Count to Ten (41 page)

Mia’s eyes widened and a chuckle of disbelief escaped her lips. “Curare? Like in Amazon jungle tribes and poison darts? You’re joking.”

“No, I’m not,” Sam said. “Today it’s used in surgery. It’s available in hospitals, veterinary clinics... All your guy would have had to do was steal a vial and cook it down in a glass pot on the stove.” He stood. “Thanks for lunch. I have to get back now.”

“Aidan?” Spinnelli said when Sam was gone. “Anything from Atlantic City?”

“Yeah. The Silver Casino found the real Devin White on their tapes. He was an inept gambler until his luck suddenly changed. Not enough to kick him out, but enough that they watched him. Security remembered him because at the end of his stay, he met with a certain well-known card counter who
had
been thrown out of the casino.”

“Math Boy,” Mia murmured.

“Yeah. He went by the name Dean Anderson, but they found the real Anderson died two years ago. Casino security said our guy had a gift. Could calculate odds in his head like a computer. But the casino people weren’t the only ones who remembered him. The police have had him on their short list for the last year.”

“Do I want to know why?” Spinnelli asked.

“Rape,” Aidan said succinctly. “A string of rapes for the six months before last June. They’d been watching Anderson but they think he made them. Then in June the assaults stopped. They had no idea where he’d disappeared to.”

“He met the real Devin White, helped him win, won his trust.” Mia shook her head. “Then he took his life and... took his life.”

“It would explain why he faked his prints for the school. He knew he was wanted and didn’t want to get traced back,” Murphy said thoughtfully.

“That’s what I figured. And,” Aidan added, “most of the rape victims had broken legs so they couldn’t run or kick. When we find him, New Jersey wants a bite.”

“They’ll have to stand in line,” Mia muttered.

“We have to catch him first,” Spinnelli said, “and we still don’t know the bastard’s real name. Murphy?”

“We’ve covered about half the search area. Nobody’s seen him.”

A thought poked through the dark cloud in Reed’s mind. “Did you check pet shops?”

“No,” Murphy said. “Why?”

“Because this guy likes animals and he’s had access to a surgical pharmacy. Some of the big pet shops have vet offices in them now. I just took my daughter’s puppy to one for his shots. One-stop shopping. It’s worth a try.”

“Yeah, it is,” Murphy agreed. “I’ll go when we’re done.”

Spinnelli stood up, tugged at his uniform. “I’ve got to get to that press conference. We’ve had about three hundred calls on the photo the news services have been broadcasting. -Stacy’s weeded out the obvious crackpots. Aidan’s -eliminated some of the others. I’ve left the list on your desk, Mia.”

She turned to Westphalen who’d been silent. “What are you thinking, Miles?”

“I’m thinking there are patterns here as well as an understanding of human nature.”

“Okay,” she said. “What about the patterns?”

“Numbers. He says ‘count to ten’ and does mental statistics to help him gamble. He’s been very precise in everything he’s done. And think about this. He stole Devin White’s identity, but he didn’t have to take his job. He likes math. He likes numbers.”

“He managed the football pool at Hope.” Mia pulled the stat sheets they’d taken from the computer in his classroom and frowned. “He lost often.”

Reed went around the table to look over her shoulder. “But he lost only when the Lions lost. He picked the Lions even when his own statistics said they’d lose.”

She looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips. “Home team sentiment?”

He nodded. “Our boy’s got ties to Detroit.”

“Let’s send his picture to Detroit PD. See if anybody -recognizes him.”

“Send it to their Social Services,” Miles suggested. “I’ll bet he’s been in trouble before. And he knows the way these kids’ minds work. Look at the traps he set for Manny and Jeff. He tempted them with the things he knew they’d be powerless to refuse.” He waved his hand before Reed could say a word. “That they’d choose not to refuse,” he amended.

“Thank you,” Reed said dryly. “But you’re right. He did pick the best temptation. And even if Manny didn’t light the matches, he was caught with contraband. He knew the first thing Jeff would do would be to test the sharpness of the blade, to see if it was real. And even if he didn’t, he’d be caught. Sent to real jail. You’re right. He knows the drill. He’s spent time in juvie or knows someone who has.”

