The River's Secret Page 16

  “What are the rest of us going to do?” I asked without lifting my head.

  “Interview the victim's neighbors. According to the coroner, their bodies weren't moved, so they all died in their homes. Maybe the neighbors saw someone hanging around and can give us a description.”

  “But if we're seen around the victim's homes, the Jackal's going to know that we've discovered the bodies,” I said.

  “True," John agreed. "We'll call the neighbors and have them come down to the station. I'm sure we can get several interview rooms. I'll get Ed working on that as soon as he gets back.”

  “What do I do when the Jackal calls me?” I lifted my head and stared at John.

  John looked at William. “What do we tell him?”

  “String him along,” William advised. “I don't think he's going to call until later this morning. When he finally does, tell him we've found Sarah, but were too late to save her. Then he'll give us Pamela's name and occupation. Press him to give you more information, like you would have if we hadn't already found her. That will set up another time frame and give us more time to find him. The interviews of Jane and Sarah's neighbors can be done in their homes. That's what he'll expect us to do. We should also take pictures at the crime scenes. Maybe he'll come back to watch us.”

  “You really think he'll come to Sarah's crime scene?” I asked.

  “I think he will, especially if he knows you're going to be there,” William said.

  “Me?”

  “You're his focus. If he knows you will be there, he won't be able to resist.”

  “Should I wear pearls for the occasion?” I said, not trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

  “Constance.” William frowned.

  I started to object, but John cut in. “Around five, two of us will go to Sarah's house and then send a patrol car racing toward it. We'll let the crime scene develop as it normally would. We'll do a press conference in the morning around eight. Connie, make sure you're there. And I don't care whether you wear pearls or not.”

  His words stung, as they carried more than a hint of reprimand. But I was tired of playing games with the Jackal, especially with everything on his terms.

  Jake and Ed came in and Jake handed John a stack of pictures. “Here are the photos from Pamela's crime scene.” He handed me a note. “Here's your note.”

  I didn't take the envelope. “You open it.”

  Jake opened the envelope and showed it to me.

  Jackal - 3 dead women plus penalty death equals 4 deaths

  Connie - 0 lives saved

  I'm winning!

  “I guess you don't want the note from Desiree either.” Ed held up a white envelope.

  “Just add it to the stack.”

  Ed threw the envelope on the table.

  “Ed, I need you to get us a couple of interview rooms, so we can talk to Pamela’s and Desiree's neighbors,” John told him.

  “Okay.” Ed left the room.

  “Anything different at Pamela's crime scene?” William asked Jake.

  “Not really, except the window air conditioner was set at thirty degrees. It was freezing in the bedroom with her body,” Jake answered. He sat down at the table.

  “The air conditioner was running full blast at Sarah's house, too,” I told the group.

  “Why?” Sheryl asked.

  “It was probably to adjust the time of death,” William suggested.

  “Does he think we're that stupid? If it's freezing in the room, we're going to figure out the correct time of death,” Jake scoffed.

  “If those air conditioning thermostats have a timer system on them, then all he had to do was program them to turn off a couple of hours before the time frame was over. Then the room would warm up and it would throw the time of death off enough to make it plausible,” William said.

  “But if we found the body early, then we'd come in, the air conditioner would be on, and we'd figure it out anyway,” I said.

  “He doesn't think we're that smart,” William replied.

  “But we are.” Jake smiled broadly. “In fact we're a lot smarter. We've already found the next two.”

  Ed came back. “I've got three rooms ready for the interviews.”

  John stood up. “Good. Okay, here's the game plan. Connie and William, I want you to go back to the hotel, get some sleep, and be back for the eight o'clock press conference. Jake, you and Ed do the five o'clock discovery of Sarah. Sheryl, you get some rest and then get back to your search for where the Jackal got his information about his victims.”

  “Can you have Sheryl check something else, too?” William asked as we all prepared to leave.

  “What?” John asked.

  “I'd like to change part of the focus of our investigation. First we looked into the victims and now we're comparing them to Constance's life. We've never looked at the cities where the deaths took place in. Maybe there's a common thread, like a sales conference or special event that ties them together.”

  “Good idea, William,” John replied and then turned to Sheryl. “When you get back, can you check on that, too?”

  “Sure. It should be fairly easy to look at the cities' events and see if there's a common thread.”

  Jake tapped Ed on the shoulder. “Let's get something to eat before we make the discovery.”

  Ed nodded and he and Jake left the room.

  “You want a ride to the hotel?” William asked me.

  “Sure,” I said and turned to Sheryl. “You need a ride, Sheryl?”

  She looked at me, then at William, then back at me. “No, I want to work a little while longer. Then I'll get John or one of the patrol guys to give me a lift.” She smiled and gave me a three-fingered wave. “Have fun.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Thanks.”

  William and I walked out of the station. Always a gentleman, he opened the passenger door for me. We rode in silence the entire way to the hotel, unless you count the noise my heart made trying to escape from my chest.

  As we entered the hotel, I waved to William. “Good night.”

  “Constance.” William's voice was low.

  I walked toward the stairs.

