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?’
Another sigh from Dumas, another shake of his head. His mouth was a tight line and his eyes were fixed on Winter. ‘He didn’t kill those girls. He’s been screwing with us from the word go.’
‘Hey,’ said Winter. ‘It’s not like I asked to come here. There I was reading my book, listening to some music, minding my own business. Next thing I know I’m in cuffs, having my rights read. You assumed I did it, and you were wrong, and now you’re looking for someone to take it out on.’ He turned to Yoko. ‘Doesn’t that seem a little unfair to you, Agent Tanaka?’
‘You’re going down for this,’ said Dumas. ‘I guarantee it. We’ll start with wasting police time, and work from there.’
The kid shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. That whole wrongful arrest thing really doesn’t work in your favour. Last time I looked our legal system was based on the presumption that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Not you, though, you presumed I was guilty, and here we are. If there’s anyone in this room who should be charged with wasting police time, it’s you, Detective Dumbass. You’re obviously incompetent, otherwise it wouldn’t have taken so long to work out that you had the wrong guy.’
Yoko saw Dumas’s hands clench and unclench. Any second now, the detective was going to blow. She could also see that Winter was enjoying this.
‘How’s your daughter?’ Winter continued. ‘She’s got to be, what? Twenty-one, twenty-two? Blonde hair and blue eyes? It’s got to kill you, knowing the real murderer is still out there and she could be next.’
Dumas went to stand up. His whole face had tightened to the point where his eyes were just slits.
‘Sit back down, Detective.’ Yoko turned to Winter. ‘And you, shut up. I don’t want another word. Next time you speak is when I tell you to speak. Nod if you understand.’
Winter grinned, then nodded. Yoko’s heart was beating double time and she felt sick. She caught a glimpse of herself in the one-way mirror and there was some comfort in the fact that she appeared as composed as ever.
Inside she was a mess, but outwardly nothing showed. They were at that point in the game where her opponent had made a move she hadn’t anticipated, and all her well-thought-out plans and strategies were crumbling to dust.
She lit a cigarette with the battered brass Zippo. ‘Okay, let’s start again. Detective Dumas, why are you so sure that Jefferson didn’t kill those girls?’
‘Because every Friday night he plays piano at La Dolce Vita, an Italian restaurant in College Park. The owner’s checked his records and he was working on the night of Friday 30 April.’
‘The night the first victim was murdered.’
‘Exactly. There’s no way he could have done it. The coroner put the time of death at around six-thirty and he started at six.’
‘He’s right,’ said Winter. ‘I didn’t do it.’
‘So why say you did?’
‘Isn’t that obvious.’
‘No, Jefferson, it’s not obvious. If it was, I wouldn’t have asked.’
Winter smiled. ‘Because I’m going to help you catch this asshole.’
Chapter 16
Yoko surprised herself by laughing out loud. Sudden displays of emotion were not her style, and actual laughter was rare. But what Winter had said was so ludicrous that she couldn’t help herself. She sucked the laugh back in and composed herself.
‘And what makes you think you can help us catch Valentino?’
Winter shrugged, then reached for his empty Coke can, twirled it through a full three hundred and sixty degrees, only stopping when the logo was facing him again.
‘You need all the help you can get. Admit it, you’ve made a complete mess of this case. This guy’s struck four times, and are you any closer to catching him? No. Not only that, you’ve just spent the last five and a half hours questioning the wrong person. You know, Agent Tanaka, you really should have had more faith in your original profile.’
‘How do you know what was in my original profile?’
‘Are you really going to listen to this bullshit?’ Dumas cut in.
Yoko turned to the detective. ‘Now it’s your turn to speak when spoken to.’ Dumas scowled but didn’t argue. She turned back to Winter. ‘Answer the question.’
‘You speculated that the unsub was a white male, late thirties or early forties. This was based on the fact that the crimes scenes were so elaborate, and the victims were all white. An organised offender like this one is going to stick to his own racial group, right?’
The kid paused, and Yoko nodded for him to continue.
