Just then, Dean’s front door opened and the guy hurried out and down the driveway. He got to his car, pulled a quick U-turn and headed out towards Kavanaugh Boulevard. Cooper closed the gap between them in a matter of seconds and continued to follow.
Eventually, they both ended up at the police station. Cooper held back, watching him, and only pulled fully into the lot once the cop had gone into the building. Cooper watched him speak to everyone he passed. The guy looked every bit like he belonged there. If there was any doubt left in Cooper’s mind that Dean and this cop were up to no good, whatever just went down at Dean’s house confirmed it. Cooper had the photos to prove the connection. Like playing cards, you never wanted to show your hand too soon.
CHAPTER 48
LUKE RUSHED BACK TO HIS OFFICE after leaving the jewelry store. He wanted to look at the earrings they pulled off the third victim. She still hadn’t been identified. Luke hoped he could identify the earrings. That would at least be a start and another possible connection to George, if the initials were there. If not, it would be back to the drawing board.
As Luke pulled into the police station’s parking lot, he noticed Cooper’s truck. Before he could walk over to him, Luke saw several officers coming out of the building all racing towards their vehicles. Luke had his door open and one foot on the pavement when his partner slid into the passenger seat.
Tyler said breathlessly, “They found another woman. Murray Park again. Almost the same spot just down river a little. This is getting out of control.”
Luke slammed his door and sped off out of the lot, heading through downtown Little Rock. He went across side streets to connect to Cantrell and then Rebsamen Park Road. He drove with a steady eye on the road and complete silence in the car. He wasn’t even sure what to ask first.
Once they hit the straightaway on Rebsamen Road, Luke finally asked his partner, “What do we know so far?”
“Not much. Like yesterday, a guy out on his boat coming in for the day spotted a woman’s body and called 911. A couple of uniformed guys on patrol got over there as quickly as they could. At least the scene is secured. We asked them to start taking statements from the few people around. That’s about all we know. No identification or anything yet. We only got the call about ten minutes before you got back. Purvis and his team should be there already. I was going to call you but saw you pulling up.”
“I was at a jewelry store. We got a lead on the jewelry and a few other things. I was just coming back to look at the earrings. The bracelet found on Sara Bloomfield is connected to George without question,” Luke explained. Then he turned to his partner and said with satisfaction, “George Brewer hired Shannon on business trips in New Orleans. We’ve got another connection.”
Tyler looked at Luke, his eyes wide and mouth open but didn’t say a word. He sat there silent, probably feeling what Luke felt when Riley first told him.
“We get any identification on the third woman from the river?” Luke asked, pulling into the park.
Tyler had spent the better part of the day working to get identification on the third victim.
“None at all. She’s not in any system and so far no missing person’s reports matching her description. Prints didn’t come back either. We got nothing,” Tyler said, shaking his head. He added, “You know we have to make another statement to the media. We have to get out in front of this.”
“I know. I don’t even want to think about that right now, but the media will be swarming. Call Cap and get our public information officer down here too.”
Luke parked and headed right to where Purvis and his team were moving her from the water. Luke pulled on latex gloves from his back pocket as he walked. He passed two uniformed cops who had already sectioned off a perimeter with yellow crime scene tape. He raised it and walked directly to the body. Luke was anxious to see if it was Maime or Laura. Not that he was hoping for either, but he was hoping it wasn’t another victim.
“What do we have?” Luke called out as he approached.
“Same as the others. I’d guess she’s mid-thirties, definite petechiae present. No writing this time but wearing a silver chain with an emerald pendant.”
Then Purvis added thoughtfully, “Her body seems to be in better condition than the last. I finally got some details back on the others. We need to talk. Let me finish here, and then I’ll fill you in.”
Luke barely heard him. He was too focused on wanting to know if it was Maime or Laura. As the medical examiner’s team got her out of the water and into the black body bag on a stretcher, Luke looked over the woman wearing only a bra and underwear like the others. Her hair covered her face. Luke reached over to her and gently brushed back the tangled, wet blonde hair to get a look at her face. Then let out a string of curses. Not Maime or Laura.
Luke felt like his head was spinning. Drips of sweat dampened his neck. Little Rock was being torn inside out by a monster he couldn’t get a handle on.
He looked down again at the victim. Tangled in her blonde hair was the thin silver chain. Carefully, Luke felt around and found the emerald pendant Purvis mentioned. He turned it over. Barely legible, right there on the back, were the initials G.B.
CHAPTER 49
LUKE WALKED BACK TO HIS CAR to update Tyler. Tyler was still on the phone talking to their Captain about making an official statement. Luke stood impatiently before finally interrupting and taking the phone out of Tyler’s hands.
“Cap, it’s not Maime or Laura. We’ve got another victim. Purvis is going to do the autopsy immediately and hopefully get us some answers tomorrow. We have to make another statement. They are already camped out down here at the scene. We’re going to look like idiots if we don’t get out in front of this.”
