Page 66 of Counter Attack

“Let’s make it now,” he said.

She motioned for Nathan to join them as they stepped away from the teens. Alexis squared her shoulders. “I need you to investigate a shooting at my office.”

“What?” He frowned, but Nathan couldn’t tell if it was from concern or surprise.

Alexis quickly filled her deputy in. “Take Dylan and Taylor when they finish here and see what you can find.”

“Do you think it’s the person who killed Gina Norman?”

She crossed her arms. “I’m hoping you can tell me.”

So was Nathan. Someone was out to kill Alexis, and they had to find out who before the person succeeded.

36

Alex strode toward the crime scene, recognizing the ME and glad Hamilton County had sent Dr. Edwards. Dylan and Taylor had joined him, and as she and Nathan approached, Dylan held open a clear plastic baggie. Edwards used tweezers to move a card from the victim’s shirt pocket to the baggie.

“Afternoon, Doc,” she said. “Thanks for coming so quickly.”

He looked up from his work. “I hope this doesn’t get to be a habit,” he said dryly.

“Me too.”

Dylan sealed the evidence bag and handed it to Alex. “It’s another chess move, signed by Phame again.”

She studied the chess notation. “I understand this move—it’s an opening—but I don’t understand the strategy or the point the killer is trying to make. The notes before were clear—one side or the other made a stupid blunder, and the killer was making fun of the police. But this one...” She held the note out to Nathan.

He took the baggie. “The move is the Queen’s Gambit—White is trying to sacrifice a pawn early to get better winning chances later.”

She pictured the moves she was looking at on the chessboard she’d memorized. “Okay ... got it. So what’s the point?”

“It depends on which color the killer is playing—White or Black.”

“Why do you say that?”

“If the killer is playing White, it’s great if Black takes the pawn because in the next move, White will take out Black’s center pawns and that gives White a direct move on the king.”

“What if the killer is playing Black?”

“If he takes the White pawn, he won’t keep the advantage—he’ll lose the center, and keeping the center is the pawn’s most important job.”

“Would that make Black lose the game?”

“Not necessarily, but it will make it harder for Black to win.”

So why would Black take the White pawn? She stared at the ground, trying to make sense of the note. Alex didn’t know a lot about the game, but she knew Black didn’t have to take the White pawn. So why would he make a move that cost him the center and make defending his king harder? She looked up into Nathan’s concerned eyes. “Maybe the challenge is what it’s all about for this killer.”

“Could be, but what if it has to do with the name the media has given the killer?” He pointed to the card with the chess notation. “That move is called the Queen’s Gambit. Maybe it’s a copycat killing and the killer thought that move would make it tie in with the other murders better.”

“Hey, Alex,” Dylan called. “There’s another copy of that clipping about Phillip Denton in his pocket.”

She half turned as the CSI approached and handed her another baggie with the clipping that she really didn’t want to look at again.

“Someone is really trying to tie these last two murders to Phillip Denton,” Nathan said.

“Which makes me suspicious that they have nothing to do with him. But why?”

“Could be the Norman murder is from the Queen’s Gambit Killer,” Nathan said and turned toward the crime scene. “And this is a copycat...”

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