‘I’m white, so, yeah, you got that much right. But you’re out on the age by two decades. Like I said, you should have trusted your profile. If you’d done that you’d be a whole lot closer to catching this guy.’
‘You could have got that from a textbook. Hell, you probably did get it from a textbook. It’s profiling 101. You’re going to have to do better than that.’
‘You’re seriously giving this asshole the time of day?’ said Dumas.
Yoko showed him the hand. ‘What else have you got, Jefferson?’
‘Based on the way the bodies were displayed, you think the unsub is an artist.’
Yoko was slightly taken back by the kid’s level of insight. He obviously had some talent for this. Granted, it was raw talent, but talent nonetheless.
‘That’s pretty impressive,’ she admitted.
‘Not really.’
Yoko took a drag on her cigarette. ‘Modesty really doesn’t become you.’
‘This has nothing to do with modesty, and everything to do with the fact that you’re wrong. This unsub is not an artist. Not now and not ever. You’re obviously good at what you do, otherwise the FBI wouldn’t have hired you, but you’re way off the mark with this one.’
Yoko’s stomach tightened into knots. Her heart swelled until it felt uncomfortably large inside her chest. According to the one-way mirror, none of this showed.
She could relate to why Dumas had pinned Winter up against the wall. If she’d been taller and stronger she would have done the exact same thing. The arrogant prick.
The moment passed.
‘Why are you so convinced I’m wrong?’ she asked calmly.
‘You say that like you’re humouring me, which is understandable. There you are up at the top of the FBI mountain, you’ve got all that experience under your belt, all those cases, and here I am at the bottom, a college kid who couldn’t possibly know something you don’t. Your ego’s stopping you from solving the crime.’
‘Okay, let’s assume for a second that I know nothing and you know everything. If this unsub isn’t an artist, then what is he?’
‘I’d have to see inside Alice’s apartment before I answer that.’
Yoko shook her head. ‘Not going to happen, Jefferson. It’s a crime scene.’
He said nothing.
‘I can’t let you inside Alice’s apartment.’
Winter turned the coke can through another th
ree-sixty degrees, mouth shut, eyes locked on Yoko’s.
‘If you know something that can help the investigation, you need to tell us.’
‘No I don’t,’ he said. ‘I’ve read the Constitution, and all the amendments, and there’s nothing in there that says a citizen is compelled to help the cops.’
‘He doesn’t know anything,’ said Dumas. ‘He’s screwing with us. Just like he’s been screwing with us all along.’
‘Is that so, Detective Dumbass? Okay, if my insights are so far off the mark how did I know what the unsub got up to in the victims’ bedrooms? After all, that’s the detail you held back from the media, isn’t it? That small fact you use to separate the real crazies from the pretend crazies. How could I know something like that?’
‘You are so going down, you little shit.’
‘So, how did you know?’ Yoko asked, ignoring Dumas.
‘Show me Alice Harrigan’s apartment and I’ll tell you.’
‘Why do you want to see it so badly? And I want the real answer, Jefferson. The truthful one.’
Winter swivelled the empty Coke can, then said, ‘Because I have a theory, but before I share it I need to check a few things out. Unlike, you guys, I like to check my facts thoroughly.’
‘Are you buying this?’ Dumas asked Yoko.
A shake of her head. ‘No, Detective, I’m not.’ She turned to face Winter. ‘You’re just another voyeur. Every big murder attracts them. The difference here is that you’re a bit smarter than your average voyeur.’
They locked eyes for a minute, then Winter stood up. ‘Well, I guess my work here is done. I’ll see you both next full moon when victim five turns up.’
He headed for the door and Dumas said, ‘Not so fast. We’ve got this whole matter of wasting police time to deal with.’
Yoko laid a gentle hand on the detective’s arm. ‘That one can wait. Right now, our priority is catching Valentino.’
‘Yeah, I guess.’ Dumas didn’t look convinced. He glanced over at Winter. ‘This isn’t over, asshole. Not by a long shot.’
Winter paused at the door and flashed a grin. ‘Later,’ he said, and then he was gone.
