Keller suppresses a smile.
Still staring at Rusty, Atticus adds, “I hate this guy so much.”
“He’s hiding something,” Keller says, then shrugs. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find out what it is.”
CHAPTER 14
“So, ‘Atticus’ is an unusual name,” Keller says as she drives back to the office, her sidekick for the day scrolling through the Blockbuster file on his iPad. He’s scanned and uploaded all the interview notes, tips, news clippings, and other documents from the old files. She admires his enthusiasm, his optimism, that they might dig up something new. She’s not so optimistic.
“My father was a fan of To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Keller nods.
“They didn’t consider that the name might not go over well for the only brown kid at North Caldwell Elementary.” He smiles. “And I never had the heart to mention that after Harper Lee died, they released her original manuscript and Atticus turns out to be a racist.” The smile again.
It’s settled. Keller likes this young detective.
“What’s next?” he asks.
“Good question,” Keller says, watching the road closely. Bob hates it when she talks on the phone or is otherwise distracted while driving. But Bob hates multitasking generally. He’s an in-the-moment person. That works beautifully for their relationship but not so much for a fast-moving investigation.
“We rework the case file. Talk to witnesses, the families,” she says. “Try to find any connections between the Blockbuster victims and the ice cream store victims.”
Atticus swipes at his tablet. “I haven’t been able to find Vince Whitaker’s mother, or his little brother, who I think may have been adopted and changed his name. I have info on the victims’ families, though. I can try to set up some interviews.”
Keller nods.
“That leaves the Blockbuster survivor, Ella Monroe,” Atticus says.
“I’m meeting with her tonight,” Keller says. “Hal set it up for me,” she adds.
“Want me to come along?”
“I think, given what happened to her, one-on-one would be best.”
“Makes sense,” he says, trying not to sound disappointed.
“What about all the sightings of Vince Whitaker over the years?” Keller asks. “Anything to all of that?”
Atticus lets out a sigh. “I’ve been trying to track those in my spare time. But most happened outside the country. If you think eyewitness testimony is unreliable, that’s nothing compared to sightings by vacationers who’ve spent the day drinking cocktails.”
Atticus’s phone chimes. “Whoa,” he says.
“What is it?” Keller asks.
“They went to interview the janitor from the school, the one who was fired. Apparently, the guy’s barricaded himself in his home and they’re gonna extract him.”
“How far from us?”
“Just a few minutes.” Atticus looks excited again. “Want me to reach out to the team to get approval for us to come?”
Keller grips the wheel. “Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
* * *
The street is cordoned off. An officer meets them at the perimeter and lets them pass when Atticus lies and says that Detective Arpeggio is expecting them.
Keller gives him an admiring glance. Atticus is a quick study. He didn’t ask for permission and would definitely be asking for forgiveness later.
They pull up to a bevy of vehicles. Keller hoists herself out of the car and surveys the scene. There are six cars, both marked and unmarked, and an armored van that probably houses a SWAT team. Keller is always surprised by the arsenals of local forces, often bought with money the federal government shares from drug forfeitures.
Arpeggio is stationed at a command center outside the van, talking to a group of men in black tactical gear.
She looks at Atticus, who’s holding his iPad at his side. “You have access to the file on the janitor on that thing?”
“If they’ve uploaded it to the evidence portal.”
“Can you check?” Keller doesn’t have all the intel, but from what she’s seeing, Arpeggio’s team is getting ready to kill a mosquito with a sledgehammer.
As Atticus taps on the device, Arpeggio’s gaze snags on Keller. He squints, then breaks away from the group and marches over.
“I thought we agreed that you were sticking to the Blockbuster and Whitaker side of things,” he says, his tone firm. “We’ve got this covered.”