“Good point,” Decker said, sitting back down. “But if she could, Idoubt she’d be enthusiastic about your presence here today. If you’re willingto risk her wrath, there must be a good reason for it.”
“There is, sir. I think I’ve found a case that might serve ourpurposes.”
Decker leaned back in his chair. He looked like he was on the verge ofa smile but managed to fight it off.
“Please, Detective,” he said, impressively hiding his enthusiasm. “Tellme what you’ve got.”
But before Ryan could do that, a uniformed officer came into the roomunannounced.
“Sorry, Captain,” he said when he saw he wasn’t alone.
“That’s okay, Officer Braden. Where are we?”
“Hostage negotiator is on the scene; sharpshooters too. Bomb squad ison the way. We’ve cordoned off a two-block zone and are evacuating civilians.”
“Excellent,” Decker replied calmly. “Keep me apprised.”
“Yes, sir,” Officer Braden said, and left as quickly as he arrived.
“Something interesting going on?” Ryan asked.
“A gentleman took over a coffee shop on Spring Street. He’s got a gunand is threatening to kill customers. He also claims to have planted pipe bombsin several surrounding buildings. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it on the radiocoming in.”
“My driver preferred country music standards to news. I didn’t have theheart to ask him to change the station. I can fill you in on my thing later ifthis is a bad time.”
“No,” Decker said, waving his hand dismissively. “I’ve done everythingI can here. Every available officer is deployed. I’m in ‘wait and see’ modenow. I could use the distraction.”
Okay, then,” Ryan replied, handing over the carefully redacted file he’dprepared for the captain. “I think these two cases may be connected. They bothinvolve, young attractive people tortured using an X-Acto knife.”
Decker sat quietly for a couple of minutes, flipping through the file.
“So both of these murders occurred in the last four months?” he asked,finally looking back up.
“Yes, sir,” Ryan told him.
“And you’re sure that the same kind of device—this X-Acto knife tool—wasused in both incidents?”
Ryan shook his head, not wanting to overplay his hand.
“I can’t be completely certain because the male’s body was so badly burnedin the van crash. But the crime scene photos match those from the female’s home.Long sections of skin removed in ribbon-like patterns. Based on initial estimatesof time of death, both medical examiners thought the victims were alive throughmuch of the ordeal. Though they were different genders, both victims were youngand attractive. The incidents appear to have occurred around the same time ofnight. It seems unlikely that it’s just a coincidence.”
Again, Decker went quiet. When he spoke, his voice was hushed.
“And no one else has made this connection?”
“I don’t think anyone else has had reason to look, Captain,” Ryananswered. “The killings took place in different divisions, several months apart.And because of the van crash, details on the first one were delayed. There wasno reason for urgency at the time. I only made the link because I’ve beenporing over this stuff for weeks, looking for any cases that fit our profile.”
“But by tomorrow, that will change,” Decker noted. “The detectives onthe original case involving this Hartung kid will review the report and they’llput it in the system. The detectives handling Jenavieve Holt’s murder—if they’rehalfway decent cops—will find it. They’ll claim ownership.”
“Possibly, Captain,” Ryan said, squirming slightly at Decker’s fixationon who knew, “but I have a bigger concern. If this is a serial killer,he’s probably keeping abreast of developments. He surely knows about thecoroner van crash. I suspect he’s unhappy that his first murder didn’t get therecognition he thought it deserved. He knows that as far as LAPD is concerned,there’s only been one X-Acto murder. I’m worried that he’s planning anotherone, so there’s no confusion anymore.”
Decker nodded, lost in thought, unconsciously straightening hisalready-straight tie. Eventually he fixed his gaze back on Ryan.
“That’s why you need to take over the case today, before there’s apissing contest over jurisdiction. A suspected serial killer falls under theHSS mandate. It’s ours.”
“Yes, Captain,” Ryan said, trying to think of a diplomatic way to makehis next point. “But maybe we can wait until later in the day to stake ourclaim. I’d like a little more time to get my ducks in a row if there’s going tobe sniping. I want everything airtight when I submit to take over the case.Until then, I think we should keep things under wraps.”
He didn’t mention that he feared that Decker might go straight to thefolks at headquarters, trumpeting HSS’s triumphant return before Ryan had achance to get the ball rolling. Hyping an HSS investigation and then not beingable to solve it might do more harm than not having a case at all.
“That’s fine,” Decker said, “especially since you’re desk-bound. Withthis hostage thing, I don’t have the resources right now for you to sendofficers into the field to follow up leads.”
“That’s okay, Captain,” Ryan said. “I think we’re more in research moderight now anyway. Maybe I can connect with Jamil Winslow and we can see if wecan’t make some progress here.”
Decker’s eyes lit up, but Ryan could tell it wasn’t because of what he’dsaid.
“You do that for now,” he said approvingly. “Winslow hates taking daysoff anyway. He’ll be excited to come in on a Sunday. But I just rememberedsomething else. Trembley returns from vacation today. Call him in. he’ll bewell-rested. He can be your man in the field, pursuing whatever leads you digup.”
Alan Trembley was another detective in HSS. Young and eager, he was aguy Ryan was confident would be happy to take point, even if meant cutting hislast day of vacation short.
“Yes, sir,” Ryan said. “I guess I better get going then.”
“Yes, you better. And remember, we’re officially pulling rank on thisthing no later than this afternoon, got it?”
Ryan nodded as he carefully extricated himself from the chair. Heshuffled slowly out of the office, trying to hide his concern. He was happy tohave his boss’s full support but he worried about him too.
Roy Decker was his mentor, the man who had believed in him and promotedhim through the ranks. But the captain’s intense need to save HSS was
