Part 5 (2/2)
”Any luck?” Alves gestured to a pile of credit card statements.
”Nothing from New Balance,” Mooney said. ”But we did find something strange. One of her suits is missing.”
”When I got here,” Walter McCarthy said, ”Susan's mother was upstairs going through her stuff.” The man looked as though he hadn't slept since he'd gotten the news of his ex-wife's disappearance. ”She just wants to touch everything Susan wore, to smell her again.” He stopped talking for a moment, trying to control his own emotions. He took a breath. ”As she's going through the closet she notices that Susan's favorite blue suit is missing. It was an expensive suit that she bought in New York last fall. Susan called it her money suit.”
”Are you sure it's not in the house?” Alves asked.
”I'm sure,” McCarthy said. ”We looked everywhere. My mother-in-law is upstairs now, taking another look.” He glanced at the ceiling above them. ”It's really getting to her.”
”What about Fidelity?” Alves asked. ”Could she have left the suit at work?”
”I checked with her supervisor,” Mooney said. ”She kept some clothes in a closet, but there was no suit.”
”Dry cleaners?” Alves asked.
”She's gone to the same place for years. They keep track of everything by phone number. She had a few things that she dropped off on Sat.u.r.day, but no suit.”
”Angel, let me talk to you outside for a minute. Could you excuse us, Walter?” Mooney said.
”I'll go up and check on her.” He seemed relieved to have something to do.
They walked down the stairs and into the small, fenced yard. Mooney turned to Alves. ”What about the list from New Balance?”
”A few of the guys had records. Nothing significant. Mostly drug possessions and motor vehicle stuff. It might be worth going out to see them in person.”
”Not now. Angel, I think our killer took the suit as a souvenir for himself. As if taking her body wasn't enough. I want you to contact Mich.e.l.le Hayes's parents and see if any of her clothes are missing. I don't know what this f.u.c.kin' nut is up to, but I'm sure he did the same thing with Hayes. Call me if you need me.” Mooney walked back into the house.
Alves wasn't looking forward to speaking with Mich.e.l.le Hayes's parents again. Nice, solid people. He didn't want to raise their hopes. But if one of Mich.e.l.le's dresses was missing, maybe they'd all have the break they were praying for.
CHAPTER 18.
Andi Norton needed to clear her head. The judge had only given them a fifteen-minute recess, enough time for the lawyers and the jurors to stretch their legs and use the bathroom. She needed more time than that. Her case was falling apart. a fifteen-minute recess, enough time for the lawyers and the jurors to stretch their legs and use the bathroom. She needed more time than that. Her case was falling apart.
”What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?” Connie had come up behind her.
The disappointment in his voice stung. ”I'm getting my a.s.s kicked. I can't even ask a question without that jerk objecting.”
”He's playing games with you, like he did this morning by showing up late. He's trying to throw you off.”
”It's working.”
”No s.h.i.+t. He does this on every case. It's his shtick. And he's not going to let up unless you show him that it's not bothering you. Right now he smells blood. You'd better get your head out of your a.s.s if you plan on winning.”
”And how do I do that?”
”Start by showing a little confidence. What I saw in there was a person who didn't even believe in her own case. If you don't believe in it, why should the jury?”
”He keeps objecting. I can't get any kind of rhythm going.”
”The thing is that you've responded to all his objections, and he's been overruled. You're winning those little battles. So the jury sees that you're not doing anything wrong. You look like the better lawyer. But he's got you rattled. If you regain your composure and keep crus.h.i.+ng his objections you'll be fine. But you have to get fired up before it's too late.”
She felt beaten down, but there was no reason for it. Connie was right, she had been doing a good job with her arguments. Maybe the defense was coming at her harder because she was a woman. Well, she had to show him that he couldn't mess with her. ”Let's go kick some a.s.s,” she said as she turned back toward the courtroom.
CHAPTER 19.
Alves tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for Mooney to answer his phone. Mooney picked up on the third ring. ”What do you have for me?” he bellowed. to answer his phone. Mooney picked up on the third ring. ”What do you have for me?” he bellowed.
”I just left Mich.e.l.le Hayes's mother. One of Mich.e.l.le's dresses is is missing. A black skirt-suit that she wore for important meetings,” Alves said. ”Her parents are storing all of her stuff in their attic. We went through dozens of boxes.” There was a new energy running through Alves. Mooney's predawn wake-up call was forgiven. It felt good to know something new about the killer. Now they had to figure out why he took the clothing. missing. A black skirt-suit that she wore for important meetings,” Alves said. ”Her parents are storing all of her stuff in their attic. We went through dozens of boxes.” There was a new energy running through Alves. Mooney's predawn wake-up call was forgiven. It felt good to know something new about the killer. Now they had to figure out why he took the clothing.
Alves turned the key in the ignition and pulled away from the sidewalk in front of the Hayes house. Mich.e.l.le Hayes's parents lived in White City, originally a couple of apartment buildings arising near Forest Hills, their pale stucco suggesting the glowing, ethereal beauty of the white buildings designed for the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago at the turn of the century. Alves had seen photographs in his History of Architecture cla.s.s in college.
”Did he take anything else?”
”Not sure,” Alves said. ”Her mom didn't know everything she owned, but she had seen Mich.e.l.le in the missing suit a couple of times.”
”McCarthy's mother thinks the killer may have taken some of her underwear too,” Mooney said. ”According to her, Susan was very neat and her underwear drawer looked like it had been ransacked, but she couldn't say for sure if anything was missing.”
Alves drove past Forest Hills onto South Street in Jamaica Plain. ”I can't stop wondering why he's doing this.” He could hear Mooney breathing on the other end. ”Talking to those two families today...do you ever get used to it, Sarge?”
”You get numb,” Mooney said, ”which isn't the same thing.” Then his booming voice was back, ”It's been a tough couple of days, but we've finally got something. Where are you now?”
”Almost to the monument in JP.”
”We need to sit down and figure out our next move.”
”Sarge, it's Marcy's thirtieth birthday, remember? Her parents are having a big party for her. They've invited all our friends from the old neighborhood. I told you about it last week.”
”Last week I didn't know there was a serial killer in the city. I hate to spoil your time, but you're going to have to cancel. We need to work tonight. This case is going cold quickly.”
”I can't cancel. Why don't I just go for a while and catch up with you later, Sarge?” Alves was begging. Marcy was not happy with him getting called out so early on her birthday. She would be livid if he missed the party with all their friends and family. ”She'll kill me if I'm not there. The kids will be crying if I don't show up.”
”How are the twins doing?”
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