The Trophy Exchange (16 page)

Seventeen

In the office
the next morning
, Lucinda made an appointment to visit the Leesville detectives
for the following day
. The department hadn
’
t released the crime scene yet and she
had other leads to follow up.
She called the other four jurisdictions and talked to the detective in charge of each case. After each conversation, they exchanged JP
E
G files of the crime
-
scene photos. The chaotic jumble on her desk grew with every minute
–
just the sight of it made Lucinda grin
,
but she knew she would need to spread it all out in a bigger space to work more effectively.

Looking at the photos from the scenes, all of them appeared consistent with Kathleen
’
s murder. No fingerprints or any stranger DNA at a single murder. All committed inside the victims
’
homes. The cause of death in each case was ligature strangulation with the item used not present at the scene.

At the oldest homicide, in Waverly, the victim, a
twenty-six
-year-old court reporter, had a Sarah Coventry daisy pin attached to her shirt. All the rage in costume jewelry decades ago, Lucinda hadn
’
t seen one in years. Its presence hinted at an echo from the past. On the victim
’
s left ring finger, a whiter band of skin indicated the presence of a wedding ring in the recent past. Beside her body, a wrought iron floor lamp was discarded on its side
,
its base used to mutilate her facial features.

The next murder in chronological order happened in Smythport. A too tight wedding band squeezed on to the left ring finger of a school teacher. Missing from around her neck was a diamond solitaire necklace her fiancé
had
g
i
ve
n
her before he left to fight in Operation Gulf Storm in the early nineties. He
’d
returned home in a body bag. Family members said the victim had not taken the necklace off since the day he died. Her face was smashed by a thick coffee table book containing photographs from the Serengeti.

The trail led back to Waverley for the next murder where a grocery store clerk sported that same necklace around her throat. A concrete block pulled from a makeshift board-and-block bookcase obliterated the features of her face. One of the investigators made much of the fact that most of the books on the disrupted shelf were paperback true crime stories but, to Lucinda, it did not appear to have any relevance at all. She thought the detective was grabbing at any hint that made sense of a homicide that, until this morning, he believed to be an isolated incident. Like the woman murdered in Riverton, this one wore only one earring
–
a silver owl.

At the next scene, in Spring City, a nurse without pierced ears wore the missing silver owl in a bloodied lobe. The perpetrator
had
forced the earring post through the fleshy part of her ear. Her right ring finger showed the whiteness of a missing oft-worn ring. A search of her home did not find the emerald ring her husband bought for her on a cruise stop at St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Her face was beaten flat with the receiver component of an older stereo system. Ripped wires hung from its back.

The last case before Kathleen
’
s murder happened in Plankerton
and the missing emerald ring was found on a finger on the victim’s right hand
.
She
was an unemployed recent college graduate. Newspapers with pink-highlighted
“
help wanted
”
ads sprawled across the floor. The weapon used to pound her face added a surreal quality to the scene. Once again, a block was removed from an impromptu bookcase. This time, though, it was a thick decorative glass block
,
the kind often used for walls in luxury master baths. Through the block, distorted glimpses of the victim
’
s ravaged face were visible as if seen through a fun-glass mirror underwater.

Nothing
–
no valuables, no jewelry
–
appeared to be missing from the young woman
’
s apartment according to police reports. On her ears, though, Lucinda saw the aqua blue of a pair of turquoise earrings. Did she have a matching necklace around her neck before she died? Lucinda wondered. If she did, we have an unbroken chain of homicide and my theory stands solid. But what about the Sarah Coventry daisy pin in Waverley? Where did that come from? Is there a murder before that one?

She picked up the phone and called the Plankerton detective.
“
Did anyone mention the possibility that your vic owned a necklace with a turquoise cross?
”

“
No, why?
”
he asked.

“
Our vic was wearing one that didn
’
t belong to her.
”

“
Do I have a shot of that necklace in the photos you sent?
”

“
Yes. The fifth or sixth photo shows a clear image of it.
”
Lucinda waited while the detective pulled up the emailed photos.

“
Got it. You want me to see if I can get an ID on it at this end?
”

“
Yes. Thank you,
”
Lucinda said.

“
Back atcha soon as I hear anything.
”

Now if that pans out, Lucinda thought, all I have to do is figure out who owned the daisy pin. She pulled up that series of crime
-
scene photos on her computer again. The daisy hung crooked on the woman
’
s blouse. The fabric was lumped under the clasp. The pinning appeared careless. The pin had to belong to an older woman who still wore it for sentimental reasons
–
not to this young one who wasn
’
t even born before Sarah Coventry
’
s hey day. That pin has to lead somewhere. But where?

Lucinda made a list of dates and locations for all the homicides starting with the first one in Waverly and moving through to Kathleen Spencer, then on to the Haver homicide and to the most recent death in Leesville. The span between the first and second murders was a little better than six months. The span shortened as the list progressed. The last three happened in less than one
week
.

The next one will be soon, Lucinda thought. Where was Evan Spencer when all these murders went down?

She picked up the phone and called Evan
’
s office. As the phone rang, she realized she really didn
’
t want to talk to him but she did want to talk to his staff when he wasn
’
t there. She tried to sound as unofficial as possible.
“
Hey, is Doc Spencer in?
”

“
No, he
’
s not. May I take a message?
”

“
When do you
‘
spect him in?
”

“
He has surgery scheduled all day today. He
’
ll probably drop in after that but I doubt he
’
ll return any calls. Unless this is an emergency?
”

“
Aw, no. I
’
ll just buzz him tomorrow.
”

This is my lucky day, Lucinda thought as she punched in the numbers to Ted
’
s cellphone.
“
Are you busy? Do you have some time to spare?
”

“
It
’
s my day off. I
’
ve got all the time you need. What
’
s up?
”

“
Spencer
’
s in surgery all day today. I want to compare the dates of all of these homicides with his calendar. See if he was out of town on a mercy mission or right here available to kill.
”

“
Lucinda, you know he was in Afghanistan when his wife was killed, right?
”

“
Yeah
,
but what if she
’
d gotten suspicious? What if she thought he was up to no good? What if she confronted him?
”

“
Nobody else tied these murders together until you did. I know Kathleen was a mathematical whiz, but that doesn
’
t explain how she would figure this out.
”

“
Maybe she didn
’
t think he was killing anyone. Maybe she thought all these absences from the home and office meant he was having an affair? What if Evan Spencer worried that she might look more closely at just where he was going and what he was doing?
”

“
A lot of what-ifs, Lucinda.
”

“
Yeah, but what if I
’
m right. What if he hired someone to kill his wife while he was conveniently out of the country? It would end Kathleen
’
s questions and if anyone else got suspicious about a connection to the other murders, they
’
d be looking for the
person
who murdered his wife when he had a solid alibi.
”

“
It
’
s really a stretch.
”

“
Say I
’
m wrong, Ted. What will it hurt to come with me? Let
’
s check it out together. If Spencer was out of the country when another death occurred, I
’
ll shit-can my theory.
”

“
O
kay
, you
’
re right. You do need to check it out for no other reason than to scratch Spencer off your list and not waste any more time on it. Meet you at his office in twenty minutes.
”
After hanging up, Ted went to his bedroom and slipped on his holster and gun. Ellen stepped into the doorway with her arms folded across her chest.