Mariah Stewart - Dead End

THE SCHOOLGIRL SLAYER

“You think this is legit?” Evan asked.

“What do you think?”

“He seems pretty indignant that we would assume that the other vics were his. Like somehow he’s above them.” Evan read from the letter. “This whole last part, about those other girls being nobodies… he clearly thinks they weren’t worth his time.”

He handed the letter back to Malone. “As if one girl’s life was more important than another’s.”

“He’s certainly implying that.”

“I spoke with Dr. Jenkins a little while ago, right after she finished the autopsy on our last unidentified vic,” Evan told him. “She says the weapon used to kill the schoolgirls is not the same weapon used to kill our as-yet-unidentified girls. She thinks that the physical signs point to a high level of sexual activity on the part of the girls who still haven’t been reported missing, no such activity on the part of the others.”

“So she’s seeing two distinct types of victims, two different killers.”

Evan nodded.

“I also took the liberty to discuss the case with one of the FBI’s profilers, Dr. McCall, and she-”

“The same Dr. McCall who accompanied you to the D.A.’s fund-raiser last month?”

“Ah, yes.” Evan had forgotten that Malone had met Annie at a party to raise money for the district attorney’s reelection campaign. “Right.”

“What was her take on all this?”

“She feels pretty strongly that there are two different killers. She’s working up a report for us.”

Malone pointed to the letter, which was still in Evan’s hand. “Think she’d be able to look at that and give us her thoughts? Any chance we could meet with her? If nothing else, we can tell the press we’ve brought in the FBI.”

“I can ask her. You may have to go through the Bureau, and they’ll probably want to send some of their own agents to work the case.”

“I’ve already resigned myself to bringing them in. It’s a tough call, since there are so many police departments involved. On the one hand, it looks like we’ve got every PD in the county on this, and this guy is still dancing around us. Doesn’t look good, you know what I mean? Looks like we have no confidence in our local people.” Malone reflected on this for a moment, then added, “On the other hand, if we’re being outsmarted at every turn by this guy, and we don’t ask for help, we look like stubborn fools. At this point, I feel we need all the help we can get. I hate to say it, but without a suspect, without any leads-hell, we don’t even know where he’s killing these girls. We’re just finding them where he leaves them.”

“I’ll call Annie and see when she’s available.” Evan couldn’t help but be pleased at the prospect of working with Annie again, even if it was only for a consult. He hadn’t been able to see his way clear from this case to figure out when they could spend time together. The thought of even one night with her was a gift, despite the tragic circumstances.

“One more thing. Jenkins noted that each of the three unidentified victims had three stars tattooed on her left hip.”

Malone’s head snapped up.

“Gang members?”

“Maybe. Maybe a pimp, branding his property.”

“Any history on these tattoos?”

“I didn’t recognize them and couldn’t find anyone who did. I already faxed the photos of the tattoos to the FBI. Apparently, there’s someone on staff who’s really an ace at tracking down stuff like this. Annie says if it’s in the system, they’ll find it.”

“Good move. And you already sent the samples from the lab down there as well?”

“I did, as soon as the lab director agreed to release them. Thanks for stepping in there.”

“Coogan can be a hard-ass. Sometimes you just have to remind him who’s in charge. In this case, it would be the county D.A. He had no problem getting Coogan to see things his way.”

“Whatever it took. I’ll just be happy to see a little solid evidence. It’s frustrating to gather all those samples, all that potential evidence, then have to wait weeks to see what’s what,” Evan admitted.

“In this case, a few weeks could mean the difference between life and death for another young girl. Or two. The killer has definitely put us on notice. He’s not finished.”

“What are you going to do with the letter?” Evan pointed to the paper in his hand.

“I’ve already sent the original to a handwriting analyst at the FBI-you’re not the only one with contacts, you know.”

“How do you propose to respond?”

“Well, I was hoping Dr. McCall might have some thoughts on that.”

“I’m sure she will. But in the meantime-”

“In the meantime, I’ve sent letters to every school in the county, advising parents and school officials that until this guy is caught, no one’s daughter is safe. Your kid goes no place alone, checks in with the parents, and reports any suspicious activity. Anything, from anyone. And if she’s not home when she’s supposed to be, the first call the parents make is to their local police department.”

“Tough talk.”

“Can’t be tough enough. This guy has killed five young girls-all daughters of well-off, influential county residents, so that just adds to the colossal heat we’re taking. This last girl was the daughter of the next-door neighbor of one of the town supervisors in Broeder.”

“I heard about that.” Evan nodded. “My sister’s fiancé is the chief of police down there.”

“Right. Sean Mercer. He’s got the local politicians and a passel of reporters crawling up his butt over this, so of course he’s crawling up mine. Not that I blame him, but it isn’t as if we aren’t trying to track this guy. We just don’t have much to go on.”

“How much are you going to make public?” Evan asked. “Are you going to let it be known there are two killers? Are you going to release the letter to the press?”

“Not yet. Right now, I don’t want to change the status quo. I’d really like to wait to see what Dr. McCall has to say. Maybe she’ll have some insight into whether silence or publicity is to our best advantage. I don’t want to throw something out there only to have it bite us in the ass later on. Let’s get the best advice we can before we act. For now, just proceed as you were. Keep the letter under your hat, for now. And let’s sit on this two-killer thing until after I’ve spoken with Dr. McCall.” Malone drew a hand through the thinning hair on top of his head. “The one thing I do want is every department in this county on alert. I know everyone’s been on this, Crosby; don’t jump on me. But I want every available man on the street.”

“Chief, it’s impossible to cover all these private schools. They’re in this county, they’re over in Landro County. There’s no way we can cover all these kids.”

“No, but we can cover them when they get back to our jurisdiction. So far, he hasn’t hit any town in Landro County. He’s confined his work here, in Avon. That could mean something, maybe not. Who the hell knows what this guy is thinking, what sets him off, what makes him go after one girl and not another? For now, the best we can do is to warn parents to keep their eyes on their kids and make them understand the danger, that to a certain degree they are going to have to be responsible for themselves and for their friends.”

“Let’s hope the lab results are back soon and give us something. Right now we have nothing.”

“And he knows it. Bastard knows that right now he has us chasing our own tails, and he’s enjoying it,” Malone told Evan. “Let’s see what we can do to ruin his fun before he kills again.”

At Annie’s suggestion, Malone made his request for FBI assistance directly to John Mancini, who headed up a special unit within the Bureau to handle sensitive cases. John personally reviewed the files, which had been messengered to him overnight, before assigning three of his top agents to the job.