“No, I couldn’t. Wendy had something planned already. I apologized online... I guess they weren’t happy. I haven’t received another invitation.” He sighed. “Look, I love what I do, but it’s hard. Dealing with teenagers? Some girls are in high school and already have kids, while others are pregnant. Some of the guys are in gangs already pushing drugs. This sounded like a nice group. Just a nice group of people finding power and giving with one another.”
“Finding power. That phrase was used?” Dan asked.
Axel leaned forward. “Did the number six come up in your conversation?”
“What? Uh...yeah, actually.” Lawrence looked confused. “They said they were a solid group and didn’t ask just anyone in. They liked to keep their number at six. They didn’t consider themselves to be elite or anything. It was just the right number of people to be able to get things done.”
“Where were you supposed to meet them?” Dan asked.
“Oh, that I don’t know,” Nathan said.
“How could you be expected to meet them and not know where?” Axel asked him.
“They tell you where to come right before they meet, and of course, I’d sent my apologies, and they never told me.”
“That’s convenient,” Axel said.
“I swear!” Nathan vowed passionately. “Look, you don’t think that—”
“The woman is dead,” Dan said flatly. “The victim you read about, Jane Doe in the decrepit old family cemetery.” He pointed to her in the picture. “She’s dead, hacked to death. So, yes, these people do have something to do with what’s going on. And you had really best tell us anything you know. You don’t want this killer running around the city, especially when he’s someone who knows you.”
Katie hated sitting in the reception area waiting.
She should have stayed with Jeremy. Now that they had talked, she was equally concerned about Jeremy as she was for herself. And no matter how he blustered that he was fine and could take care of himself, Katie was frightened for him.
She knew she had Dan with her, and she was being watched and had a great deal of protection going for her.
Jeremy was on his own.
George was also on his own.
She’d called George; they would meet up later at his hotel.
A phone rang, and she heard the receptionist answer the call. “Yes, yes, of course. Yes, they’re both in interrogation right now, but I’ll have them with you as soon as possible... I’m sure, Detective... We’ve been getting calls here, too, of course. The paper had no choice once the information was leaked... Yes, Detective.”
The young woman behind the desk was speaking in low, careful tones.
Katie could still hear her.
Katie stood when the call ended and approached the young woman’s desk. It was behind a counter with windows that could be closed. Maybe bulletproof. But maybe not. No one could reach this floor without going through security and receiving a special clearance.
The young woman looked at Katie warily when she approached, and then she sighed, realizing that no matter how careful she had been, Katie had heard her.
“Tips. I’m starting to think now everyone in the city has seen something. At first, we couldn’t find a witness for anything in the world, and now suddenly, half of the city has seen the killer, seen someone suspicious. Putting all the law-enforcement agencies in the world together, we haven’t the resources to check out every single tip that’s now coming in. But we have good people! And so do the cops. They can weed through a lot.”
“That was Detective Stapleton?” Katie asked.
The young woman nodded. “He thinks he has a solid lead. He’s looking for Axel and Dan. I’ll be right back—I have to signal to them that Ryder has called.”
She left her post and apparently spoke to someone down the hall who in turn managed to get the message through.
A minute later, Dan and Axel were exiting the inner sanctum of the offices.
They both thanked the receptionist who nodded to them gravely.
“I play jazz every minute of the time I’m home,” she assured them.
“Maybe not a bad idea,” Dan said, smiling. “Okay, let’s go see Ryder.” He set an arm absently around Katie’s shoulders to lead her out of the offices. Axel followed.
“There’s a tip he thinks is real?” Katie asked as they headed downstairs.
Dan nodded.
They left his car and headed straight for Axel’s. He had plates on his car that would allow him parking anywhere in the city, Katie knew. Maybe even anywhere in the country.
“Is Ryder meeting us?” Katie asked as they drove.
Dan shook his head and glanced at her, a grim, dry smile slightly curving his lips.
“Ryder is on to another possibly credible tip. Even after weeding out the sensationalists and attention-seekers, there are a lot of people to follow up with now that the letter to the paper is public knowledge.”
They drove to the Marigny, to an old home in a residential neighborhood that had charming trees and foliage growing in every yard.
They parked and walked up an old brick path to the porch and the front door.
The door opened as they arrived; the woman inside had been waiting for them.
She was in her early sixties, Katie thought, and she looked as if she enjoyed the outside and physical activity. She was thin but wiry, had sandy-colored, slightly graying hair in a stylish, short cut. Her eyes were sharp and blue, and she assessed them quickly.
“Special Agent Axel Tiger?” she asked.
Axel produced his credentials.
“I feel like an idiot. Why this didn’t occur to me before... Uh, sorry, sorry! Come in. My husband is just in the parlor. Please.”
“We’re a block down from the first murders here,” Dan whispered to Katie.
She nodded, feeling a sense of unease trickle down her spine. She hated it; she hated being anywhere near the place where the killer had struck; she’d hated coming upon Jennie’s corpse.
But she’d do just about anything to make it all stop.
“I’m Mona, Mona Lusk, and this is my husband, Rene,” she said, leading the way into the parlor.
Rene Lusk was
