Hothouse Orchid (Holly Barker 6)

“Dinner tonight?”

“We seem to be making a habit of that.”

“I’ll take you to the Yellow Dog Café, up near Melbourne.”

“I like that place.”

“Seven o’clock?”

“You’re on.”

Josh was on time, and they got into his car for the thirty-minute drive.

“I think I know where your rapist/murderer got the injection gun,” he said.

“Where?”

“At our hospital. There was a routine inventory of medical equipment this afternoon, and an injection gun was missing.”

“Wouldn’t someone have noticed that before?”

“No. It’s not the sort of equipment that’s used every day; it’s pretty much limited to flu-shot clinics and school vaccinations, that sort of thing. You wouldn’t pull it out and load it for a single injection.”

“That’s interesting information. I’ll pass it on. There was another murder last night, on the Jungle Trail.”

“Jesus, where is this going to end?”

“Either they’ll catch him, or he’ll stop.”

“Stop? Why would he do that?”

“It happens with serial criminals. Sometimes they get arrested and convicted on other charges. Years can go by. Sometimes they get nervous about getting caught and just back off for a while. Sometimes they hit a new locale, and hope new killings won’t get paired up with old ones. There are more uncaught serial killers in this country than you’d imagine. Sometimes they move to another state, in midcareer; sometimes they go on for years, like Ted Bundy.”

“That’s a depressing thought.”

“Yes, it is. Cops get depressed a lot.”

“Do the police have any advantages against this guy?”

“Sure. There are more cops than murderers; they have good forensic tools. What usually happens is that the killer finally makes a mistake, and the cops pounce.”

“Would a reward help?”

“Probably not in this case. Nobody who knows this guy knows he’s doing this. He works alone; he’s probably unmarried and living alone or with his elderly parents, usually a mother. He probably doesn’t have a regular girlfriend, so he’s not getting sex in a normal way. And he’s smart and careful. He’s been using condoms, so there’s no sperm sample for DNA testing.”

“I wish there were something I could do to help,” Josh said.

“You’ve already helped by telling me about the missing vaccination gun. You might keep an eye out for a man who comes in with scratches on his face or arms. Sooner or later, some woman will fight back.”

“He seems to render them unconscious almost immediately,” Josh pointed out.

“Yes, but he’s got to make a mistake sometime; every criminal does.”

“Is somebody checking up on police officers?”

“Yes, the local detective in charge of the case has already canvassed his department and all the neighboring departments, and he’s come up dry.”

“Do you have a gun?” Josh asked.