“Yes.”
“Do I recall correctly that Anna’s neck was broken, too?”
“Yes.”
“And am I right in assuming that both girls’ necks were broken ‘accidentally’?”
“So to speak. Both were small girls, and he would appear to be very strong. The bruises on their throats indicated that he meant to strangle them. There are better ways to break a neck, if that’s your intent.”
Marion pondered that silently, and they went on to discuss other things, including the fact that Helen Mills had discovered nothing about any boyfriend in Anna’s diary; that Anna, Mary Beth, and Lillian shared a similar petite build and hair coloring; and the mysterious crescent-shaped symbols carved on Anna’s and Mary Beth Winthrop’s bodies.
Later, when his wife had changed into a silk peignoir that matched her green eyes, and Bell was watching with growing interest as she let loose her hair, Marion suddenly said, “But . . .”
“What?”
“But what if the murderer was interrupted just after he strangled Lillian? What if someone came along before he could . . . do what he wanted with his knife?”
“Then we would have three murders in a row,” Bell answered soberly. “And be one closer to counting how many.”
“How many victims he has already killed?”
“Exactly.”
“How will you do that?”
“I’ve got to figure out how to get Mr. Van Dorn to gather our forces.”
“What will it take to convince him?”
“More evidence.”
11
Isaac Bell banged a perfunctory knock on Joseph Van Dorn’s door and shouldered through it. The Boss glanced up from his desk, took one look at his Chief Investigator’s expression, and spoke into his candlestick telephone. “I will call you back later.” He hooked the earpiece, and asked testily, “What’s on your mind, Isaac?”
“I’m ready to broadcast an All Field Offices Alert.”
Van Dorn shook his head. “Field Offices Alerts are as urgent as ‘All hands on deck’ in a hurricane. But ordering every operator in the agency to drop everything to act on orders from the top is disruptive—even excusing those engaged in gunplay. That is why we seldom issue them, and then only for the most pressing matter.”
“We have evidence of three similar murders of young girls in three separate cities,” said Bell. “I’m not waiting for a fourth.”
“Two possibly similar murders,” Van Dorn shot back. “And one unlikely link in Boston. I said last week, Isaac, and I’ll say it again, it’s a police case. Let the police handle it.”
“It’s gone beyond the cops.”
“Why?”
“Three murders in three cities,” Bell repeated. “Local cops rarely talk to local cops in the next precinct, much less neighboring cities. And never across state lines.”
“What are you driving at?”
Bell replied to Van Dorn’s question with a question of his own: “How do you get us federal government contracts?”
“By spending ridiculous amounts of time buttering up government officials in Washington while the rest of you have a fine time being private detectives.”
“Those officials are buying something priceless from you. Priceless and unique.”
“What is that, may I ask?”