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6
After they’d worked through the files for a couple of hours, an officer brought them a copy of the autopsy report. It didn’t offer any surprises. John Davis had died from the knife plunged into his heart.
They snacked on what they could find in a vending machine and kept working.
It was close to midnight when the chief returned. When he opened the door to the conference room, Alex noticed his surprised expression.
“I thought you’d be gone by now,” he said.
“I notice you’re still here too,” Logan said with a smile.
Gorman sighed. “We’re still at it. We started checking family and friends of prisoners Davis helped to incarcerate. The list isn’t long. Like you said, most of the prisoners are dead. The few still alive have been shunned by their families.” He looked at Kaely. “I know you understand. They don’t want to be associated with famous felons. They’ve built new lives and didn’t appreciate it when we contacted them. We were still poring through Davis’s books, looking for someone he might have slighted. But when you let me know he was careful not to mention people like that, we stopped.
We also contacted the author who coordinated the convention where Davis spoke last week, D. J. Harper. He’s coming in tomorrow so we can question him. Except for his wife, Harper is the last person Davis spoke to—as far as we know.”
“And you’re also looking closely at his friends, associates ... anyone who might have a reason to want him dead?” Logan asked.
“Of course, but Davis had a long career. He knew a lot of people.” Gorman sighed deeply. “His wife gave us a few names that didn’t check out. She put Evan Bayne at the top of the list. Problem is he lives out of the country now. Australia. That makes him an unlikely suspect, but we’re trying to contact him anyway.” He paused. “We really need you to point us in the right direction. So far, you’re not giving us anything we couldn’t have come up with on our own.” Gorman’s words were spoken sharply, his frustration evident. “When will you be able to give us your profile?”
Alex gazed around the table at the assembled group of analysts. They’d been going back and forth all day. She was convinced too many cooks were making the soup. “We should have something by noon tomorrow,” Alex said since everyone else stayed silent.
“Look, why don’t you all get some sleep, then come back bright and early?” Gorman said. “There’s a nice motel about four blocks from here. I’ll call and see if we can get you some rooms.”
“That’s a good idea,” Logan said, yawning. “Thanks.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Monty said. “I’ll stay with my grandmother.”
Alex smiled, but her germaphobia made it challenging to stay in motels and hotels. Still, she always packed her usual can of disinfectant just in case. Hopefully, the place wouldn’t be too bad.
“I think we’re pretty close to nailing this down,” Logan said after Gorman left the room. “But we need to stop worrying about how the UNSUB pulled this off and more about who he is.”
“I agree,” Alex said. “But it’s hard not to think about how this was planned and carried out. It’s so different. How an UNSUB carries out his crime is important. Part of his MO. It tells us a lot about him.”
“Yeah, I know,” Logan said. “I feel like we have pieces of it but not enough to understand it yet.”
“You’re right,” Alex said. “We need to stay focused on what we can understand.”
No one disagreed with her. They began to gather papers and photos taken from the files and dispose of their trash. By the time they were done, the chief was back.
“Got you some rooms,” he said, “but they only had one double room with two beds and one single with a connecting door. Can agents Quinn and Donovan share a room?”
“It’s fine with me,” Kaely said. “Is it all right with you, Alex?”
Although Alex was thrilled to spend some time with Kaely, she couldn’t help but wonder if Kaely would think she was weird if she wanted to disinfect the room. Unfortunately, it looked as if she had no choice.
“Sure. Sounds good.”
“I saw the vending machine wrappers scattered around the table,” Gorman said. “Not much of a dinner. So I called a local pizza place too. They’re going to deliver to the motel. Should be there not long after you check in.”
Frankly, Alex wasn’t sure she wanted to eat just before going to bed. Although her nightmares weren’t as frequent as they’d once been, she still had them. She silently prayed that God would keep them away tonight.
“Thanks, Chief,” Logan said.
Gorman gave them the address of the motel, and they got up to leave.
“Do you mind if I copy some of this before we go?” Kaely asked.
“No need,” Gorman said. “These are copies. I gave them to you in case you wanted to work on this outside of the station.” He looked at Logan. “And I’ll give you a digital file to send to the FBI.” Then he gestured toward the hard copies on the table. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that no one else is to see this information.”
