“I agree. What if we’re late again? I have to live
with Rachel Ward on my conscience for the rest of my life.” Jack swallowed
hard. “No more.”
Abbott nodded. “I think so, too. I’ll get the word
out. I hope these women hear it.”
“There are two women at high risk,” Noah said. “We
should call them personally.”
“Get me their info,” Abbott said, then sighed when the
phone on his desk rang. He hit the speakerphone. “Ian, you’re on speaker. We’re
all here. What do you have?”
“The retained blood samples from Amy Millhouse’s
autopsy showed ket. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was
strangulation, same as the others. There was something unusual, though. The
victim’s fingernails were torn and there were abrasions all over her hands.
Luckily the examiner took some photos for the file.”
“Defense wounds?” Jack asked.
“I don’t think so. Based on what I’ve seen before,
Amy’s injuries were sustained clawing against something hard.”
“Her worst fear,” Carleton said. “A small space? Being
closed in?”
“That makes sense,” Ian said. “That’s all I’ve got.
I’ll call you if I get any more.”
Abbott turned off the speaker. “I’ll get a statement
to the press. Noah, Jack, talk to Millhouse’s brother, then visit the couple
that saw Martha leave the coffee shop.”
“What about Jeremy Lyons?” Noah asked. “We haven’t
found him.”
“And his financials didn’t show anything irregular,”
Abbott said. “Kane, Lyons is yours. Find him. Olivia, find out if anyone saw
our reporter-guy come in or out of Kurt Buckland’s place. Have we notified his
next of kin that he’s missing?”
“We did a canvass, but we’ll go back now that we have
the sketch. Buckland’s not married, no kids. Sal may know somebody to call. I
think the ring won’t be much help.”
“Unfortunately, I think you’re right. Kane, I also
want you to go back to the bar Rachel Ward was at last night. Find out if
anyone saw anyone loitering, waiting for her. Now I have a meeting upstairs.”
Abbott looked grim. “Keep me informed of everything.”
Wednesday, February 24, 6:10 p.m.
Eve jumped in her waiting room chair when someone
touched her shoulder. Hunched over her laptop, she jerked up her chin to see
Carleton Pierce standing in front of her. She took the earbuds from her ears.
“Dr. Pierce. You startled me.”
“I said your name, but you didn’t hear me.”
Eve gestured to her laptop. “I was listening to some
music. Trying to pass the time.” In reality she’d been watching video from the
local TV news online archive. Several of the crime beat entries were Noah’s
cases. But so far, she’d found nothing.
“I understand your friend was hurt. I hope he’s all
right.”
“He will be.” Rising, she studied him curiously.
People from the bar often looked different when she saw them in another
environment, but Pierce looked essentially the same. He wore another expensive
suit, gold cufflinks winking at his wrists. “Thank you.”
He took a step back and met her eyes, smiling kindly.
“You’ve had a rough few days, Eve. I was on my way home from the police station
and thought I’d stop in to see how you are.”
“That’s nice of you.” Which made her suspicious. Which
in turn made her ashamed at her paranoia.
Get a grip, Eve
. “I’m okay.
I’ll be more okay when they catch this guy.”
“I got a call from Dean Jacoby today.”
Eve’s eyes narrowed. Jacoby was Donner’s boss. “Why?”
“Well, because he’s my friend,” he said with a tolerant
smile. “And because we were talking about my teaching a class next term,
because Donner’s retiring.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, then frowned when his words
sank in. “Donner’s retiring?”
“Yes. Apparently he gave notice a few weeks ago, but
that’s not for public consumption. I trust you’ll be discreet.”
A few weeks ago?
“Of course,” Eve murmured.
“At any rate, I didn’t mention you to Jacoby, but he
mentioned your study. The college got a request yesterday for all your project
files and cooperated fully with the police. He knew I worked with the police
and wanted an update. He wanted to know how the police had made the connection
to Marshall’s psychology department.”
“And you said?” Eve said calmly.
“That I was not at liberty to disclose elements of an
ongoing investigation. I wanted you to know that they’re asking questions.
Jacoby asked me and my wife to join him for dinner tonight. If you’d like to
join us, it would be an opportunity for you to explain your actions before
you’re accused of anything. Once he files anything formal, you’re in the
system.” His lips curved ruefully. “Plus, you’ll get to enjoy the best prime
rib in the city. If I remember grad school correctly, I ate a lot of bologna
sandwiches.”
She made herself smile back. “I appreciate everything
you’ve done, sir, but I have to stay here tonight. My friend may need me. I
have your card and almost called ten times. But things keep happening.” She
gestured to the waiting room. “I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Are you sure, Eve?” he asked, serious now. “The
police team just made the decision to take the Shadowland connection public, to
warn potential victims. Soon any decisions on what, who, and when you tell will
be out of your hands.”
Eve’s shoulders sagged. “I knew this was an
eventuality. I—”
“Eve?” Tom had returned, Liza still in tow. Liza
looked better but Tom was panicked. He gently pushed his friend into a chair
and rushed over. “What’s wrong with David?”
She realized Tom had seen Pierce and gotten the wrong
idea. “Nothing. David’s still getting scanned. This isn’t one of his doctors.”
She hesitated. “Tom, this is Dr. Pierce. Dr. Pierce, my friend, Tom. Dr.
Pierce’s here to talk to me about… school.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Tom said, warily.
Pierce gave Tom a polite nod, then turned back to Eve.
“Don’t wait too long.”
“What the hell was that about?” Tom demanded when
Pierce was gone.
Eve sank into her chair, her head now throbbing. “Long
story.”
Tom sat next to Eve. “I’ve got time, Evie.”
“Your friend looks better,” Eve said.
“Yeah, and now you look like shit,” Tom shot back.
