'Right.'
The sergeant, obviously a man of habit, asked pleasantly if he had a weapon.
Flaherty smiled. I'm an assistant DA, Sergeant,' he said. 'Things haven't got
The cop chuckled. He was an old pro, tall, very straight-standing, with a tanned and leathery face, gentle, alert eyes, and blondish hair turning grey. Nicholson unlocked his desk drawer and took out his 9mm H&K and slipped it into a holster on his belt. He also wore his badge pinned to his belt like an old western sheriff. He slid a thick file folder across the desk to Flaherty.
'You might take a look at this picture first, give you a point of reference. Hilltown's about thirty miles down the pike, off to the northeast of US 44. The Spier place is a couple miles out of town, little frame house, one storey, two bedrooms, kitchen, den, and big bathroom, that's about it. Sets back in the trees.'
He had picked out an aerial photo showing the house at the end of a quarter mile of dirt road that wound through scrub pines and saw grass. Behind it, the road connected with another country road that ended at a lake.
'Calvin Spier and his wife - they own the place - are out in Las Vegas. Weren't due back until the middle of next week, but they're coming back now.'
'Do the Spiers know him?' Flaherty asked.
'Spier says no. Want to go out to the scene? It's a thirty-minute drive' - he winked - 'if I put on the flasher.'
Flaherty nodded and said, 'You're the boss.'
The drive was pleasant despite a misting rain. Nicholson, a social creature, spoke in a quiet, authoritative voice, filling Flaherty in on the prologue to the killing while the young prosecutor made a cursory examination of the package. The pictures confirmed his suspicion that this killing was a repeat of the Balfour/Gellerman murder.
'Fellow owns a quick shop down the road from the road into the Spiers' place, lives behind it. He found him,' Nicholson said. 'Noticed the UPD truck through the trees when he got up yesterday morning. When it was still there at lunchtime, he strolled over to take a look. Front door was standing open. Then he heard the flies. Damn near had a heart attack when he saw that young guy in there all carved up like that. Plus he'd been dead about sixteen hours.'
'What's the victim's name?' asked Flaherty.
'Alexander Lincoln,' Nicholson answered. 'They called him Lex.'
Except one. Aaron Stampler.
Rain dripped off the yellow crime ribbons that had been wrapped around a wide perimeter of the house when they got there. A sheriff's car was parked beside the driveway. A cop waved them through. Several police cars were parked single file as they approached the house.
'We're going to have to run for it,' Nicholson said, turning up the collar of his suit coat. The two men got out of the car and ran through the rain to the small porch that spanned the front of the house. Several detectives in yellow rain slickers stood under the roof. They nodded as Nicholson and Flaherty ducked under the eaves.
'It's a bitch, Nick,' one of the cops said. This rain has washed out footprints, tyre tracks, everything. The old man's a bear.'
Nicholson and Flaherty stood just inside the front door for a few moments. A plainclothes detective was standing beside the door jotting a note to himself in a small notebook.
'Hi, Nick,' he said. 'What a mess, huh.'
'That it is. Ray Jensen, this is Dermott Flaherty. He's a prosecutor with the Chicago DA's office.'
Jensen offered his hand. 'What brings you out here?' he asked.
'We have a thing working up in Chicago. It's a long shot, but there could be a tie-in.'
'Be a nice break for us if we could get some kind of a lead,' said Jensen. 'Right now we're sucking air.'
A hallway led to the rear of the house. Flaherty could see white chalk lines marking where the victim's legs had protruded into the hall. He held a shot of the interior of the house taken from the front door out in front of him. Lincoln's legs could be seen protruding from the door halfway down the hall.
'The Spiers left a light on in the living room,' said Jensen. The rest of the place was dark. My guess is the killer called Lincoln back
