After they’d worked through the files for a couple of hours, an officer brought them a copy of the autopsy report. It didn’t offer any surprises. John Davis had died from the knife plunged into his heart.
They snacked on what they could find in a vending machine and kept working.
It was close to midnight when the chief returned. When he opened the door to the conference room, Alex noticed his surprised expression.
“I thought you’d be gone by now,” he said.
“I notice you’re still here too,” Logan said with a smile.
Gorman sighed. “We’re still at it. We started checking family and friends of prisoners Davis helped to incarcerate. The list isn’t long. Like you said, most of the prisoners are dead. The few still alive have been shunned by their families.” He looked at Kaely. “I know you understand. They don’t want to be associated with famous felons. They’ve built new lives and didn’t appreciate it when we contacted them. We were still poring through Davis’s books, looking for someone he might have slighted. But when you let me know he was careful not to mention people like that, we stopped.
We also contacted the author who coordinated the convention where Davis spoke last week, D. J. Harper. He’s coming in tomorrow so we can question him. Except for his wife, Harper is the last person Davis spoke to—as far as we know.”
“And you’re also looking closely at his friends, associates . . . anyone who might have a reason to want him dead?” Logan asked.
“Of course, but Davis had a long career. He knew a lot of people.” Gorman sighed deeply. “His wife gave us a few names that didn’t check out. She put Evan Bayne at the top of the list. Problem is he lives out of the country now. Australia. That makes him an unlikely suspect, but we’re trying to contact him anyway.” He paused. “We really need you to point us in the right direction. So far, you’re not giving us anything we couldn’t have come up with on our own.” Gorman’s words were spoken sharply, his frustration evident. “When will you be able to give us your profile?”
Alex gazed around the table at the assembled group of analysts. They’d been going back and forth all day. She was convinced too many cooks were making the soup. “We should have something by noon tomorrow,” Alex said since everyone else stayed silent.
“Look, why don’t you all get some sleep, then come back bright and early?” Gorman said. “There’s a nice motel about four blocks from here. I’ll call and see if we can get you some rooms.”
“That’s a good idea,” Logan said, yawning. “Thanks.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Monty said. “I’ll stay with my grandmother.”
Alex smiled, but her germaphobia made it challenging to stay in motels and hotels. Still, she always packed her usual can of disinfectant just in case. Hopefully, the place wouldn’t be too bad.
“I think we’re pretty close to nailing this down,” Logan said after Gorman left the room. “But we need to stop worrying about how the UNSUB pulled this off and more about who he is.”
“I agree,” Alex said. “But it’s hard not to think about how this was planned and carried out. It’s so different. How an UNSUB carries out his crime is important. Part of his MO. It tells us a lot about him.”
“Yeah, I know,” Logan said. “I feel like we have pieces of it but not enough to understand it yet.”
“You’re right,” Alex said. “We need to stay focused on what we can understand.”
No one disagreed with her. They began to gather papers and photos taken from the files and dispose of their trash. By the time they were done, the chief was back.
“Got you some rooms,” he said, “but they only had one double room with two beds and one single with a connecting door. Can agents Quinn and Donovan share a room?”
“It’s fine with me,” Kaely said. “Is it all right with you, Alex?”
Although Alex was thrilled to spend some time with Kaely, she couldn’t help but wonder if Kaely would think she was weird if she wanted to disinfect the room. Unfortunately, it looked as if she had no choice.
“I saw the vending machine wrappers scattered around the table,” Gorman said. “Not much of a dinner. So I called a local pizza place too. They’re going to deliver to the motel. Should be there not long after you check in.”
Frankly, Alex wasn’t sure she wanted to eat just before going to bed. Although her nightmares weren’t as frequent as they’d once been, she still had them. She silently prayed that God would keep them away tonight.
“Thanks, Chief,” Logan said.
Gorman gave them the address of the motel, and they got up to leave.
“Do you mind if I copy some of this before we go?” Kaely asked.
“No need,” Gorman said. “These are copies. I gave them to you in case you wanted to work on this outside of the station.” He looked at Logan. “And I’ll give you a digital file to send to the FBI.” Then he gestured toward the hard copies on the table. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that no one else is to see this information.”
“We understand,” Kaely said.
Alex instinctively exchanged quick looks with Logan and Monty. They’d all heard of Kaely’s unique way of profiling, using files to “see” an UNSUB. A tingle of excitement ran up and down Alex’s spine. Would she get to see her process in action?
When they got out to the parking lot, they said good-bye to Monty before climbing into the SUV. No one spoke on the way to the motel. Alex was tired, but she was also turning the case over in her mind. She was convinced they were looking for someone with a grudge related to Davis’s work, but so far the police hadn’t found a suspect—someone who knew Davis was at that hotel.
