After about fifteen minutes of searching, something caught his attention, snagging it more firmly than anything else had. It was a business article from several months earlier, mentioning a controversial real estate development that had generated significant public opposition. The project was designed to replace low-income housing with luxury condominiums, and the article listed several prominent investors who had backed the deal.
"Hey, I think I found something," Miles said, his excitement building as he read through the article. "There's a real estate development deal that connects three of our victims."
Vic looked up from her laptop. "What kind of connection?"
"According to this article, both DeWalt and Thornfield invested in a development project with Vance's firm. The deal was controversial because it would displace low-income families."
"That's the kind of connection we're looking for," Vic said, her fingers moving quickly across her keyboard. "Let me see what I can find in the public records about this development."
Miles continued reading through the online coverage of the development deal, noting the names of other investors and the specific objections raised by community groups. The project had generated significant media attention and appeared to have stalled due to legal challenges.
"Here we go," Vic said after a few minutes of database searching. "Patricia Vance was spearheading the development herself through her company. The project was delayed due to a claim of fraud filed by an attorney named Marcus Holloway."
"Marcus Holloway," Miles repeated, making a note of the name. "What else can you find about him?"
Vic's fingers flew across the keyboard as she accessed multiple databases simultaneously. "Holloway was representing several of the families fighting the deal. According to the courtfilings, he claimed that Vance's company had misrepresented the environmental impact assessments and had failed to properly notify residents about the displacement timeline."
Miles searched for additional information about Holloway online, finding several news articles and press releases related to the case. The attorney appeared to be genuinely committed to representing the affected families, and his public statements suggested he saw the development as emblematic of larger problems with San Francisco's housing crisis.
"Found something else," Miles said, reading from a news article on his screen. "In a statement to the media a few months ago, Holloway called the deal 'greed that suffocates the innocent.'"
Vic looked up sharply. "Greed that suffocates the innocent. Given that our victims were literally suffocated under gold coating, that's either a remarkable coincidence or our first real lead."
"The language is definitely suggestive," Miles agreed. "And if Holloway was representing families being displaced by a project that all three victims were involved in, he'd have intimate knowledge of their business practices and personal information."
"Plus he'd have motive," Vic added. "If he genuinely believed these people were destroying lives for profit, that could provide the psychological justification for targeting them."
Miles continued searching for information about Holloway, finding his law firm's website and several professional profiles. The attorney appeared to specialize in housing rights and had a history of taking on cases involving tenant displacement and predatory real estate practices. As he learned more, Miles could feel the case taking shape, starting to surge forward.
"He's got the right background," Miles observed. "Housing rights attorney with a track record of fighting developers. If ourkiller is motivated by a sense of justice for the economically disadvantaged, Holloway fits the profile."
"But does he have the technical knowledge to pull off these murders?" Vic asked. "The gold leaf application I saw on the victim this morning requires sophisticated chemistry and metallurgy skills."
"That's something we'll need to investigate," Miles said. "But remember, if my periodic table theory is correct, we're probably dealing with multiple perpetrators working together. Holloway could be providing the target selection and motivation, while someone else handles the technical execution."
Vic saved her database searches and closed several application windows. "Either way, Holloway is definitely worth talking to. If he's not involved in the murders, he's still someone who has detailed knowledge about the victims' business practices and the specific ways they've harmed people." Placing her laptop bag into the back seat again, Vic said, “You ready to get moving?”
Miles nodded. Whether Holloway was a suspect or simply a valuable source of information, he clearly had insights into the victims' activities that could help them understand the killer's selection criteria and motivation.
"Should we call ahead?" he asked, hating how naïve and uninformed he sounded.
"No," Vic said, pulling out of the parking space. "I prefer surprise visits for initial interviews. You learn more when people don't have time to prepare their answers."
Miles buckled his seatbelt as they exited the parking garage and merged into San Francisco traffic. Their improvised mobile office had produced exactly the kind of lead they needed—a connection between all three victims and someone with both motive and opportunity to target them.
As they drove deeper into the hills and mazes of the city, Miles reflected on how quickly their investigation had gained momentum. His periodic table theory had provided the analytical framework, while Vic's field experience had guided them toward practical investigative steps. Together, they'd identified a promising lead in less than an hour of focused research.
The breakthrough he'd been seeking for three years was finally within reach, and Marcus Holloway might be the key to understanding the first piece of a larger puzzle that might very well stretch across the country.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The drive through San Francisco's hills took them away from the gleaming towers of the Financial District and into neighborhoods where Victorian houses seemed to cling to steep slopes. Miles watched the city transform outside the passenger window as Vic navigated the narrow streets with practiced ease. The further they traveled from downtown, the more residential and modest the area became, until they found themselves in a neighborhood where working-class families had managed to maintain their foothold despite the city's relentless gentrification.
Marcus Holloway's address—gathered from the mobile database—led them to a narrow street lined with modest single-family homes, most of them built in the 1940s and 1950s when San Francisco still had room for middle-class families. Vic pulled to the curb in front of a small, well-maintained house painted in faded yellow with white trim. The front yard was tiny but carefully tended, with a few native plants and a small vegetable garden tucked beside the front steps.
The house itself was an unpretentious single story with a small, covered porch that looked like it had been added decades after the original construction. The front windows were framed by simple white shutters, and the roof showed signs of recent repair with newer shingles that didn't quite match the weathered originals. Everything about the property suggested someone who maintained their home carefully but without excess resources.
"This is definitely not the house of someone getting rich off predatory real estate deals," Vic observed, studying the modest structure through the windshield.
