Serial Affair, page 7
“Yes,” Liberty answered, losing her patience with Davis, whom she felt was playing games with them. “She died.”
Her statement horrified the overly fastidious little man at the reservation desk. His small dark eyes seemed to grow to almost twice their size.
“How?” Even as he asked, the answer seemed to hit him. “Oh, wait, is she that woman they had on the news?”
Unaware of what Davis might have been exposed to, Campbell answered, “Most likely.”
Davis looked as if his mouth had suddenly gone completely dry.
“And you think the killer brought her here before he—?” Davis couldn’t get himself to finish the question. The mere suggestion of what he was thinking seemed to stick in his throat.
“We don’t know,” Campbell answered. “That’s why we’d like to view your surveillance tapes from that night. I’m assuming that you have several cameras going at all times, monitoring your restaurant both inside and out.”
The reservation manager’s face paled by several shades. For just a moment, he looked as if his knees would buckle.
Mopping his brow, he said, “Yes, yes, we do. You actually thought this monster brought her here first before he...?” Davis stopped, unable to complete the question.
“Like Detective Cavanaugh said, we don’t know what to think yet,” Liberty told the reservation manager. “We’re investigating all the possibilities. That’s why we’d like to be able to see your surveillance tapes.”
The manager looked at Liberty as if he hadn’t even realized that she was asking him a question until just this very moment.
He shook his head as if to clear it. “I’m sorry,” he said, realizing that she wasn’t there with the detective as his companion but in some official capacity. “And you are?”
Getting really annoyed with you, fella, Liberty thought.
As if reading her mind, Campbell stepped in, ready to divert any possible problem before it could form. “This is Detective Lawrence,” he said by way of an introduction. “She’s a consultant from Arizona here to help us out with this case. There have been several women killed there by this man.”
Davis turned even paler than he already had. It didn’t take much for him to put two and two together. “You mean we’re dealing with a...a serial killer?” The man was clearly traumatized.
“That appears to be the case,” Campbell replied. “But we really don’t know that for a fact yet. We can tell you more once we view the tapes,” he repeated, pinning Davis with a probing look. He wanted to move this along as quickly as he could. “So, if you would take us to where you house your surveillance monitors, we’ll be out of your way.”
“But I can’t leave you with them,” Davis protested. By the expression on his face, doing so would clearly be a violation of protocol, as far as he was concerned.
“Then stay in the room with us. Do whatever you have to do as long as we get to review the tapes,” Campbell said, trying to curb his impatience.
In the end, the reservation manager called over one of his assistants. He had the young woman take the two detectives over to where the security tape equipment was housed.
The assistant, Polly Howard, appeared to be new at her job—but exceptionally eager to help. “Are you two really detectives with the police department?” she asked.
“Yes, we’re really with the police department,” Campbell replied.
“Mr. Davis looks really spooked,” she confided, lowering her voice. “Did he do something? I mean, other than point out how everyone who works for him is just always falling short of his standards?” Polly asked in an even lower voice.
Campbell had no intentions of being sucked into any sort of a discussion regarding the reservation manager. “How about you show us where those surveillance tapes are? And then we can take it from there.”
Instead of becoming embarrassed and backing away from the subject, the young woman happily continued talking and speculating.
Polly led them into a small room. There appeared to be only one working monitor set up within the room to enable viewing the surveillance tapes.
Pointing to the monitor, Polly hovered on the sidelines. She didn’t look as if she wanted to leave.
“Is there anything else I can do?” she asked.
The restaurant grew noisier and the increased noise was beginning to invade their space.
“You can shut the door on your way out,” Liberty told her in all seriousness.
The assistant looked to Campbell for instructions, turning her doe-like eyes in his direction. “Is that what you want, Detective?” she asked Campbell almost breathlessly.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “We can take it from here,” Campbell assured her.
Disappointed, even Polly’s hair appeared to fall slightly. “I’ll be right outside if you need me,” she said.
“Good to know,” he acknowledged.
Davis’s assistant was already forgotten by the time Campbell started to insert the tape labeled two days ago.
Liberty looked at him. “You know how to work these things?” she asked, eyeing Campbell skeptically.
He gestured at the surveillance monitor. “How hard can it be?”
“So, no,” Liberty concluded. Moving closer to the space where Campbell was standing, she put out her hand and said, “Give it to me.”
It was his turn to doubt her. “You know how to work this equipment?” he asked, waiting for her to reply to his question.
She took exception to his tone. “I’m from Calhoun, not Sleepy Hollow. You’d be surprised at the kind of technology we have in that little town,” she assured him. “Now let me work.”
Campbell inclined his head and then saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And hold the sarcasm,” she said.
He grinned at her. “Consider it held.”
