The Netscher Connection

by Estelle Ryan

  I stepped closer and looked at their nonverbal cues. “They’re friends. Good friends. There is a lot of trust between them.”

  “What do we have on their backgrounds?” Manny asked.

  “I got Olivia to compile everything she could from archives,” Francine said. “She also found a few more articles on these men. I went a bit deeper, but couldn’t find much more than whatever was recorded in government databases. Olivia created a spreadsheet with this information. I sent it to everyone just before we came here.”

  “Huh.” Andor narrowed his eyes as he swiped his smartphone’s screen. “This is interesting. Out of the five grandpas, only four served in the military. They were enlisted during World War Two, but none of them had been in any direct battles with the Nazis.”

  “Who was the one who didn’t serve?” Manny asked.

  “János Nagy.”

  I wondered if this was significant.

  “I asked Olivia to look for anything else that might be suspicious in these men’s backgrounds and connections,” Colin said. He’d told me last night just after we’d settled in bed that Olivia had become exactly what he’d known she could be. His face had told me he was proud. And relieved. “She promised to do it this morning before she phoned her husband.”

  “Good,” Manny said. “We need to find out what these bloody men had in common and why this killer is going after their grandsons.”

  “I’ve got names.” Andor tapped the whiteboard until he had the earlier list back up. “I got my friend’s dad to send me a list of not only their current client base, but also of all the clients they’ve ever had. I thought it would be better to have too much data than too little.”

  I agreed with his reasoning. Plentiful data helped in determining patterns and noticing anomalies.

  Captain Palya pointed at the list. “We compared it with all the natural deaths in Hungary in the last ten years and got seventeen cases, including the cases Garas first noticed.”

  “The first one died nine years ago.” Andor enlarged the list to show the first name. “Hanna Taikon passed away from an apparent heart attack. She was only forty-nine.”

  I held up both hands to stop them from continuing. “How can you be sure that the deaths of Hanna Taikon or any of the other people on this list can be attributed to the same killer? That these weren’t genuine natural deaths?”

  “Well, we can’t be a hundred percent sure.” Andor shrugged. “I won’t be surprised if not all of these seventeen people were killed by some cyber-stalking serial killer. But we’ll have to find a way to eliminate the people who really died from natural causes.”

  “One of the best ways to find a serial killer is through their victims.” I had taken a few semesters of criminal psychology while at university. I’d never expected that information to be as helpful and play as big a role in my life as it currently did. “Serial killers are usually male. Only about fifteen percent of serial killers are women. Most female serial killers fall into two categories—team killers or black widow killers.”

  “I hate spiders.” Francine shuddered. “I suppose these women kill their men after they used them for whatever purpose.”

  “That would be correct.” I’d found the comparison to the spider species apt. “Female serial killers usually use low-profile methods of killing. Poison is their preferred choice.”

  “How many victims make a serial killer?” Francine asked.

  “Usually three. But we need a pattern to classify it as such.” Captain Palya looked at the list. “Even if we eliminate half of these people, we definitely have a serial killer on the loose.”

  “The question is how this person is choosing their victims.” Not knowing what drove the killer bothered me.

  “Can we assume it’s a he?” Andor’s expression revealed the genuine nature of his question. “I mean if we go with statistics, it’s most probably a he.”

  “I think we should look for a man.” Captain Palya nodded. “In all my years in the force, I’ve never come across a female serial killer. Not that I’ve come across many serial killers. But in my experience, most women kill for exactly the same reasons men do, but the way they do it is different. These murders are not quite what I would expect from a female killer. There’s a certain logic and patience to it that I can’t attribute to the female psyche.”

  “Oh, my God. You’re sounding so sexist right now.” Francine’s lips were thin, the corners of her mouth turned down. “Not all women are hot messes. Liking pretty things doesn’t mean that we can’t apply logic and have patience.”

  Captain Palya took a step back and took a slow breath. “I’m thinking that no matter what I say right now, it’s going to sound bad and dig me into a deeper hole, so I think I’ll just not get into this argument.”

  Manny chuckled. “Wise move, old chap.”

  Colin frowned and took a step closer to the board. “Are these dates correct?”

  “Yes.” Andor tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as if looking for something on the list. “The first date is the date of birth, the second is the day they died.”

  “Shit.” Colin pushed his hand through his hair and looked at me for a few seconds. After all these years, I knew him well. He’d found something that was disturbing him greatly. He turned his attention back to the whiteboard and stared wide-eyed at the names.

  “Are you going to share with us, Frey?” Manny exhaled angrily. “Or are you just going to stand there and stare at the bloody board the whole day?”

  Colin ignored him. After a few seconds, Colin tapped on the pen icon, then drew lines through five names. Only twelve remained.

  I waited.

  “Frey!” Clearly Manny didn’t have the patience to allow Colin to process whatever insight he had gleaned.

  Colin turned around. “I know when the next murder is going to take place.”

  “Holy hell.” Manny lowered his brow. “Talk. Now.”

  Colin swallowed and turned back to the board. “The dates of these twelve deaths are all on the same day as the birth of a Romanian artist.”

