He sat in the passenger seat of the sedan and stared straight ahead. “It’s my fault,” he said quietly.
“No, it’s not. Give yourself a break.”
Actually, Suzanne blamed herself. She hadn’t slept all night, thinking about what she could have done differently. She had been so focused on looking for a male killer, she hadn’t even considered the alternative.
She’d have to live with it.
Wade said, “I knew Whitney was a wacko, but I didn’t think she was dangerous. I ignored her behavior, excused it; I just didn’t think she’d hurt anyone. I’m such an asshole.”
Suzanne didn’t argue. “Maybe you are, but you also have a brother who looks up to you and thinks you’re special.”
Tears welled in Wade’s eyes. “I can’t believe he had to go through this.”
“If I were you, I’d fire that attorney of yours. He wasn’t a good advocate for your brother.”
“My mother hired him.”
“Well, I’m just saying, he gave Dennis bad advice, and while it all worked out, I wouldn’t want that prick involved in my affairs.” She paused. “No pun intended.”
“How’s Ashleigh-I mean, Kirsten?” Wade asked.
“She’s going to be okay. She’s alive.” Suzanne glanced at Wade as they stopped at a light. “You told me you didn’t have sex with her. Was that a lie because she’s underage?”
“I wasn’t lying, we never did it. But-we had this thing going online. You know.”
He didn’t have to spell it out. It seemed that Whitney Morrissey considered any woman a threat to her fantasy world with Wade Barnett-women he physically had sex with and women he had cybersex with. The depth of her obsession was bordering on insane-but Suzanne wouldn’t call her crazy, no matter what she thought of the killer’s behavior. Whitney knew exactly what she was doing when she killed those five young women, and she would have to answer for those crimes.
She turned onto Central Park West toward Wade’s apartment. “Off the record, Wade, what possessed you to start up the
“I was just out of college, went to England for the summer and hung out with a friend of mine who’d graduated the year before. Charlie has control over the Barnett Family Trust. I’ve always resented that I’m on an allowance, and Charlie is a tightwad. It seemed like a legitimate opportunity to make money-sort of Facebook for horny college guys. We sold ads, made a small bundle.” He shook his head. “I didn’t think there was anything really wrong with it.”
“I’m the last person to cast judgment on anyone, but let me suggest that you steer clear of the online sex trade. You can lose control real quick.”
“I just didn’t think about it.”
“Most people don’t. Just-think twice next time, okay? You’re not the same man you were two years ago.”
“I’m not even the same man I was last week.”
While Sean went to check out Monday morning, Lucy sat at the small hotel room desk and called Hans Vigo to fill him in on the details of the Whitney Morrissey investigation. She told him what they’d discovered in her apartment, and concluded with, “She takes obsession to a whole new level. Maybe you’ve seen such pathology, but this was a first for me.”
“It’s quite extreme. The path she’s on-she’s going to go for Wade Barnett, you know that.”
“Yes. Agent Madeaux put a guard on his apartment.”
“Good. Keep him under close watch. You might want to suggest to Agent Madeaux that she hide her agents, so Whitney doesn’t think anyone is sitting on him.”
“Bait?”
“I didn’t say leave him unprotected, but if Whitney fails to see the agents, she’ll get reckless and it may be easier to catch her.”
“Or it could put innocent people in danger,” Lucy said.
“There’s always that risk, but with Wade out of prison her priority will be to make contact with him. She was careless with Sierra Hinkle, and she’s going to get more careless-and more dangerous-until she’s stopped.”
“How was she careless with the last victim? Same M.O., no witnesses.”
“From what you told me earlier, the victim was found shortly after the murder, while the previous victims were discovered hours to days later. In addition, there was physical evidence left at the scene that the crime scene investigators didn’t have before-a button and fabric from a trench coat, correct?”
“That’s what it looked like,” Lucy said. “We found a matching coat at Whitney’s apartment.”
“Whitney’s going to be extremely frustrated that her plans have been stymied,” Hans said.
“Suzanne also had someone check on Dennis Barnett, the younger brother.”
“Smart. I don’t know that she’d go after Wade’s younger brother, but if she thinks she can get to Wade through him, she might try.”
“How could we have prevented this?” she asked Hans.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“In the beginning, what could have been done differently after the first murder so the other four women wouldn’t have had to die?”
“That’s a destructive game to play, Lucy,” Hans said. “I think the primary problem was the crime scene itself. Drugs, alcohol, unlawful trespassing, hidden areas. Easy for someone to slip in and out unnoticed. And because of the setting-outdoors for most of the victims-there is contamination of evidence. Difficult scenes to process. To be honest, I think the first murder was handled poorly from the beginning. I’m not casting blame on the local police, but it should have come out earlier that Barnett had dated the victim.”
“Then the police would have looked at him earlier. He would have been a suspect.” Then Lucy realized what Hans meant. “And he would have been aware, so he might have taken Whitney more seriously.”
“But again, neither of us were there, and if we were, we would only have had the witness statements to go on. If no one mentioned Alanna’s ex-boyfriend, then there was nothing for the police to follow up on.”
“Secrets are truly dangerous,” Hans continued. “Are you on your way home?”
“We’re leaving at ten. Miss the traffic both leaving New York and getting back to Washington.” She looked out her window from which, if she stood just right, she could see Central Park. The traffic sounds were soothing, far better than the total silence. She was going to miss New York.
“I made a few calls, Lucy.”
She didn’t have to ask what for.
“And?” Did she really want to know?
“One person on the panel was emphatic that you not be hired. The other two voted to approve the application. But it has to be unanimous.”
“Do you know the person?”
“Yes. You won’t change her mind. She should have recused herself from the panel.”
There had been only one female agent on the panel. “I didn’t know any of the agents.”
“No, but one of them had worked with Fran Buckley and is still friendly with her. There are some people in the Bureau who don’t like the fact that you helped put a former FBI agent in prison. One of them was on the hiring panel.”
Lucy was stunned. She’d expected to be rejected because of what happened with Adam Scott, the fact that she’d killed him while he was unarmed. But it was the role-a minor role-she’d had in putting Fran Buckley in prison that had sabotaged her chances?
“Lucy, I hope you’ll appeal the decision. If you do, you’ll have a new panel. I promise, it will be fair.”
Did she want to? Was this still what she wanted?
“Hans, I didn’t trust my instincts on the Cinderella Strangler case. My gut told me the killer was a woman, but when I gave my analysis, Dennis Barnett fit the profile as well. He was dragged in for questioning and had a tough time. If I had only stood my ground-”
“Nothing would have changed. Dennis Barnett fit the profile. Until you sit down with a suspect, until you dig deep and understand their psyche, you never know who is capable of murder and under what circumstances.” Hans paused, then added, “I read your report. You said everything you needed to, except a conclusion. Your profile was
