She glanced at Seth. Éowyn shrugged.
“He’s not in the book,” Seth said. Yvonne, the woman Aaron Alvin kept as a sex slave, kept a book, with Maresol’s help, a visual diary documenting all of the men Alvin had brought to her. “I checked.”
“What did you say tonight?” Ava asked.
“I mentioned that Martha and I had been lovers,” Seth shrugged. “He got all hard-on weird. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“He’s got to be pumped up from having hacked up Everest,” Nelson said.
“Except Everest took the cyanide pill,” Fran said. “He didn’t get to kill him.”
“He gets to toy with Seth,” Nelson said. “Maybe he associates that feeling with sex or the pursuit of sex. Lust.”
“Could be,” Seth said.
“Were you ever afraid of him, Éowyn?” Nelson asked.
“Yes,” Éowyn said. “I hid at my parents’ house a couple of times. They didn’t know what was going on, of course. I knew he’d never risk doing anything there because of my dad.”
“That’s interesting, because most people aren’t afraid of psychopaths,” Fran said. “That’s why they’re so dangerous.”
“Why were you afraid?” Ava asked her sister.
“Just a vibe,” Éowyn said. “He’d give me a look and . . .”
Éowyn shivered.
“I wonder if he was like that after killing something,” Fran said.
“Maybe,” Éowyn said. “How would we know?”
“Match up the dates,” Nelson said.
“Bob?” Seth asked. “Do you want to add something?”
“Just that I’m awed by Éowyn’s strength,” Bob said. “I don’t think I could share the intimate details of my relationships to relative strangers.”
“I want to help.” Éowyn blushed.
“Did he ever say where he got the STD?” Leslie asked.
“Why?” Éowyn looked down.
“It can tell us what he was up to,” Leslie said. “He’s been here for years. You knew him for three years. That’s a long time between killings.”
“Martha thinks these time periods are for planning,” Seth said.
“Does that make him more of a spree killer?” Fran asked Seth. He shook his head.
“He has definite cooling-off periods,” Nelson said. “Years go by, and there’s nothing.”
“That we know of,” Seth said. “I knew each of these detectives. Well. We were friends. I had no clue this was going on. I’d guess that even their departments, friends, and family didn’t know.”
“Did you send out an email?” Ava asked.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Seth said.
“So maybe this is everything,” Leslie said.
“Could we be lucky enough to have everything right here?” Fran gestured to the case files around them.
“No way,” Nelson said. “We’re not that lucky.”
They laughed.
“I keep wondering what hooked these detectives,” Bob said. “These were great men and women—smart, talented, and at the top of their game. Why not just arrest and prosecute him?”
“And why keep the whole thing a secret?” Seth asked. “It’s like their dirty little secret.”
“I knew O’Shaughnessy and Eliot,” Bob said. “I worked the Cavetti case. I have no clue why any of them would play along with this . . . creature.”
“And not just shoot him?” Éowyn asked. “That’s what Switch suggested.”
“Ego,” Seth said.
“No way,” Bob said. “Not Eliot. He just wanted to work his job, check his crab pots, and hang out with his grandkids.”
“Maybe we should ask his wife,” Éowyn said.
“You mean, Davies could have been having an affair with his wife?” Leslie asked.
Éowyn nodded.
“He hasn’t come after me,” Ava said.
“He came looking for me just a couple days ago,” Éowyn said.
“He is handsome,” Fran said. “I was looking him up after Ava called, and my oldest said he was ‘dreamy.’ I bet he uses his sex appeal as a tool in this power game.”
“Then what did he want with Éowyn?” Leslie said, and then gasped. “Éowyn, I’m so sorry, I . . .”
“It’s okay,” Éowyn said. “We’re just trying to figure this out. I don’t know. I’m my father’s oldest daughter . . .”
“Right, but Dad didn’t care about what happened to us,” Ava said. “What if you were part of his plan?”
“What do you mean?” Éowyn asked.
