CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

 

 

August 14th, 2015

5:30 P.M.

Las Vegas

 

LOTT AND JULIA didn’t talk much as it took a while for Lott to get them through rush hour traffic and to the valet parking at the Bellagio. The heat on the few steps from the car into the casino seemed even worse than normal. More than likely that was because they had been in and out of it all day.

“We’re going to need more water,” Julia said as they got inside.

Lott nodded. “Felt that.”

He let her lead the way toward the café, winding between people and families ambling down the wide tile hallways.

The sounds of the casino wrapped around her and calmed her some. She loved all the people enjoying the machines and the gaming tables and just having wonderful vacations. She seemed to take energy from just being in a casino. It was why she enjoyed the poker tournaments around town at times and coming here for lunches and dinners.

Plus the food was good, with lots of choices, and the staff was always friendly.

Doc, Fleet, and Annie had already secured a round table tucked off in a back corner surrounded on three sides by tall plants and flowers. Almost like a private office right in the middle of the casino.

Julia hugged both Doc and Fleet. Fleet was rail thin and tall, with a slight pot belly. He always wore a silk vest and suit and tonight was no exception, the gray silk making him look dashing and rich. He had lost the tie, something she very seldom had seen him without.

Doc wore jeans and a light dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, just as Lott often did. Doc was about six feet tall and as solid muscle as a human being could get. He was also about as tan as they came and had just spent most of June and July guiding rafts on the rivers of central Idaho. He had only come out a week before and planned on going back into the River of No Return in three days.

He and Annie made a stunning couple, right off a magazine cover.

Julia had no doubt that if this case was still active in three days, Doc would not be leaving it for Idaho rafting. He took the work he did with Fleet helping the FBI and other police networks very seriously.

Doc and Fleet and Annie always worked behind the scenes, but so far their team had really been instrumental in solving some major crimes. It seems Doc and Fleet had friends in just about every area of police and federal governments, all the way up to the President of the United States.

Julia was constantly impressed by what they could do, all the while seeming to enjoy life and play poker. And, on top of that, Fleet was raising a family of two kids in Boise.

A couple minutes later, Andor came in, leading Chief Beason. Andor was sweating, but both of them had changed clothes and the chief wore jeans, a UNLV tee-shirt, and a baseball cap. No one would recognize him, Julia was sure.

She was surprised that the chief had come along. He clearly felt this group was the best chance at catching this killer.

Doc and Fleet both stood.

“Great seeing you again, Chief,” Doc said, shaking the chief’s hand.

It was clear to Julia that Doc and the chief liked and respected each other.

“We really appreciate the work you and the gang here have done to break this ugly mess open,” the chief said, pulling up a chair with his back to the room.

“We’re not done yet,” Fleet said.

Everyone nodded to that.

After a moment of small talk about Doc and Annie’s summer on the rivers in Idaho, it was Doc who turned the topic back to the case. Julia was always impressed by Doc and now was no exception.

“So where do we stand?”

The chief quickly outlined what he was doing and how long he could hold this silence before all hell broke loose.

“Maybe thirty hours at most,” the chief said. “I have two friendly reporters from local stations and one from the Sun Times coming in tomorrow night, after the late news and press time on the paper, to talk with me. I’ll have to give them the full story that we have at that point. They won’t be able to hold it.”

Julia felt her stomach twist and she forced herself to take a drink of water. That was not a lot of time to catch a serial killer who had been working and killing women for over fifteen years.

“You going to be able to handle that many bodies and crime scenes?” Lott asked.

“I have help coming in already from California, Reno, and Salt Lake,” the chief said. “I’m talking with the FBI tomorrow afternoon, since this is all across state lines. And at that point I’m going to have to bring in the State Police, since most of this is in their area. But they can’t even begin to handle it any more than we can. Between the three agencies and outside help, we’ll deal with it.”

“I’ll give you a list of the women we think are victims,” Fleet said, “to contact their families when the time is right to get DNA samples to match.”

“Thanks,” the chief said. And then he turned and looked directly at Lott, Andor, and Julia. “And thanks to you three for being willing to dig at this. If nothing else, we’ll stop this and save some lives.”

Julia just nodded, as did Lott and Andor. She felt slightly embarrassed. Detectives were not used to being thanked for doing their jobs. Even if they were retired and still doing their jobs for free.