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“Yes, they’re getting your husband ready for transport.” Olivia said.
“Thank you.” Mrs. Clermont said, beginning to rock her son once more.
Olivia stood and nodded to the uniform. The young man would stay until everyone had cleared out and ensure that Mrs. Clermont didn’t need to go to see the doctor or go to the hospital.
She walked past Les, and he followed her out of the house. Olivia noticed that the team was loading the remains of the body which had been placed in a body bag, onto a gurney, to transport to the lab. The sidewalk was nearly black with dried blood, though there was some fresh, from when the team had lifted the body to the bag. She stepped around them and walked to her car.
“Was it me, or was that a weird question? You know, about when they were going to move the body?” Les asked. She could see that he was now composed, and his color had come back. He was also thinking.
“Well, if I didn’t know that the serial killer had done this, I’d wonder about it. But people say odd things in times of stress. Remember, she saw the body, and I don’t think she wants to see it again, nor her son. Also, it would seem that Matthew Clermont had a temper. Like Mr. Peach.” Olivia said, looking back over her shoulder at the house. It was cool out and she could feel the first fingers of autumn, which would be a relief from the heat. It wouldn’t take long for the sweltering heat to chase the cool away.
“It seems that the killer is escalating. This is four murders now.” Les commented.
“Yeah, and we’re no closer to finding this guy. No clues. No nothing, no footprints, and I’m sure they won’t find anything on the body. No witnesses. But now I’m struck by the fact that Peach and this man had tempers. The interesting fact that both men weren’t very nice. Bullies.” Olivia said thoughtfully.
“Maybe the killer is a teacher? Someone who sees the abuse of family members? Or a counselor? I’d hate to say it, but a pastor or priest?”
“I’m not sure, because the homicides are spread out. We can check on school and churches, that each of the families go to, but again, geographically, they aren’t close to each other.” Olivia said, looking back at the onlookers.
“Back to square one?” Les asked.
“We’ve not even left square one. And Mrs. Clermont doesn’t know where her husband went, so that’s a big zero. If they get blood alcohol from blood tests, at least we’ll know if he was out drinking. Just not where.”
“I keep asking myself the same question over and over Olivia. How do you do this job? How do you keep doing this job, when the frustration is so high? I think it would drive me bonkers. It would eat at me.”
“I don’t know sometimes myself. But giving up isn’t an option. We can only do, what we can only do. At some point, somehow, this killer will make a mistake. When he does, we’ll get him. I try not to take my work home with me. When I get home, I pour myself into my family. I think that is what saves me from going crazy.”
“God, I hope he makes a mistake. This son-of-a bitch needs to be caught.” Les breathed.
“Amen, brother, amen.”
Ϫ
Today was his lucky day, Jasper sat in his vehicle and looked out the window. His fingers played with the lighter and cigarette he’d been about to light. In the parking lot, there was a man, dirty beard and biker jacket with a skull and swastika. He was angry and hauled a woman by her arm. He was dragging her with him as he walked rapidly, and Jasper could hear the man’s mouth.
“You stupid bitch. What did I tell you about opening your fucking mouth? Can’t you keep it shut, for a fucking goddam minute? You bring this shit on yourself.” The man said as he slung the woman against the car. Jasper heard the loud thump of her smacking the vehicle with her body.
“That wasn’t nice, was it? Why no it wasn’t, we have another winner! Ding ding, ding, ding. And what is his prize Johnny? We’re gonna have a meetin, ta give a little beatin. Puuuushhhh me, puuuullll you.” Jasper hissed in a low delighted voice.
He watched as the man shoved the woman into the car. Jasper watched as the man pulled back his arm, and Jasper could see the fist, launch into the car. He saw the woman’s head rock sideways. His jaw clenched. Jasper stuck the cigarette in his mouth and lit the tip. He blew smoke from his nostrils, forcing the smoke out in an angry jet.
