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So was Adam Long.
But Nate Stephens? That was a shocker.
And who was the fourth guy? The name wasn’t familiar, nor did it—
Wait.
Pulse hammering, she fumbled for Les’s list in her drawer. Pulled it out. Zeroed in on the one entry she’d been unable to identify.
Yes!
The initials and date matched.
This was the missing piece.
But who was he? Where had he died?
And why was Alison’s husband on this list?
Mind racing at warp speed, Bri resorted to Google.
A number of hits came up for Larry Walters.
Age sixty-two, he’d died in a boat fire seventeen months ago. A longtime lobbyist, he’d lived in Springfield, Illinois, for most of his life. Cause of the fire had been listed as accidental, and drugs and alcohol had been found in his system during the autopsy.
Same as the verdict for all the other fires on the list, which encompassed three different jurisdictions.
But what was the common denominator that would lead to the killer?
Bri pulled a pair of latex gloves from her desk and flipped the envelope over.
The postmark was from Monday morning in ... she squinted at the smudged ink ... Wentzville. Thirty-five or forty miles west of St. Louis.
Who was this person, and what else did they know?
Bri snapped photos of the envelope and note, then deposited both items in an evidence envelope. Given the generic block lettering designed to disguise handwriting, there wasn’t much chance the cautious writer had left prints anywhere, but it couldn’t hurt to have the lab check.
ASAP.
She picked up her phone. A call to Marc was in order, since it seemed their case could be heating up again.
After returning his greeting, she filled him in.
“That’s an interesting development. You not only found the missing name, you have a new name.”
“But still no clue how or why they’re connected.”
“Your friend may be able to offer an insight or two, since her husband’s name is on the list.”
Bri jiggled her foot and studied a scuff mark on the wall across from her. “I thought of that, but bringing this up in the midst of her grief would be awkward. I’m having lunch with her, though.”
“It may be worth trying. If that doesn’t produce anything, we could always run the list by James Wallace again, now that we have a few more names. Someone out there must know what the connection is. I don’t like the fact that the list keeps getting longer. That may mean the person behind all these deaths isn’t finished yet.”
That was true.
Marc was also right about bringing up the subject with Alison. In light of their imminent lunch, her friend was the logical place to start. If the conversation didn’t produce a lead, they could see if the names meant anything to James Wallace.
“I’m with you on all counts. I’ll try Alison first. If she’s clueless, I’ll move on to Wallace. Want to join me if that happens?”