Liberty decided she would be better off if she simply ignored the tall, handsome detective and just focused on the video tapes.
Since there was only one monitor for viewing, it proved to be rather slow going. They wound up spelling each other to make sure they wouldn’t miss anything and also to keep their eyes from crossing, thanks to too much close viewing.
But finally they were finished.
“I think I might just wind up giving up watching TV for a while,” Liberty told Campbell, shutting her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “The worst part of it is, after all that, we only got a partial license plate number and it looks like her date wound up leaving the restaurant without her.” She frowned. “What that means is anyone’s guess.”
“That doesn’t mean that they didn’t get together later on the next day,” he pointed out.
“The day she died,” Liberty emphasized.
Campbell’s eyes meet hers. “Exactly.”
Liberty dragged her hand through her hair. “So how do we find him? We only have that partial license plate and a less than stellar video of his face.”
Campbell thought over what she had just said. “That might be enough.”
She didn’t see how, but she was willing to be convinced. “Keep talking,” Liberty said, eager to grab at anything.
“I have this cousin who works in the CSI lab,” Campbell told her. “She works miracles with and without the computer.”
“Miracles, huh?” Liberty asked. “What kind of miracles?”
He merely smiled at the visiting detective. “You’ll see. First thing we need to do is make a copy of this tape. And then I’ll take this to Valri tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Liberty repeated, clearly disappointed. She was shifting from foot to foot. “Why not today?”
He was surprised that she had to ask. “Because it is almost tomorrow and, as good as Valri is, sometimes she needs to get at least a few minutes of sleep before she’s ready to go again. Now let’s see if we can find that assistant so we can tell her that we’re through here for now, but that we’re going to need a copy of this portion of the tape.”
“If it’s that late, maybe Polly already went home?” Liberty told him.
As it turned out, Polly hadn’t gone anywhere. The moment Campbell opened the door, the faithful little assistant came all but bounding into the room.
“Can I help you?” she asked eagerly, her question directed to Campbell.
“Yes,” Campbell said, taking the surveillance tape from Liberty and handing it to the young woman. “We need a copy of this tape.”
“Just one copy?” Polly asked. She almost sounded disappointed.
“Just the one,” Campbell confirmed. “We’d really appreciate it,” he added for good measure.
“Is the killer on this?” the assistant asked, her voice dropping even lower, as if the killer might overhear her.
“That’s where the investigating part comes in,” Campbell told her with a wink.
Polly’s eyes were all but shining with anticipation. “Sure, sure, I get it. But if you find out, will you tell me?”
“If we find out, you’ll find out,” Liberty assured the young woman.
The assistant all but skipped out of the room to make the requested copy.
“Why did you tell her that?” Campbell asked. They both knew they couldn’t release that kind of information to the public.
“To get her moving,” Liberty told him. “She looked as if she thought she was suddenly part of a murder mystery. There’s no harm in fueling her imagination. Who knows, maybe in a strange way, it’ll keep her safe.”
“The killer preys on nurses, remember?” That meant that this little assistant was safe, Campbell thought.
“I know, but there might be some other killer out there who doesn’t make that distinction,” Liberty pointed out. “Doesn’t hurt to keep a young innocent like that on her toes,” she told Campbell.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “It doesn’t.”
The assistant returned within ten minutes. She was holding up a fresh copy of the surveillance tape she had just made.
“Here you go,” Polly announced. “That tape you requested.” She handed it to Campbell. “Now, you’ll remember to keep your promise, won’t you?”
Liberty could see that he was drawing a blank. “About telling her the minute we find out if the man on the tape is our killer,” she said, refreshing Campbell’s memory. “Of course Detective Cavanaugh will let you know. If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t have a tape to help him make that comparison, would you, Detective Cavanaugh?”
“I definitely wouldn’t,” he said, already on his way to the door. “Thanks for all your help and take care of yourself.”
Polly sent them—mainly Campbell—on their way with a dreamy sigh.
Chapter 8
Liberty knew what Campbell was up to and she was not about to allow him to do it.
“It’s after eleven, Cavanaugh,” she pointed out as they drove away from the restaurant.
“Well, I guess that answers my question if you can tell time or not, Arizona,” he quipped.
She gave him an icy stare. “Very funny. You know what I’m getting at.”
“Probably,” Campbell replied. “But just for fun, enlighten me.”
She found herself fighting the urge to strangle the man. “I am not about to allow you to wake up one of your sisters—or one of your cousins—so that I can have a place to crash. Just take me back to the police station so I can get my car and then point me toward the nearest hotel or motel. I’ll take care of the rest from there.”
He just shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t have you wandering around Aurora at this time of night.”
“But I’m a police detective,” she noted, flabbergasted at the objection he had just raised.