  “Constance.” His voice elevated on the last syllable of my name.

  I turned and looked at him. “What?”

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  Just then my cell phone rang. Saved by the bell. “Hello?”

  “Hello, Connie. How's the hunt for Sarah going?” The mechanical voice said.

  “Very well. We've got it narrowed down to two people. And what's with their ages? Since when do you go for them that young or that old?”

  “I have to change my M.O. to keep William busy, don't I?”

  “We'll still find her before your time frame expires.”

  William came over and stood by me.

  “I doubt it,” the Jackal said.

  “No, I'm going to win this time. I'm going to find her and save her.”

  “I never lose, Connie.”

  “You're going to lose this time.”

  “We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?” He laughed, a strange eerie sound. “I'll give you a call later and see how smug you are then.”

  “Fine!” I slammed the phone shut. “That ass. I am sick and tired of talking to him.”

  William put his hand on my shoulder. “It's okay, Constance.”

  I shrugged off his hand. “No, it's not.” I handed him my phone. “You take the next call.”

  I turned, opened the door to the stairs, and jogged up to my room. I took a hot shower, washed away the day and the Jackal and climbed into bed and fell asleep. Unfortunately, my dreams were riddled with dead bodies. I saw everyone I had ever known on their beds with their chests cut open. I sat up with a jolt. The digital alarm clock showed it was six o'clock and I felt worse than when I had gone to bed.

  When the phone next to my bed rang, I stared at it for a long time. Would the Jackal call me on my hotel phone? That was just what I ne
eded. I slowly picked up the receiver and said, “Hello?”

  “Hey, Chief.” Bob's familiar voice came over the line.

  I flopped back onto the bed. “How are things in Arroyo?”

  “All right.”

  What kind of answer was that? Bones floated down Main Street. I took a deep breath, relaxed the muscles in my neck, and asked, “And the bones?”

  “Oh, those. That forensic guy, Dr. Cain, matched the bones to the deceased from the five families.”

  “Great. One mystery solved.”

  “What do you want me to do with the leftover bones?”

  I was afraid of this. “How many are left?”

  “I don't know.”

  “Okay, Bob. What did Dr. Cain say about the extra bones?”

  “He said they were not as old as some of the others and they didn't match any of the deceased.”

  “Are we talking a whole person or a few bones?”

  “I don't know.”

  “Call Dr. Cain, find out exactly how many and what he thinks they are. Then call me back.”

  “Okay.”

  I hung up and rested my head on the pillow. What was I dealing with in Arroyo? One murder or two?

  The phone on the nightstand rang again. That was quick work.

  “So what did you find out, Bob?”

  “I didn't find out anything,” the Jackal said. “I just called to tell you, 'I told you so!'”

  “Oh, shut up!” I said.

  “It must be frustrating to be so inept at your job.”

  “Just give me the next name and her occupation. And this time, give me some other piece of information that will actually help me find her before you kill her.”

  “Why should I give you any more help?”

  “I don't want to play if I don't have a viable hope of actually getting to the girl in time.” It certainly was the truth, since I knew the next two victims were already dead.

  “You can't quit the game!” he yelled.

  “Yes, I can. I can go home. It doesn't matter because I can't get to the girls in time to save them. So who cares? You'll kill them anyway, whether I play the game or not.”

  “No, you have a chance to save them, if you're smart enough.”

  “Then maybe I'm not.”

  “Come on, Connie. Yes, you are.”

  “Then give me enough information to find her or just forget it and stop calling me. I'm going to hang up this phone, take a long hot shower, and go home!”

  “Okay, okay. The next victim's name is Pamela. She works at a bakery.”

  “Forget it. That's the same information you gave me last time. It didn't help. I'm still going home.”

  “She's thirty-two years old and lives downtown near the bakery.”

  “What's the time frame this time?”

  “It's going to be shorter this time. I've given you enough information to find her in just a few hours.”

  “What's the time frame?”

  “Five hours.”

  “Too short.”

  “Five hours, Connie. No more information and no more time. Get up, take that shower, but you better get started if you want to save her. And get your phone back from William. I don't want to talk to him.”

  I hung up the phone and stuck my tongue out at it. “You're an ass! And I'm going to catch you.”

  Chapter 20

  The first thing I did was telephone John. He answered immediately.

  “Did he call?”

  “Yes, he gave us five hours.”

  “Why such a short time frame?”

  “I pushed him for more information, so he told me that Pamela was thirty-two, worked in a downtown bakery and also lived near the bakery. He figured with all that information, it wouldn't take us long to find her.”

  “Probably not,” John said. I heard papers rustling. “I had a patrolman check the programs on the apartment's air conditioning units. They were all set for ten hours. With this short time frame, he will need to go back and change them.”

  “If his times are legitimate, it could be a way to catch him,” I suggested.

  “I'll send a patrolman to keep an eye on Pamela's place. Maybe we'll get lucky and catch him before the press conference.”

  “Wouldn't that be nice?” I said. A smile crossed my lips and my mood lightened.

