Patty let him go on for a bit and then stopped him. “Okay. Let’s start at the beginning. When did this happen?” Ralph took a deep breath and retold the story that he said he had told Anne Mulhoney the night before. When he got to the end, he shook his head. “See, I told this to Ms. Mulhoney, but I figured she wouldn’t do anything about it. I know she’s awfully busy with this killer out on the loose, but I feel kinda protective.
We have to take care of our own neighbors, don’t you know. She probably thought it was no big deal, but I worry about things. I just wanted to make it official.”
Normally Patty would have taken the report and left, but tonight had been slow, and he was the neighbor of Ms. Mulhoney.
And Judge Haley had been killed, probably last night, not too far from here.
“Why don’t you show me where the man jumped the fence?” Patty said.
Ralph nodded and explained that although he didn’t see it, the Simpson girl had pointed to the general area. He walked across the street with Patty. She shone her flashlight along the top of the fence, expecting to find nothing, of course. About midway along the fence, she spotted something. Upon closer inspection it looked like a torn piece of fabric. There was a dark stain on both the fabric and the fence. She went back to her car and retrieved a small plastic bag. Carefully she covered the area with the bag.
“Which side of the house did the girls see him come from?” she asked.
Ralph pointed to the west side. He was clearly excited to see that Patty was taking this seriously. He started to follow her.
“Mr. Fredrickson. Could you please stay here and make sure no one touches this plastic bag?”
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Ralph eagerly agreed and stood like a guard next to the fence.
Patty laughed to herself and set out for the side of the house. Near one of the windows, she noticed one clear footprint. Although the sill was a little high, an adult would clearly be able to look inside.
She went back around to the front and rang the bell.
Anne’s husband, Bill, answered the door.
“Good evening, Mr. Mulhoney. My name is Officer Patty Green. I was wondering if I could talk to you and your wife for a moment.”
Bill nodded and ushered her in. “Honey,” he called. “It’s not Ralph. It’s a police officer.”
Anne came to the front hall and smiled. “Patty, right? Metro?
What can I do for you?”
“Well,” Patty said. “Your neighbor Mr. Fredrickson called in a report. He said he told you about this last night?” Anne nodded and rolled her eyes. She gave Bill a quick synop-sis.
“Normally I would have just taken the report and not bothered you,” Patty went on. “But it looks like there’s blood and some fabric on your fence. There’s also a clear footprint by your side window. I wondered if you had heard anything last night . . . or if perhaps Mr. Mulhoney had been outside near the window recently and left a print.”
Bill shook his head. He looked concerned. Very concerned.
Anne smiled as if trying to act nonchalant. “I don’t think it’s any big deal. Probably one of the teenaged boys in the neighborhood looking for a friend and got the wrong house.” She sounded almost convincing.
Because Anne was the prosecuting attorney, Patty decided it would be okay to tell her about Judge Haley, in case she didn’t already know. “Ms. Mulhoney, you may be right. I’m feeling just a little overcautious tonight. I was at Judge Haley’s house earlier.” There was no reaction from Anne, indicating she didn’t know.
“Judge Haley was killed. It probably happened last night. It looks like the same MO.”
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Anne’s jaw dropped. She didn’t say a word but fell against Bill as if her knees had gone weak. “Last night? Killed?” she said. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of disbelief. Patty saw a momentary glimpse of fear in Anne’s eyes before she regained her familiar air of control and confidence. Anne apparently didn’t really think there was a connection between her house and Dexter Crown, but she didn’t want to take any chances. She looked at Patty and nodded. “Do what you need to do, Officer Green,” she said.
Patty smiled and went back outside, calling dispatch on her radio. She asked for a crime scene unit to meet her at this address, then returned to the fence. Ralph was still standing guard.
“We really appreciate your help in this, Mr. Fredrickson. A unit is going to come and take a closer look.” Ralph was beaming.
“Could you tell me the name of the neighbor girl that saw the man?”
Ralph gave her the information, along with a few added comments. Patty took down what she needed then asked Ralph to go back to his porch. To keep him busy, and out of the way, she asked him to keep an eye on the neighborhood while the unit worked. If he noticed anything unusual, he was to write it down and she would talk to him before she left. Ralph looked as if he felt truly appreciated and almost ran back to his “station.” Patty smiled to herself. It’s all in how you deal with people.
The crime scene unit arrived within ten minutes and Patty filled them in. While they were working, she went to talk to the Simpson girl. It only took a few minutes to get the statement.
Nicki Simpson had seen the guy for only a second or two. He was
“an old guy, at least thirty,” and was wearing a dark jogging suit.
The only thing that stuck in her mind was his trying to be a stud and jump over the fence, but he stumbled. Nicki laughed and rolled her eyes. Patty took down the names of the other girls in the car and thanked her. The techs were making a plaster cast of the footprint when Patty returned and Sergeant Cooper arrived shortly thereafter.
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“What do you have, Green?” she asked.
Patty filled her in on what she knew so far.
“Do you think there’s a connection to Crown?” the sergeant asked.
