Page 31 of Unbearable
“Already on that. I have records being pulled for up to thirty years previous. I don’t think there will be many, and most incidents are dealt with internally to save the families public scrutiny.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if that will pop much, but it’s worth trying. How did he get the bodies into the dump sites?”
“It looks like he has keys or is very good at working padlocks. I can’t imagine any of the school employees opening the gates after hours for him. We haven’t found any employees that have all the schools in common either. We’re trying to run the kidsto see if any of them overlap. All three schools are fighting that, citing privacy issues.”
“How busy are the areas the schools are in?”
“Very. One is even near a hospital with people coming and going all the time.”
“Interesting. So he’s very sure of himself. Any drugs found in their systems?”
“Nothing. Not even an aspirin in their stomachs. The medical examiner did find a puncture mark in the necks of all the men.”
“So he’s keeping them long enough for anything to process out of their systems.” Dex stopped and studied the boards for a long time. Dover opened her mouth several times to say something but thought better of it. Finally, he shook his head and turned to her. “I’m sure you’re fine without my interference.”
“I’m good with any thoughts you have.”
“Well—” Knox started.
“Not you,” she shot back. Dex rolled his eyes, but she noticed he did it with a slight smile.
“Why don’t you give me your profile of him first?”
She took a deep breath before starting. “White male, twenty-five to thirty-five. I’m going to say he comes from a wealthy family, but that’s up in the air if Knox is right, and he had been on scholarship. I think he knows these schools too, so he’s from this area.
“All of these men seem to be in successful careers according to what we’ve discovered. They were all either making six figures or had the potential to soon. All of their supervisors sang their praises.
“I wonder if he is working alone. It would help if anyone at the bars they were at remembered them. We did have one remember a blonde woman, but that’s not much to go on. Theyjust seem to disappear after that until they turn up on a sports field.”
“Why is he angry with these men or type of men?” Dex mumbled. “I think you’re going in the right direction, you just have to figure out what picture he’s painting. I would leave it until tomorrow. Come back in when you’ve had a chance to sleep on it.”
“I agree with Dex,” Knox added. “How about something to eat followed by a good night’s rest. You’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
“Are you needing a bed too?” she asked, giving in. She really could use some sleep.
“A bed? Don’t tell me he’s staying with you,” Dex said with a laugh. “I’ve got a room, but thanks.” They followed her into the hallway.
“That’s good because all I have left is a couch. Let me grab my stuff, and we can go.” She disappeared into her office. After pulling her purse from her desk drawer, she closed the door on the way out. “Where are we eating?”
“Some place quiet,” Knox answered. “I figured we could fill Dex in on Fox while we eat.”
“Sounds good. Follow me.” She led them through the building and outside. She debated for a minute questioning the desk sergeant about letting them in, but decided she was too tired to bother. Besides, she was sure she would have let a man with an FBI badge and those cheekbones in the door too.
She led them to a pub between the police department and her apartment. Knox had quickly acquired a taste for Irish pub food, so she knew he would approve of her choice. Pulling into a parking space, she climbed out of her car and met them at the door. The hostess took them to a table at the back away from the late-night bar crowd.
“I had a thought on the way over here,” she said when they settled in a booth. “Would you mind coming in tomorrow and reading through the files. Just see if there’s anything we missed. We’ve all looked at it so many times now, I worry about what we’re overlooking.”
“I’d be happy to. First, though, I want to hear how you got the drop on this guy,” Dex answered pointing at Knox.
“What? Like it’s hard?” She laughed when Knox scowled.
“I wouldn’t say she got the drop on me. Memphis was dragging his feet again, or I wouldn’t have been looking over my shoulder.”
“That’s not what I saw,” she added. “Memphis isn’t the one who barreled around that corner. In his defense, he didn’t know what he was walking into.”
“I would have paid good money to see that,” Dex said.
“I didn’t know he had a bum knee, or I would have gone a little easier on him. I will next time.”