Mayes, Casey - A Deadly Row

“I thought you were looking for a little excitement in your life.”

“I would at least like to have a chance to solve this,” he said. “The problem with investigating these murders is that I have to push some powerful people to get answers, and I still can’t be sure they’re telling me the truth. Hank and Cindy deserve better than that.”

It wasn’t odd to hear my husband talk about the victims as though he knew them personally. He’d been trained by a woman who was an expert in the criminal thought process, and she’d stressed the need for the detective to distance himself from the victims, but it went against Zach’s nature. By personalizing the victims, he worked that much harder to find their killers.

I just hoped he could do it before the murderer struck again.

Chapter 9

WHEN WE WALKED BACK INTO THE POLICE STATION,Davis was waiting for us by the front door.

“What’s going on, Chief?” my husband asked. “You’re not going to bust my chops about taking a lunch break with my wife, are you?”

Davis frowned. “Zach, while you were gone, we got another note from the killer.”

“It wasn’t about me, was it?” I asked, suddenly getting the insane impulse that I was the killer’s next victim, even though I had no real ties to the case. I didn’t know either victim, though we had a mutual friend in Grady. The photo the killer had sent of me in Grady’s truck had shaken me more than I’d realized.

Davis said, “Of course not. Why, did something happen today?”

“No, I had breakfast with Lorna Gaither, and then I created a puzzle and faxed it to my editor from the hotel. I haven’t even had time to get into trouble yet.”

“Let’s see the note,” Zach said.

“It’s in my office.”

We walked back to Davis’s office, where Zach had spent so much time over the years. It had been completely redecorated since his time there, and while my husband had enjoyed dark woodwork and muted colors, Davis had redone the place into a bright and airy space with modern furniture, something I never would have pegged him for liking. Though mostly neat, I saw an open newspaper on one corner of his desk. As I glanced at it, I saw that there was a puzzle open, though not one of my own. It was partially completed, and I had to smile when I realized that he’d been working in pen.

“What do you think?” Davis asked as he watched Zach’s expression as he took the changes in.

“It looks good,” Zach said. “It suits you.”

I looked at my husband to see if he was teasing, but his expression was serious.

“Thanks.” It was clear that Davis had been holding his breath a little, and he released it with my husband’s approval.

“Here’s a copy,” Davis said as he handed a sheet of paper to Zach.

“Could I see the original?” my husband asked. “I can’t get a solid feel for copies.”

I thought about the photocopied sheets upstairs, and wondered about that statement. Zach must have seen something on my face, though I could have sworn I’d hidden my puzzlement.

“I like copies for display so I can get a handle on how things fit into the puzzle, but when it comes to getting a feel for something, I have to hold it in my hand.”

“That makes sense to me,” Davis said as he handed a clear plastic envelope to my husband, who took it as if it were loaded with poison. “There’s something else you need to know before you read it.”

“What’s that?” Zach asked, clearly distracted by wondering about the contents of the letter.

“Usually they come here without any routing, but this time it was addressed directly to you.”

Zach frowned as he took the letter, but I felt a chill run through me. It was one thing having my husband investigate the murders from the safety of that room upstairs in police headquarters, but when I realized that the killer was aware of what Zach was doing, it made my heart freeze.

“This isn’t happening,” I said.

Zach read it, then handed it to me.

“Should I?”

“He mentions you, too,” my husband said.

I took the letter and read.

Finally, a worthy adversary. I thought it was going to take another execution before they were smart enough to call you. You and your wife make such a nice looking couple. It would be a shame to break up the set. But I’m getting ahead of myself. By all means, do your best to catch me. I will strike again, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. I’m as safe as if I were in Parson’s Valley. That’s probably where you should have stayed, but I’m looking forward to seeing if you can puzzle out my next move before it’s too late.

“He’s clearly nuts,” Davis said. “Why would he taunt you? What does it possibly gain him?”

I turned the letter over and saw “4O” written in delicate script on the back. “We’ve got another clue here,” I said.

Zach took it from me, studied it, and then said, “Evidently I’m not as smart as he thinks I am. I have no idea what it means. Does anyone else? Does forty mean anything to anyone?”

“It’s part of a puzzle,” I said without thinking.

“This isn’t one of your creations,” Zach said. “Real killers don’t send clues through the puzzle page.”

“I didn’t say it was,” I replied. “But it’s clear that this guy is intelligent.”

“Not from the way he committed the murders,” Davis said. “He stabbed both victims in their homes. That doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist.”

“Did you find any clues at either of the murder scenes? Did anyone see the victims with the killer? Has he made one single mistake you can point to?”

“No,” Davis reluctantly admitted. “He’s been lucky so far.”

“That, or very good.”

Zach asked, “So, what’s your point?”

I wanted to see something before I pushed my theory any harder. “Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll tell you.”

Davis started to follow us, but he got a call on his phone. “I’ve got to take this.”

“We’ll see you up there,” Zach said.

“Don’t wait for me. This might take awhile.”

After we left his office, Zach said, “This better be good.”

“Trust me, okay?”

Steve was waiting outside the task force room, and I saw he was using his time to work one of my puzzles. He saw that I’d caught him. “Don’t you ever do any easy puzzles anymore? It might be nice to have a no-brainer once in a while.”

“As a matter of fact, I made a simple one this morning.”

“When’s it going to show up?”

“I’m guessing sometime next week.”

He looked puzzled. “You don’t know when your puzzles are going to run in the papers?”

“The exact date? No, not usually. If I do a themed puzzle summary, they’ll usually run it when I ask them to, but I have to have those in a month early.”

“If you two are finished discussing number puzzles, I’ve got work to do,” Zach said as he unlocked the door.

“You know, it would make it a lot simpler if you gave me a key, too,” Steve said as we all walked inside.

“Not even Davis has a key to this room,” Zach said. “As long as I’ve got evidence stored in here, I’m going to keep it that way. No offense, Steve.”

“None taken. I don’t mind hanging around waiting for you to get back.” He grinned and slapped his newspaper against his leg. “I’m on the clock either way, Chief.”

“Don’t you think it’s time you started calling me Zach? I haven’t been the chief for a while.”

“I’m not sure it’s a habit I can break,” Steve said with a smile. “Or even want to.”