“I heard the killer’s voice though. He yelled at her, told her to shut the fuck up. That she was a stupid bitch.”
“Well, we know he has zero liking and tolerance for women,” she noted. “Wait. Does that mean he hasn’t cut her vocal cords?”
“I was wondering that myself.”
“Anything about the property? Maybe it’s remote enough that he didn’t need to keep her quiet.”
“I saw the window again,” he told her. “But I’m wondering if it could have been on other buildings, not necessarily a church. It’s possible, but I’m not sure what else to make of it though. I don’t know. I’ll take a look around today. I deal with a lot of architects. Maybe somebody would have an idea.”
“If you get a lead, let me know,” she stated.
“Got it.”
“About running out of time—the last thing we want is another victim.”
“Do you have anything to go on?”
“Maybe,” she replied. “At least I think so. Things are moving now, and, with any luck, we can find her fast.”
“Says you,” he snapped. “All I can tell you is that she won’t last another day.”
She whispered, “But that’s not unexpected. I’ll let you know when we get anything solid. And please let me know if you get anything more.”
“I will,” he promised and then hung up, staring out at the city he both hated and loved. Right now, it was a toss-up as to how he felt. Always the dark side was present, with so much promise and so much potential, yet, at the same time, so much less than what it could be. All he wanted was to see the good in people and to find and heal the wounds of everyone around him—including the wounds of the buildings he rehabbed.
But he had learned a long time ago not to waste his time, energy, or money on foolish projects. Now he stuck to the ones that he could do something about. And, with that note, he tossed back his coffee and started his day.
Chapter 16
Kate walked intothe meeting and dropped her file atop the conference room table. Everybody turned to look at her, and the sergeant smiled.
“Nice of you to join us,” he teased gently.
She flushed but stood resolutely. “I know that everybody here understands about Simon, and I get that we’re divided on if we believe him or not. But he did just connect with her again.”
“Her, the victim?” Owen asked in his decidedly neutral tone of voice.
She appreciated the fact that he was at least being neutral about it. She nodded. “Yes, it seems like in this conversation she thought Simon was God and kept pleading for him to take her home. Essentially that she was done and wouldn’t last much longer. He definitely got the impression that she was dying and didn’t have more than one day.”
A shocked silence came from the others, and then they slowly nodded.
“Given the wounds we’ve seen on these other victims, it’s really not a surprise. Did she say anything more?” Colby asked.
“Not a whole lot. Simon did catch a glimpse of the same window again, but he’s wondering if it could be in something other than a church. He said he would take a drive around himself today and talk to some architects he knows.”
At that, they looked at each other in surprise.
“You know what?” Lilliana said. “An architect would be a good idea. He’s in the building industry, so we’ll leave that to him.”
“Simon’s pretty upset,” Kate muttered. “In that latest session, he did hear a man yelling at her to shut up. And called her a fucking bitch.”
“So, a degenerative attitude toward women, which also goes along with this torture, then murder MO,” Lilliana agreed. “A short temper and likely frustration and finally being done with his prey.”
“Yeah, Simon got the idea that the killer was done with her, as in he would get rid of her soon.”
“So, either we’re out of time or it’s already too late?” Rodney asked.
“I don’t think it’s too late,” she noted, “at least not when he talked to her.”