I beg your pardon?
LUCAS WENT BACK TO THE RECORDS FOR AN HOUR, and finally came to a push-comes-to-shove point. If Audrey was guilty of all of this, then she must have killed ODell. But according to the investigative records, signed off by Franklin and Sloan, she left the building before ODell was killed. That was confirmed: she logged out of the building at 10:53. Two people visiting their son in the building, who had logged out after her, confirmed that they had left just as aRoseannererun was ending. Nightlineended a couple of minutes before eleven, and they were shown as logging out at eleven, while ODell was confirmed killed at 11:02.
It was possible, of course, that Audrey was a master burglar and that she had some way of getting into a building with a security desk in the lobby. Or that she had somehow obtained a key card for the elevator. But the first of those possibilities seemed laughable, while the second was only barely reasonableshe wouldnt have had much time to plan the killing of ODell, unless the killing was part of a long-range plan.
He thought about that for a moment. Maybe she did have a long-range plan. Maybe she had access to everybody she might ever need to kill. Then he shook his head. Couldnt think that way. If she was working off a long-range plan, which had somehow involved getting home keys for all her possible victims, then she was a perfect killer and they were out of luck.
He glanced at his watch, punched up his computer, and wrote a memo, with copies to Frank Lester, head of the investigative division, and Rose Marie Roux.
Halfway through, a sheriffs deputy called from Itasca County. You called yesterday about the Baird case?
Yeah, thanks for calling back, Lucas said. How well do you know the case?
I was lead investigator, the deputy said. I pretty much know it all.
I understand it was a firebombing, Lucas said. A Molotov cocktail.
Yeah, thats right. A mix of gas and oil in a gallon jug, the deputy said.
Was there anything weird about the bottle? Lucas asked.
After a moment of pregnant silence, the deputy said, Like what?
Like scoring? Like with a glass cutter?
Another beat. Then, Hown the hell did you know about that? We never put it in the report…
WHEN HE WAS DONE WITH THE MEMOS, LUCAS printed them and walked them down to Rouxs office and left them with the secretary. Homicide was just down the hall, so he stopped by.
Sherrill was at her desk: Lunch?
She was sitting next to Sloan, who was eating a corned beef sandwich. If you dont think peoplell think youre fucking me, she said, just loud enough for Sloan to hear.
Sloan never flinched. Lets go, Lucas said. And to Sloan: Have you got an hour, in an hour or so? To go over to ODells place, and look around?
Sure.
LUCAS AND SHERRILL WALKED DOWN THE STREET TO a cop hangout, got sandwiches, and Sherrill said, I hope I can get past this wise-mouth stuff with you. Ive been a wise-ass ever since we got together, and Im having a hard time getting off that wavelength.
Ill recite you a poem sometime, Lucas said. It makes women feel all gushy and tender; they roll right over on their backs.
You just did it to me.
What?
Wise-assed me. I heard you read poetry. I alwaysthought it was neat. Now you wise-assed it.
Yeah. He looked up at her, serious now. Im sorry I wise-assed it. I do like poetry, and I do like reading some of it to women.
Say a poem to me.
He thought, and then said, slowly, It was Din, Din, Din you limpin lump of
Get the fuck out of here, she said. You did it again.
We gotta do something about this, he said, grinning at her. I really am serious. Weve got to have at least one honest talk. Penalties for any wise-ass remarks.
Tomorrow night. For dinner.
Tomorrow, he agreed.
Sherrills phone rang, and she took it out of her purse, listened, and handed it to him: Rose Marie. Christ, she knew right where to call.
Lucas put the phone to his ear. Yeah?
I didnt interrupt a tender moment, did I?
Yeah. I was about to bite into a cheeseburger.
I called Towson about your memo. He wants to meet.
Its too soon.
No its not. Im sending a copy over for him to read. You should get over there at two oclock. Frank is gonna go along. From the memo, I dont think were likely to get her unless she kills somebody else. So you guys are gonna have to figure something out.
LUCAS DROPPED SHERRILL BACK AT THE OFFICE, picked up Sloan, and they walked together over to ODells apartment building. The security guard recognized Sloan and sent them up.
The basic problem is, if you go down in the elevator, you cant get back up without a key card, Sloan said. Even if you have a key card, theres a monitor camera in the elevator, so a guard might recognize you… not that they spend a lot of time looking at the monitor, Sloan said, as they got in the elevator.
So she gets off at another floor…
Nope. Cant get off at another floor. If you get in at the lobby, you can go to any one floor. If you get in at any other floor, you can only go down to the lobby. Unless you have a key card.
How about the fire stairs?
The doors are locked in the lobby and the skyway. From those floors, you cant get in without a key, you can only get out. And you cant get out on any floor except the lobby or the skyway, even if you have a key.
A key, not a key card, Lucas said.
Thats rightlike a Schlage.
How close do they track the cards?
They know how many each person is signed out for. ODell had three, two for herself, and one for her father, who lives way the hell out in South Dakota. We found her two cards, and her father still had his when he was here to pick up the body. So that was all of hers. But somebody else in the building? Who knows? There are almost three hundred cards out. I suppose we could try to find all of them… Id guess a few are missing. The problem is figuring out how the McDonalds might have gotten one.
Huh. If it was all arranged ahead of time, were fucked anyway. What if she had to do it off the top of her head? Maybe a days thought?
Sloan shrugged. You figure it out.
They got off on ODells floor, and Lucas stood with his back to the door of her apartment. She went down first, then she had to get back up to kill her.
Right.
Lucas looked at the elevator: Even if shes got a key card, theres a problem coming back up to kill ODell. She cant guarantee the guard wont look at the monitor out of sheer boredom, if he sees movement on the screen. If he does, shes dead meat. Hes just seen her leave, and now shes going up to kill somebody. Therefore…
She doesnt use the elevator, she uses the stairwell, Sloan said. She has a Schlage key for the door in the skyway. She signs out of the building, runs across the streetto the skyway, goes up, walks across the skyway to the skyway fire door, uses her Schlage to get into the stairwell, walks up here. Where you have a problem: she cant get out of the stairwell. Theres no key at all thatll get you out of the stairwell onto another floor. You can only get out in the skyway or the lobby.
Lucas worked on it for a moment. Like this, he said finally. She knows she doesnt have the votes to make a real deal with ODelclass="underline" she claims shes got them, but Bone says she didnt, and she knows she doesnt. Shes come here specifically to kill ODellshe knows that when she gets here. She cant just sneak up and do it, because she doesnt have any key. She doesnt have anything. So she calls ODell to talk about making a deal, and her only purpose is to get into the building. So she gets out of the elevator, and right when she arrives, before she talks to ODell, she walks over to the fire door, opens it, takes some duct tape out of her purse, tapes the lock, walks down the stairs to the skyway, opens that door, tapes it, and then comes back up here and rings the doorbell.
ODell answers it, they talk, the deal falls through, and she leaves. ODell sees her into the elevator, and she goes down through the lobby and signs out, Sloan said.
Then she runs across the street, comes up into the skyway, goes in through the taped door, runs up the stairs, knocks on the door, and boom. She has to do it theneven though she knows well look at herbecause she cant count on the tape being left on the door for more than a short time.