*
The Inspector had given them the address of a house way out on Dundas Street East, not far from the airport. They took Wallace's van and made good time as they took Sunningdale over to Clarke Road, and then made their way to Dundas Street, the streets almost totally deserted this early in the morning. Wallace floored it as they headed east on Dundas close to the city limits, spotting fire trucks and police cruisers parked on the lawn of a house on the north side of the street, the house on fire. They pulled in behind one of the cruisers and got out as Caruso walked towards them.
"What's going on?" Wallace asked. He and Pepper took careful note of a few of the curious neighbours who had shown up and were standing around in their pajamas, some holding cups of coffee, watching the show.
Caruso drew them out of earshot of the gathering crowd. "This house has been abandoned and boarded up for years. It looks like our guy torched it to get our attention." He motioned to one of the officers who had been called in and gave orders to keep the gawkers back and away from the burning building and emergency vehicles.
Pepper looked at the charred and smoldering building, flames still coming out of windows on the south face. "Please tell me there's not a body inside?"
"No, there's not. C'mere," Caruso said, turning and walking toward a big willow tree on the west side of the property. As the firefighters continued to subdue the blaze, the lights from their emergency vehicles provided enough illumination for them to see the area under the tree. Caruso had been walking in front of them, his tall broad body blocking their view. But as he neared the base of the tree, he stepped to one side.
"Ah Jesus," Wallace muttered. Before them was one of those big wooden Adirondack outdoor chairs, positioned in front of the big tree and facing the house. A blonde girl was tied in place on the chair, the ropes wrapped around her body keeping her upright. She was clothed in a black sweater and jeans, with socks, but no shoes on her feet."
"What's going on?" McTavish said as he and Chin ran up and joined them, their faces illuminated spookily in the flickering orange light from the fire. They'd both gotten the call from Caruso, and McTavish had picked Chin up at her downtown apartment on the way.
"Looks like The Sandman has left us another gift," Caruso said, nodding to the dead girl in the chair.
"What's that in her hand?" Chin said as they stepped closer, all of them looking at a thin metal tube sticking up from her clasped hands.
McTavish leaned in close. "Jesus," he said, stepping back and facing the others. "It's one of those butane torch things you use to light a barbecue."
Janssen and Singleton arrived within minutes. Singleton got Pepper and McTavish to help him set up some portable spotlights as Janssen started taking pictures of the crime scene. By the time they had the lights all in place, the firefighters had the blaze under control. The old tinderbox house was totally destroyed, now just a big pile of smoldering embers.
The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon as Janssen pulled on her gloves, streaks of deep pink and purple emblazoning the eastern sky.
"All right, let's see what we've got," Janssen said, moving close to the girl as she started to examine her as Singleton took over snapping pictures. Janssen leaned in closer, peering intently at the girl's face, the girl's blonde hair fastened back in a ponytail. "The makeup job is just like the others." She turned and looked at the group behind her. "This close to her, I can smell the bleach." The rest of them hadn't been able to, the smell of the fire masking everything. They watched as Janssen lifted one gloved hand and touched the girl's mouth, pushing and pulling her lips.
"Her mouth is glued together on one side."
"Is there a note?" Wallace asked.
"Just give me a second," Janssen replied, pulling a small flashlight out of her pocket and pointing it at the corner of the girl's mouth. "There's something here. Kyle, can you hold this for me, please?" Singleton took the flashlight and trained it on the girl's mouth as Janssen pulled out her forceps and inserted it between the girl's lips. She carefully moved her hand back, withdrawing the forceps with another folded piece of paper between the tips. She unfolded the damp paper carefully, holding it beneath one of the powerful lamps as the others drew close.
"What's it say?" Wallace asked impatiently.
Janssen started to read:
"WATCH OUT, YOU MIGHT GET WHAT YOU'RE AFTER
COOL BABIES, STRANGE BUT NOT A STRANGER
I'M AN ORDINARY GUY
BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
HOLD TIGHT
WAIT 'TIL THE
Every Breath You Take Page 59
