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She nodded. “The reach-around might have been awkward for anyone else. I suspect you’ve probably had that training.”
“It’s a favored method for eliminating sentries.”
“Hmm. You’re speaking with uncomfortable authority on this topic.”
“Uncomfortable for the sentries, maybe. So how did you know about the gloves?”
“Disposable nitrile gloves give off a distinct odor. The intensity varies from batch to batch, depending on the manufacturing impurities. You used them in your FBI days. I’m sure you know the smell.”
“Actually, I do. But I never thought the odor was that strong.”
“Like I said, it depends. When I was blind, I often knew what doctors were in the room based on the brand of gloves they wore. My dermatologist now uses a purple grape-grip style that is especially recognizable.”
“‘Grape grip’?”
“I have no idea what it means, except they’re purple. Grape grip is what it says on the box.”
“Huh.”
“Anyway, that smell was still in the air at Jackie’s apartment,” Kendra said.
“Very good. I guess it’s good he chose nitrile rather than latex.”
“Latex has its own odor. Chlorine, mostly, that gets left over from the cleansing process in manufacturing.”
Lynch gave a low whistle. “How can you possibly know that?”
“It’s like I’ve told you, when you don’t have vision to make your way in the world, everything else becomes that much more important. And the hows and whys become much more interesting to find out.”
Lynch nodded. “To you more than most, I suspect. But please go on.”
“There were two fresh blood droplets on the ceiling just inside the front door. Nowhere else. They were tiny, but I’m pretty sure that’s what they were. Probably splatter wounds inflicted from a killer standing in the open front doorway. If the killer had merited an invite, he probably would have waited until he was safely in the apartment.”
“Reasonable.”
“After she was disabled, he closed the door, moved her, gagged her, and let her bleed out where we found her.”
“Okay, but why should we pay special attention to residents in the apartment downstairs?”
“When we were in there, I could easily hear footsteps and movement upstairs, but almost nothing from the apartments surrounding it. The building obviously has very little noise dampening between floors, so we’d be much more likely to get useful information from the downstairs neighbors than from those next door.”
“Good. I’ll pass these along to Griffin. You did a great job,” he said gently. “He might want to follow up with you on some of these things.”
“I did the best I could. In the meantime, I’ll keep thinking and analyzing.” She shivered. “I just don’t want to be the one to make a mistake if it means he’ll be able to zero in on Tricia.” Her hands tightened on her cup. “Jackie said that she’d be a target, and after tonight, nothing could be more clear than that she knew how this particular demon thinks.” She felt sick. “Every time I think about what he did to Jackie, I want to run out and gather Tricia up and hide her away. I didn’t even like Jackie Gabert, but no one should be able to inflict that kind of punishment and death on another person.” She had a sudden panicky thought. “How do we know he’s not going after Tricia while we’re sitting here?”
“Because I checked on her living arrangements and she lives at a dorm on campus with another girl,” Lynch said. “He’d have to make special arrangements to go after Tricia, and he was busy tonight. Take it easy. We’ll face that problem tomorrow.”
“Yes, we will. First thing. I’m going to be at that pool when it opens tomorrow morning,” she said. “I’ll call and leave a message on her phone that I want to see her before she starts practice. And we need to talk to Griffin about surveillance for her. She appears to be principally at the pool area, and that should be checked out.”
“Then we’ll do it,” Lynch said. “It’s going to work out, Kendra.”
She nodded. “I know.” She corrected herself. “Not true. But I know I’m going to try like hell. When am I supposed to expect Griffin?”
He checked his watch. “In about five minutes. Do you want to handle him by yourself, or do you want me to stay?”
“I don’t need you. Stop coddling me.” She tossed him a burgundy velvet throw from the couch. “Drape that around yourself and get out of here. You may look a little flamboyant, but it’s better than having Griffin and his detectives running into you parading around here half naked.” She called after him, “And I don’t want to have this problem again. Use your damn key, and don’t come here without bringing a change of clothes.” She held up her hand as he opened his lips. “Stop being so weird. I realize you don’t want to pressure me. That’s not going to do it.”
“I didn’t think so.” He grinned at her as he draped the velvet throw around his upper body, tossing the end dashingly over his shoulder. “But I didn’t want to take a chance. See you tomorrow morning.”
