Shadow Suspect by Patrick Logan

Author:Patrick Logan [Logan, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pathological Ink
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 38

An hour later, Drake found himself back in the conference room, his eyes fading in and out of focus as he stared at the photographs on the board.

Chase had done a good job piecing things together, but he couldn’t help but think that there was something that they were missing, something big. Something that might break this case.

Three victims, one of whom lived in a different country, two who had just rekindled a two-decade stale friendship, a hooker, an impish housekeeper with envelopes of cash and a fucking butterfly of all things…

Drake was reminded of a similar board that Clay had set up when they were trying to catch the Skeleton King. Only then it had been seven murders, not three, and the victims were castaways rather than New York’s most affluent.

Still, there was something similar about them. For one, the Skeleton Killer had a specific MO, as did the Butterfly Killer.

The door to the conference opened and Drake turned to see Chase enter. She was wearing a dark skirt and a cream-colored blouse buttoned nearly to her throat.

“I thought I might find you in here. Did you go interview Veronica yet?”

Drake shook his head.

“No; I’m letting her stew. I told Frank that when he picks up Raul to make sure he sneaks him in through the back way, but to make sure that Veronica sees him. She was pretty tight-lipped back in her apartment; maybe seeing Raul might loosen them up. I considered asking Frank to cuff Raul once he was inside the station, but if Rhodes found out, he’d take a sprinkler shit.”

Chase smirked, and he could see in her eye that she thought bringing Raul in and parading him for Veronica might help her remember Thomas Smith.

“Detective Gainsford is stationed outside Tim Jenkins’s house on explicit orders not to interact with him if spotted. I said that we would relieve him tonight at ten.”

Drake raised an eyebrow, but resisted commenting. Watching a man’s house was a one-person job. This felt suspiciously like she wanted babysitting him. And it also meant that it wasn’t likely that he would be getting any “Key lime” pie tonight.

Or Johnny Red.

“What are we going to do in the meantime? I’m going blind staring at this board here.”

Chase smiled.

“What? What is it?” Drake asked.

She threw a pile of papers on the desk and they slid over to Drake. He caught them before they fell to the floor.

“My guy in records came through: Thomas’s juvi records. And they are worse than we thought. Much worse.”

Drake grabbed the papers and started reading.

“No kidding,” he said.

The first line read Thomas Alexander Smith - Juvenile Criminal Record. What followed was several pages of lists of offenses and the penalties.

“Three pages?” he asked with surprise.

Chase nodded eagerly.

“Go on, have a read—it gets better.”

Drake turned his attention to first page again.

The first crime listed was Grand Theft Auto.

Drake whistled.

“Wow. Really? This is no kid forgetting to pay for a candy bar.”

“Nope,” Chase replied with an air of smugness. “Keep going.

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