Chief, my best guess is that he’s had this anger repressed for some time. I would venture to say that some recent event set him off.”
“Like what?”
“Could be anything. Got fired from his job, death of a relative or a loved one.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s it, Chief,” Miles answered.
“That ain’t a hell of a lot to go on gentlemen. What about the victims, anything in common?”
“No, not that we can see,” I replied.
“Run through them for me Mooney, there’s got to be something. Some pattern or common thread.”
“Joanne Hoffman was the first victim. She was the dispatcher from the fifth precinct. She was thirty-one, single, white, cute and petite of build. Strangled with a red necktie on Saturday night, the 5th of January. There were no signs of forced entry and the killer left no clues. The coroner placed time of death at 11:00 p.m.”
Regarding Mooney? “I might add, she lived in your apartment building.”
“Goddamn it, don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think that pisses me off? I’m the only one in here who knew her. She was a nice lady.”
“Sorry, Mooney, I was just trying to have a little fun with you. It was in bad taste, I apologize. Continue.”
“The second victim was Latoya Biggs, killed the next Saturday on the 12th of January. She was a forty-three year old African American. She was divorced.”
“Any chance it was the husband?”
“None. He’s serving twenty to life in Joliet.”
“Go ahead.”
“She was a big heavy set woman. By the looks of it, she was the only victim that put up a fight, until she had her head caved in by a statue. The coroner said she was probably knocked unconscious before being strangled. He placed time of death at 2 a.m. Again no signs of forced entry and no clues.”
“Next.”
“The next murder was on the other side of the precinct on the 19th of January. The victim’s name was Tami Sajuri, she was a twenty two year old Japanese exchange student studying international finance at the University of Illinois. The coroner placed her time of death at 10 p.m. Cause of death was strangulation, just like the other victims.”
“The fourth one was a sixty two year old grandmother by the name of Estelle Krantz, she was killed on the 26th. She was a harmless old lady who was hobbled by arthritis and as best we can make out, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.”
“What time did she die?”
“Hold on, I’ve got to look that one up. The coroner placed her time of death at midnight.”
“Anything else, that was common to all four victims other than being strangled on a Saturday night?”
“In each case there were no signs of forced entry, no signs of drugs or alcohol, and none of the victims were sexually violated. Oh, and they were all murdered in their living rooms.”
“I’ve got to admit Mooney, I don’t see a damn thing either. The only common thread is he strangles his victims every Saturday night with a red necktie. What about the ties?”
“Nothing, they were cheap red neckties bought off the rack. No prints, no labels. No way of even tracing them back to the manufacturer let alone a store.”
“You always wear a red tie Mooney.”
“Very funny, Chief.”
“Glad to see you’ve got your sense of humor back. But seriously Miles, what do you make of the significance of red neckties.”
“The color of red could signify anger. It could also be associated with death, blood, power over the victim. The fact that he strangles the victim indicates to me that it’s personal. More than that it’s very difficult to say.”
“Anything you can say for sure?”
“The killer is smart, cautious and careful and one thing I am sure of, he’s not going to stop.”
“So what we’ve got is a smart sociopath with no predictable pattern.”
No one spoke for a moment, “I’m afraid that’s it, Chief,” Miles replied.
“Miles, why bother speaking if that’s all you got to say. I assume you’ve checked out the state hospitals for anyone that’s gone missing or just got out.”
“First thing we did, Chief, we also checked everyone just released from jail,” Miles replied. “None of them even remotely fit the profile of our boy.”
“Chief, let’s be straight. We’re going to need a lot of luck to catch this bastard. He’s like a ghost, no prints, nobody sees him, nothing. We need all the help we can get and there’s still no guarantees that we’re going to catch him.”
“That’s pretty much what I thought, Miles. Tonight, every blue uniform I can spare will be out there. I’m going to assign Tony and Max to the upper west side unless you can come up with a better place to use them.”
“Tony and Max are you kidding? Why don’t you give them the night off,” I asked sarcastically.
“What’s your problem?”
“My problem is that they’re useless. Besides they’ve got their own agenda. They’ll be out tonight combing the streets for T-Bone Higgins.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“T-Bone jumped bail and that sleazy bail bondsman from center city, Jew Cohan’s got paper on him. You know he takes care of Tony and Max on the side.”
“No, I don’t know that. And right now, I don’t need to hear this shit from you. I’ve got bigger problems, it’s closing in on 6:30 p.m., now you and Miles go over everything again and then get your ass out on the street and catch me a killer. Don’t worry about Tony and Max. They work for me. Are we clear? Now the two of you can get the hell out of here and send Max and Tony in. I want to talk to them.”
CHAPTER TWO
We left the chief’s office with our tails between our legs. Miles hollered over to Tony and Max and told them the chief wanted to see them.
I lingered by the water cooler as they walked by, “Mooney, what’s the old bastard want with us?” Tony asked in a less than congenial manner.
Not caring for the way he asked or his tone I’d thought I’d bust his balls a little, “Wants to talk to you and Max about your side business. You know, bounty hunting for fun and profit.?”
Tony and Max just gave me a dirty look as they brushed by. Miles gave them a nervous smile and quickly turned away avoiding their gaze.
“Mooney, was that really