“Thank you,” Miles said, just as dryly. “One other thing. The way he focused on the Doughtertys. He missed them twice and went back for them a third time.”

“He had to finish,” Mia said. “They’re super important or he’s super compulsive.”

“I’m thinking some of the first, more the second,” Miles said. “Maybe his compulsive personality is something we can use.”

“But like Spinnelli said, we have to find him first,” she sighed.

Murphy tapped the table with his ever-present carrot stick. “Mia, you said you’d have the list of the kids Penny Hill placed with the Doughertys by noon.”

“You’re right. I should have had the list by now. I’ll call them. Aidan, can you keep helping us with the three hundred phone calls?”

“Sure.”

She stood up. “Then let’s go.”

Chapter Twenty

Lido, Illinois, Friday, December 1, 2:15 P.M.

H
e’d forgotten how much he hated the sight of corn. Miles of corn. As a boy it had mocked him, swaying so gently, as if everything were all right with the world. This place, this house, this corn... had become Shane’s grave.

They’d rebuilt the house on the same foundation. The new place was bright and cheerful. A kid’s tricycle was in the yard and a young woman moved around inside. He could see her when she passed in front of the window as she went about her chores.

Chores. He’d hated the farm chores. Hated the man who’d brought him here so that he could have another pair of hands for slopping pigs. He hated the woman who’d known what was going on under her own roof and wouldn’t help. He hated the younger brother for being a coward. He hated the older brother for... He pursed his lips as a shiver of rage singed his skin. He hated the older brother. He hated Penny Hill for being too stupid to see the truth from the beginning and too lazy to ever come back and check on them.

Penny Hill had paid for her sins. The Young family was about to get the same. He got out of his newest car as the young woman came out the front door, a toddler on her hip. She stopped the minute she saw him, afraid.

He smiled his most pleasant smile. “I’m sorry ma’am. I didn’t mean to startle you. I was looking for a friend. He lived here and we lost touch. His name is Tyler Young.”

He knew exactly where Tyler Young was. In -Indianapolis selling real estate. But he didn’t know where the other Youngs were. The woman stayed where she was, her hand on the knob of her front door, ready to flee. Smart woman.

“We bought this place from the Youngs four years back,” she said. “The husband had died and the wife didn’t want the farm anymore. I don’t know about the boys.”

The rage fanned hotter. Another dead before he could mete out his revenge. Still he kept his face calm, slightly disappointed. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’d like to visit Mrs. Young, pay my respects. Do you know where she is?”

“Last I heard, she had to go in a nursing home in -Champaign. I have to go.” She slipped inside. He could see her fingers on the window blinds as she watched him.

He got back in his car. Champaign was less than an hour away.

Chicago, Friday, December 1, 4:20 P.M.

“My eyeballs are going to fall out.” Fatigue and a headache made Mia petulant.

“What did you come up with?” Solliday asked, stifling a yawn.

“Of the twenty-two kids Penny placed with the -Doughertys, three are dead, two in jail and six are still in fos-ter care. Of the others, I’ve got current addresses on two.”

He ran a thumb down the side of his goatee. “Any come from Detroit?”

“Not that any of the birth records show.” She stood and stretched, then dropped her arms to her sides when she saw his eyes following her movements. “Sorry.”

“Quite all right,” he murmured. “Don’t stop on my account.”

She wouldn’t let herself smile. Equal terms. She came around his side of the desk. He’d been checking phone records for the Beacon Inn. “What did you find?”

“The hotel gets a hell of a lot of phone calls. None trace to Hope Center, but I didn’t think they would. I figured if he called for the Doughertys, it would have been on a disposable cell or from a phone locally. These are the numbers I’m still working.”

Mia ran her finger down the list. “This one’s from where Murphy’s searching.”

He typed the number into the reverse lookup screen. “You’ve got a good eye, Mia. It’s a pay phone.” He dialed the hotel and put it on the speaker.

“Beacon Inn, this is Chester. How can I help you?”

“Chester, this is Lieutenant Solliday with the OFI. Detective Mitchell and I are here with another question for you. We’re showing a phone call to your front desk at 4:38 p.m. Tuesday. It may have been someone trying to get the Doughertys’ room number.”

