The In Death Collection Books 16-20 - J. D. Robb [573]
“Just thinking. He knew his victims’ schedules, their routes, their habits. Where they lived. And all but one lived without a partner.”
“Elisa Maplewood lived in a family unit.”
“Yeah, a family unit with the male portion of that unit out of the country. Maybe he factors that element in. He tailed them, yeah. Had to do some of that. And we’ve got Merriweather’s comment about the big, bald guy on her subway. But he could’ve done some comp research. Gather as much data as possible. He takes risks, sure—big ones. But they’re calculated. And the guy we’re projecting doesn’t blend. Merriweather spotted him. So I’m thinking he doesn’t do extensive fieldwork.”
“Preps as much as possible by remote.”
“It’s possible. Probable. He moved fast with Peabody. Faster, I think, than the others. That’s because she wasn’t the standard for him. She’s an add-on—prove a point because he was pissed. Or threatened.”
She stayed as she was, tilted her head to look up at the apartment windows. “And you know what else?”
“He didn’t know enough about her to know there was another cop up there. Waiting for her. Or enough about the neighborhood to consider someone might spot him and try to help.”
“Didn’t do as much research. Too mad, too threatened, in too much of a hurry.”
Eve angled back to look down the street. “She takes the subway most times, and she wouldn’t be looking for a shadow. He could’ve stalked her, like he stalked the others. But I don’t think it worked that way because she’d have made him. She’d have made a tail. She’s got good eyes, good instincts.”
“Hacking her address would cut back on the time, and the risk of being seen.”
“Yeah. And she was putting in overtime. You have to log any assigned OT. If he could get her address, he could get her schedule, because when I hooked her with Feeney and brought you in, I plugged it into the system.”
He took her chin, turning her head so their eyes met. “Eve.”
“I’m not blaming myself.” Or was trying not to. “I’m blaming him. I’m just trying to see how it went down, that’s all. He nails her home location, knows she’ll be late. If he knows all that, he knows she doesn’t have a personal vehicle registered in her name, and that she’ll most likely be on foot. So he comes here, parks, and just waits. Patient bastard. He just waits until she comes along.”
“Still risky. This street’s well-lighted, and she’s less than a half a block from her door. And she’s a cop, armed and able. It wasn’t smart,” Roarke said. “It wasn’t like the others.”
“No, with her—me—he was pissed. Prove a point, like I said. But at the base of it, he doesn’t figure she’ll give him trouble. Not like she did. She’s just a woman, and he’s a big, strong man. Take her down, take her down, toss her in the back of the van, and poof.”
She crouched down, laid her hand on the stain of her partner’s blood. “Where was he going to take her? Same place, same place he took the others, the ones before? The missings and presumeds.”
“She’ll have gotten a good look at him. She’ll be able to describe him more thoroughly, even more than Celina.”
Eve glanced up. “If she remembers. Head trauma, she might not remember. But if she does, she’ll make him. She’s sharp and she notes the details. She’ll be the one who takes him down. When she wakes up. If she remembers.”
Eve pushed to her feet. “Let’s see what the witnesses saw. We’ll take the female first.”
“Essie Fort. Single, age twenty-seven. Paralegal at Driscoll, Manning, and Fort. Tax lawyers.”
Eve worked up a smile as they approached the building. “You’re handy.”
“We do what we can.” He pressed the button for Fort in 3A.
While they waited, Eve turned, judged the distance between the door and the point of attack. A male voice came through the intercom. “Yeah?”
“Lieutenant Dallas, NYPSD. We’d like to speak with Ms. Fort.”
“I want to see your . . . oh, there it is,” the voice said when she held her badge up to the security cam. “Come on up.”