The first was a cheeseburger. The second was his wife.
Maria had not asked to be involved in the investigation. But McCaskey knew she enjoyed getting her hands dirty, and in his mind this was as dirty as things got. Politics and murder. As old as Genesis. McCaskey did not tell her about Hood's conversation with Debenport. It was important that he convey the information objectively. He wanted her opinion, not her reaction to his own upset.
The murders were being investigated by the Metro Police First District Substation at 500 E Street SW. Lieutenant Robert Howell was leading the Focused Mission Unit, which consisted of four sergeants on loan from homicide.
McCaskey had phoned ahead. Howell said he would still be at the station house when they arrived. He greeted the McCaskeys in his small, clean, second-floor office. The men had spoken on the phone the day before, after District Commander Charlie Alterman agreed to let Op-Center run the Wilson investigation. That meant Howell got to keep the case, which otherwise would have shifted from FMU to Homicide. The murder of Lawless was added to the FMU 'dig,' as they referred to forensics investigations, since the team had already been fielded.
There were photos of his parents and himself and framed diplomas from the Florida State University School of Criminology on the office wall.
McCaskey was not surprised. The thirty-something lieutenant looked like a 'college cop,' as they used to call them in the FBI. He was a lean, clean-cut, tightly wound man with short red hair and deep-set eyes. His voice had the hint of a Southern accent. His white shirt was heavily starched so it did not wrinkle. Wrinkles suggested perspiration, and perspiration suggested worry or insecurity. Those were conditions that schooled detectives were taught to avoid. Howell did not sit until Maria had been seated. He was polite. That did not mean he would be cooperative. McCaskey had made his team look foolish and also had stolen their assignment.
As the men sat, Howell expressed both concern and genuine outrage about what happened at Op- Center.
'Officially or not, our resources are at your disposal,' Howell said.
The detective's words gave McCaskey a whisper of hope. Men with vastly different interests could still find common ground in their response to horrific acts. Maybe the rest of what they did the jockeying and the politics, the bargains made and assurances broken was just not important enough to worry about.
'I very much appreciate your offer,' McCaskey said. 'Actually, I came by because I did not want you to think the attack has slowed our work on the Wilson case. It was based mostly on fieldwork, which is ongoing.'
'Have you made progress?'
'Possibly,' McCaskey said. 'I'll be checking with one of my operatives in a few hours.' He did not want to tell the detective about Mike Rodgers's full-court press against Orr's team. The job of the Metro Police was to protect and serve. The reality was they protected and served government heavyweights with special care. Their budget came from Congress. They would not appreciate Op-Center's more intrusive methods. 'Do you have anything to freshen the mix?'
'We have what may be a nail polish and fiber sample from the second crime scene,' Howell told him. 'But that does not help because, first, Lawless may have picked those up somewhere else and, second, we do not have a suspect.'
'Meaning there is nothing to compare it to,' McCaskey said. 'Where did you recover it?'
'From Lawless's silver-link watch band,' Howell said. 'It may have snagged the hem of her sleeve or lapel when he tried to defend himself.'
'Do you have the specs?'
Howell nodded and went to his computer. He brought up the laboratory data. 'The nail polish is a silky beige manufactured by a Chicago firm, Niles Polish. It's sold in shops nationwide, so it's unlikely we'll find the buyer. We cross-referenced charge card purchases with Senator Orr's guest list, but that turned up nothing.'
'She probably paid cash,' McCaskey said.
'That, and she could have done so anywhere in the country. As for the fiber, that is satin, navy blue, just like the dress we saw in the security camera video. The dye was manufactured by the Fuchun River Chemical Corporation of China, which does not tell us anything about the garment itself.'
'One of those things did not come from the killer,' Maria said. 'Unless she has a terrible fashion sense.'
'That was our conclusion,' Howell said. 'Mr. Lawless might have picked up the nail polish from a handshake or making a purchase.
Hypodermic needles are easy enough to come by. We have been looking into individuals who would be qualified to have given both victims an injection. But there are over three hundred female dentists and hygienists alone in the metropolitan region. Then there are literally thousands of other medical doctors, nurses, even
