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.
Which explains something, Sloan said. ODell told Louise Compton that there was somebody at the door, which meant that she didnt know who was at the door, which meant that she didnt know whod be arriving. She wasnt expecting anyone, like a boyfriend. There was no easy explanation for that knock, at least not in her mind.
So Audrey shoots her, checks her to make sure shes dead, runs back down the stairs, carefully pulling the tape off the locks… and goes home.
Fuckin cold, man, Sloan said.
Sheiscold. I wonder if she was cold enough to wash the sticky stuff off the doors when she pulled off the tape? Shed need acetone, or something, Lucas said.
They were both staring at the fire door. Sloan reached out to the doorknob, pulled the door open, bent forward to look at the lock tongue, then knelt. Lucas squatted beside him.
Looks like sticky stuff, Sloan said. He tapped his index finger next to what looked like gray tape residue.
Wonder how many movers have gone in and out, using tape?
Up this high? None. Thats why the elevators so big. And I think this stuff would wear away, if the door was opened and closed on it enough. So its probably fairly new.
Lets get Crime Scene over here, Lucas said, standing up. And lets get a search warrant ready, see if we can find some tape at her place that matches this sticky stuffif the lab guys can make a match like that.
On the way back down in the elevator, Sloan said, Its a reach.
Shesa reach. She looks like Old Mother Hubbard and shes really the Wicked Witch of the West.
THE HENNEPIN COUNTY ATTORNEY, RANDALL TOWSON; his chief deputy, Donald Dunn; and Richard Kirk, head of the criminal division, met with Lucas and Frank Lester, deputy chief and head of the investigative division.
Youre telling us shes a serial killer, Towson said.
Everything points to it, Lucas said. Im not sure we could prove it to a jury.
Make the argument.
Youve all seen the memo. The major point is this: We have too many unusual deaths. First, her parents. She benefited directly from the death of her mothera fifteenthousand-dollar life insurance policy that her sister apparently didnt share in. She probably got insurance fromthe death of her fatherher mother was weak, and Audrey seemed to be running things, even then, as a kid. We also have four obvious and unquestioned murders: George Arris, shot in the back of the head in St. Paul; Daniel Kresge, who you all know was shot while deer hunting last week; Wilson McDonald, who she admits shooting to death; and Susan ODell, who was shot to death in her apartment. Audrey McDonald was the last person known to have been with ODell.
Id think that would almost be exculpatory, from what I get from your memo, Kirk said. She could prove that she was out of the building before the killing happened.
Things have changed in the last hour, since I wrote the memo, Lucas said. Detective Sloan and I have worked out a way she might have done it. There might even be the possibility of some physical evidence
…
How…
He explained quickly about the duct tape, then said, Let me finish this other thought. In addition to her parents and the four outright murders, we also have four mysterious deaths: Andy Ingall disappeared and has never been found after a supposed boating accident; eleven-year-old Tom McKinney was killed while riding his bicycle; and Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Baird were burned to death in their cabin. We also have two aggravated assaults in the past two weeks. One was on my former fianceeґ, Weather Karkinnen; her house was firebombed, youve probably read about it. Normally, I wouldnt suggest that there was a tie, but I would here. You can read the full reasoning in the memo Audrey has a history of attacking people to distract, as well as to eliminate, and I believe thats what she did here. We even have some evidence for this.
And it is…
When Mr. and Mrs. Baird were burned to death, investigators found the remnants of a glass jug in their front room, and the glass had been scored to make sure the bottle broke on impact, Lucas said. That feels like a pro job but it happens that when my finaceґe was firebombed, remnantsof the bottle used in that bombing showed the same kind of scoring.
Jesus Christ, Towson said.
Then, last week, another friend of mine was attacked, Sister Mary Joseph, from St. Annes College. As it happens, Audrey McDonald knew her. And presumably knew where she lived, and attacked her for the same reason she attacked Weather. To get me off her back.
And you can show that she benefited from all of these, Dunn said.
She benefited financially from the killings of her father and motherin addition to the money, she may have killed her father because he was sexually and probably physically abusing her, and she got rid of him. All the other deaths were done to push her husbands career: when you put them down in outline form, youll find that he benefited from each of the other deaths… Look at page three of the memo, theres a chart.
What about her husband?
I think her husband was killed because we were getting too close, and he was a rather notorious coward. If he knew about the killings, he might have ratted her out, if there was pressure. Also, she inherits, if shes found not guilty of murdering him. Running through his files after he was killed, we figured he could be worth about seven, eight million.
I see one problem, Towsons deputy said, snapping the paper with his finger. If I remember right, you guys had elected Wilson McDonald for the Kresge killing.
Looking at this, I ask myself, couldnt McDonald have done all of these? We know he was a brutal asshole. Look what he did to his own wife.