The Lady Killer (13 page)

“Relationships are hard. You tend to overlook things about someone when you are first infatuated. Then one day you wake up, because they come back to smack you right in the face. Suddenly, you see all those annoying little differences.”

He knew she had it rough the last time. “Not all relationships are bad, you know.”

“I guess I just haven’t given up all my bitterness yet. I don’t mean to complain to you. We’re two good people, who just used bad judgment in our choice of partners.”

“Yeah, we’ll do better next time.”

She ventured a sly question. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

“Kind of, but I really don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s talk about the case.”

Laura looked over at Dan and saw that he was turning red and looked very uncomfortable. She wondered if Burns had been right about the crush. Deep down she really didn’t want to know, at least not yet. “Yes, the case is getting more interesting. Things are starting to tie-in together. I’m not sure what it all means, but let’s get back to the office and brainstorm with Burns.” She handed him the keys. “Do you mind driving?”

“No, I’d be happy to.”

CHAPTER 9

“M
an, where have you guys been? I have some very interesting news!”

“Gee, Burns, you look like the Cheshire Cat.”

“Thanks, Murf, but this is some pretty juicy stuff.”

“Yeah, like an old man like you would know what juicy was!”

Laura loved the playful way Dan and Roy interacted. It showed that Dan was fitting in perfectly with their team. “Okay boys, stop fighting. Mama needs some good leads. What have you got, Burns?”

“Being my usual charming self, I talked to this gal Alice from that Searchlight Management group. She gave me the low down on Amy Montgomery. According to Alice, Montgomery uses the security force from Searchlight to guard buildings for her clients. That ties the sixth building directly to Amy and the seventh back to Searchlight, which is all seven crime scenes.”

“That’s great work, but I think Murphy’s right, not too juicy.”

“That’s because you haven’t heard the juicy part yet. I think you both better sit down for this. Amy Montgomery has dated a couple of the guards at Searchlight, including the one who was murdered at one of our scenes. Apparently she likes young guys. She just uses them for awhile and then dumps them. So, not only did Amy find our seventh murder scene, she also dated the guy murdered at the scene of our sixth victim!”

Dan looked excited. “Wow, that’s not only juicy, but it’s another strange tie-in to these crime scenes! Could this guy have planned all of that?”

Laura couldn’t control her laughter. “I don’t know, Murphy, but I think you better be careful. You could be the one to wind up dead at the next murder scene.”

“Very funny, Peterson!”

Roy just stared at them with a puzzled look on his face. “Is there a private joke here that I’m not in on?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist a chance to tease Murphy. Amy Montgomery made a big play for him at our interview today. She invited him out to dinner.”

Dan looked indignant. “And as I told Detective Peterson already, the woman is a barracuda. Not only would I not date her, I hope I never have to interview her again.”

“Gee, you guys leave me out of all the fun. Seriously though, this is something interesting.”

“You’re right about that, Burns. Maybe our killer works for Amy, and thought he could throw suspicion on her by linking all of the crime scenes back to her management group.”

Dan got a playful look on his face. “Plus it gives him a great source of vacant buildings, since Montgomery only does commercial properties.”

Laura looked at him quizzically. “Really, only commercial?”

“Yep, I have the card with her personal number on the back, remember? Montgomery Commercial Property Group.”

“Let’s take that idea and play with it. Do we think this guy orchestrated all of this? I mean the fine points, like Amy finding one of the women’s bodies. And if he intentionally killed the guard, us finding a guy she dated at another scene?”

Roy let out a long whistle. “I’m starting to feel like you, Peterson, caught in this guy’s maze and no cheese in sight. The mind it would take to keep on doing all of this and not get discovered, scares me. This means that we’re dealing with an extremely intelligent and diabolical fiend. That not only makes him dangerous but very hard to catch. At least the dumb ones are nice enough to slip up and give us a chance.”

“What if this guy dated Amy himself? Then he got dumped, right on top of getting dumped by Tamara. Could it be that he used her management group to find the first scene? Then he continued, just to implicate her for further revenge. What do you think, Murphy?”

“Why not just kill her next, if all he wanted was revenge?”

“Yeah, Murf has a good point there.”

“I’ve been saying that this whole thing feels like one big game to me. Maybe killing Amy would have ended the game too soon. I think he loves stringing us along, and now he also has me to focus on. So, obviously, the game isn’t over yet.”

“Man, Peterson, that’s one scary thought!”

Dan looked very pensive. “Yeah, I don’t like where this is heading at all. How are we going to protect you?”

She gave Dan a look that lingered just a little too long. “Thanks, I appreciate the concern, but I have the rest of the women of this city to keep safe. I know I have you and Burns covering my back and keeping me safe.”

“Hey, Murf, maybe you could move in with her and be like her personal body guard, or something!”

Laura turned and walked away, saying she was going to forensics to pick Ralph’s brain.

Dan was glaring at Roy. “Sometimes, Burns, I could just punch your lights out!”

“Oh, come on, she knows I’m just teasing you. What’s the matter, did I hit too close to home for comfort?”

