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“Right, this police officer wants to see the chief.”
“Can you ask him to come back here?”
A malicious smile passed across the young man’s features. “That’s the first thing I did, Doc. The police officer declined, without explanation. Come to think, though, he looked a little green when I suggested it.”
“I’ll go out front,” said Williams, and he hurried off with Kyle right behind.
Five minutes later Williams returned with a nervous-looking uniformed patrolman in his wake who was introduced by Williams as Officer Dan Clancy. Williams looked strick
en. “We might have an ID on the girl from the picture we circulated,” he said, his voice trembling slightly as they all stared at him. “Looks like she worked briefly at the Aphrodisiac.”
“The Aphrodisiac?” exclaimed King.
Williams nodded. “As an exotic dancer. Her ‘stage’ name was Tawny Blaze. Not real imaginative, I know. Her real name was Rhonda Tyler.” He glanced at the paper in his hand. “Tyler worked there for a while but left when her contract was up.”
“Will the person who recognized the picture come down and attempt to make a positive ID?” asked Sylvia. “Although with the state the body’s in, I’m not sure that’s possible. But if—”
Williams cut in. “That won’t be necessary, Sylvia.”
“Why not?” she demanded.
“We were told she has a distinguishing mark.” Williams looked embarrassed.
It hit Michelle in an instant. “A tattoo of a cat next to her…?”
Williams’s mouth gaped even as he nodded.
“Who was the person who provided the information?” asked King.
“The manager of the Aphrodisiac. Lulu Oxley.”
Now King’s mouth gaped. “Lulu Oxley! Junior Deaver’s Lulu Oxley?”
“How many Lulu Oxleys do you know, Sean?” asked Williams.
“I know her too,” said Sylvia. “Well, we used to have the same gynecologist.”
Williams said, “That’s not all. We got a message from the Wrightsburg Gazette. They received a letter.”
“What sort of letter?” asked Michelle nervously.
“A coded one,” replied a very pale Todd Williams. “With the mark of the Zodiac on the envelope.”
CHAPTER
11
KING ACCOMPANIED
Williams to the police station to look at the note while Michelle stayed behind with Sylvia and Deputy Clancy to go over the autopsies already performed on Canney and Pembroke.
During the drive to the police station King called Bill Jenkins, an old buddy of his in San Francisco. When he made his request, his friend was understandably surprised.
“What do you need that for?” Jenkins asked.
King glanced at Williams and then said, “It’s for a criminal justice class I’m teaching over at the community college.”
“Oh, okay,” Jenkins said. “After all the excitement you and your partner caused last year, I thought you were messed up in something like that again.”
