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Daniel Ott. This was our man. I was sure of it. “One last question, Ms. McKague. Would you be willing to share with me the name of the hotel where Mr. Ott is staying in New York City?”
After only a brief pause, she gave me the name and address of a chain hotel in the Flatiron District.
She also gave me Daniel Ott’s cell phone number.
“Ms. McKague,” I said, “thank you for your help.”
I meant it.
Chapter 86
The instant I ended the call to Omaha, my phone rang. Pam Lundsford from San Francisco PD was on the line.
She started right off with “These cases weren’t mine. The original detective, Sean Lynch, has retired since then. This case aged him. He left the force, but he’s never given up on it. His theory was that the killer left town. Maybe he was right.”
I agreed. It’s what he did while he was in town that I needed to pin down.
Detective Lundsford said, “I saw your homicides on CNN. Bad break that the killer you caught was a copycat. I hope this doesn’t kill your lead on the main suspect.”
“I have some new information there,” I assured her.
“Good, because I contacted the victims’ employers like you asked. No link to Computelex. I checked it four different ways and made sure the representative from the employer knew exactly what I was asking.”
Not the answer I was expecting. I explained that Computelex had just confirmed our killer’s presence in San Francisco at the time of both murders.
“I have an idea,” Detective Lundsford said. “Can I bring Lynch in? He might have another angle.”
“Sure. Either it’s going to be over soon or this lead won’t mean anything.”
After I hung up the phone, it rang again. Detective Alvin Carter from Atlanta calling. I answered it immediately. “You got good news for me, Alvin? I got confirmation from Computelex that a Daniel Ott was working in Atlanta on the dates of all five homicides, but I need more.”
Carter said, “Well…”
He was about to drop something on me. Most detectives can’t pass up a chance for a little dramatic pause.
Carter continued, “The victim who was murdered at a realtor’s office, Holly Jones? This was my case.”
I said, “I sense you’re about to impress me with some spectacular police work.”
“You have no idea.”
“Go ahead. Hit me with it.”
Alvin Carter said, “I canvassed the area after the homicide. Went a couple of blocks in each direction. One of the companies about a block away delivered wholesale flowers to florists and grocery stores all over Georgia. A really big operation.”
“And?”
“I called them. They did contract Computelex to combine their delivery van radios, telephone, and computer activity. It turns out the Computelex tech was there at the same time the killing spree was going on in this area.”
There was a long silence between us on the telephone as I let that information sink in.
I said, “Did you get a description of the tech?”
“Average-looking white guy. That was the best they could come up with. His name was Daniel Ott. He had to sign in every day for insurance reasons. No one at the company has given him a single thought since he left. He made almost no impact on them.”
I said, “I owe you a beer.”
“Catch this asshole and I’ll buy you a keg.”