The doorbell rang. With the baby on her hip, Maresol went to answer it. Seth jogged to catch up to her so that she wouldn’t answer the door alone.
“Sure,” Nelson said. “Having a girlfriend in the DA’s office could get him inside information for this little cat-and-mouse game. Imagine how great it would be to have Éowyn in his pocket now that Ava’s married to Seth.”
“We weren’t dating when they met,” Éowyn said.
“Yes, you were,” Ava said. “He broke up with you the day the Feds came and took everything, the day after you were escorted out of your job.”
“That’s right.” Éowyn gave a thoughtful nod. “Must have blocked that.”
“Who’s he dating now?” Leslie asked.
“Good thinking,” Fran said. “That could give us a clue into what he’s after.”
“Got to be someone we know,” Ava said. “Otherwise, where would he get the inside track on Seth?”
“But first, we should figure out who . . .,” Nelson started.
He fell silent when an animal-control officer walked into the room with Seth. Maresol was so angry that she walked through the room and out into the backyard. Dale called Clara to him.
“This is Officer Muñoz,” Seth said. “Davies called to report that Clara attacked him.”
FIFTEEN
“Sorry, Seth,” Officer Muñoz said. “I had to come out.”
“Of course,” Seth said. “I told these gentlemen that I was stopped by the State Attorney on a walk with Clara at White Ranch Open Space. I was irritated that he had interrupted my run, so I used your signal, Dale.”
Dale swallowed hard.
“Can you show them what Clara can do?” Seth asked.
Dale gave Seth a soulful look.
“He wants to see if she’s well cared for and not violent,” Seth said. “Show him everything you’ve taught her.”
Dale nodded. He made Clara sit in front of him. He asked her to shake his right hand and she did. He asked her to shake his left hand, which she did. He asked her to back up. He got her to speak and made her stay while he walked out of the kitchen. They applauded Clara and her efforts.
Dale made a fake gun with his hand and said, “Bang.”
Clara made a show of limping. She weaved back and forth before rolling onto her back to play dead. They applauded.
“Show them the other one,” Seth said. “It’s okay.”
Dale went into the kitchen and set Clara to his left. He turned over his left hand. Clara barked, snapped, and snarled. Dale turned his hand over and she stopped.
“Why did you teach the dog this?” Officer Muñoz asked.
“As you know, I’m a detective,” Seth said. “Dale’s fiancé was murdered by the serial killer, Saint Jude, last year.”
“He gave you that toxin, made you sick, right?” Officer Muñoz asked. “Killed a bunch of homeless kids over a few decades? Buried them all over the city?”
“Right,” Seth said. “We thought if we knew someone was bad, we could tell Clara.”
“Where did you get her?” the animal-control officer asked.
“She’s pure bred,” Ava said. “Both of her parents are champions. Their owners are the parents of one of the kids Seth found. She was the pick of the litter. They gave her to us in appreciation for finding their son and solving the Saint Jude case. She’s registered and has papers.”
“Is it normal for you to get presents when you
solve cases?” Officer Muñoz asked.
“It’s not unheard of,” Seth said. “This poor family . . . Their son stormed out one night after a big fight. As near as we can tell, he was killed that night or the one after. The father spent every Saturday for more than twenty years looking for him. They didn’t know what had happened to him until the coroner called.”
“Kind of a special case,” Ava said.
“They were all like that,” Seth said. “Saint Jude ripped the heart out of countless families.”
Everyone nodded. Maresol came in the back.
“Are you going to take her?” Dale’s voice trembled when he asked.
“Mr. Davies says she bit him,” Officer Muñoz said.
“Did you see where she supposedly bit him?” Éowyn asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Officer Muñoz said. “But if you’re askin’ me if I think the wound on his hand was from a dog bite, I do not.”
“Oh, really?” Leslie’s voice was breezy. “What did it look like to you?”
“My partner thought it was a knife,” Officer Muñoz said. “He says it was from this dog.”
“You didn’t happen to get a photo of it, did you?” Nelson asked.
“Why?” Officer Muñoz asked.
