Travesty, p.14
Travesty, page 14
“I agree, Detective Monroe. This is Lieutenant Frommer speaking from Ozaukee County. Our team has found three questionable people working at the shelters in our own area. One actually has stalking charges on his record. My guys are picking him up today for questioning.”
Landry spoke up. “We’ve found two people in our county as well. I think reviewing the background history of every employee and volunteer at each shelter is the way to go.”
Kate took her turn. “Keep in mind that the killer could be a former employee who was fired. He’s furious with the shelter and could be taking out his anger on the women. I’d suggest we go back at least six months and check into former employees as well.”
“Good idea, Detective Pierce,” Coltrain said.
Jack took a sip of coffee and spoke up. “Let’s toss out our opinions on the changes we’ve seen in the killer’s actions over the last few days. The murders have become more frequent, and the last two victims were either displayed publicly or found murdered in their home. That’s a stretch from the killer’s usual MO.”
“True, and although we don’t have Dane and Rock Counties on this call with us, we do know both of those victims were found yesterday. Even though their deaths are the most recent, we know the man found in his home was Tom Woods, a journalist at the Capital Press. The killer had to be acquainted with him. He knew where Tom worked, lived, and even his lunch schedule. I believe there are several teams working that angle. The female found at the botanical gardens in Janesville has been identified as Marie Folley. She never made it to work yesterday, and her employer couldn’t reach her. A close coworker called the police department and said she feared her friend was missing. At that time—I believe it was late morning—the call was patched through to Lieutenant White, who was at the crime scene. After a detailed description of her friend from the caller, the lieutenant concluded that the body in front of them was indeed Marie Folley, but he needed a positive ID before that information could be made public. Her mother made the ID last night.”
“Wow, talk about timing,” Clayton said. “So who is Marie Folley? Could she also be someone the killer knew? If she didn’t make it in, could he have been watching her house and then sprang on her when she left for work?”
Coltrain continued. “Dressed casually like she was, the lieutenant didn’t think so, and according to the ME, Marie had been dead for at least twelve hours.”
“Sounds like the killer got to her the night before at her house if she had already changed out of her work clothes,” Billings said.
“Most likely, but the police went to Marie’s home and found no evidence of a break-in. Funny thing was, they didn’t find her car in the garage either.”
“What did she drive?” I asked.
“The mother said Marie had a newer silver Toyota. She didn’t know the model.”
Jack tipped his chin at me. “Get on the DMV’s website and pull her plates. We’ll get a BOLO out on that car right away. I’ll have my detectives dig into everything they can find out about Marie Folley. What was her occupation, John?”
“She was also in the newspaper business—a journalist at the Janesville Times.”
Jack whistled. “So the killer could have a connection with journalists and homeless shelters. Possibly a hate crime against journalists who wrote provocative articles about homeless people?”
“That sounds like a reason to kill the blogger and possibly a journalist, but why kill the homeless women too?” I asked.
“Another good question,” Frommer said.
I brought up one more subject since it sounded as though we were about to wrap up the call. “Has anyone considered bringing in the FBI Serial Crimes Unit?”
“We have, Detective Monroe, and if we don’t have a handle on this case by tomorrow, we’re going to welcome them in if everyone is in agreement.”
The conference call wrapped up, and now we had another name to check out. A new connection, possibly with newspaper journalists, was on our list of things to chase down that day.
Chapter 42
Jesse stared out at the lake from Promontory Point. The seagulls rode the waves as they rolled toward shore. Even though it wasn’t the Caribbean, the lake was still mesmerizing and constantly changing. He watched as several cargo ships aimed their bows toward the Port of Chicago. Jesse waited as the phone rang on the other end. Mills finally picked up.
“Hey, how’s it going, dude? Glad to be back?”
“Yeah, funny how Lake Michigan looks nothing like the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean. I will admit, the taxi drivers in St. Thomas are worse than the Chicago ones, though.” Jesse heard laughter on the other end of the line.
“Don’t you still have a couple of days left of your vacation? Why the hell are you calling work?”
“Just checking in—you know how it goes. Nobody wants to admit that life and work goes on just fine without them.”
“I wouldn’t say it was fine since we all had to cover your vacationing ass. Anyway, relax and wind down while you can. I’m just giving you a fair warning of the shit to come.”
“Man, I’m ready for some action. I’ve spent plenty of time lying on the beach with a tropical drink in my hand.”
“Drinking those kiddie cocktails, were ya? Did they have paper umbrellas in them too?”
“Hell yeah.” Jesse laughed. “But to be honest, the scuba diving was phenomenal. I’ll tell you all about it on Monday. I’m going to head up to Wisconsin for a few days and check on my little sis. She’ll be home tomorrow.”
“She’s vacationing too?”
“According to her sorry excuse for a husband, yeah. Last-minute thing, he said. Hell, I’d get away from him as often as I could too.”
“Okay, our morning update is about to begin. I’ll let everyone know that you’re itching to get back to work.”
“Go ahead and do that. I’ll see you losers on Monday.” Jesse hung up and headed to his car. His morning jog through the park was finished, and a shower was in order. Even though Jenna wasn’t expected home until tomorrow, Jesse had a few friends he could catch up with on his drive north.
