James Andrus - The Perfect Death

“What are you interested in?”

“We were looking for a glass sculpture for the entryway to our house. You do anything like that?”

He didn’t want to giggle and babble about how fantastic it’d be to make something like that so he took a second to think about it and look cool. In that moment he recognized how stunning the woman’s eyes were. She had wonderful full lips and a pretty smile too. Finally he said, “I have some photos I could show you of my work.”

“When can I see them?”

All Buddy could think was, Anytime you want and for all eternity .

Not long after meeting with Liz Dubeck and her witness, John Stallings found himself in a big conference room of the Land That Time Forgot. Yvonne the Terrible was holding court with Mazzetti, Patty, and Sparky throwing out all the information they had gathered on the homicides.

Sparky said, “The chemical found on the body in the playground and Lexie Hanover’s apartment matched. The lab says it’s an industrial cleaner with specks of potash and other burned byproducts. They’re checking to see what some of the uses of this chemical combination would be in the real world.”

Patty said, “We’ve sorted the two hundred twenty leads that have been called in since the press conference this morning. Most are things that we’ve already covered and a few are about specific suspects. Nothing earthshaking right now, but we’ll keep working on them.”

Sergeant Zuni turned her pretty face to Stallings, obviously saving Mazzetti, as the lead investigator, for last.

Stallings said, “I just talked to a witness who says she saw Leah Tischler, out of her school uniform, after she disappeared from home. That means she could have discarded the belt found around Kathy Mizell’s throat.” That caused a humming in the room as almost every detective had a question. Stallings held up his hand and said, “This may not be the most reliable witness in terms of time frame, but I believe she did see Leah and she was very specific about what she was wearing. Jeans and a man’s plaid shirt. She said it looked like a lumberjack’s shirt. Leah was at a bus stop and mentioned something about going on a trip.”

Sparky went on about some technical issue and what policy demanded, but Stallings tuned him out as he stared at the photos of the dead girls and Leah Tischler laid out on the table. He’d done this a number of times, staring deeply into each girl’s face, trying to see what the killer might have seen. Why had he chosen these specific girls? They ranged in age from seventeen to thirty-five. None of the hair colors or even facial features appeared similar to Stallings. Yet there was something about each of them that seemed noticeable. They were each pretty, but not flawless or gorgeous. In each photo the victim was smiling, and they all had appealing smiles and bright eyes. If Stallings were going to attribute any single feature, he would have to say they all had an innocent look. Maybe a pleasantly naive look. Would that be enough to attract the notice of the killer?

Tony Mazzetti started to talk, then cleared his throat loudly until Stallings looked up from the photos. “From the position of the body and the fact that the killer is never seen on any of the surveillance cameras in the hospital, I believe the killer knew the layout of the hospital fairly well. That might mean he’s an employee and we’re checking on that thoroughly. He used a cord around her neck that left a small pattern. It appears to be very similar to the pattern left on Lexie Hanover’s throat. There was no chemical residue found anywhere and really no other forensic evidence from the body so far.”

“The thing I’ve been wondering is why has the body count jumped so quickly in such a short amount of time? I can’t believe that this guy just decided to start killing and in a week had four identifiable victims.”

Patty said, “Maybe he’s very young and developed a taste for it.”

Sparky said, “I’m checking prisoners released in the last month from any prison in the Southeast. It may be that he’s trying to make up for lost time.”

Mazzetti shook his head. “I don’t know. I get the feeling that this creep has been at this a long time and recently picked up the pace. He’s got some specific goal in mind. If we figure out that goal we might get ahead of him.”

Sergeant Zuni said, “The news media is already building on the story. An Atlanta station is running the same story that was run here and will broadcast Leah Tischler’s photo from Daytona to Tennessee. We’re going to get awfully busy so I intend to call in more help.”

As the sergeant opened the conference room door everyone froze. Standing there, in a beautiful Burberry suit, was Ronald Bell.

Stallings knew his day just gotten worse.

Buddy felt the excitement grow as he drove his van into an elegant subdivision near Hyde Park. He’d removed the magnetic sign from his plain white work van and pulled into the driveway of the beautiful two-story home with a giant oak tree out front.

The woman who had approached him while he worked at the hotel had asked him to show her some of his work and give an estimate for an actual sculpture he could blow from glass to go in this ostentatious but beautiful house.

Her name was Janet and she did have a lovely smile. He had no idea what she did for a living, but it looked like it was lucrative. He was torn about using her as a subject in his work of art when she was the first person to ever ask him to create a glass sculpture for money. He tried to figure out a way to do the work, get paid, and use her as a subject, but he didn’t see any chance of doing that. Time was too short.

She met him at the front door and extended a delicate hand in greeting.

Buddy said, “What were you doing all the way downtown when you live out here in Hyde Park?”

“I was at the revival in the football stadium. I find Brother Ellis to be completely entertaining and absorbing. I’m going back for his last sermon tomorrow.”

Buddy nodded. He liked the idea that this girl was religious. It meant she would be able to understand what he’d done for her by preserving her memory for eternity. He peeked over her shoulder into the long entryway that opened to a spectacular family room. She stepped aside and welcomed him into her home. Buddy tried to get a sense of who else was in the house. He had his final jar and special cord out in the van. A euphoric feeling swept over him as he realized this could be the final piece of the puzzle. Janet could be the linchpin for his work of art.

Janet said, “I have a warm feeling that I will love your glasswork.”

“Somehow I know you will.”

Patty Levine’s stomach rumbled with anxiety. Ronald Bell stood talking to Sergeant Zuni and Patty outside the conference room. Patty couldn’t believe what seeing him did to her nervous system. She could hardly stand up straight.

Bell said, “I’m sorry it has to be this way, but we have to go overt with our investigation and I’m going to interview several of the detectives.” He focused his pale blue eyes on Patty without naming her specifically.

Sergeant Zuni said, “Ronald, I recognize you have a job to do, but this is not a good time. We’re in the middle of a major homicide investigation.”

“I understand and wish things could be different. I was hoping someone might confess and save us all a lot of heartache and trouble.” Again he looked at Patty.

From farther back in the conference room Sparky Taylor cleared his throat, stepped forward, and said, “There may be an explanation for what happened to the missing pills.”

Bell snapped, “When I want audiovisual advice or to hear policy recited, I’ll give you a call, Detective Taylor.”