had physical evidence before.”
“She should never have gone after a girl taller than her,” said Lucy.
“She?” Suzanne and Panetta said simultaneously. Suzanne added, “Your report didn’t indicate male or female.”
Lucy frowned. “It has to do with the motive.”
“What motive?” Suzanne asked.
“I don’t want to say right now.”
Suzanne stopped walking. “I don’t care what you want; let’s hear your theory.”
“I’m still working on it.”
“Work faster.”
Suzanne stood staring at her. Lucy looked up at Sean. “I don’t think this is a good idea. It’s reckless to form a theory without enough information.”
Sean said, “It gives the cops one direction, but doesn’t close off all the other avenues.”
Lucy wanted Sean to support her, but he didn’t.
“Lucy,” he said, “tell Suzanne what you told me in the car.”
“Yes, tell me,” Suzanne said.
“I think this girl was killed because you arrested Wade Barnett and the killer doesn’t want him in jail. The only way to prove that he isn’t the Cinderella Strangler is to kill again. I think this victim was picked randomly- because she was outside, alone.”
“Or she left with the killer.”
“Possibly,” Lucy said, though she didn’t think so. Too great a chance to be seen.
“Is she one of the girls on the
Sean answered. “I don’t know, but with your permission I’ll send her photo to my partner in Washington. He’s nearly done rebuilding the site; he can go through looking for her.”
“I’ll have her ID emailed to him.”
Suzanne started walking again. “So the question is: Does Wade Barnett have a partner? If yes, who? If no, why would the killer want him out of prison?”
“We know Wade had sex with at least three of the victims,” Lucy began. She was about to share the rest of her theory, the one she still hadn’t quite worked through, taking a huge risk of being wrong. But Detective Panetta interrupted her.
“Dennis Barnett.”
They turned and looked at him. Suzanne’s face fell, and Lucy said, “The younger brother?”
“According to Suzanne’s report, he’s protective of his older brother. He stated that he was Wade Barnett’s driver for the last six months when Barnett lost his license after two DWIs. He sat in the parking lot while his brother partied and had sex with whomever. Maybe it ate away at him. Or he can’t get it up, or he’s jealous of his big bro, or just a sociopath. So he kills the stray girl.”
“I don’t know,” Suzanne said slowly. “Dennis told me that Alanna Andrews was kind to him and that she had defended him when Wade got frustrated with him.”
“Maybe little brother wanted her for himself,” Panetta said, “and she said no. The first victim usually goes to the heart of the serial murderer, isn’t that generally true?”
The cop looked at Lucy. She nodded and said, “The first victim usually has a personal significance for the killer.”
Suzanne frowned. “Dennis is five foot nine, according to his driver’s license.” She turned to Lucy. “What do you think?”
Lucy didn’t want to be at center stage. She didn’t know what to think-her theory was all shot to hell if Dennis Barnett was the Cinderella Strangler. She’d been thinking last night, and seemed to have it confirmed when another victim died, that the killer was an ex-girlfriend of Wade Barnett’s. Someone whom he’d cheated on, most likely with the first victim, Alanna Andrews. That her death had been spontaneous because the killer had just found out about the affair.
She had hoped to go with Suzanne to interview Wade Barnett and ask him questions about his ex-girlfriends, particularly any with a history of violence. A girl who might have broken things when she was mad. Someone impulsive. Someone who had not expected him to break up with her, and who had let him know that with anger rather than tears.
She’d wanted to confirm her theory that Wade Barnett had also slept with Heather Garcia, the third victim, and more important, Lucy wanted to know if he’d had a sexual relationship with Kirsten Benton. If so, it meant Kirsten was in even greater danger.
But a younger brother? One who had already stated that he was not only at each crime scene but alone? A younger brother who might have had a difficult time finding women to date him because of mild mental retardation.
Suzanne said, “Dennis Barnett is enrolled to audit classes at Columbia University. He’s only in one class, but he’s been attending for the last year and a half.”
“Three of the victims were from Columbia. Erica Ripley worked not far away, also in Manhattan,” Panetta said.
“It’s logical,” Lucy said, because it was.
But she didn’t think it was right. She bit her lip. Sean said, “What about your other theory?”
Suzanne said, “Right now, I need to bring in Dennis Barnett. I need a psychologist, since his attorney has brought up the fact that I first interviewed him without full knowledge of his emotional and mental state.”
“I’m a psychologist,” Lucy said.
“I need a criminal psychologist,” Suzanne said.
Panetta said, “I can call in the shrink the department uses.”
Sean said, “Lucy is a criminal psychologist, unless you don’t accept those with a master’s degree from Georgetown.”
Suzanne rubbed her eyes. “You’re already up to speed,” she said. “Will you do it?”
“Of course,” Lucy said.
“Let’s go, then.”
Sean asked Suzanne, “Can Lucy ride with you? I have a few things to look into on my missing person case.”
“Of course. I’ll get her back to your hotel when we’re done.”
Lucy said quietly to Sean, “Did something happen?”
“Trey has been calling me. He’s in Brooklyn. I told him I would meet him. You okay with this?”
She nodded.
He leaned in and kissed her lightly, then whispered in her ear, “You don’t think Dennis Barnett is the killer, do you?”
“I don’t know.”
He looked at her, and seemed disappointed. “I trust your instincts, Lucy. You need to trust them as well.”
Sean walked away, and Lucy wished she had as much faith in herself as Sean did.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Trey had rented a motel room in Brooklyn at a place a half-star more upscale than the Clover Motel where Kirsten had stayed. Sean called him as he pulled into the parking lot. “I’m here.”
“I’m coming.”
“What room-” but Trey had already hung up.
While waiting for Trey, Sean sent Patrick a message about the
I have it 90 % rebuilt. I hosted it on the RCK intranet so you can access it.