“Sorry,” Éowyn said. “We’ve been horribly rude. I’m Éowyn Alvin. This is my sister Ava O’Malley. She’s Seth’s wife. These are her colleagues from the Denver Backup Lab. Their idea of fun is to go through old cases. My boyfriend and I stopped by to see Ava.”
“I’m just here for dinner,” Nelson nodded to Officer Muñoz.
“Would you like some dinner, Officer Muñoz?” Maresol asked. “It’s carnitas. I made sandwiches for these gringos, but I’d be happy to make whatever might be good. We have plenty.”
“I . . .” Office Muñoz said. “It does smell amazing.”
Maresol gave the baby on her hip back to Leslie and went into the kitchen.
“I need to check the dog,” Officer Muñoz said.
“Please do,” Seth said.
Officer Munoz leaned down and grabbed Clara’s collar.
“You wouldn’t happen to have that photo . . .” Nelson asked.
“It’s on my phone.” Officer Muñoz gave Nelson the phone.
“Feel free to take her in the yard,” Seth said. “There’s an Army Sergeant swimming. He’s a little jumpy. Don’t let him freak you out.”
They silently watched Officer Muñoz take Clara to the grass outside the sliding window. Clara sat and stayed. She came. Officer Muñoz was able to get her to heel without a leash. Switch got out of the pool. A tall, muscular man, Switch looked like he was going to eat the animal-control officer. Instead, he dried off while watching the animal-control officer run through a few quick aggression tests. Officer Muñoz tested her for hand shyness and whether she would follow his commands. Clara passed all of her tests with flying colors. She was so happy that she danced around the animal control officer. They came inside together.
“I’m supposed to take the dog,” Officer Muñoz said.
“Is that really necessary?” Seth asked. “It was really my fault.”
“Yeah, you should take Seth.” Dale’s voice was belligerent and sad. Officer Muñoz looked at him for a moment.
“Is there a place she could stay for a while?” Officer Muñoz asked. “Just until this cools off?”
“She can stay with us,” Switch said, as he came in the sliding door. He pulled on a T-shirt.
“Where’s that?” Officer Muñoz asked.
“Fort Carson,” Switch said.
“You’ll check in with animal control when you get there?” Officer Munoz asked.
“We will,” Éowyn said.
“Ok, that should work,” Officer Munoz said. He looked up when Maresol set a plate of carnitas, beans, and stack of homemade tortillas on the counter.
“Please,” Seth said. “Eat.”
“So what’d you do to Davies to make him so pissed at you?” Officer Munoz asked Seth.
“I’m not sure,” Seth said. “Like I said, I was out for a hike with Clara. He tracked my cellphone and caught up with me there.”
The animal-control officer took a bite of the carnitas and began eating fast. Nelson worked with the photo of Davies’s hand on his computer.
“Creepy,” Officer Munoz said. “You know what he asked me?”
“What?” Seth asked.
“He asked me what I thought of the recent rash of animal mutilations in Denver.” The animal control officer shook his head. “Gave me the creeps.”
“What do you think, Officer?” Nelson asked. He got up from his seat so Fran could work on his computer.
“What’s to think?” Officer Munoz shrugged. “Some people are pervs.”
“Have you had a lot?” Ava asked.
“Less than last year,” Officer Munoz said. “A lot less. It’s like that guy just moved away.”
Officer Munoz took the last bite of his dinner.
“Someone was shooting coyote on White Ranch tonight. Came over the wire that one was dead,” Officer Munoz looked at Seth. “Did you see him?”
“Odd you should mention that,” Seth said. “I thought it was the State Attorney.”
Officer Munoz laughed. He picked up his hat and nodded.
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said to Maresol.
“I’ll walk you out,” Seth said.
“Sir?” Nelson held out Officer Munoz’s phone. “Thanks.”
Officer Munoz nodded and followed Seth to the door. No one said a word until he returned
.
SIXTEEN
“Well?” Ava asked when Seth walked into the kitchen.
