“You think he licked her, Doc?” Slayberg asked.
Was that a bona fide q
uestion, or homicide humor?
“I think he may have spat on her,” Amy said. “If so, that would confirm my first guess about this man.”
“Which is?” Washington asked, softly.
“That he gets his satisfaction from the humiliation of his victims.”
“Victims, plural?” Wohl asked. “You think he’s done this before?”
“I think he has. For one thing, with the exception of killing the victim, which may have been-probably was-accidental, I think things went as he wanted them to go, as he planned them to go.”
“Why do you say that?” Wohl asked.
“Those plastic things he used to tie her to the bed. That and the knife. People don’t usually carry things like that around. He brought them to the apartment, intending to use them.”
Wohl grunted agreement.
“Let me put it this way,” Amy said. “Psychologically, this guy is the opposite of Isaac ‘Fort’ Festung.”
Who the hell is that?
“Fort Festung?” Coughlin asked, visibly surprised. “What’s his connection with this?”
“Bear with me, Uncle Denny,” Amy said.
“Your show, sweetheart,” Coughlin said. “Handle it any way you want.”
“When I was at Martha Pekach’s party, she told me that David was upset because he’d gotten another postcard from Festung. I guess he’s been in my mind since then. He’s another interesting character, psychologically speaking.”
“Harry,” D’Amata said, chuckling, “ ‘interesting character, psychologically speaking’ is doctor talk for miserable slimeball. ”
Wohl chuckled. Amy smiled at D’Amata.
Why do I know that if Inspector Wohl had said that, Amy would have snapped his head off?
“How, Joe, and why did Festung kill that girl?” Amy asked.
“Mary Elizabeth Shattack,” Coughlin furnished.
“He beat her to death,” D’Amata said. “With his fists.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t like her?” Wohl asked, mock serious.
“Screw you, Peter,” Amy said.
“She left him,” D’Amata said. “He couldn’t take that.”
“She was his possession,” Amy said. “And when she misbehaved-announcing she had found someone else-that was unacceptable behavior, and he punished her. Like you whack a dog with a newspaper when he poops on the carpet.”
“Sweetheart,” Coughlin said, “you’re losing me.”
“And then he stuffed her body in a trunk and just left it there,” Wohl said. “Where are you going with this, Amy?”