After the man got into his vehicle, Jasper followed behind him, keeping back a couple of car lengths. Twenty minutes later, the car pulled into a small apartment complex. It was run down. There was trash all over the parking lot. Dozens of overgrown bushes. A broken fence ran along the parking lot of the complex. Pulling over, Jasper watched as the couple exited the car and walked to a first level apartment. The man unlocked the door, and shoved the woman in.
“Bye bye fuck-luck, I’ll be getting your prize ready for you. I’ll be seeing you real soon, now ya hear?” Jasper said and pulled away.
Ϫ
In three separate interview rooms, three men sat. All nervous and twitchy. Olivia looked at each of the monitors. Les was behind her.
“They all look fairly agitated.” Les observed.
“That’s pretty normal, they’ve been sitting there for an hour. I like to let folks sit a bit sometimes. So, when I speak with them, all they want to do is answer questions and get out of there.” She grinned.
Les laughed and shook his head.
“Sneaky.”
“Yes, I am. Sometimes I use that technique on my daughters, it works very well.” She sniggered, her eyes crinkling at the sides.
“We’ll interview Frank Tidale first, and what is interesting is, that he is black. So, it tells me, that maybe Robert Patterson wasn’t a bigot like Peach. So maybe there was a different motive that drove the man to kill Patterson. I wonder if Patterson was a bully or abusive with his wife and son? Like Mr. Clermont.” Olivia said, looking down at her file.
“So, maybe the killer is choosing his victims on how the husband treats them? That would bring us back to maybe a teacher. Or someone who knew the families, wouldn’t it?” Les asked.
“It might, or the killer may witness the abuse and take it upon himself to kill the man. It might also be that the killer is triggered by any kind of abuse, as in the case of Mr. Peach and his neighbor, Mrs. Weatherby.”
“Could the killer be a delivery person? You know, like UPS or something like that? That would put him all over the place.” Les said excitedly.
“That’s a damned good idea. That would make our killer mobile. He’d see all kinds of things out there in different places. Good idea Les. We’ll keep that on the front burner.” She grinned.
A few minutes later, they were standing in the interview room. Frank Tidale looked up and relief flooded his face. Olivia gave him a once over and sat across from the man. She opened her file. She looked up and smiled.
“Thank you for coming in Mr. Tidale. We are still looking into the murder of Robert Patterson. I wanted to go over the statement you made with the detectives.”
“Sure thing, anything I can do to help.” The man smiled, sitting forward eagerly.
“What time did Mr. Patterson leave the game that night?”
“He left around one. Our game was breaking up and so everyone headed home about then.”
“Do you know if he went anywhere after your card game?” She asked.
“No, I thought he was headed home, like the rest of us. He didn’t get home right after?”
“No, it would seem that he didn’t go straight home. Now, did he have any other people he’d be inclined to go see after the game? Male or female?”
“No. He doesn’t have a girl on the side, nothing like that. He’s a good guy. I don’t know if he went to a bar or went to see someone else. He didn’t say.” Frank answered.
“Had he been drinking?” She asked, making a couple notes.
“He had a couple of beers throughout the evening, he’s not a heavy drinker. Everyone that left my house was fairly sober.” He said nervously now.
“Okay. Did you know if Mr. Patterson had any enemies, any arguments with someone? Had he mentioned anything like that to you or your friends?”
“Naw, nobody comes to mind. Sorry I couldn’t be much help.”
“One last question, was Mr. Patterson a bigot? Did he harbor ill will against any races?” Olivia asked, watching Frank Tidale’s face.
Tidale looked surprised at the question, and he thought about it for a moment.
“No, no, he didn’t really say or mention anything about any other races.” He shrugged.
“Alright, thanks so much for coming in. You can head on out.”
Tidale got up from the table and nodded, he looked at Les, nodded at him and left the room. Olivia watched after him for a minute.
“What do you think?” Les asked her.
“No help. It did tell us that our killer isn’t just killing bigots. Though it would seem he does hate them, as with Mr. Peach. So, he’s picking them out for another reason. We’ll go and hear what the other two have to say.”
