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“I do. That doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally get annoyed with trying to pin him down when I need an answer right away. Griffin has a habit of lending him out to other law-enforcement organizations. This time it was Scotland Yard, and I couldn’t get a callback from him.” She grinned. “But I’ll bet you’d get a callback since he works just a few cubicles over from you. Griffin said he even sent you a gift basket at the hospital.”
“He did. I guess the one you sent got lost in transit.”
“Well, it happens. What did he send? Chocolates?”
“Better. The latest set ofStar WarsBlack Series collectible action figures.”
“Wow. From one geek to another.”
“You know it.”
“Well, if the two of you can tear yourselves away from yourStar Warsfigures and his murderer trading cards, maybe you can identify any patterns that can help us with our case. But I really wish you’d just try to get some rest.”
“Not an option. Not after what happened to Cynthia Strode and all the rest. I’ll call if we come up with anything.”
Metcalf ended the call.
Kendra turned to Lynch. “He could hardly wait to get rid of me. I believe he may be turning into as much of a geek as Suber. I’ll bet we’ll hear from one or the other of them very soon.”
“Maybe,” Lynch said. “But it takes a certain drive to maintain the geek mentality. Don’t think you’re out of the woods where he’s concerned. He may be caught up in Suber’s mystique at the moment, but that’ll fly out the window the second you walk into the room. Geekdom might go down the drain.”
“Cynic.”
He shook his head. “Realist.”
“Well, I’m sure his mother is also a realist and will make sure that he knows I’m not worthy. By the time he’s no longer bedridden, she will probably have arranged for him to meet someone she does approve of.” She was heading for the door. “I’ve no intention of worrying about it either way. We never did get around to going down to Olivia’s and asking her to fix us that salad. We got too busy that night.”
“You could say that,” he said grimly. “We’re going to try again?”
“Unless you don’t want to.”
“I always want to see Olivia.” He opened the door. “And I haven’t paid my respects to Harley lately. I wouldn’t want Olivia to be offended…”
***
10:40A.M.
Next Day
“Really, Kendra, I would have returned your call,” Trey Suber said the minute Kendra picked up the phone the next morning. “It would have been discourteous not to, and you shouldn’t have intimated to my friend Metcalf here that I was being rude because I’d made new associates at Scotland Yard. You know that you and Lynch come first with me.”
“Of course,” Kendra said. “And Metcalf defended you and insisted on calling you and proving how cooperative you’d be if you realized how we needed your help. Did he tell you the problem?”
“Naturally, and he’s on this Zoom call with me because we tackled your problem and worked all night to solve it.”
“Indeed?” Kendra said. “Then I’m doubly grateful. Hello, Metcalf, I believe I told you not to work too hard.”
“It wasn’t like work,” Metcalf said. “It couldn’t have been more stimulating. Is Lynch there? He’ll want to hear what Suber has to say.”
“I’m here,” Lynch said. “Kendra called me and told me she’d had a text from you, Metcalf, setting up this call from our old friend Suber. I drove right over. But I admit I’m ready to hear this solution…immediately.”
“Well, perhaps not quite a solution,” Suber said. “But I might be able to give you more of an idea on what we’re dealing with here. Until recently, we thought Barrett was working alone on his murders. Now we’re faced with the likelihood that he was working with someone else. Are you familiar with the Alpha-Beta partnership dynamic?”
“We’re just beginning to be,” Kendra said. “A team in which one partner allows himself to be dominated by the other.”
“Exactly. It’s rare in the serial killer world, but not unheard of. The silent partner stays in the background, pulling the strings. Their first step is to find someone with an intense interest in serial killers and their crimes.”
“Someone like you?”
