NOT HUNGRY?”
Jamison stared across the table in the restaurant where she and Decker were eating dinner. They had each filled the other in on the respective crime scenes they had visited that day. And he had also told her that Lassiter was going to brief Green on Decker’s doubts about the ME’s time-of-death determination.
Decker, who had been picking at his meal, which had prompted Jamison’s query, set down his knife and fork and picked up his glass of beer.
“Six murders,” he said. “People with no clear connections. No obvious similarities, but maybe they’re still all part of the same jigsaw puzzle.”
“And we have to somehow make those pieces fit,” said Jamison, who had put down her fork and knife too. She had chosen a glass of merlot over beer. She picked it up and took a sip.
“And if they don’t?” he said.
She set her wine down and fiddled with her napkin. “But I told Green that I think these cases have to be connected. I mean, six weird murders in a place like this? What are the odds of them not being connected? Which means the two we found are tied to the other four.”
“But we don’t seem to be making much progress.”
“Decker, we haven’t even been working the case for a full day. It takes time. You know that better than anyone.”
“We don’t have that much time, Alex. We only have a week of vacation.”
“Damn, I forgot about that.”
“And something tells me this sucker is going to take longer than that.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Work the case hard for now, but if we start bumping up against the end of our vacation we’ll need to talk to Bogart and have him extend it, or let us work the case on behalf of the FBI.”
Jamison frowned. “Somehow I don’t think it’s that simple, Decker.”
“Well, it should be. Six people are dead who shouldn’t be.”
“I get that,” she said nervously, as Decker’s raised voice made several people at other tables look around at them. She added quickly, “So I told you what I learned at the house: the two victims, the Bible verse on the wall.”
“Right,” said Decker absently.
“What do you think about it?”
“I think it’s a little much.”
Jamison looked perplexed. “What does that mean?”
“I asked Lassiter a question and now I’ll ask you. Why Baronville?”
“Why Baronville what?”
“Six unusual and inexplicable murders in this town. What’s so special about this place that it garners that much unusual homicidal activity?”
“Even towns like this have their share of bizarre crimes.”
“That’s true, but there’s something about this one that just seems off.”
“But you do think they’re connected?” she asked.
He nodded. “They’re not copycats, though, because most of the critical details are different. I think we’re looking at the same person or persons doing this.”
“So was your perfect recall any use today?”
“I have nothing to remember that would be helpful.”
“Really? Nothing?”
He said, “Actually, I heard a car drive away a few minutes before I saw the sparking from the electrical short.”
Jamison sat straighter in her chair. “You told me that before, but did you see the car?”
“No. There was no clear sightline from where I was.”
“Well, only three elderly people live on that street. So maybe they don’t even drive. And there weren’t any cars on the street when we drove over there. You think it could have been the killer leaving the house after dumping the bodies?”
“Could be. Blowflies can find a body very quickly.”
Outside, it had started to rain and the temperature had dropped, bleeding off the earlier warmth of the day.
She said, “I told Green we’d come in tomorrow morning and share any ideas. How did you leave it with Lassiter?”
“I didn’t leave it any way with her. She dropped me off at the house and that was that. Besides, I don’t have any ideas.”
“Some might come to you in the night.”
“Doubtful.”
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to work this case, Decker,” barked Jamison. “So stop whining and start doing your job.”
Decker glanced sharply at her, only to see that she was smiling at him.
He grinned sheepishly. “You’re right. I’m being an idiot.”
“Wow. I can count on one hand with fingers left over the number of times you’ve said that I was right.”
“You’re right more often than you think.”
Her expression changed. “Zoe told me what you said. About my ability to read people and to see things others don’t.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
She smirked. “Thanks. Green said they’d have all the files ready for us to go over tomorrow.”
Decker brightened at this comment. “Good. Maybe something will jump out.”
They fell silent for a few moments.
“Talked to Melvin lately?” asked Jamison.
“No. He and Harper are traveling on vacation somewhere. The Mediterranean, I think. Why?”
“I know how close you and Melvin are. I guess you could have gone on vacation with them, but it might have been awkward with the three of you. Especially in the romantic Med.”
Decker stared absently at his plate of food and didn’t answer.
“FYI, there’s a park near my sister’s house with a jogging trail,” noted Jamison.
He glanced up at her. “And why do I need to know that?”
“I know you’ve been working out, and you have dropped a lot of weight. Just want you to keep it up. You know, it’s harder to get back in shape than it is to stay in shape.”
“Thanks for enlightening me on that.”
He glanced out the window onto the darkened street. A few cars rolled past. And there were a couple of pedestrians. Other than that, downtown Baronville was relatively quiet in the gathering storm. For now.
“What are you thinking about, Decker?”
He continued to stare out into the dark. “I’m wondering who’s going to die next.”