Part 8 (2/2)
”Another thing,” Avery said. ”I think it's now safe to say that this is a serial killer. If you want this wrapped quickly, I think we need to consider bringing the FBI in.”
”And in addition to the arson,” Connelly said from his place at the table, ”I think we should also cross-reference any records from former law enforcement. Maybe even Forensics, specifically. This guy cleans up after himself a little too well. It's almost like he knows the sort of things we would be looking for.”
Avery bit back the comment that came to her tongue. She felt it was a good thought but was pretty sure Connelly's cross-reference suggestion would be a waste of time. Fire was the key. She was almost certain of it now...she just had to find solid proof.
”For now, that's all we've got,” O'Malley said. ”If any of you speaks to the media, I'll have your a.s.s. I give it about another two or three hours before we have vans and reporters lined up outside. So keep your head down, your nose clean, and your mouth shut. Finley, Smith, and Cho...I want you three working on the cross-references Black and Connelly discussed. Black and Ramirez, I'm going to need you to visit the Osborne family.”
”When were they told about Sarah's death?” Avery asked.
”About an hour ago. If you're lucky, you'll get to speak with the parents before Ron Osborne pokes his political nose into it all. I'll have the address e-mailed to you within a few minutes.”
O'Malley did not give a vocal dismissal, but his body language said it all. He was worried, irritated, and had nothing to say. Avery gathered up the papers he had slid to her and gave Ramirez a nod. They left together in a hurry. If there were any speculative eyes on them as they made their exit, she did not notice them. She was far too focused on having to tell the parents about their daughter's murder.
Terry and Julia Osborne lived in a gorgeous two-story house in the Back Bay area. The subdivision Avery and Ramirez drove down to reach their home was filled with lots reaching well into the million-dollar range. She knew that Terry Osborne had no political aspirations like his brother, but he was one of Boston's most coveted real estate agents. She was sure he got some of the most up-to-date scoops on available land through Ron Osborne, city councilman, but that was none of Avery's concern (nor did she really care) as she and Ramirez stepped up onto the Osbornes' porch.
She could hear a woman's wailing from within the house, apparently Julia Osborne in the midst of accepting news of her daughter's death. Still, the door was answered within twenty seconds. Terry Osborne was clearly in a state of shock. When he looked at Avery and Ramirez, he blinked his eyes rapidly, as if trying to adjust to some other part of the world that was not the misery currently within his home.
”Mr. Osborne,” Avery said, ”I'm Detective Black and this is my partner, Detective Ramirez. I know this is an impossible time for you, but we were hoping you could help us by answering some questions. We'd obviously like to catch the killer as quickly as we can.”
”Yes, come on in,” Osborne said. He turned away without much of an expression and walked deeper into his house like he was sleepwalking.
They followed him into the kitchen where he went to a very nice and elaborate wine rack. He selected a bottle of red and poured himself a very tall gla.s.s. Avery noted that it was a bottle of Houdini Napa Valley-a bottle Avery was pretty sure went for at least two hundred dollars. He sipped on it absently, almost like he had forgotten the two detectives were standing there.
”We'll make this as quick as possible,” Avery said, still hearing the sniffling and wails coming from elsewhere in the house. ”First of all, do you know why Sarah would have been out on that side of town?”
Terry shook his head. ”She was working part time with a public outreach group...helping kids read and all that. I'm ashamed to say that I don't know where that took her. I guess it's possible she was there for work...I don't know.”
”Do you know the name of the outreach program?” Avery asked.
”Helping Hands,” he said. ”I've got a card somewhere, I think...”
He started to walk out of the kitchen but Avery stopped him. ”That's okay, Mr. Osborne. We can contact them.”
She could tell that he was trying to keep busy. He was trying to occupy himself, to busy his mind with something else. But she also knew that when he ran out of things to do and questions to answer, he was going to crumble.
”Do you know if Sarah had any friends that might have been questionable? Anyone you weren't really a fan of her hanging out with?”
”No. I don't think so. I never really...well, I didn't know anything about her life, you know? I was always working and-”
She sensed him about to break and did her best to keep him afloat a while longer by offering another question.
”How about a boyfriend?” Avery asked.
Terry's face went blank, but they got an answer from a woman's voice from behind them. Julia Osborne had come into the kitchen. Her face was streaked with running mascara and she looked like a phantom. Her bottom lip was quivering and her hair was a mess.
”No boyfriends,” she said. Her voice was raspy from having wept so much during the last hour and a half. ”She ended a pretty serious relations.h.i.+p last year and has been single ever since. And in terms of friends...she didn't really have many. Just the kids she helped at Helping Hands. She was a sweet girl but...always kept to herself.”
”Do you know the name of the ex?” Avery asked.
”Yeah. Denny c.o.x. But looking at him would be a waste of your time. He's a pretty good kid. Used to be a cop.”
”Used to be?” Ramirez asked.
”Yes. He was fired not too long ago. After he and Sarah broke up.”
Avery and Ramirez shared a look that they had come to use as almost another sort of language. With a simple nod of her head, Ramirez took his leave from the kitchen and headed back outside to call the station and ask for a check on Denny c.o.x.
”Is there anything else you can think of that I might need to know?” Avery asked.
Julia looked at the floor, as if embarra.s.sed, and then nodded. ”I was in her room just now...looking through her things...wanting something to hold just to sort of be with her-”
She started weeping here, her breath coming in huge hitching sobs. She held out her hand and offered something to Avery. Avery took it and saw that it was a plastic bag. There were six pills inside of it. Two had dollar signs on them and the other four had smiley faces.
Ecstasy, she thought. And this is how her mother finds out. My G.o.d...
”I don't want to know what it is,” Julia said. ”I want you to have it to see if it helps you find the man that did this.”
Avery took it and said nothing. She looked back to the kitchen, where Terry was quickly downing the contents of his wine gla.s.s.
”Thank you for your cooperation,” Avery said. ”Please don't hesitate to call the station if you think of anything else that might be of use. Until then, please take care. Do you have anyone to come be with you?”
”My brother-in-law is on his way,” Julia said. ”He'll be d.a.m.ned sure we find who did this.”
Avery nodded and gave her quick goodbyes to Terry and Julia. She did not want to be there when Ron Osborne showed up with a million questions and his inflated ego. She made her way back through the kitchen and the long hallway toward the front door. When she stepped out onto the porch, Ramirez was just getting off of the phone.
”Anything?” Avery asked.
”Oh yeah,” he said. ”Denny c.o.x, fired from the force ten months ago. And once I got the details, I actually remember hearing about it. He got caught with a prost.i.tute in his patrol car. And he wasn't arresting her, if you get my drift.”
”That's pretty lewd, but it doesn't really make him a suspect for-”
”Oh, it gets better,” he said. ”When Denny was fifteen, his father's shed caught on fire in their backyard. No reason...the fire department never found a source. This was the same year that there was a small fire started behind the dugouts on the baseball field at Desmond High School. Want to guess who was seen scampering away from the field when the teachers arrived?”
Avery wasted no time with guessing. She headed for the driver's side of the car and asked, ”You got an address?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
When the address led them back into D3 territory-about six miles away from where the remains of Sarah Osborne had been ditched-it seemed like Denny c.o.x was indeed their man. It all seemed too circ.u.mstantial to not be a hot lead. Avery, though, always felt a degree of suspicion when something came together a little too easily. And this whole procurement of information on Denny c.o.x had basically fallen into her lap.
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