  “Romanian or Roma?” There was a difference and I needed to know.

  “Romanian and Roma.”

  “Artists as in...?” Captain Palya didn’t finish his question, just lifted one eyebrow.

  “Painters.” Colin pointed at the first date. “Twentieth March. This death is on the same date as the birthday of Theodor Aman—he was known for his work in Romanticism. And look at the next one. The date is the same as the birthday of Camil Ressu. He was an impressionist painter. And this death on twenty-second October, same as the birthday of Corneliu Michailescu, a cubist painter.”

  “Okay, okay.” Manny pushed his hands in his trouser pockets. “We get the gist. But are you sure about all the dates?”

  “I know my artists, Millard.” Colin shook his head, then turned to Andor. “There is your extra information for elimination.”

  “Francine, can you run the names of the Három client list against all deaths as well as the birthdates of all Romanian artists?” I didn’t know if we would get any more names than the twelve we currently had, but I needed all the victims if I were to analyse victimology.

  “On it.” Her fingers were already flying over the keyboard. “Do you want me to go back further than ten years?”

  I thought about this. “Yes. Do fifteen.”

  “Running it now.” She typed in a few more commands, then leaned back. “It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes to get results.”

  Colin was still staring at the list. I deeply despised being interrupted when my brain was busy analysing information, so I left him alone. Then I recalled what he’d just said and could no longer wait. “When will be the next death?”

  “Today.” He frowned and looked down to his right as if having an inner conversation. “Or not. There’s really no way to know.”

  “If I look at this, I would say you’re right.” Andor waved at the board. “Look how the last five deaths ar
e clustered. Assuming that there are not dozens more victims, the killer took his time between kills. The second death came sixteen months after the first. Then another waiting period of eleven months, then thirteen months, then eight months. But the last murders have been taking place weeks apart and now days apart. So, yes. I think it might be today.”

  “We need to stop this arsehole.” Captain Palya rested his fists on his hips. “I’m not having a lunatic running around my city killing people. For what?”

  That was a good question. Not only did we not have complete victimology, we also had no clue as to what motivated this killer.

  We had many disconnected parts of this crime. But each time we discovered something new, it enabled us to get a step closer to the real crimes and to the killer. I hated the helplessness I experienced at thinking about some person who would fall victim to an unknown killer today. If Colin’s prediction was correct and it happened today.

  It felt like something heavy was resting on my chest knowing that there was nothing I could do at present to prevent this from happening. Rationally, I knew that I was not responsible in any way, yet an obsessive urge pushed at my mind to find this killer and stop them from taking any more lives.

  Having to wait for Francine’s results and for more data to come in was most frustrating. Just as I took a step towards her desk to ask her how much longer, the sound of a child laughing came from my handbag. I glared at Colin and took my smartphone from its pocket. I hated it when he changed the ringtones on my phone. It was Roxy. I swiped to answer the call. “Yes?”

  “Hey there, gorgeous genius. How’s everyone doing?”

  “Fine.” I loathed small talk. “Why are you phoning?”

  “Can’t I just phone to chat?”

  “No.”

  She giggled. “Yeah, I know you don’t do chatting. Okay, so I phoned to say that I just emailed a spreadsheet with info on the grandsons—Gabor Szabo, Ferenc Szell, István Koltai and Antal Udvaros. Olivia and I got as much on these men as we possibly could, but I’m sure you’ll find even more on them in government databases. We compiled everything we got from the internet and social media. It’s quite a lot and for now I think this should give you enough to work with.”

  I remembered to mumble a “Thank you” before I ended the call, took my tablet from my handbag and sat down at the conference table. A few swipes and I had my email opened and was looking at a spreadsheet that was definitely not the creation of Roxy’s disorganised mind. It was neatly arranged in a sheet per person with clearly laid out information about each man. I started reading.

  “Doc!” Manny knocked on the table right next to my tablet. I looked up into a deep frown pulling his brows in and down. “Who was that and what are you doing?”

  “Roxy.” I looked at my tablet. “She sent information about the victims.”

  “Anything useful?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’ve just started reading through it.”

  “Well, read faster.” He straightened. “What are you thinking so hard, Frey?”

  I didn’t hear Colin’s answer. I was focused on the details about the victims. If they had been murdered by a serial killer like we believed, I wondered if there was anything else connecting them. Aside from their grandfathers appearing together in many photos. Roxy and Olivia had given the same information we already knew, but had added a lot more about the men’s professional lives as well as their online presence.

  I finished reading and pushed the tablet away from me. There wasn’t anything here that connected these men in a manner that would not be wildly speculative or circumstantial. Either we needed to look deeper into their personal lives or we needed to widen the search in their lives to the people close to them. That might be the key to finding the killer.

  “Got it!” Francine shifted in her chair and drummed on the desk as if to announce something. “I got the twelve names we already have and two more. I’ll add the new ones to your list, Andor.”

  He nodded. “Are those two deaths earlier than the ones we already have?”

  “Nope.” She tapped the enter key and swivelled in her chair to face the whiteboard. “See? They fit in the middle somewhere. From what I’ve found, the death nine years ago was indeed the first one.”

