Silent Victim - C. E. Lawrence [44]
“Okay,” Chuck said, “so let’s get on with it. What did you find out in Jersey?”
Lee and Butts exchanged a glance, unsure how much to say about their trip. They ended up reporting on all the interviews in detail, referring to Butts’s notes when necessary, but they soft-pedaled the oddness of Perkins and his sister. Lee wasn’t sure why—maybe because they were both a little embarrassed at the way it had affected them. Now, sitting in the prosaic surroundings of Chuck’s office in the Bronx Major Case Unit, it seemed as though they were imagining it, and that Perkins was just a harmless eccentric with an equally odd sister.
“We got a roster of customers she seems to have sold pottery to,” Butts said. “I’ll see what I can find out about them. Might be hard—all I’ve got is a list of names so far.”
“I’ll see if Sergeant Ruggles can help you on that,” Chuck said. “We’re tracking down all calls made to and from her cell phone, and maybe that’ll give us something.”
“Any forensic evidence from the lab yet?” Krieger asked.
“Well, there is one interesting thing,” Chuck answered.
“What’s that?” said Lee.
“That threatening note she said she received, the one she gave you—”
“You know who wrote it?” Butts asked, helping himself to coffee.
“She did.”
Butts did a double take just like an animated cartoon character. His jaw fell open and his eyes widened, giving him the expression of a startled bulldog.
“What?”
“The words pasted on the card came from a magazine found in her house—the pages were cut up in such a way that they were able to match it up in a few minutes. A child could have done it.”
“But why would she fake that,” Krieger mused, “if she really was being stalked?”
“Maybe so I would take her seriously,” Lee suggested.
“Or,” Butts offered, “maybe it was the boyfriend after all. He spent time in that house, too.”
“But why wouldn’t he cover his tracks more? Why leave the magazine in plain sight?” Chuck said.
“To freak her out?” Butts suggested. “I seen weirder things than that, believe me.”
Krieger frowned. “But the manner of death—”
“Could it be a copycat crime?” Chuck asked. “Highly unlikely,” Lee said.
“But you said she was a crime buff,” Butts pointed out. “She could have told the boyfriend about the other vics, or he could have read about them.”
“It doesn’t really make a lot of sense for the boyfriend to cast suspicion on himself by leaving the magazine around, though, does it?” Chuck said.
“No, not really.” Butts looked disappointed. “But there’s something about that guy I don’t like.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t arrest people just because you don’t take a shine to them,” Krieger pointed out dryly. Butts glared at her. “May I ask what the magazine was?”
Chuck leafed through the evidence photos. “Uh, it was Better Homes and Gardens.”
Krieger frowned. “Does that seem like the kind of magazine a young girl like her would be likely to have lying around?”
“They dusted for prints,” Chuck said. “Only hers were found on it.”
“Well, if it was the boyfriend, he could have wiped off his—or used gloves,” Butts pointed out.
“Any other evidence we should know about?” said Lee.
“Nope,” said Chuck. “The crime scene didn’t give us much. But that’s not surprising. The water pretty much washes everything away.”
“Very clever way to dispose of bodies,” Krieger said. “Obvious but effective.”
“That’s not the only reason he does it,” said Lee.
“What do you mean?” Krieger said, her eyes narrowing.
“Water is important to him—it’s the only constant factor in every one of his crimes. I’m convinced it’s part of his signature.”
Krieger frowned. “Do you really believe in that whole ‘signature’ business?” Lee stared at her.
Butts spoke up for him. “What kind of question is that?”
“I mean the notion of these killers needing to perform a certain ritual in order to get satisfaction. It’s all a bit unscientific, isn’t it?”
“It’s not so much a question of ritual,” Lee replied, determined