There were no other fingerprints on the tape. There were no fingerprints on the chain saw. There was no surveillance video of the tape being placed on the rack at the video store. There were no suspects. WITHIN A FEW hours of the discovery of Julian Matisse's body in the row house in North Philly, a total of ten detectives were assigned to the case.
Sales of camcorders had skyrocketed in the city, and the possibility of copycat crimes was very real. The task force had dispatched an undercover plainclothes detective to every independently owned video store in the city, the theory being that the Actor was choosing them because of the ease with which he could bypass the older security systems.
For the PPD, and the Philadelphia field office of the FBI, the Actor was now Priority One. The story had received international attention, and crime nuts, film nuts, and nuts of all trees were coming into the city.
From the moment the story broke, a near hysteria had taken place at video stores, both independent and chain, overrun with people renting graphically violent films. Channel 6 Action News set up crews to interview people coming out with armloads of VHS tapes.
"Of all the Nightmare on Elm Street tapes, I hope the Actor kills someone like Freddy does in Part Three-"
"I rented Se7en, but when I got to the part where the lawyer gets the pound of flesh removed, it was the same scene as in the original… bummer-"
"I've got The Untouchables… Maybe the Actor goes Louisville Slugger on some guy's head in it like De Niro does."
"I hope I see some of the murders like they have in-"
"Carlito's Way-"
"Taxi Driver-"
"The Public Enemy-" "The Getaway-" "M-"
"Reservoir Dogs-"
To the department, the possibility of someone not coming forward with a tape-opting to keep it or sell it on eBay-was as disturbing as it was possible.
Jessica had three hours until the task force meeting. Word was she might be heading the task force, and the notion was more than a little daunting. There was an average of ten years' experience in the unit for every detective assigned to the task force, and she would be directing them.
She began to gather her files and notes when she saw the pink WHILE YOU WERE OUT slip. Faith Chandler. She had not yet returned the woman's phone call. She had forgotten all about her. The woman's life was tattered by grief and pain and loss and Jessica had neglected to follow up. She picked up the phone, dialed. After a few rings, a woman answered.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Chandler, this is Detective Balzano. I'm sorry I haven't been able to get back to you."
Silence. Then: "This is… I'm Faith's sister."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Jessica said. "Is Faith in?"
More silence. Something was wrong. "Faith isn't… Faith is in the hospital."
Jessica felt the floor drop away. "What happened?"
She heard the woman sniffle. After a moment, "They don't know. They say it might be acute alcohol poisoning. There were a lot of… well, that's what they said. She's in a coma. They say she probably won't make it."
Jessica recalled the bottle on the TV table when they had visited Faith Chandler. "When did this happen?"
"After Stephanie… well, Faith has a bit of a problem with alcohol. I guess she just couldn't stop. I found her early this morning."
"Was she home at the time?"
"Yes."
"Was she alone?"
"I guess so… I mean, I don't know. She was when I found her. Before that, I just don't know."
"Did you or anyone call the police?"
"No. I called nine-one-one."
Jessica glanced at her watch. "Stay right there. We'll be there in ten minutes." FAITH'S SISTER SONYA was an older, heavier version of Faith. But where Faith's eyes were soul-weary, threaded with sorrow and exhaustion, Sonya's were clear and alert. Jessica and Byrne talked to her in the small kitchen at the back of the row house. There was a single glass in the strainer by the sink, rinsed and already dry. The man sat on a stoop two doors down from Faith Chandler's row house. He was in his seventies. He had wild gray hair down to his shoulders, a five-day stubble, and sat in what looked like a motorized wheelchair from the 1970s-bulky, jury-rigged with cup holders, bumper stickers, radio antennae, and reflectors, but very well maintained. His name was Atkins Pace. He spoke with a deep Louisiana drawl.
"Do you sit out here a lot, Mr. Pace?" Jessica asked.
"Just about every day when it's nice, chere. I got my radio, I got my iced tea. What more could a man want? 'Cept maybe a pair a legs to chase pretty girls with."
The twinkle in his eyes said he was just making light of his situation, something he had probably done for years.
"Were you sitting out here yesterday?" Byrne asked.
"Yessir."
"What time?"
Pace looked at the two detectives, summing up the situation. "This is about Faith, isn't it?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because I seen the paramedics take her away this morning."
"Faith Chandler is in the hospital, yes," Byrne replied.
Pace nodded, then made the sign of the cross. He was nearing an age where folks fit into one of three categories. Already, just about, and not quite yet. "Can you tell me what happened to her?" he asked.
"We're not sure," Jessica replied. "Did you see her at all yesterday?"
"Oh yeah," he said. "I seen her."
"When?"
He looked skyward, as if gauging the time by the position of the sun. "Well, I'll bet it was in the afternoon. Yes'm. I'd say that was most accurate. After twelve noon."
"Was she coming or going?"
"Coming home."
"Was she alone?" Jessica asked.
He shook his head. "No, ma'am. She was with a fella. Nice looking. Looked like a schoolteacher maybe."
"Have you ever seen him before?"
Back up to the sky. Jessica was starting to think this man used the heavens as his own private PDA. "Nope. New one to me."
"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"
"The ordinary?"
"Were they arguing, anything like that?"
"No," Pace said. "It was pretty much business as usual, if you know what I mean."
"I don't. Tell me."
Pace looked left, then right. Stoop gossip coming. He leaned forward. "Well, she looked to be in her cups. Plus, they was carrying a few more bottles. I don't like to tell tales, but you asked, and there you have it."
"Would you be able to describe the man who was with her?"
"Oh yeah," Pace said. "Right down to his shoelaces if you want."
"Why is that?" Jessica asked.
The man fixed her with a knowing smile. It erased a few years from his furrowed face. "Young lady, I've been in this chair over thirty years. Watching people is what I do. "
He then closed his eyes and rattled off everything Jessica was wearing, right down to her earrings and the color of the pen in her hand. He opened his eyes, winked.
"Very impressive," she said.
"It's a gift," Pace replied. "Not one I asked for, but I most definitely have it, and I try to use it for the good of humankind."
"We'll be right back," Jessica said.
"I'll be right here, chere. "
Back inside the row house, Jessica and Byrne stood in the center of Stephanie's bedroom. At first they'd believed that the answer to what had happened to Stephanie was contained in these four walls-her life as it stood on the day she left it. They had examined every item of clothing, every letter, every book, every trinket.
As Jessica looked at the room now, she noticed that everything was exactly the same as it had been a few days earlier. Except for one thing. The picture frame on the dresser-the one that had held a photograph of Stephanie and her friend-was now empty.