CHAPTER FOUR

 

Detective Dennis Cramer drove away from The Woods Community Center feeling like he had aged at least twenty years these past few months. He hated that a serial killer was tormenting his community. He had a wife and teenage daughter who could have just as easily been his victims. And they were still in danger, even though he was doing everything in his power to protect them.

Dennis ran a hand through his hair. As the lead investigator on the case, there was tremendous pressure on him to make an arrest. But these things did not always come together quickly and cleanly like they did on CSI or Law and Order. He couldn’t magically bring the culprit to justice by snapping his finger and all would be right with the world, especially when this killer seemed as lucky as he was elusive.

That won’t last forever. It’s only a matter of time before we get you.

Dennis knew time was running out to make an arrest before there was a shakeup in the department. The last thing he wanted was to be taken off the case and reassigned to something beneath his capabilities as an investigator.

Maybe the reward money would help flush out the killer. Three hundred and fifty grand should be enough to make someone talk.

He pulled into the diner parking lot, which was the place the latest victim of The Woods Strangler was last seen.

* * *

Officer Ashley Leighton waited in her squad car in the small parking lot of The Woods Diner. Technically speaking, it was not actually in The Woods, but it was close enough so they could use the name to possibly attract a better clientele than in Bluffs Bay proper.

According to credit card records, Sophia Pesquera had charged a meal at the diner less than an hour before she was murdered. The thought of dying by strangulation gave Ashley the chills. Of course, she realized there were equally bad ways to be hurt and killed. She just hoped her number would not come up anytime soon.

Ashley turned her thoughts to her desire to move up in rank. To do so would mean she’d have to climb over the backs of some sexist men who would prefer that she stay a patrol officer. It would also mean she’d have to defy her husband. She knew he loved her, or so he kept saying. Yet that didn’t stop him from resenting her decision to go into law enforcement and bringing it up in her face every chance he got—including sometimes using his fists to get his point across.

Ashley cast aside her concerns for the time being when she spotted the familiar Ford Crown Victoria department-issue vehicle approach. She got out of her car and waited for him to do the same.

* * *

Dennis got out of his car and approached Officer Ashley Leighton. She wasn’t that muscular or tall, but what she lacked in size, she more than made up for in determination. He was impressed with her work ethic and believed she could be a detective someday, so he encouraged her to pursue it.

“Hey, Leighton.”

“Good evening, Sir.”

Dennis frowned. “It could be better.”

Ashley blinked. “I know what you mean.”

“Let’s go see if Ms. Pesquera left here with anyone.”

They went inside, and Dennis immediately got a whiff of onions and grease. He noted the place was small and had booths close enough to listen in on someone else’s business, perhaps without the person even knowing it.

Dennis showed his badge to the cashier, Rosemary Walters, and identified himself and Officer Leighton. “We’re investigating a homicide.”

“Oh?” She fluttered her lashes.

He showed her a recent photograph of the victim they had obtained from a family member.

“Do you remember seeing this woman in here yesterday?”

Rosemary flinched. “Sure do.” She looked up. “Is she the one just killed by the Woods Strangler?”

“It looks that way, Ma’am,” Ashley said. “Her name is Sophia Pesquera.”

“Oh, no...” The cashier put a hand to her mouth. “I feel so sorry for her and her family.”

“Do you know if she came in here with anyone?” asked Dennis.

“No, she was alone.”

“She leave alone, too?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it,” Rosemary responded.

“Did anyone leave right after her?” He peered at the cashier, wondering just how good her memory was.

She thought about it. “Couldn’t say. This place usually gets real crazy at dinnertime and people are coming and going like you wouldn’t believe.”

“I do believe it,” Dennis said. “And I also believe there’s a good possibility the killer may have been one of those patrons. Now if you could just focus, maybe you can help us narrow it down to anyone who might’ve exited the place right on Ms. Pesquera’s heels.”

Rosemary stiffened and seemed to concentrate. “Well, let’s see... I think a Latino guy left the restaurant soon after she did. But so did a black man...and I think two white men and a white woman. I’m not sure what the order was, though.”

Dennis was frustrated with her response, even though he knew she had no reason to be observant when Sophia Pesquera left. “Okay, then why don’t we start with the male Latino and work our way from there?”

“I’ll try.”

“Can you describe him?” Dennis prompted her.

“He was tall, kind of muscular, and maybe around thirty or so.”

Officer Leighton jotted that down and asked, “Do you happen to remember what he was wearing?”

Rosemary shrugged. “Jeans and a tee shirt, I think. And I’m pretty sure he had dark hair.”

“What about the African-American man?” Dennis asked.

Rosemary pressed her lips together as she thought about it. “He was thin, about my height, and I’d say he was in his early twenties, with short dark hair. I can’t remember what he was wearing.”

They listened as she described the white men in generic terms, who may have been together or left separately or possibly with a woman.

“Let’s get a sketch artist down here,” Dennis told Ashley. “And see if any of her descriptions match those others have given of possible suspects.”

She nodded and eyed the cashier. “Do you know if Ms. Pesquera talked to any of these men?”

Rosemary shook her head. “Couldn’t tell you one way or the other. You should ask the waitress who served her. She’s right over there.”

* * *

By the time they finished their interviews at the diner, Dennis was generally satisfied that Sophia Pesquera had not struck up a conversation with her killer. But he believed there was a strong possibility that the killer had been in the diner and followed Sophia to her office.

Dennis planned to do a follow up interview with the cleaning woman who found the body. Maybe she saw something or someone that she overlooked. Perhaps they could jar her memory with some details that might make the difference.

Dennis knew it would be a step in the right direction if the killer had been in the diner filled with potential witnesses who could identify him. And, with any luck, Sophia Pesquera’s murderer had inadvertently left behind some fingerprints or DNA. Or maybe a credit card receipt. He wasn’t holding his breath that they were on the verge of cracking this case anytime soon.