Page 55 of Cold Threat

“Maybe he’s nearing the end of his mission?”

“That’s a possibility, but we can’t be certain.”

“Okay, assuming he’s not diabetic, where is he getting the insulin?” Tony asked.

“It’s really not difficult. Walmart sells insulin without a prescription. And it can be ordered online from Canada, although I think you’d have to drive to Canada to buy it. If you order it online, you may have to have a prescription.

“Or, he could be working in some kind of medical facility that has insulin. A hospital or a pharmacy.” River crossed her arms. “But they’re pretty careful to watch their supplies. If he’s a doctor or a nurse, he could be fiddling with the files. You know, saying he’s giving someone insulin but giving them water instead. It’s been done.”

Tony stared at her, his eyes wide. It made her laugh.

“Sorry. You weren’t working the case we had several years ago. The nurse killing patients in Rhode Island? For a while, the special agents working the case thought she was using insulin as a way to kill patients, but no vials were missing. It sparked my interest, and I did some research on how someone could obtain it without a prescription.”

Tony laughed. “You had me worried there for a moment. No matter how much you trust your partner, knowing they could kill you and get away with it can make you a little nervous.”

River grinned at him and held up her right hand. “You have my word I won’t kill you. Relax.”

“Thank you.” Tony stared at her for a moment. “Okay, let me ask you this. If you’re buying insulin ... online ... in Canada ... or even at Walmart, wouldn’t there be a record of it?”

“You’d think so. Of course, the person buying the insulin is probably not using their real name. I’d say our guy isn’t. He’s too smart for that. It’s not hard to come up with a fake driver’s license or some other kind of I.D.”

“But what he can’t do,” Tony said, “is to hide from the cameras pharmacies have. If he’s buying it, not stealing it, there might be a way to track him.”

“My guess is your father is already looking into that. He knows about the insulin.”

“You’re right,” Tony said, “but I’d like to be sure.”

He got up, took his phone out of his pocket, and started to make a call. But suddenly, he stopped and put his phone down.

“What’s wrong?” River asked.

“My dad left his glasses on his desk,” Tony said. “He only wears them when he reads.”

River frowned at him. “And that’s important why?”

Tony picked up the glasses and turned to look at her. “I think I know why Sandra Cooper said the man who tried to kill her had red eyes.”

River shook her head, feeling confused.

Tony put his father’s glasses on. “The killer must have been wearing glasses, River. Sandra got a look at him after he set the fire. The flames showed up in the glasses.”

It made sense. “I think you’re right, but I’m not sure how much that will help us. A lot of people wear glasses.”

“I realize that, but every time we learn something new, it puts us just a little bit closer.”

“I agree.”

Tony picked up his phone again so he could call his dad. While he did that, River walked over to the corkboard and looked at the pictures she’d gone over so many times before. They were getting closer to understanding the UNSUB, but they still couldn’t figure out what connected the victims. What was the killer avenging? What did they have in common? Until they knew that, it was entirely possible that more people would die.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

Tony hung up the phone after talking to his father and rejoined River, who was staring at the crime photos again.

“I think we’ve memorized these pictures,” he said. “See anything new?”

She shook her head slowly. “No, but I’m looking at them again anyway. With the new information we have, I’m wondering if the thing that connects our victims is staring us in the face.”

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