Page 52 of Flashback

Metcalf was smiling. He always enjoyed these displays. “Surely that can’t be all.”

“Well, did anyone find a pair of eyeglasses?”

Perry cocked his head. “Eyeglasses?”

“Yes. She wore glasses, and the perp took the time and trouble to refrigerate her with her glasses on after he killed her. That’s why it’s so strange she’s here without them. He may have kept them as a souvenir, or they may have just fallen off while he was bringing her here. Hard to say, but it’s something to look out for when you start talking to suspects.”

Griffin shared a quick glance with Perry and Metcalf. “Good. But before we start searching old waterfront buildings, I’m going to need to know how you arrived at all this.”

“Sure. Well, she’s obviously been refrigerated. There’s skin discoloration but no decomposition odor, which I’m sure I would have picked up.”

Griffin nodded. “You don’t need to convince me of that.”

“But I did pick up a faint whiff of ammonia on her. A lot of older walk-in cooler systems used almost pure ammonia in their pipes as a refrigerant. But as they age, the ammonia can start seeping out in small quantities.”

“How on earth would you know that?” Perry asked.

“Hamburgers. There was a restaurant near where I went to school that had an ancient walk-in cooler. The lettuce and tomatoes had a slight off-taste that drove me crazy. It was from ammonia leaking from the refrigeration system. It’s not a smell, or a taste, you ever forget.”

Perry grimaced. “I guess not.”

“There are also a few rust flakes in her hair, which I’m guessing came from that cooler or the old building where he kept her until he was ready to bring her here.”

“Good,” Griffin said. “But what makes you think she was brought here by boat?”

“First of all, it just makes sense. It’s half the distance from the waterfront to the playground by boat than it would be by car, with much less chance of being seen and getting caught. But the cashmere sweater she’s wearing is a magnet for the chipping paint we can see on the sidewalk and railings along the waterfront.”

“How about the eyeglasses?” Metcalf asked.

“Another effect of the refrigeration. There’s more discoloration on either side of her nose bridge, and even more behind each ear. Marks left by eyeglasses. I didn’t see them anywhere around there.”

“We’ll comb the entire park,” Perry said. “But I pulled up her driver’s license photo a while ago, and she was wearing a pair of cat’s-eye glasses. I suspect those are the ones we’re looking for.”

Kendra nodded, and she suddenly felt a wave of sadness cascading over her. She’d wanted to be here, she reminded herself. But now she just wanted to get the hell away.

“Ready?” Lynch asked.

“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

Another helicopter!

Rod Wallace reached into his pocket to bring out his binoculars. He knew he was taking a big chance by staying this close. But that was part of the thrill. Anyway, he had it all planned. All he had to do was get to the next street and then move onto the boat he’d left down at the dock.

And the risk was worthwhile. How he’d missed this heady feeling of power as he’d reached out and taken life after life. It had been stolen from him and he bitterly resented it. No one had the right to take that power from him.

He was getting a text message. He was tempted to just ignore it when he saw that it was Victor Krebb, who was probably going to whine at him. But he decided he’d better reply because this area was crawling with cops and Feds and he might need him to help him to escape. “I’m okay, Victor,” he said when he took the call. “One more block. Just have the boat ready.”

“Are you crazy?” Victor was almost screaming. “I warned you against doing anything like this. Another murder? How can I keep you safe when you show up as if you’d never left here? The last thing we want is to have them all looking for you again. What in the hell are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I needed this. I deserve it,” Wallace said simply. “I’ve missed the feeling it gave me. It’s really quite exhilarating. Now stop yelling and find me a safe house where you can whisk me away from my acquaintances from the FBI. So sad I can’t consider them friends any longer.”

“Don’t get near them,” Victor muttered. “You’ll end up at Leavenworth. Just get the hell to the boat.”

“I’m on my way.” Wallace glanced at the sky. Another helicopter overhead. One more block and he’d be on the boat and making plans to go after that final victim who had been getting in his way since she’d appeared in his life. Did she actually think she could bring him down?

Don’t worry, it won’t be long now, Kendra…

CHAPTER

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