Chapter 43
With the BOLO alert issued for Marie’s car, we waited in hopes that the killer was driving it and would soon be apprehended, but I wasn’t so sure he’d be that careless. I tapped away on my keyboard and jotted down notes as the day progressed. I was tasked to find out everything I could about Marie while Kate worked on the Tom Woods connection. Clayton and Billings plugged away with our Jane Doe leads and weeded through the hate posts on Bill Crandon’s blog.
The task force from the other counties followed up on the homeless and women’s shelter connections.
My online search showed that Marie Folley was thirty-two and an only child. Born to a professional couple in their later years, she’d had all the advantages an only child could have— private schools, an Ivy League education, and the career she wanted more than anything. With her dedication to work, Marie aspired to be editor in chief of a well-known publication someday. Her father had passed away several years earlier from a terminal illness, and last year, Marie had moved to Janesville to be close to her mother.
My startled expression caught Kate’s eye. “What’s wrong?”
“This can’t be a coincidence. Tom Woods worked at the Capital Press, right?”
“Yep, and did for a number of years.”
“Humph. Guess where Marie Folley worked prior to the Janesville Times?”
“You can’t be serious.” Kate rolled her chair to my desk and stared at my computer screen.
I pointed at the entry showing Marie’s work history. “Apparently she had only worked at the Janesville Times for a year.”
Kate grabbed a blank sheet of paper. “Okay, Marie and Tom worked as journalists at the same newspaper in Madison until last year, and now they’re both dead. Bill Crandon was a blogger—still someone in the writing field—and lived in the Lake Geneva area, and now he’s dead too. There are as many clues leading to someone who has a thing against writers as there are leads about the homeless connection.”
“That’s why we’re working both angles. This news is important, yet according to the article I read, Marie only moved to Janesville because her father died. It wasn’t due to strife at the workplace.”
Kate rolled her chair to her desk and grabbed the page of notes she had compiled. “Dane County isn’t on the task force, and Tom lived in Fitchburg, a suburb of Madison. Investigating his death fell under the authority of the city police. I wonder if anyone interviewed Tom’s coworkers.”
I pushed back from my desk. “Let’s get Jack’s input on this. Maybe he’ll let us take a drive to Madison.”
Kate and I discussed our latest discovery with Jack.
“That’s definitely worth checking out, but I can’t spare either of you. Call Madison’s police department and speak to the detective or detectives who are working Tom’s murder case. Find out what they’ve done and who they’ve spoken with. No need to repeat an interview that may have taken place already.”
I wrinkled my brow. “But they wouldn’t have asked about Marie Folley.”
“I realize that, so ask the PD who Tom’s direct boss was and if they’ve spoken to that person. Follow up with the supervisor about Marie and Tom. See if there was something going on between them or possibly a workplace love triangle. Find out if anyone had a beef with either of them.” Jack looked from Kate to me. “Anything else?”
“No, I guess not.” I felt let down as Kate and I returned to our desks.
Kate looked up the phone number for the Madison Police Department. She grabbed a pen, jotted the number down in her notepad, and tipped her head toward the door. “Come on. All we can do is dig in more aggressively. Let’s make that call from the conference room. When we reach the Madison detective in charge of Tom’s murder, we’ll put him on Speakerphone. That way we can both ask questions.”
Chapter 44
Jesse sat in the backyard, enjoying an icy beer with his longtime friend Joe. Skippy, the Australian shepherd, chewed on his favorite toy at Joe’s feet.
Joe swiped through the pictures in Jesse’s photo gallery. “Damn, these underwater shots are great. What I wouldn’t give to have gone along, but I’m on a deadline with my editor.”
Jesse laughed. “And thanks to me, you have plenty of material for your crime fiction novels.”
“Speaking of that, there’s a shit storm of activity in the necktie killer case.”
“That maniac hasn’t been apprehended yet?”
“Not even close. Actually, he’s killed more people just this week. The cops can’t catch a break to save their lives. The guy slips in, does the deed, and slips out without a single person seeing anything. Believe me, I’ve been taking notes.”
“Planning to turn a real case into a bestseller?”
“Maybe, who knows? Truman Capote turned In Cold Blood into a bestseller and a movie.”
“True, so give me the condensed version of the killer’s activities while I’ve been out of the loop.”
“Let’s see. First, a woman was found at Lapham Peak in Waukesha County.”
“That’s a hiking trail, right?”
“Yeah.” Joe threw the ball across the yard for Skippy. “It’s part of the Kettle Moraine State Forest. Anyway, a hiker went into the woods to use the facilities and came across the body.”
“Jeez, that’ll leave a lasting impression. Then what?”
“Well, the problem is none of these women have been identified or reported missing.”
“Prostitutes or runaways?”
Joe shrugged. “Maybe, but on Sunday, a well-known blogger from Lake Geneva was found at a piece of land for sale. The Realtor stumbled across the body while showing the property to a couple.”
“Wow, I bet they changed their minds on that place in a hurry.”
