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“Come in,” she said, thinking speak of the devil, though Faz was ordinarily not one to knock. The door pushed in. Johnny Nolasco stood in her office doorway. He looked like he was chewing nails.
Ugh what's up his butt now?
Nolasco shut his eyes for a beat, a tic that could be unsettling. “Well, that might be, but Chief Weber didn’t ask me to reassign Vic.” “No?” Tracy said, confused for a moment before the developing picture emerged. “No,” Nolasco said. “She told me to help you.”
Oh. Well that's just GREAT lol.
“Anyone else?” Tracy asked, not even pretending to be taking notes, which seemed to unnerve Nolasco. His gaze kept shifting from Tracy to the pen and pad of paper resting on her desk.
Hah. I love it.
“Did you tell Lisa Childress about the angel’s wings carved in the victims’ shoulders?” Nolasco laughed as if he found her question so ludicrous as to be comical. “Tell me why that is important, or relevant to catching the killer now?” He also didn’t answer her question.
Sure didn't!
“Let’s also get a young officer to monitor the tip line and work with the original spreadsheet. Someone also computer savvy. They can do all kinds of things now we couldn’t do back then.” Was she mistaken, or did Nolasco damn near sound helpful?
Sure does. What's up his sleeve?
Tracy had always likened Nolasco to a reptile—thin, cold blooded, and scaly—but maybe he had an ounce of human decency.
Hehe
Childress. The reporter’s name is . . . Lisa Childress. An odd duck, Nolasco recalled, but not afraid to ask tough questions.
Ooh we getting a micro Childress prequel?
“Nolasco was at the bottom of the hill holding a pail that would never catch all that shit. The guy was a lot like you.” Tracy felt like she’d been slapped. “Nolasco and me alike?” “Now you stepped in it,” Del said to Faz. “Don’t give me that look. Let me explain,” Faz said. “I think you better,” Del said. “She might have to revoke your godfather status for insanity.”
Hah. Heck yeah
In return, they blamed him for the separation and impending divorce, the long hours he spent at work. No doubt their mother had put that thought in their ears. He didn’t tell them about their mother’s affair, which he had confirmed. He didn’t think it fair to them.
Well damn. Getting me to feel sympathy for this dude
She looked down the street at the cars and the news van, then back to the house where Nolasco stood on the porch, his head tilted back, blowing smoke into the air. A cigarette dangled from his fingers. He ran his other hand through his hair, examined it, then looked to be rubbing off loose strands. She was beginning to more fully understand the amount of pressure Nolasco had been under.
Could they actually make peace?
Dan was sitting up in bed, reading on his Kindle. “I wasn’t sure you were still awake,” she said. “Got caught up in a good book. I’ll pay for it in the morning.
Hah. I know the feeling.
“Vera, let me call you back in a minute. Tracy just stepped into my cubicle looking like an addict in need of a fix. Yeah. I will. Okay.” Faz hung up the phone. “Vera says hello and ‘Don’t do drugs.’”
Lol
“Crosswhite?” Nolasco had that chewing-nails look again. Then he said, “Nice work back there.” It was as close to a thank-you as she was ever going to get.
Shocking haha
He went to the tenth victim, Mary Ellen Schmid, and read Cesare’s notes. Then he read the notes for Regina Harris, the eleventh victim. A note from Cesare caught his attention. He scrolled to the twelfth victim, which had a similar note. He pressed the arrows, moving to the thirteenth victim, quickly reading each line, and seeing the notation yet again. “Holy shit,” he muttered.
Ugh what, what ??
Kay liked this
He took a deep breath and blew it out. Sitting back. The task force was over. They were told to shut it down and turn in any material related to the investigation. Going after this kind of lead . . . nothing but trouble. Especially for Moss. Besides, the killer hadn’t killed in a year. The percentages were he was either dead or incarcerated, and those percentages increased each day. Probably received a life sentence. Probably never again see the light of day. And hopefully, neither would the disk.
Oh you freaking weasel!
Several newspapers remained unretrieved in his driveway. Tracy wondered if the uncollected newspapers were evidence McDonnel had anticipated what the DNA would reveal and had already left town.
Dude's probably dead
Nolasco stood in the middle of the basement staring at Dwight McDonnel, who hung from a rope wrapped around an overhead beam. At his feet was an upended wooden step stool.
Hah. Called it.
Nolasco would not get his chance to look the son of a bitch in the eye and tell him he caught him. McDonnel had evaded Nolasco’s wrath one final time.
Unless he's not the killer, which I'm sure he wasn't
Tracy had come to the same estimate, though not necessarily the same conclusion that McDonnel killed himself to avoid prosecution. Again, not that she was going to say anything now. She’d let Nolasco fume for a while. He had a right.
Smart.
You let Weber know?” she asked. Nolasco had. “She’s setting up a press conference for this afternoon.” “Still seems premature, Captain. Especially now.”
I agree ! You guys are way too antsy. This is too easy a solution and only Crosswhite sees it.