“I don’t know, Sarge. It doesn’t seem likely, but I thought we should at least preserve the evidence. Judge Haley doesn’t live very far from here, and according to the girl, this was no teenaged boy trying to sneak a peek.”
Sergeant Cooper nodded as if she approved of Patty’s thoroughness and her way of thinking. She told Patty about the blood at the murder scene. “If there is a connection, we should know by Monday. Maybe the son of a bitch is finally starting to make mistakes. Write up what you have and leave it on my desk.” With that, Sergeant Cooper left.
Patty finished her report just as the unit guys were packing up their equipment. She waved good-bye and headed over to see Ralph, who was still standing on his porch with the pad in his hand. He had written down the license plate of every car that had gone by and proudly handed his “report” to Patty. She thanked him for his diligence and told him she would contact him if she needed his help again. Ralph was still grinning as she drove away.
Patty considered how fate might possibly be playing a role in this whole thing—if there was a connection, that is. If Ralph had called this in last night or earlier today, she wouldn’t have given it a second thought. She never would have dreamed of calling in a crime scene unit. They would know by Monday. Patty sighed and headed back to the station. Her shift was over.
The men in the crime scene unit pulled up to the lab and began unloading the evidence. Jack, the rookie tech, had taken the fabric sample and the blood sample from the fence. His supervisor had observed him carefully and complimented him on both his technique and diligence. Jack knew the supervisor hadn’t thought this was an important case, so he’d let the rookie do the complete job.
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“Go ahead and log everything in and lock it up,” his boss ordered. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good job tonight, Jack.” Jack was excited. This was his first job completely on his own and he loved what he did. Most cops preferred chasing the bad guys, but he loved the technical side of law enforcement. He took the evidence to the lab and was surprised to see the cream of the crop still at work there. He knew they had worked another Crown scene,
but figured they had long since gone home. Not only did this team do the scenes, but they were also trained in analyzing some of the evidence. Jack stood quietly in the lab, watching them work.
“Hey, kid,” called Bannon. “Whatchu got?” Jack was thrilled. They were talking to him as though he were one of them. He quickly described the scene and how there might be a connection.
Bannon called him over to the lab table. “We’ve got a blood type on ours here,” he explained, a note of skepticism in this voice.
He motioned for Jack to pull up a stool.
Enthralled, Jack ignored the idea that Bannon wasn’t serious about the connection theory. Jack had big ideas of working closely with this team and being able to one day solve an important murder case.
Bannon glanced at him. “How about if I show you how things are done here.” He explained how this specific blood had been distinguished from the rest due to the splatter.
Jack listened attentively.
“We know this blood came from our guy because it’s type A and we know that Judge Haley’s blood type is B. If we didn’t know that Crown was the bastard, this would be invaluable for the prosecuting attorney at trial,” Bannon explained. “Since I’m sitting right here, why don’t you and I go ahead and test what you have.” Jack nodded and carefully brought the evidence bags over to the table, hoping Bannon noticed the care and technique that he’d used in processing the evidence. A few moments later, Bannon complimented him. Jack beamed. While Bannon detailed the pro-135
cedure, Jack kept mental notes. It took no time for the results to become apparent.
“Well,” Bannon exclaimed, “this is pretty interesting. It looks like we’ve got type A here. That’s not the most common type, you know.”
“You think it was him?” Jack asked.
Bannon seemed more than a little intrigued. “Y’know, this whole Crown case has been a puzzle. There hasn’t been any good hard evidence.” The other two techs huddled over the lab table and Bannon filled them in. The three techs talked things over for a couple minutes, then Bannon looked at Jack. “Well, kid, what do you think about all this?”
Jack thought for a moment, a little nervous about sharing his ideas with these experienced guys. “Well,” he began hesitantly, “if it was Crown at Ms. Mulhoney’s house, that could explain why he was bleeding at the judge’s house.”
Bannon and the other guys nodded. This was the absolute highlight of Jack’s career—at least so far.
“I think you’re right, kid. I think I’ll go ahead and send these samples to the lab upstairs and have them do a DNA test. I’ll mark it in connection with the judge’s case. This has got me curious. If that bastard was at Mulhoney’s house, maybe that means he’s going after her next.” He looked back at Jack. “I’ll let you know what the results are, how’s that?”
Jack grinned. He watched Bannon package everything and send it to the lab. Before taking off, Jack heard Bannon call Detective Parker and leave a message on his machine. He’d also called Anne Mulhoney personally, explained what they’d found out and told her to be careful. It sounded as if he thought a lot of her and probably couldn’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to her.
Jack felt the same way.
Anne Mulhoney put down the phone, feeling a little weak. This whole thing was getting to her. She was still in shock about Judge Haley. How could she be gone? How could those jerks at the jail 136
have let Crown just walk away? God, she hated incompetence.
Why hadn’t Frank found that bastard?
Bill walked over and put his arms around her. “Who was that, honey?” he asked.
She filled him in but tried to tone down her concern.
He shook his head. “Finding the same blood type is too much of a coincidence.” He picked up the phone. “I’m calling the police chief. What if that nut is after you? I want a twenty-four-hour guard here.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart. He’s not after me. Besides, you’re here.”
