Page 81 of Inside Silence
“Look,” she mitigates, recognizing the doubt on my face. “He’s probably a really nice kid and exactly the Dudley-Do-Right he appears to be, but so was Ted Bundy. Remember that evil can hide right under your nose.”
I scoff. “Boy, aren’t you a barrel of laughs today.”
She bends her head and presses her thumb and index finger against her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m tired and eager to get this case off my desk. It’s been so slow going, and now we finally have something to put our teeth into.”
“I hear you, but let’s not do that at the expense of my deputy,” I propose. “At least not without some evidence.”
“Fair enough. Do you have a space where I can set Chris up to upload what he has so far? And, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a look at the schedules and dispatch logs for the last few weeks, leading up to each of the murders, at some point. But first I think you and I should pay Mr. Kingma a visit, see if we can convince him to come in so we can get a print off his work boots.”
I grab my ball cap, my keys, and my cell phone, leave the crime tech in Brenda’s capable hands, and lead Tessa to my cruiser. I’m hoping like hell I’m not wrong about my young deputy, because judging from the determination on the agent’s face, she likes him for this.
“What motive?” I ask her when I get behind the wheel. “I can tell KC raised some flags for you, so let’s play this out. What could possibly have caused him to turn like that?”
She shrugs. “In my experience, it doesn’t have to be much. Both sociopaths and psychopaths are sometimes able to fly under the radar for the longest time because they can be charming, and use it to manipulate. Yet, something as simple as a careless remark, or a perceived offense can suddenly set them off. Psychopaths tend to be a bit more detached and impulsive, but either can quickly turn to violence. For sociopaths there is usually a reason they resort to extreme violence. Psychopaths, however, might find satisfaction in the act of violence itself, and are therefore more likely to repeat behavior to elicit the same sense of gratification without any provocation.”
She sounds like my psychology professor. One of my elective college courses was called The Mind of a Serial Killer. It was one of the most popular courses at the time, because of the TV show Criminal Minds. Everybody wanted to become a profiler.
She catches me looking over and immediately winces.
“I’m sorry, I was lecturing, wasn’t I? My kids always accuse me of doing that.” She shakes her head and returns her focus out the windshield. “I’ve always been fascinated by the human mind, and I have a tendency to talk too much when I’m into something.”
I flash a grin at her.
“No worries. Profiling always fascinated me too, but I have to admit, I don’t think I’d be cut out to chase killers day in, and day out. It invades every aspect of your life.”
She chuckles.
“Tell me about it.”
I pull up to KC’s apartment building behind the grocery store plaza, scanning the parking lot for his black Chevy Blazer, but I don’t see it.
“I don’t see his car, but I’m just going to knock on his door to make sure,” I announce as I turn into an empty parking space.
Tessa gets out of the cruiser with me and falls into step as I walk up to KC’s main floor apartment door. I ring the bell and knock a few times, but there’s no answer.
It’s Saturday, you’d expect a young guy to be out and about, enjoying his day off.
So why does the silence on the other side of the door feel foreboding?
Nate
* * *
My body is stiff from sitting hunched in front of the computer screen for most of the day.
At least the three-dimensional renditions of Savvy’s house are finished, both present and future versions. I haven’t used the software in a while, so it took some time to relearn how to work certain things, but I was able to come up with two possibilities to maximize her living space and improve the flow of the house. I’ve even priced them both, one option more expensive than the other. Both would give her an open concept living space with a very similar kitchen layout. In the more expensive version, I’ve included a large window wall at the back of the house to continue to flow onto the new back deck. The most substantial difference is the addition of a vaulted ceiling, exposing the beams and trusses, creating the illusion of more space with the same footprint.
In both versions the bathrooms get a facelift, but the finishes are more elaborate and expensive in the second one.
And finally, I didn’t change the exterior much in the first one, just a nice door, a lick of paint, and a bit of landscaping. But on option two I’ve added an enlarged, modern beam portico over the front door that leaves space for a bench or a small seating area and adds a ton of architectural interest to the property.
I’m actually pretty pleased with the way both options turned out. These plans don’t really change the footprint of the house, leaving it possible to add a larger main suite at some point in time, if that’s something she’s interested in doing.
A quick glance at my phone screen tells me it’s after five already, and I haven’t even changed out of the sweats I put on this morning. I should have a bit of time to hop in the shower and let the hot water work on the knots I put in my neck and shoulders before Tate gets back.
Twenty minutes later I head downstairs, properly dressed and feeling a lot better after a nice, pulsing water massage. Tate’s not here yet, so I check my phone to see if there are any messages, but there’s nothing new. Nothing from Savvy either, so I send her a quick message.
