Page 14 of Already Lost

“Right,” Laura nodded. “That’s the onlything we can say for sure is premeditated – location and method. Once he hasthem, he knows what he’s doing. I’m just not sure whether he chooses themcarefully or goes for whatever he can take.”

Nate nodded agreement. “He must have thegramophone, record, and the weapon ready when he arrives. I’m guessing therope, too. I’m trying to figure out the logistics. Maybe he grabs them, throwsthem in a car or van, and then ties them up when he gets them out? It would bea risk, though, of someone fighting him off and escaping.”

“Not if he knocks them out,” Laura said.“We didn’t ask the coroner about bloodstream analysis – whether they weredrugged or something.”

Nate nodded. “Town like this, it’llprobably be a little while before they get the results back,” he said. “Ididn’t see any lab equipment in the morgue.”

“Me either,” Laura sighed. At least ifthere were any further tests required, they could expedite things by sendingthem off to an FBI lab. “But we can assume he has some method of keeping themcalm, somehow. Either drugs, or maybe some kind of promise or… I don’t know. Aconfidence trick? A lot of killers in the past have dressed up as lawenforcement.”

“This is too much speculation,” Nate said,shaking his head. “We’re going to end up chasing our own tails instead ofgetting anywhere close to the killer. The first thing we need to do is get thelab results back and see if they were drugged, and if they weren’t, then westart thinking about alternate possibilities.”

“Agreed,” Laura said. “I guess we need tolook at the MO instead. What he’s doing and how, once he actually has them. ButI don’t get it. This gramophone, the song – I don’t know what he’s trying totell us.”

“Maybe he’s not trying to tell usanything,” Nate said, with a wry smile in her direction. “Maybe he knows whathe means and that’s enough.”

“That doesn’t help us much,” Laura said,sighing. “Where do we go next?”

“Well…” Nate cast a glance all around andthen lowered his voice. “It would be mighty useful to know what the killer wasup to right now.”

Laura knew what he meant.It would beuseful if you had a vision.Which was all well and good – but she was goingto have to think of something that would trigger one.

Easier said than done, Laura thought,burying her head in her hands for a minute to think.

The evidence locker, she thought, snappingher head up – that was where she needed to go next. That was the only place shewas going to get any answers.

CHAPTER EIGHT

He sat down on the bare wooden boards ofthe attic and rested, feeling the peace of the silent space fill him for amoment as it always did. He needed it, today. He needed to breathe in the dustof the old memories there, to smell the past.

He rested his wrists across his knees,legs curled up in front of himself, feet crossed over on the floor. He couldhave leaned to one side or the other and put his weight onto one of the boxesaround him, but he did not want to disturb their slumber. The gramophones weresilent, waiting for their time. He saw them like elderly old performers, savingtheir energy for that one last show. He would let them rest until then.

He let his eyes drift closed, breathing inthe familiar air of the space. The attic was a special spot for him. A place hecould connect with the past, make it part of the present. It was almostmeditative. Another deep breath, and he let his eyes slide open lazily to takein the form of the edges of one of the gramophones.

He remembered dancing around the tiledfloor downstairs, his bare feet and his grandmother’s, whirling around in timeto the music. The way they swayed together to the old familiar tunes, always insilence. Sometimes she would sing along, her voice trembling and weak but thefinest thing he had ever heard. She would hook up one of her beauties everyweek – that was what she called them – and then they would dance, and for awhile everything would be fine.

He imagined them there in the space abovehim, the dancing dust motes in the air a background for their silent show. Howhe swayed first reaching up for her hands, then later reaching down, holdingher. He remembered how she would smile and sigh when she heard the music.

Until they listened to that song.

Every time, it was the end of the smilesand laughter. Every time, she would go still and quiet, then turn on him andyell. He was never good enough. He hadn’t cleaned his room. He hadn’t finishedthe food she lovingly prepared for him. He hadn’t had the top grades in hisclass at school.

He tried so hard to be a good boy, but nomatter what he did, he never seemed able to overcome his one major flaw in hereyes.

That he had been born male.

He closed his eyes to shut the memory outagain, watching himself fall to the floor in the wake of her slap and notwanting to see what came next. When he opened them again he was alone in theattic, the gramophones waiting around him like silent companions.

He blinked a few times like he was wakingup and nodded to himself. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and drew outa few folded pieces of paper, opening them and smoothing them out onto thewooden boards in front of him. They matched up exactly with the disturbed edgesof the dust, the outlines of where he had placed them last time he was up here.

He studied the map carefully, poring overit. He had marked out a number of locations that he knew would work, placeswhere he could take them. He had to take them somewhere, and these places wereexactly what he needed. Quiet, out of the way, somewhere they wouldn’t bedisturbed. But when the dancing was over, he needed to be sure they would befound.

He glanced over the spots again and tappedone of them, one he had marked out recently. He knew it was the right one tohead for next. It was obvious to him that it fit perfectly, and there was nosense in waiting. The way things were going now, all in order like it wasalways meant to be that way, he wasn’t going to argue.

He studied the other pieces of paperbriefly and then gave a decisive nod, folding them back up and replacing themin his pocket. He looked up then at the nearest gramophone, and gave it areassuring pat. Soon, its time would come. It was nearly time for it to playfor the last time.

CHAPTER NINE

Laura closed her eyes and tried to think.What was the most likely to give her a result?

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