Captain Meadows agreed. They’d have to play it by ear, but soon if they weren’t informed, the public was going to lose confidence in the police. This was the way it always happened. The police department walked a fine line with what was too much information to share and what wasn’t. The news leaks weren’t helping either. The nightly news was running coverage on all of the women found in the river and Maime’s and Laura’s disappearances. It was all the national news was playing, every channel, and every broadcast. Speculation was raging on social media.
Luke was handing the phone back to Tyler when he saw Cooper approaching. He motioned for the uniformed guys to let Cooper through.
“Luke, what is going on?” Cooper asked, looking as shell shocked as Luke felt. “I was parked at the station and saw everyone pull out of there, so I followed.”
“Another woman’s body washed up. It’s not Maime or Laura. You find out anything?”
Before Cooper could answer, Purvis made his way over to them, motioning Luke out of the line of sight of the media. Luke asked Tyler and Cooper to join them. The four of them walked down closer to the river away from the other cops and prying eyes.
“This is as bad as it gets, four women in three days,” Purvis said obviously shaken. “We deal with a lot of homicide cases in this city but nothing like this in all my years at the medical examiner’s office. The women all seem to be around the same age. The three we already examined seem to have been strangled with the same instrument, some kind of heavy wire. That’s my preliminary for this woman, too. The marks on their necks all look the same. It’s cutting their skin as it’s closing off their air supply. All the women were bound. We can plainly see the marks on their wrists and ankles. No water in their lungs. They had undigested food in their stomachs. My best guess is they are being held for a period of time before they are killed.”
“Any signs of sexual assault?” Luke asked.
“None. Because they are in the water for a period of time, we aren’t getting much on fibers or anything else to test. Somebody knows what they are doing. I’m going to go back to the morgue and work on this victim. Let’s meet tomorrow. I’ll give you an official report of what I know to date. I got potential time of deaths for you. We can sketch out a timeline.”
>
“Sounds good. Thanks for the rush,” Luke said.
“No problem. Wouldn’t have it any other way. The victims are too similar and manner of death the same. Whether we want to admit it or not we’ve got a pattern killer here. You need to warn potential victims and you need answers from me to do it. We’ve got to stop this and fast,” Purvis said. He turned and walked back to the white medical examiner’s van.
Luke wasn’t sure what else to say. Hopefully they’d get some identification on the two unknown victims. It was happening so fast it was hard to get a handle on it. Most of the police department resources were going into these cases, but it still felt like they were spinning their wheels. They were all overwhelmed. Luke played a potential statement to the media over and over in his head while Tyler and Cooper talked about the cases.
So much had been leaked already, he’d have to confirm and then give enough facts to keep them at bay for now. This was the worst part of his work. He hated dealing with the media. Law enforcement was never doing enough no matter how hard they were trying. People didn’t understand they weren’t some kind of superheroes. He had a hard enough time accepting he wasn’t. Luke sure didn’t need the public to remind him.
CHAPTER 50
BISHOP MOORE, BOBBY AND I STOOD in the alley next to Bobby’s house looking at what remained of the SUV. It was obvious someone had intentionally set fire to it. Its tags were missing, and its VIN number scratched off. Overall, it was pretty much destroyed. You could still tell it had been a SUV and that the fire started in the front. It hadn’t burned all the way to the gas tank. I could still make out the charred Land Rover detail on the back. I would have bet money this was Maime’s missing vehicle.
After a few more attempts to pry information out of Bobby, he explained that they smelled smoke right away. Once his dad saw the flames, they all ran out of the house, grabbed anything they could, and put the fire out. Someone called the fire department and then the police. Bobby said they were still waiting for someone to come out and take a report. The fire department never showed up that night.
I looked to Bishop Moore for explanation. He explained that the neighborhood had become so rough, particularly at night, that the emergency response system was getting a lot of false reports, and that coupled with the gang activity, sometimes the responders chose not to come out of fear for their own lives. “Forgotten neighborhood” is how Bishop Moore described it.
It made me sad to think any neighborhood could be considered forgotten, even with the prevalence of drugs and gangs and violence.
“What time do you think the car was dropped off?” I asked over my shoulder to Bobby as I walked around what was left of the Land Rover, looking for any identifying clues.
“It was about nine-thirty. My friends were supposed to be at my house by then so I was waiting. I kept looking out the window. When I saw her, I was gonna tell my dad, but he don’t like to be bothered when he’s playing cards.”
“How soon after the lady left did the fire start?”
“I don’t know exactly, but it was pretty soon after they left. There was all the smoke. I didn’t need to tell my dad then. He saw it for himself.”
“Did you see who started it? Was the lady still around when the fire started?”
“I don’t know who started it. She got out of her car, got in the guy’s car and then a few minutes later the fire started. When she got in his car, I stopped looking out the window. Then I smelled smoke and looked out again and saw the fire.”
I pulled my phone out and handed it to Bobby and then Bishop Moore. They each took a few seconds to look at Maime’s photo. She didn’t look familiar to either of them. Bobby said it was too dark to really get a good look at her. He just knew it was a woman.
