Killing Fear

do you mind giving us some privacy? It may be easier for Ms. Lange to recount her ordeal without an audience. How many are on scene?”

“Four, with more units on the way.”

“Great. Pick someone to help canvass the neighbors. I don’t care that it’s four thirty in the morning, we need to know if anyone heard or saw anything between one thirty and four, or has seen Theodore Glenn anytime in the last twenty-four hours. You have his sheet?”

They’d put together photos of Glenn at arrest along with sketches of him with altered appearances. The first thing he’d have done was purchase over-the-counter color contact lenses. Glenn’s sharp blue eyes were so bright and unusual that people would remember them. According to Chief Causey, the FBI was following that avenue by contacting businesses along the 99 corridor, which they now knew he’d driven after his escape.

“I’m on it,” the cop said, and left.

Trinity carried the mugs to the table. Will sat down next to her, facing the entrance to see who came in through the door, while Carina was to his left, directly across from Trinity.

“Tell me what happened,” Will said.

“I woke up with him on top of me. He clamped his hand over my mouth.” She shuddered. “He told me he wouldn’t kill me. Then he used duct tape to bind my feet together and my right hand to the bed.”

“Just your right hand?”

“He handed me my notebook and a pen. Told me to take good notes.”

“He knew you were left-handed.”

She nodded. Though it was unnerving that Glenn remembered such a small detail nearly seven years later, Will wasn’t surprised. Glenn was smarter than most people gave him credit for.

“What did he tell you?”

“He wanted to set the record straight. He insisted that he didn’t kill Anna Clark.”

Will slammed his mug down on the table, hot coffee sloshing over the sides. Trinity grabbed her notebook out of the way of the spill, and Carina jumped up to get paper towels.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. That bastard.

He helped clean up the mess, placed his mug carefully in the sink. He rarely lost his temper, but look what he’d done. Here, and decking Frank. Theodore Glenn brought out his dark side. Will hated him for it.

“You remember what he did to his victims,” Will said. “He tortured them with an X-ACTO knife before tiring of the game, dragging them to the front door, and slitting their throat so that the next person who walked into the room slipped in their blood. We know he killed those women.”

Carina frowned and Trinity stared at him. He took a deep breath. “Trinity,” he said through clenched teeth, “Glenn loves the game. He’s using you. He will kill you when you don’t do what he wants.”

“What did he say he wanted from you?” Carina asked.

Before Will could say anything, Trinity said, “He takes credit for the first three murders. He admitted to me that he killed Bethany, Brandi, and Jessica. He wants me to prove he didn’t kill Anna.”

Will bit his tongue. Hands clenched, his heart rang in his ears. What was his angle? Why would he admit to killing the first three victims, but not Anna? It didn’t make sense. Just another one of his many games. Did he just want to torment Robin? Knowing that if Anna’s murder was discussed in the media it would hurt Robin?

Will would do anything to spare her the pain.

But-why? Why would Glenn admit to three murders and not the fourth? There were some minor discrepancies in the murders, but Bethany was different as well. He hadn’t used bleach on Bethany, but had on the other three. Yet Anna had fewer marks on her. Will and the crime scene analysts had determined at the time that Glenn was rushed. There had also been the theory that Anna hadn’t been the intended victim, that Glenn planned on Robin coming home, not Anna, who was supposed to be out of town.

But the truth was the M.O. was virtually the same, the knife was identical, and the jury was unanimous in its verdict that Glenn killed all four women.

“Trinity,” Will said, forcing calm. “We’ve known each other for what? Nine, ten years?”

She nodded, searching his eyes, her face piqued with interest but her expression unreadable.

“Glenn wants attention. He wants you to stir the pot, create dissent in the ranks.” Will would look into Anna’s case again, one last time, but he was confident Glenn killed her. His hair was found in her fist. She fit Glenn’s profile…except Anna hadn’t slept with him.

Will shook his head. “You’ll be bringing up the past and hurting the victim’s friends and family. Don’t let him use you. Don’t print his words. He wants that. He wants to be the focal point. The animal is a convicted murderer. During his escape, he fatally bludgeoned an injured guard. He killed his own sister yesterday because she testified against him. His intelligence and good looks disguise a sociopath. He has no remorse, and he will kill you without a second thought.”

Carina cleared her throat. Will took a deep breath, the red rage that grew whenever he thought of Theodore Glenn fading but not gone. It would never be gone as long as Glenn walked free.

Carina asked Trinity, “Did he give any hint as to where he was going? What his plans are?”

Trinity shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Did you get a good look at him? Has he altered his appearance?”

“It was dark, and he stayed in the shadows. I only saw his outline. He seems bulkier than during trial. Not fat, but like he’s been working out.”

“The damn prisons let the convicts use a weight room,” Will muttered. “Are we talking upper body muscle?”

She nodded. She opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it.

“Don’t hold back, Trinity. We need to know everything.”

She glanced at her notepad, which was still facedown.

“Like Will said,” Carina interjected, sensing that, like Will, Trinity was holding something back, “Glenn plays games. But the truth is, forensic evidence-biological evidence-proved he did in fact kill Anna Clark. His hair was found on the victim’s body. Evidence doesn’t lie.”

“He contends that the evidence was planted,” Trinity said.

“Him and O.J.,” Will spat out, standing. “Are you buying into his act?”

Trinity stood and looked up at him, hands on the table. “I’ll tell you what I know, William Hooper. I know that he hates you. I know that he hates Robin McKenna, Anna’s roommate. And I know that he would kill me in a heartbeat if he didn’t think I was helpful to him.

“But I also know the police can screw up. I know that individuals can make mistakes. We are all human and fallible.” She pulled an envelope out of her notebook and slapped it in front of Will. “Frankly, if what Theodore Glenn says is true, a killer has truly gotten away with murder. And if I can prove it, I’ll have a ticket to New York City so fast I won’t have time to say thanks for the ride.”

“Is that what this is about?” Will fumed. “Your career?”

“He picked me because I know about this case and-”

“Listen to yourself! He picked you! This isn’t a popularity contest. He picked you and he will kill you. Don’t play his game. Don’t give him print.”

“Last I heard this was a free country, Detective Hooper,” Trinity said, her hackles raised.

“Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m not.”

“You’ve got to watch your back.” Angry, yes, but Will was concerned about Trinity’s safety. He didn’t want anything to happen to her.

His obvious concern diminished the anger between them. He touched her hand. “I’m serious, Trinity,” he said softly. “You’re not safe here, not alone.”

“Thank you.” She swallowed, squeezed his hand. “I’ll be okay.” She nodded toward the envelope. “He left that for me.”

“Why did you touch it?”

“I–I almost forgot he’d left it. I had to see what was inside. I only touched the corners. But I want that picture, Will.”

Will frowned, slipped on latex gloves, and flipped open the flap of the envelope. Judging by the glue, it had never been sealed.