Dead Even - Mariah Stewart [58]
John’s brows knit together. “Any luck in identifying a possible second—or third—victim?”
“This is a tough call, because we still know so little about Channing other than his ever-growing number of kills. We don’t know who he came in contact with on a daily basis, who he worked with, who he lived with, who over the years really pissed him off. So we’re going into this blind,” she reminded him. “That being said, however, we think Joshua Landry looks like a good candidate.”
“Josh Landry, the crime writer?”
“Yes. Apparently Channing read one of his early books and took exception to some of Landry’s theories. Channing wrote to him several times. I made copies of the letters for you. Landry’s daughter made a set for Will and for me.”
John nodded. “I’d like to see them.”
“I thought you might.” She took an envelope out of the folder on her lap and passed it to him.
“You’ve advised Landry that he could be a target?” he said as he slid the envelope to one side of his desk.
“Yes. He says his house is protected by state-of-the-art security. He also called in the local police while we were there, so we had an opportunity to alert them, discuss the situation. I think they have a pretty good understanding of what we’re dealing with here. We left a photo of Lowell with the police and with Landry so they know who they’re looking for. But I’m not certain that Landry really understands how serious the situation is. I think we need someone of our own on the scene.”
“We’ll send in Art Phillips. He’s already in the area. New Brunswick, I think. Close enough.”
“Actually, I was thinking about going myself—”
“I can’t afford to have you sitting on Landry. For one thing, assuming that Landry is in fact going to be the second victim, we’ll need to figure out who might be the third.”
“Actually,” she shifted uncomfortably in her chair, “there’s a theory about that.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Landry thinks I might be the third target.”
“You?”
“He thinks that when I interviewed Channing six years ago—in Ohio, that first field assignment I had?”
John nodded.
“Well, Landry thinks that my focusing on Channing spoiled a nice little run he was having in southern Ohio, forced him to move on before he wanted to.” Miranda looked across the desk at John. “He thinks that maybe Channing was angry that his fun was ruined. Landry referred to it as my ‘stopping his forward motion.’ ”
“He was in his comfort zone, and you pushed him out of it.”
“That’s Landry’s theory.”
“Maybe you should back off the case, then.” John frowned.
“No, no. First of all, I think I know Lowell better than anyone at this point. Second, we don’t know if Channing even remembered my name. And third, the plan is to stop him before he gets to Landry.”
“You’re working with Fletcher,” he noted. “Who else do you need?”
“I don’t think we need anyone else right now. With Phillips keeping an eye on Landry, and the local police involved, I think we’ll be able to get our hands on Lowell.” She grimaced. “Christ, if the FBI can’t outwit a loser like Archer Lowell, we’re in big trouble.”
“So far, he’s one up on the Bureau,” John reminded her.
“I’m well aware.” She nodded glumly.
“Frankly, I lay that one at the feet of the locals. You laid the whole thing out for them. Apparently they didn’t take you very seriously.”
“Let’s hope the Plainsville police have more on the ball than their brethren in Ohio. In the meantime, over the next few days, Will and I will be going over the reports of all Channing’s known kills. We need to look at the whole picture. Where he’d been, how long he stayed, see if we can identify anyone who had contact with him.”
“You’re going to try to re-create the last six years of his life through police records?”
“That’s the plan. There has to be a pattern there someplace. We need to find it.”
The phone rang, and he glanced at it with weary eyes before picking it up. He