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Chapter56
MCBRIDE HAD TO BE BACK in the office for a press briefing on the investigation. I needed to figure out why the killer had come to Cleveland, and what, if any, co
Chapter57
I DROVE STRAIGHT TO THE HILTON on Lake Shore Boulevard and was able to catch Merrill Shortley just as she was about to depart for the airport. She turned out to be stylish, maybe twenty-seven, with shoulder-length, chestnut brown hair tied back in a bun. "A group of us were up all night," she said, apologizing for the swollen lines around her face. "I'd like to stay on, but who knows when they'll finally release the body. I have a one-year-old." "The Koguts told me you live in San Francisco." She sat on the edge of the bed across from me. "Los Altos. I moved down two years ago, when I got married." "I need to know about Kathy Kogut in San Francisco," I explained. "Lovers. Breakups. Someone who might have a cause to do this." "You think she knew this madman?" Her face was clenched. "Maybe, Merrill. You can help us decide. Will you help?" "Kathy hooked up with guys," Merrill said after a pause. "She was always free about things in that way." "Are you saying she was promiscuous?" "If you want to see it that way. Men liked her. There was a lot of energy going on back then. Music, film. Alternative stuff. Whatever made her feel alive." I was getting the picture. "Does that include drugs?" "Like I said, whatever made her feel alive. Yes, Kathy did recreational drugs." Merrill, though pretty, had the hard-edged face of a street survivor who had remade herself as a soccer mom. "Anyone come to mind who might've wanted to hurt her? Someone who was overly fascinated? Maybe jealous when she moved on?" Merrill thought a bit, shook her head. "I don't think so." "You two were close?" She nodded. At the same time, her eyes hooded. "Why did she move away?" "She landed a great job. Must've seemed like she was finally climbing the ladder. Her father and mother always wanted that. The Shaker Heights thing. Look, I really have to catch a plane." "What are the chances Kathy was ru