The Guilty (Will Robie 4)

“I haven’t heard about these killings,” said Robie.

“We made the decision not to publicize it. We didn’t want the killer to know that we believe them to be connected. The person might go deep underground if that information got out.”

“And you’re sure the murders here are part of the pattern?” said Reel.

“We can’t be certain, you understand. But I’ve worked a lot of these cases and the similarities are pretty solid.”

“But even so, my father did have a motive to kill Sherm Clancy,” said Robie.

“But not Janet Chisum,” countered Wurtzburger.

“In the other cases was there a longtime gap between the murder of the girl and the killing of the older man?” Reel wanted to know.

“Not as long as in this case.”

“But in the other cases the girl and the older guy were connected? They were having sex. For payment?”

“Yes. The murders in New York took place at the same time. The bodies were found together. In the other cases, the two murders were separate, one by as much as three weeks.”

“So, similar but different,” said Robie.

“You think that’s important?” said Reel curiously.

Wurtzburger said, “In my experience, when serial killers take pains to create a pattern, they must have a really strong reason to deviate from that pattern.”

Robie said, “Okay, we just have to find out what that really strong reason is. And if we do that, then maybe we find our serial killer.”

Chapter

47

ROBIE SAT ACROSS from Reel in his room at the Willows.

It was a bit before dinner, and they could hear Priscilla clanging pans in the kitchen downstairs.

They had not seen Victoria or Tyler.

The chirp of cicadas reached them from outside. The air was warm and humid, the sun settling down into the west but not wicking away even a bit of the moisture with its descent.

Reel watched Robie’s gaze flick around the room.

“What?” she asked.

He turned to find her staring at him.

“I know that look, Robie. Something’s in your head.”

“This was her bedroom.”

“Laura’s?”

“Yes.”

“You could have tried to talk to her before you drove off into the sunset, you know.”

“What was the point? She’d obviously made up her mind.”

“I’ll forgive your naïveté, since you were only eighteen.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I could explain but it’s over twenty years too late, so I’m not sure what the point would be.”

Clearly frustrated by her response Robie changed the subject. “How do you want to do the Chisum thing tonight?”

“Pretty basic. We get there early and nail whatever and whoever comes along.”

“And if it’s a serial killer?”

Reel shrugged. “I don’t discriminate. I’ll nail him, too.”

“Do you really think this is a serial killer’s work?”

“I don’t know. Wurtzburger presented a pretty compelling case. Although, as you pointed out, there are differences this time.”

“Something is still bugging me.”

“What?”

“My father won’t say whether he was driving the Range Rover that night.”

“Does that really matter? Do you think he killed Clancy?”

“If he didn’t, why wouldn’t he say whether he was driving that night or not?”

“He’s a complicated man. Like father like son. We still need to find Pete.”

His phone buzzed. It was Taggert.

The phone call in question had been untraceable. She wanted to know the significance of it.

Robie said, “I don’t know if it is significant. But now it’s a dead end.”

He clicked off and looked at Reel.

“Maybe we should bring the cops in on this,” she said.

“Taggert is good. But I don’t know about the rest of them. And I don’t want this to get screwed up. It might be our only shot.”

“Okay,” said Reel.

There was a knock on the door.

Robie answered it, revealing Victoria standing there in jeans, a white short-sleeved blouse, and heels.

“You two have time for a drink before dinner?” she asked. “Or do you have to keep on staying behind closed doors conspiring?”

They followed her downstairs, where there was a pitcher of vodka martinis on the rear verandah.

Victoria drank hers down. Robie sipped on his. Reel just held hers.

“We saw my dad today,” said Robie.

Victoria looked at Reel. “And what did you think of him?”

“Wasn’t like I had time to psychoanalyze him.”

“Your gut reaction.”

“Good guy, tough, proud, unbending. Doesn’t suffer fools gladly or any other way.”

Victoria looked impressed. “You have a perceptive gut.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“So, do you think you can find out what really happened to Sherman Clancy?”

“I hope we can.”

“Making progress?”

“Little by little.”

Victoria finished off another vodka martini.

“Where’s Tyler?” asked Reel.

“In his room. He was tired today. Think it’s the heat. Even if you’re used to it, it can wear you down. I guess that might be why life is slower down here. If people move too fast, they’ll just melt.”

* * *

After dinner Reel went back to her room and Robie joined Victoria on a walk of the rear grounds. They ended up next to the pool where they sat in low-slung lounge chairs.

“Jessica seems like someone you can depend on,” said Victoria.

“She is. And I have.”

“You two are tight?”

“As tight as anyone I know.”

“Good, Will, we all need somebody like that.”

“Did Dad talk to you about his idea?”

“You mean the one where Tyler and I get the hell out of Dodge?”

“Yes.”