They got up and went to the next interrogation room, where Leo Hernandez sat. The man looked up when they walked in.
“How are you doing today, Mr. Hernandez?” Olivia asked pleasantly.
“I’m good.” He said, and looked over at Les and nodded.
“I’d like to ask you some questions about Mr. Patterson and the night of the poker game.”
“Sure, what would you like to know?” He said.
“What time did the poker game break up that night?” She asked.
“I’m not sure, maybe some time after midnight, ish. I wasn’t paying attention.” He said, and began nibbling at his nails.
“Did Mr. Patterson mention that he was going any place after the game? To another friend’s house or to a bar?” She asked.
“Yeah, he said he was thinking about swinging by one of those titty bars. Oh, sorry, I mean strip clubs. I think he said Knockers. But he was just thinking about it. He didn’t say he’d go for sure. He asked me to go, but I didn’t think it was a good idea. The old lady would have skinned me.”
“Where is Knocker’s located, do you know?” She made notes.
“That’s on King street I believe. I’ve never been there.” He said, and Olivia thought he looked a little guilty.
“So, if I ask your wife the time of your arrival on that night, she’d be able to tell me?”
“Heck yeah, I had to text her I was on my way home from the game. I’m not crazy. I’m not going to make my wife mad.” He laughed nervously and looked over at Les.
“Did Mr. Patterson mention that he’d been having problems with anyone? Any arguments?” She asked.
“Not really. Him and his wife were arguing again, but that’s nothing new.” He said offhandedly.
“He and his wife don’t get along?”
“I think it’s cause of the kid. His kid is always fussy. Bobby said it drove him crazy and Riva wouldn’t shut him up.” Hernandez shrugged.
“Did Mr. Patterson ever abuse his wife or son?”
“What? No, no man.” This question seemed to upset the man.
“So, he never mentioned about taking his frustration out on his wife or son?” She asked again.
“No, he bitched about it. You know, like we all do. How we bitch about our wives or our jobs, kids, stuff like that. He was just complaining that he and Riva were just arguing again. That’s it.”
“Alright. If you can think of anything else, perhaps if he mentioned something in passing, that would really help.” She said, closing the notebook.
“Sure. Look, I don’t want you to think Bobby was a bad guy. He just got stressed and all that.”
“Alright. Thank you again for coming.”
“It was no problem at all. If I do think of anything else, I will call you. I sure do hope you can find the crazy person that did this.”
FIVE
Les looked over to Olivia. She was still sitting there at the table, with her hands on the file.
“So, he did go to someplace, Knockers, or at least maybe he did. That’s something.”
“Yeah, but I’ve a feeling, because it was so long ago, that no one will remember and no security footage. I’ll still check that out.” She said.
“What do you think about Patterson’s relationship with his wife and son?” Les asked, chewing on the end of his pen.
“I find that it falls into line with Mr. Peach, and Mr. Clermont. I think we may have found our pattern, Les.” She smiled.
“Holy shit. Oh, man, that’s great. Will you have Detective Littleton and Detective Brightwater ask about that?”
“I sure will. If all the victims were abusive to their families, this is the common thread that binds them all. I think we should extend our investigation to the neighbors living next door to each of the homes. I’m sure the neighbors have heard something going on. Most do.”
“Oh, I can’t believe it. This is fantastic!” Les crowed happily.
“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That may well be the motive for the killings, but who is witnessing these incidents? Your theory about a delivery person, that might fit this bill.” She grinned at him.
Les grinned back. He was so excited. For him, this was a big victory. They now had the reason behind the killings. Or at least a very good possible motive. He was proud of himself for thinking of the delivery person. That would really fit. They were all mobile, driving all over the city. They went up to people’s homes and they could hear what was going on in the house. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. It was a hell of a lot more plausible than the killer for hire idea he’d had.
