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Benitez grinned. “Sweet. Hey, good luck, Agent. I hope you get this asshole, whoever he is.”
Me too, Faith thought.
Inwardly, she shivered. A man who could dig a grave, bury a body, and fill the grave in a single evening had to be an impressive physical specimen. A man who could do it between nightfall and midnight would be a monster.
A monster like one Jethro Trammell, who once lifted a fully grown donkey over his head and another time killed one agent and nearly killed his K9 unit before paralyzing Faith from the waist down.
***
Faith and Michael worked through the names on the list, but as the day wore on, they still hadn’t found a lead. As the sun settled low in the sky, Faith decided to try another angle. She called the fire department and after a few minutes managed to get through to Marvin Prescott’s supervisor. After a brief hesitation, he agreed to meet the two agents at their station to talk about Marvin.
Gary Sawyer looked every bit the fire captain he was. He had the thick mustache (no beard), crew cut, and athletic figure that practically screamedI lift heavy things for work all day. He was possibly fifty, but looked in better shape than most men half his age.
Faith wasn’t here to admire his physique, though. When they reached his office—Faith declining the obligatory coffee, Michael accepting—she asked, “Can you tell me about Marvin?”
When she didn’t qualify the question, Gary asked, “In general? He was well-liked, hardworking, reliable. Kinda quiet, but not standoffish. The others called him Kid Brother because of his baby face.”
“Did he ever have a conflict with anyone?” Michael asked.
Gary shook his head. “No, never. Conflict really isn’t an issue here. Everyone gets along.” He cocked his head. “Well, in my division, at least. Some of the other stations have issues, but none of it comes over here.”
“So you can’t think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Marvin?” Michael pressed.
Gary shook his head. “No, I really can’t. Everyone liked him. I know that a lot of people say that about a lot of guys, but it’s genuinely true in Marvin’s case. Here at work, at least. Maybe he had something going on outside, but I wouldn’t know if he did.”
Faith moved on to the next subject. “Do you know a Dr. Barbara Ames?”
“Ames?” He crossed his arms and thought for a minute. “The name sounds familiar. What hospital did she work at?”
“Houston Regional.”
“Ames,” he repeated. “Yeah, I think so. She was on duty for a recent case of ours. She was an ICU doctor, but she would rotate to ER every now and then.”
“You said she was the ER doctor on a recent case,” Faith said. “Did Marvin respond to that case?”
“He was part of the team, yes,” Gary said.
“Who was the patient?” Faith asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” Gary said, mildly surprised. “You guys should know that.”
Faith sighed. “I realize that it’s typically a breach of HIPAA, but we need to know if the victims are connected, and if so, how.”
“So Dr. Ames is dead too,” Gary deduced.
“Yes,” Faith said, realizing she hadn’t said that yet. “Yes, both victims were killed, we believe by the same person.”
“I see,” Gary said. He took a breath. “Well. I can tell you the name of the victim and their emergency contact information, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let on that you got it from me. It’s technically still illegal.”
“We’ll keep it private,” Faith said. “Thank you.”
“You got it.”
Gary returned with a name, Joseph Campanelli, 19. He was survived by Daniel Campanelli, 44, his father. “I can’t imagine that Daniel killed anyone,” Gary said. “He was distraught, but he seemed the gentle type. Didn’t seem angry at us either. Even thanked Jackie, the team leader, when he dropped them off.”
“Quite a few serial killers seem polite and softspoken,” Faith pointed out. “That’s part of how they avoid suspicion for so long.”
Gary shrugged. “Well, you’re the detective. I hope you’re wrong about Mr. Campanelli, though. He seemed like a good guy.” He shook his head. “I have a boy about Joey’s age. He’s going to school at Arizona State. Football scholarship. I can’t imagine what I’d do if he got hurt.”
