Chapter Thirty-Five
Harper left the interrogation room and slumped down in the darkened observation room. Denise watched him closely. ‘We need more time,’ she said. ‘That’s all. He’s tough. You should’ve seen Abby’s room. She’s just a kid, Tom. If Leo killed her, we’ve got to find out where she is. The question is,
‘You don’t seem convinced?’ said Harper.
Denise moved across to the window. She prodded it with her forefinger. ‘I hate him, Tom, I hate everything about him. He’s a vicious little racist, a bully, a coward. He’s everything I hate about people wrapped up in one ugly package, but he’s not bright, is he? He’s not got an organized mind.’
‘I’ve been thinking the same thing.’
‘We’ve got to find another way to get him to talk.’
Harper nodded. They both stared into the small interview room as two more detectives entered and started going through the routine. One prowling, one sitting. One getting close, the other keeping in the background with threats chipping away at the nerves.
Harper leaned on to his elbows and stared into the room. Eddie entered the observation room, carrying three coffees. ‘He’s a hard nut, this one,’ Eddie said. ‘A real thick skin. Or maybe just real thick.’
Harper took his coffee. ‘Thanks, Eddie. Anything more from his apartment?’
‘Shitloads of racist crap. Shitloads of it. But nothing to tie him to Capske. Not yet anyway. Forensics will be days going through all his stuff.’
‘He’s part of some organization, though. You find anything?’
‘He’s definitely part of something, but it seems he’s a pretty small cog within it. We’ve got the other three guys locked up in the cells. They’re all scared of something, so no one’s saying anything. I don’t know who’s leading this operation, but they are real spooked.’
‘Lukanov hasn’t given you a single name,’ said Denise.
‘Why do you think it is, Denise? Maybe he’s just as scared as the rest.’
‘Could be. We’ve all seen it before. Gangs don’t dare rat people out. I think he knows he’s got to stay quiet.’
‘There’s plenty of vicious hate gangs in prison. He talks, gives people up, they’re going to hurt him bad.’
‘Yeah, maybe, but I think it’s something else,’ said Denise.
‘What?’ said Harper.
‘There’s someone pulling the strings. Someone he’s really terrified of.’
‘That’s my thought too,’ said Harper. ‘Which leads me to something I’ve been thinking since the arrest.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Eddie.
‘Read Lukanov’s record. Every time he’s been arrested, it’s for some group attack. He’s one of those men who get brave when it’s five to one. I just don’t see him as a lone wolf, which means that it’s unlikely he killed Capske. Denise, what do you think?’
‘It’s difficult to call, Tom. He could be capable of operating alone, but I’d agree with you. Most likely scenario, Lukanov is only violent within the group.’
‘Another thing. He didn’t want to get involved in the alley. He kept back.’ Harper stood up. He drank down his coffee and took another look at Leo Lukanov through the glass. Lukanov was unshaven and tired. He’d taken off his denim shirt and was wearing a white tank top.
Harper pointed at Lukanov. ‘Look at his arms and hands. There isn’t a single scratch mark on his skin. You ever tried to work with barbed wire? The killer was working with barbed wire in the dark with a victim. It’s not evidence, but if it’s not Lukanov, then whoever it is, he’s still out there.’
Harper took Eddie to the side of the investigation room. ‘I want you to look into something for me.’
Eddie forced a smile. ‘What?’
‘There’s no match on any of our databases or ViCAP for this kind of MO. The barbed wire, the torture, the point blank gunshot. We came up with nothing. Denise, how long before a serial killer gets so deluded, they think they can do anything?’
‘Can happen after one kill in some cases,’ said Denise. ‘There’s a moment when every repeat killer is sitting in their apartment thinking about what they’ve done, when they suddenly realize that no one’s come calling for them. They’ve done the worst thing they can and they’ve gotten away with it. They get to think they’re immune or invincible. Or, they get angry, because they wanted to be noticed and they wanted to be understood.’
‘Eddie, our killer could’ve killed before, got no reaction, so upped his game with Capske.’
‘And this time, he made sure he had an audience. He called them,’ said Eddie. ‘So we’ve got to find that kill. If it’s Lukanov, then it’ll only help to link him.’
‘Leo Lukanov’s linked with two attacks, both of Jewish victims. If we count Denise as well, that’s three attacks. Eddie, I want you to search out every crime against anyone even remotely Jewish. See what you get.’
‘I’ll do it,’ said Eddie. ‘I’ll find something.’
‘Denise, I suggest we take a walk in Forest Park.’
‘You serious?’
‘It’s a material link to this case. You were looking into something and Lukanov or someone connected to Lukanov wanted to hide that so much, they were willing to attack you.’
‘God, I’d hate to think what guys like that would want to hold someone like Abby for,’ said Denise.
‘Try not to think about things like that.’
‘I’ll stay here and search ViCAP,’ said Eddie. The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program was a database of all recorded crimes across the States.
‘If we get something from ViCAP or Forest Park, it’s going to be easier to give Leo Lukanov a hard time,’ said Harper.
Chapter Thirty-Six
They stood at the end of Park Lane South and looked across the street to Forest Park.
‘Do you have any idea what the connection might be?’ said Harper.
‘At the moment, the only connection with Abby is circumstantial,’ Denise told him. ‘These Nazis seem to have chanced across Abby and hassled her. She complained and then the graffiti appeared and they showed up near her home. I don’t know how it links with Capske or even if it does.’
‘No, the only connection is that Leo Lukanov was involved in both, and both victims were Jewish. The MO is very different,’ said Harper.
‘We don’t know that. Abby might have been murdered in the same way.’
‘True, but there’s no evidence that either the disappearance of Abby or the murder of Capske was because they were Jewish.’
‘No, there’s no evidence yet, but that’s what we’re here for.’
‘So talk me through it,’ said Harper.
‘Abby crosses the road here. She was nearly knocked down by a delivery truck. The drivers came forward. They say she gave them the finger.’
‘Spirited girl.’
‘Yeah, she actually is pretty tough. A Black Belt in karate too.’
‘What happened next?’
Denise led them across the street. ‘She was heading this way and then she disappeared. A dog walker found her clothes and books carefully stowed in a tree in the woods.’
‘You said it was raining that night?’
