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I remembered Betsey Cavalierre - and her murder. And Detective Maureen Cooke in New Orleans. A long time ago as a homicide detective, I had just about stopped believing in coincidences. Still, I had no logical reason to believe that a psychopathic killer could be out here in California, possibly stalking Inspector Jamilla Hughes. I just felt it. Total awareness. The Mastermind was out here. It was the sense I had. I waited for his call. I was ready to nail him once and for all. I was so ready.
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drove from the airport to Jamilla's apartment at several miles above the posted speed limit. On the way, I used my cell phone. There was still no answer at her place. I was already in a cold sweat. I had never followed a hunch quite like this one. I thought about what I could do right now. One possibility was to call in help from the SFPD, but I didn't like it. Police officers are logical creatures, and coldly suspicious of gut feelings. My track record with psychopaths might buy me some credibility in Washington, but not out here in California. I could call the FBI - but I chose not to. There were a couple of reasons why. More gut feelings that I wanted to keep to myself for a while longer. I decided to park a block over from Texas Street, where Jamilla lived. But I took a ride up the steep Potrero Hill first. I turned onto the street about half a dozen blocks south of her place, then I toured the connecting streets. There was a mixed style of row houses: the more charming wooden ones from the early 1900s, and the boxier three-and four-story ones with lots of aluminum detail. I could see the bay, the loading docks of Pier 84, and Oakland in the distance. I passed the New Potrero Market, J.J. Mac's, the North Star restaurant - Jamilla's home turf. But where was Jamilla? The traffic was fairly heavy. I hoped my rented sedan wouldn't be spotted easily. And that I'd see Jamilla lugging groceries, or jogging home from a nearby park where she'd worked out.
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But I didn't see her. Damn it, where was she? Not that she didn't have a right to a day off. I couldn't imagine anything happening to her, but that was the way I had felt about Patsy Hampton, and then about Betsey Cavalierre. Two dead partners in two years. I didn't believe in coincidences. Patsy Hampton had been murdered by a British diplomat named Shafer. I was almost certain of that. Betsey's murder remained unsolved, and that was the one that worried me. I kept thinking about the Mastermind. Somehow I had become a part of his story, his fantasy world. How? Why? I had received a late phone call from him one night that summer, just after I'd learnt of Betsey's murder: 'I'm the one you call Mastermind. That's a name I can live with. I am that good.' The killer had used a knife on her, everywhere, even between Betsey's legs. He hated women. That was clear. I had encountered only one other killer who hated women so much: Casanova in North Carolina. But I was sure Casanova was dead and couldn't have killed Betsey Cavalierre. Still… I felt some kind of strange link to what had happened in North Carolina. What was the connection? I found a spot and parked about two blocks from Jamilla Hughes's apartment on the hill near 18th. Her building was older, a remodeled yellow Victorian, with the familiar three-sided bay windows you often see in San Francisco. Very nice, very homey. There were neat little signs on the trees: 'Friends of the Urban Forest.' I called her again on the cell. Still no answer. My heart was pumping fast. The cold sweat continued. I had to do something. I went to the front door of the house, rang the bell, but no one answered. Damn it. Where was she? Safe Neighborhood signs were stuck in bright green patches of grass up and down the street. I hoped the street was very safe. I prayed to God that it was as safe as it looked. I went back and waited in the car. Fidgeted. Grew even more nervous and impatient. I thought about who the Mastermind might be, then about Betsey's murder. I thought about Casanova, the -------------- 257 --------------
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Gentleman Caller, about Kate McTiernan, who'd been abducted in North Carolina. Why was that on my mind now? What was the connection? I couldn't get the lurid and devastating murder scenes out of my head. Notfamilla. Don't let this happen again. Don't let her get hurt. While I sat there worrying, my phone rang. I answered immediately. It was him. He was playing his cruel games. He seemed so close. 'Where are you. Doctor Cross? I thought you were heading home to kith and kin. Maybe it's time that you did. Your work is done out here. There's nothing more you can do. Nothing at all. We wouldn't want anything to happen to Nana Mama and the kids, would we? That would be the worst thing, wouldn't it? The absolute worst.'
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immediately called Nana in Washington. Either she wasn't there, or she was still mad at me and wasn't picking up the phone. Damn it. Answer the phone, Nana. I frantically called again, but there was still no answer. Pick up, pick up! Damn it - pick up the phone! Sweat had begun to coat my neck and forehead. This was my darkest nightmare, my worst fear come true. What could I do from out here? I called Sampson and told him to rush over to my house, then get back to me immediately. He didn't question me for a second. 'I'm sending a squad car now. It will be there in minutes. I'll be right behind it. I'll get back to you, Alex,' he said. I sat in the car and anxiously waited for Sampson's call. My head was spinning with all kinds of terrible thoughts and images. There was nothing I could do - not for Jamilla, if she was in trouble; not for my own family back in Washington. I thought about the Mastermind and the way he'd operated in the past. There were always dramatic taunts and barbs - and then, when I least expected it, he would act; he would make a strike to the heart. When I least expected it. Action, not words. Horrible murders. He knew I hadn't returned to Washington; did he know for sure that I was in San Francisco? I couldn't focus as much as I needed to. Was it possible that he was -------------- 259 --------------
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right here on Jamilla's street? Was the killer watching me now? He had shown that he was smart enough to follow me and not be seen. Did he want a showdown? The cell phone rang again. My heart jumped in my chest. I rumbled with the buttons. 'Cross,' I said. 'Everybody's okay, Alex. I'm at the house with Nana and the kids. They're safe and sound. They're with me now.' I shut my eyes and sighed with relief.'Put her on,'I told Sampson. 'Don't take no for an answer from her. I need to talk to Nana about what we're going to do next.'
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Sampson promised to stay with Nana and the kids until I could get home. There was no one that I trusted more, no one in the world they would be safer with. Still, I couldn't be sure, and that was a terrible weight to carry. I didn't feel I could leave California until I had at least located Jamilla, and knew she was safe. Finally I called Tim Bradley at The Examiner. He didn't know where she was, or even that she'd taken a day off work. Maybe she had needed to get away from town - to get away from being a homicide detective. I was beginning to feel that maybe I had made a mistake by stopping in San Francisco. The longer I sat on the street, outside her house, the more convinced I was of it. Maybe the job was finally getting to me. The instincts go first. But every time I considered leaving, I remembered the night I arrived at Betsey Cavalierre's house, seeing her dead body. And instincts had gotten me here in my career. Feelings, gut reactions, experiences from the past. Maybe just plain stubbornness. I stayed on surveillance, stayed at my post. I got out of the car a couple of times, walked up and down the block a little. Climbed back in the car. Waited some more. I felt more than a little ridiculous, but I wouldn't give in to it. I checked in with Sampson again. Everything was okay at home. Another homicide detective I knew, Jerome Thurman, had arrived at the house, too. Double duty against the Mastermind. Was that enough protection?