“No one would have given it out,” he said. “It’s against our policy.”

“Chester, this is Detective Mitchell. Can you find out who took the call?”

“Tuesday afternoon would have been Tania Sladerman. You can’t talk to her. She didn’t show up for...” He trailed off. “Oh my God. She didn’t show up for work today.”

Solliday’s glance was sharp. “Give us her address. Now.”

Friday, December 1, 5:35 P.M.

“Hell, Reed.” Mia stood in Tania Sladerman’s bedroom, staring at the dead woman as the ME techs lifted her to the gurney and zipped the bag. “This is ten.”

The assistant manager for the Beacon Inn had been raped, her hands and feet bound. Legs broken. Throat cut. “I hope that’s what he was counting, Mia, because then he’d be done. But I don’t think so.”

“She’s been here since Wednesday morning. Why didn’t anyone miss this woman?” Emotion made her voice unsteady and she cleared her throat. “Check on her?”

He wanted to put his arm around her, but couldn’t. “Let me take you home.”

She straightened her spine. “I’m okay. I’ll get a ride back to the precinct with CSU. You go home, Reed. You’ve got a daughter who wants to see your pretty face.”

He frowned. “I don’t think so. She and I had a pretty big argument yesterday.”

“About what?”

“A party this weekend. Jenny Q’s. I didn’t like her attitude, so I said she couldn’t go.”

“Tough love. Go home, Reed. Spend some time with her. I’ll call you if anything comes up.” He hesitated and she gave him a little push. “I mean it. Go. It would make me feel better to know you and Beth were working things out. She needs her father.”

She started walking toward Tania’s front door and he knew she was dismissing him. He wasn’t ready to go yet. “What about you and Olivia?” he asked, very quietly.

“We’ve been trading voice mails. I think we’re going to try to get together tonight. I’ll call you either way. I -promise.” She leaned a little, teetering on her feet and he wanted -nothing more than to take her in his arms, give her comfort. Take a little comfort back.

He dropped his voice. “I found my key to the other side.” Her eyes flashed with awareness and memory. Satisfied he’d sufficiently enticed her into keeping her promise, in his normal voice he said, “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Friday, December 1, 6:20 P.M.

Aidan was gone when she got back, but Murphy was there, typing his report in his slow hunt-and-peck way. “Reed was right,” Murphy said. “There were three pet stores in the area. Two of them had vet offices either inside or nearby. Petsville was my last stop—and guess what their supply closet was missing?”

“D-turbo-whatever-stuff. Amazon jungle poison,” she said and he grinned.

“You get the prize. After threatening them with a subpoena, I finally got a list of employees and just finished mapping their addresses. These people live in a one-mile radius of where we found the car he abandoned after he killed Brooke and Roxanne. He could have easily walked to any of them.”

“Fourteen households. I should be able to hit five or six still tonight.”

Murphy stood up. “We should.”

“Murphy...”

“Mia... You can’t go alone. What if you find him?”

She thought about the bodies she’d seen this week. “You’re right. If I go alone, I might kill him myself. I should call Solliday, but he’s with his kid.”

“And you and me have no ties.”

She frowned at that. No ties. No strings. “Murphy, do you ever want them?”

He paused in zipping his coat, shot her a grin. “What, ties? Got a closet full of ’em.”

She shook her head, her mouth curving despite herself. “I’m serious.”

He sobered. “It’s starting to get you, isn’t it? All your friends pairing off.”

Abe, Dana, Jack and Aidan. Now it was down to her and Murphy. “Yeah. You?”

He nodded. “Yeah. But I’ve been married before.” He slung a brotherly arm around her shoulders. “And you know what they say. Fool me once, shame on you.”

“Fool me twice, shame on me.”

“Come on. Let’s go.”

Friday, December 1, 6:55 P.M.

The knock at their door broke the silence. His mother looked up, fear in her eyes.

“It’s not him, Mom. He has a key.” That she’d given him. Why, he didn’t understand. But once she had, it had been too late.

She got up, smoothed her hair. And opened the door. “Can I help you?”

“We’re sorry to bother you, ma’am. My name is Detective Mitchell and this is Detective Murphy. We’re searching the neighborhood for this man.”