Bill shook his head again. “I’d just feel better if—oh, I don’t know.”
The phone rang again. This time Bill reached for it. He murmured, “Yes, I agree” a few times and Anne mouthed, “Who is it?” but he ignored her and continued to listen.
After a few minutes he hung up. “That was Captain Billings.
He told me the media has already gotten the story, even about our house. He said the reporters usually monitor police scanners. I guess our address was given out over the radio about the guy last night.”
Disgusted, she shook her head. All this would create more fear in the public and make the police look like fools. “Well, what else did he say? Why didn’t you let me talk to him?”
“Because you would have told him no and not given me the full story,” he said matter-of-factly. “At this point he’s concerned about anyone connected with the case—the women, at least. He’s going to assign someone to you, starting tomorrow. I guess he figured it would be okay tonight since I’m here.”
“Oh, Bill, this is ridiculous. They should be out on the street looking for Crown, not here babysitting me.”
“Listen, honey, I know you like to do things your own way, but this would make me feel better. At least I know you’ll be safe when I have to work late. It should only be for a few days.” He was pleading.
Anne sighed. She would hate this, but a part of her did feel a 137
little bit relieved. This guy was nuts. Plus, Bill usually worked late at his dental office at least two nights a week. Finally, she nodded and Bill hugged her tight.
“You know, maybe you’re right,” she said. “But I’m not the one who was in the courtroom. That was our new attorney. As far as I know she lives alone.”
Suddenly Anne was worried. She got out the phone book and looked for Toni’s name. Not listed. Damn. She thought for a moment, then quickly dialed Dorothy, their all-knowing secretary, who answered on the second ring.
“Sorry to bother you so late,” Anne apologized. She gave her the lowdown and expressed her concern.
“I’ve got everyone’s home number right here in my book,” Dorothy replied.
Within moments Anne had the unlisted number and was again dialing the phone. She was greeted by an answering machine.
Damn it! After the beep, Anne left a professional message telling Toni to call her immediately at home, regardless of the hour. After hanging up she frowned at Bill.
“Track her down, honey. You won’t rest until you do.” She nodded and called back Captain Billings. She needed to know who knew what and how much information was being given out. She also voiced concern about Toni’s safety. He told her that Detective Parker was in charge of this and would let him know. He would also have the desk sergeant send a patrol car to Toni’s place.
Still feeling vaguely unsatisfied, she hung up the phone. She pulled out her address book and called Sam. Another answering machine. Next she tried Boggs. Answering machine. She pounded her fist on the table, startling Bill.
“Isn’t anyone home anymore?” she yelled. The stress and frustration was finally working its way out. Then she remembered Sam’s Halloween party. They had declined to go this year because they were supposed to be away for the weekend. “Sam’s party,” she said.
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Bill nodded. “What about cell phones? Doesn’t everyone have them?”
Anne smiled and nodded. Usually it was she who remained calm and collected. She looked in her book again and called Sam’s cell. As chief investigator, he would be able to track Toni down or find someone who could.
Sam answered on the fourth ring. It sounded like he was in a bar. The connection was bad and there was a lot of strange noise in the background. She found herself screaming into the receiver.
Sam, acknowledging this was something important, told Anne to hold on for a second.
When he returned to the phone, Anne told him about the possible connection between a prowler at her home and Judge Haley.
/> “The chief is assigning an officer to me and to Toni, just to make sure. I tried to call her at home, but she wasn’t there. Can you track her down?”
“I can do better than that,” Sam answered. “She’s right here.”
“I’m really concerned,” she said. “Can you make sure she’s not alone tonight? We’ll have some kind of schedule worked out for tomorrow, but tonight can you take care of this?”
“Absolutely. Boggs is with her now and so is Vicky Carter from Metro.”
“Thank you. I feel somewhat responsible—I gave her this case, you know,” she said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Sam hung up the phone. His body seemed to shake involuntarily. This was hitting a little too close to home. He took a minute to regain his composure, then called Captain Billings. He set things up for tonight and went back to his guests. He told Betty and then pulled Boggs, Toni and Vicky aside. He told them he didn’t think it was safe to be at the haunted house tonight. It would be too hard with people in masks and the house itself being in almost total darkness. Boggs and Vicky agreed.
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After hearing the news, Toni stared at him in disbelief. “Ms.
Mulhoney really thinks I could be in danger?” she asked.
Sam nodded. “It’s really just a precaution, but it’s better to be safe, Toni. I’m sure Vicky will be more than happy to babysit you, especially since she’ll be on the clock.” He tried to make it sound like no big deal. Vicky and Boggs apparently recognized his technique and followed suit.
“What a deal for me, Toni,” Vicky said. “Now I can get some much needed overtime. I’m trying to save up for a new car and this will be perfect. It’ll be like an old-fashioned slumber party.”
“Hey, this means we can charge all our meals to the department. I vote for eating out at the best restaurants in town,” Boggs said, as if hoping Toni would fall for the act and regard this as just standard practice, although Toni knew better than to take scarce department resources for granted.
Playing along, Toni laughed with the rest of them. No big deal.
“Okay, girls, let the fun begin.”
Anticipation Page 14
