"Yes." Typically, Yanes wasted no time with preamble. Steely-eyed and speaking with his usual sharp-edged voice, he declared, "Everyone here needs to make a much bigger effort an all-out effort. We've simply got to stop these killings before any more occur."
Yanes's eyes swung to Newbold. "For the record, Lieutenant, you and your people now have carte Blanche to take whatever measures are necessary, including creating a special task force. When you decide exactly what you need and what kind of task force, I'll get you extra detectives from Robbery. As to costs, you have my approval to charge whatever's needed, including overtime."
Yanes glanced around the room, then added, "So now, with those logistics in place, the objective of all of you is clear find this guy! I want results. And keep me informed."
"All of that noted, sir. As everyone heard, we will form a task force right now to work solely on these cases. Task force members will be relieved of other duties. I've already asked Sergeant Ainslie to head the team."
Heads turned toward Ainslie as Newbold told him, "Sergeant, you'll work with two teams of six detectives. I leave it to you to name another sergeant to head the second team."
"Sergeant Greene, " Ainslie said. "Assuming he's agreeable."
Pablo Greene waved a hand airily. "You betcha!"
Newbold told Greene, "You'll report through Sergeant Ainslie. That's understood?"
"QSL, sir."
Ainslie added, "For my team I'll definitely want Detectives Quinn, Bowe, Kralik, and Garcia. Pablo and I will decide on the rest later today." Ainslie faced Major Yanes. "We have a lot of ground to cover, sir, and a great deal of detail work. So we'll need at least two extra detectives from Robbery, probably four."
Yanes nodded. "Tell Lieutenant Newbold when you know exactly, and you'll have them."
Curzon Knowles intervened. "If that isn't enough, I can arrange for a couple of state attorney investigators. Either way, we'd like to stay in the picture."
"We want that too, Counselor," Ainslie said.
Newbold reminded everyone, "The task force, of course, will work closely with Fort Lauderdale and Clearwater; I want those detectives kept informed."
The talk continued for a few minutes more, after which Newbold turned to Assistant Chief Serrano. "Chief, anything you wish to add?"
Serrano, formerly a detective himself, and with a distinguished record on the Miami force, spoke clearly but quietly. "Only to say that all of you have the support of the entire Police Department in this matter. Obviously, as these serial killings become widely known, there will be tremendous publicity, which will generate a lot of public and political pressures. We'll try to protect you from that so you can continue doing whatever is needed to bring this maniac in. At the same time, work fast. And never stop thinking. Good luck to us all!"
5
As the Homicide conference broke up, the newly formed task force gathered around Ainslie, along with the assistant state attorney, Curzon Knowles. Twenty years earlier Knowles had been a police officer himself the youngest sergeant on the New York City force. Later he had become a lieutenant, then resigned to study law in Florida. Knowles felt comfortable with detectives and they with him.
Now he asked Ainslie, "Since we'll be working together, Sergeant, do you mind telling me your first move?"
"A short one, Counselor to the computer. You're welcome to join me." Ainslie looked around him. "Where's Ruby?"
"Wherever you need her." Detective Bowe's bright voice emerged from a group.
"I need your dancing fingers." Ainslie motioned to the computer she had just used. "Let's search some records."
Seating herself, Ruby switched on and typed LOGON.
A query appeared: GIVE IDENTIFICATION.
Ruby asked Ainslie, "Yours or mine?"
He told her, "Eight-four-three-nine."
The screen responded: ENTER YOUR CODE.
Ainslie reached over and tapped in CUPCAKE, an affectionate name he sometimes used for Karen. The code name did not appear on the screen, but chicabbreviation for Criminal Investigation Center did.
As the other detectives and Knowles watched silently, Ruby said, "We're in the magic kingdom. Quo vadis?"
Someone murmured, "What in hell's that?''
" 'Whither goest thou?' " Bernard Quinn answered.
"Took Latin in kindergarten," Ruby quipped. "Us ghetto kids are smarter than you think."
"Prove it," Ainslie said. "Find 'Criminal Records.'After that, a category called 'Oddities.' "
A series of typed commands, then the heading ODDITIES appeared. "There's a whole raft of subfiles," Ruby announced. "Any ideas?"
"Look for 'Religion' or 'Religious.' "
Fingers moved swiftly. Then, "Hey, here's one: 'Religious Freaks.' "
Ainslie raised his eyebrows. "That should do the trick."
If they had been expecting a harvest of names, the result was disappointing. Only seven appeared, each accompanied by an abridged personal history, along with charges and convictions. Ainslie and Ruby read through names and information; the others peered over their shoulders.
"You can eliminate Virgil," Quinn said. "He's in prison. I put him there." The computer listing showed a Francis Virgil as imprisoned for the past two years with another six to serve. A similar status applied to two more of the seven names, leaving four.
"Strike Orneus," Ainslie said. "It says here he's dead." As the detectives knew, a deceased offender's criminal record was not removed until two years after death.
"I guess we can eliminate Hector Longo," Ruby suggested. The entry showed Longo as age eighty-two, almost blind, and with a withered right hand.
"Amazing what the handicapped can do these days," Ainslie said. Then, "Okay, delete."
The remaining two names were "possibles," but the search had produced neither the numbers nor choices they had hoped for.
Knowles asked, "How about trying 'Modus Operandi'?"
"We already did that with the individual cases," Ainslie said. "Came up with nothing." He added thoughtfully, "The further we get into this, the more I believe we're after someone who has no record."
It was Ruby who suggested, ''Why don't we try FIVOs?"
Ainslie was doubtful, but told her, "Why not? We've nothing to lose."
FIVOs Field Intelligence and Vehicle Occurrence reports contained information gathered by police officers who witnessed behavior in a public place that was peculiar, raunchy, or eccentric, though not illegal. A similar report was made if someone was seen in a suspicious circumstance, especially late at night, but was not breaking the law.
A FIVO report was supposedly written at the scene, on an official printed card. Officers were instructed to include as much information as possible, including a person's full name, home address, occupation, detailed physical description, facts about a vehicle if any, and the circumstances of the encounter. Most of those stopped and questioned were surprisingly cooperative, especially after learning they would not be arrested or ticketed. Anyone with a criminal record, however, usually didn't mention it.
The FIVO cards were turned in at Police Headquarters and eventually loaded into a computer bank. During the process an automatic cross-check added any criminal convietions to the FIVO report.
For a while FIVO records were in bad repute within the Miami force. It happened after several police officers clogged the system with bogus reports in hopes of gaining attention and perhaps promotion. Some FIVO cards even bore names copied from graveyard tombstones. Eventually, after a few officers were caught and disciplined, the practice ceased. But many in the force distrusted FIVOs long afterward, including Ainslie.