That night, I wished Hanna sweet dreams and hung up with a smile on my face. She had a way of bringing out the best in me. The eight months that we’d known each other had gone by quickly, and we had settled into a comfortable routine. She usually spent the weekends at my house unless I had an ongoing case that kept me at work for hours on end. On those nights, I needed as much sleep as possible, and that usually amounted to five hours if I was lucky. Thoughtful woman that she was, Hanna always ordered takeout, brought it to my house, and we’d eat, spend an hour or two catching up, and then she’d leave by ten o’clock.
Many times, I’d thought of asking her to move in with me. My house had more than enough space for both of us, but knowing how much she liked her new home, I resisted the urge. Someday, I’d test the water and put the offer out there, just not yet. She needed time to settle into Chicago, her home, and her job at the animal hospital. I was a patient man and enjoyed what we had exactly the way it was, and I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on her.
Maybe next year.
With a stomach full of lasagna and crusty Italian bread—courtesy of Hanna and Antonio’s—I headed for the bedroom with Bandit on my heels. Sleep would come easily, I hoped. Two glasses of red wine and that delicious meal should ensure it.
I patted the foot of the bed. “Come on, buddy. Get up here and find your spot. I’m too tired to wait for you to spin in circles, lick your paws, and finally get comfortable ten minutes from now.”
I fluffed my pillow, turned the switch on the nightstand lamp, and dozed off.
A sound interrupted my sleep. I opened my eyes to darkness and realized what I had heard wasn’t in my dreams—my phone was ringing.
“What the hell?” I reached for the light and grabbed my phone. Squinting at the screen, I tried to clear my vision with eye rubs. Lutz was calling. “Damn it.” I sat up and answered. “Hey, Boss.”
“Sounds like I woke you.”
“No shit. What time is it?”
“Three twenty-five. Sorry, Jesse, but we’ve got another murder on our hands.”
“Son of a bitch. Same MO?”
“I’m just leaving my house now, and the details are sketchy. I gave Don a heads-up and will confirm things with him when we get to the scene.”
I threw back the blankets and sat on the edge of the bed then got a pad of paper and a pen out of the nightstand drawer. “Okay, shoot. What’s the address?”
With the piece of paper jammed into the pocket of the pants I’d slipped on, I went to the bathroom and washed my face to wake up. I would grab a coffee and a sweet roll at the all-night gas station on the corner and be on my way. According to my phone’s GPS, the location was a thirty-minute drive from my house. I buttoned my shirt as I walked to the kitchen, then I filled Bandit’s dish with kibbles. He would be fine, but I’d text my neighbor Dean later to ask him to check on my pup.
Out the door in the pitch black, with only a few hours’ sleep, seemed to be the way I started many of my mornings.
A half hour later, I turned the corner onto the residential street, and its location left no guesswork. I’d found the home by the beacon of flashing blue lights. I pulled to the curb and climbed out, then I approached the officer who held a flashlight over the body. I looked down at the dead woman, whose eyes were still open.
I glanced at the name tag on the officer’s chest pocket. “Do we know the manner of death, Officer Keller?”
“Not yet, Detective McCord. There’s too much blood.”
“Okay, thanks. Commander Lutz here yet?”
“He’s behind the condos with the other officers and a neighbor. I guess the medical examiner is on his way.”
“Sure thing. How do I get back there?”
“Go to the corner and then turn right. They’re in the alley.”
“Thanks.” Minutes later, I approached the group of five that were huddled beneath a pole lamp at the back of the buildings. A light mist began to fall, and the asphalt glistened in the lamp’s ambient glow. I looked to the sky then at my commander. “Boss.”
“Jesse.”
With a head tip toward the front of the row houses, I commented that the body should be covered to preserve evidence.
“Everly, get a tarp from your squad car and drape it over the woman. Don can take it from there when he arrives.”
“Yes, sir.”
I watched as the officer took the same route to the front that I’d just walked, then I turned back to Lutz. “What do we know?”
“The attack began back here. The witness made the 911 call when his headlights caught what looked to be a robbery in progress. He heard the woman scream, saw the perps run in that direction”—Lutz pointed east—“and then the woman obviously stumbled to the corner, turned, and died in front of one of the condos.”
I frowned. “Is that where she lived?”
Lutz shook his head. “Nope. Everly knocked on the door, and the man of the house answered. He and his wife were both asleep, and they live there alone.”
I looked around. “Where’s the witness?”
An officer pointed at the vehicle farther up that was idling and still had its headlights on. “His name is Tim Grimes, and he’s sitting in the car up there by his residence.”
Lutz took over. “Nickels is interviewing him as we speak.”
I scratched my cheek. “Hmm.”
“What?”
“I was under the impression our subway killer struck again since the station is only a few blocks from here.”
“But?”
“But you said the witness saw more than one perp run away. That doesn’t fit.”
“It doesn’t fit what we think but not necessarily what we know.”
I smirked. “Yeah, which is a whole lot of nothing, so maybe there are two perps after all.”
Several minutes later, Nickels returned. “The medical examiner just arrived, Commander.”
“Okay, thanks,” Lutz said. “Tape off this area of the alley. We need to find the exact spot where that woman was attacked and preserve whatever evidence might be there. It’s going to be tough seeing anything before daylight.”
I sighed at the thought of another woman murdered within twenty-four hours of Callie’s death. “Do we even know her name?”
Everly responded. “Yeah, Jane Doe, since everything about her was likely in the purse the assailants took.”
Everly’s comment reminded me that we had a long day ahead of us. I took a sip of my coffee and groaned.