"Dr. Escalante," Wayne Turner said to a heavy-set, dark complected man with the sad eyes and weary air of someone who has given up hope, "I'm one of the detectives working on your wife's disappearance."
"Is Gloria dead?" Escalante asked, expecting the worst.
They were sitting in the doctor's office at the Wayside Clinic, a modern, two-story building located at the far end of the Wayside Mall.
Escalante was one of several doctors, physical therapists and health care specialists who made up the staff of the clinic. His specialty was cardiology and he had privileges at Hunter's Point Hospital. Everyone spoke highly of Dr. Escalante's skills. They also thought he was one hell of a nice guy who was unfailingly cheerful. Or, at least, he had been until a month and a half ago, when be came home to his Tudor-style house in West Hunter's Point and found a note and a black rose.
"I'm afraid we have no more information about your wife. We assume she's alive, until we learn otherwise."
"Then why are you here?"
"I have a few questions that may help us with the case."
Turner read off the names of the other missing women and their spouses, including the Lakes. As he read the names, Turner placed photographs of the victims and their husbands faceup on Escalante's desk.
"Do you or your wife know any of these people in any capacity whatsoever, Doctor?" Turner asked.
Escalante studied the photographs carefully. He picked up one of them.
"This is Simon and Samantha Reardon, isn't it?"
Turner nodded.
"He's a neurosurgeon. I've seen the Reardons at a few Medical Association functions. A few years ago, he spoke at a seminar I attended. I don't recall the topic."
"That's good. Were you friendly with the Reardons?"
Escalante laughed harshly. "People with my skin color don't travel in the same social circles as the Reardons, Detective. I don't suppose you were permitted to interview the esteemed doctor at the Delmar Country Club."
Wayne nodded.
"Yeah. Well, that's the type of guy Simon Reardon is…"
Escalante suddenly remembered why Turner was interested in Samantha Reardon and his wife.
"I'm sorry. I should be more charitable. Simon is probably going through the same hell I am."
"Probably. Any of the others ring a bell?"
Escalante started to shake his head, then stopped.
"This one is a lawyer, isn't he?" he asked, pointing at Peter Lake's photograph.
"Yes, he is," Turner answered, trying to hide his excitement.
"it didn't hit me until now. What a coincidence."
"What's that?"
"Gloria was chosen for jury duty six months ago. She sat on one of Lake's cases. I remember because she said she was glad it wasn't a medical malpractice or she would have been excused. It didn't matter though. The lawyers settled the case halfway through, so she didn't vote on it."
"You're certain it was Peter Lake's case?"
"I met her after court. We were going to dinner. I saw him."
"Okay. That's a big help. Anyone else look familiar?" Turner asked, although, at this point, he really didn't care.
"It's lake, Chief," Frank Grimsbo told O'Malley. "We're certain."
"Are we talking hard evidence?" — O'Malley asked.
"Not yet. But there's too much circumstantial to look the other way,"
Wayne Turner answered.
"How do you two feel about this?" O'Malley asked Glen Michaels and Nancy Gordon.
"It makes sense, Michaels responded. "I'm going back over the evidence in all of the cases tomorrow to see if I have anything I can tie to Lake."
O'Malley turned toward Nancy. She looked grim.
"I'd reached the same conclusion for other reasons, Chief I don't know how we can nail him, but I'm certain he's our man. I talked to Dr. Klien this morning and ran Lake's profile by him. He said it's possible. A lot of sociopaths aren't serial killers. They're successful businessmen or politicians or lawyers. Think of the advantage you have in those professions if you don't have a conscience to slow you down. In the past few days, I've been talking to people who know lake. They all say he's charming, but none of them would turn their back on him. He's supposed to have the ethics of a shark and enough savvy to stay just this side of the line. There have been several Bar complaints, but none that was successful. A few malpractice suits. I talked to the lawyers who represented the plaintiffs. He skated on every one of them."
"There's a big difference between being a sleazy lawyer and killing six people, including your own daughter," O'Malley said. "Why would he endanger himself by getting so close to the investigation?"
"So he can see what we've got," Grimsbo said.
"I think there's more to it, Chief," Nancy said. "He's up to something."
Nancy told O'Malley about Lake's stakeout.
"That doesn't make sense," Turner said. "Waters isn't really a suspect.
He just happened to be around the Escalante house the day she disappeared. There's no connection between Waters and any other victim."
"But there is a connection between Lake and every victim," Grimsbo cut in.
"Let's hear it," O'Malley said.
"Okay. We have Gloria Escalante sitting on one of his juries. He and the Reardons belong to the Delmar Country Club. Patricia Cross and Sandra Lake were in the junior League. Anne Hazelton's husband is an attorney.
He says they've been to Bar Association functions the Lakes attended."
"Some of those connections are pretty tenuous."
"What are the odds on one person being linked to all six victims?"
"Turner asked.
"Hunter's Point isn't that big a place."
"Chief," Nancy said, "he's been coming on to me."
"What?"
"It's sexual. He's interested. He's let me know." Nancy recounted the way Lake acted during their two meetings at Chang's.
O'Malley frowned. "I don't know, Nancy."
"His wife died less than a month ago. It's not normal."
"You're attractive. He's trying to get over his grief Maybe he and Mrs. lake didn't get — along that well. Did you find any of that when you talked to the neighbors?"
Grimsbo shook his head. "No gossip about the Lakes. They were a normal couple according to the people I talked to."
"Same here," Turner said.
"Doesn't that undercut your theory?"
"Dr. Klien said a serial killer can have a wife and family, or a non-normal relationship with a girlfriend," Nancy answered.
"Look at the lake murders," Turner offered. "We know from one of his associates, who was working late, that Lake was at his office until shortly before seven. The neighbor sees him driving toward his house at seven-twenty, maybe a little after. There's no 911 call until forty-five minutes later. What's he doing inside with the dead bodies? If they're dead, that is."
"We think he came in and his wife confronted him with something she'd found that connected him to the disappearances."
"But they weren't news. No one knew about them," O'Malley said.
"Oh, shit," Michaels swore.
"What?"
"The note. It was the only one with prints on it."
"So?" Grimsbo asked.
"The other notes had no fingerprints on them, but the note next to Sandra Lake's body had her prints on it.
According to the autopsy report, Sandra Lake died instantly or, at least, she was unconscious as soon as she was hit on the back of the head. When did she touch the note?"
I still don't "She finds the note or the rose or both. She asks Lake what they are. He knows the story will break in the paper eventually. No matter what he tells her now, she'll know he's the rose killer. So he panics, kills her and leaves the rose and the note next to the body to make us think the same person who's taken the other women also killed his wife. And that explains why only Lake's note has a print and why it's Sandra Lake's print," Michaels said. "She was holding it before she was killed."