“What beef did he have with the other victims?” Nolasco opened his mouth to speak, then caught himself, as if uncertain. “Why did he have to have any? He wasn’t about to come back to the strip once he knew we were watching it. So, he changed tactics and went someplace else to satisfy his sick urges. Why do you have a problem with this?”
Because it's too damn easy! And the real killer would still be out there.
Nolasco turned back, pointing at her. “You just can’t stand it, can you?” “What?” The change in his tone, now more accusatory than upset, confused her. “You can’t stand the fact we got McDonnel and you can’t take the credit for it. The great Tracy Crosswhite didn’t solve the case.”
Oh gimme a break, Nolasco! Use your head!
“You’re right,” Tracy said. “The chances are less than minuscule. So why not wait until the ME finished processing McDonnel’s body? Weber rushed the press conference to beat the articles the Times intended to run. What’s a few more days when we’re talking decades?”
Exactly!!
“The circumstances aren’t the same, Tracy,” Faz said. “This time we have DNA.” “I know, Faz. And I’m hoping you’re right. I’m hoping Nolasco is right. But I have a feeling about this. I don’t know why, but I can’t deny it.” Faz was silent for a moment. Then he said, “This one time, I hope your intuition is wrong.” “So do I,” Tracy said.
We all know she's not wrong
When Childress went silent, Tracy asked, “Something else, Anita?” “I was just thinking about my mom.” “What about her?” “Still some things that I haven’t resolved.” “Such as?” “Who attacked her the night she lost her memory and went missing.”
Aha. Great question.
Maybe it was as Nolasco had said; McDonnel was the killer but did not intend to spend a day in jail or give Nolasco the satisfaction of apprehending him. Or maybe McDonnel couldn’t take the media’s intense scrutiny, the inability to go anywhere without being hounded.
I'm going with the latter.
it clear he wanted everything followed up.” “Did you ever follow through with Moss? Ask him if he called the tips you marked with an asterisk.” “I don’t remember, Tracy.
Nope he didn't Tracy!
She held up the disk. “I know you didn’t send me this disk. And I know you didn’t put it into storage, though the log indicates it was part of the box of documents you submitted. The question is, who had it, and why did they send it to me? And what else do they know about this case, Moss?”
Exactly what I wanna know
“Unfortunately, you might have been right about it being prudent to wait before we broadcast the news about McDonnel being the Route 99 Killer.”
Of course she's right
Nolasco swore again. “This can’t be. It can’t be the same guy.” Tracy remained silent. Nolasco exhaled his frustration. “I guess you called this one. This guy took the reopening of these cases as a challenge and came out of hiding.”
Well duh
“The DNA was conclusive,” Nolasco said, his voice a controlled fury. “Conclusive. Melton confirmed it. McDonnel is our guy.”
Again with this?? Give it up!!
“Well, somebody in this room better get some certainty, because I just stood in front of the families of those victims last Friday and told them the killer of their loved ones had been identified. Were you wrong?”
Oh you harpy! This is all YOUR damn doing!
“That’s what I hear. Love to give the Yakima a run again, but it’s been decades. When’s the best time of year to go?” Nolasco asked, and Tracy wondered if his question had a purpose or if he was just being friendly.
Definitely a purpose. Trip him up. Testing
The killer had not switched prey to taunt the task force or the Seattle Police Department. He’d switched prey because he’d learned the names of several of the women who had served as special assistants and with whom Edwards was suspected to have had affairs. The article had become the Route 99 Killer’s kill list.
Oh crap.
Tracy was hesitant but the caller continued. “You won’t be disappointed. I have information on Mayor Edwards no one else does.”
Hmmm. Who could this person be?
Tracy recognized the woman and understood immediately why she couldn’t come to Police Headquarters or be seen in a public place, and how she could have information on Mayor Edwards no one else had. She also better understood Lisa Childress’s notes. Credible source. Pissed off. Girlfriends. Willing to talk. “Mrs. Edwards,” Tracy said.
Ohhh his wife!! Haha.
Nolasco might not have thought to do it. Crosswhite might not be his favorite person, but she was a good detective, dogged and determined. She thought outside the box, and she wasn’t afraid to take chances to get the job done. He respected how well she performed her job.
That's a great start, Nolasco!
He read the name of the student in the second row on the far right. Michael Montemayor. His hair was black. He had no facial hair or glasses, but it was definitely and undeniably him. “Son of a bitch,” Nolasco said under his breath. “Goddamn son of a bitch.”
Ugh who is it?! Moss?
Augustus Cesare had a service pistol pointed at Tracy’s head.
August?!? Damn I so shoulda seen that coming! Right up under their noses the whole time!
She glanced at Weber, but the chief of police would not meet her gaze. “She found the confession Cesare put by the computer.” Nolasco gave her a sidelong glance. “They had to have changed the name at the bottom to Cesare instead of the mayor.”
Omg she's so dirty
“He’s going to walk,” Tracy said under her breath. “The son of a bitch is going to walk.”
Put a stop to it!!