“When did you hear about this?” I asked Bishop Moore, pointing to the charred SUV. I knew he lived several blocks away.
“Not until the next day when the kids in the neighborhood were talking about it. I called the police. This isn’t our first abandoned vehicle in these parts, and not the first fire we had to put out ourselves.”
“Did you see what kind of car the lady got in?” I asked Bobby.
Bobby shook his head no. I excused myself, walked halfway down the alley and called Luke. I got his voicemail but didn’t leave a message. I tried Cooper next. When he answered, he didn’t even say hello. He launched into the details of another woman’s body found in the river. I swallowed hard. My mouth went dry. Cooper said he was still with Luke at the scene. Then he was quick to get off the phone.
I shouted and caught him just before he ended the call. “I think I found Maime’s car. You have to tell Luke. You’ll need to send down a team. It’s been torched.”
Cooper promised as soon as they were done at the river he’d tell Luke and head my way. Hanging up, I walked back to Bobby and Bishop Moore. We walked around to the front of Bobby’s house. I noticed a few blocks ahead of me were a group of black men huddled together walking across the road. They seemed to be right in the area of the address I had for Orlando Knight.
I turned to Bishop Moore and Bobby and pointing up the road I asked, “Is that Knight?”
They both looked, but it was Bobby who responded, “That’s him. I wouldn’t go up there, Ms. Riley. He’s dangerous.”
CHAPTER 51
I HEARD BOBBY’S WARNING but didn’t listen. I headed directly to Knight and the group of six men where they stood. Based on their appearance, I don’t think it would be hard to guess some gang affiliation. I needed an answer. Knight’s appearance and reputation wasn’t going to dissuade me.
The group of men eyed me as I approached. I got a few whistles and overheard a few derogatory sexual comments. They weren’t the first I’d heard in my life. They weren’t going to be the last. I didn’t give them the satisfaction of a response or any kind of reaction.
Instead, as I approached the group, I asked, “Which one of you is Orlando Knight?”
Not one of them responded, but all of them turned to look at one man standing in the middle back of the group. Everyone’s eyes were on him and soon mine were as well. I didn’t quite know where to look though. He was completely bald and had tattoos covering almost every inch of showing skin. His face, his bald head, up his arms and even across his knuckles. Names, dates, and words I’d never heard before were scattered across him. I wanted to make eye contact, but my eyes darted over him on overload.
After a few seconds, I pulled myself together and moved forward, parting the men around him. Knight was about my height, so I stood toe to toe with him. Finally, I looked him right in the eyes and said, “I’m Riley, a private investigator. I need to speak with you privately.”
That drew more whistles and jeers from the crowd. Knight smirked. He eyed me up and down and said, “Okay, baby, how bout we head inside. I’ll give you all the time you need.”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other but didn’t flinch. Boys were always trying to play up for the crowd. It didn’t seem to matter what age they were. Knight was no exception. He had a reputation to protect.
“Nice try. But, no. Out here will be just fine,” I said without a trace of fear in my voice.
“Isn’t a pretty thing like you worried you might get hurt in this neighborhood?” Knight asked, reaching out and running his index and middle finger down a strand of my hair.
I didn’t budge. I didn’t want to show any fear at all, but I was terrified. These did not look like men I wanted to mess with. I stared him down for several more seconds.
Knight gave in first. “What you want?”
He took me by the arm and moved me out of the crowd and down the road out of earshot of the others. When he stopped walking, I shook free from his grasp.
I pulled out my phone and pulled up Maime’s photo. “What do you know about her?”
He took my phone from me and brought the photo up to his face. I couldn’t really tell from his reaction if he recognized her or not. His expression didn’t give m
uch away. He handed my phone back to me.
“What you paying for the information?”
I slid a fifty from my pocket to his outstretched hand. Right or wrong, sometimes you just had to play it the way it went on the streets.
Knight took my phone back, eyeing the photo for a few more seconds. He handed it back to me and said, “I ain’t never dealt with her, but pretty little girls like her usually want the prescription kind. Just a little to make her feel good. How about you, you interested in a little something?”
“Only information.”
He laughed.
“What else you got for me because I know that’s not all. You don’t want me to come back, do you? You know I will. I’ll keep coming back bothering you until I get what I want. I’m a pain in the butt like that.”
That brought a little smile to his face. He dropped some of his posturing and gave it to me straight. “I bet you are.”
After a moment, he cocked his head to the side and asked, “Truth?”
I nodded.
“I ain’t talked to her, but I know her. She got a man come pick up her stuff about every two weeks. White dude, we call him GQ – practically wearing plaid pants. Nice car, too. Thought of jacking it once or twice, but he’s a real good paying customer. We wanted him to keep coming back. She usually in the car with him but doesn’t get out. But she missing, right? We don’t want nothing to do with no missing white chick.”
“Good plan. Who’s the guy? Do you know his name or hear her call him anything?”
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