Page 44 of Once Broken
“Exactly,” Riley agreed.“The killer needed him alive but incapacitated.Needed him to be found eventually, to discover the body, to recognize the scene fromThe Broken Window.That was part of the message.”
Hayes leaned against the wall, his expression grim.“So after securing Coonfield, the killer returned here and prepared the film.”
Riley nodded, turning back to the projector.“Made the slice that would cause the film to jam and burn through.Loaded everything correctly, just as Coonfield would have done.Then waited for Crystal Keene to arrive.”
Hayes nodded.“We found the outside door unlocked.So the victim could have entered without any help from whoever was in the projection room.”
“Exactly,” Riley said.“The killer could just stay up in the projection room until Crystal was seated in the theater below.She had no way to know it wasn’t Coonfield.”
She closed her eyes again, seeing the scene unfold.“Then the killer starts the film, letting it run normally at first.Crystal watches, unaware that anything is wrong.The film plays for perhaps twenty minutes, long enough for her to become fully engaged.Then, exactly as planned, the film catches in the gate.”
Riley opened her eyes, focusing on the melted section.“The frame burns through.The screen goes white.Crystal calls out for Coonfield, but of course, he doesn’t answer.After waiting, growing increasingly concerned, she decides to come up to the booth herself.”
Hayes straightened from the wall.“Walking right into the trap.”
“Right into the trap,” Riley echoed softly.“She enters, expecting to find Coonfield dealing with a technical problem.Instead, she finds the killer waiting for her.”
The silence that followed felt heavy, charged with the grim reality of what had happened in this small space just hours ago.
“The killer killed her with a garrote wire, based on this wound,” Ann Marie said finally, her gaze toward Crystal’s neck.
Riley nodded.“Quick, efficient.Once she was dead, the killer chained her to the projector—completing the re-creation of the scene fromThe Broken Window.”
“My God,” Hayes muttered, running a hand over his face.“The level of planning...”
“This wasn’t just murder,” Riley agreed.“It was craftsmanship.The same careful attention to detail we saw with Veronica Slate’s poisoning.”
“And it’s personal,” she emphasized, her voice firm with conviction.“These aren’t random theatrical murders.First Veronica Slate, poisoned like her mother’s character inThe Night Walker.Now, Crystal Keene was murdered like the critic inThe Broken Window.Both connected to Roberta Rimes’ legacy, both killed in ways that reference specific films from that era.”
Riley paused before offering another idea.
“Film is the killer’s very life.They live, breathe, and eat motion pictures.They love the way movies make stories come to life.They love the way movies make their magic, the same way a stage magician makes his audience believe his tricks are real.They love turning make-believe into something that seems realer than real.”
The words seemed to fall out of Riley’s mouth, and she herself was surprised by them.She wasn’t even sure exactly what she meant.But it came from a strong gut feeling.
She turned to face Hayes directly.“You already know Malcolm Hartley isn’t your killer, Detective.He was in a jail cell when this happened.He’s still there even as we speak.And he wasn’t involved with the killings in any way, not even indirectly.He may be guilty of running a dark web extortion operation, but these murders require a different kind of obsession—a decades-long grudge connected to Roberta Rimes’ testimony before HUAC.”
Hayes didn’t immediately refute her assessment, a stark contrast to his defensive posture the previous day.The second murder had shaken his certainty, forced him to reconsider his theory of the case.
“What do you need?”he asked finally, his voice subdued.
“I need to talk to Malcolm Hartley again,” Riley replied without hesitation.“Not about his obsession with Veronica or his extortion business, but about what he discovered in his research on Roberta Rimes.Specifically, the names she gave during her HUAC testimony.”
Ann Marie added, “If we can identify who Roberta named, we can trace their connections—find out who might still harbor enough resentment to exact this kind of elaborate revenge decades later.”
Hayes considered this for a long moment, his gaze moving from the carefully staged body to Riley’s determined expression.“I’ll arrange it,” he conceded.“I’ll call ahead, have them prepare an interview room.”
“Thank you,” Riley said simply.
Hayes nodded, then stepped outside the booth to make the call, leaving Riley and Ann Marie alone with Crystal Keene’s body.
“You really think Hartley will tell us?”Ann Marie asked quietly.
“I think his obsession with exposing Roberta’s secrets might outweigh his hatred for Veronica,” Riley replied.“Especially if we appeal to his expertise, his pride in the research.Make him feel like the authority he always wanted to be recognized as.”
Ann Marie glanced at her watch.“It’s almost seven.How long do you think it will take Hayes to set up the interview?”
“At least an hour,” Riley estimated.“Maybe longer, considering Hartley’s lawyer will need to be notified.”
