Page 41 of Cold Threat

“The morning might be best,” River chimed in. “Better light. Ray, what about footprints? It was snowing.”

“Nothing. With the fire department trying to put out the fire, we couldn’t find anything that could help us.”

“Okay, Dad,” Tony said. “We’re getting back to work. We’ll plan to look over the scene in the morning.”

“Sounds good. See you both later.”

Tony disconnected the call but stared at his phone for a bit.

“What are you thinking?” River asked.

“First of all, I can’t believe he actually left a syringe behind. Why? He’s always been so careful.”

“Yet he’s human,” River said. “It was just a matter of time before he messed up.” She frowned. “I wonder if he realizes it.”

“I have no idea,” Tony said. “It depends on how frantic he is now. Someone survived. He might not figure it out right away.” He shook his head. “Here’s something else that’s bothering me. We think we understand why the Snowman sets fires. It’s not only as a way to express his anger, but it’s also his method to destroy evidence. But the houses aren’t his actual target. He isn’t trying to obliterate them. Some of them were still standing after he was done. That means he’s not afraid that anyone will be able to figure out how he got in. Why?”

River leaned back in her chair and frowned. When she wasquiet like this, he knew she was thinking, so he stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt her. He watched her for a few seconds, but then he finally looked away. Her brown hair with its blonde highlights framed her delicate face while she pursed her full lips and furrowed her forehead as she considered his question. Tony felt his heart thump in his chest and was afraid his expression would give him away. He valued their friendship ... actually, their partnership. If River ever found out that his feelings for her were more than friendly, would he lose her? He couldn’t ... no, wouldn’t ... take that chance. If she ever walked out of his life, he felt as if his heart would stop beating. He knew it was wrong to think like that. He’d given his life to Christ and had no intention of taking it back. He was aware that almost anything could become an idol ... even the love you felt for another person. No matter what, he couldn’t allow anyone but God to be first in his heart. That would truly destroy him.

“We’ve assumed that the victims didn’t let the Snowman in because they were found in bed,” River said finally. “Normally, I’d suggest that we might be jumping to conclusions since he could have forced them back into bed and then injected them. But two things make that seem unlikely. First of all, there were couples killed. I’m wondering why one of them didn’t jump to the defense of the other.”

“And what about the youngest victims here?” Tony said. “The Craigs. They were in their forties.”

“Mr. Craig could have overpowered the Snowman. And you’re right. Even when the victims were older, one of them could have called the police while the other dealt with an intruder.”

“Right,” Tony said.

“So, it seems that he is getting in without alerting the homeowners.” River shook her head. “I think we can rule out one of the ways Dennis Rader obtained access to houses. He posed as a telephone repairman to gain his victim’s trust and get inside. Butthat was during the day. Not at night. Somehow, the Snowman gets in very stealthily, without causing any damage to doors or windows.”

“We can’t rule that out completely since sometimes the house had so much fire damage it was impossible to see any signs of forced entry.”

“Yet when doors or windows that survived fire were inspected, entry that way was ruled out.”

“You’re saying that probability tells us something else is going on,” Tony said slowly. “What is it?”

“Remember the next-to-last case we worked before we left the Bureau?” River asked.

Tony tried to remember. The last case was the Salt River Strangler. Was there really life before that?

“It was the serial rapist in California.”

Tony thought back, but it was difficult. He was finally able to pull it up in his mind. “The man who got into homes by taking pictures of keys.”

“Yes, he followed his victims to bars or restaurants and when they got up to dance or go to the bathroom, he took their purses into the men’s room where he took pictures of their keys.”

“And then sent the pictures to an online company that makes copies of keys from photos and mails them out.” Tony sighed. “Only cost him eight dollars.”

“Cost him even less to strip a woman of her dignity and her sense of safety.”

Tony frowned at her. “You think this guy is doing the same thing? The first murders happened before this way of getting someone’s keys became available.”

“That’s true,” River said, “but I think he’s acquiring their keys somehow. It’s just a thought. Wouldn’t be hard to do now.”

“You could be right, but how is he getting in and out of houses without being seen?”

River shook her head. “I don’t know. If we could just find some kind of connection between the victims, we might be able to figure this out. But no matter how many times I look through this file, I can’t see it. I know it’s here somewhere, but I feel like the information we need is either missing or not obvious enough.” She slapped the file down with apparent frustration, and it accidentally slid off the table. “Sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to get so irritated. I think we’re veering off into our jobs as private investigators. We need to focus on the profile. Let your dad and his officers figure out the rest.”

Tony bent down to pick up the pictures that had fallen on the floor. “I know you’re right, but it’s hard not to use every weapon in our arsenal to stop this guy.” He straightened up and looked into her eyes. “I really want this guy, River. Not just for my dad and the victims, but also for us. We need this, you know?”

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