He sneaked around the corner and peeked. All he could see were legs. A pair of shoes and a pair of boots. Smaller. But he could hear them. The lady sounded... nice.

“Is that the man I saw on TV?” his mother asked, her voice small and scared.

“Yes, ma’am,” the lady detective said. “Have you seen him?”

“No. I’m sorry. We haven’t.”

“Well, if you see him, could you please call this number? And don’t open your door to him. He’s very dangerous.”

I know he’s dangerous. I know. Please, Mom. Please tell them.

But his mother nodded and took the flyer the detective offered. “If I see him, I’ll call,” she said and shut the door. She stood for a minute, still except for her fist that crumpled the paper into a ball. Then she went to the sofa, crumpled herself into a ball and cried.

He went to his room, closed the door, and did the same.

Mia leaned against her car, her eyes on the tidy little house. Murphy leaned beside her. “She knows something,” he said.

“Yes, she does. And she’s terrified. She’s got a kid.”

“I know. I saw him, peeking around the corner.”

“I did, too.” She blew out a breath. “
He
could be in there, right now.”

“Looked like the dinner table was only set for two. If he’s there, he’s hiding. She’s a pet store employee, so technically she wouldn’t have had access to the vet’s office. Just a terrified face probably isn’t enough to get us a warrant to search her place.”

“Let’s check the houses on this street. Maybe somebody saw him. If so, that could be enough for a warrant.” She pushed away from the car, when a movement caught her eye. “Murphy, look up at the window.” Little fingers were pulling at the blinds.

“The kid’s watching us.”

Mia smiled warmly and waved. Immediately the little -fingers disappeared and the blinds went flat. Her smile faded. “I want to talk to that kid.”

“Then we need to get inside the house. Let’s start knockin’ on doors.”

Friday, December 1, 7:30 P.M.

“Well?” Murphy asked. “I got bubkes.”

“Nobody’s seen him. Nobody even knew her. One person remembers seeing the kid riding his bike to school. You know, when I was a kid, everybody knew everybody else. You were afraid to do anything bad, scared it would get back to your parents.” Mia jangled her car keys in her pocket. “Okay, now what?”

“Now you go home, sleep. I’ll stay here and watch. I’ll call you if anything pops.”

“I shouldn’t let you do that, but I’m too tired to argue with you.”

“Which says a lot,” Murphy said mildly. “Mia, are you okay?”

They’d been friends a long time. “Not really.” To her mortification, tears stung her eyes and she blinked them away. “I must be more tired than I thought.”

He caught her arm. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

Her lips quirked up. “Yeah, here, freezing your fool ass off all night. Thanks, Murphy.” Murphy was a good friend. Tonight, she wanted more than a friend. Tonight she -wanted... more.
Strings,
the voice in her mind taunted.
Go ahead and admit it.

Fine. She wanted strings. But God knew she didn’t get everything she wanted.

Friday, December 1, 8:15 P.M.

Mia recognized the car waiting at the curb and wanted to groan. Hell, she wasn’t up for a heart-to-heart with little sister tonight. Olivia met her on the sidewalk in front of Solliday’s duplex, holding a pizza box. “So you found me.”

“I pulled a few strings, got your partner’s address. Hope you don’t mind.”

Yes, I mind,
she wanted to scream.
Come back when things
?
.
?
.
?
.
settle down.
But they wouldn’t settle down and Olivia had to go home soon. And Bobby’s other child needed to know the truth. Or some of it anyway.

“No, I don’t mind. Come on in.” Lauren’s place was quiet and dark, but next door she could hear the TV and music. Reed was there. But she’d get through this first.

Reed heard her come in. He’d been sitting in front of the TV, watching something that meant nothing, just waiting for the slam of the door on the other side. Beth was sulking in her room. Lauren was studying. He was alone. And, he admitted, lonely. But Mia was there, on the other side of the wall and even if it was watching her eat leftover meat loaf, he wouldn’t be alone when he was with her.

He grabbed the glass bowl from the oven with mitts and slipped out the back door. Cradling the warm bowl under one arm like a football, he reached for the doorknob and stopped. She wasn’t alone. The other voice belonged to Olivia Sutherland.