Patty looked at the pretty blond-haired girl and said, “Are they known for anything else?”
“Just one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Pot.”
THIRTY-TWO
As much as he hated to admit it, Tony Mazzetti knew he was looking at a string of killings. After talking with Patty Levine and Sparky Taylor and seeing the mounting evidence, he and Sergeant Zuni had concluded that the chances were remote that all of the deaths of the fraternity members were accidents. He wasn’t absolutely convinced they were all connected. Someone who used drugs on one victim wouldn’t be likely to use a gun at close range on another. Just as it seemed unlikely the same person would burn someone alive. There was no pattern. Mazzetti knew that killers loved patterns and hated change.
Now he was over at the medical examiner’s office searching previous deaths ruled accidental or otherwise to see if there were others that could be thrown into the mix. They were starting at October from two years earlier to be on the safe side. Mazzetti and Lisa Kurtz sat at a table in the administration building of the medical examiner’s office and carefully looked at each file of any male under the age of thirty who had died in the last two years in Duval County.
The whole squad came up with a number of variables like male victims, within the last two years, between the ages of eighteen and thirty, with any association to the college. These included the numerous deaths that were attributed to drug overdoses, and even suspicious car accidents.
Lisa sat next to him and had been nothing but professional the past two hours. He had wondered if it would be awkward working so closely with the young woman he knew was a freak in the bedroom. So far it was not. He was careful not to call her his girlfriend, especially out loud, because he still wasn’t sure how he felt.
Lisa slid an open file across the table to Mazzetti and said, “Here’s another one.”
Mazzetti looked at the photos of the young man laid out on the procedure table of the medical examiner’s office and saw the listed cause of death as “a hunting accident.” He placed the file with the other three files they had already pulled for closer examination.
On the very next file, Lisa said, “Here’s another one. An alcohol poisoning case two days after the party.”
She slid the file to Mazzetti, who looked down and noticed the victim’s name was Josh Hickam. The file went on the stack with the others.
Lynn sat at the end of the long table in the lunchroom of the Thomas Brothers supply company. She had takeout from Wendy’s, but had just picked at her spicy chicken sandwich and allowed all of her French fries to go cold.
Materializing from the side door, Leon slid onto the seat across from her. He had not spoken directly to her about Dale’s arrest since the big man had been carted off, but now he gave her a sly smile and a wink. It made her realize he was younger than she’d originally thought. That weathered skin, the outdoorsy look so many boaters in North Florida developed, made him appear to be fifty when she now thought he was probably not forty.
After a few moments of silence, without any preface or reason, Leon said, “I did all my time in federal prison.”
Lynn wondered where this was going and simply said, “Uh-huh.”
“State time is tough. No rehab, nothing but lock-up and bullshit. But the federal holding center in Atlanta and my last two years at Eglin gave me a chance to take classes and learn from some of the big-time fraud guys. So now I can read people really well.”
“So what?”
“So I can tell you have a secret. A big one.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Leon looked both ways to ensure no one was nearby. “Coming from someone else I might believe you, but knowing your family I’m pretty sure I’m right.”
Lynn was silent.
Leon said, “And I can help.”
“Help with what?”
“Whatever you’re doing.”
Lynn just held eye contact but didn’t say anything.
“Look, I need to do something or I’m gonna go crazy. This lack of excitement is killing me.”
Without meaning to, Lynn said, “I don’t know.”
Leon smiled and said, “Trust me. Besides, I never let things go. Now you’re stuck with me.”
Sergeant Yvonne Zuni felt a hint of claustrophobia with all the blinds drawn and the door closed to her office in the Land That Time Forgot.
Sergeant Zuni had briefed Lieutenant Hester on all the information they had concerning the death of the fraternity brothers. But as she looked across her desk at Lieutenant Hester, crammed into a simple wooden chair, Sergeant Zuni had a sickening feeling in the base of her stomach that the lieutenant was looking at political issues as much as investigative issues.
The lieutenant said, “You understand that the city has worked very hard to attract young people to the universities and events like our growing spring break.”
“I’m not sure I see why that’s relevant to this investigation.”
“Let’s just assume that all the information you have is accurate. Let’s assume that these deaths were intentional. And that’s a big assumption. One death occurred in Atlanta and another in Daytona.”
“The victim in Daytona isn’t dead. He is in a coma.”
“Regardless, the killer, if there really is one, could just as easily live in Atlanta or Daytona or anywhere in between. I’m not sure there’s a reason to bring media scrutiny just on Jacksonville. I’d like to see your detectives work on this as quietly as possible.”
Before Sergeant Zuni could express her true feelings, which was what she was about to do, there was a rap on her office door.
The sergeant called out, “Come in.”
The door swung open and John Stallings stood in the doorway, surprised to see the lieutenant sitting inside the small office.
The lieutenant glared at him and said, “C’mon, Stall, spit it out.”
“I, um, I just needed to speak to the sergeant for a moment.”
The lieutenant said, “Go ahead, speak to her.”
The sergeant looked between the two former partners and saw neither was going to give ground in this standoff.
Stallings nodded and said, “I have some news.”
It was the lieutenant said, “On what?”
The way Stallings glanced at the sergeant told her the news was about Zach Halston. He was weighing the dangers of revealing his continued investigation after the lieutenant had taken him off the case.
Sergeant Zuni said, “I let John work on the missing fraternity brother because he’s the best there is at finding people. I take full responsibility for putting him on the assignment.” She held the lieutenant’s stare, not wanting to back down. This was one of the most important jobs a sergeant had.
Lieutenant Hester was silent for a moment as her eyes shifted back to Stallings.
He said, “One of my snitches says Zach was alive just a few days ago.”
Sergeant Zuni said, “What else did he say?”
“Zach had been in a business hassle with a couple of other pot dealers. One of them was someone dealing to the college crowd.”
“You think that’s why he’s laying low?”
“It’s a reasonable assumption.”
The lieutenant’s poker face made Sergeant Zuni uneasy. The lieutenant didn’t mind sitting in silence either. That made everyone uncomfortable.
Finally Stallings said, “C’mon, Rita, put me back on this thing. I’ll find Zach Halston and maybe he can shed some light on all this other bullshit.”
Now Sergeant Zuni understood just how close Stallings and Lieutenant Hester were. She had never heard anyone talk to the lieutenant like that before. Sergeant Zuni also recognized the lieutenant hadn’t gotten to where she was by sitting back. She got results and knew who could get results for her.
After almost thirty seconds, the lieutenant said in a very even voice, “Will you give me your word you won’t look for Jeanie while you’re on this case?”