'That's right.'
'Things with a sentimental value.'
'Bullshit, sentimental,' Eric snorted. 'He was a control freak.
Nothing ever really belonged to us. He picked out every coin, stamp, and piece of expensive jewelry and kept it all locked in his safe. My mother had to ask him when she wanted to wear any of the good jewelry he bought for her. Can you believe that crap?'
'What did he buy for Linda?'
'Daddy's darling girl got money.'
'What for?'
'Anything she wanted. Clothes, shoes, trips to Europe, dancing lessons, shopping sprees, cars- whatever.'
'When I talked to Dr. Joyce she said the whole family needed therapy.'
'Family therapy was her thing, man. To hear her talk, everybody needed it. Seeing her was a total waste of time.'
'She must have had her reasons.'
'I don't want to talk about it.'
'What did you do with the guns you took from your father?'
'I sold them, along with everything else.'
'You didn't keep any?'
'Nope.'
'What kind of gun did you take to your father's house?'
'It was a Saturday night special.' Eric spread his thumb and fore finger. 'A. 25 caliber semiautomatic.'
'Kay Murray said it was a revolver.'
'She's wrong.'
'Where is the gun now?'
'I traded it to get high. Is that the kind of gun that was used to kill my father?'
'No.'
'Have you checked out my alibi yet?'
'You lied to me, Eric.'
'About what?'
'You said you hadn't seen or visited your father in six years.'
'I forget a lot of things when I'm stoned.'
'You weren't high when you said it.'
'So I lied.'
'Did you use pay phones to telephone Linda last week?'
'What for?'
'You tell me.'
'No, I didn't call her.'
'Did you see your father last week?'
'Talk to him on the phone?'
'Hire someone to kill him?'
Eric grinned. 'That's always been my favorite fantasy.'
'Did you?'
Eric shook his head.
'Why did you hate him so?'
There were footsteps on the porch, and a voice snapped out. 'That's enough!'
Linda Langsford stormed up to Kerney, her face crimson red. 'Why are you here again?' she demanded.
'To return your receipts,' Kerney answered calmly, holding out the credit card slips. 'I made copies.'
She disregarded the papers and gave her brother a scathing look. 'What has he been asking you?'
'If I robbed the Judas Judge,' Eric said.
Kerney dropped the credit card slips on the coffee table.
'Don't call him that,' Linda snapped.
'Fuck you. I can say what I want.'
Linda's body tensed. 'You're a mess, Eric.' She swung to face Kerney.
'Don't come back here without calling in advance, and don't talk to Eric again until he has legal counsel.'
'As you wish,' Kerney said.
'Go,' she said flatly.
'We'll need to talk again, Ms. Langsford.'
Linda smiled belligerently. 'I'll be the judge of that.'
Crammed into the command trailer with Lee Sedillo and the agents working the case, Kerney listened to progress reports. Days of intense legwork without any headway had dampened everyone's spirits. Kerney masked his own disappointment by focusing on the details of each agent's assignment.
After the last agent's briefing, Kerney met with Lee in the small office. 'What's pending?' he asked.
Sedillo sat at the desk and rubbed the back of his neck. 'Two things: Eric Langsford's whereabouts at the time of the murders, and the verification of his sister's vacation itinerary. I had to pull Duran off the vandalism investigation to do the legwork on Eric.'
'Where is he?'
Kerney asked.
'El Paso. He hasn't checked in yet, so I'm assuming he hasn't got anything, and the bed and breakfast where Linda Langsford spent the first two nights of her vacation has shut down for the season.'
'Where's that?' Kerney asked.
'Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County-wherever that is. I've got a call in to the sheriff, asking him to locate the owners and have them contact us. A husband and wife run the place.'
'I've been there,' Kerney said.
'It's a small old mining town in the Rockies, northeast of Alamosa. There are a lot of summer vacation homes but not too many year-round residents. It shouldn't be hard to run down the B and B owners.'
Lee nodded. 'I hope so. About the only thing we've done so far is wipe out the overtime budget for the year.'
'I want the team to go back over everything again one more time. All of it-the parks, motels, eateries, gas stations, convenience stores-the works. This time, have them concentrate on Penelope Gibben, Kay Murray, Eric Langsford, and his sister. They are the only ones who stand to profit from Langsford's murder.'
'Gibben and Murray have solid alibis, Chief,' Lee said.
'Seemingly solid alibis,' Kerney replied.
'We'll work it again,' Lee said without much enthusiasm.
'Let's take a closer look at the Langsford family.' Kerney handed Lee a copy of the names Colby Trumble, the high school principal, had provided. 'Friends, neighbors, school chums, relatives, teachers, business associates- whoever knew them. Let's see if we can turn up any more private family scandals. You know the routine.'
'You still think this wasn't a spree killing?' Lee asked.
'Give me the killer's motive that triggered the event,' Kerney said.
'Was it simple robbery? If we had one confirmed report that a victim's credit card had been used, any stolen items had been pawned or sold, or a check had been forged, maybe I'd buy it. But even that wouldn't explain why the perp used two bullets on Langsford and one with everybody else.
'Aside from all of that,' Kerney continued, 'we may have a murderer who is systematically wiping out the Langsford family. Changing his MO with each crime. Up to now, the killings have been widely spaced apart. But that could change.'
'You think he's going after Linda Langsford?'
'The phone calls made to her residence on the night of the murders bother me. Spree killers get off on
