CHAPTER NINE

 

 

“DO YOU THINK the friend Dillon was talking about could be the one who brought Del Vecchio back?” Presley asked.

Logan tossed enough money on the table to cover Dillon’s burger and fries, as well as the coffee he and Presley had ordered, plus some extra for the tip. “I don’t know, but it’s a damn good place to start.”

“How do we find out who he is?”

That was the tricky part. “If I were still a cop, I’d take a look at Del Vecchio’s phone records and see who he spent all his time talking to.”

Her brow furrowed. “Can’t you ask Muncie to do it for you?”

“If I ask Muncie, he’s going to connect Del Vecchio’s friend to the current serial murders and assume he must be the guy responsible.”

“Which would be a bad thing, I’m guessing.”

He nodded. “Definitely a bad thing. At the very least, Muncie would haul him in for questioning. With him in lock-up, our connection to Del Vecchio’s ghost is gone. Muncie sure as hell wouldn’t let me have a chat with him.”

“What do we do then?”

Logan opened his mouth to reply when his cell phone rang. Relieved it wasn’t a ringtone associated with any of his fake business cards or the emergency number for Paranormal Investigations Unlimited, he took it out of his pocket and checked the screen. He’d hoped it was Mav returning his call, but instead it was Muncie. That was strange. The detective never called him.

“Hey, Muncie. What’s up?”

“We got another murder and I need you to come take a look at the crime scene.”

Logan frowned. “You sure about that?”

Muncie let out a heavy sigh. “No, but I’m up against a wall here. I’m at the point where I’ll try anything to get a lead on this guy. All I’m asking is that you try to be as inconspicuous as possible.”

“I can do that.”

Taking a pen from his pocket, Logan grabbed a napkin and wrote down the address Muncie gave him, then told his friend he was on his way. While looking over the crime scene probably wouldn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know, he might be able to talk Muncie into checking Del Vecchio’s phone records, no questions asked. If Muncie was willing to let Logan step all over his crime scene, maybe he’d agree to do a little off-the-record snooping, too.

Downing the rest of his coffee, Logan quickly relayed Muncie’s call to Presley. She paled at hearing Del Vecchio had murdered yet another woman, especially when he told her it was only a few blocks from the apartment where she’d been staying with her sister. Not crazy about the idea of having Presley there, he offered to drop her at his place before going to the crime scene, but she insisted on going with him. Considering the apartment building would be crawling with cops, he wasn’t too worried about Del Vecchio trying anything. Besides, Presley was wearing the necklace the Voodoo priest had given her.

Since Logan knew there was no way he and Presley were going to get past the uniform cop guarding the door without a real badge or a police escort, he called Muncie when they got to the apartment building. The cop standing behind the yellow crime-scene tape studiously ignored them while they waited for Muncie to come out. Logan wasn’t surprised. No doubt the guy had heard all the stories about him.

Fortunately, Muncie didn’t make them wait too long. He gave Presley a curious look, but made no comment as he told the uniform cop to let both of them in.

Logan lifted the yellow tape so Presley could duck underneath it, then did the same himself. They followed Muncie up the sidewalk and into the apartment building. It looked a lot like the place Presley had been staying, right down to the fancy front lobby with its crystal chandelier and fresh-cut flowers. Logan wondered if that was why Del Vecchio had chosen it.

Inside the elevator, Muncie pressed the button for the fifth floor. “The victim is Marissa Day. She’s the chief financial officer for a restaurant chain in New York City. She was having a party when the attack occurred.”

Logan lifted a brow. “There were other people in the apartment at the time?”

“Yeah. Around twenty guests.”

“That’s different than the usual M.O. Are you sure it’s the same killer?”

The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival on the fifth floor. A moment later, the doors slid open.

“It’s him. We’re sure of it.” Muncie glanced pointedly at Presley. “The victim meets the same profile as all the others and the way the crime occurred is unmistakable. It’s also impossible. Or at least it should be. That’s why you’re here.”

Muncie stepped out of the elevator and led them down the hallway. As he and Presley followed, Logan noted that some of the apartments looked like they’d been turned into impromptu interrogation rooms. Inside, plainclothes detectives and uniform officers were taking statements from people who must have been at the party. A few of the cops glanced at them as they passed and while some nodded at Logan, most looked away as if they hadn’t seen him at all. If they didn’t want to acknowledge his presence, that was fine with him. He didn’t mind being in the background if it meant getting the bad guy in the end.

The cop standing guard at the victim’s door was either new to the force or hadn’t gotten the memo of how things worked when they brought in a “consultant” who didn’t have any business being at the crime scene because the guy asked to see their identification.

“They’re with me,” Muncie said.

“I still need to see some ID and mark them down on the log,” the stocky patrolman said.

Muncie took the clipboard the cop was holding. “I’ll do that. Why don’t you take a break and go get a cup of coffee or something, huh?”

Logan thought the younger man was going to protest, but he must have changed his mind because after giving him and Presley one more curious look, he nodded at Muncie and left with a mumbled, “Yes, sir.”

There were several other cops and forensic specialists from the crime scene unit in the apartment, but none of them so much as looked up from what they were doing as Logan and Presley walked in.

Logan looked around. “Where’s your partner?”

“I sent Simpson down to the ME’s office with the body. Told him to see if he could find any physical evidence this time. I figured you wouldn’t mind if he wasn’t here.”

Muncie had that right.

The detective tossed the clipboard on the couch and gestured toward a puddle of vomit on the carpet. “Watch your step.”

As Logan moved around the puddle, he noticed several others like it in the spacious, well-decorated living room. The victim’s guests had obviously seen something that made them sick. Which meant it was something Presley probably shouldn’t see.

He turned to her. “Maybe you should wait in the hallway while I check this out.”

She shook her head. “I want to stay.”

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

She gave him a tight smile. “You don’t have to protect me from seeing what he did to that poor woman, Logan. I’ve seen it firsthand, remember?”