  “Yes, but we've only got until eleven in the morning before the time frame is up. I'm not sure we should do the press conference. If we haven't found the woman, then we should all be busy looking for her, not talking to the media.”

  “We could do the press conference at nine, instead of eight, and tell the world we've already found Pamela and that the Jackal is a liar.”

  John chuckled. “That should stir him up.”

  “I think so. And we should stop playing his stupid game. If I'm the bait, let's make him come after me and leave the rest of the world alone.”

  “I don't like the sound of that, Connie,” John's tone deepened.

  “I know, neither do I.” I exhaled the breath I had held since I suggested an attack on the Jackal. “But I'm tired of his game.”

  “Then should we tell the press that we've found Desiree, too?”

  “Yes. And can you ask Riverbend's police chief to inform one of the reporters who I am and why I'm here?”

  “Why? What are you thinking?”

  “If I'm going to bait the guy, I want him on my home turf.”

  “You're going back to Arroyo?”

  “Yes, and I'll drag the Jackal with me with a challenge he won't be able to resist it.”

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” John's voice was low, with more than a hint of concern.

  “It's either that or we chase him to another city where he's already killed a woman and we spend days and hours in pursuit.”

  “Okay, Connie. We'll play it your way, but the team's going with you to Arroyo.”

  “Let's keep that out of the press. We'll tell them the team is going back to D.C. and I'm going home.”

  “I'll move the press conference to nine and get things started.” John hung up.

  I had time to kill before I needed to get ready, so I dressed in a pair of sweats and jogged down to the hotel gym. Thirty minutes on the treadmill and I should be more awake.

  I found William riding a stationary bike and reading the Wall Street Journal. I nodded, but when he started to talk I put my hand up and shook my head. I got onto the treadmill and took off, running fast enough to match the acceleration in my heart rate.

  The gym was well equipped for a hotel. One wall had five bikes, another contained free weights and some Nautilus equipment. The treadmill I rode was one of three that occupied the third wall and a television set was mounted on the fourth. Soft and soothing classical music filled the room, William's selections, I guessed, obviously coming from the set since the title and artist were displayed. Valse Triste, Op.44 Jean Sibelius. Who the hell was that? It was just another of our many differences. I preferred country-western music.

  After a few minutes, I was finally in my own world. My body and mind concentrated on running rather than the Jackal's plans or William's presence in the room. I took long deep breaths and pushed myself faster.

  Then William walked over and pushed the down-speed arrow on my treadmill.

  I slapped his hand and growled. “Don't touch my machine.” And I pushed the up-speed arrow, turned my head away from him, and used the anger that welled in my body to run faster.

  Suddenly the machine slowed, I stumbled and caught myself by grabbing the side rails. I glanced around and saw William throw the plug to the ground. What the hell did he think he was doing? I turned and glared at him.

  “Plug it back in!”

  “I want to talk to you.” He came toward me.

  “Well, I don't want to talk to you right now. I want to exercise.” I breezed around him, grabbed the plug from the ground, and shoved it back into the outlet. Then I got back on the treadmill, re-programmed the speed, and
continued running.

  “Sure,” he shook his head. He took my cell phone out of his pocket and set it in the treadmill bottle holder. “Here's your phone. The Jackal told me to give it back.”

  “He did ask me to get it back from you.” I smiled broadly. “He doesn't like talking to you.”

  “Well, he's not my favorite person, either.” He turned to leave.

  As William pushed open the door, I remembered that he had given me a ride to the hotel. Just because he was a pain in the ass didn't mean I had to take a cab to the station. Besides, I didn't want him to think our encounter this morning was important.

  “Hey, are you going to give me a ride back to the station for the press conference?” I asked, my voice emotionless and nonchalant.

  He smiled at me. “Of course, why don't you come down and have some breakfast with me before we leave.”

  “I can get my own ride to the station,” I said.

  “Are you afraid to have breakfast with me?” His tone was light but challenging.

  “Of course not.” I scowled.

  “I'll see you in the dining room in thirty minutes.”

  “Bu...,” I said. He shut the door before I could object. I didn't want to have breakfast with him. He had tricked me. I knew it and he knew it and it made me angrier. He was driving me crazy!

  After another five minutes of running on the treadmill, I walked for five minutes to cool down from my run and my frustration with William. Then I worked out on the Nautilus equipment for another ten minutes. I jogged up the stairs to my room. If I was late for breakfast, he would just have to wait for me.

  After a quick shower, I changed into a black pantsuit with a white blouse, a nice traditional look. I spent some time on my hair and makeup, just in case my mom caught the press conference. The last thing I needed was a call from her about how tired I look. Even if she didn't happen to see it, one of her cronies would report on how I looked. I certainly wasn't primping for William.

  I strapped on my shoulder holster, inserted my gun, added a black jacket and left the room. William sat at a small table in the back of the dining room. His back was to me and across from him was a beautiful woman. She had long blonde hair, high cheek bones, radiant green eyes, and, from what I could see, a well-toned body. William was a nice looking man and women were always attracted to him. The few times we had gone out during our affair, I was amazed at how many women would come over and give him their number with me next to him.