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“Good morning to you, Airman,” she replied.
“You can call me Leo when no one else is around. I meant to tell you yesterday during lunch, but everyone was monopolizing your attention.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” She remembered her motto. Be aware. “There was a lot for me to process yesterday.”
“I understand. How did you make out in the stacks?” Leo was referring to the massive binders at the library.
“I learned a lot about serial killers.”
“Ew. Gruesome.”
“That’s exactly what my mother said.”
He gave her a suspicious look.
“Don’t worry—I didn’t divulge anything that wasn’t already public knowledge.” She pulled her chair out. “I simply mentioned Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, and a few other evil beings. Not great dinner conversation, I can assure you.”
Gonzalez grunted and replied, “True dat.” He looked at the clock. Exactly eight o’clock. “Captain Chen should be here . . .” His voice trailed off as the door swung open. Gonzalez snapped to attention.
“At ease,” Chen directed. “Good morning, Drake. I take it you examined our data?” She noticed he had a thick file under his arm.
“I did, sir. Question. Isn’t this information in an electronic database?”
“It is.”
Melanie was puzzled. Then why have her comb through binders?
He moved toward the front of the room. “Everything is in a database. Everything we already know. But you will be working on new cases with new information. I wanted you to get a feel for digging into the subject. Having access to a database can make a researcher lazy. It also doesn’t promote the detective’s coming to their own conclusions.”
Melanie thought he made a good point. She felt the same way about writing something down. She processed the information better.
“Yes, I see what you are driving at. Personally, I still embrace the art of taking physical notes.”
For the first time, Chen smiled. “Good. I’m a pencil and paper man myself.”
Good. Something in common, Melanie thought.
“Today I am going to give you a hypothetical case. There will be photos and evidence. I want you to give me your best evaluation of the perpetrator.”
Melanie nodded. She hoped the photos weren’t too gory.
He continued. “You will have the entire day to answer the questions and then write up a summary. I want it on my desk by seventeen hundred hours.” Before she had a chance to ask, he added, “Airman Gonzalez will bring your lunch, and you can use the bathroom facilities outside the door. You are not to discuss this with anyone. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.” Boy, did she wish she could use the word “crystal.”
He tossed the file on the table in front of him. “Have at it.” He saluted the airman and left the room.
Melanie let out the air she had been holding in for what seemed like an eternity. She didn’t know if she should speak to Gonzalez, but he beat her to it. “I’ll be on my way. If you are in dire need of anything, please hit three-one-one on the speed dial. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be back around eleven hundred to take your lunch order.” He smiled. “I’d go with the club sandwich if I were you.”
“Roger that. Make it a club sandwich.” Melanie smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
Gonzalez left the room. Melanie stared at the three-inch-thick folder in front of her. She began to spread the documents across the long table. They were in no particular order, which she assumed was part of the process. Figure it out. All of it.
She checked the questions first, so she would know exactly what she had to look for. Good move. Then she began to sort the reports by incident and laid the evidence out in chronological order. Locations of death were different in every case. Different towns, different states, but the MO was similar. All the women were found on the side of interstate highways, which gave her the idea the perp was a truck driver. All the women were also waitresses at low-end eateries, but not at truck stops. Still, that didn’t eliminate her theory of a driver. He could have parked his vehicle elsewhere. All the crimes were committed in the late hours of the night, and none of the victims were married. She looked over at one of the walls, where there was a map of the United States. She took a washable marker and pinpointed the locations where the murders occurred. It appeared the killer was someone traveling across the southwest section of the country.
Several hours passed as she went through records of cross-country haulers. She eventually came to the conclusion the killer was not an eighteen-wheeler driver, but someone driving a box truck. A truck that could get in and out of places easily, as opposed to a big rig. By noon, she was ready for her sandwich, and like clockwork, Gonzalez entered the room with a tray. “Chocolate milk?” he asked.
“How did you know?” Melanie was a chocoholic but had made no mention of it. At least she didn’t think she had.