  “Then I need more information on this person.” I flinched when everyone turned to look at me. “If this was the killer’s first victim, it would tell us a lot about the killer. The first victim usually has great significance to a serial killer. It is not always the case, but it would be wise to look into this. Thoroughly.”

  “Then we have our work cut out for us.” Manny sat down next to Francine. “Do your thing.”

  “Ooh, talking sexy to me again, handsome?” She winked at him and started typing on her computer.

  I longed for my viewing room with my computer, my keyboard and the fifteen monitors where I could distribute findings and peruse at my own leisure. This was the first time we’d worked outside of our office and I vowed to fight against ever doing this again.

  Since it would be unproductive to spend any more time being annoyed at the current working situation, I pulled out a large notebook from my handbag and settled down to lay out my thoughts on our findings so far. Around me, Colin, Andor and Captain Palya discussed the Romanian artists. Vinnie didn’t move from where he was leaning against the door, but frequently commented on something Manny had said to Francine, in an obvious attempt to irritate the older man.

  I allowed these sounds to wash over me while I called up one of Mozart’s earlier sonatas to mentally play in my mind. I needed clear focus if I were to see some connection that we’d overlooked so far. I inhaled deeply and started writing.

  Chapter FOURTEEN

  “Come on, Jen-girl. You need to eat.” Vinnie grabbed the back of my chair and lightly shook it. “Up and at it. Food, food, food.”

  I looked away from Francine’s laptop monitor towards the conference room table. I’d been completely absorbed with the research Francine and I were doing. I hadn’t heard the table being set or the food being brought in. Only now that I was looking at the table did I smell the food.

  “You’d better grab a chair or there will be nothing left, Doc.” Manny emptied a heaped spoon of what looked like a pasta salad onto his plate. “I’m already on my second helping and Garas is eating like a teenager.”

  “It’s because this food is really good.” Andor took another bread roll and used it to soak up the sauce left on his plate.

  “One of the few things we agree on, Garas.” Captain Palya looked at the large portions on his plate.

  “You don’t have to invite me twice.” Francine winked at me, then got up. A pleased expression replaced the concentration that had been evident on her face for the last five hours. “Spaghetti! Ooh, just what I need. A serious pasta infusion. And potato salad. Vin! Did you do all of this?”

  “Nope.” Vinnie shook my chair again and smiled when I got up. He nodded towards the table. “Cook did it all. He promised me that the food was prepared exactly the way you preferred it, with all the cleaning and sterilising and stuff.”

  I searched his face, but saw no sarcasm. Only honesty. “Thank you.”

  Colin was sitting next to Andor, a large helping of the potato salad all that was left on his plate. He smiled when I sat down across from him. “We need to get this potato salad recipe. It’s really, really good.”

  “That’s why he made two large bowls of the stuff.” Vinnie pointed at a sealed plastic container. He waved at the plentiful food. “Where do you want to start, Jen-girl?”

  I had been so engrossed with the work Francine and I’d been doing that it had bordered on the point of hyperfocus. When that had happened in the past, days would go by when I would forget to eat, sleep, bathe, even drink water. That was why hunger now suddenly overwhelmed my senses. I hadn’t registered any of my body’s needs.

  “I’ll have the pasta salad.” I’d had that on the first day when I’d still been very scept
ical of the skills Émile had boasted his cook had. The salad had been light, yet filling and flavourful. Vinnie had threatened the cook with a painful death if he didn’t share the recipe. Cook had failed to hide his pleasure.

  “After the salad, you must try the spaghetti.” Vinnie pulled the large serving dish closer to his plate. “I swear it’s even tastier than last Thursday.”

  I looked at the dishes and tilted my head. “These are all dishes we’ve had before.”

  “Yup.” Vinnie heaped another spoon of pasta onto his plate. “I thought it would be safer to ask Cook to make food we’ve already had and liked. That way I know everyone will eat.”

  Even though Vinnie hadn’t prepared our food like he usually did, I could see that it had been important to him to be in control of what we ate. I thought about the earlier discussion I’d had with Roxy and Francine and realised that Vinnie also never asked for appreciation. I cleared my throat. “Thank you.”

  “Huh?” Vinnie stopped chewing and looked at me in surprise. Then his cheeks lifted and the corners of his eyes crinkled in a warm smile when he swallowed. “You’re most welcome.”

  It was quiet around the table for a few minutes. I finished the pasta salad, then followed Vinnie’s advice and helped myself to some spaghetti. The trust I had in Vinnie was evident in my immediate acceptance of his advice. I hadn’t once questioned the cleanliness of the food preparation, the plates and eating utensils. I’d just taken it for granted that Vinnie would never have offered me food that had not been prepared to standards that passed his approval. That included the taste. The spaghetti once again didn’t disappoint.

  “Doc!” Manny knocked on the table, his scowl telling me he’d been trying to get my attention for a while.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you listening?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well then, I suppose I can continue.” Captain Palya’s expression warned me that he was irritated. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I got full background on Hanna Taikon.”