By ten o’clock Wednesday morning, Detective Reichert’s desk was completely covered with file folders, large manila envelopes, and a series of yellow legal pads with notes and diagrams on each.
Nicoletti signed the typed statements and laid them on the folder marked NICOLETTI. Then Lenny Pandori handed him fifteen pages of a partially filled out Violent Criminal Apprehension Program form. Nicoletti read through it.
“There’s really not enough information at this point to make a complete ViCAP entry,” Pandori said.
“If you keep it a little more general, you might at least get some links to similar crimes in western states. It might give you something to work with,” Nicoletti said. “Later, after the lab work comes back, you can narrow it down to attacks that are more similar.”
“Please,” Reichert said, “I’ve got too much information already.” He waved his arms across his desk. “It’s going to take two months just to get through the leads we’ve gotten in the last forty-eight hours.”
Nicoletti walked to the window and looked out at the police parking lot. In the corner of the lot, inside a chain-link cage, was Marie-Justine’s silver Mercedes.
“You can’t waste that much time,” Nicoletti said. “If the killer is mobile, just passing through, and has acted out in multiple jurisdictions, then maybe he’s already moved on. If that’s the case, you have time, and believe me, you’re going to need plenty of time to get organized and coordinated with other departments.” He turned back to Pandori and Reichert. “But if the killer is local and he’s started harvesting victims in this area, then you’d better move quickly, or all you’re going to have time for is crime scene searches and cataloging evidence. You’ll never have time to figure out who did it.”
“Look at this mess,” Reichert said. “I’ve got names of her students, friends, guys she dated only once; a partial list of over-the-road truckers who spent Saturday and Sunday night at area truck stops; weigh station records for trucks passing through the state; neighbors to be re-interviewed; landscaping, roofing, and painting crews that worked in her neighborhood in the last three months…” He set his elbows on the desk and shook his head. “And the damn chief wants every lead run down and a report filed for him to review. It can’t be done.”
“It can be done but not by one man,” Pandori said.
“Not by ten officers,” Nicoletti said. “At least not thoroughly and quickly.”
“So what do you suggest?” Reichert looked at Nicoletti.
“Lenny submits the ViCAP report and handles all the follow-up. You concentrate on anyone who surfaced in Marie-Justine’s life in the forty-eight hours before her death.”
“You were all around her in her last forty-eight hours,” Reichert asserted once again.
“Then go back three days, a week if you have to. I’ll bet somewhere this killer crossed her path, and there is someone out there who saw it and can give you a description of him.” Nicoletti started to leave the room.
“Where are you going?” Pandori asked.
“I’ve got an appointment. I’ll call you later. Reichert, don’t lose heart. Statistically, the name of the killer will be in your files within the first thirty days of the investigation. Your job is to recognize it when you see it.”
“And just how am I supposed to recognize it?”
“No one really knows,” Nicoletti said as he walked down the hall. “But if you’re lucky, the name will come to you from more than one source.”
Reichert looked at Pandori. “What the hell is he talking about?”