“Who was that guy?”
“Tom, I… I’ve done something that could get me kicked
out of school.”
He stared at her. “What the hell is this?”
“You know the women who’ve been murdered recently? The
ones that looked like suicides? They were all participants in my Shadow-land
study.”
“Shit. But how could they possibly blame you for
that?”
“They can’t. But I know the victims’ identities
because I looked at files I shouldn’t have. It’s cheating and I could get
expelled.”
Tom’s face fell. “No way. You’ve worked so hard… Oh,
Evie.”
She patted his hand. “I know. But if it makes it any
easier, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. It’ll be all right, however it turns
out. I’ll find my feet again.”
“You always find your feet,” he said quietly. “I’ve
always admired that about you.”
Eve’s throat tightened. “Thank you. I needed that.”
He slid his arm around her in a hard, brotherly hug.
“I always thought it would be Mom or Dana getting busted for breaking the
rules. Never thought it would be you.”
Eve’s laugh was shaky. “Go bug David. He’s probably
done getting scanned.”
“I wanna meet your date. Got to make sure he’s good
enough for you.”
Too good for me
,
she thought sadly. “I’ll introduce you before I leave. Now be gone.”
She watched Tom go, shaken. Dean Jacoby asking
questions… The Shadowland connection soon all over the news… Buckland missing
and probably dead…
Don’t think about that
. She tried to draw her mind away from the fear,
pulling her computer to her lap out of habit.
Think
. Buckland was
missing. She’d been searching articles on Noah, but Kurt Buckland had also been
a victim. She’d been so unnerved last night that she hadn’t dug very deep into
Buckland’s articles.
Kurt Buckland
,
she typed into the search screen, and started reading the results.
Wednesday, February 24, 6:10 p.m.
Millhouse’s lawyer stood up when Noah and Jack entered
the interview room. “This is outrageous,” he began. “My client—”
“Is free to go,” Noah said. “But we’d appreciate
answers to some questions first.”
“My sister committed suicide. I don’t understand why
I’m here like a criminal.”
Noah sat next to him. “Your sister did not commit
suicide, sir.”
Larry Millhouse’s mouth fell open. “Are you saying my
sister was murdered?”
“Yes,” Jack said. “That’s exactly what we’re saying.
We need you to tell us exactly how you found the scene, before you cut your
sister down and changed her clothes.”
Millhouse looked away. “She was dressed like a whore,
in a low-cut red dress, and this… makeup. Amy never dressed like that. And her
eyes… they were open. Glued.”
“What about shoes?” Jack asked.
“High heels. Red. Amy never in a million years would
wear shoes like that.”
“And the window?” Noah asked.
“Wide open.”
“Was there a note?” Jack finished and Millhouse shook
his head.
“No,” he said miserably. “So I wrote one. My mother
was so upset, I just wanted to make her see that Amy really had loved her.”
Jack looked at Millhouse sternly. “All of those
elements are common to five murders. By altering the scene, you made it harder
for us to realize what was going on before four more women lost their lives.”
Millhouse glanced nervously at his attorney. “Am I in
trouble?”
“The powers that be say no,” Jack said. “So you’re
free to go.”
But Millhouse didn’t move from his chair. His eyes had
closed, his face still pale. “Somebody killed my sister,” he murmured, as if it
was just sinking in. “Why?”
“We don’t know why,” Noah said, “but we do know that
he’s targeted his victims through an online computer game. Shadowland.”
Larry Millhouse visibly flinched. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve heard of the game?” Jack asked.
Millhouse nodded, a bare movement. “I showed it to
her. Then she was sucked in.”
“She played a lot?” Noah asked.
“She was making money at it, amazingly. I played for
fun. Amy played for keeps.”
“How did she make money?” Noah asked.
“She gambled in the casino. Poker, blackjack, all the
games. She won, a lot. Took her winnings, bought and sold real estate in the
better neighborhoods. She converted the Shadowbucks into real-world money. She
was about to quit her day job.”
“So she spent time in the casino. Did she mention
meeting anyone there?”
“If she did, she didn’t tell me. We’d been arguing
about her spending so much time in the online world. I was stunned, frankly.
She’d become this wheeler-dealer, a person I didn’t know. When I found her
hanging there…” His voice broke. “Like
that
…”
“So you took her down and changed her clothes,” Jack
said quietly.
“Yes.” Millhouse dropped his head to his hands, his
shoulders shaking as he cried. “She was my little sister, dammit. I showed her
the game. It was my fault.”
His lawyer patted his shoulder. “Can he go now?”
“In a minute,” Noah said, as kindly as he could. “Mr.
Millhouse, this killer has taken the computers of the other victims. Did you
notice anything different about the computer at your sister’s apartment after
her death?”
Millhouse scraped his hands down his face, struggling
for control. “I don’t know. We were just in… autopilot, you know? My mother was
having chest pains and I couldn’t stand the guilt. I… burned the dress. I told
my wife to get rid of everything else.”
Of course. Not that this guy would have left anything
behind anyway
, Noah thought bitterly,
then stood. “Thank you, Mr. Millhouse.”
“Do you have any leads?”
Not a one
.
“Yes,” Noah said. “We’ll call when we have news.”
Noah waited for Jack in the hallway, closing the door
behind them. “We know one new thing,” Noah said. “Martha and Christy spent
their time at Ninth Circle. Rachel divided her time between the bar and the
casino. Amy Millhouse hung at the casino.”
“So we know two places he hunts his victims. So how
does that help?”
“I don’t know yet.” But Noah knew who to ask. He
checked his watch. “I’ve got plans for dinner. Let’s break and meet at the
Bolyards’ house at 8:30.”
Jack put on his hat. “I had to cancel Katie. Maybe I
can still catch up with her.”