Campbell added an addendum. “Yes, but in a strange city.”
She was just too tired to argue coherently with him. “All right, you must have beds in the squad room where your detectives can crash when they’re working through the night.” She sighed, leaning back against her seat. “Take me there.”
“I have an alternative,” Campbell said.
Alerted, she shot him another annoyed look. “I’m not sure I want to hear it.”
He ignored her protest. “I’ll take you back to my place,” Campbell offered. “I’ve got a spare bedroom. You can crash there.”
“No,” she said flatly, wondering what it took to get through to this pigheaded, stubborn man.
“You have nothing to worry about,” he assured her. “I’ll even take a pledge of celibacy if that makes you feel better.”
She doubted if the man knew the meaning of the word celibacy. He just didn’t look like the type. However, she was willing to be entertained.
“That would almost be worth it,” Liberty said with a laugh.
Almost, she thought, but not quite.
Campbell glanced in her direction. “Why?” he asked. “Would you try to entice me?”
The grin he flashed her managed to get under her skin.
“I make it a point never to play with fire,” she informed him coolly.
“You’re telling me that you’re not even a little bit intrigued?” Campbell asked. His eyes were back on the road, but she could have sworn she felt them studying her.
“Not so much as an iota,” she replied.
If this were another time and another place, maybe she might have been a little intrigued, she conceded silently. But right now she was focused on doing whatever it took to solve this case and absolutely nothing else mattered.
“Okay,” he told her. “This is what’s going to happen. I will bring you to the police station so you can collect your car. But then, in the interest of getting an early start, I’d appreciate it if you just follow me to my place.” Before she could protest, he quickly added, “I promise you’ll be safer than if you were staying in a convent.” To add weight to his statement, he even crossed his heart.
Did he really think she was that naive? “I’m not sure about that.”
“Oh?”
“I looked you up on social media,” she told the detective. “According to that, you have quite a reputation.”
“Not that I’m not flattered that you took the time to do that,” Campbell told her, “but you’re also bright enough to know that things are greatly exaggerated on social media.”
“Maybe,” she allowed, “but I live by the saying that I would rather be safe than sorry. And right now, the most important thing in the world to me—the only thing—is finding this serial killer and getting him off the street.”
Campbell could definitely understand that. Yet he could also sense that there was more to it than that. “And if we find him, will you tell me why you are so obsessed with getting this man?”
She stared at his profile, astonished. “Why would you even ask that? Catching the bad guy and making him pay for all those killings he committed doesn’t seem like enough to you?”
“Oh, it definitely would be,” he answered. “Nevertheless, I get the sense there’s something more going on here, and I’m the type who can’t sleep well until I have all the answers.”
She laughed dryly in response to his words. “Something tells me, Detective Cavanaugh, that you don’t sleep much.”
He shrugged just as he pulled into the station parking area. “I get enough.”
There were a minimum number of vehicles parked in the lot. Campbell pulled his car up beside hers, then engaged the hand brake and turned off the engine.
“So, what’ll it be?” he asked, turning to face Liberty. “Did I manage to talk you into following me to my apartment?” Even in the sparse lighting, he could see the reluctant look on the visiting detective’s face. “There is one more alternative.”
“Another alternative,” she repeated, amused despite herself. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“I could take you over to my uncle Andrew and his wife Rose’s house. They’re the unofficial patriarchs of the family. You’d have no reason to complain about being put up at their house.”
“It’s late. They’re probably asleep. I’m not about to wake up older people,” she said, enumerating just some of her reasons.
Campbell laughed. “I won’t tell them you said that. Look, they’re patriarchs of what amounts to a police dynasty. That means that they wake up for emergencies. It’s a given. And calling them ‘older’ will not endear you to them no matter how understanding they are.”
“I am still not going to be responsible for disturbing them,” she informed him in a tone that said she was not about to change her mind.
Campbell shook his head as he blew out a breath. “You really are a hard person to negotiate with, Arizona.”
“I wasn’t aware that we were ‘negotiating,’” she retorted.
“That might be part of the problem,” Campbell told her. “All right,” he said, his negotiations, not to mention his patience, reaching their final stretch. “What’s it going to be? I’ve given you a choice of picking one of my sisters, one of my cousins, or the family patriarch—or me.”
“You forgot about going to a hotel,” Liberty reminded him.
“No, I didn’t forget. That was never a viable option as far as I was concerned. Now pick,” he urged.
Liberty frowned. “You realize that this whole thing is rigged, right?”
He looked at her innocently. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Arizona.”
“Uh-huh,” she answered, rolling her eyes. This was getting her nowhere and she had a feeling the detective wasn’t about to give up until she agreed to one of his options. Tired of going around in circles, she said, “All right, we’ll go to your place.”