“I’m sure they did, but dude, the Realtor literally stumbled over the man, like, she tripped over the body in the weeds.”
“No shit? That’s brutal. So the blogger was a man, and that rules out the runaway-prostitute theory.”
“That’s right, and it just keeps escalating. On Monday, a woman was found in Washburn County.”
“Wow, that’s where Jenna lives, and still no leads?”
“Not to my knowledge. The cops did hold a press conference that was televised, and they released sketches of the five women found so far. That information was shown on the news yesterday. They really need the public’s help.” Joe reached into the cooler, pulled out two more beers, and handed one to Jesse. “Then, of all things, two more bodies were found yesterday. A woman was discovered at the botanical gardens in Janesville, and a man in Madison was found murdered in his home during his lunch hour.”
“Could he have walked in on a robbery?”
Joe swiped the air. “No way, man. A robber doesn’t bring along a tie to kill the homeowner with. So far, every victim was wearing that signature tie around their neck.”
“I’ll have to keep my eyes on the news. Hopefully that creep doesn’t head toward Chicago. He’d get lost in the mayhem that city is known for, and his murders could go on indefinitely.” Jesse checked the time. “I should head out. I still have an hour and a half to go, and I don’t want to get caught up in Milwaukee traffic.”
Joe smirked. “And that’s coming from somebody who lives in Chicago?” Joe slapped Jesse on the back. “Don’t be such a stranger, man. Pleasant Prairie is only an hour from you. This is a good beer stop—a halfway point.”
“I hear that. I just don’t have a good reason to hang out with my brother-in-law. The guy is a real tool. Maybe I’ll stop in for another beer on my way home.”
“Do that. You’re always welcome.”
With a hard toss, Jesse threw the ball for Skippy, waved at Joe, then rounded the patio to the side yard and walked out the gate. He honked the horn as he drove away.
Jesse thought about his sister as he headed north. If they were lucky enough to have some alone time, he’d do what he could to convince Jenna to divorce Matt and move back to the family home in the Jackson Park Highlands area of Chicago.
Ever since Matt lost his job, he’s been moping around the house, acting like a jerk, and taking all his problems out on Jenna. She needs to cut bait.
The music played as Jesse settled in behind the wheel. He’d reach North Bend by six o’clock, grab a hotel room, and find a nice restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow, he’d go to that trailer park Matt called home and try to talk some sense into his sister.
Breaking news cut in on one of his favorite songs. Jesse reached for the channel selector and was about to find a different station when the radio announcer began talking about the necktie killer. He turned up the volume.
“A gruesome scene was discovered earlier today in the garage of Tamara Stone, the television host of Madison after Dark, a well-known controversial news tabloid. Sources said Tamara’s disfigured body was found in her SUV with a tie around her neck. More news to come after this disturbing scene is investigated further.”
Holy shit, he has to be on his ninth or tenth victim by now.
Chapter 45
Jade tried to rub away the creases from her forehead. “I don’t know, Amber. This is really turning out to be a tough case.”
“But another person in a media-related field was found murdered today. There has to be some connection to that or the city of Madison. So far, two victims were from Madison, and one used to live there.”
“Is there a connection between the individuals or their workplaces?”
I let out a defeated sigh. “Not anymore, and it’s infuriating. Kate and I spoke to one of the police force detectives tasked with the Tom Woods case. He said he spoke in length to the assignment editor at the Capital Press who oversees their journalists, but according to the editor, nothing unusual was going on in the newsroom. Tom was a good journalist, and all the employees got along fine. We found out after the fact that Marie Folley used to work at the Capital Press too. She quit a year ago but not because of anything work related.”
Kate spoke up. “We even thought of the love triangle theory. An employee lusted after Marie, she was involved with Tom, so the employee who felt jilted killed them both.”
“Not the worst theory, but why do it a year after Marie quit, and how would that explain all the other murders?”
Kate shrugged. “Yeah, that doesn’t add up.”
Jade filled each of our coffee cups as we sat around the table. I nodded a thank-you.
“And the homeless shelter leads?”
“The task force is hauling in every employee who has a criminal record. The problem is, there are volunteers who come and go too. I mean, even the do-gooders who drop off food could be suspect. Where does it end?”
“Spelling has been following the case closely behind the scenes, and we’d be happy to assist the task force. Tell Jack to give Spelling a call tomorrow. Actually, all of the leads on the task force should speak to Spelling. They could arrange a conference call or even meet in person.”
“Thanks, Sis. The killer has to make a mistake sooner or later, doesn’t he? The guy can’t be that lucky.”
“Some killers are never tracked down, Amber. You know that as well as I do. A case can take twenty years to solve, but that sometimes happens when a cold-case investigator reopens it. There’s no way to predict that. Just do good detective work and hope to get a reliable lead. Good intel and a stroke of luck is what usually breaks a case wide open.”
“I know, but in the meantime, people are dying.” I rose from the table and placed my coffee cup in the dishwasher. “I’m hitting the hay.”
“Me too. Maybe tomorrow we’ll catch him.”
I smiled at Kate. “Is that a prediction?”
