got to the girl yet.’
‘What’s the layout look like?’ asked Harper.
‘The building’s got an elevator and two stairwells. They make their way to the apartment up the stairs, take the door off its hinges, then take him down.’
‘Simple as that,’ Harper said.
‘That’s how it’s going to be. What’s the problem?’
‘I don’t like it,’ said Harper.
‘What? That I’m going to take him down?’
‘No, Nate, I don’t like the situation. He’s too smart to give us such an easy lead.’
‘He’s not smart, he’s spooked — the press statement panicked him. He doesn’t know we can trace his cell phone. He thinks he’s indestructible.’
‘Maybe, but he didn’t sound like it. Give me a look at the residents’ list.’
‘Sure, look all you like, but there’s only one Elizabeth living in this building. I’m going into the lobby,’ said Williamson. ‘I need to be there when they bring the bastard out.’
Harper leaned over the list of residents. He called the concierge to his side. ‘Hey, what’s your name?’
‘Marvin,’ said the concierge.
‘Is this list up to date?’
‘Sure is,’ said Marvin. ‘I only just got the latest list yesterday.’
Harper stared down the list. He was working through the angles. The killer’s call had been triangulated and he’d given them a name, Elizabeth, but maybe the name was phoney. They couldn’t know for sure. The triangulation meant only one thing and that was that twenty minutes earlier the killer had been somewhere in the building. But that was all they knew.
He turned to Marvin. ‘Tell me about Elizabeth Constantine.’
Marvin sucked his teeth. ‘Like I told Detective Williamson, she’s pretty, all right. About twenty-four. Nice lady. Quite a small woman, but she’s very polite.’
‘What colour hair?’
‘She’s blonde.’
Harper nodded. Williamson’s instincts seemed to be right. ‘Well, I hope she’s all right.’
‘So do I,’ said Marvin. ‘She’s a real nice addition to the family.’
‘What did you say?’ said Harper.
‘We’re like one big family here.’
‘No,’ said Harper, ‘you said she was a nice addition.’
‘Yeah,’ said Marvin. ‘She’s only been here a couple of weeks.’
‘Where did she live before?’
‘I don’t know that kind of stuff, but it’d be on her registration documents. You’ll have to see the building manager.’
Harper ’s finger stopped halfway down the resident list. Elizabeth Constantine was new to the building. The question troubling Harper was whether she was also new to the city. ‘Get yourself back to the building and find me those documents,’ he said.
Marvin jogged back towards the Laker Building. Harper looked up at the building. Eddie sidled up. ‘You’ve got that look on your face, Harps.’
‘Elizabeth Constantine moved in two weeks ago.’
‘Does that matter?’
‘I don’t know. He’s a careful bastard. We know he stalks them for a long time, sometimes years. If she’s just moved here, he’s not had long to get to know this building. I don’t know. And if she’s from out of town, how the hell has he been stalking her?’
‘Maybe he’s killed all the girls he’s been stalking,’ said Eddie.
‘Yeah, or it means he might be setting us up. Get across to Williamson and get him to call the SWAT teams, let them know we’re less than a hundred per cent on this. Tell them to be cautious. I don’t want anyone hurt. We need to be certain.’
‘Got you,’ said Eddie, and he ran towards the building.
Harper needed to check his thinking. He couldn’t afford to be wrong if he was going to get Williamson to back off. He called Denise Levene. ‘Listen up, Denise. I’ve got no time to explain but I’ve got a major situation here. Can you speak?’
Denise shook off her tiredness and sat up in bed. Fahrenheit, her spaniel, lay between Daniel and her on the big double, blissfully asleep. ‘Go ahead,’ she said as Daniel stirred in his sleep.
‘The killer called us. He identified himself as Sebastian. He said he’s going to kill a girl called Elizabeth and we traced the call to a building here full of wealthy residents. So we’ve got the killer located somewhere inside the building, except we’re not sure which apartment.’
‘Is this Elizabeth in the building?’
‘Well, there’s only one Elizabeth listed. We’re about to go in. Except this Elizabeth is new to the building. She moved in a couple of weeks ago. She’s maybe even new to the city. What do you make of it?’
Denise let it float around her mind for a moment. ‘He likes to know things inside out. I’d say it’s improbable if she’s new to the city, but I’m not sure it matters if she’s moved apartment.’
‘Except that we’re pretty sure all his locations have been thoroughly scoped and he wouldn’t have been able to get to know how this building works in two weeks. You can never be a hundred per cent, but if he doesn’t know this building, then this is high risk.’
‘You might be right, Tom. You got the residents’ list?’
‘Right here,’ said Harper. ‘But it doesn’t have any other Elizabeth on it.’
‘Okay, this isn’t absolute but his type is likely to be late teens to mid-twenties. She will live alone. She will probably work in a people profession. She’ll be fair or blonde. You got anyone else like that? Keep looking. Maybe it’s someone’s daughter.’
‘I’ll look into it. Thanks.’ Denise was about to reply but Harper had already switched off the phone and was sprinting towards the building.
Chapter Thirty-One
The Laker Building
November 20, 11.27 p.m.
The hallway was pitch dark and the SWAT team wouldn’t switch the lights on. They put some patrol on the lift but scaled the stairs on foot, all seventeen storeys. It was quiet as hell in the building. The halls, exits, roof, lift and fire escapes had all been sealed and manned. They were the only way up or down. The rise up the stairs went quickly. They pushed through into the hall, three men arriving from each side. They kept in contact with hand gestures. Again, it was pitch dark in the hall at their request and the team felt their way along in torchlight. Then they were there at the apartment.
Down below, Williamson was listening on his headset. His heart was thumping. Through the headset, he could hear breathing and footsteps, but nothing else. Suddenly Harper appeared at his side. Eddie was already there with his arms out, palms upwards, pleading. ‘He’s not listening!’ he yelled to Tom.
‘Williamson, I’ve got to speak to you. This killer wouldn’t use an apartment building he doesn’t know. He wouldn’t make a mistake like that. He’s not going for Elizabeth Constantine. He’s set you up. You’ve got to call them off.’
‘The call located him in this building, her name’s Elizabeth, she’s blonde, I checked. Hey, Harper, I’m following the evidence, not you.’
‘They didn’t locate him in her apartment. Look at the detail. The only reason you think he’s up with Elizabeth Constantine is because of her name and he gave us the name. There might be another Elizabeth or another girl altogether. Do the math, Nate. If she’s been here for two weeks, then he can’t have worked out how to do this.’
