The in Death Collection Books 11-15 - J. D. Robb [672]
“It’s too early for them to target that way. The first wave involves personal agendas.”
“Gotta be,” Feeney agreed. “You start up a group like this, people are risking a hell of a lot. Most aren’t going to do it just on a principle. They need some payback first. Have to have incentive for the rank and file. You’ll have some raving fanatics, too. Sociopaths who just like the idea of taking somebody out without getting bloody.”
“Disciples,” Roarke continued, “eager to follow the path. Frustrated cops, city officials, social workers, and the like who’ve seen the guilty walk away free once too often. And some, I’d think, who are simply intrigued, intellectually, at the idea of this sort of man-made selection.”
“They’ve got their first wave in place.” Eve gestured to the board. “Working quickly. My opinion is they’ve infected or set to infect their entire first wave by this time. Give their membership bulk gratification, quick and multiple successes, and keep the media hot on the story. Focusing on targets who have, in some way, victimized children is very deliberate. Even cops have a different attitude when the victims are children.”
She looked at the board again.
“According to statements from the knock-on-doors, Hannah Wade was first seen in the building ten days ago. It’s possible she was there longer as her parents haven’t seen or heard from her in three months. They didn’t bother filing a police or CS report on her this time. She was a habitual runaway. McNab, you’ll review the building’s security discs and pin down the exact date she took up residence with Greene.”
“On that.”
“I want to know how often she came and went, and who else visited Greene in the last two weeks. We have a list of her known associates from her parents. Peabody and I will run those. Baxter, see if any of the cops of record who questioned Greene will reach out. Feeney, Roarke, and the kid will continue to work to extract data from the units we’ve impounded.”
“We’re eking it out,” Feeney told her. “We should have enough to dupe the virus in another eight, ten man-hours.”
“Keep me up on that. The Green/Wade hit follows the basic pattern. Greene was holed up in his place for the last five days. Building has live doormen on eight to midnight, in three shifts. Droid handles the graveyard. None of them saw Greene come or go in that space of time. Statements indicate this was unusual for him. He generally went out most days, and at least five nights out of seven. Third shift man verifies Greene brought a girl matching Wade’s description home with him ten days ago, and that she appeared to come and go freely from that time. No one recalls seeing her exit or enter yesterday.”
She turned. “Crime scene record, screen one.”
The image that popped on was stark and grisly. The white-on-white living area was splashed with blood. Broken glass sparkled in thin rivers of it that had snaked and spurted their way over carpet. Overturned tables, a smashed entertainment screen, lush tropical plants that had provided a contrast to the white but were now uprooted set the stage for the girl’s body.
She had been flung facedown, arms and legs spread. Her hair was long and curly and had once been blonde with sapphire highlights. Some of that gold and blue still showed through the matted blood.
Eve heard her own voice detailing the scene, saw herself step into view, and crouch by the body.
“You can see the illegals scattered over the rug. What appears to have been a hospitality bowl was found, broken, in this living area. Traces of substances identified as Jazz and Erotica were still in the damaged bowl. Switch to bedroom record.”
The disc shifted, showed a large, sun-washed room done in blacks and reds. The sheets on the bed were torn off. The desk unit’s monitor faced the recorder, and read:
ABSOLUTE PURITY ACHIEVED
“A smaller bowl, undamaged, can be seen here on the dresser. Various illegal substances