It didn’t take long for Research to find an address for Linda Evans. That was Genesis Williams’s mother’s maiden name, and the name that she had used to register as a cab driver. Research had contacted cab company’s administration office in LA and they’d found out that Linda had not driven another passenger since she dropped Melissa Hawthorne off at her house in Leimert Park that Sunday morning, a week and a half ago.
But if Linda had become a licensed cab driver, it meant that she had a valid driver’s license, which would show her current address, and a copy of that license would be stored in the company’s database.
It turned out that Linda Evans lived in a small studio apartment in Torrance – the city immediately to the south-west of Gardena – in the South Bay region of metropolitan Los Angeles.
Two minutes after receiving that information, Hunter and Garcia were standing in front of Captain Blake’s desk.
‘Do we have confirmation that she’s at her apartment?’ the captain asked, after hearing the news from Hunter.
‘No,’ Hunter replied. ‘But we’re making our way there now. There’s also an APB out on her Mazda 3 – stop and detain.’
‘Alright,’ Captain Blake said, reaching for the phone on her desk. ‘I’ll have a SWAT team ready in five.’
‘Hold on, Captain.’ Hunter interrupted her call by pressing down on the release button. ‘We don’t need a SWAT team.’
The captain dipped her head to look back at him over her reading glasses. ‘You’re about to try to arrest probably the most sadistic serial killer this police department has ever chased, Robert. You need a SWAT team.’
‘I don’t think so, Captain. She’s not like any serial killer we’ve ever chased. She’s not a born psychopath… she’s not after a kick… she’s not trying to satisfy some murderous instinct buried deep inside her… she’s not looking for sexual gratification… and she’s not feeding an uncontrollable urge that compels her to kill. She’s after revenge for her daughter. She’s not roaming the streets, searching for her next victim. She doesn’t choose them at random or according to some criteria instigated by trauma. She has a specific list of names.’
The captain put down her glasses, but kept the receiver in her hand.
‘With these types of murderers,’ Hunter continued, ‘their behavior differs greatly from psychopathic serial killers. She might try to run when she realizes that her game is over, but I don’t think that she’ll retaliate with deadly force.’
‘You don’t know that for sure, Robert,’ Captain Blake challenged. ‘A SWAT team would give you peace of mind.’
‘Actually, it wouldn’t, Captain.’ The retort came from Garcia. ‘A SWAT team isn’t exactly a discreet unit, is it? Big black armored truck with six to twelve agents, all dressed in black, wearing masks and helmets, and carrying semi-automatic rifles. The whole neighborhood will know they’re there.’
‘And if she isn’t home,’ Hunter took over again, ‘chances are that she’ll find out we were there before she comes back, and if that happens, she’ll be in the wind again.’
‘How?’ Captain Blake asked. ‘How will she find out?’
Garcia chuckled. ‘What do you think all the passers-by will do as soon as they see a SWAT truck pull up and armed agents jump out and rush into a building?’ He nodded. ‘Social media. The whole thing will be plastered everywhere before we even knock on her door.’
‘The apartment block she lives in,’ Hunter added, placing a couple of aerial shots of the building on the captain’s desk, ‘is three stories high, with a front and back entrance, a lift and one set of stairs. There’s no external fire escape stairway. Her studio apartment is on the top floor.’ He indicated this on one of the photos. ‘Too high for her to escape by jumping. She’s only got two exits out of that building and she needs either the lift or the stairs to access them. A SWAT team would be overkill.’
The captain mulled that over for a moment. ‘OK, so what’s your plan? You’re not just going to go and knock on her door, are you?’
‘That’s exactly the plan, Captain,’ Garcia replied.
She glared at him.
‘Every person we interview in every investigation,’ Garcia explained, ‘they’re always told that we might need to ask them a few more questions as the investigation progresses. I really don’t think she knows that we are on to her. All this will look like is that we have a couple more things to ask her, that’s all. No real threat.’
Captain Blake glanced at Hunter.
‘Sometimes the simplest plan is the most effective one,’ he said.
‘The two of you will be wearing Kevlar vests, right?’ she asked.
‘Absolutely,’ Garcia replied.
A few more seconds of deliberation.
‘Alright,’ she finally said, returning the receiver to its cradle. ‘No SWAT, but I want at least a couple of black-and-white units monitoring every exit to her road and two other detectives on the front and back entrance to her building. If she is as disciplined and as systematic as you believe she is, Robert, then she must have some sort of escape plan already worked out.’
‘That’s fair enough,’ Hunter accepted.
‘Take Milton and Jacob,’ the captain instructed them. ‘They’re at their desks and they’re both very good marksmen. If this gets ugly, they’re the best guys to have on your side.’
‘We’ll grab them on our way out,’ Hunter confirmed.
‘Good.’ Captain Blake nodded at her detectives and pointed to the door. ‘You guys are on. Go.’