Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [659]
Gwen rubbed her hands over her face again, this time digging the heels of her palms into her eyes, hoping to get rid of the image. She’d never be rid of it.
“The notes, the messages,” Racine started in at her again, “all of them have been delivered to your office?”
“Yes. Either dropped in the mail slot in the lobby after hours or delivered to the main desk downstairs. One of the earrings was left on Saturday in a manila envelope. Dena said she found the envelope on the reception desk after Rubin Nash’s appointment.” Gwen paused. “Do you think he expected me to recognize it as hers?”
“If he did, he may have wanted to taunt you with it,” Racine said and Gwen could feel the detective’s eyes on her as if expecting some reaction. “You know, to show you how close he could get. If you’re right about him being Dena’s new boyfriend, that could explain how he got the key to her brownstone and knew where she lived. Although there’s no evidence that he killed her there.”
Then Racine hesitated, but she was still watching Gwen, studying her. “If you had recognized the earring, would you have done anything about it? Would you have called the cops?” The harsh tone returned, cold and unsympathetic.
If Racine thought she could possibly make Gwen feel any more responsible for Dena’s death, she was wrong. Gwen wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to forgive herself for Dena’s death.
CHAPTER 57
Omaha, Nebraska
Tommy Pakula had had enough. He felt Morrelli’s attention had followed O’Dell out the door after she’d left Father Gallagher’s office. The two may have worked a case years ago, but it seemed obvious to Pakula that Morrelli still held some kind of a grudge. Pakula finally told both men that he’d be in touch, thanked them for their time and left.
He found O’Dell coming out of a classroom and raised his eyebrows at her, surprised that she would be so transparent in her snooping.
“Learn anything?” he asked.
“Maybe. Are you finished with Father Gallagher?”
“Yeah, I’ve had enough of those two clowns. I should have unleashed Carmichael on them.” They started down the steps, and he let her lead the way. “I can tell you one thing, Morrelli sure isn’t finished with you. Is he going to be a problem?”
“I get the feeling he thinks there’s some unfinished personal business between us,” she said with no emotion, perhaps a bit of amusement if anything.
“Is there?”
“If you’re asking if it’ll get in the way of working this case, I won’t let it.” Her tone was serious now.
“No, actually I wanted to make sure the asshole’s not gonna be hassling you. If he gives you any problems you’ve got my cell-phone number. You give me a call. I’ll take care of it.”
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at him. “Are you trying to protect me, Detective Pakula?”
He stopped in his tracks, too, and wanted to cringe. Was she going to bust his chops about how just because she was a woman she didn’t need his protection? Jesus!
“It’s been a while since I’ve had someone want to play big brother with me,” O’Dell told him, but she was smiling now. “That’s kinda nice.” And before he could respond she was on her way again, leaving him as she headed out the school’s front door.
Back in the car, she filled him in about her conversation with Sister Kate Rosetti, the lesson in daggers and their popularity because of medieval crusader-type games on the Internet. She also shared her new theory, that maybe the killer could be a teenage boy who had been abused by a priest. He listened without interrupting, hearing her out.
“You’re forgetting one thing,” he finally said. “How does a fifteen-or even sixteen-or seventeen-year-old have the time or opportunity to get from Minneapolis to Omaha to Columbia, Missouri, on his own?”
“Each of the murders happened over holiday weekends. Look, I don’t have this figured out. All I’m saying is that we need to