He wanted to jump for joy. He saw that Olivia’s face was also glowing with happiness. It was another piece of the puzzle. A very good piece. He walked to the door and opened it. They’d go interview the last man, Jackson May. He stood aside as she left to room and he followed her. Then a thought hit him and he stopped her in the hall.
“I just had a horrible thought Olivia. What if the killer is a cop? What if he had access to domestic abuse cases or calls? You’ve not found any evidence as far as DNA, prints or anything. What happens, and I hate saying it, if it is a cop? He’d know how to cover his tracks.”
Olivia stopped and stared at him, open mouthed.
“Jesus Christ, I never thought of that. Oh, holy shit. You might have something there. The police and detectives have training all the time, on what to look for at a crime scene. If it were an officer, they’d know first hand how to cover up things. Jesus Les. I’ll let both Brightwater and Littleton know as well. This is really important Les. You can’t mention it to anyone else, not even in writing.” She said, looking around.
Les nodded, his heart was beating fast. This was significant. Jeeze, it made perfect sense, they’d found nothing in all these years. The killer was really good at covering his tracks. Why not a police officer? Maybe one that was tired of seeing people get away with the abuse? Could it be that simple?
“I think I’ll take a look at any complaints or arrests made of any of the victims on domestic disturbance or abuse cases.” Olivia said.
“Wow, I’m really sorry if it is a cop. I don’t know how I’d feel arresting someone I knew and worked with.” He said, now feeling terrible. Especially if the killer was a friend of Olivia. Then a thought came to him.
“Who was the first detective and officers involved in the first case, five years ago? Norris was the victim, I think.” Les said.
“I’m not sure, I’ll take a look after the interview. We can start there and look at all the police involved as well as the detectives.” She nodded.
She opened the door to the interview room. She nodded to the man seated there and Les stood by the door, his notebook in hand.
“Thank you for coming in Mr. May, I’m sorry it’s taken so long to speak with you.”
“Yeah, I was kinda afraid you guys forgot about me.”
Les noticed that the man’s leg was jiggling nervously and in a rapid bounce. He noted that. Mr. May had bright red hair and a face full of freckles. Les’s mind kept going back to the idea of the killer being a cop. He hoped not. He really did. Now knowing the possible motive, he could see where a cop who dealt with cases like that would possibly snap, reaching that last straw.
“What time did your poker game break up the night of the murder, Mr. May?”
“I’d have to say near one. We were all talking and shooting the shit, as everyone got ready to leave.”
“Did Mr. Patterson mention that he was going out, perhaps to see someone or to a bar?” She asked.
“No, not that I can remember. I was a little hammered. I get that way sometimes, when it’s my turn to host or co-host a game. I slept over at Frank’s house. We were supposed to have the game at my house. My wife was at her mother’s house with the kids, so I can relax. But Frank hosted it and I bought the beer and food. Like I said, I co-hosted it.” He said.
“Do you know if Mr. Patterson had been involved with any kind of arguments with anyone? Had he complained about any run-ins? Arguments or disagreements?”
May sat back and looked up and thought, he shook his head slowly.
“No, not really.”
“How about with his wife? Any problems there?”
“Sure, he bitched a little about the kid. Not sure if Bobby was teething or something. Nothing major I don’t think.”
“Did Mr. Patterson argue a lot with his wife? Did he complain a lot about her?”
May shrugged, and shook his head.
“Do you know if Mr. Patterson ever abused his family? If he were ever arrested for domestic abuse?”
May sat forward. “No, no. He bitched a lot. But I don’t ever think he hit his wife or kid. Heck Bobby is just a baby. No, I don’t think so.” May said adamantly.
“Did Mr. Patterson have a girlfriend, you know, on the side?”
“No, he never mentioned anyone.”
“Alright Mr. May, if you think of anything, please contact me directly. Here is my card. Thank you again for coming in and talking to me. I really appreciate it.” She said.
Les opened the door for Jackson May to leave. He shut the door after.
