Threads of Suspicion(59)
“That connection works for me, David—the first murder setting the parameters he’s going to consider important.”
David nodded. “Part of the whole, the memory he’s trying to re-create. And it’s the outlier components that might make Tammy one of his. Assume for now this is his hometown. To act here is more risky, a place where he’s known. But Triple M is literally coming right to his doorstep. He wants that thrill again. So he goes to the concert, planning to re-create his success. He sees Tammy there that Friday night, lifts her license, wants to do something, but once he sees the building and the roommate situation, he loses the nerve. He walks away from the evening he had built up in his mind, totally frustrated. He thinks about it for forty-eight hours—stews about it. She’s right there in his hometown, drives by her place several times, getting more frustrated, and then he’s got up his nerve again. He’s able to snatch Tammy when she’s on her own, out of the sight of witnesses, does the crime in his hometown, gets away with it.
“He’s had two successes now. He’s enjoying this. But he’s learning. He goes farther afield for the next one, to Indiana. He keeps the constants he likes: Triple M concert, the driver’s license to see where she lives, get there ahead of her. But he’s out of the area quicker. He doesn’t take time to hide the body now. He’s deciding what is necessary to protect his identity and what he doesn’t need to care about. He’s has a third success with Virginia.” David’s voice turned hard. “But he doesn’t go quiet. Not for six years. Not if Jenna and Tammy and Virginia are all his kills.”
Evie was nodding even before David finished. “That fits, David. I really think you just nailed it. Illinois with a Triple M concert and Jenna. So target another Triple M concert in his hometown, select Tammy, persist even when it doesn’t go as planned, succeed again. Move on to Indiana and Virginia Fawn with what he’s learned. This time leave the body rather than take time to dispose of it.”
“He persisted with Tammy because he could. We shift our focus, as he likely lives around here,” David said. “So the question on the table now is how do we want to start that search?”
“Someone who lives here, has traveled to Illinois, to Indiana—let’s start with speeding tickets in Wisconsin heading south around the dates of interest. He’s got a long journey ahead, I bet he ignores the speed limit leaving town, wanting to get the road trip behind him. And music majors at the local college are still a good fit. Anyone in Maggie’s fan base who lives in Wisconsin? I think it’s the same set of questions we’re asking about Jenna, just changing venue. And we’ll want to add anyone who went to Brighton College who previously lived in Wisconsin, whether they graduated or not.” Evie had her notepad out. “Anything else come to mind?”
“Local crimes here. You don’t start at murder. It’s a small enough town the police probably knew the names of the teen boys they wanted to keep an eye on.”
“Saul had research material on a Wisconsin high school running back,” Evie said. “We need to look at why.”
“He’s here, Evie. Somewhere around here.”
“It feels good to have the sense we’re on the trail now.”
David glanced over, offered a wry smile. “Or we’ve just talked ourselves into a detour. Keep that in mind. All of this could be a rabbit trail.”
“I always keep that in mind. The most brilliant ideas can turn out to be errors. You just don’t know it until it plays out if you’re setting up to whiff the ball or hit a home run. A batting average of one in three is still really good, so I’ve learned to love brilliant ideas—eventually that’s where you succeed.”
“I’ve got a baseball fan riding with me?” David chuckled. “Nice. Where to next?”
She checked her watch. “Let’s head over to the police station and the conference call with Indiana. Then let’s talk to Tammy’s parents, hopefully get some more names of friends to talk with while we’re here. After that, back south. It’s time to start generating more lists. I’m going to shoot these ideas on to Ann, let her add more queries to the database work she’s doing for us.”
“Don’t tell me how many cases she’s found overlapping Triple M concerts. I want to see the details when I hear that bad news.”
Evie glanced over at him. “The last time I asked that question, Ann said, ‘Ask me later, and keep your focus on Tammy.’ She’s keeping us in the dark. But whatever the answer, we’re going to find the guy and end this. It could be soon with the thread we’ve got to pull.”