“You know how I feel about her. The thought of that guy trying to get close to her, just terrifies me. I feel so helpless, like it’s out of my control”

“I have news for you, kid. All of life is out of your control, face it. We just need to keep a close watch on her and work this case as hard as we can. The sooner we catch this sicko, the sooner she will be safe.”

Dan agreed with him and went back to his desk to dig into the files again. He also put in a call to Jenny to see if she was getting any where on the list of men under Montgomery’s employment. She told him that she had so much to do for Amy that she hadn’t gotten to it yet. But she promised to spend time later in the day. On her suggestion, he put in a call to the previous assistant, Emily Anderson.

Laura entered the forensics lab and was happy to see Ralph sitting there munching on a sandwich. She loved teasing him so much. “Kind of late for lunch isn’t it?”

“Not all of us can be escorted to lunch by a handsome, young detective.”

“How did you hear about that?”

“Burns called down here to question me about one of the crime scenes, and he told me that Danny boy asked you to lunch.”

Laura frowned. “He asked me if I wanted to eat on the way to an interview, not out to lunch!”

“Yes, and I bet he hated every minute that he had to spend with you.”

“What’s with you guys and all the match making? Will you stop, already! Did Burns tell you about all the links between Montgomery’s company and the other crime scenes?”

Ralph looked thoughtful. “Yes, fascinating, isn’t it? What’s your take on that?”

“I think it was all planned that way. I’m wondering if he dated her himself, and got dumped.”

“That’s an interesting possibility. And he didn’t kill her in a rage because….?”

“To try to both implicate her and have a source of vacant buildings available to him. Remember, his real source of revenge is Tamara. See, in my mind, I have always been wondering how he knew that he had enough time alone at these sites, or how he found them in the first place. Also, if he worked for Montgomery, he would have knowledge of which buildings did or didn’t have security cameras, which none of the crime scenes did.”

“If that’s true, you’re dealing with a pretty sophisticated character. But what about your theory that he’s on our police force? Have you given up on that?”

“I think he must have worked for her first and then either switched or does both.”

“You mean like a part time situation in both places?”

She frowned a bit. “Something like that. I don’t have it all worked out yet.”

“Not to change the subject, but I assume you came down here to see me for a reason?”

“Yes, a couple of things. Did you find out anything on the age of the frozen roses?”

“We could determine from the amount of cellular wall breakdown that the ones on the bottom had definitely been there longer than the top one, but we can’t determine exact dates. I do, however, think your suspicion of one a month is accurate, especially since he’s transferred the anniversary to you along with a fresh rose.”

“Great, that ties up my theory on that. Next, do you think the picture on the altar is really Tamara, or someone else?”

Ralph had a very interested look on his face. “Why do you think it isn’t Tamara?”

“Because the body we found had no makeup, that I remember, and the picture was like some kind of glamour shot, or something. Also, Tamara’s roommate said that she didn’t wear any makeup. I’m wondering if, when she moved here, she changed her image drastically to hide from this guy, or if that is someone else related to her.”

“I will do some research into that for you. I’ll also see if there’s some kind of photographer’s stamp on the back of the picture. Maybe we could get a lead on where it was taken.”

“Thanks, Ralph, you’re my hero!”

“I’m surprised that you noticed, since my cape and leotards are usually at the dry cleaners. Removing hero stains isn’t easy, you know!”

“Do you keep your wife laughing all the time the way you do me?”

“I have a set rule that I never discuss my women with each other.”

She walked to the elevator shaking her head and laughing. The picture in her mind of Ralph in a Superman suit was more than she could take. That man was definitely a bright spot in her life.

When she got back upstairs, Murphy was waiting for her. He said he had some good news and some bad news. She sighed and took a deep breath. “Okay, what’s the bad news?”

“That former assistant, Emily, her phone is disconnected.” He watched as Laura’s face dropped and she closed her eyes. “Now for the good news. Jenny has an employee file on her with picture and Social Security number, so we can probably track her down. She’s going to drop the file off in the morning, along with a list of recent male employees.”

“That makes my day! As usual, Murphy, an outstanding job, thanks.”

The next morning came way too fast. Laura felt like she hadn’t slept at all. She had been awakened in the middle of the night by a catfight in the ally below her bedroom window. After getting up and checking to make sure everything was locked, she tossed and turned for about an hour before she fell back to sleep. At least she didn’t have one of her usual nightmares. She showered, got dressed and then called the precinct to let them know she was on her way. Life was making her feel like the prisoner, when it was psycho boy who should be locked up.

Walking up to her desk, she saw a hot cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich waiting for her. “Who do I have to thank for this?”

“Your boyfriend Murf, of course! Who else?”

She looked around for him. “Where is he?”

“You just missed him. He’s on his way downstairs to pick up the files that Jenny brought in. We’re going to start working on them as soon as he gets back. You look tired, bad night?”

“Cats woke me up about two, and I got worried about how easy it would be for someone to climb up my fire escape. Just basic paranoia, but it makes it hard to get back to sleep.”

As they were talking, Dan came back with the new information. “We have the employee file and a list of ten guys who have hired on at Montgomery’s, in some capacity, over the last year.”

“Doesn’t that seem like a lot for a small property management group?”