Threads of Suspicion(69)
“We’ve got time to get it done,” Evie replied. She paused as she realized what she was holding. “David, look at this one.” Evie walked over to him with it.
I love the way you look when you sing “A Waiting Love.” You’re looking right at me.
“There are more in that same vein. A lot more.” The thick folder held letters all on a blue paper, computer-printed in a fancy script, unsigned, but the similar messages laid out the same way on each.
“Yeah. Maggie’s got an obsessed fan. She has them, Evie. I’ve added some of those letters to that folder over the years. The blue paper reads male, the choice of a fancy script and the text itself reads female, but we’ve drawn a blank trying to track down the sender. Can you tell if security has had any better luck with recent letters from this individual?”
She reviewed the document in the front of the folder, was pleasantly surprised at the depth of the investigation to identify this sender. “No fingerprints on the letters, and the envelopes carry prints of postal employees only. That’s what has me wondering about this sender.” She sifted through the folder. “These letters go back ten years. A fan who takes that kind of care to conceal identity, to not leave prints? And has done so for years?”
“Some people are paranoid about fingerprints.”
“He doesn’t sound paranoid. If he’s already a criminal, wants to conceal his identity, but is drawn to Maggie, so he hides his fingerprints—doesn’t that sound a lot like the person who did Jenna harm?”
David weighed the question. “Okay. For the sake of argument, say they are from the same person. How do we use the letters to help us find him?”
“They’re all postmarked in Indiana. Two of our five possible matches are women killed in Indiana. Would Indiana be a false clue, in line with no fingerprints?”
“The postmarks are probably an attempt to mislead.”
“So someone who does not live in Indiana.” Evie spread out numerous letters from the folder across the desk. “What do you notice? What I see—mentions of specific songs, specific lyrics, all admiring in tone. He’s into the title and words of the songs more than just the music, suggesting maybe he writes lyrics too. Some of these letters are from this last year. He—or she—is still following her.”
“Agreed,” David said, considering the letters. “The blue paper is the same shade, so the same brand, possibly all from the same ream of paper used exclusively for writing to her. But as promising as this is, Evie, there are dozens of similar people in her world. The lack of fingerprints is on the odd side, given the notes themselves seem pretty rational. I’d like a photo of this guy for Maggie’s security to carry with them—she doesn’t need to meet him—but ten years of writing letters without the letters escalating much in content still suggests someone reasonably harmless to her.”
“So I should be looking for someone who wants to meet Maggie,” Evie said, “who talks about seeing her at a restaurant or visiting her home, something other than a history of questionable fan mail.”
“Not necessarily. I think the tone here is the right fit for who you want. Your guy uses Triple M concerts as his trolling ground to select victims. He’s into Maggie and the Triple M band enough to be a fan who’d write to her. He’s paranoid about revealing his identity, so he leaves no prints. He stays with less traceable paper and envelopes rather than email or comment posts on her website.
“All that sounds like the guy you want, Evie. But I would have expected over ten years to see less mail than this, being more selective about when he writes her, and something in the mix would change, would say or imply he did something. ‘There are those who sing your songs and don’t know all the words. They fill in whatever words they decide fits. I won’t let them botch your song lyrics anymore, Maggie. Your lyrics are perfect.’ Something like that.”
“He would have shifted into the occasional creepy letter.”
“This guy isn’t static if he’s killed Jenna and a few others. How he sees Maggie will have migrated over the years too. That’s assuming the cases on the board are all his. We may be looking at clusters of two or three different individuals’ crimes.”
“I’m inclined to think the three smothered victims are linked, but maybe not to Jenna.”
“Exactly.” David scanned the blue sheets, then stacked and placed them back in the folder. “The unsub we’re after will have changed over the years as the crimes happen, and his behavior, any letters he sends, will reveal that.” He handed the folder back.