She wondered about the people who attended the kinds of conventions where Davis spoke. Could the UNSUB be one of them? Someone trying to show they were smarter than Davis? She was glad they were bringing in thriller writer D. J. Harper. He could provide important information since he was at the same hotel where Davis died and may have been the last person to speak to him. Alex couldn’t help but wonder about the man. He lived in the area and had told the police he’d gone home after the convention ended on Saturday night. The police knew Mr. Harper and respected him. Still, she felt they needed to keep him on the list of suspects. Gorman’s files said he was the person who’d made Davis’s reservation, and he knew what room he was in.
Of course, right now Evan Bayne was at the top of the suspect list, although he seemed pretty unlikely. He was fairly old, and his feud with Davis had been a long time ago. The lawsuit still bothered her, though. Could something like that have set him off enough to kill? She didn’t know. She’d never run across a case like this before. Most behavioral analysts would draw the conclusion that whoever killed Davis was angry. Stabbing a human being was so up close and personal. Hard to do. Messy. Shooting someone from a distance was easier. No blood on your clothes. But the UNSUB hadn’t stabbed him. Davis had stabbed himself. How do you profile that?
She sighed loudly without realizing it . . . until Logan looked at her.
“Tired?” he asked.
“Yeah. And a little confused. Are we working a murder or a suicide?”
“Good question. I keep wondering about Davis’s life insurance company. What will they do?” He was quiet for a moment. “If they determine his death was suicide, will they refuse to pay out?”
“I’m not an expert,” Alex said, “but my policy pays on a suicide after I’ve had the policy for two years.”
Logan shook his head. “Kind of morbid, isn’t it?”
Alex wasn’t so sure the question of suicide was just for the insurance company. Wasn’t it part of the profile? How could the UNSUB know Davis would be able to commit suicide? Even if you loved your spouse more than life itself, the act of killing yourself wasn’t easy. But as she thought about it, she realized she knew the answer. Just like her, Davis had lived a life saturated in death and destruction. After viewing the horror that human beings visited on each other, the act of murder began to lose its shock. Whoever backed Davis into a corner knew that. Knew he would be able to fulfill the act he’d been encouraged to carry out.
Logan slowed the SUV. “Here we are,” he said. He pulled into the parking lot of a small but attractive motel. The Foxfire Inn. Maybe this would be all right after all.
Logan jumped out and went inside. He came back a few minutes later. “We’re on the other side,” he said.
He drove around to the back of the structure. There was good lighting. The doors were metal. Also good. More secure. FBI agents noticed these things without really thinking about it.
“You’re in 110, and I’m in 111,” he said. “Right next door.”
Logan had just opened his door when a beat-up car pulled up next to them. The name of a local pizza place was displayed on a lighted sign on the roof, and the fresh-faced teen driver lowered his window. “Chief Gorman ordered some pizza for folks stayin’ here. Is that you?”
“Yeah,” Logan said. He got out of the SUV and stepped up to the car window, where the kid handed him two large pizza boxes and a bag.
“There’s paper plates, napkins, and plastic forks in there,” the kid said. He reached over and lifted a six-pack of cola from the seat next to him. “I’m supposed to give these to you too.”
Alex got out of the car and hurried to Logan’s side. She took the ice-cold cola since his arms were already full.
Logan set the pizza boxes on the hood of the kid’s car and started to reach into his pocket, but the boy waved him off. “I’ve already been tipped. I was told you weren’t supposed to pay anything.”
Logan picked up the boxes and thanked him. The kid nodded, then backed up the car and left the parking lot.
“Kinda late for a pizza place to be open on a weeknight,” Alex said. “It’s gotta be almost one in the morning.”
“You’re right. We better check it out before we eat this. I’ll call the restaurant and confirm.”
Kaely had come up behind them. “It’s sad, isn’t it? I mean, that we’re always on guard, suspicious of everything?”
Logan nodded. “It might be sad, but it’s a good way to stay alive. Too many people hate law enforcement these days.” He asked Kaely to hold the pizzas while he unlocked the doors to their rooms. “Let’s eat in your room,” he said. “It’s bigger. Probably has a larger table.”
“Sure,” Alex said. The pizza smelled awesome, and her thought about going straight to bed vanished when her stomach growled. It was so cold outside that the idea of chowing down on nice hot pizza sounded heavenly.
Logan switched on the room lights and took the pizzas from Kaely. Alex glanced around the room before heading back to the SUV, where she opened the back and began grabbing their bags. The room looked updated and cheerful, and a light scent of lavender made it seem as if it had been recently cleaned. Still, although she should feel relieved by the condition of the motel, she’d disinfect the room herself. Check under the sheets on her bed. Things she had to do before she could sleep.
She really liked Kaely Quinn. But would her roommate take her seriously once she brought out her can of disinfectant?