“Cat and mouse,” Seth said. “He intentionally reached for Clara so he had an excuse to call animal control. Then he sniffs around to see if they’re onto him for animal mutilations.”
“What animals?” Ava asked.
“I asked him,” Seth said. “Dogs.”
“He was going to . . .” Dale started. “With Clara?”
“We have to assume,” Seth said.
“She’ll be safe with us,” Switch said. “You have enough sway, O’Malley, to get him banned from base.”
“I’ll call,” Seth said. “What’s the hand look like?”
“It’s not a knife wound,” Fran said. “That’s what I was hoping for. Ava, you want to take a look? Bob?”
Ava and Bob went to stand behind Fran. She increased the size while Ava bit her lip.
“Ava?” Fran asked.
“Looks like an animal bite,” Ava said. “But too small for Clara. Maybe a cat or a ferret? And . . . something’s not right.”
“Bob?” Frank asked.
“It looks like a wound that’s supposed to look like an animal bite,” Bob said. “I had a case once where a guy did this with a pair of nail trimmers. Got infected.”
“Do you remember the case?” Seth asked.
“I can find it,” Bob said. “Sure.”
“Anything might help,” Seth said.
“You know what I think,” Ava said.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“I think we should focus on the remains from Arizona,” Ava said. “If there’s even a remote chance that he did the mutilations, he’s bound to have screwed up on at least one. Sure, he’s perfect now. But ten years ago? Fifteen? His first one? I’d bet he wasn’t so cool.”
“We need only one solid murder conviction to put him in prison for life,” Seth said.
“Good thinking, Ava,” Bob said.
Fran, Leslie, and Nelson nodded their heads in unison.
“Switch and I will move to his apartment at the Fort. We’ll take Clara. My employees can take care of the store for a while,” Éowyn said. Switch put his arm around her shoulders, and she smiled. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to look into cattle mutilations,” Seth said.
“We should have at least three weeks before he kills again,” Nelson said. “It’s
not a lot of time.”
“Let’s hope we find a way to stop him in that time,” Seth said.
“What are our questions?” Ava asked.
“Why the detectives got involved?” Bob asked.
“I’ll talk to Martha and see if she knows,” Seth said.
“We can track down the wives and surviving relatives of these others,” Fran nodded. “I bet they have some idea.”
“What else?” Ava asked.
“Why detectives?” Maresol asked. “There are lots of smart people in the world. Why go after police detectives?”
Everyone looked at Seth, and he nodded.
“We have to figure out why he dated me,” Éowyn said “He must have wanted something. Did I give it to him? Or was it all a part of the game?”
“Or just the thrill of the lead-up to murder,” Seth said.
“Anything else?” Ava asked.
“We have to find evidence,” Bob said. “Real, concrete evidence that we can try him on and get him off the streets.”
“I’m wondering about money,” Leslie said. “Seth, your note says that Martha said that his grandfather holds his chain, gives him money. But Davies makes a good salary. Why does he need extra money? Where does his money go?”
“Éowyn?” Seth asked.
“No idea,” she said.
“We should find out,” Fran said. “Money could be a key to figuring out what’s going on.”
“How so?” Ava asked.
“Maybe he hasn’t come after Ava because Seth doesn’t need money,” Fran said.
“You mean these other detectives got involved in the case as a side job for cash?” Seth asked. “That’s probable.”
“Or he picked Seth because he has money,” Fran said. “It could be either.”
“Good thinking, Leslie,” Ava said. “Fran.”
Leslie and Fran smiled.
“I wish I knew what motivated him,” Seth said. “He has everything—looks, education, enough power to satisfy most men, women . . . What motivates him to murder?”
“Do we know what motivates psychopaths?” Nelson asked.
“Power,” Bob said.
“More power than he has right now?” Seth shrugged. “He’s putting his real power at risk to have pseudopower over a few individuals.”
“Maybe that’s it,” Maresol said. “He’s hooked on the gamble. Risk it all, win or lose, that kind of thing. Éowyn said he was like that when they dated. Could be how he is.”
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