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CHAPTER 35
Co
The two patrolmen were setting up the crime scene tape around the property. Greene and Ahearn stood in front of the building, managing the crowd gathering in the street. Ellis Thomas lived across the street. Co
As Co
“Jackie, where’s the body?” Co
“In back with Detective O’Neill from Homicide. He’s securing things till Figgs gets here.”
A car pulled up across the street. Co
“This is going to get ugly,” Ahearn said. He pushed the button on his radio and said, “Where’s the Bravo 902? We need a supervisor and some backup units out here.”
“What’s going on?” Co
“What do you think?” Greene asked.
Co
Co
Greene tried to pull him back, but Co
“I’m sorry,” Co
She slapped his face. He didn’t turn away or try to block her hand. She was right. He had killed her son.
Then she started to cry. Not quietly, the way she had cried up the grand jury earlier. She was wailing. She wasn’t afraid of losing her son anymore. He was lost. Her knees buckled. Co
CHAPTER 36
Alves lay in bed with his eyes open, watching shadows move back and forth on the ceiling, the moonlight intercepted by the trees swaying outside the window. Marcy had fallen asleep right away. Or pretended she had. The news that she was packing up the twins and moving over to her mother’s-even if only temporarily-had blindsided him. He had hoped the regular rhythm of her breathing would help him sleep. It usually did. An hour later he was still awake.
Alves closed his eyes. He was getting caught up in a cycle that was going to wear him out. Trying to sleep. His mind racing. Thinking about his marriage, the case. When he did fall asleep, the alarm would sound and it would be time for another day.
He opened his eyes again. It was a shame to waste the mental energy. He knew everything there was to know about the investigation. But he knew nothing about the killer. He didn’t know why he killed or how he selected his victims, the two most important pieces of the puzzle.
Alves thought about Mooney’s plan to draw the killer out, to get him to communicate. Get him to make a mistake. He remembered the website promnightkiller.com. Mooney had talked about the cult following that the killer had developed over the years. How could someone have a fan club based on the murders of i
Alves slid out from under the sheets and quietly made his way back downstairs. The family computer was set up in the den. He logged on and saw that the site was active. He scrolled down the long list of messages posted on the message board, wondering how many of them had come from the officers at the BRIC. The killer’s groupies seemed to know quite a bit about the murders. Someone ru
The people who visited the site had an unhealthy obsession with trying to discover everything about the killer and his crimes. They posted any information they could find about the victims, much of it unflattering, hoping that the more they knew about the victims, the closer they’d get to understanding the killer. It didn’t seem to matter who the source of information was. The victims and their families were being victimized again.
Someone using the screen name printsofdarkness had posted the message: “The killer is known to police. Like old Jack the Ripper. A friend or relative of someone high up in the department, same old story. This is the biggest COVER UP!!! in history.”
Shortnsassy wrote, “He’s out there now. Waiting for the right time. Then he will begin his work in earnest.”
Alves could feel the fog of a headache settling in behind his eyes.
Two days ago, the only people who thought about the unsolved murders were Wayne Mooney, the families of the victims and the losers on this website. Now everyone in the city was thinking about the killer, locking their doors.
Alves logged off. Looking at the site convinced him that the killer had to be one of the visitors to the site, maybe not a contributor, but certainly an occasional visitor. So maybe they could draw him out and get him involved in a dialogue. It had to work. So far, they had nothing else.
But for now, he would make another attempt to get some sleep.
CHAPTER 37
Co
When Co
“Is Figgs on scene yet?” Co
“Luck of the draw,” Ahearn said. “We don’t decide who’s on the pager.”
“We need to make sure this one gets solved.”
“It’s his case, Co
“I can’t let this one go. I’m responsible for that kid’s death.”
“You brought him up to the grand jury as a witness. He barely cooperated. It’s not like his testimony was floating around in the neighborhood. He gave you nothing.”
“But I promised his mother he wouldn’t get hurt.”