“The rope?”
“The rope. He always uses a three-eighths-inch nylon cord, marine grade, double twin-braided, light duty. A length about thirty inches long, wrapped twice around the neck so hard that the skin is always cut, and secured with a double clove hitch knot, probably learned in the Boy Scouts. I have crime scene photos from every murder but Kronke’s.”
“Isn’t that careless?”
“It could be, but then who’s really investigating? There are six murders in six different jurisdictions, six different states, over a twenty-year period. None of the six police departments have compared notes with the others. They just don’t work that way, and he knows it.”
“And only one in Florida?”
“Yes, Mr. Kronke. Two years ago.”
“And where was that?”
“The town of Marathon, in the Keys.”
“So why can’t you go to the police down there and show them your files, give them your theory?”
“That’s a good question. That may happen, Lacy. I might be forced to do so, but I have my doubts. What do you think the police will do? Chase down five cold cases from five other states? I doubt it. You can’t forget that I have no proof yet, nothing concrete to give the police, and for the most part they’ve stopped digging.”
Lacy sipped her coffee and nodded along, unconvinced.
Jeri said, “And there is a much more important reason I can’t go barging in with scant evidence. It’s terrifying, actually.”
“You’re afraid of him.”
“Damned right I am. He’s too smart to commit a murder and leave it alone. For twenty years I’ve operated under the assumption that he’s back there, watching, still covering his tracks.”
“And you want me to get involved?”
“You have to, Lacy. There’s no one else.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Do you believe me?”
“I don’t know, Jeri. I really don’t know. I’m sorry, but this is not sinking in yet.”
“If we don’t stop him, he’ll kill again.”
Lacy absorbed this and was rattled by the casual use of the pronoun “we.” She pushed her coffee cup away and said, “Jeri, I’ve had enough for one day. I need to digest this, sleep on it, try to get my bearings.”
“I get it, Lacy. And you have to understand that it’s lonely out here. For many years now I’ve lived with this. It has consumed my life and at times pushed me to the edge. I’ve spent hours in therapy and still have a long way to go. It caused my divorce and almost ruined my career. But I can’t quit. My father won’t allow it. I can’t believe I’m here now, finally at the point of telling someone, a person I trust.”
“I haven’t earned your trust.”
“But you have it anyway. There’s no one else. I need a friend, Lacy. Please don’t abandon me.”
“It’s not a question of abandoning you. The biggest issue is what am I supposed to do? We don’t investigate murders, Jeri. That’s for the state boys or maybe even the FBI. We’re just not equipped for work like this.”
“But you can help me, Lacy. You can listen to me, hold my hand. You can investigate on some level. The BJC has subpoena powers. In the casino case, you took down a crooked judge and an entire criminal gang.”
“With a lot of help from others, primarily the FBI. I’m not sure you understand how we work, Jeri. We don’t get involved in allegations of wrongdoing until someone files a complaint. Nothing happens until then.”
“Is the complaint anonymous?”
“Initially, yes. Later, no. After the complaint is filed we have forty-five days to investigate the allegations.”
“Does the judge know about your investigation?”
“That depends. Most of the time the judge knows he or she has a problem. The complaining party has made it known they’re unhappy and have issues. Some of these disputes have dragged on for months, even years. But, it’s not uncommon for the judge to get blindsided. If we decide the allegations have merit, which is rare, we file a formal notice with the judge.”
“And at that point he’ll know my name?”
“That’s usually how it works. I can’t remember a case where the complaining party remained completely anonymous.”
“But it could be done, right?”
“I’ll have to talk to the director, my boss.”
“That scares me, Lacy. My dream is to nail the man who killed my father. My other dream is to keep my name off his list. It’s too dangerous.”